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Race row

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This will be an interesting one to watch
MP Diane Abbott 'sorry' over Twitter race comments
Diane Abbott Diane Abbott was Westminster's first black woman MP
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* Profile: Diane Abbott
Shadow Health Minister Diane Abbott has apologised for comments she made on Twitter, amid claims they were racist.
She said she had not meant to generalise when she wrote: ''White people love playing 'divide & rule'".

Silly off the cuff, crass comment....from a person who should know better.
What makes you laugh...is the people that complain about the PC situation when refering to racism towards black community, now getting all PC themselves, and asking for resignations, because it is directed at them..lol
Quote by deancannock
Silly off the cuff, crass comment....from a person who should know better.
What makes you laugh...is the people that complain about the PC situation when refering to racism towards black community, now getting all PC themselves, and asking for resignations, because it is directed at them..lol

I like Diane Abbott, always enjoyed her over the years she was on the "This Week" political program screened after Question Time each week. I am not bothered by her comments at all. So this is rather me playing devils advocate and some what tongue in cheek.
But to use your analogy, why did she have to precede her statement with the word White, is this not a racist comment?
''White people love playing 'divide & rule'".
indeed...see above...I have said a silly and crass statement...there was no reason at all for her to use the word white. As said....above...of all people she should of known better and thought before she typed !! She has quite rightly been slapped down.
Quote by deancannock
indeed...see above...I have said a silly and crass statement...there was no reason at all for her to use the word white. As said....above...of all people she should of known better and thought before she typed !! She has quite rightly been slapped down.

Quote by deancannock
All I am saying is whatever word or phrase you use, why would you need to preface it with a word that depicts the pigment of their skin. Unless ofcause you want to be racially offensive at the same time !!!

Silly or racist?
It was a silly crass comment with racist overtones. The fact she was generalising in that manner is wrong. I can not see why anyone has to preface the colour of the skin. As clearly ststed she of all people should have known better.
Quote by deancannock
It was a silly crass comment with racist overtones. The fact she was generalising in that manner is wrong. I can not see why anyone has to preface the colour of the skin. As clearly ststed she of all people should have known better.

Agreed :thumbup:
Quote by Bluefish2009
Silly or racist?

it was without a doubt racist bluefish.
the same as when she insinuated that black mothers are better mothers.
she has also said in the past " 'Ethnic communities that show more public solidarity ".
this woman is a disgrace. she used the term WHITE but when a white person describes something about blacks she throws her race dummy out of the pram. she like many peeple with her views only except ones persons colour.
what is all this " divide and rule " crap? not play theirgame? who are the their? oh yes those white peeple, she did not say that but that is what she ment. so she says sorry and will now expect everyone to say thats fine and move on. can john terry now say sorry and it all go away? suarez? go on say sorry and it will be fine.
she is a racist but a secret one that lets her true feelings slip every now and again. she is no better than other racists who spout hatred because of there views. sack her. but they wont but had it been a white person saying this about black peeple, what do you think would happen? would they accept an appology? not on your life.

:thumbup:
A silly comment, IMO, however, she should have known better.
If it was a white politician who said it, we all know what the outcome would be............
What's good for the goose.........
This was a racist comment and she absolutely should be brought to account because of it.
The football related race debate, and this one, show up clearly that as a nation we are a pretty uneducated and crass bunch of people.
Both debates are aurrounded by tribalistic supporter with no rational thought whatsoever. In the football case, it is the supporters of the football club who are standing full square behind their Club and player despite the almost universal condemnation from everywhere else. In the case of Diane Abbott it is the left wing alliances who cannot accept that one of their own could have possibly done anything wrong.
There are big differences in the two cases but if anything Abbotts statement is worse because she is drawing on the historical context of white masters dividing the slave families and clearly she still has this mindset. She has now removed the tweet and offered the typical non apology (as Suarez has) but really it is just not good enough.
Dianne Abbott does quite often put her foot in her mouth. Still quite like her though. She says what she thinks without first running it past focus groups and party whips. Refreshing in this day and age. In this instance all she had to do was preface her 'white people love playing divide and rule' comment with the single word 'some' and noone could have argued with her. Not one person, because as soon as you include 'some' her statement becomes demonstrably true.
She should know better than to make sweeping, generalised comments, but I don't believe she's racist, because I don't generally believe racism is about simple prejudice or the misuse of language. It's not about a person's dislike for the skin tone of another. It's about power and control. It's an assertion of a priveleged position, predicated on the alleged superiority of one race* over another, that has become idealised and institutionalised in a way that maintains that priveleged position to the exclusion of others who may one day challenge it, a priveleged position black people do not enjoy in the main in an overwhelmingly white society where real power is vested in white, middle-class, middle-aged men.
*replace race with sex/gender and black people with women if that helps anyone get what I'm on about?
Quote by neilinleeds
Dianne Abbott does quite often put her foot in her mouth. Still quite like her though. She says what she thinks without first running it past focus groups and party whips. Refreshing in this day and age. In this instance all she had to do was preface her 'white people love playing divide and rule' comment with the single word 'some' and noone could have argued with her. Not one person, because as soon as you include 'some' her statement becomes demonstrably true.
She should know better than to make sweeping, generalised comments, but I don't believe she's racist, because I don't generally believe racism is about simple prejudice or the misuse of language. It's not about a person's dislike for the skin tone of another. It's about power and control. It's an assertion of a priveleged position, predicated on the alleged superiority of one race* over another, that has become idealised and institutionalised in a way that maintains that priveleged position to the exclusion of others who may one day challenge it, a priveleged position black people do not enjoy in the main in an overwhelmingly white society where real power is vested in white, middle-class, middle-aged men.
*replace race with sex/gender and black people with women if that helps anyone get what I'm on about?

