1. The screed written by Clarkson and the subsequent rationalisation dressed as an apology should horrify us all.
You don't have to be "pro" Meghan or "woke" to recognise rabid, unhinged misogyny when you see it - and to reject it unequivocally.
Bloody hell,
@DominicRaab
! You are the foreign secretary!
How can you be so ignorant of what
#TakeTheKnee
is about. Get on google and look up Colin Kaepernick, now!
Just for the record, if you “abstain” from taking a position about incivility or corruption, you are not magically absolved of responsibility, you are complicit.
Culture is defined by the worst behaviour you tolerate.
The Colorado shooter’s dad on finding out his son murdered people: “They started telling me about the incident, a shooting... And then I go on to find out it’s a gay bar. I got scared, ‘Shit, is he gay?’ And he’s not gay, so I said, phew… I am a conservative Republican.” (
@CBS8
)
I’ve said it before, but it bears saying again:
Society wildly underestimates the latent hatred so many men harbour for women, apparently, or perhaps, especially for the women they covet or envy.
People like Tate & Morgan are aspirational role models for this toxic cult.
I don’t have the right words to express my sorrow. I’ll try again later, but for now, some of my mother’s words may help describe the pain so many feel at the passing of Chadwick Boseman.
1/6 Always remember the tyranny of authoritarian language.
That way powerful people change the way they describe the same concept, but with starkly juxtaposed language for different populations🧵
Today in Parliament we have laid an order to ban overseas care workers from bringing dependants.
This is just one part of our plan to deliver the biggest-ever cut in migration 👇
Gut punch. The conclusions drawn in the
#InstitutionalRacism
report of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities contradict everything Black and Brown people know, and have experienced, to be true. I fear the repercussions will be devastating.
#JediReflections
This too is what evil looks like. Not physical violence or spitting forbidden words, but the willingness to lie for money and personal gain.
All to achieve some long game plan where anyone and any principle will be sacrificed for personal power.
5. Reject this misogyny, it isn't about a Netflix special, or "protecting" the Crown, there is no justification or excuse and we should all disavow these words and these sentiments.
We should repudiate the author, the editors and the paper that printed it.
They danced while we mourned alone.
They fast-track wealth to cronies while strangling the NHS.
They dehumanise the desperate, when the austerity they chose was to blame.
Even now, they gaslight us with terms like “supermajority” - stolen, like their propaganda, from America.
In a world where obvious lies are transformed into public truths by the ignorant asserting their "right to an opinion", we must remember & insist that holding up opinions as facts is far more arrogant than asserting the primacy of facts over opinions.
#FactsMatter
#evidencebased
If people can only support you in “secret” - because their support would be seen as unacceptable “in schools… and workplaces” then aren’t you just… well… awful?
"Britain is full of secret Conservatives - people who agree with us but don't want to admit it".
Former PM Liz Truss explains what her new movement, Popular Conservatism, is about.
📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube
4. You shouldn't need a wife or daughter to know it is wrong to sexualise, vilify and attempt to humiliate another human being in a way designed to rile up people who already hold an unhinged and disproportionate hatred of this particular woman.
Yesterday
@bbcbitesize
published a short explainer on
#WhitePrivilege
()
It seems to have triggered a certain response from some quarters.
Please watch and really engage with the substance of the video before commenting. Thank you.
At some point, it's hard to see this as anything other than a purposeful attempt to undermine all women.
This went through multiple levels of scrutiny to become a headline. Shameful.
2. Language like this nurtures the latent hatred so many men seem to harbour for women - apparently, or perhaps, especially for the women they covet. It fuels the ire and justifies the rage of incels and legitimises incivility against all women.
We can, and should, appreciate the awesome achievements of
@EmmaRaducanu
, while recognising the ignorance of those who characterised her Wimbledon campaign as a loss, and not a strategic regrouping masterclass.
#SuccessIsLumpy
not Linear.
#JediReflections
What does it say about our society when the mere protection of your
#MentalHealth
is considered a liberty? When our sole call and consideration consists of 'Entertain Me'? Compassion should be our watchword.
#SimoneBiles
#JediReflections
Interestingly, the people whose racism we excuse because of their age all seem to have managed to adapt to the myriad of changes over the last 50 years with aplomb - from iPhones to e-banking - but somehow learning how to be civil to people different from them has escaped them...
