# Man loses job after punching colleague in the face - I applaud Clarkson's exit **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 26, 2015, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-loses-job-after-punching-colleague-in-the-face-i-applaud-clarksons-exit/716014 "2015-03-26T10:14:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-loses-job-after-punching-colleague-in-the-face-i-applaud-clarksons-exit/716014/1 "2015-03-26T10:14:47Z")
> **[Man Loses Job After Punching Colleague In Face](https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/03/25/man-loses-job-after-punching-colleague-in-face_n_6940474.html?ncid=tweetlnkukhpmg00000001)** > > Man Loses Job After Punching Colleague In Face Looking through the thread on the Clarkson-debacle makes me want to punch the celebrity-worshipping, apologist, wankers in the face. I certainly won’t actually do that though, cause I’m not an entitled, pampered git. It’s just a TV-show, you idiots. Your lives will go on. Maybe you’ll discover Clarkson’s Motorworld, or the actually informative, yet fun, programs May and Hammond have done recently. You know what happens when people like Clarkson move on to super-special triple-quadruple probation in the name of raking in money? They eventually do something worse, and luminaries of intelligence like yourselves blame the employers for not doing something sooner to rein in the poor, overworked, hardly-to-blame celebrity. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-loses-job-after-punching-colleague-in-the-face-i-applaud-clarksons-exit/716014/2 "2015-03-26T10:30:22Z")
Auto playing video above! I’m with you, OP, screw that Duck Dynasty guy. Life willl go on without him. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-loses-job-after-punching-colleague-in-the-face-i-applaud-clarksons-exit/716014/3 "2015-03-26T11:34:49Z")
I’m more interested in my entertainment than the workplace drama of people I will never meet. The entertainment industry is full of self-absorbed assholes. If I only watched shows and movies made by nice guys I would probably be staring at a blank wall most of the time. If that makes you want to punch me in the face so be it. I’ll miss the show. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-loses-job-after-punching-colleague-in-the-face-i-applaud-clarksons-exit/716014/4 "2015-03-26T12:58:15Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I’m more interested in my entertainment than the workplace drama of people I will never meet. > The entertainment industry is full of self-absorbed assholes. > If I only watched shows and movies made by nice guys I would probably be staring at a blank wall most of the time. > > If that makes you want to punch me in the face so be it. I’ll miss the show. Are you saying Clarkson shouldn’t be fired because entertainment trumps all? Then yeah. I should just punch you and upload the video to youtube and make a lot of money from the clicks. Have you seen the kind of click rates such inanity gets? I mean, it’d be unethical and a crime if it wasn’t the entertainment industry, but why should I have to go to all the extra trouble of making a big production when I could cut out so much unnecessary junk? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-loses-job-after-punching-colleague-in-the-face-i-applaud-clarksons-exit/716014/5 "2015-03-26T13:39:49Z")
> [@naita](#): > > Are you saying Clarkson shouldn’t be fired because entertainment trumps all? Then yeah. I’m saying I don’t care what goes on behind the scenes any more than I care if the guy who worked on putting my car together is an asshole. I care about the product. The goings on of people I will never meet don’t concern me. I don’t care what religion Tom Cruise is. I don’t care if Mel Gibson is screwed up and drunk. I don’t care if Gary Oldman says something stupid. I care about the product I consume. The entertainment industry is full of egotistical idiots. I don’t separate out my entertainment by niceness. Of course this is your chance to equate this scuffle with murder and rape, “Would you care then!?!” Well we are not talking about that. We are talking about an egotistical asshole who puts on an entertaining show. It was the BBC’s prerogative to dump him. But don’t expect me to applaud it because I never cared what happened when the cameras are off. I don’t know why I should. I don’t like the fact that there will be no more shows. If you think I should be punched because of that then it says more about you than me. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-loses-job-after-punching-colleague-in-the-face-i-applaud-clarksons-exit/716014/6 "2015-03-26T13:42:22Z")
