Not just harmless rants from a sad man in his bedroom

Jul 9th, 2017 | By
Category: Notes and Comment Blog

Again a woman says hey maybe it would be a good idea to stop harassing women every time a woman utters a thought; again the response is (of course) to harass her.

Labour needs to be a “broad-based party” and its supporters must stop engaging in “vitriolic abuse” online, Yvette Cooper said as she set out the steps needed to put Jeremy Corbyn in 10 Downing Street.

The senior Labour MP warned that the Donald Trump approach to politics was “normalising hatred” and the problem was not confined to the right wing.

She highlighted the “unacceptable” and “utterly shameful” abuse directed at Labour MP Luciana Berger, who has been targeted by supporters of Mr Corbyn over her past criticism of the leader.

And she also defended BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg, who has been subjected to vitriol from all sides.

But if women don’t want to be abused, they shouldn’t say things.

Ms Cooper, speaking at the Fabian Society conference in London just hours after Theresa May met Donald Trump in the margins of the G20 summit, lashed out at the US president and condemned the Prime Minister’s failure to speak out against him.

Referring to Mr Trump‘s use of Twitter, she said: “These aren’t just harmless rants from a sad man in his bedroom.

“This is the bully pulpit of the most powerful man on the planet, broadcast direct to millions of people, echoed and amplified by the Breitbarts, the cheerleaders, the echo chambers.”

Ms Cooper, who set up the Reclaim The Internet campaign to challenge online abuse, said she was “sick to death of the vitriol poured out from all sides towards Laura Kuenssberg”.

“It is her job to ask difficult questions. It is her job to be sceptical about everything we say. Nothing justifies the personal vitriol, or the misogyny.”

Condemning the abuse aimed at Liverpool Wavertree MP Ms Berger, Ms Cooper said: “Frankly Labour Party members should be united in supporting Luciana, not targeting her or trying to intimidate her. Unacceptable always in the Labour party. Utterly shameful against someone who has stood up to fascists, someone who is on maternity leave.

“Nor is there any excuse for vitriolic abuse against our opponents. During this general election campaign some Tory women MPs and candidates were targeted with unacceptable personal abuse from the left.”

So…naturally:

2 Responses to “Not just harmless rants from a sad man in his bedroom”