Just had the labour candidate at my door

[porridgecake]

She called me a racist Daily Mail reader because I said I didn't think a child could consent to being sterilised and I didn't think rapists should be locked up with women. I also said I was disappointed with the poor resources for women wrt domestic violence, maternity care etc and she countered with how things are much worse for transwomen. I disagreed. Then she stomped off saying "Oh fine, you aren't going to vote labour then!"
I hadn't even said that, I said I would like her to persuade me to vote for her.
I suppose they get so cross because at some level they know they are talking nonsense.
I feel quite upset tbh.

Update added by MNHQ: The OP's since discovered that the person was a canvasser, not the actual candidate. The OP's sorry for the error - please see their later updates.

@Cornettoninja But what's the difference? I don't see how it makes much difference. A candidate, or a canvasser, they both represent the Labour party. I really doesn't matter. The issue remains the same. So why cares whether it was a candidate or canvasser.

yes, here I am, doubting away, despite very clearly setting out my opinion earlier in the thread.

What I actually am is fascinated by the process of some people to so quickly and wholeheartedly throw their lot in with statement that could be by anyone, with any motive because it aligns with a belief they hold. It’s piqued my interest particularly because it’s a political post and is serving solely to entrench political views (not that I think the OP intended that). I think it’s interesting how powerful that is for a stand alone statement on an anonymous forum that can be neither proved nor disproved and no one seems remotely bothered by that.

I’m sure I have missed your point as we’re clearly coming at this from very different angles 🤷‍♀️

A canvasser is representing the candidates views. I’m going to guess most candidates wouldn’t condone the kind of interaction the OP had as representative of them so it’s not really representative of the Labour Party as such is it? Just of that individual.

if you know the candidate and canvassers views align then no, it doesn’t make any difference at all really.

What I actually am is fascinated by the process of some people to so quickly and wholeheartedly throw their lot in with statement that could be by anyone, with any motive because it aligns with a belief they hold.
Except that in my case - and you've posted the above while quoting one of my posts so I'm assuming you're including me - what I specifically said (twice) is that I find the op plausible because it aligns with my own experience of some of the new breed of Labour Party canvassers. The old guard - at least the ones I knew and worked with - were under strict instructions not to get into arguments on the doorstep.

I can believe it. I follow the local Lib Dems on twitter, and their output is full of nasty name calling, pro trans and anti woman tweets

I find the op plausible

ok. Plausibility isn’t an a sole indicator of truth though is it? In fact lies and misinformation rely on being plausible.

Again, I’m not insinuating anything about the OP themselves simply pointing out that it’s not really a reliable source to draw a conclusion either way about the Labour Party and supporters and their views of TR. Assuming truth, it is for the OP because she was there just as you have been for your examples but as a second hand accounts they don’t really mean anything here unless people choose to give them weight and ignore the fact they’re doing so with little to no reason other than it fits their narrative.

The poster above mentions Twitter, great, screenshot a tweet and we can all see for ourselves rather than relying on someone’s interpretation.

OK I take your point. And I do find this desire to distance the Labour Party and its supporters from the story kind of encouraging. It suggests to me that it's finally dawning on (some of) them that they have fucked up big time.

Oh something quite similar happened with feminist campaigners over the weekend. Handing out #respectmysex leaflets. Tory and Lib Dem candidates took them respectfully and engaged with the campaigners. The male Labour candidate refused, when asked why stating that it was about women and children's rights he said "No". I won't name him but #Labour #Beckenham should do it.

@MidCenturyClegs You should name and shame him. It's the right thing to do.

Another member and door knocker, though I am currently on strike due to this issue. I haven’t been on the doorsteps for this campaign so I don’t know if it has been raised. But I get the canvassing emails and the guidance on how to approach certain issues and there is no guidance at all.

In the circs this sort of reaction wouldn’t surprise me. A well organised campaign will have dozens if not hundreds of canvassers across a large borough. Some will be old stagers who know that you never have a row on the doorstep whatever their personal views. Some will be less experienced and if they are TRA and also have no talking points they may well react in that way. Let’s face it a big problem with Labour activists is that they are all too willing to say “fuck off and join the Tories” at the best of times.