I rather enjoyed Alaskan Bush People due to the remoteness of the show, and the ability of a family to make a home in the tundra far, far away from civilization. Then I read the real story in a news release about a problem they had… They were located 1/2 mile from a pizza shop with neighbors on each side. Creative filming and an even more creative story line aka total misrepresentation. Apparently one neighbor got upset with the helicopter occasionally filming and fired a couple of fireworks at it. That pissed the FAA off and resulted in a $500 fine to the shooter. Then someone fired a rifle on or near their property, and this caused them to pack up and leave the land. The family was a fraud. I suspect this isn’t uncommon with “reality TV.” > **[Digging for the reality behind 'Alaskan Bush People' claims of gunfire](https://www.adn.com/film-tv/article/digging-reality-behind-alaskan-bush-people-claims-gunfire/2014/06/01/)** > > Efforts to get to the bottom of a potential reality TV shootout uncovered another, stranger reality about circumstances surrounding the filming of Alaskan Bush People. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-loses-job-after-punching-colleague-in-the-face-i-applaud-clarksons-exit/716014/7 "2015-03-26T13:42:40Z")
If only the presenters of the US version of _Top Gear_ would punch each other in the face… ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_of\_Words](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f6c823/32.png) [@Jack\_of\_Words](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_of_Words)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-loses-job-after-punching-colleague-in-the-face-i-applaud-clarksons-exit/716014/8 "2015-03-26T13:53:28Z")
Insufferable arse is defended by insufferable arses who can’t understand why most people can’t suffer arsiness. In other news, the Pope defends his adherence to Catholicism and we talk to a bear who is unapologetic about defecating in the woods. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-loses-job-after-punching-colleague-in-the-face-i-applaud-clarksons-exit/716014/9 "2015-03-26T13:57:23Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > It was the BBC’s prerogative to dump him. It was Clarkson’s prerogative to not punch the producer. I’m going to miss the show as well, but I’m going to assign the blame to the one who caused the problem. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-loses-job-after-punching-colleague-in-the-face-i-applaud-clarksons-exit/716014/10 "2015-03-26T14:03:09Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > I rather enjoyed Alaskan Bush People due to the remoteness of the show, and the ability of a family to make a home in the tundra far, far away from civilization. Then I read the real story in a news release about a problem they had… They were located 1/2 mile from a pizza shop with neighbors on each side. Creative filming and an even more creative story line aka total misrepresentation. Apparently one neighbor got upset with the helicopter occasionally filming and fired a couple of fireworks at it. That pissed the FAA off and resulted in a $500 fine to the shooter. Then someone fired a rifle on or near their property, and this caused them to pack up and leave the land. The family was a fraud. I suspect this isn’t uncommon with “reality TV.” > > [Digging for the reality behind 'Alaskan Bush People' claims of gunfire - Anchorage Daily News](http://www.adn.com/article/20140531/digging-reality-behind-alaskan-bush-people-claims-gunfire) Wow. I had my doubts as to how real that show was but that is ridiculous. > [@El\_Kabong](#): > > If only the presenters of the US version of _Top Gear_ would punch each other in the face… That is something I can get behind. > [@Jack\_of\_Words](#): > > Insufferable arse is defended by insufferable arses who can’t understand why most people can’t suffer arsiness. I not going to defend him. If I had to work with the guy I would probably be pissed. But I don’t so it doesn’t bother me that he is an insufferable arse. If the show sucked it would bother me. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-loses-job-after-punching-colleague-in-the-face-i-applaud-clarksons-exit/716014/11 "2015-03-26T14:06:53Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > It was Clarkson’s prerogative to not punch the producer. I’m going to miss the show as well, but I’m going to assign the blame to the one who caused the problem. I’m not blaming anyone else either. I’m just not happy with what happened and I’m certainly not applauding anything. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-loses-job-after-punching-colleague-in-the-face-i-applaud-clarksons-exit/716014/12 "2015-03-26T14:27:55Z")
I don’t expect you to applaud. The people I want to punch are the ones whining what a big mistake BBC is making and how occasionally sending minions to the hospital is a small price to pay for having their deity Clarkson employed. I like Top Gear myself, and I would probably have continued watching if they’d let Clarkson keep his job. Well, maybe not. It’s gone a bit stale and the scripting has been getting more obvious. ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-loses-job-after-punching-colleague-in-the-face-i-applaud-clarksons-exit/716014/13 "2015-03-26T14:39:38Z")
