BIFFO

A forum to air your views on Offaly GAA matters and beyond.
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Bord na Mona man
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Post by Bord na Mona man »

Some Broadcasting Complaints Commission data

http://www.bcc.ie/Decisions/Oct2004/90% ... 0Oct04.doc



Complaint made by: Dr. Tim O'Neill Ref: 90/04

Station: Programme: Date:
RTÉ Radio 1 'Morning Ireland' 24 May 2004

Summary of Complaint:
Dr. O'Neill's complaint, under Sections 24(2)(a)(impartiality) and (b)(taste and decency) of the Broadcasting Act, 2001, refers to a sports report given by Mr. Des Cahill during the 'Liveline' programme of 24th May 2004. During this report, Mr. Cahill made reference to hearing someone else commenting that Westmeath players had been under 'Biffos' for over fifty years or words to that effect. There was no particular context in which the use of the word 'Biffo' could be justified. This word is widely understood to stand for 'Big Ignorant Fucker from Offaly'. As a person born and raised in Offaly the complainant felt that such reporting was insensitive, negative and offensive to the people of Offaly and he believes that Mr. Cahill's inappropriate comment should have been spotted immediately by the other presenters or by the programme producers.

The complainant states he fails to see how the difference between what the 'F' word stands for makes any difference. That to say the term is in general usage does not mean that it is not offensive and in bad taste. To say that the word 'Biffo' has 'slightly affectionate connotations' is bizarre. Dragging another broadcaster into the explanation fails to address the central issue of the disgraceful manner in which Offaly people were described in the broadcast. The explanantion that the only usage of the term was to refer to an historical fact that Westmeath had not beaten Offaly for 55 years also fails to address the offensive words used. The fact that the Minister for Foreign Affairs, an Offaly man, uses the term himself in a humerous manner is a spurios argument.

The complainant stated that the issue at the centre of his complaint is the inappropriateness of the use of the word 'Biffo'.

Station’s Response
RTÉ states that the presenter Mr. Des Cahill was upset to hear that he had offended Dr. O'Neill. RTÉ understands that it is an acronym derived from 'Big Ignorant Fecker from Offaly'. It is acknowledged that the 'F' word is also regarded as standing for 'fucker'. However, Mr. Cahill is insistent that the term is in general usage as a term which has slightly affectionate connotations and certainly not the purely negative associations Dr. O'Neill ascribes to it.

The term is apparently used by Offaly people themselves and they appear not to find the term offensive. Mr. Brian Cowen, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, uses the term to describe himself in a humorous manner.

The context in which the term was used is that Des Cahill while in conversation with Micheál Ó Muirceartaigh relayed what he'd heard in a dressing room. The context was entirely neutral and certainly not critical of Offaly people. Des Cahill reported 'One Westmeath fan said to me afterwards can you imagine what it is like to be down trodden by 'Biffos' for 55 years'? The unnamed fan was apparently refering to the fact that Westmeath had defeated Offaly for the first time in over half a century. This was the only usage of the term in the report.

It is the RTÉ's view that the usage of the term 'Biffo' was not intended to give offence and that its usage was acceptable in the context and tone of the report. RTÉ does not feel that there is any reason to apologise on air for its usage. The RTÉ log of complaints does not record any phone calls on the issue and only one e-mail complaint.

Decision of the Commission:
The Broadcasting Complaints Commission rejected the complaint made by Dr. Tim O'Neill. The Commission was of the view that RTÉ did not infringe Sections 24(2)(a)(impartiality) and (b)(taste and decency). The comment made by Des Cahill was considered to be inoffensive. He made the statement during a conversation with Micheál Ó Muirceartaigh. It was part of an after match analysis and Des Cahill repeated, in an innocuous manner, a line he heard from a Westmeath fan. The tenor of the piece was light-hearted and taken in context, that of after-match banter, was unlikely to cause offence. The complaint was rejected.

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turk
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Post by turk »

i think common sense has prevailed here.

some people go out of their way to be offended

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Percy Sledgehammer
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Lunacy.

Post by Percy Sledgehammer »

I'm a Biffo too, a bloody proud of it at that. Did I offend you Doctor?

Some people really have nothing better to be at. :evil:

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the bare biffo
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Post by the bare biffo »

Poor Dr Tim must be feeling a bit vulnerable or something. I have no problem at all in declaring myself to be a...
Brilliantly Intelligent Fellow From Offaly.
I'm sure Dr. O'Neill is one too, if maybe a little oversensitive.

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Loughers
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Post by Loughers »

Well, I agree with the Doctor. We all know what it stands for and no one will call me it. If ye have no problem with it, that's your prerogative.

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Post by Bord na Mona man »

Des Cahill makes no secret that he isn't an Offaly GAA fan.
Which is fair enough, he's a "sports fan" broadcaster. The man who enjoys the "occasion" and "atmosphere".
As such, he'll like certain teams and dislike (Meath, Man Unirah etc)others.
It's to be expected that his vernacular will reflect that of the ordinary fan.
In the past he has used "Biffo" in a non-quoting context, that our doctor has clearly missed.
I'd rather have the likes of Cahill not liking us, than patronising us with the "great little county" stuff.

I'm not certain about Brian Cowen's stance on the matter.
I know he did an interview in an English paper about 3 or 4 years ago. He described it as an "urban put down" that he didn't think was funny. Maybe his spin doctors have adjusted his opinion?

