The Home Secretary "jokes" about spiking his wifes drink with Rohypnol

[cakeorwine]

As the other thread has been automatically hidden

"James Cleverly has apologised for joking about spiking his wife’s drink with a date rape drug in comments made at a Downing Street reception.
The home secretary’s remarks came just hours after the Home Office announced plans to crack down on spiking, when someone puts drugs into another person’s drink or directly into their body without their knowledge or consent.

Cleverly told female guests at the reception that “a little bit of Rohypnol in her drink every night” was “not really illegal if it’s only a little bit”, the Sunday Mirror reported.
He also laughed that the secret to a long marriage was ensuring your spouse was “someone who is always mildly sedated so she can never realise there are better men out there”."

So much to say about this

@Shakeylegs If he made those comments at work or to the public - on social media for eg - yes, he should lose his job.

And Cleverly should be fired immediately now.

Based on the fact he's Home Secretary and hours previous to the joke he announced measures to tackle drink spiking, and made this
'Joke' at a Downing Street (therefore paid for by public funds) event, what do you think the consequences should be for him?

I despair.

Because Rape Culture is rife and acceptable in the Conservative Party these days.

I honestly can’t believe that people are saying either my OH or the Home Sec should lose their jobs.

If we held people to these standards consistently then about half the country would be out of work.

He assumed that people (journalists!) would simply take it as a joke and is so utterly devoid of judgement that it never even occurred to him that it was a monumentally stupid thing to say.

He is, at the end of the day, extraordinarily dim.

@Shakeylegs

I honestly can’t believe that people are saying either my OH or the Home Sec should lose their jobs.

I honestly can't believe that you're happy your taxes are paying for a party where a man whose salary you pay makes a joke about repeatedly raping his wife. It's a bloody low bar tbh.

And I don't think that's a high enough standard that 'half the country' would lose their jobs.

You think half the country would make jokes when speaking at a work event about raping their wife? Hopefully half the country isn't that fucking stupid.

@Shakeylegs I’m shocked you can’t see why this is a problem.

Half the people in the country are not saying things like this in the context of their jobs such that it shows a serious lack of judgment/causes harm to their employers, etc. interesting that you are actively trying to equate what the Home Secretary said with things your husband says. Is he saying this at work?

@Shakeylegs

What if instead of his comment being about his wife, he had said that the best way to get a date to sleep with you is 'a little bit of Rohypnol in their drink every date' and that doing so is 'not really illegal if it's only a little bit'.

Its exactly the same comment but about a date rather than his wife.

You'd still think he should keep his job as Home Secretary?

I’m aware that just earlier in the day he announced updating the laws around drink spiking so I guess the joke was made around having this conversation

as the joke was also on him no I do not think he should lose his job but it will follow his reputation

how far do we want to police off the cuff stupid jokes if it was made in a speech that’s a different matter but it wasn’t it was stupid attempt at dark humour

If you were a random plumber down the pub, you'd get away with it, unsavoury as it is.

When you're the Home Secretary, who is promoting new measures to prevent drink spiking, and you make this remark in a room full of journalists... It speaks to a lack of judgement for which there are few words sufficiently able to convey the magnitude.

Of course they should in the context discussed. It’s relevant to their specific employment

if someone who worked with asylum seekers made racist comments about immigrants they should lose their specific job

if someone who worked for women’s aid made jokes about DV they should lose their specific job

Some opinions, jokes and comments - made on duty at work functions - will and should lose you some jobs

Is snogging boys illegal? Didn't know that

@Shakeylegs

how far do we want to police off the cuff stupid jokes if it was made in a speech that’s a different matter but it wasn’t it was stupid attempt at dark humour

I think we should police it to the point where the Home Secretary doesn't joke about repeatedly raping his wife.

I don't think that's a particularly high standard to hold a senior cabinet minister to.

Genuine questions for you:

What if he made a 'dark joke' about black people being abused in police custody hours after announcing measures to reduce racism in the force?

What if he made a 'dark joke' about physically disabled people being easier to sexually assault hours after announcing measures to reduce the abuse of disabled people?

In these two examples, do you think he should lose his job?

how far do we want to police off the cuff stupid jokes?

If the Home Secretary, talking to journalists at Number 10, can’t manage not to make ‘off the cuff’ rape jokes we really need better politicians.

Needing better politicians

I don’t think anyone is going to argue with that

Inappropriate jokes/comments are made all the time I think some on here would be horrified at what is said in meetings it often lifts the heaviness of the subject being discussed. I’ve sat in meetings discussing sex offenders and concerns around an issue for over an hour then someone makes a comment that no is not appropriate, it’s not meant to be we laugh then it’s back to all the heavy seriousness of the issue being dealt with. I’ve never once thought I’m now suspicious of their true feelings

I don’t know what he says at work, but it wouldn’t surprise me. I work with vulnerable people myself, and there is frequent gallows humour and remarks that are obvious jokes and would never be made seriously or in front of clients/patients. It’s how people get through the day.

It’s not like the Home Sec stood at the Despatch Box and said ‘The Government doesn’t like Rohypnol but actually a little bit is fine’. The entire premise of his joke was that he was saying something so obviously outrageous and wrong as to be amusing. Nobody in their right minds would assume he was being serious. And I’m of the view that there are no topics off the table when it comes to jokes.

If you don’t find what he said amusing, then OK. I’d not have laughed myself. But that’s because it was a shit joke, not because the mere mention of the word Rohypnol automatically makes something off limits The joke he made about sedating his wife to keep her with him was funnier. But do we honestly thinks he condones sedating women, or thinks that the sedation of women is funny? Of course not. He was using it as something to take the piss out of himself.

This was not a private meeting.
This was an event with female journalists.
And the Home Secretary making those comments.

@Shakeylegs does he let the vulnerable kids make misogynistic remarks towards other kids/members of staff and excuse it as banter?

It was said in a conversation not as a statement to be reported on

but of course he should have been more aware

This was an official drinks function with journalists at Downing Street. It wasn’t gallows humour. He was there as the Home Secretary.

So that's alright then?

He said it as a joke to female journalists.
I wonder what the reaction was?

Then you and your husband should be aware that you might make one of these inappropriate jokes to the wrong person, or room full of wrong people, and lose your job.

I have said all along it was stupid

this will follow him

but I don’t think we should be policing stupid jokes - the joke was on him not women being drugged and raped