‘Bigotgate’ & The Art Of Being Two Faced.

What a day for news yesterday, with the ‘Bigotgate’ affair setting light to the news channels and providing so much fodder for discussion, it’s amazing that one little slip could cause so much debate.

In case you’re abroad or have a broken television, computer and radio, the ‘bigotgate’ term refers to yesterday’s blunder from Gordon Brown where he called a voter a ‘bigot’, thinking he was off-mic at the time. This led to an apology and hours and hours of material for the news to seize on, as Gordon Brown’s behaviour was dissected in minute detail by any talking head the networks could find.

Stripping away the politics and looking at the actual exchange, I feel the judgement of Gordon Brown is clearly suspect if he’s unable to remember to rip a microphone from his lapel before making an off-guard comment to an advisor. But furthermore, the judgement of everybody involved needs to be questioned, if we are really expected to consider this an important turning-point in the election campaign.

Really, all Brown has done is exhibit his humanity. I’m no die-hard Labour supporter and I wouldn’t wish to convey my political beliefs here. All I’m saying is that it’s gratifying to see a negative human trait being displayed by a politician, when their usual default mode is to spin their personalities to the point where they’re not recognisable as human beings any more.

Let’s be realistic here, Brown is not simply a salesman – he is a human being and is prone to speak his mind in the heat of the moment. At the same time, however, it  reminds us all that we need to be careful with our words at critical times, and take notice of our surroundings before we make any comment that might be considered out of line.

In our day-to-day relationships, in our interactions at home, at work or even out for drinks with friends, we are all capable of inadvertently upsetting people we actually have no real grudge against or problem with. Who hasn’t pressed ‘send’ on an email before rereading with our audience in mind, only to regret a single word in the content moments afterwards? Who hasn’t blurted out something vaguely contentious when the potentially injured party is hovering, unknown to us, just outside the door? It’s part of being human, so sympathy for Brown is surely easy to summon.

On the other hand, one piece of advice Brown might be wise to take is the issue of being two-faced. We’re all aware we do it, and most of us are able to contain our rage until we get home, sharing our raging silliness with partners or housemates. Perhaps getting it all off our chest while we’re still in earshot of the focus of our dissatisfaction isn’t a wise idea.  Once words leave our mouth, we can’t take them back.

I can’t wait to see how this plays out in tonight’s debate!