Racist UK MP.

Terry

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-16423278

Shadow Health Minister Diane Abbott has apologised for any offence caused by comments she made on Twitter, after claims they were racist.

She said she had not meant to generalise when she wrote: ''White people love playing 'divide & rule'".

It was a response to criticism of media use of "black community leaders" after the Stephen Lawrence murder trial.

Labour's Chuka Umunna said party leader Ed Miliband had told Ms Abbott her remarks were "unacceptable".

In a statement, Ms Abbott said: "I apologise for any offence caused.

"I understand people have interpreted my comments as making generalisations about white people. I do not believe in doing that."


Abbot's tweet as it appears on Twitter
'Out of context'
Ms Abbott, the first black woman to be elected as an MP, had earlier tweeted that her remark had been "taken out of context".

Continue reading the main story
How the exchange unfolded

Bin Adewunmi: I do wish everyone would stop saying 'the black community' though. WHICH ONE?

Bin Adewunmi: Clarifying my 'black community' tweet: I hate the generally lazy thinking behind the use of the term. Same for 'black community leaders'.

Diane Abbott: I understand the cultural point you are making. But you are playing into a "divide and rule" agenda.

Bin Adewunmi: Maybe. I find it frustrating that half the time, these leaders are out of touch with black people they purport to represent.

Diane Abbott: White people love playing "divide & rule" We should not play their game #tacticasoldascolonialism

Bin Adewunmi: I don't advocate 'divide and rule'. But I wish we could deal more effectively with issues without resorting to monolithic view.

Diane Abbott: Ethnic communities that show more public solidarity & unity than black people do much better #dontwashdirtylineninpublic

Shadow Business Secretary Mr Umunna told the BBC: "Ed Miliband has spoken to her this morning and made it very clear in no uncertain terms that the contents of the tweet were unacceptable.

"If Diane believed the words as they were expressed and she had not apologised then Ed Miliband would obviously have taken the requisite action.

"For us as politicians, Twitter is a very useful tool to communicate with people, but it has its perils."

The original remark from Ms Abbott was a reaction to a conversation on Twitter about media coverage in the wake of the Stephen Lawrence murder trial.

It was a response to journalist Bim Adewunmi, who complained about the use of the terms "the black community" and "black community leaders" in the media.

Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP Ms Abbott, who stood for Labour leader in the 2010 contest, remarked: "White people love playing 'divide & rule'. We should not play their game" followed by "#tacticasoldascolonialism" - a way Twitter users flag up keywords and topics.


Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna: "The contents of the tweet were clearly unacceptable"
She added: "Ethnic communities that show more public solidarity & unity than black people do much better."

The comments sparked much criticism from other Twitter users and she updated her page later to say: "Tweet taken out of context. Refers to nature of 19th Century European colonialism. Bit much to get into 140 characters." The original remark was later removed.

In a statement, the Labour Party said: "We disagree with Diane's tweet.

"It is wrong to make sweeping generalisations about any race, creed, or culture.

"The Labour Party has always campaigned against such behaviour - and so has Diane Abbott."

'Great history'
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said Ms Abbott's comments on twitter were a "stupid and crass generalisation" and that she should apologise and explain her remarks.

Conservative MP Nadhim Zahawi told BBC Radio 5 live: "This is racism.

"If this was a white member of Parliament saying that all black people want to do bad things to us he would have resigned within the hour or be sacked.

"For a shadow minister to hold these sort of views is intolerable, it is wrong, she needs to go."


Another Conservative MP, Rehman Chishti, told BBC Radio 4's World at One the comments were "completely unacceptable" and amounted to "a racist comment".

"If there was a strong leader in the Labour Party he would have taken further action against that."

However another Conservative MP, Robert Halfon wrote on Twitter: "The Right should know better than to get all PC re @HackneyAbbott - disagree strongly, but let voters decide. Freedom of speech & all that."

But she was supported by the senior Labour MP Keith Vaz, who told the BBC she was doing an "excellent job" as shadow public health minister and had a "great history of supporting the anti-racism struggle".

"She's done the right thing in withdrawing her statement and apologising for the offence that's been caused."

She claims it was taken out of context, and that it's hard to say what she wanted to say in 140 characters, but I'm calling bullshít on that.

Here's the exchange:

Bin Adewunmi: I do wish everyone would stop saying 'the black community' though. WHICH ONE?

