Diane Abbott: she has suffered more racist abuse than anybody you can name – along with any other criticism her detractors can throw at her.

Diane Abbott is under attack again (it’s a Sunday; presumably these people have nothing better to do) – for sharing a Zoom call with racists.

I’ll let her explain:

Before we get into the meat of this, let’s set one thing straight right away: some ignorants have claimed that she was wrong to refer to Uyghur as a place. They were wrong:

https://twitter.com/SotonFranny/status/1328045953711038464

Perhaps more serious is the allegation that she deliberately shares platforms with apologists for atrocities:

https://twitter.com/ToubeDavid/status/1327910061608407041

Some critics have claimed that she could have looked up the named people with whom she was sharing the call, and should have boycotted it when she found out it included atrocity apologists. However:

The reference to John Rentoul is accurate. See:

The point by “Marl Karx” is a good one, though: de-platforming is a recent phenomenon – and not a very clever one. If you leave an event because you don’t like some of the other people on it, you are giving them more space in which to put forward their views. Isn’t it better to attend, and challenge?

Finally, there is the issue of double-standards:

https://twitter.com/misslucyp/status/1327944914110394368

This claim about Starmer provoked a strong adverse response from people who claimed Starmer stuck around. However:

https://twitter.com/ScaryNewDad/status/1327978132188565509

There’s also this:

Inevitably there’s the spectre of Tony Blair. I wish I had Owen Jones’s research resources (or maybe the amount of spare time he seems to have) – although I obviously don’t share his views on what Abbott did. His comments on Blair are interesting and I include only the beginning and the end of them here, so take a look at the whole thread.

Finally, there’s the issue of unwitting support of atrocities by people who denounce them:

It’s possible that we are all guilty of this kind of behaviour. We cannot know that the products we buy are produced under duress, in circumstances we should deplore, if we’re not told.

But then, why aren’t we told?

Have YOU donated to my crowdfunding appeal, raising funds to fight false libel claims by TV celebrities who should know better? These court cases cost a lot of money so every penny will help ensure that wealth doesn’t beat justice.

https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/mike-sivier-libel-fight/

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