… Read the restWith the research emerging overnight that Jo Cox MP’s murderer Tommy Mair was a supporter of various extreme right wing groups and the three eyewitness accounts that he shouted “Britain first”, it is looking increasingly likely that this was an act of nationalist far right terrorism.
Quilliam condemns this repulsive act and remembers the wonderful life of Jo Cox, an MP, a mother of two, a tireless campaigner for refugees, the chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group ‘Friends of Syria’ and the former Head of Policy at Oxfam. Our thoughts are with her friends and family on this dark day for British politics.
The terrorist Tommy Mair was a long standing member of the
The negative symbiosis between Islamist and far right extremism
Jun 17th, 2016 4:27 pm | By Ophelia BensonBritain’s enduring fascist heritage
Jun 17th, 2016 4:04 pm | By Ophelia BensonJuliet Samuel at the Telegraph – yes really – says the murder of Jo Cox is far-right terrorism.
The Quilliam Foundation, one of Britain’s foremost anti-extremism think tanks, has been the first major organisation to call this dreadful event by its name: an act of nationalist far-Right terrorism.
Why does it matter what we call it?
… Read the restBecause calling it by its name shakes us out of our complacency and it helps us to understand how we should react. There’s a tendency to think of Britain as a moderate, sensible, reasonable place. Until yesterday, we had been spared the horrifying extremist attacks that have recently been taking place in other western countries. And Britain is mostly a safe and moderate
“She got what she deserved”
Jun 17th, 2016 11:24 am | By Ophelia BensonNever mind. Apparently the “source” is a “satire” site although I’m damned if I can find any confirmation of that. I was misled by the fact that it cited Breitbart – not because Breitbart is reliable but because it doesn’t consider itself satire.
Oh god oh god oh god.
… Read the rest
Sarah Palin, former governor of Alaska, commented on the tragedy in her own, provocative style, saying that “it’s no use trying to teach people that pacifism doesn’t work when you have things like these happening almost every day. A woman who had a family, a husband and two young children, was shot dead in the middle of the street like a beggar. Who should we be upset with?
Guest post: A seething morass of racial animosity
Jun 17th, 2016 11:16 am | By Ophelia BensonOriginally a comment by Claire on A noxious brew.
When I moved from the UK to the US, several years ago, I was genuinely shocked at the amount of open racism I saw from just people on the street right up through the rhetoric of politicians. I was appalled and admittedly a little complacent – I didn’t think the UK was some racism-free utopia, but it seemed considerably better by comparison.
The EU referendum campaign has opened my eyes to a seething morass of racial animosity that apparently was right there beneath the surface the whole time. It’s horrifying – what has happened to my country of birth in the years since I moved away? I hadn’t even planned … Read the rest
Only a matter of time before we take it to the next level
Jun 17th, 2016 10:54 am | By Ophelia BensonThe Guardian is live updating coverage of the murder of Jo Cox. The newest item is terrifying:
… Read the restIn a further indication of far right reaction to the murder of Jo Cox, the Observer’s home affairs editor Mark Townsend reports that another Yorkshire MP received a death threat for sympathising with refugees the day before Jo Cox was murdered.
Notts Casual Infidels, a far right group belonging to the extremist Infidels network, posted an image of York Central Labour MP Rachael Maskell addressing a “refugees welcome rally” at 9:39am on Thursday June 15 with the warning: “This bitch needs to disappear.”
Hours after Cox’s death later that day, the same group said in a Facebook post: “We knew it was
She had to somehow stand for both
Jun 17th, 2016 10:41 am | By Ophelia BensonJulian Borger had a conversation with Jo Cox on Tuesday.
… Read the restOn Tuesday in Westminster, she talked for an hour about trolling, Brexit, Labour in the north, Syria and humanitarian intervention, life as an MP and the struggle to make a difference. We were supposed to meet on Wednesday, but it was brought forward because she had to go to her Yorkshire constituency a day early in an attempt to shore up the remain vote. That was what she was doing when she was killed.
The overwhelming majority of Labour members in Batley and Spen oppose her position on the EU referendum, and she conceded Labour had failed to connect with its supporters on immigration. A dispassionate debate on the issue
The bullying was an accident
Jun 17th, 2016 10:08 am | By Ophelia BensonSpeaking of ugly climates…there’s this private school in Texas…
… Read the restThe parents of a 12-year-old black girl have sued her Texas school after a group of white classmates allegedly wrapped a rope around her neck and “violently jerked” her to the ground, leaving burns in her skin that are documented in graphic photos included in the complaint.
