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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think some people aren't fully aware of what they are petitioning for?

128 replies

Crunchymum · 30/01/2017 15:00

Yes another Trump thread!!

I have seen Sky and BBC news both reporting that "More than a million people have signed a petition urging the government to call off President Donald Trump's state visit to the UK" - this quote is directly from BBC website

Yet that is not what the petition is for? or am I missing something?

AIBU to think some people are signing up because they want his visit scrapped completely? Which is incorrect

The petition is actually for:

Donald Trump should be allowed to enter the UK in his capacity as head of the US Government, but he should not be invited to make an official State Visit because it would cause embarrassment to Her Majesty the Queen

OP posts:
shovetheholly · 30/01/2017 15:30

The wording is awful. The author seems to have confused modern politics with the fictional world of Downton Abbey.

YOU HAD ONE JOB, LIBERALS!

beargrass · 30/01/2017 15:31

It's a very poorly worded petition and leaves option upon option for the govt to have him visit anyway. Shame, as if the petitioner had sat down and thought before submitting it, those opposed to the visit might actually have had a shot at making the govt squirm.

I'd like to see William refuse to meet him on the grounds that he'd insulted his dead mother and his wife, and he feels that is not the way to treat women. But I doubt that will happen, sadly.

Topseyt · 30/01/2017 15:31

I was clear there, OP. I said I want the State Visit cancelled because it would be a national embarrassment and would lend validation to the dreadful Donald Trump.

I do realise that that doesn't cover other visits.

73kittycat73 · 30/01/2017 15:32

Do you realise how patronising your post is op?

I don't think it's patronising at all and feel sorry for the OP getting all this heat.

specialsubject · 30/01/2017 15:32

All elected officials are there because of a 'populist' vote. Brexit was decided by a populist vote. As are all referenda although let's hope we have learnt our lesson on that!

WyfOfBathe · 30/01/2017 15:33

I knew what I was petitioning for, thank you. Reading a petition is not actually beyond my ability Confused.

I don't think it will have an effect. But I do think it will send a message to May about what the electorate thinks of her new buddy Trump.

TheSmurfsAreHere · 30/01/2017 15:33

The fact that newspaper and TV are misreporting news isn't news as such is it?

It's not just, it's most information you find in any newspaper/TV that needs to be looked at with a critical eye.

Yes you hope that most people will have read the petition before signing it.
Yes some people will have signed thinking that it's to stop him entirely to ever set a foot in the uk.

And even truer, headlines have to be as grabby as powerful as they can so they never reflect the reality (either the reality as such or the content of the article)

shovetheholly · 30/01/2017 15:34

It's also INCREDIBLY snobby to cite 'vulgarity' as a reason for not having the state visit. And oddly evasive, in light of the fact that it doesn't mention the immigration ban or the racism.

Piffpaffpoff · 30/01/2017 15:34

I'm fully aware of what I signed up for. And I also know that the chances of the state element of any visit being cancelled are virtually nil. But you can bet that someone in the White House will be monitoring the number of signatories and POTUS will be being driven mad by the fact that nearly 1 in 50 residents of the UK have signed this and signing is it my own little protest against him and his policies. Plus it is a message to our PM as well.

Original poster
Crunchymum · 30/01/2017 15:34

I don't think it's patronising at all and feel sorry for the OP getting all this heat.

I've had worse!!! But thanks Grin

OP posts:
rumbelina · 30/01/2017 15:34

I signed it because it sends a message. Whether it remains state visit or not I think it's really important that we show solidarity in numbers.

CactusFred · 30/01/2017 15:39

Don't be so patronising.

I fully understand!

Original poster
Crunchymum · 30/01/2017 15:39

The wording is awful

Yep, I think in the hurry to be the one who started the petition, the author forgot to put much care / attention into the actual content.

OP posts:
MakingMerry · 30/01/2017 15:43

I can't speak for anyone else, but yes, I am aware of what I petitioned for - there is a separate petition calling for his visit to be cancelled all together. I didn't sign that because I don't think it would happen; cancelling vthe state visitcseems doable.

RedSauce · 30/01/2017 15:46

The media are ignoring the facts in favour or attention-grabbing headlines! Shocker!

squishysquirmy · 30/01/2017 15:46

I signed it and fully understood what it said.
It will also not stop the state visit taking place (petitions are not legally binding!), but may help provide a source of opposite pressure, to push back against the pressures that are pushing May towards obsequiousness.
What Trump wants, is not just a state visit but "the full Monty", including an out of season visit to Balmoral, and for the queen to watch him play golf. Confused.
Hopefully the public opposition will at least prevent this from taking place, and trigger a discussion in parliament, even though it is unlikely to stop the state visit completely.
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/donald-trump-queen-elizabeth-ii-play-golf-balmoral-scotland-first-official-state-visit-uk-a7540076.html

KathArtic · 30/01/2017 15:47

Its a farce. I think people think they know what they are signing for but many have just jumped on the bandwagon. They weren't petitioning to ban the Chinese President and supporting the activists were they?

Original poster
Crunchymum · 30/01/2017 15:48

I've asked to change the thread title to:

To think SOME people aren't fully aware of what they are petitioning for?

OP posts:
PerspicaciaTick · 30/01/2017 15:49

I think that the petition is succinct, clear and easy to understand.

Babbaganush · 30/01/2017 15:49

I made an informed decision to sign it once I had read it.
It wasn't difficult.

Verbena37 · 30/01/2017 15:49

A) who wrote the questionnaire and
B) who has said the Queen would be embarrassed by a state visit?

squishysquirmy · 30/01/2017 15:49

There were big protests when the Chinese president visited Kath.
And the Chinese president wasn't demanding a load of weird extras.

LiviaDrusillaAugusta · 30/01/2017 15:50

It's irrelevant anyway - apparently the Govt has rejected it anyway

shovetheholly · 30/01/2017 15:51

Mumsnet gets very touchy about any suggestion that some people haven't fully understood what they're doing. Perhaps especially in cases where common sense tells us that this is probably true. Grin

badtime · 30/01/2017 15:51

shove , the petition was set up in November, not in response to events since Trump's inauguration.

OP , I don't think it is actually that difficult to understand. When there were petitions and other campaigns to stop plans for a state funeral for Margaret Thatcher, nobody thought that was to stop her having any funeral at all, and this is the same sort of thing.