Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think Jon Snow shouldn't be hung out to dry

116 replies

CuriousaboutSamphire · 01/04/2019 12:43

.. for commenting on the 'whiteness' of the pro Brexit march?

Or that Channel 4 shouldn't have apologised for it... it was an observation, not a judgement... and it was factual.

How is that racist?

Apparently he is having to wait and see how many complaints are received before the ASA will decide whther or not to act!

It was discusse, somewhat reasonably, on JV Radio2, a while ago. I'm cathing up so sorry if there is already a thread on it!

OP posts:
Original poster
CuriousaboutSamphire · 01/04/2019 13:57

He's just lead himself into murky waters with innuendo about the ethnicity of marchers

Ah! I just didn't hear it like that. He laughed, sounded quite perplexed, as if seeing something he had rarely seen before. Maybe he was thinking all of that.

But am still not sure that he deserves to be held to such high account for it. It all just seems like assuaging the easily offended to me!

OP posts:
catontherun · 01/04/2019 13:59

And, IMHO, this is classic evidence of how out of touch London-centric policiticans/academics/media types are with the country as a whole and why we ended up having to deal with Brexit.

Itwouldtakemuchmorethanthis · 01/04/2019 14:01

Winter is coming

HelloToMyKitty · 01/04/2019 14:02

What strikes me about it - coming from a public school educated son of a bishop in his seventies - is that if can't possibly be true

Yes, which is why his remarks were not on and very disingenuous

colehawlins · 01/04/2019 14:03

There's just no need for all this.

The case for remain is that it's far better for the U.K. to remain.

Insinuating that the crowd was racist because it was majority white is just muddling the whole thing.

You don't NEED to imply they're all racist to win the Brexit debate.

crosser62 · 01/04/2019 14:03

I was just going to come on a go all mother of dragons about how he is too scrumptious to be hung out to dry... wrong Jon Snow obviously...
Shuffles off....Blush

Spidey66 · 01/04/2019 14:03

I love Jon Snow. I love watching him make politicians squirm.

Shadycorner · 01/04/2019 14:04

Thanks for the explanations Colehawlins and Redtoothbrush I think I am (finally!) begin to understand it menopausal slow brain --notwithstanding.

Bravelurker · 01/04/2019 14:08

Hi Op, it smarted because I knew he would have his ass served to him on a plate.
Then emediately forgot about it.

I have no doubt he was being factual but I knew he would be accused of implying certain things that pro brexiteers are always accused of Wink.

Tomtontom · 01/04/2019 14:14

When people talk about far right racists now they'll just have to be careful to say that the activists were of a colouring highly efficient at absorbing vitamin D.

Why did that make me think of Jacob Rees Mogg?

Acis · 01/04/2019 14:14

And as others say there are events you could go to in parts of the country which would have no diversity. And that would be dead normal. And not really worth commenting on.

But it is the reverse of "dead normal" in London. It's entirely valid to question why people from ethnic minorities did not feel able to join the march.

marvellousnightforamooncup · 01/04/2019 14:21

Mentioning race isn't inherently racist. He has nothing to apologise for.

colehawlins · 01/04/2019 14:22

It's entirely valid to question why people from ethnic minorities did not feel able to join the march.

To get to that point, you need to do some investigative or undercover journalism.

You need to establish THAT "ethnic minorities did not feel able to join the march" and then establish why. But you might discover, for example, that there were no Londoners there at all, (which makes the ethnic mix slightly less surprising), or that most of the marchers were not just leavers, but Kippers (which again makes the ethnic mix MUCH less surprising, for different reasons).

But just sitting in the commentators chair hinting darkly at something you suspect but won't even say, isn't journalism.

M4J4 · 01/04/2019 14:26

@StealthPolarBear

I can't put my finger on what's wrong with it but imagine if he'd made the same comment about black people on, say, an anti Brexit march.

Makes no difference, he is a white man, commenting on a march in a white majority country.

Not offensive, there's a touch of white fragility to this.

fromsheffieldtobrighton · 01/04/2019 14:27

He most certainly should be hung out to dry.

He was clearly implying that all those who voted leave are white and therefore, by some sort of gymnastic leap, racist and xenophobic. That's certainly what I inferred and so, obviously, did others.

He is a jumped up bumping weight prick and, for his information, plenty of non white people voted to leave.

There aren't that many non-white people on Remain marches either but he doesn't mention that. I wonder why that is?!

