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Original poster

Who the hell is Tom Harwood?

173 replies

TurquoiseBaubles · 04/01/2022 13:07

because he's really being ratioed on Twitter

twitter.com/tomhfh and twitter.com/tomhfh/status/1478035571146727425 in particular

He seems to have waded in on the trans/schools row. He isn't listening to the many, many replies and is doubling down in the weirdest way.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
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DialSquare · 05/01/2022 09:50

I love this from the train story!

“Tom Harwood is possibly the only person tragic enough to get roasted by the Virgin Trains Twitter account”.

KittenKong · 05/01/2022 09:51

What happened?

Scraggythang · 05/01/2022 09:56

@KittenKong unless this sort of thing is his schtick? The more ignorant he is the more people talk about him so therefore, to him, that’s a good thing? “As long as they’re talking about me!”.

Weird. But possible. Any kind of ‘fame’ has some currency, I suppose.

It is hard to believe someone could be this dense and advertise it regularly.

NotBadConsidering · 05/01/2022 10:48

[quote TurquoiseBaubles]That fondofbeetles thread about the doggit has me weeping with laughter. There are some very funny people on twitter.

twitter.com/FondOfBeetles/status/1478362066222305280[/quote]
Emma Hilton is an absolute legend.

A tiny dog is not, in fact, a rabbit. You are not mapping a dog-rabbit species spectrum

😆😆😆

FatFucker · 05/01/2022 10:54

Tom - why do passengers need to know when they're departing? Surely they only need to know when to board and when they arrive ...

Virgin Trains - You couldn't operate a railway without letting people know when they're departing Tom.

Hahaha clearly Tom is thick as mince!

Helleofabore · 05/01/2022 11:11

I have seen people say 'aww... he is only 24!'.

Sorry. 24 is still old enough to know how to behave professionally.

Jabbawasarollingstone · 05/01/2022 11:21

@KittenKong

Are we not certain he’s isn’t Dennis Pennis or Tim Nice But Dim or Rick (?) Lemmon? Just there for comic value?
I think he thinks he's being dead serious.

The rest of the world laugh at him.

The impression I get from Tom is that he doesn't have a lot of life experience, that although he claims to be a journalist he doesn't have much interest in reading widely, nor is he very interested in speaking to ordinary people (or listening to them either). A journalist would look for stories, investigate and report findings: he doesn't. And when he gets anything wrong (like trains, biology or where tube stations are situated, I told you, brilliant lols) he won't admit it, it doubles down, and sticks to his guns. He even quotes incomplete data to suit his argument until a cleverer person than me points out his "mistake" and gets irritated when academics like Emma tells him he's talking bollocks. It's highly entertaining and he reminds me of a lot of posh boys who really stumble through life without questioning the narrative (and regarding ordinary people as essentially stupid).

PronounssheRa · 05/01/2022 11:24

Hahaha clearly Tom is thick as mince!

It clearly shows the benefits of private school though, because despite his intellectual challenges he has been given opportunities others could only dream of.

KittenKong · 05/01/2022 11:42

Sorry but I know a few actual journalists. He is not a journalist any more than I am an astronaut.

FOJN · 05/01/2022 11:42

I think Tom is grifting; all publicity is good publicity.

I'm wondering just how daft he really is. Arguing for TW accessing female spaces on a case by case basis means that he can always claim the processes used to determine who is granted access and who is not were flawed when there are cases that prove it was to women's detriment.

Jabbawasarollingstone · 05/01/2022 11:46

@KittenKong

Sorry but I know a few actual journalists. He is not a journalist any more than I am an astronaut.
Well, quite.
Original poster
TurquoiseBaubles · 05/01/2022 12:07

Presumably he self-identifies as a journalist? And as a nice guy I suspect.

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IsadoraQuagmire · 05/01/2022 14:32

He really has absolutely no self awareness. I'd never heard of him 2 days ago, but since then have been astonished by his disrespectful behaviour both towards women and what he likes to call "intersex" people.
A normal person would be waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, with heart racing, at the realisation they'd done or said even ONE of the things I now know he's done and said.
And felt so embarrassed they'd never want to leave their house again.

But, instead, he continues to flaunt his ignorance and extreme rudeness all over the media. And he's a dreadful presenter, totally unfitted for the job from what I've seen in the last day or so.