> [@naita](#): > > [Man Loses Job After Punching Colleague In Face | HuffPost UK News](http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/03/25/man-loses-job-after-punching-colleague-in-face_n_6940474.html?ncid=tweetlnkukhpmg00000001) > > Looking through the thread on the Clarkson-debacle makes me want to punch the **celebrity-worshipping, apologist, wankers** in the face. I certainly won’t actually do that though, cause I’m not an entitled, pampered git. > > It’s just a TV-show, **you idiots**. Your lives will go on. Maybe you’ll discover Clarkson’s Motorworld, or the actually informative, yet fun, programs May and Hammond have done recently. > > You know what happens when people like Clarkson move on to super-special triple-quadruple probation in the name of raking in money? They eventually do something worse, and luminaries of intelligence like yourselves blame the employers for not doing something sooner to rein in the poor, overworked, hardly-to-blame celebrity. My bolding. Thanks for the interesting adjectives, I like a bit of colourful language and un-PC opinions which is why I liked JC in TG. 😃 Your next point - although a good one - is clearly a gross generalization, which is shown [here](http://www.buzzfeed.com/elliewoodward/celebrities-you-never-knew-had-criminal-records#.koPYvZZy9). All of those nice, popular celebs have been convicted of drunk driving, assault, arms offences, drugs, fraud and nice Matthew Broderick actually killed two people. Clarkson punched a bloke so he’s obviously devil spawn and should be fucking sacked, with everyone who thinks he deserves another chance are demented twats who deserve to mocked, belittled, accused of victim blaming, of making shitty arguments, and typing absolute horseshit. Seriously, the anger I’ve seen in the other thread is pretty unusual for TSD. People are getting things way out of perspective and insulting each other, when there’s nothing we say or do will make the slightest difference to anything. Fucking some people need to take a chill pill. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-loses-job-after-punching-colleague-in-the-face-i-applaud-clarksons-exit/716014/14 "2015-03-26T14:40:23Z")
> [@naita](#): > > I don’t expect you to applaud. The people I want to punch are the ones whining what a big mistake BBC is making and how occasionally sending minions to the hospital is a small price to pay for having their deity Clarkson employed. > > I like Top Gear myself, and I would probably have continued watching if they’d let Clarkson keep his job. Well, maybe not. It’s gone a bit stale and the scripting has been getting more obvious. This is exactly how I feel. I really like Top Gear, I snort laugh so hard at some of their stuff it makes me glad I live alone and no one can see or hear me doing this. I would probably keep watching if he was kept on, but I can completely understand letting him go. And those people who are saying that it’s no big deal and that some employees should have just have to deal with being punched are pretty douchey. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-loses-job-after-punching-colleague-in-the-face-i-applaud-clarksons-exit/716014/15 "2015-03-26T14:44:28Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I’m not blaming anyone else either. I’m just not happy with what happened and I’m certainly not applauding anything. Fair enough. There were folks defending him in this and other threads and I may have jumped to an unwarranted conclusion as a result. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-loses-job-after-punching-colleague-in-the-face-i-applaud-clarksons-exit/716014/16 "2015-03-26T14:53:27Z")
If you want to read some bullshit then just check out the thread in Cafe Society, the stench of victim blaming is quite something. > [@Top Gear's Clarkson suspended](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-clarkson-suspended/714713/201): > > I understand what the BBC did. But maybe, just maybe the production guy should have had a hot meal ready. > [@Top Gear's Clarkson suspended](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-clarkson-suspended/714713/208): > > I’m just saying it was the producers responsibility to ensure good food was waiting at the end of a work day. …[SNIP]… > > I just wonder how many other times Clarkson and the others got back to the hotel and found cold cuts waiting for them? How many other times did he ask politely for better food? Before he finally got fed up (LOL) and went off on the producer? > [@Top Gear's Clarkson suspended](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-clarkson-suspended/714713/224): > > I agree. > But