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AIBU?

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Original poster

to think that the Cornwall Councillor who stated that "disabled children should be put down" should resign immediately?

57 replies

ScumBag · 27/02/2013 11:44

Colin Brewer insists that he "didn't mean to cause offence", uses the fact that he had just come out of "a long meeting" to justify his remarks and is refusing to resign because he thinks he is doing "a good job".

Link to full story here:

m.thisiscornwall.co.uk/story.html?aid=18257973

OP posts:
survivingwinter · 27/02/2013 20:13

Yes - it was a repulsive thing to say and he should definitely resign imo Angry

StrawberriesTasteLikeLipsDo · 27/02/2013 20:23

If this was a racist comment he would be arrested, i think he should be arrested. Utter scumbag

Aspiemum2 · 27/02/2013 20:26

Well he wanted to provoke a reaction and he certainly did. He should resign, ignorant bastard

KatyTheCleaningLady · 27/02/2013 20:29

He used to be a salesman and that's how he'd "parry?" WTF???

Dear Lord.

At any rate, I'm always grateful when people say things like this because it's good to know what people are thinking. Better they should be identified than for them to keep their vile thoughts secret.

LifeHope11 · 27/02/2013 20:31

I think he should have been sacked and arrested/charged with incitement to hatred, I agree with Strawberries that this is what would have happened if he had made a racist rather than disablist remark. It seems sadly that the disabled are fair game. Please sign the epetition to get rid of him, if you want this to change.

BarbarianMum · 27/02/2013 20:33

I agree Katy If he thinks it, better for all (and esp his constituents) to know he thinks it.

And yes, he should be hung by his bollocks resign. Unless he is in fact a candidate for the Nazi Party, in which case I guess people are getting what they wanted.

KatyTheCleaningLady · 27/02/2013 20:35

I don't believe in arresting people for stating their opinions. If they say "Let's go kill all the disabled people!" then I think it's inciting. But to have the opinion and voice it should be legal. The sanctions should be in the form of shunning and ridicule. But not criminal charges. But, I'm from a country where that right is an utter absolute, full stop.

mum382013 · 27/02/2013 20:39

As a mum of 3 disabled kids, I never thought i would agree with katie price but i'm up for having him put down for being a waste of resources. Shame on you.

BaldricksTurnip · 27/02/2013 20:41

Shame indeed. What a despicable thing to say Angry

formercouncillor · 27/02/2013 20:52

I am a regular but I've namechanged as this might out me.

I completely agree he should stand down. It was an absolutely repulsive thing to say. I hope the voters of Cornwall hit him hard in the ballot box when he's next up for election.

As you can tell from my name I used to be a councillor though not in Cornwall. I spent a long time sitting on the vulnerable childrens committee. I never heard a comment as nasty as the one under discussion but I did hear the following during a discussion about how difficult it was for social workers to remove children from families. A councillor who used to be a bailiff commented "I removed things from people's homes all the time in my last job, its not that difficult I don't know what all the fuss is about". It shocked me to the core. Bit of a difference between a child and a TV. He was very lucky that the media weren't there

LifeHope11 · 27/02/2013 20:53

I do understand where you are coming from Katy but in the UK, people have been arrested for less. Does 'freedom of speech' have to translate to 'freedom to insult, alienate and demean'?

Bottom line: not think it is acceptable for this man to 'decree' that people like my beautiful disabled DS have less automatic right to live, and to the goodness of life, than anyone else. I don't want to live in a world where such utterances become commonplace or by default 'acceptable' so my son grows up understanding and accepting them. I want them to be regarded as beyond the pale.

I do agree with youabout the shunning and ridicule....which is why a person who utters something like this should not be in a position of any standing or authority in the community. His position is untenable and he should be sacked.

LifeHope11 · 27/02/2013 20:55

Ie Bottom line: I do not think it is acceptable

SauvignonBlanche · 27/02/2013 21:01

Unbelievable! Angry

KatyTheCleaningLady · 27/02/2013 21:03

LifeHope11, I will answer your question as a sort of aside/derailment of the original thread. I don't want anybody to think I'm at all OK with the things reported in the OP!

