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Proof BBC Scotland is anti-Catholic but loves the Orange Lodge?

For the last few weeks, BBC Scotland has been showing a top comedy sketch show called Burnistoun, which is about the exploits of people in a fictional town called Burnistoun (links to iPlayer eps). As with all sketch shows, it’s hit and miss (much more hit in my opinion and The Guardian agrees as do others) and I heard about a sketch from the previews that sounded hilarious about the Orange Lodge.

But I now hear it’s been pulled because the BBC think it will get complaints. Fair enough, but if that’s the case why has it seen fit to allow pops at the Catholic/Christian faiths? Are Lodge members more easily upset? Does the BBC care more about their feelings?

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The sketch in question is one where the Burnistoun branch of the lodge decides to undergo a rebranding exercise – Orange is now too associated with the phone company and Order sounds too militant – with hilarious results. I hear that the sketch was the highlight of the preview night where the Burnistoun team carried out preview screenings, so I was looking forward to it.

Robert, Kirsty and the gang had already shown that they could easily shoot down some sacred cows – their gags with Jesus/God and Jesus as a DJ and the Virgin Mary in a drug sketch had shown they could be really funny.

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Now I’m as lapsed a Catholic as they come (and now well in Agnostic territory), so I found the above hilarious, and I was looking forward to the Lodge sketch as well (I’ve got mates in the Lodge. It’s not my thing, but if they want to do it, fair play) because if you start poking fun at one set of sacred cows, all of them have to be fair play. And the Burnistoun team are funny.

Except BBC Scotland seems to think it’s OK to poke fun at Catholics (and other Christian religions) but you don’t want to offend the Orange Lodge because they said the gag should be pulled to avoid offence.

Which begs the question then: who was the member of the Orange Lodge at the BBC that pulled the gag on the grounds of being too controversial? And if they aren’t a lodge member, why did they approve the gags on religion but not the lodge? Is it OK to offend Catholics and Christians but not Lodge members?

We can only hope that it sneaks its way into the DVD…

Censorship and sensitivities. Pure shite. And you can quote me on that.

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Posted in All Blog Posts, Popular Culture.