Ollie Robinson/Shamima Begum: why are the LEFT being attacked over racist tweets?
Tory hypocrite: Oliver Dowden. His only previous contribution to public debate is a claim that it was safe to go into a swimming pool with loads of other people who had never had a Covid-19 test in their life. That was right before the second wave (of the virus).
This is a weird one.
It seems cricketer Ollie Robinson has been found to have published racist and sexist tweets 10 years ago, when he was 18 or 19 years old.
The messages were unearthed by somebody who, one can only conclude, wanted to harm Robinson and timed their release to take place at a moment when he was on the field, making his debut representing England.
I would suggest that there is a certain amount of malice involved in that.
Robinson apologised immediately on being told about the revelation, but has been suspended from the England team for its next match, pending an investigation.
He has been criticised for failing to delete the tweets. It seems likely, to me, that he had simply forgotten about them. Such things happen. I’m not trying to defend him; I don’t have to. He has apologised.
But when Tory Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden stepped in saying much the same, the responses were extremely revealing. Here’s his tweet:
Ollie Robinson’s tweets were offensive and wrong.
They are also a decade old and written by a teenager. The teenager is now a man and has rightly apologised. The ECB has gone over the top by suspending him and should think again.
— Oliver Dowden (@OliverDowden) June 7, 2021
Here’s a response:
Funny how Tories believe Shamima Begum should be held responsible but a (white) man several years older than her must be forgiven for any past indiscretions because of his youth.
What could the difference be ?🤔
— Monsignor it's all Corbyn's fault. (@ItCorbyn) June 7, 2021
Far-right headbangers leapt to the conclusion that “The Left” in its entirety must be saying that Shamima Begum should be allowed to return to the UK, despite her support for IS and her former status as an IS bride.
https://twitter.com/LoyalDefender2K/status/1401815533310328835
That’s not what was being said. And it isn’t the Left being hypocritical here.
Dowden is a member of the government that barred Begum from returning to the UK, because of her attitude when she was 15. He also wants Robinson to be forgiven for his attitude when he was 18.
That is hypocritical. It is also a false comparison.
Robinson has apologised. Begum has not. In interviews with her, she made it clear that she still held the views that took her to the Middle East; still supported the ideology of IS that beheaded its opponents. She had seen decapitated heads and thought nothing of it.
So the right-wing attack dogs who are attacking the left are not only supporting a Tory hypocrite; they are themselves taking a hypocritical attitude.
And then they complain about “cancel culture”!
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‘Dowden is a member of the government that barred Begum from returning to the UK, because of her attitude when she was 15. He also wants Robinson to be forgiven for his attitude when he was 18.
That is hypocritical. It is also a false comparison.
Robinson has apologised. Begum has not. In interviews with her, she made it clear that she still held the views that took her to the Middle East; still supported the ideology of IS that beheaded its opponents. She had seen decapitated heads and thought nothing of it.’
The women hating boys always demonise women and Shamima Begum is another scapegoat. Remember all those adult male terrorists who returned to the UK and fascist tories said they were being ‘de radicalised!’ Ms. Begum was a child when male terrorists targetted her and of course she won’t apologise and grovel to the fascist tory government!
Dowden is indeed one of the fascist tories who removed Ms. Begum’s citizenship illegally!
So continue to deflect attention away fom the real issue which is why were so many adult male terrorists allowed to return to the UK but a young woman who was targeted by male terrorists as a child is demonised?
You’re absolutely right that if adult male terrorists were returned to the UK with no fuss, this was a wrong decision. Everybody should be treated the same. For me, that means they should be kept OUT of the UK, in the same way Begum has been.