The incident, which reportedly left the girl with a “severe and painful” rope cut on her neck, has brought national attention to Live Oak classical school, a largely white private school in Waco, Texas, that has been accused of having a history of bullying problems.
The lawsuit filed this week – which seeks damages of $3m for medical bills, physical pain, disfigurement
A noxious brew
Jun 17th, 2016 9:52 am | By Ophelia BensonPolly Toynbee on the ugly climate in the UK right now:
… Read the restThere are many decent people involved in the campaign to secure Britain’s withdrawal from the EU, many who respect the referendum as the exercise in democracy that it is. But there are others whose recklessness has been open and shocking. I believe they bear responsibility, not for the attack itself, but for the current mood: for the inflammatory language, for the finger-jabbing, the dogwhistling and the overt racism.
It’s been part of a noxious brew, with a dangerous anti-politics and anti-MP stereotypes fomented by leave and their media backers mixed in. Only an hour before this shooting Nigel Farage unveiled a huge poster showing Syrian refugees fleeing to
The only platform they can safely use
Jun 17th, 2016 8:57 am | By Ophelia BensonAyman El Kaissi reports on Facebook’s censorship of atheist groups and the resistance to same.
… Read the restIn the middle of April, Facebook removed more than six Arabic-speaking atheist pages due to “violations” of Community Standards. This is not the first time that Facebook has censored atheists and freethinkers in the MENA region. In response, the Atheist Alliance – Middle-East and North Africa (AA-MENA) has decided to speak out, demanding that Facebook change the way it addresses violation reports, so as to preserve members’ freedom of speech.
In February 2016, ten of the largest Arabic-speaking atheist groups, with a total of about 100,000 members, have been deactivated for the same reason: heavy reporting campaigns that are organized by “cyber jihadist” fundamentalist Islamic
What nobler vision can there be?
Jun 16th, 2016 6:04 pm | By Ophelia BensonI’ve seen many people praising the Guardian’s editorial on the murder of Jo Cox, and rightly so.
… Read the restJo Cox, however, was not just any MP doing her duty. She was also an MP who was driven by an ideal. The former charity worker explained what that ideal was as eloquently as anyone could in her maiden speech last year. “Our communities have been deeply enhanced by immigration,” she insisted, “be it of Irish Catholics across the constituency or of Muslims from Gujarat in India or from Pakistan, principally from Kashmir. While we celebrate our diversity, what surprises me time and time again as I travel around the constituency is that we are far more united and have far more
When you shout BREAKING POINT over and over again
Jun 16th, 2016 5:23 pm | By Ophelia BensonAlex Massie in the Spectator on a day of infamy. (The actual Roosevelt phrase is “a day that will live in infamy.”)
… Read the restThe poster unveiled by Nigel Farage this morning marked a new low, even for him.
The mask – the pawky, gin o’clock, you know what I mean, mask – didn’t slip because there was no mask at all. BREAKING POINT, it screamed above a queue of dusky-hued refugees waiting to cross a border. The message was not very subtle: Vote Leave, Britain, or be over-run by brown people. Take control. Take back our country. You know what I mean, don’t you: If you want a Turk – or a Syrian – for a neighbour, vote Remain
Guest post: Lies wrapped in emotional appeal
Jun 16th, 2016 4:32 pm | By Ophelia BensonGuest post by Jen Phillips, originally on Facebook and posted here by permission.
The movie ‘Vaxxed’ is showing at the David Minor Theater in Eugene this week. It’s billed as a documentary, but, like many other films claiming that genre, it’s chock full of inaccuracies and spin. For a ‘reality based’ gal like me, most of the time I just find that annoying, but in the case of ‘Vaxxed’, I find it dangerous and infuriating.
Why dangerous? Because lying about vaccine safety scares a significant number of parents into opting out of vaccines for their children. That puts the children and their communities at risk for serious diseases. “Lying” isn’t a term I throw around lightly, but that’s exactly … Read the rest
Parliament Square
Jun 16th, 2016 11:35 am | By Ophelia BensonJeremy Corbyn pays tribute to Jo Cox with other Labour MPs & announces suspension of campaigning until the weekend https://t.co/8EkBqa5b3l
— Sky News Tonight (@SkyNewsTonight) June 16, 2016
Proud Yorkshire Lass. Labour MP for Batley & Spen
Jun 16th, 2016 11:32 am | By Ophelia Benson
If you really want to break your heart you could just check out Jo Cox on Twitter.
