After largely positive comments about the HIGNFY appearance there have come some inevitable criticisms. Apparently six people rang the BBC to complain that I had said that stealing Chaplin's moustache was "probably the worst thing" that Hitler ever did. Presumably they think he must have done something worse than that. I am at a loss to understand what that might be.
Oh God, hold on. I've just remembered. Hitler did some really terrible things, including genocide and setting up concentration camps. Shit. Suddenly my comments seems a bit offensive. I can only apologise to those six people. You were right. To say that copying a moustache is worse than that is ridiculous, almost to the point of comedy. I won't repeat it.
But I also got this email from someone I will not name, though will add in his defence that his name is Polish and perhaps he therefore has reasons to be affronted by a man with what appears to be a Hitler moustache (but which I have gone to some lengths to explain is actually a Chaplin one).
Here's what he had to say,
"Dear Mr Herring
The photo and main text font on your website suggest that, unlike what you said to Mr Hislop on the show, your moustache is not just for comic effect. It's a shame you don't have people around you to tell you what a complete twat and tosser you're making of yourself. Incidentally, your appearance on the show was shit, way below average and looking at your pathetic mug didn't even make people laugh, only pity you for your cretinous appearance.
Regards,
M."
I should point out that I am genuinely not affronted by such abusive emails (and they are very rare occurrences, though perhaps you get many more of them if you appear on TV). I am fascinated by why anyone would email someone personally to abuse them, but also usually someone might be acting out of anger or intoxication and not necessarily realise that the message comes directly to me. Often by engaging with the person you will get an apology or at least some respect for having countered the accusations. This guy, I suspected, felt that because I had a toothbrush moustache and had a picture of me dressed like Hitler on my website, which used a gothic font that despite claiming I was doing all this for a joke, I was actually genuinely a Nazi. Had he bothered to look around the site a little bit he might have discovered that his kneejerk reaction was wrong. But I couldn't completely hold his response against him - even if it was unnecessarily aggressive and rude. So I thought I'd have a crack at responding to him:
"Hi M
Lovely to hear from you.
The moustache is indeed for comic effect and my show "Hitler Moustache" is about examining the meanings of symbols, exploring the minds of racists and the culpability of lazy liberals in the success of the BNP.
I am aware I look ridiculous, but I think it is worth it to make these points and also to encourage apathetic people to use their votes. But don't worry my tour is over soon so I won't have it much longer.
Sorry that you didn't enjoy the show. Yours is the first negative remark I have had, but thanks for providing it as it will give me something to write about on my blog today. Don't worry, I won't name you, because I think it's better to treat people you haven't met with some semblance of respect, even if they have been aggressive and rude to you.
Check out the press section of the site and you'll see that plenty of people seem to think my show is worthwhile and luckily after 20 years in the business I know that there are enough people who find me amusing to justify me carrying on. I don't expect to make everyone laugh or agree with me. But if I see someone on TV I don't like I turn over or turn off, or maybe write about it myself. I have never had the compunction to locate a person's email address and send them abuse personally. And rather than criticising others I wonder if it might be an idea for you to turn that vicious eye on yourself and question why you feel the need to do so. If you have misunderstood what I am doing and think I am genuinely a fascist then I hope a proper look at my site will dissuade you. But if not then I think it's possibly a shame that you don't have people around you to tell you what a complete twat and tosser you're making of yourself by sending abuse to someone you don't know.
Just a thought
All the best
Richard Herring"
Perhaps it was a mistake to turn his own remark on him in hindsight. But I just wanted to try and make him see that whatever he might wrongly or rightly think of me, that perhaps he has some issues to address himself. But possibly that was not the most sensitive way to make that suggestion.
In any case, of course, he was the one who first used those words and who came in so strongly in the first place. But then generally people who are up for a debate or want to get a genuine grievance across will approach one with more diplomacy. I had made him angry, for whatever reason (and as I say, I suspect that we are probably on the same side in reality) he was venting.
I hadn't expected to hear from him again, but funnily enough just as I began writing this entry he responded -
"Dear Mr Herring,
Criticising someone when you don't know them is not necessarily making a twat and tosser of yourself. I have seen enough of you on BBC to claim that you are a complete twat and tosser. And I don't need to know you to say that - it's a personal opinion based on your public appearance on a TV show. I understand your desperation and the need to shock people with your appearance in order to gain any kind of recognition on the comic scene but for me that's at least slightly pathetic.
Regards,
M."
To which I have replied,
"I am not saying it's wrong to think someone is a tosser or a twat, just that it's odd to feel the need to tell them personally in this way. And if I was you I would take a second to look at myself and ask why I needed to do that.
Or you can just continue criticising other people based on a knee jerk reaction to the way they look or the font on their website.
If you came to my show you might realise that I am trying to get across an important political message of tolerance and not judging people by their appearance and am fighting fascism. I suspect these are things that you support (but it's hard to tell as you are judging someone by their appearance alone and not being particularly tolerant). I am already recognised on the comedy scene and don't need to resort to shock tactics and am in many ways the victim of my own experiment.
But all your thoughts are great material for me so do keep them coming
R"
Like I said. It makes for an easy blog when you get stuff like this. I don't think I will continue the correspondence any further, but M's emails go into a special folder I have created on my inbox for people who send me odd, frightening or threatening emails and in the event of my untimely death I suggest the police work their way through the names on there.
As I say most of the responses I have had to the show have been lovely, but to start sharing those ones with you would make me a little bit odd. Well odder.
Imagine how many such messages people who are on TV more than once a year get. Though it's interesting that it's taken appearing on a TV show watched by 5 million people to finally get someone who objects to the moustache and is affronted enough to tell me about it.
