A lot of monkeys

... are homosexual. This startling insight comes from none other than Mr Paul Henry, the well-known idiot.  

"It is unnatural, although homosexuality is through all species," he said.

"I don't know if it's through all species but many, many species. A lot of monkeys are homosexual."

Later in the discussion he said: "The thing is, though, if you go to any animal park, and I've got to be careful what I say here, but if you go to any animal park, you will find monkeys being filthy with each other."

In these times, when so much discussion is dominated by Big Science - with its emphasis on facts, reason, coherence and other Enlightenment values -  it is reassuring to see one little corner of the world where nonsense still has its place. Mr Henry has learned that homosexuality is through all the species, or at least many of them. He has seen monkeys. Yet he concludes that homosexuality is unnatural. No, more than that: he uses his knowledge and experience as proofs that homosexuality is unnatural.

You can say what you like about National Radio, but it will never provide this level of unreasoning.

Being neither a television viewer nor a morning person, I am largely unfamiliar with Henry's oeuvre. However, I once saw a documentary he made, with large amounts of public money. It scarcely what one would call a documentary in the old-fashioned sense of the world, but one of those programmes where the presenter goes to some remarkable place to meet some remarkable person. In this case, the person was a Kiwi punching above his weight on a global stage by being the chef at a trout-fishing resort somewhere remote and inside the Arctic Circle; yes, it was that remarkable. Anyway, and this is my point, getting to this remote place involved Henry going to Norway, where he could not help remarking that all the men looked like homosexuals. He then giggled and said something about not being politically correct.

I am not sure what he meant by this comment. Does he think of homosexuals as tall, blond and nordic? Were the Norwegian men excessively well-dressed for his liking? How could one know? It was a comment that seemed to come straight from the Id. Any other presenter would have insisted that it be removed in the cut, but Henry seems oddly proud of these outbursts.

Whatever his meaning, Henry does seem to be preoccupied with the issues of  sexuality and gender. Perhaps it was the trauma of losing a safe tory seat to a transsexual that did it, or perhaps there is some deeper cause. Who knows? I know I don't. But I wonder if that bloke in the Corolla is parking outside the wrong house.