You-can-call-me-kal wrote:
WoodenSpoon wrote:
I can't see the tweet as anything other than a bland restatement of a core left wing tenet about entrenched inequalities and power imbalance. If that sounds too much like an anti-semitic conspiracy theory then I'm at a loss, I have no idea how Corbyn could make that point in a way that wasn't seen as racist. He can't just completely stop talking about vested interests "until strong action is taken" on anti-semitism.
It's frustrating because there are plenty of cases of genuine anti-semitism on the left - that Galloway tweet from the other day about fifth columnists "crucifying JC" for instance - and cases where the left is blind to anti-semitism - Corbyn retweeting the street art with the caricatured Jewish bankers - but there are plenty of examples like this one, where I honestly think there is absolutely no case to answer. It's the sort of complex, nuanced situation that our politics is absolutely useless at solving because MPs are too eager to brand their opponents a disgrace. The rush to take offence makes the whole thing intractable.
For the record, yes, I think more could be done on anti-semitism. How hard can it be to bring Momentum activists into line on Twitter - you put the comms out that they're on notice and you make examples of people... But I also think it's used as a stick to hit Corbyn with for points. Hey ho.
Thanks for the detailed response. A few thoughts.
The context of all this other antisemitism stuff is important. It is the current big issue and at the heart of the crisis the Party is facing. So any generic statement Corbyn makes will be interpreted through that lens. And again, this is extremely common dogma when it comes to antisemites. Even if Corbyn wasn't in any way intending that, he should be aware of the 'optics' of it. And again, you'll forgive me if at this point I'm no longer giving him the benefit of the doubt.
Second I think it's important to recognise the nature and point of dog-whistling. The whole point of it is that most people won't see or hear the message - hence the name.
Yes, racism is absolutely used as a stick to hit Corbyn with. Should it not be? Should we not hit the Tories with the Grenfell stick or the Windrush stick? Should we not have given Boris or Hunt a hard time for their racism? This is the 'weaponisation' point that I constantly take issue with. Because the implication is that it's being enhanced or even created to use as a weapon. Because if people really believed he was racist there would be no issue with that being a stick to beat him with.
And that's why I would suggest being careful with phrases like "it's frustrating because there are plenty of case of genuine anti-semitism" or "the rush to take offence", or construction an entire paragraph around saying 'yes there's some antisemitism BUT...". Because as much as there is a level of empathy and solidarity to your post, what it feels like you're saying is that this isn't actually such a big issue, and that if anything Jews are making it worse for themselves by making it out to be a bigger deal than it is.
Sorry, missed this yesterday... I totally respect your POV but don't think we'll agree on this!
I understand your not wanting to give Corbyn the benefit of the doubt, but you must see that if that means any reference he makes to "interest groups" hits the standard for a racist dog whistle, then he's stuck; he can't even make the most mundane leftish statement without it being seen as somewhere between tin-eared and outright racist. It's an unfair and impossible standard you're holding him to, and one that precludes reconciliation.
The thing is... my post was about how a completely innocent tweet was being read as insensitive, or a dog whistle. So by definition I am saying the issue of anti-semitism in the Labour Party is not as big as it is sometimes made out - that it's at least one tweet smaller than it was being made out to be here - and I also think that when an innocent statement is interpreted so uncharitably, it can harm the cause of anti-racism by feeding into conspiracy narratives, which as you say are a cornerstone of anti-semitism.
Also, for clarity, when I talk about anti-semitism allegations being used as a stick to beat Corbyn with, I do mean that I believe they are sometimes, occasionally, made in bad faith, or exaggerated. For example, I think there's an odd overlap between MPs who think a Corbyn government would borrow too much, and those who have decided the guy's a racist. This is not in any way to suggest that Labour anti-semitism isn't a huge, real issue, just that it isn't one that is immune from being taken advantage of for cynical political gain.
Bit of a moral maze I guess, but fundamentally I think people are too quick to take offence, anti-semitism has been used cynically to attack Corbyn, and if we can't recognise those things whilst also understanding that Labour anti-semitism is a huge, critical issue that needs to be dealt with, then it will quite possibly never be resolved. |
WoodenSpoon 12,360 posts