It begins! Calls for NHS lanyards to be removed because of the Nowak killing

[SocialistMammy]

I suppose this knee-jerk over-the-top reaction was inevitable.

There are calls today - including from Kemi Badenoch - for public sector staff, including the NHS! to stop wearing "political" lanyards.

These could be just showing that you're a decent person who opposes genocide, or that your patient is safe with you regardless of your sexuality or gender identity when they are being treated.

And this is all because .. of the murder of Henry Nowak.

So, despite the calls from Nowak's family not to politicise their poor boy's death - that's EXACTLY what the far right are now trying to do. And the NHS has NOTHING to do with that police officer.

Where this is heading looks very ugly - we've got a World Cup starting shortly, and that's going to mean England flags being used to attack minorities. Will footballers have to make statements about diversity being anti white? Probably - it feels like the far right think this is their time now and ANYTHING is up for grabs.

It will be lanyards today, deportations tomorrow. Mark my words.

@MNHQ - please change the title of this thread - it has nothing to do with the appalling murder of Henry Nowak.

Oh stop it...you're just trying to cause a furore linking deportations with saying that NHS staff should wear standard ID and not ones that reflect political views. The problem with the left is they are happy to bully women in particular, but get hysterical when virtue signally is not allowed.

I know this isn't the question but I’m pro‑Palestinian myself, which doesn't mean I am antisemitic, and patients shouldn’t have to decode a staff member’s ideology before they can trust them or at least feel comfortable. I can support a cause passionately in my own time without expecting strangers to absorb my views while they’re trying to access healthcare.

I still think politics and personal beliefs should stay out of the workplace, especially in public services.

There’s a time and place for activism, and it’s not on a uniform or as part of your work (unless of course that is your job).

I care deeply about issues, but I don’t need to broadcast it at work. Work is a shared space, and shared spaces need neutrality so everyone can feel safe. That’s not apathy. That’s not silence. That’s not cowardice. It’s professionalism. It’s the understanding that a pluralistic society only works when we don’t force our identities and ideologies into every interaction. I don't want my colleagues or clients/customers/patients to be unnecessarily uncomfortable around me or create misconceptions.

We used to be able to rub along together without broadcasting our views at work, and I think we’ve lost that art.

My post was respinding to a poster who said:

"What relevance does a pro Palestine badge have to a nurse or doctor treating patients in England? How is it enhancing their care? The only possible effect can be to make Jewish patients feel unwelcome (which has indeed been happening, as per the report being discussed today). Why would any medical professional want to wear something that makes some patients feel unwelcome?"

I was saying it has the effect of making Palestinian people feel safe.

Apart from anything else the hygiene aspect of wearing badges or pins or flags means they aren't suitable for HCPs. Just unnecessary.

"These could be just showing that you're a decent person who opposes genocide..." .... only they don't show you are a decent person. Most of us are against the terrorist lead Palestinian state that openly calls for genocide of all Jews and do NOT support the rape/killing of 1,200 kids by said state.

It's a good thing that the NHS and other such bodies are seen as apolitical, especially with the rise of antisemitism in the UK.

Of course Palestinian people deserve to feel safe. My point was that lots of groups do not feel safe (and for good reason e.g given widespread evidence of misogyny in healthcare) yet there is no badge or flag for them.

For some reason women and people with disabilities always come bottom of the “diversity and inclusion” pile.

What if someone was a big fan of Nigel Farage, should they be able to wear a Reform badge so that Reform voters feel safe?

Either wear a badge for everyone or wear a badge for no one and just do your job as a decent human being.

My preference would be no badges.

Can't happen soon enough.

This ^ 100%

I don't think this thread has gone the way @SocialistMammy thought it would...

About fucking time!

The type of twats that wear them almost always (probably always) only display far left idiotic thinking.

I wonder what these cunts would do if I walked in wearing a big I love Rupert Lowe/ Defend Israel/ Kick out Illegal Migrants/ I am a Zionist.

Do you think they would nod happily?

Oh please 🙄

No feckin badges. No flags.

Simple and clear.

Get rid, and let NHS staff get on with their jobs.

I'm pretty sure I'd get lynched if I wore an I Am A Zionist tee shirt while a Pro Palestinian march was taking place in London!

Good. As a nurse we need to be willing to leave our politics at home and nurse all people professionally. If you are wearing a big pro Palestine badge or a Reform badge how is that going to make some people feel. It’s unprofessional.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn0plkd4wdno

Not related to the murder.

I work in children’s services and we were stopped wearing Disney lanyards while “other” lanyards were allowed. Quite happy to have them all banned and an NHS branded ones only.

And anyone that doesn’t think the NHS has been captured needs to give their head a shake. Brest feeding people that's bollocks

Exactly-I have done jobs adjacent to this and always worn the standard work lanyard. Relatively few of my friends or family are white, yet none of us has a problem with the English or UK flag. I personally won't have one for the football because I don't like football, but I've no issue with anyone else having one, and many, including people who immigrated here, enjoy putting those flags on their cars (not discussing safety and fuel consumption again!), and have done since the Beckham days.
And the very few racist remarks I've heard personally were in a Labour club, so racism can come from the left, just as Black and Brown people can be members of "right" political parties.

I agree with it.
There should be no displays of personal political beliefs in the workplace.
It's long overdue.

We have gone many years not wearing our personal beliefs on our work uniforms. It was seen as unprofessional. So, uniforms were standard issue and there was no deviation allowed for any reason. I welcome the change back to how it used to be.

Yes we have the World Cup starting soon and will the players kneel for Henry nowak like they did an American convict? Obviously not.

And they try and tell us we have “white privilege”

Maybe they should wear white arm bands!

Sadly, I don't think wearing one at a Pro Palestine march would be the only place you would get lynched if you wore an , "I am a Zionist" tee shirt.

The lunatics are running the asylum.

If all these NHS staff feel so strongly, why don't they piss off over to Palestine and offer their medical services.

Mind you, as so many of them can't tell the difference between a man and a woman:

a) Would their skills be any good
and
b) They would have to be very wary when their Hamas brothers invite them to the top of a building to admire the view.

Nailed it

i don’t agree with any work lanyard displaying a political symbol. It’s not the place for it and can create awkwardness on multiple levels

10000% nailed it.