Yes, in the US, it means that you have the right to insult, alienate, and demean. You have the right to express any opinion you like. That's why that horrible church is allowed to picket funerals and say awful things about the deceased burning in Hell. You can't lie (defamation) and you can't yell "Fire!" in a crowded theatre for kicks. And you can't say "Let's kill the so-and-so's."

The idea is that as long as opinions are allowed to be aired, they wont fester in secret. And, more importantly, the idea is that as long as ALL speech is protected, there will never be a precedent for speech being stifled by the government for reasons that aren't as benevolent as wanting to protect people. If you're free to say "God Hates Fags" then you're free to criticize the government.

Most Americans - even those who may be a target of hateful speech - believe this. Freedom of speech is so enshrined in American culture that it's almost seen as the foundation for making all other human rights possible.

Somebodysomewhere · 27/02/2013 21:07

I actually agree with the US way, then everyone knows who says these things and it cant be hushed up but it is known and condemned.

LifeHope11 · 27/02/2013 21:27

Thanks Katy for your message. It is interesting to understand the extent to which you in the US uphold free speech and the reasons before this. I don't say you are wrong, as a nation you have to define freedom of speech in the way that is right for you and with whatever safeguards/provisos that are deemed appropriate.

I just worry - again as the parent of a disabled person - how 'freedom to insult and demean' plays out in real life. In Europe we have the recent historical precedent of minority groups being deliberately wiped out before and during WW2. It all started with insults, demeaning, alienation and scapegoating. It is not commonly known even today that the Nazis - to use Cllr Brewer's phrase - 'put down' the disabled in their community before starting on any of their other target groups likewise deemed unfit to live.

SPBInDisguise · 27/02/2013 21:37

I think there are two issues, his right to say these things - OK, agreed if he's thinking this then better we all know it
His right to be thinking /saying these things while being in a position of power - absolutely not.

I had back to back meetings this morning. Managed to come out without saying anything like this. Surely meetings don't make you say the complete opposite of what you think?

KatyTheCleaningLady · 27/02/2013 21:39

I totally understand. I think what most Americans would say is that those genocidal regimes never had freedom of speech. It wasn't safe to stand up and say "This is wrong!" We also have specific laws protecting the lives and property of people.

whateveritakes · 27/02/2013 21:47

I don't think he's being serious.

It would take a serious nutter to actually think this wouldn't it and it's not something he is promoting. He claimed he said it to provoke a reaction and it sounds off the cuff and argumentative,a bit Jeremy Clarkson or something to me.

CognitiveOverload · 27/02/2013 21:49

He has zero empathy. ..therefore he is unfit for the job. Plus he is a .

CognitiveOverload · 27/02/2013 21:50

Even if not serious... zero empathy. ..

CognitiveOverload · 27/02/2013 21:51

I mean lets shoot all people over the age of 70... they cost millions.

SirBoobAlot · 27/02/2013 21:58

He's a total bastard. There needs to be bigger press around this, and I want to see this man publicly shamed.

LifeHope11 · 27/02/2013 22:03

Yes I take the point about the lack of freedom within such tyrannical regimes which forces their citizens to acquiesce in such evil doing...also that banning the utterance of these sentiments does not make the sentiments themselves go away.

If the views expressed by people such as these are always shunned & ridiculed by the majority, they should never become a threat to the targeted groups. I hope to God that that it is always what happens, as it is people like my DS who will pay the price if the majority do not support their rights.

I agree that just being under stress would not cause this man to express something as outrageous as this and that he must have been uttering his true thoughts out loud. As such, he is unfit for public office or a position of any standing in the community, and he should be sacked if he will not resign.

whateveritakes · 27/02/2013 22:18

Right it is a horrible if someone genuinely thinks this. But seriously.

Has no one ever said "bloody cats/kids/neighbours need shooting" because I have and surprise.... I don't actually mean it!

I agree it's a stupid thing to say if you are a Councillor but a stand promoting disability should have said something to him there and then. So much for confronting disability issues head on. Get lots of publicity going to the papers more like.