Careless Tories!

[Geoff Parkstone]

I cannot see how her comments were anti-Semitic however...perhaps you could explain.

I cannot believe I just read that

[Geoff Parkstone]

On the other hand...an MP’s first responsibility is, imo, to his/her constituents and judging by her repeatedly huge majority Diane Abbott’s seem more than satisfied with her

I take it that you've never been to Hackney North or Stoke Newington? It's one of the classical "pig in a blue/red rosettes" seats. It has returned a labour MP every election since the constituency was created in 1951. Abbott holding it is not a reflection of her performance, Abbott losing it would be (not that that has ever been likely)

[ramAnag]

I cannot believe I just read that

Well perhaps you could explain instead/as well.

I take your point GP, about it being a (very) safe Labour seat...however she hasn’t just held it has she? She’s repeatedly increased her already huge majority.

[MadAmster]

Weird statement from our resident Mathematician in Westminster. She wrote that Irish, Jewish and Traveller people "undoubtedly experience prejudice", which she said is "similar to racism". Judaism is a religion, not a race so, technically, she is correct that is similar to, but isn't, racism. Traveller people, also known, amongst others as Gypsies and Roma, might be viewed as a race so anything "anti" them probably IS racist rather than "similar to". Are the Irish a race or are they part of the Caucasian race? Not sure whether words/actions that are anti Irish are racist.

Just where do you draw the line? Authorities seem to believe that anything anti Israeli political policy is racist. Not a view I share. What do you see as a race? It's all rather confusing.

What I am sure of is this latest faux pas demonstrates again, as if it was necessary, that Diane Abbott isn't fit to be a Minister in HMG.

[ramAnag]

Well perhaps you could explain instead/as well.

I take your point GP, about it being a (very) safe Labour seat...however she hasn’t just held it has she? She’s repeatedly increased her already huge majority.

Actually that’s not quite correct and I apologise. Her majority was slightly reduced in 2019 but she still had over 70% of the vote.

[Andy_Faber]

I cannot believe I just read that

RA angling for a late career change into politics

[Andy_Faber]

an MP’s first responsibility is, imo, to his/her constituents and judging by her repeatedly huge majority Diane Abbott’s seem more than satisfied with her.

…and a role model/person of influence, and imagine a constituency where the word is out that non-black prejudice doesn’t exist/ doesn’t matter

[ramAnag]

No idea what #366 means...guess you’re ‘just joshing’.

Glad you’ve cottoned on to the ‘role model/person of influence’ thing. Should help you understand why people feel so strongly about the likes of Raab, Williamson and Johnson...but back to Abbott...she didn’t actually suggest that ‘non-black prejudice doesn’t exist/doesn’t matter’ did she? She just sought to differentiate between the racism which black people experience and other forms of prejudice.
I’m not sure why...I think it was ill judged but while the usual triumvirate on here, along of course with the Daily Mail, are criticising, only MA has made any sense and no one has explained how what she’s said is anti Semitic.

[Geoff Parkstone]

As a point of interest, I believe that it is now generally held that the original Jews were in fact very dark skinned and indeed the bloke they nailed up was also similarly pigmented.

Let's just cite this for now: https://siris-libraries.si.edu/ipac2...0001~!786641!0. That the Smithsonian, Tricky.

So it's a very fine line whether her thoughts were racist or anti semitic or both. Can you be prejudiced against a black person because of their religion, but still not be racist in so doing? Take the example of American black people who follow Islam for comparison - do they suffer from race hate or religious hate, or both.

This leads on to an intriguing philosophical question of whether a black person can be racist towards another black person? Was, for instance the Rwandan civil war between Hutu and Tutsi a race war? One of the causes was cited as being related to "how African are you"

Anyway I digress from the specific to the general, so I will await feedback for deviation, but I do find it an interesting direction of thought.

[ramAnag]

As a point of interest, I believe that it is now generally held that the original Jews were in fact very dark skinned and indeed the bloke they nailed up was also similarly pigmented.

Let's just cite this for now: https://siris-libraries.si.edu/ipac2...0001~!786641!0. That the Smithsonian, Tricky.

So it's a very fine line whether her thoughts were racist or anti semitic or both. Can you be prejudiced against a black person because of their religion, but still not be racist in so doing? Take the example of American black people who follow Islam for comparison - do they suffer from race hate or religious hate, or both.

This leads on to an intriguing philosophical question of whether a black person can be racist towards another black person? Was, for instance the Rwandan civil war between Hutu and Tutsi a race war? One of the causes was cited as being related to "how African are you"

Anyway I digress from the specific to the general, so I will await feedback for deviation, but I do find it an interesting direction of thought.

Interesting though it may be...it doesn’t seem to clarify how the contents of Abbott’s letter were ‘anti Semitic’.