consider this. > You are a producer. Your job is to keep the BBC’s biggest star happy. In your job requirements is to provide meals. You are not a cook but your job is to arrange meals. > You know said star has gone to the pub, and likely will be there for an extended period of time. > You know ( or should have known) the closing time of the kitchen and the pub. > Do you: > A) anticipate your star will want a hot meal and work on alternate plan B, C, D etc to see that he gets a hot meal? > ( offer $ to keep the kitchen open, find an all night chip shop etc) > Or > B) sit there with one thumb up your ass, the other in your mouth and every 10 minutes you switch? > > Now further consider you are said producer. You picked option B. Your actions (or lack thereof) resulted in the BBC losing its cash cow. > Yes they were right to fire Clarkson, but what about you? > You are the guy that killed the goose that lays the golden eggs. > What are your future prospects? > A raise? > A promotion? > > I’d say your inability to handle the mission resulted in you kissing off your future career. Who is going to hire a guy who couldn’t even arrange a hot meal? > Nice job you had there Sparky. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-loses-job-after-punching-colleague-in-the-face-i-applaud-clarksons-exit/716014/17 "2015-03-26T15:01:46Z")
> [@JustinC](#): > > Clarkson punched a bloke so he’s obviously devil spawn and should be fucking sacked, with everyone who thinks he deserves another chance Please. This is something like Clarkson’s 35th chance. At some point, you have to bite the bullet (or punch a producer in the face) and fire him. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-loses-job-after-punching-colleague-in-the-face-i-applaud-clarksons-exit/716014/18 "2015-03-26T15:04:52Z")
> [@JustinC](#): > > Your next point - although a good one - is clearly a gross generalization, which is shown [here](http://www.buzzfeed.com/elliewoodward/celebrities-you-never-knew-had-criminal-records#.koPYvZZy9). All of those nice, popular celebs have been convicted of drunk driving, assault, arms offences, drugs, fraud and nice Matthew Broderick actually killed two people. Oh ye of little mental capacity, that’s not an argument for letting Clarkson off, it’s an argument for having him prosecuted for assault and jailed. That’s what should have happened to those other celebrities as well. Leniency for the rich and famous? Hell no! Full extent of the law to serve as examples. It’s not like they need breaks from the legal system to avoid a downward spiral, quite the opposite. > [@](#): > > Clarkson punched a bloke so he’s obviously devil spawn and should be fucking sacked, with everyone who thinks he deserves another chance are demented twats who deserve to mocked, belittled, accused of victim blaming, of making shitty arguments, and typing absolute horseshit. I’m glad you agree. That’s a correct description of most of the pro-yet-another-fucking-break-for-Clarkson contributions. > [@](#): > > Seriously, the anger I’ve seen in the other thread is pretty unusual for TSD. People are getting things way out of perspective and insulting each other, when there’s nothing we say or do will make the slightest difference to anything. Fucking some people need to take a chill pill. This is the pit. Calls for calming down are not welcome. Now buzz off. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-loses-job-after-punching-colleague-in-the-face-i-applaud-clarksons-exit/716014/19 "2015-03-26T15:06:07Z")
Count me as one who isn’t quite sure what the whole thing is about. Is there some reason the show can’t proceed with a different presenter in place of Mr Clarkson? AIUI, _Two and a Half Men_ is out of production; couldn’t Ashton Kutcher take over the spot? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-loses-job-after-punching-colleague-in-the-face-i-applaud-clarksons-exit/716014/20 "2015-03-26T15:22:10Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Count me as one who isn’t quite sure what the whole thing is about. Is there some reason the show can’t proceed with a different presenter in place of Mr Clarkson? AIUI, _Two and a Half Men_ is out of production; couldn’t Ashton Kutcher take over the spot? He’s very much the star of it. There are two other presenters, but they said they wouldn’t do the show without Clarkson. I don’t know if they’ll follow through with that or not. It is possible for them to bring in a new presenter, or three new presenters, but it would be a different show, and would be an uphill battle for them. I could see a new revamped version of Top Gear happening and being cancelled within a year, or could be a hit and keep going and everyone forgets about this. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-loses-job-after-punching-colleague-in-the-face-i-applaud-clarksons-exit/716014.md?page=2)