Ben Hunte is back and gunning for Kemi Badenoch

[Imnobody4]

After his transfer out of his LGBT+++++ role in BBC he's now left them completely to work for Vice.
Unfortunately it's the same shoddy journalism
'Exclusive: The UK’s equalities minister, Kemi Badenoch, mocked LGBTQ rights, questioned same-sex marriage, and called trans women “men” in an audio recording obtained by VICE World News.'
t.co/1hAX0Bttu1

twitter.com/BenInLDN/status/1438801429796372480?s=19

But in anycase maybe one day she'll find healing. Hating something you are which makes up ones identity so much as one's race can be utterly destabilising.

Patronising twaddle.

Ben seems utterly obsessed

Ben Hunte is black. Gunning for a black woman.

As for VladimirsPoutine, they have not given any insight into why they can identify Kemi’s supposed self hatred. A talent for seeing into souls?

Oh, sorry, I think I got my Bens mixed up there- I think I’ve got Ben Hunte mixed up with Benjamin Cohen. Apologies, Mr Hunte.

Could have been Benjamin Butterworth, too. So many Bens. I've quite gone off the name now.

I don't think that members of group should all think the same or subscribe to the same behaviours or whatever - it is, as has been pointed out, very patronising. Of course there are nuances to this; for example when 'white feminism' is discussed in general on this board I find myself in disagreement with the majority but when e.g. femicide, or violence against women and girls is discussed I'm very much singing from the same hymn sheet.

I do think that Kemi genuinely believes what she's saying, I just happen to think, in my own view, she's riddled with so much self-hatred this is how it's manifested itself. I think it's really very remarkable and she's worth every single penny to the tories. Can you imagine wheeling out someone like Gove or Boris to say there's no systemic racism in the UK, it would be laughable but wheel out Kemi and it's a wrap.

I just happen to think, in my own view, she's riddled with so much self-hatred this is how it's manifested itself
Oh good grief, another one who can see into people's souls.

"Colour" my arse!

Kemi Badenoch is a woman of talent.

I can't see into people's souls but having a good cultural understanding helps somewhat. These views aren't formed in a vacuum. Kemi certainly isn't unique in her views within the wider Nigerian diaspora or indeed even among certain Black communities.

What do you think it is about these groups of black people that makes them self-hating?

Hating something you are which makes up ones identity so much as one's race can be utterly destabilising.

Kemi certainly isn't unique in her views within the wider Nigerian diaspora or indeed even among certain Black communities.

Never mind me. Just passing by but had to say this...and not to anyone in particular.

Kemi grew up living partly in Africa (Nigeria), where race isn't an identity. Identity is centered on African nationalities and which ethnicities/ethnic groups one belongs to in their countries, then biological sex, then religious beliefs and where you fit in. Race means nothing concrete there.

While I don't agree with everything Kemi says, I understand where she's coming from and why she doesn't have the same attachment to race and racial identity as someone from the UK. You may call it self-hatred if you're judging her from a racial lens but it's not. While an African will accept being placed into a racial identity here because there's really no choice but to play along, they just generally have a different world-view. There's nothing wrong with it.

The problem is when a Black person is placed as an Equalities Minister or Diversity minister, of course she'd be expected to speak for the majority. One Black person can't do that unless they share the majority group's opinion. Kemi doesn't and it doesn't make her a bad person.

However, it's obvious she's "wheeled out", as people keep saying, for that reason alone.

I am struggling with this, but then I am no expert, either in racial/feminist theory or indeed politics.

It seems to me that.

1. Kemi is a Tory and expected to follow Government policy. It is they who have the majority.

1. Kemi represents her constituents in Saffron Walden, a constituency that is over 95% white. They selected her, they voted for her.

1. I am not sure what "the same attachment to race and racial identity as someone from the UK" means. Race and racial identity clearly means different things in the US, the UK and indeed in Nigeria. To be honest I am not sure what the "majority group's opinion" is or the majority Kemi is expected to speak on behalf of. I agree/hope that the majority are opposed to racism, accept that it exists and would like to see it kicked out. Equally though, I suspect as few believe in/understand critical race theory as believe that, say, TWAW. And indeed dislike the fact that both seem intent in segregating people into boxes and stressing differences as opposed to broadening tolerance and emphasising commonalities.

I am not sure what "the same attachment to race and racial identity as someone from the UK" means.

What you wrote next (quoted below) is what it means really, as I also wrote similar.

Race and racial identity clearly means different things in the US, the UK and indeed in Nigeria

Being Black, those differences are not often (rarely) taken into account and she's expected, by a lot of Black people, to have a certain "Black view" on all things. This is impossible depending on the culture and people one grew up around.

To be honest I am not sure what the "majority group's opinion" is or the majority Kemi is expected to speak on behalf of

Same answer. Based on the quote I was responding to, it's an expectation by a lot of people for Kemi to speak for all Black people or to share the opinion of the majority (who knows if it's a majority or more vocal minority?) of Black people.

Equally though, I suspect as few believe in/understand critical race theory as believe that, say, TWAW.
Sorry, I don't really understand this sentence.

And indeed dislike the fact that both seem intent in segregating people into boxes and stressing differences as opposed to broadening tolerance and emphasising commonalities.
I believe this is Kemi's opinion also, as well as that of other Black people. I genuinely don't know if it's the majority (or vocal minority?) Black opinion.

I hate the word "Tolerance" for people. They aren't pests. Acceptance seems apt.

Equally though, I suspect as few believe in/understand critical race theory as believe that, say, TWAW.

Oh I get it now. I can't say for sure but you could be right.