The term doesn't particularly bother me. It does get tiresome when you come across some "gas man" who'll use it 100% of the time as an attempted put down.

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Post by turk »

It does get tiresome when you come across some "gas man" who'll use it 100% of the time as an attempted put down.
Yes! you'll always come across some buffoon in a pub who will say this to you as he's the first one ever to say it to you, for the first time.

You'll also always get some twit who in their late 20s hears the term for the first time, and wets their nickers laughing all night at it.

but if in 2005 we're not able to deal with fools or idiots in pubs then there's a bigger issue to be addressed

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Lone Shark
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Easy done.

Post by Lone Shark »

I know I've mentioned this before, but there's a simple answer....

.... as they take great joy in explaining what Biffo means, just stress that it's spelled with a capital B while winking at their girlfriend. :wink:

Usually then she starts smiling and his laughter softens considerably.

:D

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Post by TheManFromFerbane »

Here in college in Limerick I'm known as the BIFFO and everyone calls me it, and instead of getting angry about it i bought a t-shirt!!
http://pride.ie/shop/acatalog/Offaly.html

If you feel like getting angry about it fair enough, but to be honest i dont see the problem[/url]

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Loughers
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Post by Loughers »

"but if in 2005 we're not able to deal with fools or idiots in pubs then there's a bigger issue to be addressed"

turk, what's that supposed to mean? The Doctor complained because it was used on the national airwaves by a journalist. I also saw it plastered on the front page of a national newspaper. I can handle gobshites in pubs.

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Lone Shark
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Cahill

Post by Lone Shark »

To be fair I'd say Cahill was probably just quoting aforementioned Gobshite in pub.

And the day where Westmeath folk don't feel a deep seated resentment towards us as their overlords is the day I'll worry.

As for the National newspaper, I'm not aware of when that happen, but there is a big enough disparity in our national papers. I tend to pass less remarks on the contents of a national newspaper where their letters page is accompanied by a picture of some bird frying an egg and looking worried while wearing lingerie.

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Ron
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Post by Ron »

I have to agree with Loughers on this one, its one thing entirely dealing with dimwits in a pub but its a different thing entirely when the national media use the term in this way. Its use in this case by the Westmeath supporter was intended to insult Offaly fans and for RTE to condone this (by airing it). The use of the term was unnecessary and added nothing to the point been made (that Wastemeath hadn't beat Offaly in 55 yrs).
The point is made in the report that Offaly people use the term amongst themselves so that makes it ok. Could the same point not be made for Black people using "nigger" amongst theselves? Surely this wouldn't make it permissable for RTE to use this ofensive term?? :?

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Lone Shark
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Re: Biffo

Post by Lone Shark »

Ron wrote:Its use in this case by the Westmeath supporter was intended to insult Offaly fans and for RTE to condone this (by airing it).
I wouldn't necessarily say RTE condone it, and from a strictly artistic and broadcasting point of view it helps portray the depth of feeling there in a rivalry that doesn't get anything like the level of national coverage that many do. In terms of the overall picture, as I said, I take a very real satisfaction from the fact that we bug them like this, and the use of the term reflects a lot worse on them than it does on us.
Ron wrote:The point is made in the report that Offaly people use the term amongst themselves so that makes it ok. Could the same point not be made for Black people using "nigger" amongst themselves? Surely this wouldn't make it permissable for RTE to use this offensive term?? :?
I think to be fair that in the instance above the phrase has a historical significance, and had been used by oppressors throughout history to reiterate their perceived inate superiority. It was a manifestation of a very real racist feeling in a lot of cases. As for the fact that a lot of the black community use it now, that's basically down to the fact that the gangster rap culture (which is largely culpable for an awful lot of the buggery of the English language that is going on these days - along with text messages) use it, and they could hardly be seen as shining lights for good speech and consideration.

Ours is a term that grew largely out of resentment towards a county that has punched way above it's weight in GAA and in other circles, and as such led to some resentment among our more moderately achieving neighbours and urban types. I would consider it classless for it to be used in the wrong situation, but I would never consider it meant literally, or as anything other than a generic term, any more than I regularly refer to miscellaneous sheep stealers from Roscommon without actually expecting to find Dolly gagged and bound in the boot of their car.

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Post by turk »

Loughers,

in fairness to Cahill and i think he's an awful oaf, i think he was just quoting some typical pub buffoon as opposed to using the term himself. If he did use the term himself in a broadcast about Offaly, it would be rightly unacceptable to many.

The Westmeath Examiner had on the front page of their sports supplement a mocked up picture of the scoreboard in cusack park reading "westmeath 0-11 biffos 0-10" (or whatever the score was). I think this was out of order. they also had a piece where they had someone come up with multiple phrases which could form the acronym BIFFO. This was more poor standard journalism and unneccessary than being offensive, but it was complained about by the offaly county board. In fairness the same paper after the league match this year had their headline "Brilliant Intelligent Football From Offaly" which I had to take my hat off to.

My point was about the tiresomeness of the phrase BIFFO from pub buffoons or the wag on the street. It's like when you were young lads going on a bus and lads would be giving people the fingers going through a town. Some people would give the fingers back, some people would be bemused and some would fly into a rage, chasing after the bus and everything. I don't think it's worth it getting that thick over things.

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Loughers
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Post by Loughers »

turk, point taken. We have bigger things to get worry about what with the Cats waiting to maul us.

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