Bin Adewunmi: Clarifying my 'black community' tweet: I hate the generally lazy thinking behind the use of the term. Same for 'black community leaders'.

Diane Abbott: I understand the cultural point you are making. But you are playing into a "divide and rule" agenda.

Bin Adewunmi: Maybe. I find it frustrating that half the time, these leaders are out of touch with black people they purport to represent.

Diane Abbott: White people love playing "divide & rule" We should not play their game #tacticasoldascolonialism

Bin Adewunmi: I don't advocate 'divide and rule'. But I wish we could deal more effectively with issues without resorting to monolithic view.

Diane Abbott: Ethnic communities that show more public solidarity & unity than black people do much better #dontwashdirtylineninpublic

She could quite clearly have explained herself in her next tweet, but continued with racial innuendo.

She's racist. Plain and simply racist.
But she's Black, so we can't say anything.

Or can we?

I say we can.
Fúck that racist bitch and her racist comments about White people.

I'm not a fan of double standards and believe that she should resign over those comments. Not that me posting this here makes any difference. After all, she is a UK MP, so this makes the views of all Irish people null and void (including the ones up North, but they're in a political limbo, so this doesn't really matter).

Anyway, getting to my point;
What if a Black TD said something similar.
How would you react?

Dear AH mods, I do realise that this was mentioned in the thread on Irish racism, but I feel this deserves its own thread because it involves politics and hypothetical situations. It may also create some discussion (yeah, I'm laughing as I write this, but let's see how it goes anyway).

MagicMarker

We have black TDs? :eek:

hondasam

It's not racist if a black person says it. Should add in their little world.

Intensive Care Bear

Well i wasn't offended. Anyone else?

KeithAFC

I am really offended by this. Please resign. She should know better.

amacachi

If I were her boss she'd be out.

starbelgrade

Racism is one of the most over-used terms around these days - so much so that it has almost lost all meaning... it used to be a term reserved for proper racism, not trite things like stereotyping based on race, colour & creed.

I think Eamon Dunphy actually summed it up nicely when he was accused of borderline racism by Bill O' Herlihy after he slagged off Alex Ferguson & Gordon Strachan on live TV...

Eamon: "Scots - they're either nice or they're horrid and these two are horrid."

Bill: "The Scots wont like that Eamon, thats bordering on racism".

Eamon: "Its not racism - it's ethnic criticism ,Bill".

Rhyme

Shadow Health Minister Diane Abbott...

:I

Nodin

MagicMarker wrote: »

We have black TDs? :eek:

I think we had a brownish fella at one stage.

Terry wrote:

She's racist. Plain and simply racist.
But she's Black, so we can't say anything.

Nobody has ever to my knowledge, on a board I've been on, said any such thing.

mikemac1

I thought British politicans were proud of their divide and rule

They conquered Ireland by playing clans against each other
Did the same in India. Did the same in North America

tacticasoldascolonialism

Colonialism, the Brits were masters at it and using tactics

MagicMarker wrote: »

We have black TDs? :eek:

No
There was the Mayor of Portlaoise. Fled Nigeria for religious persecution,

There was talk he worked a tube driver in London before coming here but I don't know if that was true or not. Rumours going around

Returned to Nigeria a few yeas back, clearly he's in fear of his life

PseudoFamous

My life hasn't changed in any major way, to be honest. If this is the scorn of racism black people put up with, I suggest they grow a pair.

Bit silly displaying racism all over the internet as a public figure, nonetheless.

Kevin Duffy

Terry wrote: »

She's racist. Plain and simply racist.
But she's Black, so we can't say anything.

Or can we?

I say we can.
Fúck that racist bitch and her racist comments about White people.

I'm not a fan of double standards and believe that she should resign over those comments. Not that me posting this here makes any difference. After all, she is a UK MP, so this makes the views of all Irish people null and void (including the ones up North, but they're in a political limbo, so this doesn't really matter).

Anyway, getting to my point;
What if a Black TD said something similar.
How would you react?

Dear AH mods, I do realise that this was mentioned in the thread on Irish racism, but I feel this deserves its own thread because it involves politics and hypothetical situations. It may also create some discussion (yeah, I'm laughing as I write this, but let's see how it goes anyway).

Her comment was stupidly racist. Yours is stupidly abusive. There's little difference in their merits, the impact of hers differs by virtue of her public position, yours is as bad, just on a smaller scale.

Whether she should resign or not depends, for me, on her reaction to being called on it.