good points neil but as another argument given to me by this friend of mine his take is different. he asks me did he ever ask for a white persons help? did any of his friends ask for a white persons help? then why is is that white peeple decide what he and his friends want or need?
he says is it just another example of controling what the white person " thinks " a black person wants or needs?
he says control is what this is about.
i never looked at it this way and i suppose he could in many cases have a point. he said that a lot of the race issues going on now makes things worse for the black person, but is is usually brought about by what white peeple think about things. he says why not ask the black person face to face what they want,instead of just thinking it is what they want?
he also said the riots in the summer were brought about in the main by black peeples frustrations with what others think they want and need. true or not?
he also said that a lot of black peeples views are not those of the peeple who say they represent them in terms of black politicians or black police officers. because i must admit all i ever see also are white peeple telling us what we should or should not be doing, but very rarely hear a black persons views on things.
be interested to know your thoughts on that take neil.
She used the present tense only to then say she was talking about the past.
Hard to say if she is actually a racist or not as I don't know her, but I'm not at all comfortable with what she said.
If a white tory MP had said "black people love it when we play divide and rule" they would have been sacked.
Diane Abbott not being sacked is basically a case of double-standards.
Quote by HornyInHove2010
Diane Abbott not being sacked is basically a case of double-standards.

or as i have said two laws where there should be the same law for all.
at the moment the laws favours one side over another for we know that she will not be sacked where we all know if a white person had said that they would have been sacked immediantly. how is that just and right and is it any wonder some white peeple now feel angry about such things.
Is Diane Abbott a racist? I have no idea but she has a history of making such comments
Is what Diane Abbott said racist? No not really
Do I give two hoots? No not really
Is what Diane Abbot said racist under the laws that she and other left wing PC types voted for? Absofeckinglutely and that is why she should be sanctioned for it.
American Black men love playing Basketball
Afro Carribbean men black men love Reggae music
English White men love football and cricket
are those statement racist or are they personal opions based on what we have read and believe ?
Quote by MidsCouple24
American Black men love playing Basketball
Afro Carribbean men black men love Reggae music
English White men love football and cricket
are those statement racist or are they personal opions based on what we have read and believe ?

They are neutral statements - neither abusive nor insulting, so although they are sweeping generalisations and as such inherently inaccurate, they will be preceived as harmless.
Replace them with "Black men like selling drugs and white men like stealing cars" you are in the realms of slander (if slander can apply to groups?) and are certaninly insulting. What the Abbott woman posted was insulting and, as has been mentioned already, against the paranoid definition of unacceptable language her own group (that would be Labour, not black women btw LOL) came up with .
Quote by MidsCouple24
American Black men love playing Basketball
Afro Carribbean men black men love Reggae music
English White men love football and cricket
are those statement racist or are they personal opions based on what we have read and believe ?

and you point is exactly dunno
ah right. are you possibly giving similar examples as abbott did ?
no your examples above are generalisations, what she said was racist.
she has said racist coments before or have you possibly forgotten abut those? she is like so many who are quick to jump on others. typical politician, do as i say and not as i do. :twisted:
and double standards of the highest hypocrisy.