RoyalCorgi · 05/01/2022 14:50

@PronounssheRa

Hahaha clearly Tom is thick as mince!

It clearly shows the benefits of private school though, because despite his intellectual challenges he has been given opportunities others could only dream of.

So true. Most people I know who had state school educations (myself included) are plagued by self doubt and anxiety about not being good enough.

And yet here is, 24, doesn't know jackshit about anything, and yet feels no embarrassment about publicly making a fool of himself, and happily patronises people who are both far better qualified and far better informed than he is. Probably if Einstein was alive Tom would be lecturing him about physics. I sometimes feel that line about "Give me the confidence of a mediocre white man" is a bit harsh but it fits Tom perfectly.

RepentMotherfucker · 05/01/2022 16:36

I have actually only just watched the clip and the thing that struck me most was his co-presenter's face at the end. If looks could kill...

I don't see Tom lasting long in that role Grin

2319inprogress · 05/01/2022 17:20

Oh Kitten that's so funny I came back to this thread to post the SS of the conversation- I KNEW I knew him 😂

Who the hell is Tom Harwood?
Mollyollydolly · 05/01/2022 17:32

@Scraggythang

In regards to broadcasters and very silly men using this debate to raise their profiles, of course. It makes sense. It’s gradually gaining some momentum and seeping into the general public conscience.

If more news outlets and mainstream television pick up on it purely based on seeing the engagement this subject gets, I can’t see that as a bad thing in the long run. The more we openly can talk about it, the better. No matter how that comes about. Those policies that have been/could be ushered in without any public consultation will have more scrutiny. Let them debate away whatever their ulterior motive!

And if any more men want to raise their profile by looking like angry, ill informed misogynists, then they can go for their lives.

This. I'm more than happy for news outlets to use it for the 'clicks' the more exposure the better. There will be an awful lot of people watching GBNews who haven't a clue on this issue. Most people still don't. Anything that raises its profile and gets it in the mainstream is great. The day is coming when we'll see Kellie Jay on Newsnight. The interaction it gets shows it's an issue important to a lot of people. Who knows, many even our dense politicians will notice at some point. Bring it on.
KittenKong · 05/01/2022 17:51

@2319inprogress

Oh Kitten that's so funny I came back to this thread to post the SS of the conversation- I KNEW I knew him 😂
I do love a good “do you know who you are talking to???” “Actually I wrote the book” twitter thread.
2319inprogress · 05/01/2022 19:59

Grin Ross Tucker's "Yes, yes, yes & yes" is still my favourite

ZuttZeVootEeeVo · 05/01/2022 22:27

@RepentMotherfucker

I have actually only just watched the clip and the thing that struck me most was his co-presenter's face at the end. If looks could kill...

I don't see Tom lasting long in that role Grin

No one - not even politicians and journalist seem to lose any credibility even when they say ridiculous things like girl brain, born in someone else body, grew a cervix and people aren't born with a sex. So I think he's safe.
Rubidium · 05/01/2022 22:48

He's now set out his stall in an article in the New Statesman:
www.newstatesman.com/comment/2022/01/why-the-right-should-champion-trans-rights

He really, really doesn't get it.

Original poster
TurquoiseBaubles · 05/01/2022 22:59

What a fucking dickhead. He's using Posie's "you jolly know I'm a woman by looking at me" as a gotcha? Does he not realise that we jolly well know a transwoman isn't a woman by looking at them?

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BettyFilous · 05/01/2022 22:59

@Rubidium

He's now set out his stall in an article in the New Statesman: www.newstatesman.com/comment/2022/01/why-the-right-should-champion-trans-rights

He really, really doesn't get it.

What. A. Muppet. Not a clue. I hope James is asked to write a counter view to offset the idiocy of Tom’s article.
BettyFilous · 05/01/2022 23:01

James Kirkup ^

FannyCann · 06/01/2022 10:34

He's also digging down trying to educate Mail readers in Mail+ (which I hadn't previously realised existed).

https://www.mailplus.co.uk/edition/comment/141344/the-anti-trans-crusade-is-an-affront-to-our-belief-in-liberty

Surely just a coincidence that he is in the Mail + where there doesn't seem to be a comments facility rather than making his argument to the main Daily Mail readership....Hmm

https://twitter.com/mailplus/status/1478481504695197701?s=21