# Graham Norton hit a new low tonight **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 17, 2003, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-norton-hit-a-new-low-tonight/162145 "2003-03-17T23:34:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-norton-hit-a-new-low-tonight/162145/21 "2003-03-18T10:48:10Z")
I have to say I’ve never felt at any disadvantages in the UK. Maybe a few people have a problem with “paddy” but so what. UK’ers (mostly English) would get some of the same shite over here. **casdave** we don’t even have to bring a passport to the UK. ---
**Author:** ![London\_Calling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-norton-hit-a-new-low-tonight/162145/22 "2003-03-18T10:48:10Z")
I wish Graham Norton was “disadvantaged” of his teevee show. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-norton-hit-a-new-low-tonight/162145/23 "2003-03-18T10:48:13Z")
I have to say I’ve never felt at any disadvantage in the UK. Maybe a few people have a problem with “paddy” but so what. UK’ers (mostly English) would get some of the same shite over here. **casdave** we don’t even have to bring a passport to the UK. ---
**Author:** ![London\_Calling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-norton-hit-a-new-low-tonight/162145/24 "2003-03-18T10:49:56Z")
No, I’ve never, ever heard the ‘English’ described as arrogant by the Irish, Scots, Welsh … ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-norton-hit-a-new-low-tonight/162145/25 "2003-03-18T11:09:25Z")
I can’t really answer for the “irish worse off in Britain” bit, but Westlife and Norton can go and fuck right off. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Kumquat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-norton-hit-a-new-low-tonight/162145/26 "2003-03-18T11:12:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by London\_Calling \* > \*\*No, I’ve never, ever heard the ‘English’ described as arrogant by the Irish, Scots, Welsh … \*\* And Glaswegians call Aberdonians sheepshaggers, and the shaggers call weegies thieving minks, but we both agree that Edinburgh is full of stuck up bastards - hell, in the UK you can find prejudice at every level you like. What do you expect from a country full of objectionable grumpy bastards (and I’m proud to be one of them) ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-norton-hit-a-new-low-tonight/162145/27 "2003-03-18T13:47:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ruadh \* > \*\*Graham, you’ve officially sold your soul. Now fuck off. \*\* Personally, I thought his soul was owned by DollyWood, as a result of that hideous 1-hour infomercialesque show he did…blech. ---
**Author:** ![curly\_chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ba0ec/32.png) [@curly\_chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curly_chick)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-norton-hit-a-new-low-tonight/162145/28 "2003-03-18T14:36:03Z")
To the best of my knowledge - and I am quite prepared to be thrashed in a volley of righteous indignation, if I am wrong - Mr Norton and Messers Westlife are all Irish and ruadh is not. So I feel impishly compelled to ask ruadh if her outrage stems from the zeal of the wannabee, or to paraphrase Ali G: “Iz it becoz you is Irish?” To me, Graham Norton has been tragically unfunny for about a year now, but if Channel 4 want to pay him loads of dosh to amuse himself on the telly five nights a week, he would be crackers to tell them to sod off. Westlife are not my cup of tea, but they have made their money and I am sure if they had objected to the content of the show, then they would have had the clout to veto it. Anyone in Dublin who wants to put their pc hat on should come around to my bus stop and take a look at the grafitti I saw there this morning - presumably inscibed over the festive weekend of St Patrick: “We should send the Irish army to fight in Iraq. Send all the freeloding (sic) n\*\*\*\*\*s to be shot” Delightful. ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-norton-hit-a-new-low-tonight/162145/29 "2003-03-18T16:23:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ruadh \* > **"The Fields of Athenry" (Ireland’s unofficial national anthem)** Oxymoron. The whole St. Partrick’s day thing has become a dumb farce and the Irish are as much to blame as anyone (though non-one as much as the Americans) for the state of it. I didn’t see Norton’s show, but if it was taking the piss out of the ludicrous bollocks surrounding “St Paddy’s Day, wear green, get yer shamrocks out, everyone’s Irish, get legless on Guinness, tearful rendition of an old rebel song”, then I’m all for it. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-norton-hit-a-new-low-tonight/162145/30 "2003-03-18T16:32:14Z")
Get to fuck **Futile Gesture** there’s nothing wrong with getting legless on Guinness 😉 Other than that I agree 100% ---
