Ageism from Attenborough

Budge over, Jamila and Dumpling, let me in.

Thank goodness, I thought I may be 'virtue signalling'

I'm in the same corner as you*Jalima*.

Humans “are a plague on the earth” and “behind every threat [to wildlife] is the frightening explosion in human numbers.”—Sir David Attenborough, documentary filmmaker behind Life on Earth and many more, senior manager at BBC, environmentalist
I am not sure that I disagree totally with that sentiment. Future generations may look back with horror at our exploitation of the earth, our inability to share limited resources with our neighbours, the pollution we cause through greed, our reluctance to control populations by gentle means in order to share what resources we have and the disregard we have for other species which share our planet.

Sorry, but that's how I feel and I will go back in the corner again now. And no, I'm not virtuous, I am probably as guilty as the next person of the march towards the destruction of the planet although I do my best not to but my best is just not good enough.

Baggs no opinion either way, but just wanted to say that I appreciated your well thought out responses to some posts.

Refreshing to see how some deal with posts that contradict/oppose/challenge the views expressed.

DA had a hand in launching the project I later joined and then worked on for 23 years. When I was re-doing my display boards for an event I wrote to him c/o BBC to ask for a photo. He replied by return of post with a handwritten letter and a photo of himself. Sadly when we moved offices and we all cleared out obsolete files - I'm a hoarder so I had lots of them - and I completely forgot that his letter was in one of the files. I'm still sad about losing it.

Out for lunch and the piece of lime jumped out of my glass and the lime and soda went down my trousers; I wasn't slobbering but it did look as if I'd wet myself.

The 99 year old sat next to me didn't slobber either, but nor did he spill his dinner or his drink down him.

One has to have liked someone "in the first place" to go off them, beigecardi.

I've gone off Stephen Hawking and Richard Dawkins as well. I haven't gone off their work just as I haven't gone off Attenborough's work. I've gone off their patronising comments.

I have met David Attenborough three times with the same friends and he is delightful and when telling stories, he is one of the most amusing men. The fact he doesn't like people is nonsense - he has a wonderful sense of humour and loves everything and everybody and is a thoroughly happy man. So there!

He's made a whole lot of people take interesting the natural world which otherwise would have been ignored and done a lot to publicise what humans as a species are doing to damage the planet. I don't think he dislikes people individually. He seems quite personable and chatty and used his advantageous and fortunate position to do good - and enjoy himself at the same time.

Ive always been a huge admirer of his and I still am. Yes he may have been privileged but many privileged people do little with their lives except party etc. His rmarks about humans are presumably because we are wrecking the planet and ruining habitats of many animals causing numbers ro decline to the point of extinction - of course he cares about this - its been his life! A throw away remark about how its better to keep active than sit around and do nothing is reasonable and if it was put in an unfortunate way remember he is 91!

I agree with Mollie. Still can't stand him!

O shortbread - what?! I wouldnt.

He's just talking about himself. O shortbread any more into it.

David Attenborough is like a comfort blanket to me, has been around forever, lovely voice and brilliant programmes. At 91 he is entitled to say what he thinks, we all do. I can see why you aren't keen on him libra10 though I am in the same camp and don't hold a grudge. He probably hates Tory voters too as many luvvies do but I don't hold that against him either.

I went off David Attenborough when he suggested that those who voted to leave the EU didn't have the intelligence to realise what they were voting for, and we should never have been offered a referendum.

I voted to leave the EU, am of reasonable intelligence, and resent D A's remarks.

But he's 91, how can he be accused of ageism? He's only saying he's made a decision to fight the ravages of time. At least, that's how I read it.

I love David Attenborough- always have, tho' we can't expect him to be perfect.
My mother thought he was wonderful, so my father became extremely jealous and wouldn't allow her to watch his TV programs - imagine any woman putting up with that nowadays!
I don't think DA is ageist or anti -humanist, just an honest observer.
However, I reserve the right to sit and slobber if I feel like it!

You say that you didn't like him in the first place so it's understandable that when he says something off the cuff that you take exception to it makes you dislike him more - it reinforces your original opinion.
I personally like DA and although I've seen poor souls sitting in the corner in a sitting room of a psychiatric hospital and 'slobber' his comments don't offend me.

M0nica I'm assuming you meant Duracell not Durex batteries?! That reminds me, I need to replace some batteries in my bedroom friend.

MargaretX I've always liked him and I like his voice too. It's a lot easier to listen to than some of the people who narrate wildlife programs, whose irritating intrusive voices put me off watching. Wildlife programmes are usually relaxing, but with some of those voices they aren't. But I've never met him, so haven't got a clue what he's like offscreen. I've heard about a few celebrities who are quite nasty offscreen, totally different to their on-screen persona.

I have always liked DA - he has never lost that childish curiousity about wildlife - whether he is looking at an ant or a gorilla. He has also managed to bring pictures to my television that I would never have seen if he had not organised it all.

Just because he has made an off the cuff remark does not change my opinion of him. I'm sure I have said things that on reflection might have been better worded.

What he manages to do at his advanced age puts me to shame.

In defence of the shot of the polar bear birth - The mother would have chosen that spot, dug herself a cave and settled herself into it months before the birth, and not left it until well after they had arrived. It is not a den which she leaves regularly to forage for food, so that a camera could be conveniently installed while she was away. She would be there all the time, and would not appreciate being disturbed.

If the BEEB team had tried to install a camera while she was lying there, then, as David Attenburgh said on ITV1's This Morning: "If you had tried to put a camera in the wild in a polar bear den, she would either have killed the cub or she would have killed the cameraman, one or the other."
"To explain mid-programme that this one sequence was not from the wild would have upset the programme's atmosphere, he added: "It's not falsehood and we don't keep it secret either."

There was a separate film on the Frozen Planet website explaining the background to the polar bear cub footage, which shows the hidden cameras being fitted at the wildlife centre weeks before the polar bear gave birth.

All documentaries are edited and voice-overs and explanatory inserts added. (Apparently among the tweets about the captive filming, there were also some mock-outraged tweets. One read: "I'm outraged to find out the soundtrack for #FrozenPlanet was added after filming. I thought they took a full orchestra with them.")

my only comment is - that it was insensitive in the same way as he broadcast that he hates rats! Not very sophisticated really. We allow millions of rats a year to be experimented on because of our conveneint hatred of them. I expected something better from DA. Other than that he makes very good programmes and is a genuine lover of diversity.I suppose in a way he was waspishly reacting against the ageism implied in a suggestion he should retire. No one is perfect. But he deserves a small slap for both unthinking cruel remarks.

My mum always fancied DA but there was a TV programme years ago of him hosting a celebrity dinner party and I went off him from then. Everyone sucking up to 'the great man' and his opinions. Was he Head of BBC 2 at the time? I am a nurse on a dementia ward. I have often nursed people who have the great misfortune to be very ill, maybe slobbering due to their condition or due to the medication used for treatment (psychiatric drugs often have this side effect.) Some of our patients have early onset conditions and are younger than me. If you slobber etc, you may be embarrassed and sit in a corner and society probably prefers you to be in that corner so they can pretend that you don't exist. DA has no insight into his privilege and luck. He has been crass and cruel in his choice of language and sentiment, definitely not the mark of a great man.