Southport, riots and classism on MN - middle class woman started the rumours

[twodowntwotogo]

One aspect of MN that I find tiresome and upsetting is the classism, for example describing someone's taste as 'chavvy', and then the multiple posts characterising the riots as not happening in 'nice' places, and the rioters as uneducated, oiks, etc.

Today the Times is carrying an article about the instigator of the unrest:
'The woman accused of being first to post a false Muslim name for the suspect is the managing director of a clothing company. The mother of three in her mid-fifties enjoys walking, is married to an artist and counts an actor among her children. The family live in a £1.5 million farmhouse in the rural north.'

Non-paywall version here: <a class="break-all" href="https://archive.ph/2024.08.07-184043/www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/article/mother-of-three-sparked-havoc-with-false-claim-about-southport-suspect-bd6kkzgpn#selection-2207.0-2207.307" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://archive.ph/2024.08.07-184043/www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/article/mother-of-three-sparked-havoc-with-false-claim-about-southport-suspect-bd6kkzgpn#selection-2207.0-2207.307

So AIBU to want MN posters to dial down the classism and stop jumping to conclusions and understand that Farage and BoJo and countless other middle/upper class people may not be out on the streets setting bins on fire, but often provide the spark through inflammatory speech?

BBC named her - Bernadette Spofforth - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y38gjp4ygo

Once she completes her sentence, she should be immediately deported back to South Africa. You do not immigrate to other countries to commit crimes. She has caused terror, cost millions in policing and loss of business from shops etc having to close early.

Amused at your false teaming of U & M classes against the WC. You do realise that the MC typically have a great deal more crossover with the WC than with the aristocracy? I'd also be very surprised if the upper classes feel the need to blame anyone for anything. And if they do, I doubt they will be making a huge distinction between Dave the trade who makes £100k a year and Nigel the middle manager who puts a suit on to earn about the same. Do you?

As has been said the real enemy are the people who arrive in private jets not rubber dinghy's

There are plenty of people willing to act as their concierges be it accountants, lawyers, journalists or politicians

In turn they are influencing those who will fall for the lie that the threat to them are those who are even worse off

Sun and Mail also named her - https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/29772612/woman-accused-false-southport-claim-arrested/

@Ponoka7 thinks people of colour can't be Welsh, I reckon.

“The irony is that she is an immigrant herself: South African. Just like that other racebaiter, Musk...”
Interesting coincidence there

You'll notice how there doesn't seem to be much racism amongst the wealthy.

Nope, I have definitely NOT noticed that! Are you serious?

There’s a long and inglorious history of privileged people whipping up the working classes. It’s how fascism always takes hold.

It was the same for the French, the Russian Revolution, the Chinese one, etc. It's when the middle classes get angry too that stuff happens, whatever the ideology.

Bernie Spofforth has already been named online. Her name has been public knowledge for about a week now. I don’t buy the little miss innocent act.
OP I agree that there are lots of MC instigators out there who are happy to have the WC do their dirty work for them. Apart from Farage, Johnson and Fox, I’d add Oakeshott, Tice, Hartley-Brewer to name but a few.

Good. If her tweet caused the riots and she's found guilty of starting this off she should do prison time. A lesson is needed a strong one.

Why did she have tens of thousands of followers? Is she one of these influencers?

Divide and rule. The upper eschelon and the 1% with money rile up the less educated through fear mongering. It's a brilliant distraction. It keeps those at the bottom lining the pockets of those at the top because, you know, they're on their side and really understand them. It often means the working classes end up supporting or voting for policies directly against their own interests, which is the whole aim. It worked with Brexit.

The article suggests she has form for tweeting anti lock down, doesn't believe in climate change and the paper said they traced back to the tweet which was hers. She'll need to spend some money on lawyers to help her wriggle out of that.

She probably doesn't regard herself as an immigrant because she's white. I hope they come down really hard on her and people should boycott her business.

Why on earth would anyone believe her IF she was the first one to break the fake news?! Just shows how useless reading twatter is.

She won't, her racism is more than likely deep rooted like Elons.

I imagine a lot of the southern middle class mums netters consider Southport one of those rough chavvy places, when in-fact it might be in Merseyside but it’s considered posh, Miranda Richardson hails from there and she’s played the queen 😂

Fair enough, it's fast moving and a lot of smoke and mirrors. Think it's fair to say that somebody somewhere wanted people to blame asylum seekers.

Dark skinned people can be “Welsh”. I’ve just spent an hour or two listening to the (lovely) voice of Colin Jackson and watching Jerry Azu win bronze in the men’s 4 x 1 relay.

My knowledge of Mitfords if confined to the 20s and 30s (although I think Jessica might have have disagreed with you at the time) but you may may know the racist or otherwise views of the Mitford descendants in 2024 better - and after all that is what we are talking about. I think the Royal family in this era provide a good example in celebrating what is great about our similarities and differences and promoting understanding across a diverse Commonwealth.

Well I was born in the UK to immigrants on both sides. I wouldn't say that my culture was defined by my British citizenship tbh. Likewise neither was my half sister's whose father/Aunts was the Windrush generation. Neither are the children's from many of the families from Africa I know and mix well with. The Police should have said that he was second generation immigrant, like myself and definitely not an asylum seekers.
We need to open up as much dialogue as possible which includes Imams. There's just been a United reform conference in my father's hometown of Durban. A good friend is a Pastor. But other faith leaders joined in. In this country people are scared to speak.

In this country people are scared to speak.

Who is afraid to speak @Ponoka7?

I think part of the problem is too many incoherent racists speaking; they could be doing with being more afraid

I think, I’m not sure now, but I think you are talking bollocks OP.

Relatively few middle class middle aged women are stoking the fires of hate, as relatively few young working class white men are chucking stuff at people - but certainly anyone chucking stuff is responsible for their own actions.

I don’t think single mothers / young mothers / middle aged middle class women / working mothers / non working mothers / childless women / unmarried women over 35 / female divorcees / women who are too thin / women who are too fat / women who out earn their husbands / delete as applicable can be blamed for everything much as some people eg you and the daily mail might try.