How I started the Diane Abbott Twitter storm - TheNewTopical.com - current events, politics, culture, ethics, economics discussion forum

Zichao · #1 (**permalink**) 05-01-12, 05:50 PM

How I started the Diane Abbott Twitter storm | Bim Adewunm | Comment is free | The Guardian

Quote:

t is a peculiar feeling to wake up to more than a hundred new mentions on Twitter; I'd describe it as a mixture of alarm, fear and nausea. But this is what happened this morning. Following the onslaught of Twitter replies, by 2pm I had received calls and emails from media outlets including Vanessa Feltz, 5Live Breakfast, Nick Ferrari, Newsnight, the Metro newspaper, Radio 4's World at One ... and there are a lot more. I'd acquired about 300 new followers. My father rang to check I was OK – someone from the BBC had called my parents' house to get my number. Friends sent texts and emails; my favourite was: "Bim! What have you wrought!"

Let me explain. In the course of tweeting the events around the trial, conviction and sentencing of Gary Dobson and Steven Norris for the murder of Stephen Lawrence, I wrote: "I do wish everyone would stop saying 'the black community' though." I expanded in a followup: "Clarifying my 'black community' tweet: I hate the generally lazy thinking behind the use of the term. Same for 'black community leaders'. This led to a reply from my local MP Diane Abbott, in which she said: "I understand the cultural point you are making. But you are playing into a "divide and rule" agenda."

We went back and forth for a few tweets more and then Abbott sent out the tweet that caused the furore: "White people love playing 'divide & rule' We should not play their game #tacticasoldascolonialism." Nothing much happened, until late night, when I began to get a flurry of replies from non-followers. On Thursday morning, MP Louise Mensch retweeted it with her addendum: "you what? <~~~ #racism". Abbott has since apologised and Thursday afternoon deleted the tweet. The remainder of our conversation is still on Twitter.

I've discussed the issue of viewing black people (and indeed other minority ethnic people) in the UK as one monolithic group on Twitter before. Here's how it goes: a) something deemed to be a "black issue" is on the news agenda; b) Without fail, "community leaders" and the now standard "ex-gang member" are wheeled out to be interviewed. Take yesterday's Newsnight, in which Jeremy Paxman introduced three guests, all invited into the studio to discuss the issues of police "stop-and-search" powers, the legacy that the Stephen Lawrence murder has left on the Metropolitan police and the general issue of a lack of trust in – sigh – the "black community". They were Cindy Butts from the Metropolitan Police Authority, Rod Jarman, a former acting deputy commissioner at the Met, and Madix, who in the words of Paxman is a "former gang member who served time in prison and now works with young gang members". While I'm sure Madix is a lovely man who enjoys nothing more than living his life within the boundaries of legality, it made my heart sink to see him on the telly. Why Madix? Why, for that matter, Dizzee Rascal following the election of Barack Obama in 2008?

They're just two examples of what looks to me like a half-hearted and not very extensive search for guests to add value to a discussion. I hardly ever recognise any of the so-called "community leaders" on these programmes – I doubt many ordinary black people, ie those they purport to represent, ever do. In the aftermath of the UK riots last summer, I heard and saw so many youth workers being interviewed, I began to wonder if it was the workers themselves who had done the looting.It is a lazy media tactic, which does little to move the discourse along, and it is condescending as hell. Sky News presenter Gillian Joseph summed it up perfectly when she tweeted on Wednesday night: "Would be useful if #newsnight sought the views of a black man who isn't an ex gang member. Surprisingly, they do exist." I haven't tweeted or sent a direct message to Diane since this story broke, and neither has she. I've received some awful tweets, using terribly offensive language. The last missive said simply, "You are a massive waste of space." It has been an emotional day.

This won't be the last race brouhaha to happen this year. Twitter is especially good at whipping itself into a froth on any given day. I do wish, though, that it had chosen another day for this particular one. In the crush that followed, everyone seemed to forget the Lawrence family's recent judicial victory. They also seemed to forget that this single victory has not succeeded in eradicating privilege based on skin colour and we all have a very long way to go still before we reach an equal society. Where's the outrage about that?

