Another Clause 28 Moment

It appears that, in cases of bullying, a boycott is not always the answer. Britain's Head Boy has ruled out the idea of keeping away from a Sports Day in Russia because of the homophobia of the Russian state. Daveybloke's announcement was triggered by a well-meaning if bizarre open letter from Stephen Fry, which accused Daveybloke of a "determined, passionate and clearly honest commitment to LGBT rights" and proclaimed that "in the end I believe you know when a thing is wrong or right". This does Britain's Head Boy an injustice; the worst that can be said of Daveybloke is that he sometimes knows when a thing is expedient or inexpedient, and that his support of the equal marriage legislation was a prudent bit of liberal button-pushing to help resign the Deputy Conservatives to the present squalid right-wing onslaught.

Still, lest Daveybloke be accused of hypocrisy in calling for boycotts of bullying websites while consorting with bullying governments, it should be remembered that the internet and Putin's mafia state are two quite different things. The internet is complicated, multifarious, evolving and many-voiced; Vladimir Putin is a posturing, corrupt, authoritarian thug. It is therefore hardly surprising that Daveybloke cannot understand the internet, and even less surprising that Daveybloke feels he can do business with Vladimir Putin.