General General

"White"? Yo, beeeetch, dat's our word!!!

Terry

1210m5g wrote: »

Well i wasn't offended. Anyone else?

I wasn't offended. I just don't like double standards.

Scenario: I'm a White TD and I tweet "Just walking past the dole office. Lots of Black people inside. Nothing new there".

How do you think that would go down?

starbelgrade wrote: »

Racism is one of the most over-used terms around these days - so much so that it has almost lost all meaning... it used to be a term reserved for proper racism, not trite things like stereotyping based on race, colour & creed.

I think Eamon Dunphy actually summed it up nicely when he was accused of borderline racism by Bill O' Herlihy after he slagged off Alex Ferguson & Gordon Strachan on live TV...

Eamon: "Scots - they're either nice or they're horrid and these two are horrid."

Bill: "The Scots wont like that Eamon, thats bordering on racism".

Eamon: "Its not racism - it's ethnic criticism ,Bill".

Brilliant and true.
What Dunphy said anyway.
I don't know enough Scots to judge them.

Those I do know are not tight fúckers though, where as the English people I know are tight as.. well... fúck.
I have stories, but they're long and boring.

KeithAFC

http://www.labour.org.uk/contact

Some people might want to use it.

My name is URL

Everybody should be rendered blind.. it's the only way to solve the racism issue

joseph brand

starbelgrade wrote: »

Racism is one of the most over-used terms around these days - so much so that it has almost lost all meaning... it used to be a term reserved for proper racism, not trite things like stereotyping based on race, colour & creed.

I think Eamon Dunphy actually summed it up nicely when he was accused of borderline racism by Bill O' Herlihy after he slagged off Alex Ferguson & Gordon Strachan on live TV...

Eamon: "Scots - they're either nice or they're horrid and these two are horrid."

Bill: "The Scots wont like that Eamon, thats bordering on racism".

Eamon: "Its not racism - it's ethnic criticism ,Bill".

I've met a few Scots and Dunphy seems to have hit the nail on the head. Just my opinion.

From 'The Holy Grail'.

Tim: He'll do you up a treat, mate.
Sir Galahad: Oh, yeah?
Sir Robin: You manky Scots git!

Oranage2

She's right you know, you cant say anything without the PC do-gooder brigade forcing their libtard opinions on the honest Joe!

Crazy Horse 6

The UK and Ireland has gone PC mad. If anyone is offended by that they need to take a long hard look in the mirror.

Scruffles

1210m5g wrote: »

Well i wasn't offended. Anyone else?

nope,hard to take her serious when she has a bit of a habit with generalising people,after fighting for equal public school achievement for black kids-seeing their potential,she ignorantly went on to say a few years back that public school kids are unruly and in gangs-so she put her son into a fee paying school instead.
private schools arent without their bullying,gangs and peer pressure like dianne thinks.

-here is a article on it that isnt the daily mail:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/features/2010/06/21/diane-abbott-i-sent-my-son-to-private-school-so-he-wouldn-t-end-up-in-a-gang-115875-22347604/

however,she is an MP in charge of a mixed race area so she needs to act profesional and respectful-and make sure she is not saying any sht which others will take as bias.

Terry

Nodin wrote: »

I think we had a brownish fella at one stage.

Nobody has ever to my knowledge, on a board I've been on, said any such thing.

I'm talking about the real world here.
90% of people on the internet (think they) are anonymous, so they come out with all sorts of racist crap.

Below is a song by a an American rock band. This band just happens to be Black.

About 2 months ago a wrestler in the WWE began using this as his entrance music.
I'd heard of the band, but had never heard this (****ing brilliant) song before.
So I went on youtube and saw a comment made by a black person. It was something along the lines of 'That's right, crackers. They're Black'.
There were some others along the same lines.

Point is, Black people can be racist.

Kevin Duffy wrote: »

Her comment was stupidly racist. Yours is stupidly abusive. There's little difference in their merits, the impact of hers differs by virtue of her public position, yours is as bad, just on a smaller scale.

Whether she should resign or not depends, for me, on her reaction to being called on it.

I'm stupid, so can you tell me which part of my post was stupidly abusive, please?

General General wrote: »

"White"? Yo, beeeetch, dat's our word!!!

"Cracker" is our word.
I've no idea how that word came to represent White people. Nor can I be arsed checking it up on Urban Dictionary.
Anyone want to do that for me?

