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Original poster

Listening to James O'brien today

56 replies

Abccde · 17/01/2023 12:03

He actually talked about the GRR today although he did his usual long winded lecture before hand.

Basically the impression I got was that he doesn't want to say that woman are lying about their fears about single sex spaces.

But there was absolutely no compassion, no understanding, just a fear of telling woman they are lying.

Then not 1 caller that followed was female (or trans) and it was clear where he stood. It was appalling to here actually and he should be ashamed of himself. His hatred for the Tories means that he is not capable of reason in certain areas.

I did enjoy listening to JOB during the Brexit debates, probably because he was saying what I wanted to hear.

He talked about the Met Police beforehand and was very understanding to female callers.

So why does he never give woman a voice on this topic, or when he does he ridicules them?

I hope Shelagh talks about it today, although she is female so it's harder for her to cover this topic due to the levels of abuse she will get from men.

OP posts:
bellinisurge · 17/01/2023 12:21

I imagine these people are all having anxious conversations with their agents/managers/trusted friends/producers about how they can talk about this and not get piled on by tbe TRAs.
Cowards

MrsOvertonsWindow · 17/01/2023 12:29

I imagine as the realisation dawns that these useful idiots have lined up on the wrong side of history there'll be much umming and aahing and "that's not what I meant when I used the words word bigot and terf." 🙄

ThisGirlNever · 17/01/2023 12:40

James O'Brien 🙄

He's a one trick pony that always screens callers to ensure he's got somebody 'dumb' to sneer at and, if somebody articulate makes it through, he just puts them on mute and waffles before cutting them off.

How anybody can bear to listen to that smug, sanctimonious prick, I'll never know.

SudokuMania · 17/01/2023 12:50

JOB the guy who claimed he didn't know what a social contagion was when a caller was talking about girls self identifying as boys/non-binary.
Apparently he used to self identify as a journalist so you'd think he would have heard of it.

Ravageur · 17/01/2023 12:51

ThisGirlNever · 17/01/2023 12:40

James O'Brien 🙄

He's a one trick pony that always screens callers to ensure he's got somebody 'dumb' to sneer at and, if somebody articulate makes it through, he just puts them on mute and waffles before cutting them off.

How anybody can bear to listen to that smug, sanctimonious prick, I'll never know.

What she said

DeanVolecapeAKAelderberry · 17/01/2023 13:32

Officer Class Englishman complex strikes again. As long as the public schools survive, these are what you'll get.

ArabellaScott · 17/01/2023 13:38

ThisGirlNever · 17/01/2023 12:40

James O'Brien 🙄

He's a one trick pony that always screens callers to ensure he's got somebody 'dumb' to sneer at and, if somebody articulate makes it through, he just puts them on mute and waffles before cutting them off.

How anybody can bear to listen to that smug, sanctimonious prick, I'll never know.

I don't know the man, but it sounds like bullyporn. Which is what I'm calling all the 'man DESTROYS SJW' and 'dude SCHOOLS the girl who rejected him' clickbait headlines we get. Highly unpleasant.

GroggyLegs · 17/01/2023 13:47

He's a bellend. Both him and Ferrari.

Nick Ferrari was in a way quite hilarious the other day when Dr KIS was on talking about the Brit awards.

He started ripping into her when he mistakenly thought she was supportive of one category, then realised his mistake, u-turned & started to tear into her because she was against it.

Both boorish, lecturing and myopic.
Both cut from the same click-baity, misogynistic cloth.
Would not recommend.

ResisterRex · 17/01/2023 13:50

ThisGirlNever · 17/01/2023 12:40

James O'Brien 🙄

He's a one trick pony that always screens callers to ensure he's got somebody 'dumb' to sneer at and, if somebody articulate makes it through, he just puts them on mute and waffles before cutting them off.

How anybody can bear to listen to that smug, sanctimonious prick, I'll never know.

Right on the money

Mollyollydolly · 17/01/2023 13:52

I can't listen to him anymore. I find him so smug.
I was an ardent remainer and used to hear him on Remainiacs and thought he was great. Now I think he's the type that probably convinced people to vote for Brexit.
I'll listen to anyone usually whatever their views, but not him, he's a coward and a misogynist. Never forgot when KJK was on and he spoke all over her. Arrogant public school boy who doesn't really like normal people, he looks down on them. I've reached the same conclusion about a lot of the Remainiacs crew, one thing this debate has taught me is to open my mind to other views.

Walrussy · 17/01/2023 14:00

He talked about the Met Police beforehand and was very understanding to female callers

It's a mixture of tribalism and oppression Olympics. It's acceptable and pretty fashionable to hate the police, so when they've been raping and beating women, he can show a bit of sympathy for the women. Transwomen, however, are the most oppressed group ever ever ever, so it's not acceptable to acknowledge any nuance around the issue. Transwomen are good, and women who express anything other than full-throated support become bad.

There was this thread

www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/3974589-Shop-woman-Its-your-duty-James-o-Brien-gaslights-caller-about-face-masks?page=1

a while back about his response to a woman talking about masks. I was pro the wearing of masks but still didn't disagree with what she was saying, but he had to misrepresent her and pull ridiculous faces at her because any suggestion that masks aren't particularly comfy instantly puts you in the bad camp with the anti-vaxers etc.. The guy is a proper twat.

DanseAvecLesLoups · 17/01/2023 14:06

While I am probably aligned with many of his views and did used to laugh at him having a pop at Brexit callers over time I noticed he can be quite disingenuous with his debating style, often using false analogies/equivalence and deflection to make a point and failing that just be quite sneering. He is a polished operator but the borderline self congratulatory smugness on show when he takes on some not terribly bright caller.

