Diane Abbott

[Flowerly]

To say that Diane Abbott is doing her best to help the Labour Party to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory?

Hideous antisemitism seemingly not gone away at all and add that to the horrendous misogyny in the Labour Party I wonder at this point why ANYONE would vote for them.

AIBU?

As for the question in the OP How can anyone vote Labour? Have you seen the Conservative Party? This is unacceptable for one individual but the current Government is rotten to the core. I’m not one for all Tories are scum, but I wouldn’t trust someone who thought this hard right who have captured the conservatives are fit to govern

Does thinking that the LP is a shit show of misogynists and anti-semites automatically mean that one is a Conservative supporter? Ok then. 🙄

I was expecting much worse from the way OP made it out to be. I also don’t think the Sky link using the word “whip” is appropriate either.

Irish people back in the day made it clear they wanted this Brit to 'go home' and when I returned home with an Irish accent the English told me "paddy go home".

Every nation is a bit racist xenophobia, from my experience.

Whilst what she said was wrong, the fact that social media, the actual media and most posters on here are only discussing antisemitism goes to show that racism towards the Irish and Travellers is still ignored and often accepted.

She has so much hatred for anyone who isn't black, hypocrite.

Diane Abbott is not standing at the next election.

Totally agree, and actually the fact that a Labour MP has included these groups as well implies that the rot is more widespread than it would otherwise be thought. The conflation of Jewishness with Zionism is a problem that has always been part of left wing politics but to be so actively hostile to other ethnic groups makes this more shocking.

I don't understand how those comments were even in a draft...a draft is where you get your initial thoughts down and then work on them. How were they her original thoughts?

Er? No it doesn’t. Interesting response and
🙄 right back at you.

Anti-semitism has been (and still clearly is) a trademark of the LP which Starmer has been trying to eradicate which is why the focus is more on this.

So DA is suspended (which is a neutral act) pending investigation.

DA will likely say she sent in the wrong draft of the letter.

Starmer has to weigh up what to do. Diane Abbot has achieved so much, and could have retired on top of the world - but this is all becoming quite painful now. I hope a dignified exit can be found for her. (Please not the House of Lords though.)

So which bits are you disagreeing with?

That's good.

@phoenixrosehere you do know what the whip is in the context don't you?

Seriously? FGS. 🙄

Exactly, what she said is accurate. But righteous white people are loving the chance to get stuck in to a black woman.

She forgot about the Holocaust. Or simply didn't think it was important enough to mention when discussing recent racism against black people, Jews and travellers.

That's quite a big problem for a party that has had very recent issues with antisemitism and needs to be seen to be tough on it.

So how do you explain generational racism against ethnic Jews and Romani then? Does it not exist?

I grew up in a working class town in northern England and there was an ingrained culture of hostility and prejudice against Romani and traveller people that was long lasting (it still exists now and clearly has been in place for a long time) and is perceptional in nature (i.e. can and does occur when people perceive that someone is part of such a group rather than just after they find out they are).

I think it's a shame the route she went down, she was such an inspirational trailblazer and campaigned so hard against the racism that she, and others, was subjected to. I used to really look up to her decades ago. But she really went down the far left, StWC rabbit hole and found herself a home with some of the most appalling antisemites and Assad apologists. Today's event isn't a one-off from her. She should have had the whip removed after her pro-Putin comments last year. And her casual dismissal of the experience of Roma and travellers, currently probably the most persecuted group in this country, is vile.

At times her behaviour has looked nothing more than childish worshipping at the alter of Corbyn, and the cringe factor whenever I've heard her interviewed in the last few years has been toe curling. And to the PP above, yes, I think she's racist. Either wilfully ignorant of the centuries of discrimination and persecution Jews, Roma and the Irish have suffered, at best, or outright racist at worst. She came as close as she could to holocaust denial without actually saying it. Her own experiences of racism do not give her automatic immunity from being labelled a racist.

I am very sorry that you feel this way. Anyone who thinks that antisemitism isn't racism needs to open a history book.

For those saying that she is correct and that anyone pointing out that she is wrong is a racist (Starmer included I suppose), you are saying that you agree with this part of the letter:

Abbott continued: “It is true that many types of white people with points of difference, such as redheads, can experience this prejudice. But they are not all their lives subject to racism.”

I am shocked that anyone could defend this and yet here you are.

There is a definite school of thought that racism only applies to black and brown people and other form of oppression are xenophobia.
My dc are regularly taught this at school and I've also been on training courses where this is the starting point.
So I'm not particularly surprised to see DA express this view.

@Summerhillsquare You can absolutely ram your hierarchy of racism. Pathetic.

Good points, @AnElegantChaos .

@almostwarm Yes this. 6 million Jews were not exterminated because of the country they came from.