Intensive Care Bear

Terry wrote: »

I wasn't offended. I just don't like double standards.

Scenario: I'm a White TD and I tweet "Just walking past the dole office. Lots of Black people inside. Nothing new there".

How do you think that would go down?



Oh i agree totally with you i was just making the point that to me and i'm sure plenty of others a comment like this means nothing. She could shout worse at me and it still wouldn't bother me, maybe i don't understand because i'm white

El Weirdo

Terry wrote: »

I'm talking about the real world here.
90% of people on the internet (think they) are anonymous, so they come out with all sorts of racist crap.

Below is a song by a an American rock band. This band just happens to be Black.

About 2 months ago a wrestler in the WWE began using this as his entrance music.
I'd heard of the band, but had never heard this (****ing brilliant) song before.
So I went on youtube and saw a comment made by a black person. It was something along the lines of 'That's right, crackers. They're Black'.
There were some others along the same lines.

Point is, Black people can be racist.




I'm stupid, so can you tell me which part of my post was stupidly abusive, please?



"Cracker" is our word.
I've no idea how that word came to represent White people. Nor can I be arsed checking it up on Urban Dictionary.
Anyone want to do that for me?

Youtube comments? FFS.

Also, how do you know the person that made that comment was black?

And I don't ever remember anyone saying that black people can't be racist in the multitude of racism threads on AH over the past while.

Edit: Just to say, if anyone was claiming that, then they are clearly an idiot.

Kevin Duffy

Terry wrote: »

Point is, Black people can be racist.

Who said they couldn't?

Terry wrote: »

I'm stupid, so can you tell me which part of my post was stupidly abusive, please?

The part I already bolded for you when I posted.

starbelgrade

Kevin Duffy wrote: »

The part I already bolded for you when I posted.

You blacked up part of his post. That's borderline racism, man.

Dermighty

I have never been as offended, hurt or as outraged in my life as I have been by this comment. The woman should simply pour petrol on herself and set herself alight.

She is certainly tantamount to Hitler or the aliens from War Of The Worlds in the disregard she has shown for innocent white people!

Terry

El Weirdo wrote: »

Youtube comments? FFS.

Also, how do you know the person that made that comment was black?

And I don't ever remember anyone saying that black people can't be racist in the multitude of racism threads on AH over the past while.

Edit: Just to say, if anyone was claiming that, then they are clearly an idiot.

How do you know that I'm White?

Anyway, I checked through their comment history, and it seemed that they were black and not just a troll.
I've a lot of time on my hands.

Kevin Duffy wrote: »

Who said they couldn't?



The part I already bolded for you when I posted.

Yeah, sorry about that. I scrolled back up after posting and saw that you made part of my comment blacker.

El Weirdo

Terry wrote: »

How do you know that I'm White?

We've all seen the picture.


Unless you whited up for the occasion?:eek: That's a whole lotta Dulux.

Terry

El Weirdo wrote: »

We've all seen the picture.


Unless you whited up for the occasion?:eek: That's a whole lotta Dulux.

I did White up for that pic.
Just like when Ted Danson did Black face for Whoopi Goldberg.

myflipflops

Suprb. What a clever woman. Backing up the divisive nature of a racial divide by continuing to lump 'black people' on one side and 'white people' on the other side.

Whoever this Bim Adewunmi person is, they make a great point"

Bin Adewunmi: I do wish everyone would stop saying 'the black community' though. WHICH ONE?

She does not spot the stupidity in pointing out a 'divide and conquer agenda' but then jumping straight into an 'us and them' mentality.

Whatever community this woman is a leader of needs to find themselves new representation.

Marcusm

Diane Abbott is an intelligent well educated MP who should never have accepted a role as a shadow minister. Her comment was lazily stupid but I don't believe she is racist in the slightest bit. Amongst other things she chose Jonathan Aitken, a man from as far on the right of the Conservative party as she is on the left of the Labour Party, as godfather to her only child 20 years ago.

TheZohanS

Shud send those bleedin' racists back to der own country!

pragmatic1

I doubt anyone was offended by it but double standards are annoying.

woodoo

People can't say anything these days. I think its a storm in a tea cup.

Amber Lamps

She seems to have prior in making silly racist comments.

Personally I think she seems more from the mary o'rourke school of putting her foot in it.

Then again if the shoe was on the other foot....

Ficheall

Where's the horridly offensive bit that people are getting so het up about?

