John Mann, Labour MP - wife received rape threats by Left wing men

I'm far enough left that nobody needed to explain to me what a tankie was, put it that way, and I still want nothing to do with Corbyn's online supporters.

LOL! Same here.

I quite like Corbyn personally but he's a hopeless leader - resilient as an individual but weak as a direction-setter, as can be seen by his inability to set clear boundaries for his supporters to abide by.

Unfortunately, the cult of the Magic Granddad has grown up around him and it's social media-led which, as we all realise by now, leads to vicious tribalism with absolutely unfettered abusive behaviour.

Until Jeremy Corbyn actually grows a backbone - regardless of the other bones in his body - Labour are fucked.

John Mann isn't Jewish but has made long-term efforts to deal with issues within his own party. Momentum are disgusting.

Womanformerlyknownaswoman “the level of moral leadership in political life today is non existent, that is the real problem”

THIS. Watching Ruth Smeeth’s speech yesterday too, after this one, it is just unbelievable that this is Britain today. I don’t remember a more toxic and puerile political climate.
I was saying much the same to DH yesterday, talking about both this issue on the thread, and the cowardice over the women’s rights and gender issues. It makes me really fearful , given the current powder keg climate in Syria. We need moral and truthful politicians with the heart and guts to stand up and be counted, instead we have a whole load of spiteful small time bully boys. I’m not voting Labour again, this whole madness plus the Lily Madigan stuff finished off any respect I had for them as a party. Lord knows who I will vote for. The most decent person I can find out of any party I suppose.

The Guardian's article. Depressingly familiar.

www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/17/jeremy-corbyn-accused-of-lacking-moral-clarity-on-antisemitism

Mentions John Mann in passing, no talk of the rape threats or the bullies from Momentum, just a general isn't anti-Semitism awful kind of thing without reporting the details of what had actually happened to those who stood up and spoke about it.

Mentions MPs' visits to Auschwitz, attacks against Jews in Europe. Indicative of wider social malaise apparently.

Clear attempt to deflect attention away from Labour - Jews have had it worse in the past, and they have it worse on the continent now. So what can you do. Shrug.

John Mann isn’t Jewish, but is vehemently against anti Semitism in the party. To assume that anyone in the party who speaks out against it is Jewish sends a clear message that it’s “just those pesky Jews making a fuss again, let’s not worry” it’s inconcievable to most people that anyone non Jewish would care enough to speak out. Wes Streeting isn’t Jewish either and he speaks out. John Mann’s constituency is Bassetlaw, a place with no Jewish community so he isn’t even speaking on behalf of his constituents, he’s speaking out because he’s a decent and honourable MP who is not afraid to speak about against the nutters in the party

I'm far enough left that nobody needed to explain to me what a tankie was, put it that way, and I still want nothing to do with Corbyn's online supporters.

Allowing non-members to vote in a leadership election was so obviously batshit that I'm still not quite sure how it was allowed to happen.

Sorry flowers I used to think like that too, it's very hard to give up. But I don't think the moderates can regain the Labour party, it's all too entrenched. Besides I now feel they are complicit in it all.

The problem is all the SWP & their like entryists who gained control of the party when some knob decided to open the leadership elections to non-members. They are the unacceptable anti-semitic and misogynist face of the left. JC is the cuddly ineffectual grandfather front allowing them to take over. I am still a member, because I haven't given up hope that Labour can be regained for the moderate left.....yet.

I was basically neutral on Corbyn until the "Jeremy knows best but nasty people keep attacking him just trust him an he'll fix everything, and btw if you don't there will be consequences, hint hint" people started popping up any time his name was mentioned. Those people have soured my view of him not only by association but in the sense that apparently he and/or his staff think that sort of behavior is fine, since they're not in any way discouraging it.

Cults are creepy, and bullying is not noble. For each person those kinds of comments persuade to toe the line there will be another one questioning why those comments are happening and how much they trust a political leader/group that thinks that's a reasonable way to conduct themselves.

"A dead bird means that if you talk we will kill you. It is usually sent to witnesses"

Well I didn't know that. I did wonder what the significance was of a dead bird.
You would imagine that at least one of the professional reporters covering this would have known it or been curious enough to look up the meaning.

His speech was very powerful, definitely worth listening to if anyone hasn't already.

How anyone can listen to that and then turn it into a Jeremy is being persecuted story I don't know...

John Mann isn’t Jewish, I don’t think - just someone who speaks out against antisemitism.

That is terrible. Poor man.
Politics is in an awful state at the moment

it isn't inherently antisemitic.

Trying to be charitable, perhaps what this meant is that it wasn't like sending, say, a pig's head.Though of course it is no less despicable and cowardly.

Wow he's one the good guys - from Wiki:

In 2014 Mann was responsible for compiling a dossier of historic allegations of child abuse, detailing allegations of 12 former ministers that may have been involved. He said he believes some of them were "definitely child abusers".

Mann has been from the outset an opponent of Jeremy Corbyn's leadership. During the leadership campaign he wrote an open letter to Corbyn saying that it would be "inappropriate" for Corbyn to become leader due to allegations that Corbyn had failed to act over allegations of child abuse in his constituency. Just over two months after Corbyn had won the leadership campaign, Mann continued to refuse to back Corbyn in an interview with the BBC, indicating he had no confidence in him. Instead he said that he had confidence in the then shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn.

I felt tears in my eyes when I heard him speak - to think that those who stand for "right", as opposed to wrong, are targets and harassed along with their families is abhorrent on every level - just like Justine experienced. Why isn't very political leader condemning this despicable harassment? The level of moral leadership in political life today is non existent - that's the real problem.

Anyone who targets a political opponent's spouse and children is scum.

Sending a jewish MP a dead bird in the post is horrible and hateful, but it isn't inherently antisemitic.

So it was just a coincidence then that this particular MP was targeted? In spite of the people threatening his wife making it quite clear why they were doing so?

I'm pro Palestine. Being pro Palestine does not have to mean the kind of behavior that's being described here. Stop making excuses for terrible people.

Apparently also received a dead bird - does that mean something?
A dead bird means that if you talk we will kill you. It is usually sent to witnesses.

What about the mega-tsunami of abuse targeted at Diane Abbott?

Awful but presumably not from people supposed to be on the same side as is happening to Jewish members of the Labour Party ?

And of course Rowley, when you wrote that you were very, very drunk.....

I feel sorry for the "real" Rowley Birkin having his name appropriated like this.

Corbyn didn't even sit through all the speeches. The man is an idiot. He should have been there throughout and responded. He apparently left about half an hour in and came back later.

RowleyBirkin - I've managed thirty years of being pro-Palestinian rights and highly critical of successive Israeli administrations without ever once being called anti-semitic. It's not an excuse.

Apparently also received a dead bird - does that mean something? Or is it just a horrible thing?

Dead birds have a mafia association. Not suggesting mafia involvement just historically it used to be a thing I believe.

And of course Rowley, when you wrote that you were very, very drunk.....

Wow @RowleyBirkin, as PP said. Tin ear much?

Rape threats, death threats and other abuse from random nutters is one horrific thing, from members of the party they're representing it's absolutely disgusting.

Brometum are utterly toxic and very obviously on the wrong side of history.