Photo by Kaydn Ito on Unsplash
What is your favourite Christmas song of all time? One of mine is this one, and it’s a song that recently has not been without controversy. A few years ago, BBC Radio announced they will be playing the censored and uncensored language versions. Their different radio stations can opt for which version is more suited to their audience demographic. I can see their point with the lyrics including slut on junk and faggot.
The lyrics are not exactly Christmassy, but they are supposed to represent the characters and their predicament. I think it’s an interesting debate. In the UK we have a quite nuanced approach to freedom of speech where we attempt to balance the individual’s right to express their point of view with their responsibility to consider the impact asserting their point of view might have on others.
When it comes to wellbeing, this is a balance we constantly need to strike. We need to be assertive in communicating our own needs, whilst also being mutually aware of the needs of the other. For me, this has been an ongoing matter of learning. I’ve found the difficulty is that sometimes being assertive will upset other people. Yet, like in this song, it’s about why the other person is getting upset. Sometimes, people need to be upset by a situation, and our language should rightly reflect this, being authentic even if untasteful. Yet this is where the controversy over the ‘banning’ of this song started.
BBC Radio Solent’s Alex Dyke felt uncomfortable with the song’s lyrics tweeting; “It’s an offensive pile of downmarket chav bilge. We can do better!”. His discomfort was not about any genuine offence the language might cause, but instead a cheap judgement on what language different parts of society might use or find socially acceptable.
It reminds me of the lyrics in the song about the drunks and Sinatra. A legend, who after a few drinks, most of us happily massacre in our singing. However, our attempts to sing his tunes are often filled with joyous, enthusiasm and authentic fun. Our efforts are not offensive, but to be enjoyed. In the same way, our language, whilst sometimes unsavory, is necessary as a means of communicating the emotion and authenticity of our feelings.
What strikes me, is that for wellbeing, our language shouldn’t be judged as downmarket or upmarket, but its authenticity and intended purpose. Perhaps then, we might have a society which really is about freedom of expression within the context of caring for one and all.
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