This woman is a monster who crashed our economy.
Speaking to a radical, far right-wing "think tank" & feeding them red meat that will harm real people.
That British MPs think it's acceptable to go to the US to spill their bile out of sight of the British people is sickening.
You can't expect economic growth and prosperity when companies are more focused on meeting meaningless diversity quotas and complying with radical climate change standards, rather than engaging in competition and generating money for their employees and the country.
Many of the people who defend bullying & harsh words at work, don't seem to realise you can be robust and you can have high expectations and demands and yet not have to tip into a space where you are being awful.
It should matter to people who call themselves Conservatives that this video is littered with lies.
It should matter to anyone who says they appreciate democracy when governments use to propaganda designed to demonise.
When I was 17, a stranger stopped me in the street. He told me that I looked like I could be great at basketball - so, despite never having played before, I gave it a shot. 6 years later, I was playing in the NBA.
Let this remind you of the weight of your words.
I just said “love you” while signing off an
#NHS
work call.
I’ve worked with this remarkable person for 8 years.
Was mortified until I realised it was true.
No, it hasn’t.
It’s shown that grieving parents can and will be exploited by evil shills that call themselves “religious”. People without an iota of medical or legal knowledge or a care in the world for what’s best for the child - or kindest for the parents.
1/10 We should be sceptical to the point of disgust when politicians focus their ire on so-called “public figures” for speaking out as conscientious citizens, as they have done with
@GaryLineker
.
A PSA for those who fear they “can’t say anything nowadays:”
‘Freedom of speech’ does NOT equal freedom from consequences of speech.
Invariably, when people complain about their speech being curtailed, what they’re REALLY angry about is being held accountable for what they say.
Everybody has biases, I can promise you, every single one of you has multiple forms of cognitive programming. There's no shame there. But not being vigilant of your biases and how they affect your behaviour...
Ch.4 The
#PromisesOfGiants
#JediReflections
I was delighted to help
@bbcbitesize
with this short video helping children understand the important difference between
#nonracist
and
#antiracist
. Know a young person, or even their parents, who might benefit? I'd be so grateful be if you could share:
1. When I was 17, a stranger stopped me in the street.
He told me that I looked like I could be great at basketball - so, despite never having played before, I gave it a shot.
6 years later, I was playing in the NBA.
6/6 It is (amongst others) the mega-rich who steal from us to provide bogus PPE and then fly in private jets to other countries to enjoy their spoils on a friend's yacht.
I would balance your sickness with your white "guilt" with my sickness of being stopped and searched 4 times a year, followed round shops by security, challenged to present ID in my own building & people like me being murdered by police.
Seems about a fair balance, right?
In the light of recent carnage, you may be tempted to utter the time-honoured phrase:
“This is not who we are!”
I encourage you not to indulge this delusion.
I welcome those counter-protesting and those doing clean up.
But many of us have known for years that this IS who we are.
“The language that we use… even in the question ‘Do we have a sick note culture?’ It’s cruel”
Chair of the NHS Confederation Victor Adebowale says the use of “performative” language needs to stop, and the government should show more "compassion"
#bbcqt
Another example of the political etiquette and so-called “balance” that is killing our democracy.
Can’t call a liar a liar.
Can’t call a racist a racist.
Can’t name the very flaw or deviation, machination or manipulation that allows their rot to spread.
BBC newsreader Geeta Guru-Murthy apologises on-air after accusing Nigel Farage of ‘customary inflammatory language’ during his speech at a Reform UK press conference in Dover today
I hope that people who think "there's no real problem in the UK" will read some (probably most) of the comments to this rather perfunctory advice on being anti-racist and realise how much work there is to do.
'What is the best thing for white people to do?' -
@piersmorgan
'You've got to recognise it's not enough to be 'not racist', educate yourself and make some demands of yourself of everyday things you're going to do' - Psychologist John Amaechi.
#GMB
Looks like I’m heading back onto
@LeBatardShow
today - I know it’s been a while!