White people like "divide and rule" strategies.
Inuit people like fish.
Russians like to play chess.

Mexicans like burritos.
I don't think we should go for burritos.

What am I missing?

Amber Lamps

Ficheall wrote: »

Where's the horridly offensive bit that people are getting so het up about?

White people like "divide and rule" strategies.
Inuit people like fish.
Russians like to play chess.

Mexicans like burritos.
I don't think we should go for burritos.

What am I missing?

Generalization is the offense

steelcityblues

woodoo wrote: »

People can't say anything these days. I think its a storm in a tea cup.

Maybe, but there has been a few times where well known people were forced to resign for less harsh words - like Rodney Marsh's 'toonami' comments on SKY years ago, which was a corny joke more than anything else.

What Abbott said was much worse, so I would be pretty annoyed if Labour do nothing about this.

Ficheall

Amber Lamps wrote: »

Generalization is the offense

Like... ALL boardsies like the internet?

Amber Lamps

Ficheall wrote: »

Like... ALL boardsies like the internet?

most present day humans it seems.

(without meaning to generalize about humans in general that is)

Ficheall

So you're saying white people like the internet?

Where does it get offensive?

Bodhisopha

I always get a good chuckle out of honkies trying to figure out between themselves what is racist and what is not.

Nodin

Terry wrote: »

Point is, Black people can be racist.

How many people are going round in the Irish media, or Brit media, or on boards, saying they can't be? Because they seem noticable by their absence....

DaveDaRave

typical ni**er

Amber Lamps

Ficheall wrote: »

So you're saying white people like the internet?

Where does it get offensive?

oh i see, sorry, misread you.

well from your example earlier fish and chess and borritos are positive things really, whereas 'divide and conquer' carries a kind of negative intention.

is that what you're on about?

partyatmygaff

Ficheall wrote: »

Where's the horridly offensive bit that people are getting so het up about?

White people like "divide and rule" strategies.
Inuit people like fish.
Russians like to play chess.

Mexicans like burritos.
I don't think we should go for burritos.

What am I missing?

Liking fish, liking chess and liking burritos is fine.

Liking "divide and rule strategies" implies that white people all want to divide society so as to rule. She's basically implying that white people are conspiring to break up society in to little groups to weaken them to allow themselves a path to getting power. If saying that all white people want to break up society in to little groups just so they can subjugate them isn't offensive, I don't know what is.

The irony of it all is that by saying that she's making it in to an "us vs them" issue herself.

Ficheall

Amber Lamps wrote: »

is that what you're on about?

Yes, but

Amber Lamps wrote: »

well from your example earlier fish and chess and borritos are positive things really

Are they?

Amber Lamps wrote: »

whereas 'divide and conquer' carries a kind of negative intention.

Does it?
Is it not a generally recommended strategy for conquering a task?

partyatmygaff

Ficheall wrote: »

Does it?
Is it not a generally recommended strategy for conquering a task?

In a manner of speaking yes...

But historically it has been associated with conquest and defeating countries in war. That's where the offense lies. There's no way that she meant white people like to "divide and rule" tasks or problems.

Amber Lamps

Ficheall wrote: »

Are they?

:eek: aren't they?

Ficheall wrote: »

Does it?
Is it not a generally recommended strategy for conquering a task?

Not really, its generally used as a term in war, which isn't the most positive of human pastimes.

Nodin

Ficheall wrote: »

Where's the horridly offensive bit that people are getting so het up about?

White people like "divide and rule" strategies.
Inuit people like fish.
Russians like to play chess.

Mexicans like burritos.
I don't think we should go for burritos.

What am I missing?

It presumes that skin colour determines a persons preference towards a notorious policy associated with Imperialism and colonialism.

Ficheall

Amber Lamps wrote: »

:eek: aren't they?

That's my point - it seems that a lot of "racism" could be subjective.

Amber Lamps wrote: »

Not really, its generally used as a term in war, which isn't the most positive of human pastimes.

I'd disagree with that being its most common use. I would use 'divide and conquer' strategies anytime I wanted to write a computer program, and would have no hesitancy referring to them as such. Or if I've a bunch of things to do today, I'll do them one at a time.
:eek: She's right! We* do like divide and rule strategies!


's grand - I get where people are taking offense from from partyatmygaff's post 46. I wouldn't agree that it's worth taking offense to though.




*or, at least, I do.