What's the craic with Owen Jones today then?

[CallofDoodee]

I can't make head nor tail of it or a lot of his twitter feed today. Something about Emma Burnell (I don't know who she is?), who retweeted something from Karen Ingala Smith? And is now accusing OJ of being a bully. Or is that a different spat?

Can anyone shed any light?!

And if you upset him he’ll set his mum on you.

Weirdly, the top item in my Google "suggested stories for you" today is a piece titles "Owen Jones - the face that sank the Labour ship". I haven't read it, as it's in a publication called The Conservative Woman, which I've never heard of and don't want to see more of, but the timing seems odd - I've never had anything about him pop up before, and it's kicked off on Twitter on the same day. Possibly finding connections where there are none, but maybe some of the people who don't like him decided today was the day to express it....

Binky despite initial misgivings I’ve found Conservative Woman to deliver excellent articles around free speech and being GC

I’m tired of politics which says we have to agree with each other on every tiny minuscule matter. The type of politics, in fact, which Little Owen Jones embodies.

Fair enough - I'll give it a read. I'm not particularly left-wing, btw, I'd just never heard of it, and sometimes the publications they suggest are a little "out there".

I think Emma Burnell commited the crime of wrongthink in retweeting/ liking something by the admirable Karen Ingala Smith, someone Owen Jones regards as a "rampant Trumpian [transphobe]"
see: twitter.com/K_IngalaSmith/status/1216362543868006401

The fake dad letters are appaling, but notice how he automatically concludes that they are the work of "anti-trans activists" because they accuse him of bullying women.

No one deserves abuse but he’s been living by the Twitter sword for years, so he can’t really complain if he ends up dying by it. (This is a metaphor, not a threat, MNHQ).

Conservative Woman, despite its forboding title can be surprisingly good. People like James Kirkup have been known to contribute. It has published GC stuff for a long time, longer than most of the mainstream media. Even though Maria Miller and Penny Mordaunt never seemed to centre women in their policies.

Looking at it another way. It would be great if there were parallel publications which were equally robust and thoughtful: Labour Woman, LibDem Woman, SNP Woman. I live in hope.

Actual lol at the idea the Owen Jones doesn't like the 'guilt by association' aspect of social media.

Because it's something I associate with so-called left-wing twitter of which OJ is most definitely a part.

I saw the tweets from OJ last night but didn't understand them. I still don't.

I can't bear the man but I do think the fake tweets supposedly from his deceased dad are appalling. Nobody deserves that.

Karen Ingala Smith is a heroine who is CEO of a domestic abuse charity and does brilliant work in drawing public attention to the extent of violence against women.

Of course none of this matters to OJ because she is a "TERF". OJ doesn't care about the rights of actual women. In fact he's previously said that Munroe Bergdorf (or possibly Paris Lees, I can't remember) is the nicest woman he knows. That shows you how much respect he has for biological women.

One of the ludicrous things about that Twitter thread is people calling Emma emotionally manipulative for threatening to self harm. Only a few months ago some TRA threatened to kill themselves in response to something mild that Louise Moody had written, and when she ignored it she received a load of abuse from other TRAs about what a terrible person she is. One rule for the poor vulnerable TRAs, another for the hard-hearted feminists. The hypocrisy of it really wants to make you puke.

Looking at it another way. It would be great if there were parallel publications which were equally robust and thoughtful: Labour Woman

There is a publication on the Left that's robust and thoughtful about this, the Morning Star, for example morningstaronline.co.uk/article/f/making-sense-trans-rights.

Reflect on that, Conservative Woman and the Morning Star aligned on one issue in opposition to Labour and the Conservatives (although the latter might be having second thoughts).

I'd thought of the toxicity and spite of Twitter as something LOJ had helped create. You live and learn.

I thought Owen was developing a new relationship with Twitter? Because this looks very much like the old one to me. He really cannot deviate, can he?

Oh dear! Is that the biter bit?

So many aphorisms coming back to bite him on the bum

bite him on the bum

You'll be getting accusations of homophobia over that CuriousaboutSamphire!

What also seems clear from the screen shot is that Emma Burnell deleted the RT as soon as OJ ranted transphobe at her.
twitter.com/EmmaBurnell_/status/1216344620956823554/photo/1

Those messages from OJ in EwwSprouts's link seem suspiciously like guilt by association to me...

But the thing is, i thought Owen was pretty much live and let live

Unless you disagree with his political orthodoxy in which case vitriolic abuse is menu du jour.

Oops!

Emma Burnell is a Labour activist and co-Chair of "Open Labour"

Last summer this happened:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3650946-Labour-hilarious-again-on-Twitter

Emma RTed this:

"Hey @jack @Twitter You see how men are saying this? Can you reinstate all the women you banned for saying the exact same thing please?""

This was a tweet sent on July 28 by woman in was in response to Maxime Bernier, a French politician, referring in a Tweet to J. Yaniv as a man.

Open Labour made this statement on July 29
twitter.com/OpenLabour/status/1155794528764403713

....."we want to make clear our disagreement with a recent tweet by one of our committee members, and clearly distinguish the views in that tweet, which are unacceptable, from those of OL

We note that an apology has been given, and shall be ensuring that it is followed up with education on transphobia...."

Emma tweeted out the statement with a contrite message " I agree this statement, the sentiments and content. I am again very sorry. "

A random person makes Emma affirm the vow: "Are transwomen women, Emma?"

Emma: "Yes, of course" she says.

OJ's DM conversation with Emma is also on July 28-29....... perhaps there is some connection between his private witch hunting activities and the public apology she was made to make the same day?