Why? Angela Rayner calls Tories 'scum'

www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/angela-rayner-tories-scum-apology-b957307.html

'The Ashton-under-Lyne MP described the Tories as “a bunch of scum, homophobic, racist, misogynistic”, the Daily Mirror reported.'

I think it’s interesting how powerful that is for a stand alone statement on an anonymous forum that can be neither proved nor disproved and no one seems remotely bothered by that.

It's simply the reality of anonymous forums. Choose to participate, or don't.

You dont necessarily have to believe an OP to respond - you may decide to give them the benefit of the doubt and offer advice anyway or you may decide they are without doubt a teenage troll but still feel there is something you wish to say whether to the troll or anyone else reading.

The idea that people must believe a poster because they have replied is naive.

Whilst I don't believe the OPs version of the events, I do understand a lot of people not wanting to vote labour due to them "not accepting what a women is"

But how does that sit with us currently being under a Tory government who are showing you they don't respect your space, under them, we are having our spaces invaded, funding for women's support being slashed. Surely they are actually in power, making these decisions and showing you their contempt.

the tweets are about Surrey PCC Lisa Townsend who was subject to complaints from Crispin Blunt because she liked a gender critical tweet. She subsequently refused to apologise for her GC views. Plus an undignified pop at Nadine Dorries.

Do you go into other threads here (generally not just fwr) and tell people not to believe everything they read on the internet?
Do you do this on any other site?
Cos we ain't five years old now, we can decide for ourselves if its maybe real, maybe exaggerated, maybe a flat lie.
And honestly it matters not if it's real or "fake news" labour positively are going to decimate womens few rights as soon as they step foot in power. On that alone I will not vote for them.

Whilst watching porn openly in the House of Commons!

Well yes, exactly. It couldn't be easier for the Labour Party to secure my vote again - all they have to do is pledge to uphold women's current legal rights. It's their call.

I’ve also been doorknocking for Labour in the past and 100% can see this interaction happening. One election I had to stop an enthusiastic new canvasser from talking to anyone after he told a resident thinking of voting Tory that they were uncaring and clearly hated their own children.

Lots of people in Labour see their political positions as moral and disagreement as immoral. It causes all sorts of issues when talking to voters.

I don't understand why so many people have doubted the OP.

It's a generational issue, if you like. Gordon Brown clearly sometimes thought that people he doorstepped were bigots, but he thought his duty to pragmatically attempt to gain votes for Labour outweighed his duty to stand up for what he believed. So he nodded and smiled, and then said what he really thought when she was out of earshot. Shame for him that the journalists recording weren't out of earshot.

This generation (which is also mine, to be clear) has internalised the value that it's our duty to stand up for what we believe, however inconvenient, and that you're always obliged to register your moral opposition to anything you perceive as bigotry. So if a householder says something that the canvasser perceives as bigoted, they're going to say something to that effect, and Labour's election prospects be damned.

I can believe it too given the tone of much on here from Labour supporters - derision and getting angry at how people vote.

@montyspython If you were presented with the choice of walking through a pile of horse shit and one of dog shit would you choose one or just say no, I dont have to choose I'll walk away. We have a rubbish electoral system because it is legitimised by people voting. Time to join those who say this is not what I want.

@PurgatoryOfPotholes My generation were taught to listen and discuss politely so that you could try to change the other persons view - or maybe they would change yours. You dont change someone's views by insulting them, something the young would do well to learn. The bigots are those who refuse to listen.

@MarshaBradyo Mud slinging has always started with the stories.

@EmpressaurusWitchDoesntBurn @AnnieLou12 the post i quoted when I said "national issues" was saying that we should only concern ourselves with the NHS, welfare etc. which are national issues. I'm completely in agreement with you that sex & gender policies are relevant to the work of local authorities.

Yes, we were agreeing with you! Sorry if that wasn’t clear.