Meghan’s birthday video

[Greenlittle]

I like the idea and I like the video. (Not that keen on the big desk) And I though MM looked...alive!

Not sure who the other woman was. But there was good chemistry.

www.spectator.co.uk/article/why-do-those-who-abuse-priti-patel-get-a-free-pass-

I wouldn't have thought @JaniieJones would be a fan of PP - I think she was just using it to compare to MM as if it should silence those who are MM supporters and call out racism

Diane Abbott's treatment over the years has been absolutely disgusting.

Someone did a side by side comparison of how Diane Abbott was treated in interviews and over mistakes and how Boris and other white men were treated regarding outright lying. Unsurprisingly, the white men lying was glossed over as ho ho ho what are they like and Abbott was slated for everything. One of the stories was because she drank a gin and tonic on a train IIRC.

www.newstatesman.com/politics/media/2019/02/diane-abbott-bids-farewell-andrew-neil-s-flagship-programme-week

Always liked Diane Abbott, and attached is a well written article by Diane summing up the seemingly odd matching up with Portillo. I think the MN threads I've seen have related to how she appears to be unwell/under stress. It's a stressful job.

Well all the abuse Diane Abbott suffered only served to give her an increased majority of over 35,000 in the 2017 general election thus proving the politics of personal destruction do not work but the media had a good try at destroying her just like they try to destroy Meghan, in both cases the abuse has been low and is foul.

But who are you saying on MN racially abuses Priti Patel?

I've never seen a thread on her.

I am sure she is racially abused but I imagine being a Tory it isn't so prolific as, say, Diane Abbott.

However, any racial abuse is not right.

I can't read that article smilesy you have to register to read it.

@Roussette. No you don’t have to be registered. It allows you to read an article for free. Just click the subscription page away.

One comment about Diane Abbot on MN that has stood out for me over the years has been someone who said that when Corbyn won the leadership contest, DA was "strutting around like the secretary from the typing pool who's been sleeping with the boss". I have never seen anything on MN about Priti Patel that comes close to that. It's always about her policies. But DA, Meghan and Serena Williams form the triumvirate of black women Mumsnet loves to hate.

'However, when we come to Diane Abbott it’s a whole different ball game'

It's difficult isn't it though because Abbott is not a good speaker, she has been caught out many a time not knowing her facts and making mistakes. The shooting of Sasha Johnson for example, Abbott immediately tweeted 'Nobody should have to potentially pay with their life because they stood up for racial justice' before knowing any facts and it turned out Johnson's activism had nothing to do with the shooting. Saying stuff like that doesn't do much for her credibility.

Johnson is also criticised for his poor speaking and cock ups. Read any thread on mn about him!

Neither Patel nor Abbott should not be mocked and abused, regardless of whose politics you agree with. If you disagree with Abbott being being targeted you must also condemn the criticism of Patel.

sorry smilesy I might be a bit daft, but it doesn't work for me unless I register for free. I don't want to, as I get enough emails as it is!

I've probably read my free article this month

Anyway, going back to Meghan’s video, is this ridiculous “young parent” thing going to stop now that she is 40 ?🤣

It's difficult isn't it though because Abbott is not a good speaker, she has been caught out many a time not knowing her facts and making mistakes

But she has received literally abuse when she was ill, or her meds needed adjusting... she got something wrong and it was like the worst thing ever.
There is no denying that she gets appalling press and abuse, despite a stellar record in some areas, and being v popular in her constituency.

No, I don;t condemn criticism of Patel. I categorically condemn any racial abuse she has received. But as Home Secretary, with her record, she deserves criticism of her words and actions.

Well exactly @Roussette. I'll condemn any racist abuse of PP but that's different from criticising her policies and actions as Home Secretary. Most of the criticism I've seen on MN of DA has been entirely disproportionate to what she's done, like the comment I mentioned upthread.

@Roussette. Ah ok. Here’s a couple of bits

“Secondly, the Campbell-Patel clash — or to be more precise, the lack of concern about it — confirms once again that Patel enjoys none of the protections of identity politics. You can say anything to her, and anything about her, and there will be no pushback whatsoever from those who fearsomely police speech to ensure no one is being prejudicial or offensive. Patel is excluded from this process. In the eyes of those who call themselves anti-racist, she is fair game. Insult away. The end result is that Patel suffers more abuse, including racist abuse, than any other public figure and there is virtually no public anger about it. It has become obscene.
Some of the messages fired at Patel over the past few days include ‘Go back to India’, ‘Coconut’ and ‘You forgot your own skin tone dancing for your white daddy’. Will Mings condemn this vile racial harassment of an Indian-heritage woman? If not, could he not also be accused of having ‘stoked the fire’ of this racialised fury being aimed at Patel?

The tragic thing is that none of this is new. Patel has for a long time been treated as a racial traitor. She is one of those ‘ministers with brown skin wearing Tory masks’, said a writer for the Guardian. A Guardian cartoon depicted her as a cow with a ring through its nose, adding a touch of Hinduphobia to the anti-Patel madness.

Even when Patel spoke movingly in the Commons about having suffered racist abuse in the past, she was accused of exploiting her own experiences to do down the Black Lives Matter movement and the problems faced by black people. I can think of no other public figure in this country who would be mocked and insulted for recounting their experiences of racial hatred.”

Thanks smilesy
I am amazed that the article says she receives more racial abuse than any other public figure.
Especially as Diane Abbott has been an MP for thirty something years and had this the whole time.
ALL racial abuse is wrong.

Ah it's by Brendan O'Neil...

@PreparationPreparationPrep
So when you said people were being disingenuous because Marcus Rashford doesn't rock the boat, you meant he does rock the boat? I don't get it.

@AnnunciataZ. That is true but it still catalogues racist abuse of a woman. That is not ok whoever she is and whatever her political persuasion. Do you not agree?

'Well exactly @Roussette. I'll condemn any racist abuse of PP but that's different from criticising her policies and actions as Home Secretary. '

I agree! Also, I’ll condemn any racist abuse of mm but that's different from criticising the Sussexes behaviour and actions in the RF. See, we all agree yayyy.

Of course I do @smilesy. But I don't think he's correct to say PP receives more abuse than any other politician. He also leaves aside the fact that she's been racist herself and continues to peddle the myth of The Good Immigrant.

I'm certainly not applauding the incompetent men @Cacacoisfarraige! The government is a disgrace.

thing is if you're known to have had a relationship with your new boss (Diane/Jeremy) people will comment. That isn't a racist comment - it is a perhaps a sexist comment (if you want to drill down). However, PP didn't receive that particular comment as she wasn't in a relationship with Boris (probably too old..).

I don't think everyone that dislikes Diane is racist, a minority of people are racists and will dislike her for that. However, most people aren't racists and if they don't like her then they will have very many varied reasons - the same as lots "hated" Michael Portillo back in the day.

It isn't the case that because Diane receives lots of racist abuse that everyone that doesn't like her is therefore racist.

Priori Patel to me is like Clarence Thomas Us supreme judge & Candace Owens. They benefited from something due to their race & disadvantage at one point but now that they have made it they have no emphathy for black people who face barriers due to their race or where they come from. Priti’s parents fled Uganda because of a tyrant and were welcomed here but now she has no sympathy for those fleeing the same thing. Just because she is a BAME does not mean she has shown empathy to say a windrush victims, refugees and recently black footballers facing racism.

Of course I don’t agree with the abuse & misogyny she has been subjected to. But one would think she would be understanding to the plight of her fellow brown/ black folk fleeing war.