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The BBC is wrong about this I think. Social norms are a powerful force for good in society but they rely on figures of authority calling out and stigmatising unacceptable speech and acts. Trump's statement was, beyond doubt, racist. The BBC could, and should, call it so.
Such things are not "for the viewer to decide". And leaving them "to the viewer to decide" is not a neutral choice. It is a choice which actively erodes social norms by enabling aggressors such as Trump who seek to erode social norms to act without consequence.
How disheartening must it be for ethnic minority citizens watching the BBC to think that their *official view* on "go back to your own country" is, in effect "shrug emoji"? A public service broadcaster representing a diverse nation could & *should* take a stronger stand on this.
I understand why the BBC are reluctant to take a stance on this. But they are making the same mistake US media made in 2015, when they refused to call Trump's endless lies "lies", but used all sorts of mealy mouthed phrases. A stance which favours the aggressor is not neutral.