What percentage of non white people are employed by Channel 4 News? Maybe he could piss away off and give one of them his job, which would be a result.

He is a reporter and it's not his job to give his opinions or observations and if he hasn't seen a crowd of white people before then he needs to get out more.

I hope he gets the sack but I'll stand the drop of York Cathedral if he does! That's because although the rest of him is white, his nose is certainly brown from shoving it up so many right on arses.

Rainbunny · 01/04/2019 14:31

Well taken as a simple observation it is a harmless statement of fact but you'd have to be deliberately obtuse not to understand that he was implying far more than a simple fact. When right wing racists do this we call it "dog whistling" and I do think he was making a clear implication about leave protesters being white = anti-immigrant/racist.

I'm a remain voter who happens to believe that many leave voters WERE motivated by feelings along the scale of anti-immigrant to zenophobic all the way to virulently racist. I'm also not stupid and I know exactly what he was implying.

RedToothBrush · 01/04/2019 14:32

Rural areas and city areas had very different voting profiles. They have very different priorities and concerns.

They also have very different rates of ethnicity. Immigration tends towards metropolitan areas first because of availability of work and housing rather than anything more sinister.

You are doing a correlation means causation type leap, rather than asking whether the make up the crowd might merely reflect other regional concerns that drove each vote. And that's reflected in the crowds make up being less ethnic.

There is undoubtedly a racist leave contingent, but that isn't sufficient grounds to reflect on colour.

That's potentially just Jon Snow being rather sniffy about non metropolitan areas.

Bravelurker · 01/04/2019 14:33

I am a remainer but even if I voted the other way, there's no possible way I could attend a march that had Tommy Robinson there as that would attract a certain crowd that ethnic minorities may want to avoid.

I do notice that when I see pro brexit gatherings, the cameras will focus on a POC covered head to toe in Union Jack - like they must identify the fact that they weren't just passing Grin.

teyem · 01/04/2019 14:35

He was clearly implying that all those who voted leave are white and therefore, by some sort of gymnastic leap, racist and xenophobic. That's certainly what I inferred and so, obviously, did others.

I simply heard the observation that the protesting crowd was, on the whole, white. He left the viewer to their own conclusions about why that may be. You know, he's a journalist, spotting things and saying things is kind of in the job description.

Thindragon · 01/04/2019 14:39

Leavers on that march are either racist or ok being friends with racists. Nothing wrong with implying or stating that.

hell would freeze over before I would march with some of those flags or at a rally where Tommy Robinson was speaking.

Rainbunny · 01/04/2019 14:43

"Leavers on that march are either racist or ok being friends with racists. Nothing wrong with implying or stating that. "

I mostly agree with your statement Thindragon. What's amusing me on this thread are all the people who are intent on being too dumb to recognise what he was clearly implying, as though it's common for tv presenters to comment on the ethnicity of the crowds outside Westminster.

colehawlins · 01/04/2019 14:43

Was Tommy R there? Or is that hypothetical?

Notwiththeseknees · 01/04/2019 14:45

I felt the implication was there that all Brexiteers are white ergo racists, however in the Remain protests, I could only find one POC in the photographs.
It was pointed out that JS did not mention ethnicity in the Remain protest. By all means if the point is pertinent then make it, but by not remaining impartial his credibility as a journalist is at stake.
By coincidence, we were discussing the environment with a renowned & international journalist last night and despite being passionate (evangelical in fact in person) he cannot let that bias creep into his articles as he would not be granted access to all areas and would be unable to report effectively.
JS is an arse.

Thindragon · 01/04/2019 14:47

www.google.com/amp/s/www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-day-protest-westminster-nigel-farage-tommy-robinson-parliament-square-a8846601.html%3famp

My mistake. Tommy R held a 'separate' rally 100m away. Completely different if course.Hmm Farage, though, much in evidence.

teyem · 01/04/2019 14:48

Leavers on that march are either racist or ok being friends with racists

I'm not sure I agree with that and I'm firm of the observation that Jon Snow was fine to say what he did.

But being a leave white protester does not mean that you are friends with racists. It can simply mean that you happen to be white and wanted to mark your protest.

What it does mean is that a lot of leave voters who are not white did not feel comfortable to turn up. That, in itself, is worth commenting on. It can tell you that the arguement may have been colonised by racists but that does not make all white leave protesters racist.

I'm a remainer, in case that looks defensive.