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Original poster

To think that being Tory doesn't make you thick?

755 replies

RainbowSheep · 10/12/2011 19:28

Ok, my family are all very liberal (I mean my parents, aunts & uncles, who incidently have all had lots of money & opportunities throughout their lives). Their parents (who were poor working class) were more conservative as are me and my brother, who are both pretty poor. We recently had a family get together where I was told by my uncle (university lecturer) that Tories were unitelligent and I was beginning to sound like an idiot for having conservative views... I don't think I am particularly right wing.

OP posts:
Olderyetwilder · 15/12/2011 13:24

Don't get her to think of too many imaginary Tories (even lovely ones like Jenny. We could become overrun by imaginary Tories who could be more dangerous than zombies

yellowraincoat · 15/12/2011 13:26

"What I stated was, that the Conservative Party was, by the law of its constitution, necessarily the stupidest party. Now, I do not retract that assertion; but I did not mean to say that the Conservatives are generally stupid. I meant to say that stupid people are generally Conservative. I believe that is so obviously and universally admitted a principle that I hardly think any gentleman will deny it."

Thanks, John Stuart Mill. That's John Stuart Mill, by the way, who basically started the campaign for women's suffrage in the UK, his bill roundly defeated by a Tory government.

So remember, without us lot, you wouldn't even be allowed to vote. You should be thanking us.

ElaineReese · 15/12/2011 13:26

Unfortunately, my warped imagination has made Jenny an individual who cares passionately about the disenfranchised, the poor and the disadvantaged, who supports a minimum wage and support for families, so I've had to imagine her not voting Tory any more.

brandysoakedbitch · 15/12/2011 13:27

Being a Tory does make you thick and short sighted and selfish.

allthatglittersisnotgold · 15/12/2011 13:31

I think Claig is making some well rounded and valid points, people are nit picking.

For goodness sake of course there's empathetic tories, I'm one and we just rescued a staffy from Battersea-got to be a little bit of a nice person haven't I? I certainly want a strong economy and believe the conservatives are doing their level best to get us there. I have friends who are labour supporters and others who are tories. We are never gogin to agree with each others views but we can all listen to each other politely can't we perceptionreality?

claig · 15/12/2011 13:32

But I have nothing against Labour. I said HuntyCat made the best choice to vote Labour. I don't think that Labour voters are thick or lack empathy or anything else. I believe in democracy and believe that people make their own best choices and vote for what they think is right. I don't think that voting Tory makes them thick or lacking in empathy.

So I have to disagree with JS Mill on this one
'Conservatives are generally stupid. I meant to say that stupid people are generally Conservative. I believe that is so obviously and universally admitted a principle that I hardly think any gentleman will deny it'

I think that gentlemen like David Cameron, George Osborne and Boris Johnson would disagree with this. Maybe the Tories were less smart in those days, but times have certainly changed now with the cabinet oif the talents.

allthatglittersisnotgold · 15/12/2011 13:32

*there are /going/etc ....apologies.

Olderyetwilder · 15/12/2011 13:34

Cabinet of the tossers more like, claig

yellowraincoat · 15/12/2011 13:34

They, sir, are no gentlemen.

ElaineReese · 15/12/2011 13:37

Of course Cameron and Osborne and Johnson would disagree with it! They're thick Tories!

claig · 15/12/2011 13:40

But they are all gentlemen of the Bullingdon Club and I doubt a club of that renown would admit "tossers" as members, unless they were practitioners of the art of tossing the caber.

boschy · 15/12/2011 13:40

I cant understand the idea that you would choose your friends on the basis of their political persuasion...

I'm probably slightly right of centre in a woolly kind of way; some of my best friends are WAY left of centre.

But actually we all seem to want the same things when it boils down to it - a stable economy in order to pay for the things we want people to have: a decent NHS, state education, a proper safety net of benefits when required.

Being a tory doesnt make you thick or callous; being a labour supporter does not make you mother teresa.

Olderyetwilder · 15/12/2011 13:41

The Bullingdon Club are all tossers. It is the main requirement for membership.

ElaineReese · 15/12/2011 13:42

Claig, you're funny. Don't know where to start with that one, so shan't.

I don't choose my friends on the basis of political persuasion, but it's funny how it works out like that.

claig · 15/12/2011 13:43

'The Bullingdon Club are all tossers. It is the main requirement for membership.'

Then why are none of teh shadow cabinet members?

yellowraincoat · 15/12/2011 13:43

I don't think anyone here is saying all Tories everywhere are evil. Maybe some people believe that, I don't. It's very easy, though, to feel empathy for people right in front of your face. So maybe you feel bad for the dog you rescued. Fair enough.

People obviously don't have empathy for the hundreds and thousands of people suffering in this country through no fault of their own.

Because you think it IS their fault. You think they should work harder, even though some people work as hard as they can for nothing.

The little boy in a class I used to work in, for example, who lived in a 2 bedroom flat with his 5 brothers and sisters. His mum was a crack addict when he was in the womb, so he had learning difficulties. He had no peace to himself, so he used to walk around the streets at night in the cold. Everyone slagged him off cos he had old clothes too small for him.

I could see, at age 10, that he was going to end up in trouble. It is a horrible thought, but he just had nothing going for him. What is a kid like that supposed to do without any help from the state? Even his teachers wrote him off.

But plenty of people don't see that, they just see the lazy hyperactive kid with a mouth on him.

ElaineReese · 15/12/2011 13:45

Yellow, they would also, if he was the 6th child born to that mother, think that the state shouldn't fund his existence at all wouldn't they, under new suggestions about CB and benefits?

ElaineReese · 15/12/2011 13:46

Claig because you have to be a posh tosser from the right schools.

yellowraincoat · 15/12/2011 13:47

Oh yes, the Bullingdon club, that has a fab reputation.

Claig, you're a Labour voter who's trying to prove a point, aren't you? You keep bringing up all these awful Tory things that even the Tories hate and are embarrassed by.

I'm onto you.

claig · 15/12/2011 13:48

Tony Blair, you mean Wink

ElaineReese · 15/12/2011 13:49

Do you think they considered TB then and thought he wasn't of sufficient intellect to smash up restaurants?

Dawndonnathatchristmasiscoming · 15/12/2011 13:49

Isn't that a little like saying the Duke of Clarence could not have been Jack the Ripper because he played cricket?

yellowraincoat · 15/12/2011 13:49

Tony Blair you mean what?

claig · 15/12/2011 13:50

No, I voted Tory this time, but have voted Labour and LibDem in the past. Like many people, I choose what I think is best at the time. If they screw up then I change my mind.

claig · 15/12/2011 13:52

'Do you think they considered TB then and thought he wasn't of sufficient intellect to smash up restaurants?'

No, my guess is they considered Tony Blair and though he wasn't of sufficient intellect.