Priti Patel Doing Her Job

[Flaxmeadow]

Priti Patel, our Home Secretary, has been photographed attending the arrest of suspected people traffickers in London . Great you would think, the prosecution of organised crime, modern day slavery being rooted out and made an example of.

Yet ATM on SM there are masses of comments where Priti Patel is being described as a Nazi, Goebbels, evil bitch, ugly faced cow, Fascist, concentration camp guard, child murderer, and so on. She is even being criticised for her shoes, the type of footwear many South Asian heritage women wear. Also accused of masturbating (she has her hands in her pockets in the photo)

Most of these comments are from men. Why so much hate for a woman doing a tough job?

'It is her job. She's the Home Secretary'

I'll amend the Wikipedia page accordingly 🙄 (It's not, though)

There have undoubtedly been some politicians in the past, and may yet be some in the future, sufficiently impressive and of such stature, to frighten criminals.

Priti Patel is emphatically not in that number.

Yet ATM on SM there are masses of comments...
This is where you are going wrong OP. Social media (particularly Twitter) is a cesspit. It's full of vitriol with little in the way of rational discussion. In 280 characters, only he (and it usually is males) who shouts loudest gets heard. The ability to politely disagree and respect opposing views is gone. Best avoided.

She's an awful Home Secretary. She is responsible for a raft of cruel and damaging far right policies targeting minorities.

This is a photo op. This isn't her doing her job. Her job is sat at a desk where she's meant to be coming up with sensible policies to make our country a safer and fairer place. She seems to be failing in most of that.

She attacked activist lawyers and dialled up the rhetoric even after one lawyer got attacked:

www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/oct/10/lawyers-claim-knife-attack-at-law-firm-was-inspired-by-priti-patels-rhetoric

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/oct/25/priti-patel-kept-up-anti-lawyer-rhetoric-after-met-warning-on-terror

This was all after she was warned that a far right extremist had attempted a terror attack at solicitors offices.

She has been found guilty of bullying subordinates. Her apology for this breach of the ministerial code was weak - in fact she apologised that her behaviour had upset some people. Not exactly a "sorry for what I did", was it?

She has been accused of lobbying for a facemask company owned by someone connected to her. Appalling and it is no excuse that they're all apparently at it.
she avoids accountability. On her watch 400k police records were destroyed yet she sent a junior colleague to appear before the select committee instead of going herself.

She's an awful politician. A nasty piece of work. And incompetent too.

@collaborate hear hear.

She is a foul person. Could not care less whether she is woman, Asian or whatever. She's unprofessional and stupid and utterly untrustworthy.

Her secret meetings with the Israeli government were outrageous. And yet she's back in government.

I think she really enjoys watching this kind of thing.

Wasn't her dad a UKIP counsellor?

I'll amend the Wikipedia page accordingly 🙄

What's that supposed to mean?

I think she's vile. But I find it pretty depressing that anyone thinks that makes it fine for men (or other women) to (yet again) spout bile about women in politics or any other responsible public role on the basis of their attractiveness and dress sense. It doesn't stop being misogyny just because it's a woman you don't like.

@idontlikealdi

She's been completely ineffectual at her job, achieved nothing.

You cant claim feminism and keep a woman in a top position because they're a a woman. Angel Rayner is another.

FFS why can't we get competent women to the top or are they all to clever and are working their way the private sector and avoiding this shitshow.

Is this for real?

I don't think a single person here is suggesting that Patel must stay in her role because she is a woman.

The point I am making is that it doesn't matter how unpleasant she is, how bad she is at her job, how vile her politics are - that still doesn't mean that she should be subject to misogynist abuse.

MN has always hated her.
Personally I'm impressed - what an impossible, thankless job - and pretty dangerous, hope she has good protection officers. Wrong sex, wrong colour, wrong race, shit no win job. Brave woman, as is D Abbott.

Agree with her on hardly anything politically.

She gets misogynistic and racist abuse.

If they're deporting people traffickers who cause so much human misery (especially to women) and highlighting it with publicity I'm all for it.

It is a bizarre detail to focus on.
@AssassinatedBeauty

I'm not sure if that was to me directly, but some of us have DEEPLY boring jobs that sadly pick up this kind of stuff constantly.

If it's any consolation, I bore myself.

I'm educated, but can't take Pritti Patel's politics.
I've got a doll that I stick pins in.
Look out for her clutching her side, that'll be me grin

You sound deranged.

@AssassinatedBeauty

I seriously disagree with Priti Patel and intensely dislike her politics. The comments on SM are totally wrong and are because she is female and non-white. Just like Theresa May used to get, and Diane Abbott does too.

Pretty much. Men in politics are held to a much lower standard.

I don't care if Priti Patel is a man or woman, or a person of colour or white, she's a nasty piece of work, end of.

She's not a likeable person, doesn't shine with intelligence (as I would like all politicians to do) and has helped drive through some fairly reprehensible policies I do not agree with.

And yet, I can't help having a grudging admiration for her chutzpah. She simply does not give two fucks what people think of her. She's not trying to be liked. Very much like Thatcher, she has the hide of rhino and complete confidence in herself and her mission.

@AssassinatedBeauty

I have no issue with people saying she is shit at her job and evil, that's not misogynistic. Abusing her purely by criticising her appearance only, or using misogynist terms of abuse like bitch/witch/whore or similar are not something that should be acceptable, whatever the particular politician has done. That's not "fair criticism", it's just abuse.

I agree. debating politics and policies is one thing. misogynistic abuse is another.

This @Flaxmeadow thread is about the mass abuse of a woman by men on social media and carting off people traffickers. (GOOD)

If misogyny can't be recognised on FWR, without descending into cancel culture, where can it be? FWR.... where we point out the automatic silencing of women who dare to voice their views or exist. one of the things that I (usually) like about FWR is that it's a place for people, from all walks of life and politics, to talk about about threats to women and children.

All those oh so lovely senior male civil servants just couldn't take that the bullying was coming from a brown woman.

No indication that was the case. An enquiry found she was a bully. Brown women are not immune from being awful/having poor management skills. And calling it out isn’t, of itself, racism or misogyny.

I don't share Priti Patel's politics at all, but I'm surprised by the posters raging over a standard political photo opportunity. Ministers do them ALL the time.

@Justbetweenus

All those oh so lovely senior male civil servants just couldn't take that the bullying was coming from a brown woman.

No indication that was the case. An enquiry found she was a bully. Brown women are not immune from being awful/having poor management skills. And calling it out isn’t, of itself, racism or misogyny.

What is misogyny though is that men who act the same aren't brought to task in the same manner.

She wasn't exactly brought to task for her bullying. She issued a non-apology and carried on as normal.

In my opinion Mr Johnson should have dismissed her for the breach of the ministerial code. Along with all bar three of the cabinet and maybe a fourth (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) the worst ever to hold a ministerial position.

However that does not justify the comments the OP describes have been said about her.

She is meant to be the Home Secretary. That is ; a politician and not a serving police officer. It is disgraceful to involve the police in a blatant political stunt like this. I'm surprised the Commissioner allowed it quite frankly. Even the ghastly Michael Howard wouldn't have done this sort of thing. But then she was fired by Theresa May for something much worse iirc.

She is meant to be the Home Secretary. That is ; a politician and not a serving police officer. It is disgraceful to involve the police in a blatant political stunt like this. I'm surprised the Commissioner allowed it quite frankly. Even the ghastly Michael Howard wouldn't have done this sort of thing.

Oh, hello Michael Howard doing exactly this sort of thing...

They.All.Do.It. Criticise Priti Patel for her policies by all means, but a generic photo opportunity?