Race and racial identity clearly means different things in the US, the UK and indeed in Nigeria

I have to say that it doesn't just mean different things. There is NO race or racial identity among Africans in most countries in Africa. Where you have race in the US/UK, what you have in these African countries is ethnicity/ethnic group and in some cases 'tribe' or 'clan'.

So while race/racial identity is still understood to mean what it means in the US/UK, it only exists in comparison to non-Africans and as an acceptance of being grouped into it by non-Africans.

I don't think Kemi has said anything contrary to the general party line in all the things she's said thus far. It's just causing a stir because she's Black; hence why the tories really need her - you can't accuse a Black woman of being racist against... herself.

Oh no, not accusing her at all. I thought that was what you were doing? I was defending her.

I don't mean the party line, re: Tory. That's the issue you have with her, isn't it?

I meant 'the majority' re: being Black, which is what I thought you were doing by saying she was self-hating (i.e: expecting her to have a certain view because she's Black). I was pointing out why she isn't self-hating and that she can't be expected to speak for all Black people, even if you don't like her views.

Apologies if that's not what you were doing.

I agree that the tories know that Kemi has unpopular opinions compared to the majority (vocal minority?) Black people. They also know people generally expect a person from an ethnic minority to be speaking for all ethnic minorities. She's a golden ticket in that regard because she can be "wheeled out", as they say, and whatever she says is seen or supposed to be seen as what Black people believe or should believe.

@VladmirsPoutine

I don't think Kemi has said anything contrary to the general party line in all the things she's said thus far. It's just causing a stir because she's Black; hence why the tories really need her - you can't accuse a Black woman of being racist against... herself.

You have been doing exactly that.

@VladmirsPoutine

I feel sad for her - the sheer self-hatred she must feel. Reminds me of that sketch show by a Black female comedian years ago in which she was working in an office but didn't want anyone to know she was Black. It's understandable, a lot of Black people grow up with extremely negative views of themselves and Blackness. The only issue with Kemi is that she wields power over others. The tories must thank their lucky stars for her.

Ahh, I see. I guess woman of colour should be grateful they are only mentally defective in your world view, rather than morally defective like white people who disagree with you. Racist much?

Good article from Spiked on Ben's unhealthy obsession with Kemi.
"So what’s behind the Badenoch witch-hunt? Badenoch is everything that the modern left has come to despise. She is an assertive and patriotic politician of Nigerian origin who flatly refuses to toe the identitarian line."

"Rather than condemning Britain as systemically racist, she once advanced the view that Britain is the best place in the world to live as a black person. Perhaps she has a point, considering Britain is home to some of the strongest equality bodies and toughest anti-discrimination laws in the West. A black woman expressing these kinds of views is a major inconvenience to those who operate in the grievance industrial complex."

www.spiked-online.com/2021/09/23/kemi-badenoch-enemy-of-the-grievance-industry/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

Great article. This is it - agree with her or not, these views don't make Kemi self-hating. Nigerians are generally conservative in their views - it's part of their culture. Besides that, she's an individual and can hold any view she believes.

The quote below is from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. (The quote is a bit way down the article if you're reading it).

Growing up in Nigeria, I didn’t think about race because I didn’t need to think about race. Nigeria is a country with many problems and many identity divisions, but those identity divisions are mainly religion and ethnicity.

So my identity growing up was Christian, Catholic, and Igbo. And sometimes I felt Nigerian in sort of a healthy way, especially when Nigeria was playing in the World Cup. Then I would think about my nationality as a Nigerian. But, when I came to the U.S., it just changed. I think that America, and obviously because of its history, it’s the one country where, in some ways, identity is forced on you, because you have to check a box. You have to be something. And, I came here and very quickly realized to Americans I was just black. And for a little while, I resisted it, because it didn’t take me very long when I came here to realize how many negative stereotypes were attached to blackness.

daily.jstor.org/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie-i-became-black-in-america/

There are many more statements like this by Africans in the UK/US.

I have to say that though Chimamanda said she rejected being Black due to the negative stereotypes, this isn't the reason for many. It can be one of the reasons definitely but the major reason is not so much rejection of being Black itself as it is rejection of being forced into an identity you've never held.

Most people know 'Black' is their racial category and they have a passive acceptance of it but to become it? To be expected to state it as though it is who you are when you've always been other things, is like being expected to have "Brown eyes" or "Pink tongue" as an identity. It sounds silly but that's how it feels.

It's a completely different concept for those who've been Black all their lives (and have parents or grandparents who've been the same) - the same way Chimananda has been Igbo (her ethnicity/ethnic identity) all her life.

Sadly, she too was harassed as 'rejecting her Blackness' or self-hating by some people for saying such things.

That article on CNA is more about feminism than racial identity. Not sure why it's titled that way.

It's a completely different concept for those who've been Black all their lives (and have parents or grandparents who've been the same) - the same way Chimananda has been Igbo (her ethnicity/ethnic identity) all her life.
The biggest scandal in my parents engagement was that they were from different "clans" 😆.

RE: America, I fully understand, I was so excited to finally go to Atlanta (the Black capital of America) and it was wonderful to see and explore so many Black owned enterprises and meet so many successful Black people. However "race" was always palpable and groups stuck together. The idea of hanging out with Todd the Cowboy was frowned upon. That was disconcerting being from London where we all mix regardless of background.

The biggest scandal in my parents engagement was that they were from different "clans" 😆

This sort of -ism is what happens in African countries, instead. Eg: Some people not wanting their children to inter-marry based on ethnicity or tribe or clan or religion (Islam vs Christianity) or denomination (Christian Catholic vs Christian Pentecostals vs Christian Anglicans, etc).

I agree with you about the US. It is palpable.