Diane Abbot

[DodgyAgent]

What I meant is that using generalisation in speech does not necessarily make you a racist, it's just lazy and dumb.

Personally, I can't stand the woman but she's as guilty of discrimination/hate as Jeremy Clarkson was over the public sector shooting suggestion.

The difference between her and Clarkson was that Clarkson was joking. She on the other hand is revealing a racist streak in her attitude-lazy and dumb it may be, but it is as racist as it gets. Just imagine if it had been a white MP generalising about black people, and saying that Black people are opportunistic and lazy for example.

[Doggy Styles]

I'm not too bothered about what Abbott said, or Suarez come to that.

There's still enough real unfair discrimination going on, whether racial, ageist or whatever, without spending thousands of hours of broadcasting and acres of newspaper print making sanctimonious mountains out of molehills.

[administrator]

In my day you were a racist if you wanted to stick people in the ovens, or murder them at bus stops. If you wanted to make a sweeping generalisation you were a plonker or a d1ckhead

Abbot and people like her have made this particular bed, let her lie in it

That's the crux of it IMO. She should have been more aware of what she was writing, to say it was taken out of context or that it was difficult to explain her true meaning in 140 characters is pretty lame.

[vetran]

Agree EO.

Treat other people etc. Lets see her be fined and embarrassed maybe it will make her think about her obviously racist views in future.

She made a derogatory remark based on colour, she is constantly referencing her colour like its a reason to feel hard done by, not proud. It just builds the feeling of injustice.

I'd like to see her telling the feckless to get off their butts and behave regardless of colour, not saying everyone is against them. She is in an ideal position to do this.

Unfortunately certain communities have minimal paternal involvement or regard for the law which leads to criminality that isn't a discrimination issue that's how that particular ethnic mix in that particular community behaves.

It isn't because 'they is Black' or oppressed, its because of the way they behave in that particular situation. Abbot should be encouraging them to follow the Indians and Chinese or even the respectable Afro Carribeans that have integrated well. These people behave differently and are on the whole seen as a valuable addition to the community by the majority but are just as obviously racially different.

[Platypus]

and it is "job protection" policies of the left that mean teachers work to rule and do not teach out of hours sports

Wrong.

I know quite a few teachers and all work very hard. Many more hours than they are contracted to do. None that I know conform to the short-days-long-holidays stereotype.

Many have given up "after hours" activities because they are now personally liable if anything should go wrong.

[mrdonuts]

Wrong.

I know quite a few teachers and all work very hard..

i notice that whenever the issue of lazy/useless stupid teachers/lecturers gets mentioned there are one or two on here who immediately claim to know a few who work quite hard ---who are they? go on lets have their names or some evidence - otherwise quite frankly i dont believe it

[SimonMac]

Its ok, she has apologised we can all go about our lives without having to descend into another Daily Mail like rant on non issues

[administrator]

My better half was a primary teacher before we had kids. I can vouch for how hard some (see, I am not falling into the Abbot trap!) of them work.

[BrilloPad]

i notice that whenever the issue of lazy/useless stupid teachers/lecturers gets mentioned there are one or two on here who immediately claim to know a few who work quite hard ---who are they? go on lets have their names or some evidence - otherwise quite frankly i dont believe it

All teachers at my children's school work very hard. A couple of stupid ones. I would not swap with them.

[EternalOptimist]

i notice that whenever the issue of lazy/useless stupid teachers/lecturers gets mentioned there are one or two on here who immediately claim to know a few who work quite hard ---who are they? go on lets have their names or some evidence - otherwise quite frankly i dont believe it

Jack Wesby, the PE teacher worked hard, he used to take us to Tord Vale camping. Then there was Mr J* who ran the electrical group and watched diligently to make sure we all got clean in the showers afterwards


mind you, they've both been dead for 30 years so I suppose they dont count