Diane Abbott

[daisya]

http://www.politics.c...ter-white-people-jibe

Would be interested to hear what people have to say about this one.

[daisya]

Have to agree with JJ and now with AoG. If this had been said by a white person about a black person there would be a hue and cry, the white person would be up in court for being racist and Ms Abbott would want their guts for garters. I have to agree, IMO this was a racist comment as would be deemed the same had a white person said it about a black person.

[bigbadmarty]

Just wondering if she said it on a bus...
After some " refreshments"..
Would she be locked up ?

[ummmm]

You have to agree with JJ and AOG...haven't everyone else been saying the same thing.

[daisya]

Yes most have ummmm but JJ has posted several times in the same theme and when I got on here AoG had just posted. If I had said agree with EVERYONE then that would have been wrong because some have said it wasn't racist or they weren't bothered etc etc. Sorry.

[ichkeria]

"Clearly, ichkeria, your definition of the word racist is different from the that found in most dictionaries. "

OK, you asked for it:
RACIST
noun
a person who believes that a particular race is superior to another: I had a fear of being called a racist
adjective
having or showing the belief that a particular race is superior to another: we are investigating complaints about racist abuse at a newsagents

To my way of thinking, whatever else you think of it, the comment was not "racist" as such. Compared, for example, to comments about arian (sic) hair highlighting :-)

[emmie]

most of my words are unprintable, she is an idiot.

[anotheoldgit]

More in-depth report here

http://www.dailymail....ign-racist-tweet.html

/// Abbott walks off mid-interview to take phone call in which she received 'severe dressing down from Ed Miliband' ///

Had she been a Tory MP Cameron would have sacked her.

[Brenden]

There is still time AOG for the gormless Ed Milliband to do the right thing, seems as though he is having an infight for his own position.

[emmie]

Brenden, two of a kind i would add.

[ichkeria]

She's right only to apologise for causing offence. It's pointless her apologising for posting it in the first place - and indeed that would be rather hypocritical.
It's interesting to compare the fuss over this with the fuss caused by the Jeremy Clarkson remarks. Of course genial Jeremy was only joking :-)
Had Diane Abbott been "joking" would that have made it any worse? Or better? Had she written a fuller piece saying basically the same thing would that have been better or worse? Are we better to address comments such as these more directly rather than merely labelling them with whatever easy label we can dredge up? I don't know the answers to those questions and I daresay we won't find them here, but you never know :-)

[daisya]

Must admit I can't see her being sacked...too much at stake for the ethnic suporters and they don't want to lose their votes imo. Hope I'm wrong because she should be sacked as should any public representative in this position as far as I'm concerned.

[sp1814]

Diane Abbott is Lord High Priestess of A***holes (a non-hereditary honour). Anything that comes out of this political midget's mouth should be treated with a degree of contempt because she's an irritating bandwagon jumper who represents no-one but herself(ishness).

I know that there are others who are as bad as her (the wardrobe-face git they call Jeremy Clarkson springs to mind), but at least with Jeremy, you can consider his a court jester, a fool, whereas Abbott is a political being and should know when she's playing with racist fire. Jeremy cannot possible know...

...because he's an idiot.

Shame Diane...shame. What you've done is given people something else to focus on, rather than celebrate the conviction of the murdering filth who killed Stephen.

[Brenden]

Ichkeria, one is a big mouthed twit on tv, the other represents the community in the house of commons = big difference not comparable - and yes it was a racist remark

[emmie]

suggest she should join forces with Yasmin alibhai Brown, another candidate for the foot in your mouth award, a twit of the first, second, third order.

[joko]

its a kind of passive aggressive 'them and us' type of racism... not as bad as people who outwardly have an irrational issue with people of a different race, but still a dodgy attitude all the same.

its like people who use racist terms in private in general conversation and not used as an insult, and think its ok because nobody of that race is in earshot...

[ichkeria]

"Ichkeria, one is a big mouthed twit on tv, the other represents the community in the house of commons = big difference not comparable"

It was the fuss I was comparing, not the people.

"- and yes it was a racist remark "

...wasn't :-)

I'll do you're next comment: "was"
Now me: "wasn't"

etc etc etc

[sp1814]

And will people STOP WITH THIS IF SHE WERE WHOTE SHE'D BE HAULED OVER THE COALS nonsense.

I'm getting heartily sick of otherwise intelligent (mostly) people snidely saying, "it's all stacked in favour of blacks".

That in itself is rubbish.

Would you like me to (once again) produce a list of white MPs who have made disparaging racist remarks who what not had the whip taken away?

They normally get by with a mee culpa, and that's that.

There's a bit hoo-haa, then it all dies down.

[daisya]

Ich, what makes it worse IMO is that Abbott has a history of calling others racist and supporting any call to ethnic minority injustice but she is incapable of acknowledging her own failings. Why should she have the upper hand in calling someone else a racist when she does the same thing but cannot accept she is just as bad?

[sp1814]

Tell you what....name me ten white MPs who have been sacked over making racist jokes/comments.

Shouldn't be too hard eh, seeing as it (apparently) happens all the time in our PC world (which sounds like the name of a shop where you can only by 'right on' computer equipment).

I'll start you off with Ann Winterton.

Nine more please.

[emmie]

I despise her for banging on about comprehensive education, and then sending her children to a private school, seems very two faced, and that's not the only mark against her, but it will do