**Author:** ![manwithaplan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@manwithaplan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manwithaplan)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-norton-hit-a-new-low-tonight/162145/31 "2003-03-18T16:33:09Z")
You can add me to the list of the unoffended. I would agree that there are many hallmarks of disadvantage amongst the Irish in Britain (poor health, low income, homelessness etc.) but to put it down to modern day discrimination would be very simplistic. People who emigrated in the 50s, 60s, and 70s were subject to discrimination and reduced opportunities. The effect of this is still felt today in the Irish community in Britain. While some of those who emigrated over that period did so by choice, most did not. The implication of this is that the emigrant community were largely made up of those unable to find work in Ireland and they became disproportionately represented in manual labour etc. in Britain. It would be a lot to expect this structural position to be redressed in a single generation. More recent emigrants are a much more diverse bunch. Many emigrated by choice and are highly qualified. Their success would seem to give the lie to claims of systematic discrimination against the Irish. Like every other modern society, Britain structurally discriminates against those in lower socio-economic groups. The big waves of Irish emigration since the war resulted in a disproportionate number of Irish in those groups. It is no major surprise that the long term Irish community are ‘disadvantaged’. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-norton-hit-a-new-low-tonight/162145/32 "2003-03-18T16:42:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ruadh \* > \*\*And the Irish in Britain are still very much a disadvantaged minority, and still subject to a substantial amount of prejudice _snip_ \*\* [stealth bigot] Everyone must speak as he finds, but I know that if, say, I were living in France and enjoying a worse standard of living in France than I could in England, and felt myself subject to a substantial amount of prejudice, and my home country was a short ferry ride away… I can’t imagine what would keep me in France. And in order to reach the decision above, I don’t even need to project any “You’re not welcome here” sentiments onto the (hypothetical) French. [/stealth bigot] ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-norton-hit-a-new-low-tonight/162145/33 "2003-03-18T16:56:13Z")
except for the fact that its not a rebel song,. It’s a love ballad. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-norton-hit-a-new-low-tonight/162145/34 "2003-03-18T17:06:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TwistofFate \* > \*\*except for the fact that its not a rebel song,. It’s a love ballad. \*\* Oh. Well, you can see why I thought it was (my emphasis): > [@](#): > > By a lonely prison wall, I heard a young man calling > “Nothing matters, Mary, when you’re free > **Against the famine and the crown, > I rebelled, they cut me down.** > Now you must raise our child with dignity.” ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-norton-hit-a-new-low-tonight/162145/35 "2003-03-18T17:06:37Z")
Stealing Trevelyan’s(bastard that he was) corn (because of the Famine) to feed your kids and then getting deported for it. It’s not just a love ballad. > [@](#): > > By a lonely prison wall, I heard a young man calling > “Nothing matters, Mary, when you’re free > Against the famine and the crown, > I rebelled, they cut me down. > Now you must raise our child with dignity.” ---
**Author:** ![blue\_poop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c68b51/32.png) [@blue\_poop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blue_poop)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-norton-hit-a-new-low-tonight/162145/36 "2003-03-18T17:07:18Z")
I agree with some of the comments because sometimes I do think that some of his gags are a little… cheesy say but his show has some good points too. Sorry but I have to say I love Graham but Westlife can go to f\*ck… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-norton-hit-a-new-low-tonight/162145/37 "2003-03-18T17:08:54Z")
Ha. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-norton-hit-a-new-low-tonight/162145/38 "2003-03-18T17:15:33Z")
Trad simulpost! ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-norton-hit-a-new-low-tonight/162145/39 "2003-03-18T17:28:45Z")
But thats only two lines out of the whole song. I think it just explains why he was in prison in order to create emotion and anguish about the separation of the lovers. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-norton-hit-a-new-low-tonight/162145/40 "2003-03-18T17:32:35Z")
How about “vaguely rebellious love ballad”? 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-norton-hit-a-new-low-tonight/162145.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-norton-hit-a-new-low-tonight/162145.md?page=3)