Piers Morgan

[HavenKimmel]

I'm on a group whatsapp chat with some friends. Mixed group, mostly white, one Asian, one black girl, 3 gay. I'm female, white, straight. Group is just mates talking nonesense, sharing memes etc.

White male posts a petition to reinstate Piers Morgan at GMB. Follows it up with 'I love Piers Morgan, he speaks for lots of people.'

I found this in poor taste and said so, cue a big kerfuffle, mostly denying that there was anything untoward about it. Black girl leaves the group. When contacted to ask why she left, she says she 'has a lot on and the group was a distraction' which they accept.

For context, he has form for stirring the pot, the party line is to condone, that's just x, we all know what he's like.

Was I being unreasonable to take issue?

@VladmirsPoutine

I think it's good you took issue with it. And well done to your Black friend for leaving instead of making an issue about it - she must have read 'Why I'm no Longer Talking to White People About Race'. Frankly it just depletes your energy and most of the time people just want to debate without ever trying to understand what you're trying to say so it's best to just drop it.

Thank you

ThePawtriarchy the picture you've posted is very inflammatory

OK. Why are you telling other posters to ‘rethink their values’ and suggesting that one particular poster doesn’t care about racism?

How do you know that she doesn’t?

She’s noting that the people shouting loudest about others’ opinions being WRONG tend to be rather intolerant of anyone (BIGOTS!) holding a different view to theirs.

Ably demonstrated by you, a few posts later.

The irony in this this is that no one even knows why the friend left the group. Basically her race has been weaponized by the OP against the friend whose views the OP disagrees with. So the OP is using her black friend to cancel someone. That’s not progressive or enlightened. That’s actually sinister because there is an exterior motive there, even if it’s just sub conscious.
And, that is how authoritarianism shutdown of other people’s views happens. Telling them that it’s for the greater good.

Very well put sst1234

Basically her race has been weaponized by the OP against the friend whose views the OP disagrees with.

Exactly, good dose of white saviour thrown in too, it's as racist as hell.

@enigma16

Here is a little video clip for all you Piers Morgan fans: twitter.com/gmb/status/1049549865699688448

The man is a disgrace. And people who agree with Piers Morgan ARE bigoted.

That made me laugh.

Makes me laugh how the 'freedom of speech' brigade all love Piers again, after spending the last year telling him to shut the fuck up for backing lockdowns.

Why are you telling other posters to ‘rethink their values’ and suggesting that one particular poster doesn’t care about racism? How do you know that she doesn’t? She’s noting that the people shouting loudest about others’ opinions being WRONG tend to be rather intolerant of anyone (BIGOTS!) holding a different view to theirs.

I ask a person who uses the term woke as an insult, who implies that to be woke is somehow a negative thing to rethink their values, because to be woke is to be "alert to injustice in society, especially racism". Which is also why I ask them if they don't care about racism. If they care about it then they are woke themselves, and all power to them!

I am definitely intolerant of Piers Morgan and his supporters when he asks a black British man why doesn't he leave his own country when the man points out that the country was built on racism and remains racist, which is just the truth. It's something I've seen many times, a discussion panel with several hostile white people and one black person subjected to abuse, insults, belittling and attempts to silence them. It's painful to watch.

About some things there can only be one acceptable opinion, racism is one of them.

@User133847

Makes me laugh how the 'freedom of speech' brigade all love Piers again, after spending the last year telling him to shut the fuck up for backing lockdowns.

Yes because freedom of speech means being able to disagree with people’s views, but just writing off a person because you disagrees with something they said once.

Honestly, it’s not a difficult concept.

@Shopliftersoftheworldunite

Piers Morgan is a creepy weirdo tosser who should never have worked again after several things he has done throughout his career (phone hacking scandal, knowingly publishing falsified photographs). There is a touch of the sociopath about him and I don’t know why he is touted as ‘someone who speaks sense’. He is untenable.

Arguing in group WhatsApp chats is very annoying though. I’m not surprised your friend left.

Piers Morgan is the bloke down the pub who has to have a controversial opinion about everything and everybody has to hear it whether they're interested or not.

Sometimes he talks sense, sometimes he talks drivel, sometimes he's just a repetitive, obsessive narcissist and quite unhinged with it.

@sst1234

The point is, they weren't backing his freedom of speech when they disagreed with him, they were telling him to shut the fuck up.

Amazed that people can't tolerate friends who like something that they don't. PM is many things, but thick is not one of them. I think we need people like him nowadays to stand up to all the fawning, 'woke' accusations of racism, transphobia, etc etc that many are so quick to shout out now even when patently not justified. Otherwise everyone would just bow and scrape and cringe, not wanting to be called a bigot, racist and so on.

