The Post Office has a death wish

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

This week, of all weeks, when there is huge outrage at the way the Post Office has behaved towards subpostmasters over the Horizon scandal, thanks to the excellent ITV dramatisation Mr Bates vs The Post Office - on X/Twitter someone whose bio makes it abundantly clear she's a lesbian tweeted about a patronising and offensive tweet from the Post Office last summer about the word 'queer'. Instead of apologising, or deleting the tweet, or even just ignoring it, some blue-hairded genderist with the password for their social media has doubled down. It's not going down well, I'm pleased to report.

The post office should have social media that says "Need to post a letter? try us. We're not the worst option"

And that's about it.

There's no reason for them to drift into anything outside of their business remit.

I'll 'allow' them to deliver letters and parcels. That's really about it.

"Allow us to educate" - Jesus H Christ on a cracker. Who does this utter fanny think they are? Lecturing gay and lesbian people on how they ought to receive the Post Office - the FUCKING POST OFFICE - calling them a homophobic slur.

Fucksake, 2024. I had high hopes.

Ha ha, totally agree. Jess needs to STFU and FTFO

Royal Mail does that. The Post Office sells stamps.

@IamRoyFuckingKent

It's not like they make it easy to want to use them either.

"Thinking of sending a letter? Send an email instead as it'll save you £1.25 #moneysaver #anditwillarrive"

#SayLessJess!
#BeLessJess!

The word 'queer' invokes the same reaction in me as the 'n' word. I flinch at work when it is used, but of course it's fine to be flung around because the young people have 'reclaimed' it.

I'm the same @Tallisker I find it a very insulting word and on a par with racist slurs and I'm a straight, white (50 ish) woman. But I still get a visceral reaction when I hear it due to reading newspapers describing yet more violence against a person being "different ". Hate it.

Return your CBE, minister urges ex-Post Office boss

I never understand why people are 'appealed to' in situations like this, to do the right thing. Same as when people are 'invited to resign'.

If you've shown yourself to be an utter disgrace, why are you still allowed some 'honour' in returning your gong?

Notice how ordinary non-elite people who are found guilty of a crime or gross misconduct are never 'urged' to make amends; they are simply told how it's going to be and strong-armed straight out of there.

Ah true. Never really use the post office or send anything with a stamp!

This Jess could very easily have commented that some people choose to use that word as part of their identity, rather than trying to compartmentalise everybody and 'informing' them as to how they are expected to identify too.

Where have we heard this before - where we are told what loaded words we have to accept to describe us, and that we are 'wrong' to object?

If I had twitter I would reply. I find it childishly funny that someone called Jess has replied, all I can think of is Postman Pat’s cat 😂

Thanks for your informative reply, Donquixote

She could, but it would still be inappropriate usage from a company, so long as some (not insignificant number) of people consider the word unacceptable. Companies should use neutral language. Similarly, the fact that some women use bitch towards others and as a self-descriptor doesn't mean it would be acceptable for a company to call its customers bitches. Same with black people using nigga.

Mail had an article yesterday from one postmaster who was reported as smelling of drink and leaving the safe open over night. He said it was all lies and when the person doing the report was asked at the enquiry why she'd put those things in she 'couldn't remember.'

PO was desperate for the system to be right. So it had to be the postmasters - despite the fact that logic and common sense dictates that 700 odd wouldn't all go rogue at the same time.

The most astonishing thing about that tweet is that it was published this week of all weeks. I would have thought any social media interaction in an organisation in such deep trouble would have to be referred up to the top. Amazing they would do that in the week when the nation has seen just how much blood they have on their hands.

I agree that it was unwise of them to proactively use the word; but I think there is always going to be an issue where some people proudly insist that that word is their key identifier - and treat it as an act of aggression where people 'deny' it.

What started off as LGB then became LGBT, then other letters started to be added - including Q for 'queer'. There are people out there who would feel affronted and offended if they believed that their identity as 'queer' was being belittled, ignored or treated as inferior.

I don't know anybody who insists that the B-word or the N-word IS their primary formal identity and should be represented on forms and such.

Nothing to add, other than Aja is superb and her and her girlfriend (wife?) spend a lot of time fighting the good fight. Fierce women.

They should let the cat run the Twitter/X/Twix account, they’d be better at it than this halfwit (although you can bet your bottom dollar that Jess has now been assigned duties other than “Making a bad PR week immeasurably worse”).

But people like that always seem to think they have some pious right to “educate” us all into their mindset. So she/them/Jess-self can fuck right off.

'Allow us to educate'. WTAF?!

Vennels left the post office with a hefty pay out and a CBE to go on to other lucrative jobs and to be a part time vicar.

I’ve worked closely with some small Christian charities and not all of the evangelical Anglican ministers are arrogant hypocrites who think they are special ‘good’ people beyond reproach.. But I’ve come across enough of them that are to make me a lot more cautious in my dealings with them, especially the part time vicars.

The PO reply is really confusing. Are they genuinely denying that "queer" is used as a slur? They start talking about when they think it isn't, but not about what Aja actually is talking about, which is when it is a slur.

"Allow me to educate you about what I call you" is peak 12-year-old too. I'm feeling huge 3rd-hand cringe for them.

What's the betting that "Jess" has no idea of the furore around the Post Office this week following the TV drama?

There are people out there who would feel affronted and offended if they believed that theiridentity as 'queer' was being belittled, ignored or treated as inferior.

These are normally the same people who will scream and wail for hours if anyone dares to not use the language they say they identify with, and tell you that it is coercive and violent and literally erasing them and Other Hyperbole Too if you fail to do this, while boring the pants off you about how awful it is to assume and label and not respect people's identities and feelings and choices because history and colonialism and generational trauma and so on.

While at the same time telling those LGB people who say that 'queer' to them is a terrible, distressing word and women who say they don't identify as 'cis' to shut up and submit to being called what they're told.

The one negates the other. I would respect a genuinely held, universally applied value. I do not respect at all someone who is ranting a lot of nonsense they don't actually believe for no other reason than to make people do as they say and as serves them personally.