Deputy London Mayor Richard Barnes is wishing that he'd stuck to hand washing after a comment about Persil landed him in hot water with the race Gestapo.
"Why did police put Persil in the water cannons? To stop the colours running?" he is alleged to have been overheard to say.
Before proceeding, it's worth noting that all reports are referring to the fact that Barnes is openly gay.
Seemingly that might have little relevance, other than the tabloids desire to mention such things at every opportunity, but think about it for a moment.
It's a mitigating factor, one minority, in this case sexual orientation, saying something about another minority. Very much we're often treated to the idea that minority cannot be prejudiced, at least not in the way the rest of us are deemed to be.
Barnes is also Equality Advisor to Mayor Boris Johnson, another interesting snippet.
For those who despise political correctness it's rather a fun moment though, seeing an openly gay equalities advisor in hot water over an allegedly racist remark.
It had to happen, the whole system of political correctness has taken on a life of its own, a Gestapo like bureaucracy of the absurd.
Created as a tool to oppress the majority, many proponents are now finding that the monster they had a hand in birthing and nurturing is more than happy to feed upon them as well.
One point worth mentioning is that Barnes claims he repeated the joke with disapproval, one might almost say in the same way news outlets have done.
If his claims are true, are all who reprinted it racist, will all suffer the attentions of the thought Gestapo, where does repeating and reporting become racism?
Who knows, it all depends who complains, the whole industry of isms and obias - and what an expensive and insane industry it is! - relies upon uncertainty.
Someones ability to be offended and to complain is the sole arbiter of guilt, truth and circumstance play little part.
One is no great fan of Barnes, and certainly one feels little sympathy that he is now discovering a painful truth, namely that all of this legislation which is an enemy of free thought and free speech has created a climate where almost anyone can find themselves on the receiving end of the thought polices metaphorical fingernail pullings.
Should he resign as many have called for him to do? Probably. He is, after all, a part of this system and a part of the problem. You can't be an equalities advisor without being a part of the problem. He should uphold the standards of the system of which he has chosen to be a part.
There is certainly a bitter irony there for Barnes though, and further evidence that the thought police are ever present.
Welcome to modern Britain, a land where even the likes of Stalin would be forced to offer an admiring smile to the ever vigilant thought police, citizens keen to denounce, and a system where anything could be an offence - legally or otherwise - if only someone decides to complain that it is.
Deputy London Mayor Richard Barnes is wishing that he'd stuck to hand washing after a comment about Persil landed him in hot water with the race Gestapo.
