Does Top Gear Stop Here?

(Jonathan Ryan posting on behalf of Jen Schlameuss-Perry)

Mondays are…well, Mondays. Garfield hates them; most people in the workforce hate them. But, for me Mondays were a good thing. Sunday is the first day of my work week, so there’s that, and I have karate Monday night. I love that. Then, I had the great joy of looking forward to a nice cold beer and some beautiful escapism while playing the jewel game on my phone and watching the eight billion episodes of Top Gear that would record on my DVR (I’m talking the British version here…).

This is probably going to be no more. Jeremy Clarkson, one of the three (but not my favorite—I love James May) members of the Top Gear group has assaulted verbally and physically a producer on the show and was fired. What now? This is too much to handle since “James May’s Man Lab” has inexplicably disappeared already. What now?

And what are we supposed to do with situations like this? People behave badly. They do stupid and hurtful things. And our sin always affects others (we call it “the communal nature of sin” in the Catholic Church). Like, take me for instance…what are my Mondays going to be like now? I still have beer, but what will I watch? And the poor producer who was hurt—whatever happened, he didn’t deserve that. And James May and Richard Hammond—this will no doubt impact their work. And Jeremy—whatever was going on with him, I hope this was the wake-up call that he needs to deal with his feelings in a more constructive way. But, it doesn’t have to be what defines us if we’re willing to make it right.

So, what do we do in such situations as these? Discuss who’s right and who’s wrong? Discuss what the fate of Jeremy’s professional future should be? Second guess the decision made by the BBC? I have no idea what other things were at play or whether an apology could make it right. I know that society is forgiving over time, but demands immediate action up front…I’m not interested in or qualified to be having those discussions. I will pray for them all, hope that whatever issues need dealing with get proper attention and wait for Broadchurch (which is NOT a funny show) on Wednesdays.

Jen Schlameuss-Perry is a massive fan of sci-fi, cartoons and superheroes and loves to write about them in light of her Catholic tradition. She currently works for a Catholic Church and practices martial arts, cares for her family and pets and writes in her spare time. Check out some of Jen’s other stuff on her Facebook page or her website.