Mum. Proud Yorkshire Lass. Labour MP for Batley & Spen. Boat dweller. Mountain climber. Former aid worker.
Or the reactions.
… Read the rest
Jo believed in a better world and she fought for it every day of her life
Jun 16th, 2016 10:59 am | By Ophelia BensonThe Indy has a statement by Brendan Cox, husband of MP Jo Cox who was just murdered by yet another man with a gun.
… Read the restIn a statement, Brendan Cox said: “Today is the beginning of a new chapter in our lives. More difficult, more painful, less joyful, less full of love. I and Jo’s friends and family are going to work every moment of our lives to love and nurture our kids and to fight against the hate that killed Jo.
“Jo believed in a better world and she fought for it every day of her life with an energy, and a zest for life that would exhaust most people.
“She would have wanted two things above all else
Enough already
Jun 16th, 2016 10:53 am | By Ophelia BensonThe Independent on Jo Cox:
… Read the restThe Labour MP who campaigned tirelessly for refugees
In a tragically short 15 months as an MP, Jo Cox, who was been killed at the age of 41, made her mark as one of the brightest and best of the MPs elected for the first time at last year’s general election.
Many newcomers struggle to stand out from the Commons crowd, but the former head of humanitarian campaigning at Oxfam made an instant impact. She called repeatedly for Britain to do more to help the victims of Syria’s civil war. She knew what she was talking about: she was still in regular contact with friends and former colleagues in the aid world working to help
Jo Cox
Jun 16th, 2016 9:53 am | By Ophelia BensonHideous news from Birstall, West Yorks – Labour MP Jo Cox has been murdered.
Jo Cox, 41, Labour MP for Batley and Spen, was left bleeding on the ground by her attacker. A 77-year-old man also suffered slight injuries.
A 52-year-old man was arrested near Market Street, Birstall, West Yorkshire Police said. The MP held a weekly advice surgery nearby.
The MP’s death was confirmed at police headquarters in Wakefield.
…
Ms Cox, who was born in Batley, was elected in 2015.
She was educated at Heckmondwike Grammar School and graduated from Cambridge University in 1995.
A former head of policy for Oxfam, she also worked as an adviser to Sarah Brown and Baroness Kinnock.
I feel sick.… Read the rest
Make Vancouver a john-free zone
Jun 15th, 2016 4:58 pm | By Ophelia BensonMeghan Murphy wishes the mayor of Vancouver would uphold the law.
… Read the restAt 5:30 on Tuesday evening, just over 100 people gathered on the front steps of Vancouver City Hall to demand Mayor Gregor Robertson follow through on his commitments to women and girls. The event, organized by Creating John-Free Communities, Asian Women Coalition Ending Prostitution, and REED, was clear in its aims: Make Vancouver a john-free zone.
In 2009, Robertson signed a declaration naming prostitution as violence against women. Just last year, he signed a second declaration, committing to end “abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of modern slavery, which are crimes against humanity, including forced labor and prostitution.” Today, the Mayor
Papering Persky
Jun 15th, 2016 12:00 pm | By Ophelia BensonJudge Aaron Persky now has to deal with the fact that prosecutors don’t trust him.
… Read the restSanta Clara County prosecutors on Tuesday blocked Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky from hearing another sex crime case, citing his decision in the Turner case.
“We are disappointed and puzzled at Judge Persky’s unusual decision to unilaterally dismiss a case before the jury could deliberate,” Dist. Atty. Jeff Rosen said. “After this and the recent turn of events, we lack confidence that Judge Persky can fairly participate in this upcoming hearing in which a male nurse sexually assaulted an anesthetized female patient. In the future, we will evaluate each case on its own merits and decide if we should use our legal right to
Highlighting
Jun 15th, 2016 11:27 am | By Ophelia BensonNational Public Radio thinks Mariella Mosthof’s piece telling white straight “cis” people not to write about Orlando is so good that it needs to be highlighted on NPR.
Really, NPR?
In an essay for Bustle, Mariella Mosthof reflects on how this type of violence can end up affirming straight anxieties over queerness. She says parents can reject their queer children “from a place of their own fear, or their own desire for you to be safe,” and the conviction that “the easiest way for you to be safe is for you to be ‘normal.'”
But she said a lot more than that, and at the beginning of the piece, and what she said there was frankly ugly and … Read the rest
