To be irritated that my colleague who buys the Daily Mail calls herself left-wing?

[babybore]

I have recently been sharing my office with an (academic and medical) Dr who I do not know very well yet. We have had one passing conversation about politics where she said she held left-wing views as does her partner.

Why then does she buy the Daily Mail?! Seriously, I don't get it.

Sorry - misread your thread

ha ha.

perhaps she is a left wing daily mail reader. she only believes in stringing up nasty murderers, for example.

or perhaps she is left wing, but an incurable masochist/pessimist/person who likes to argue out loud with articles in the paper.

paolosgirl - have you read the daily mail?

If I buy the mail, it's for the health and lifestyle features (which are generally better written, as well as cheaper than the vast majority of woman's magazines). Perhaps your colleague buys it for the same reason.

The Guardian is shite

Personally, I can think of nothing more vaccuous than only purchasing media that is consistent with your own political and social viewpoints.

Surely, that is the sign of a narrow mind!

All power to her - wouldn't be my choice (although I have bought the weekend one a few times to get the DVDs) but maybe she just fancied a bit of escapism from RL!

Why do I buy crappy celeb magazines. I know they are crap and I know they are bad for me but I just can't stop. When dd was in special baby unit and I was stressed beyond belief I asked dp (indie and guardian reader) to go buy me a few of those mags. He refused at first but my stress levels were so high he relented. I swear they relax me. There is something about crap and nonsence that diverts.

Perhaps it's the same for DM readers

I used to read it when I was 14 years old figured out it was crap,and thought they could repeated the same articles 6 months later. I suposse they still do? Into the Times 'cause they do that bit in the middle for girls ha! ha!

i agree about the crappy celebrity magazines. i love 'em even if they are stupid

Does she think she is a feminist as well

I used to read the daily mail for a laugh when hung over on a Sunday.

I'm not remotely interested in celebrities.

I am always particularly titivated when the sanctimonious Grauniad brigade post on Jordan threads.

Which is often .. about as often as they play golf, have dinner parties, and drink champagne.

Snobs, the fecking lot of you ..

My mother is another "left-wing" Daily Mail reader. She also reads the Times and the News of the World so she gets, in her words, "a spread of views".

The other day she said to me, "There was a piece in the Mail about Muslims. I didn't read the whole thing but the basic gist was, you know, we need to watch out, because they're up to no good..."

I don't know about stigmatising DM readers, but there are some pretty nasty Grauniad stereotypes being bandies about here too.

I read the DM if I can't get the Guardian - it makes me laugh how it pretneds to be a paper for women but subtly (or not so subtly) runs them down for being anything other than middle-class SAHMs. The headline that killed me was a few years ago when that woman was in the news for wanting a selective abortion of her multiple birth - "Abortion woman is CAREER woman!" (ie BITCH!!!)

Have to run, lemon drizzle cake is beeping and dd is trying to read 'Not the Hipppotoptums' on my lap (hence typso)!

Clandestine - It is not narrow-minded to want to read something that accords with your own world view. It doesn't mean you're going to agree with every article that is written or enjoy every columnist

Ah well, that's where we differ. I don't get angry at other people's viewpoints in the main. I've evolved a bit more tolerance over the years than that!

The world is full of people with different view points and whilst many of them would not concur with my beliefs and values, provided that they are not breaking any laws, I find tolerance and understanding to be a better route forward than anger.

In fact there is something quite relaxing about reading something which comes from a view point very different from your own and pottering around for a while trying to understand and reconcile where that view point might have come from and the kind of experiences which might have led to someone holding that position.

I have many friends from all kinds of political and social backgrounds, I would hate to have blocked out the chance of friendship with someone just because of the views they hold. Having said that we are a debating household as was my parents and sometimes you need a variety of views to get a good debate going!

Agree with Desdirata - get a grip it's just a paper fgs.