I’m looking forward to hearing what Dan and the team will ask me and of course, emerging victorious in “Stump the Meech” 😳
Every time my white privilege video resurfaces, I have to block huge numbers of people just to cleanse my timeline from straw-men and deliberate lies.
So tiring, so please do drop in your stupid &/or racist comments now, so I can block all at once. Thank you.
In my company, we have a ‘time-back’ rule.
If you work late, you start late. You cannot work the following morning.
Short-term, it might not seem necessary or significant.
Long-term, it’s essential for people to take the rest they need.
Professor John Amaechi OBE… has quite a ring to it, right?
I am over the moon to share that I am joining the
@UniofExeter
Business School as an Honorary Professor.
This picture has been with me for decades… since
@LeBatardShow
first introduced me to David. It was a generous gift and an example of David’s kindness at a time of utter turmoil in my own life.
Thank you for sharing your light.
Yes, “all that immigration…” is mostly people paying to study in the UK and to work in health and care. The immigration narrative of this government, Braverman, Farage and others like them has always been toxic bullshit.
The immigration surge is down to Brexit.
It’s the new post-Brexit immigration rules kicking in (the “points-based system”)
Because Brexit caused EU citizens leave NHS & social care jobs, govt threw doors wide open to non-EU immigrants to fill job gaps.
Mo knows exactly how much damage is done when powerful people intimate racism as a means to avoid scrutiny & avoid critique, it harms ALL those (numerous) people - without Mo’s privilege - who legitimately suffer racism in and outside of sport.
“There’s a clear agenda to this, I’ve seen it many times. I’ve seen it with Raheem Sterling. I’ve seen it with Lewis Hamilton. I can’t win whatever I do.”
Here’s Farah accusing media of racism when asked about the Salazar scandal at his extraordinary appearance in Chicago y’day
1. There are shitty people in this world. Some of them are Trans, but MOST are not. You don’t need to claim to be Trans to get into a women’s space.
Cis Men peep. Cis Men violate women’s spaces. Cis Men violate women.
@afneil
Not everything is an opinion piece, Andrew. Significant research on - and supporting - the presence & impact of white privilege (& indeed lots of other types of privilege).
The earth is not flat or 6000 years old.
Climate change is real.
An opinion is not a balance to evidence.
If you haven't noticed the parallels between
#AntiMisogyny
&
#AntiRacism
or
#NotAllMen
&
#NotAllWhites
, let me be clear. Incivility, of any sort, towards any group, is intolerable. Decide what you stand for, and then stand for it. Hold yourself to account, or nothing will change.
If your response to this is "not all fans" then please just block me now.
This exists because these people KNOW they won't be stopped, they KNOW that few if any will be sanctioned.
They know this because this outcome is the status quo.
For the avoidance of doubt, I have heard every TERF argument out there... I have seen the selective use of stats and the out-and-out lying about Trans people and their offending.
You are entitled to disagree. And to not follow me.
But "define a man" is BS insta-block material.
Sat in a hotel bar, minding my own business, drinking old fashioned.
A man has joined me and has said in the first 10 minutes of conversation - “I’m not racist but…” at least 12 times.
I’ve said he needs to pay for my drinks if he wants to keep talking.
Well
@LeBatardShow
was fun today (and a bit sombre at times) - Stump the Meech went about as well as you might expect when
@MichaelRyanRuiz
has this much time to find clips and when he's still smarting from my previous victories.
Enjoy!
When it comes to Andrew Tate, people always want the simple answer. Most people look for answers that are not nuanced, not sophisticated and not our fault.
Tate embodies all these things...
Many people have asked me how I feel about the
#ChauvinTrial
Guilty verdict. So many thoughts. Primarily, one instance of accountability does not justice make, just as one salad doesn't make a diet. On
#StephenLawrenceDay
, commit to making a difference every day.
#JediReflections
1/6 Is there a word for being jubilant, relieved, underwhelmed, anxious and disappointed all at once?
If so, this is me.
I feel all of these acutely - passionately - and yet their waves interact in a way that feels unsettling as I cast my eye to the future.
5/6 Reject this assault on the dignity of people by their sophisticated mislabelling as scroungers.
The people stealing from you and I - scrounging off the public purse - are not care & health workers from other countries.
I am a Black man.
I am a Gay man.
People struggle to see me as both of those things simultaneously.
