Why do some people think Corbyn was a ‘terrifying prospect’?

[StillCuriouser]

Taking a quote from a comment made on another thread.

I am not massively engaged in politics, but from what I understand Corbyn was pro-environment, pro-public services and re-nationalisation, he was a man who lived according to his own values.
He was laughed at for riding a bike and making jam. He was accused of being anti-semitic, though I didn't see any persuasive evidence of this, and- though not wanting to engage in whataboutery- Johnson’s awful racist remarks didn’t prevent him from gaining power.

I understand that people will have disagreed with him in policy. But what about him was did people feel was “terrifying” and so beyond the pale?
If Boris was electable and Corbyn was not I feel there must be something horrific about Corbyn that I am missing?

Socialism doesn’t work. And Corbyn is dangerously close to communism.

There was much about Corbyn’s stated aims that I would agree with and would like to see adopted.

However:’

Unfortunately him and McDonnell together = complete economic incompetence.

Another complete non-negotiable for me was the absolutely shocking anti-semitism.

His views on unilateral nuclear disarmament were also extremely chilling and incredibly dangerous. Naive in the extreme.

He always reminded me of an earnest sixth-former: full of well-meaning idealism, but devoid of pragmatism or common sense. Overall, completely unfit to govern.

Thanks for replying.

Can anyone give me a concrete example of something that he said or did that demonstrated that he was communist and/or antisemitic?

He's just as sly as the rest of them, surrounds himself with cronies and that man of the people thing is an act, remember when he pretended to sit on the floor on an overcrowded half empty train. Also dangerously socialist and I'm fairly left wing/liberal. Add John McDonnell to that and it would've been horrendous.

People say “socialism doesn’t work” but then given our current economic situation capitalism isn’t working that well??
People might not agree, but socialism is a legitimate position to take, surely?

the Equality and Human Rights Commission's (EHRC) report found Labour (under Corbyn) responsible for three breaches of the Equality Act:

Political interference in anti-Semitism complaints
Failure to provide adequate training to those handling anti-Semitism complaints
Harassment, including the use of anti-Semitic tropes and suggesting that complaints of anti-Semitism were fake or smears
The EHRC found evidence of 23 instances of "inappropriate involvement" by Mr Corbyn's office.

Just to be clear I’m not arguing in favour or Corbyn or socialism as such, I’m just trying to work out what was so awful?

The current PM is, by now, proven to be a liar. There are quotes and examples of when he has been racist and mysoginistic. There is a very strong case for corruption. Billions of taxpayers money given to Tory party donors. All kinds of sleaze.

Even people who hate him as much as I do will say “but anyone was better than Corbyn” and this is why I am trying to find out what was so awful about Corbyn because I’m just not finding anything very substantial so far?

I'm not sure how the OP missed the glaring anti-Semitism and I'm not inclined to do the work for her.

I'm sure many won't agree but I think Boris' racism was more to do with clumsy expression rather actual malevolence- wasn't the letter box remark in response to the French banning burqas and that being something which would not happen in the UK.

Thank you that’s informative.
Did people think Corbyn was going to introduce policies that discriminated against Jewish people?

Just to be clear I’m not arguing in favour or Corbyn or socialism as such, I’m just trying to work out what was so awful?

op in your previous post you say but socialism is a legitimate position to take, surely? so you seem to be contradicting yourself.

Sorry OP , were you
Under 10 year's old or
In retreat in a nunnery?
when Corbyn was leader?

I appreciate that I am clearly missing something huge but I admit I just don’t know where the accusation comes from?

I hear people saying over and over that he was “clearly antisemitic” but I don’t know what he did or said to deserve this criticism? Although a poster upthread has shared that he was found to have interfered in investigations into antisemitism- what was that actual antisemitic stuff he was accused of??

I quite like Corbyn and I agreed with some of what he said. But I do think he lived in some idealised world of what life was like before nationalisation. The idea that the trains were efficient and ran on time. Hahaha.
I think the problem came at the election when he just started promising money to everyone and it did lead to questions of how that would all be financed. I disagreed with some things he did but I do think he was given an undeservedly rough and unfair time in the press.

No, but I am asking to be educated now.

I have tried doing my own research, but it’s so partisan it’s difficult to find out actual facts. I just want to know why people felt he was so sinister (in a factual sense, rather than screaming Daily Mail headlines).

And I don't for one minute think the op is some political innocent. Lol.

There’s some info about that here: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisemitism_in_the_UK_Labour_Party

I don’t think I am. I can appreciate that both right wing and left wing politics can present reasonable and legitimate (if opposing) arguments for doing things in a given way.

I would argue that Fascism isn’t legitimate, likewise communism isn’t.

I don’t think socialism is any more illegitimate than capitalism? It’s just a different approach? Either could work, if it’s what we choose?

Thank you for this really helpful answer :-)

I chose the word sinister because on another thread a poster said that Corbyn was a “terrifying” prospect, and this “anyone but Corbyn” sentiment is something I’ve heard a lot.

At a time when I feel so thoroughly disgusted by the moral bancruptcy of the current PM it has made my question what was so horrific about Corbyn that people votes for the current car crash. That’s all.

• made me question *people voted

sorry for the typos

& how is capitalism working out, @NrlySp? Not for you, who are probably All Right Jack. For the 4 million British kids living in poverty in 2022?

And don't forget his admiration of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela.

At the time Corbyn was Labour Party leader Venezuela had been in recession for four years, and according to the IMF, inflation was going to reach 1,000,000% in 2018.

Corbyn is a champagne socialist who went to private school and grew up in a 7-bedroom house. In no way was he a 'man of the people', just a chancer who thought wearing a cap would qualify him as one. He was convincing to many of the hipster middle class, and the pretend hippies at 'Glasto'. But, sly, false, defensive and prickly, he did not appeal to the northern working class at all. He isn't the brightest spark, and dropped out of his degree course in Trade Union Studies at North London Poly after a year. He is too false and unintelligent to be in charge of anything important. Mind you, slippery lawyer Starmer is worse.

He always reminded me of an earnest sixth-former: full of well-meaning idealism, but devoid of pragmatism or common sense.

Yes, this. I recall reading that he decided to try to follow a political path, after losing a mock election at school.

He supported Sinn Fein and the Palestinians, both of which were tied to terrorism or terrorist organisations most people support Palestine and are horrified by how they are treated surely? What an odd take on things.