Brilliant article about the rape gangs in the UK

[Petrine]

I’ve put this on AIBU as it appears to be most read. A brilliant article about the rape gangs and the ensuing cover up.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/01/07/elon-musk-has-ripped-cloak-of-deceit-off-britain-scandal/

That’s not a great suggestion and of course the protection of children is paramount. There’s been a long inquiry took years, cost billions. Tories didn’t act on the recommendations.
Muskrat is a shit stirrer imo, prodding at any perceived weakness in western democratic governments. Not just the Uk but a number of other countries
He appears to be lacking in any kind of integrity, morals or ethics. All he appears care about is money, power and influence.
He’sa dangerous man who is out for himself. He has done us no favours.

There’s been a long inquiry took years, cost billions. Tories didn’t act on the recommendations.

This inquiry was not focussed on grooming gangs, and its recommendations do not go far enough because the focus wasn't there. It cost around 200 million pounds, not "billions".

we must always centre the victims. At the middle of this are girls, and now women because it has been going on for a while, who must not be forgotten.

Racism requires a power relationship

No it doesn't. That's complete bollocks and a relatively new interpretation of what racism is. The proponents of Critical Race Theory and DEI may think they can just go around changing the definition of something to suit their new liberal woke agenda any time they feel like it and imposing it on the rest of us, but the the rest of us just aren't buying it. Sorry.

I hope fa right as a slur never loses its power for anyone with a brain and a knowledge of history

But it’s Islam that encodes misogyny into its rules, therefore anyone following Islam either believes that misogyny is the desire of God, or only believes some of Islam. Christianity had this issue but since the Reformation and subject to some fundamentalist sects the majority of Christian’s don’t take all of the Bible literally. As I said upthread maybe the time is due for a Reformation in Islam if people are saying that the Islam practiced by those in power is not the true Islam. The change needed in the practice of Islam to get rid of its embedded misogyny needs to come from within,

I think I am correct in saying that the Oxford cases actually refer to Banbury, a town I have known a bit since I was a small child, and much better since my DM, DSister and niece all moved there over the last 25 years. In my childhood, Banbury was a pleasant small market town, with the biggest cattle market in Europe, and not much more. Since my mum moved there in the early 90s, which coincided with the opening of the M40, it has changed beyond recognition. The population is no longer very British. The explosion of huge industrial estates has brought an influx of newcomers, from Eastern Europe and Pakistan in particular. The East European arrivals have almost without exception been pleasant neighbours, kind to an elderly widow and pleased to have a neighbour they trusted to take in parcels. Even the drunks in the park are generally amiable. DM did small kindnesses, like watering plant pots when people went on holiday, and they were reciprocated. The Pakistani men seem to delight in barging elderly women off the pavements into the street, run taxis and sell drugs. Their women are invisible. I do not have much time for Banbury's Pakistani community, although their Sikh and Hindu neighbours are generally good eggs. (DSis and DN live in completely mixed, multiracial streets.)

Unfortunately it will. When people like Starmer start using it to tar people who simply disagree with his politics it dilutes its meaning. You’re correct though it should not lose its power and people who use it so freely and so inappropriately are downplaying the historical atrocities carried out by the actual far right.

Yes I agree there's only a hope of change in misogynistic Islamic cultures if it comes from within. And this is not the way to reach that.
For those of us not within, best to concentrate on applying the law fairly and exorcising the misogyny which runs through our western cultures too- the mechanism might not be applying scripture but it's normalised and deep seated, and growing, not shrinking.

Otherwise it's pretty obvious where this Musk-and-the-incel-gang discourse is leading, and it's not towards improving things for women and girls, that's for sure.

You'll be referring to the largely right wing mainstream newspapers then?

I'd hope so too which is why I'd like Starmer to stop using it to smear and silence political opponents.

We described paedophile priests fairly accurately after all.

They were described by their religion - catholic Christian

These grooming gangs are also described by their religion - muslim

The thing is, historically int er man changes only happen as a result of external pressure and support. So for example taking Christianity the Reformation only was able to take hold internally within Christianity because of the outward pressures that various princes felt on their power and finances, this facilitated their backing of internal doctrinal change. There had been several prior attempts to change things but it wasn’t until external pressures came to bear that it could actually happen. Religions are generally inert and stable unless outside pressures force change. If we just say western society shouldn’t interfere with Islam in western society where is the impetus for change. Because of the clash there’s really going to be two options for islams long term survival in the west, either Western society changes to support Islam, including its embedded misogyny or Islam changes to adapt to the social norms and values of the west. Neither the West nor Islam can afford for the current state to continue of constantly butting against each other.

The British press is generally keen to sell newspapers. If they espouse a political agenda, it is because their editors and proprietors believe there is an audience for a particular POV. It may not be a popular view, but centre-right papers outsell the Mirror and Guardian several times over. The Daily Fail/Heil and Torygraph are respectively the largest tabloid and broadsheet titles, so there are far more people paying for their take on news than the alternatives. It doesn't make them wrong because MN disagrees. It suggests that they are closer to the mainstream of public opinion.

Oh god. Allison Pearson, that bastion of honesty. What's going on with MN fgs.

"Invited to pose for a photo with lovely peaceful British Friends of Israel on Saturday police refused. Look at this lot smiling with the Jew haters,” she wrote, apparently jumping to the conclusion that the image was of Metropolitan police officers with demonstrators from a pro-Palastine march.

The photo had in fact been taken in Manchester several months earlier, during a celebration of Pakistan Independence Day. Eventually, after the facts were pointed out in several responses to Pearson’s tweet, she deleted it"

Here, an extract from The Guardian for balance. Really, why is MN being infiltrated by right wing propaganda and lies?

It is losing its power because it is being used falsely to silence opponents.

You may want to acquaint yourself with the Aesop Fable: “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”. Starmer is crying Wolf.

Why do you think left-wing newspapers fail to report this?

And where do you put the rest of us who don't think the same? Are we all far right, just because we disagree with you? "Far right" has become meaningless.

Probably because there aren’t any.

The wolf ate all the sheep not because the villagers decided wolves were good and let it in, but because the shepherd boy had called “wolf” to often when there was none that the villagers no longer heeded the warning.

If the far right do sweep in it will be because of Starmer’s behaviour, not those who disagree with him.

Well, none that anyone bothers to read!

Name one. And don’t say The Guardian because it’s not averse to holding this government to account.

The racism by some people on this thread targeting Pakistanis and Muslims is absolutely disgusting and I'm shocked MN hasn't closed it down.

It's right to be horrified by the abuse of women and girls, but obviously if you are not equally arguing that the huge number of drunken white men who beat up their partners when their football team loses or the abuse of kids by peadophile priests needs to be urgently tackled, then yeah you are just racist.

A left wing news paper is one that fails to hold government to account? That is a new definition on me

Same to you. Advocating for rapists and child sex abusers.