Both are equally important.
Both are equally valid.
Both shape my experience across all aspects of life.
Intersectionality matters.
"Who'd want to shag that..."
Disgusting.
Two awful men chuckle as they exhibit qualities we should ALL decry.
It's no good saying it's not ALL men while this goes on.
It's not 'cancel culture' to remove both these monsters from a public discourse that should be civil.
I am so pleased that this is the threat to human dignity that has united our political discourse.
After all, we all know a shared focus of the truly important issues in our world is a sign of a mature democracy.
🚨 NEW: The Tories, Labour and Lib Dems have all united to condemn Nike's new St George cross design on the England Euro shirt as they demand a return to the original
4/6 It is despicable how language is used to denigrate and dehumanise people who eagerly do work that so many of us not from "overseas" can't or won't do.
This woman isn’t voting b/c there isn’t a party that’s extreme right enough for her.
People will rush to “not all” her views.
They will insist that “most voters” who vote right focus on taxes or pensions.
But this sentiment is there: telling people born in UK to “go home.”
Vile.
Went to Lee Anderson's constituency with
@novaramedia
to see what issues are cutting through to voters - got told I wasn't English, Enoch Powell had the right idea and to go back where I came from. This encounter, sadly, was not an outlier. Full report out Friday.
@brianmoore666
Because one too many (usually) conservative/republican politicians have been caught liking porn posts (while holding sex-negative/regressive/zealotous positions and/or incredibly racist /fascist posts.
People want to deal with racism without feeling uncomfortable.
To that I have one word: tough.
You can not dismantle something this abhorrent, and have it feel fluffy.
It is going to be uncomfortable - but it is worth it.
3/6 Think about the malignant tropes these politicians invoke when they describe "essential care workers" with "partners, children or parents" as "overseas care workers" with "dependents".
I am on a plane about to head to Miami and then on to Vancouver!
For those who care, yes, I will be going onto
@LeBatardShow
.
Let me know what you want us to talk about!
You may also want to ask Dan about the drag brunch his better half & I are taking him to this Sunday!
This is stupid, self-interested policy-vomit designed to ingratiate cynical, cognitively dissonant voters (the kind who think Rwanda is a solution to refugees) who never experienced National Service and wouldn’t have supported it if they had.
🧵1/8 I love that
@RexChapman
is making sure everyone knows what a racket the NCAA is.
In my first book, I wanted to use the phrase “a 21st century plantation” to describe the way it profits of labour in exchange for “an education” & board.
I keep waiting on the NCAA to do a sit down with
@60Minutes
on how corrupt they knew they always were but now that they’ve had their brains beat out in the courts they are having to swallow this whole NIL thing being shoved down their throats.
I want to see how they are going
Tracy Chapman performed live for the first time in five years on Seth Meyers last night.
She picked the prefect song.
“Talkin’ Bout a Revolution”.
Tracy Chapman for the win...
I know you’ll have heard this before. But it’s galling.
I stood behind a couple who were both perplexed and mad they couldn’t use the automated passport machines in Berlin airport “…like they used to” - while also saying “…they didn’t say this would happen” re: Brexit
*sigh*
Please be smart this evening.
We ALL want OUT.
If you clapped for the
#NHS
.
If you want 2021 to be more "normal."
Stay in.
Don't mix beyond allowed exceptions.
Wear a mask.
Just because you're at 'low risk' doesn't protect others.
COVID isn't a hoax.
Whats wrong - as it always is - is the assertion that the country is his to “take.”
Not to mention that the “back” (in time) he desires is a grifter’s fool’s gold with merits to society akin to eliminating indoor plumbing.
When I enter a boardroom filled with high-level executives who are predominantly white and male, I always ask them to wonder, "What are the chances?"
What are the chances that the very best brains for these jobs are all sitting in the heads of white men?
Wow.
12 years on Twitter.
12 years of trolls, loons & conspiracy theorists.
But gladly, 12 years of new connections, of strangers becoming friends & newsworthy nuggets that wouldn’t have made the news without Twitter.
Thank you so much to my followers for sticking with me.
Recognising white privilege doesn’t negate your hard work or hardships.
It is simply recognising that your skin colour has not been the cause of that suffering.