Isn't it interesting how it's the whites who most cherish their own right to be racist (yeah, I'm looking at you, Torygraph) who are most up in arms about this?

Zichao · #2 (**permalink**) 05-01-12, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Diane Abbott is in hot water again. The gaffe-prone Labour MP sent a tweet to a black journalist that read: "White people love playing 'divide & rule'. We should not play their game #tacticasoldascolonialism"

This is vintage Abbott. The original tweet from Bim Adewunmi criticised some black leaders for being out of touch with the people they purported to represent. Instead of engaging with that point, Abbott smacked down the freelance journalist, effectively saying that any criticism of black leaders was a betrayal of her ethnic heritage.

But in playing the race card, was Diane Abbott herself being racist? According to the OED, racism is defined as "the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics, abilities, or qualities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races". By that definition, Abbott was being racist. She was attributing a characteristic – loving to play divide and rule – to a race – white people – and it's plainly an unattractive quality, i.e. intended to distinguish the race in question as morally inferior to the people they're guilty of oppressing.

It's particularly irresponsible of Diane Abbott to say something like this, implying that "white people" are intent on keeping black people down, since she's the UK's most prominent black leader. The mistaken belief among some black Britons that "white people" are all, without exception, anti-black – that they're all, effectively, racist – is a huge source of racial tension. As a prominent black politician, Diane Abbott should be doing what she can to defuse this tension rather than cranking it up. Or does she actually share that belief? In which case, she's not simply guilty of saying something racist. She is a racist.

Imagine the uproar if an equally prominent white Conservative MP said something similar about black people on Twitter? The Conservative whip would be immediately withdrawn and he or she would be forced to step down at the next election. At the very least, Diane Abbott should apologise and resign from her position as a shadow health minister.

Update: Diane Abbott has now tweeted a response to the outrage her original tweet caused: "Tweet taken out of context. Refers to nature of 19th century European colonialism. Bit much to get into 140 characters." That's weak. She wasn't just referring to "19th century European colonialism", but saying that the same tactic is still used today, hence her warning to Bim Adewunmi not to criticise any black community leaders. She didn't say "White people loved playing 'divide and rule'". She said "White people love playing 'divide and rule'".

2nd Update: The Labour Party has officially distanced itself from Abbott's tweet, but there's no suggestion she'll be asked to resign. Diane Abbott herself has now apologised: "I understand people have interpreted my comments as making generalisations about white people. I do not believe in doing that. I apologise for any offence caused."

Was Diane Abbott's tweet racist? – Telegraph Blogs

Really? Attributing negative qualities to whole groups is a bad thing? Or is that only when it's a group that you're personally a part of, Toby old chum?

Quote:

Eye 1285 printed a letter sent by Young to Harry Phibbs 29 years ago. In it Young boasts about his establishment of a “provocative organisation” named “Combat Communism” and a political discussion group named “the Young Apostles”. The youthful Young continued:

“I originally banned females from taking part, partly because I don’t believe them equipped with ability to discuss things and partly because I don’t know any bright females. Much to my horror some local saggy-titted feminists (Greenham Gremlins) found out about this discussion group and its high membership standards, and picketed the first meeting. Naturally they weren’t prepared to listen to my arguments about the genetic character traits of women and just ranted and raved…”.

(Any excuse to spread that to a wider audience.)

AnonymousIdiotSavant · #3 (**permalink**) 06-01-12, 09:15 AM

A few years ago I started a short lived Shaman Forum revolt in WoW that resulted in thousands of "protesters" getting 24hr bans and the Class forum being temporarily locked which ultimately led to my account being hacked by the Blizzard Mod/Class Rep TSeric who was the target of my/our wrath.

Sadly I never really got the Guy Fawkes renown I was probably due, but thats amorphous new age social media for you.

Zichao · #4 (**permalink**) 06-01-12, 05:54 PM

Currently trending #edmillibandgameshows