ArabellaScott · 17/01/2023 14:07

Walrussy · 17/01/2023 14:00

He talked about the Met Police beforehand and was very understanding to female callers

It's a mixture of tribalism and oppression Olympics. It's acceptable and pretty fashionable to hate the police, so when they've been raping and beating women, he can show a bit of sympathy for the women. Transwomen, however, are the most oppressed group ever ever ever, so it's not acceptable to acknowledge any nuance around the issue. Transwomen are good, and women who express anything other than full-throated support become bad.

There was this thread

www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/3974589-Shop-woman-Its-your-duty-James-o-Brien-gaslights-caller-about-face-masks?page=1

a while back about his response to a woman talking about masks. I was pro the wearing of masks but still didn't disagree with what she was saying, but he had to misrepresent her and pull ridiculous faces at her because any suggestion that masks aren't particularly comfy instantly puts you in the bad camp with the anti-vaxers etc.. The guy is a proper twat.

Yeah, that's just using women's suffering to score political points.

ArabellaScott · 17/01/2023 14:08

Sorry, the call in wrt the Police is scoring points! Not your post. If I wasn't clear.

DysonSpheres · 17/01/2023 14:10

ArabellaScott · 17/01/2023 13:38

I don't know the man, but it sounds like bullyporn. Which is what I'm calling all the 'man DESTROYS SJW' and 'dude SCHOOLS the girl who rejected him' clickbait headlines we get. Highly unpleasant.

Show quote history

He's not even on that level, as someone above put it, he is utterly sanctimonious, chronically disingenuous and smug and treats callers who disagree with him appallingly.

When KJ phoned in and said she thought the rise in young people identifying as trans was due to social contagion,he mockingly said in tones dripping with scorn "What?! You think being trans is like catching a virus??" Or something like that.

KJ said not in that way.

He then proceeded to look up the word 'contagious' in the dictionary and read it back like he was speaking to a village idiot. Pretending that KJ had said 'contagious' when in fact she used the the term 'social contagion,' a term he well knows and understands.

Then went on to creepily question if 'she would be afraid if he was in the changing room next to her'.

KJ messed up in her response to that bit, in my opinion, because my answer would have been yes, because you're a man and I don't know you however nice you appear to be. But she didn't. He changes the direction of the conversation as soon as you appear to be making ground in your argument so understandably it was difficult. I am sure he's trained in doing it.

I had mostly (I still tune in rarely to satisfy balance) stopped listening to him years ago, as I don't enjoy people being humiliated on the radio which is what he does and in fact the entire tenor of LBC has vastly reduced over the last few years, and even Shelagh has been guilty of the same behaviour (I think they all do) but no where near the same level.

It's not about pressure from his producers, he has no compunction accusing prominent people of being all manner of things without any proof. He thinks he's right.

FrancescaContini · 17/01/2023 14:11

MrsOvertonsWindow · 17/01/2023 12:29

I imagine as the realisation dawns that these useful idiots have lined up on the wrong side of history there'll be much umming and aahing and "that's not what I meant when I used the words word bigot and terf." 🙄

Yes, I think this too.

clutchingatpearls · 17/01/2023 14:12

O'Brien is a middle class woke bro with luxury beliefs.

ResisterRex · 17/01/2023 14:13

He thinks he's right.

He wrote a book didn't he? How to be right.

He doesn't just have that impression of himself. He knows it! That's how up his own arse he is.

Walrussy · 17/01/2023 14:17

ArabellaScott · 17/01/2023 14:08

Sorry, the call in wrt the Police is scoring points! Not your post. If I wasn't clear.

It's fine, I didn't think you were having a pop at me.

Yeah, a lot of men like using women's suffering as a battering ram. Owen jones has done it against the police and The Sun and I'm sure loads of other people/institutions.
And I doubt Tommy Robinson really gives a shit about the female victims of grooming gangs.
It puts the accusation of women "weaponising their trauma" into context because actually it seems to be men who most like to weaponise women's trauma against their enemies. Classic darvo.

LaughingPriest · 17/01/2023 14:19

JO'B has always wilfully misunderstood women's arguments on this topic.

Cherry60 · 17/01/2023 14:21

He's awful, so obsessed with himself. I couldn't believe my ears when he trotted out the 'born in the wrong body' line 🤦

SinnerBoy · 17/01/2023 14:22

MrsOvertonsWindow · Today 12:29

I imagine as the realisation dawns that these useful idiots have lined up on the wrong side of history...

I thought WE were TWSOH?

Lilifer · 17/01/2023 14:24

ThisGirlNever · 17/01/2023 12:40

James O'Brien 🙄

He's a one trick pony that always screens callers to ensure he's got somebody 'dumb' to sneer at and, if somebody articulate makes it through, he just puts them on mute and waffles before cutting them off.

How anybody can bear to listen to that smug, sanctimonious prick, I'll never know.

What she said 👆🏻👆🏻👆🏻

EVHead · 17/01/2023 14:25

I used to love him - been listening since his show seemed to be the only place that any grown-up discussion about Brexit was taking place.

Recently he’s been getting on my nerves with his 20-minute monologues and playing the same clip of Suella Braverman or whoever over and over and over.

I won’t be listening to today's show if that’s his approach. Or any future shows.

Skyellaskerry · 17/01/2023 14:27

He just follows the Labour thoughts of the time, if (as seems unlikely at the moment) Labour changes their stance, watch him change too.