If you don't want to be called bigot, racist and so on, don't be one.

@enigma16

Why are you telling other posters to ‘rethink their values’ and suggesting that one particular poster doesn’t care about racism? How do you know that she doesn’t? She’s noting that the people shouting loudest about others’ opinions being WRONG tend to be rather intolerant of anyone (BIGOTS!) holding a different view to theirs.

I ask a person who uses the term woke as an insult, who implies that to be woke is somehow a negative thing to rethink their values, because to be woke is to be "alert to injustice in society, especially racism". Which is also why I ask them if they don't care about racism. If they care about it then they are woke themselves, and all power to them!

I am definitely intolerant of Piers Morgan and his supporters when he asks a black British man why doesn't he leave his own country when the man points out that the country was built on racism and remains racist, which is just the truth. It's something I've seen many times, a discussion panel with several hostile white people and one black person subjected to abuse, insults, belittling and attempts to silence them. It's painful to watch.

About some things there can only be one acceptable opinion, racism is one of them.

Keep digging. I’ll mind your spade whilst you have a breather if you like.

@ginghamstarfish

Amazed that people can't tolerate friends who like something that they don't. PM is many things, but thick is not one of them. I think we need people like him nowadays to stand up to all the fawning, 'woke' accusations of racism, transphobia, etc etc that many are so quick to shout out now even when patently not justified. Otherwise everyone would just bow and scrape and cringe, not wanting to be called a bigot, racist and so on.

I agree with a lot of what he says, and the pushback is needed, I just don't like bullies. He goes on about freedom of speech yet shouts over anyone who disagrees with him, or walks off his own show.

He's a disingenuous fraud.

@enigma16

If you don't want to be called bigot, racist and so on, don't be one.

If you don’t want to be called a bigot, racist and so on, you’d better hope I agree with you and I can’t find an obscure way to link your opinion to racism.

There fixed it for you.

@tangerinelollipop

ThePawtriarchy the picture you've posted is very inflammatory

???

He's awful. Only out for himself.

OP, you would not have been being unreasonable if you'd simply offered your own opinion to the contrary. But the accusation of poor taste is an attempt to go further than that, to deny your friend their right to their own opinion.

Friends don't do that to friends.

Haha.. the pit of vipers never disappoints.

First of all, no-one has been written off, and no-one has flounced. The black girl left and when I spoke with her, she said 'you're wasting your breath, they will always side with x, why do you think I never stay long at parties'. When I spoke with x off group, he said he'd messaged her to apologise and messaged Y to 'tone down the racism'. The casual racism that was a figment of my woke imagination apparently...

I think a big part of the issue was delivery. If 'I love Piers Morgan' was thrown into a conversation about him that was already in full swing, it would have been different, but to throw it in with intent to provoke was tasteless. The message was less 'I love Piers Morgan' than 'I take pleasure when people get upset'. It's smug saying it to people who face being denigrated in a way he never will be.

Freedom of speech, freedom of speech... Yes, we know. Shorthand for 'I'm free to provoke but will paint myself the victim if you react'. Exactly what Piers has done.

But what did z think?

The black girl left and when I spoke with her, she said 'you're wasting your breath, they will always side with x, why do you think I never stay long at parties'.

So your friend, X, has more people agreeing with him during debates, in your friendship group, than you and your other friend, Y. Because of this, you and Y are peevish and ‘never stay long at parties’.

What exactly is he saying at these parties? It can’t be so bad if you were still friends with him and regarded him as part of your group of ‘mates talking nonsense’.

To be frank, it sounds like a teenage spat to which you have attached racist motives.

I don’t agree with a lot PM a says or does . But I do agree with some things . That’s my opinion , I actually think he is quite a lazy journalist because once he has a direction of thought he tends not to listen to others . However I do defend his right to voice his opinion and agree we all should not be frightened to do so .

I would never just surround myself with people who only have the same beliefs or opinions as me ? How boring and narrow minded .

I have never found him to be racist so I am actually quite confused about your assumptions in your opening post .

Surely we all need healthy debate to stretch ourselves . When he goes to far then I am sure there are plenty around to put him in his place . And also if his colleagues are insulted personally by his comments then they too should put him in his place .

He will be back on another programme . I might watch him , I might not . He does not define my life .

PM is a cunt. The phone hacking is unforgivable. Anyone that defends him I would struggle to respect their opinion again. Let alone the misogyny and racism.