21 November 2014

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In my view, Twitter is for twits. It has caused so many ructions that I wonder why people bother with the nonsense. Apart from anything else, I can't abide the notion that thoughts or observations might be distilled into a mere 140 characters. This economy makes a mockery of written communication through the ages. And another thing, why would anybody want "followers"? Jesus Christ had followers and so did Adolf Hitler but personally I wouldn't want to be somebody who is "followed". They might mug me down a dark alley.

See the image above that was tweeted two days ago by the Labour Party's Emily Thornberry. She was the shadow attorney general but now - because of that tweet - she has lost her position in the shadow cabinet. Personally, I am glad she has gone. This privileged barrister, whose father Cedric was Assistant United Nations Secretary General, sent her own children to a posh school outside her London neighbourhood. She is a hypocrite. A smug metropolitan wordsmith who saw the Labour Party as a great career move. Such a contrast with the men and women who forged the Labour Party to represent the needs and aspirations of ordinary working people.

Let me explain that picture. It seems to encapsulate a widespread and rather snobbish view of the ordinary working class family in Britain today. They live in a small house and they have a white van on the block paving. There are two St George flags hanging from the windows. Their patriotism might be interpreted as a form of nationalistic bigotry - God Save the Queen but get rid of the immigrants. I have no doubt that Emily Thornberry was poking fun at the very people she is meant to represent - British workers and their families - the very people who made The Labour Party a hundred years ago. 

She may also have failed to appreciate that those flags were hanging from the house the morning after England had trounced Scotland in Glasgow in a "friendly" football international. It is very likely that the residents are simply proud England fans who put the flags out to express their sporting allegiance.

Thornberry goes to dinner parties and likes fine wines. She visits the theatre and lives the Islington high life. She reads "The Times" and still follows the intricacies of ongoing legal cases. She does not count the pennies in her purse or struggle to get the ironing done. She does not sit glued to the telly watching mind-numbing pap or hear the people next door rowing or wonder if she can afford a holiday on the Costa Blanca next summer or seek cheap house insurance on the internet or receive school reports on her children which say "disruptive" and "could do better". No, Emily Thornberry has resided in a privileged bubble. 

Though it has no accompanying words, the image she tweeted says a great deal about her and sadly it consolidates what a lot of working people have been thinking about the Labour elite. They are inauthentic and out of touch with the party's roots. I wonder if she'll tweet a picture of her crestfallen face or an apology for the damage her arrogance has done.

25 comments:

  1. You have followers YP ~ of your blog. Have you used Twiiter? You can set up a Twiiter account on your PC ~ you don't need a mobile phone to tweet. I find Twitter useful for keeping abreast of issues and causes I feel passionate about ~ Far North Queensland, opportunities for indigenous people, the environment and education. More times than not, the tweets are hyperlinks to websites ~ much like Google.

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    1. Okay Carol, I respect your enthusiasm but it is not a tool that appeals to me. I couldn't be bothered with it.

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  2. YP, I follow blogs and I've got a white van. I don't twitter and I don't Arsebook.
    These are football supporters as the third flag shows. I am not one of them either. If I were "One of Them" I could possibly find something to recommend football.

    She should never have been appointed but Westminster is full to the rafters with her and her Ilk. In 140 characters....."Good riddance". I've only managed a tenth of them.

    Are you being a little unkind with the photos you chose to show of her or is this her at her best. I was looking for Kermit but he doesn't seem to be there. Did you clone him out?

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    1. Kermit?...Oh I see what you mean Adrian. You cheeky chappie!

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    2. I am very to the left of centre, Old Labour. I even enjoyed Neil Kinnock falling over on a seaside wander. Pity he didn't fall in the sea and be gobbled up. He started the rot. Michael foot was perfect. John Smith a bit of a bible basher but fine, the good Lord obviously thought otherwise and saved us from St John.

      I did watch the Muppets. Brilliant it was. I wish I could vote for them. I will vote UKIP. I don't like them but it's what's called a spoiler. Anything to avoid all the weird, lying and paedophiliac Liberals even sitting in Westminster .

      Now.........I could no more vote for the Tories than I could slit my throat. I look at Dithery and think Pillock. I know he is half bright but he hasn't got the bottle. Probably played Fives, Lacrosse a vicious game of Scabble or football as a child.

      Like most folk and him I'll blame his teachers but you are supposed to grow out of that. It's called getting wiser.

      Did I write ArseBook it was a typo. I meant FaceBook.

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    3. With all your nature ramblings I had assumed that you were an adherent of The Green Party.

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    4. Not at all. Old Labour through and through but they don't exist. So I have no one to vote for.
      I do love nature walks but I invent the Latin names for stuff I see. Botanists and mycologists do so why shouldn't I. It gives the posts a bit of gravitas. It's a rare day I get gainsaid. Write in big letters and folk accept it. Pop them into artwork and Bob is your uncle. It's fun.

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    5. Bob Brague is not my uncle! Let me say here and now that that we are not blood relatives! The idea is perfectly ridiculous....See I know what you mean about kidology Adrian!

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  3. I must say Twitter doesn't interest me but I LOVE Facebook as it keeps me in touch with friends and family all over the world on a daily basis and I get to share their lives ( and they, mine). I know nothing about this woman but then I'm not a Labour follower in my country either

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    1. But you were in Labour Helen!
      Remember your babies?

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    2. No Labour for me YP, even with babies !

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  4. I dabbled in Twitter for a while and got bored out of my brain with it. I don't like to be personal about people but that woman does look as if she enjoys the good life. No food banks for her, only for her constituents. Let them eat cake!

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    1. She enjoys Mediterranean cruises and has her own duck pond Molly! Can you believe that?

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    2. Take her to the guillotine!

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  5. Wow, you got all that out of a picture of a white van and two St. George flags??? I'm impressed. Could you possibly have misread the lady? Probably not, though, if she has lost her position in the shadow cabinet, whatever that means, because of it. Please elaborate on the thought processes involved in her removal for the ignorant colonials amongst your readership.

    FYI, I do not indulge in Twitter or Instagram or Linkedit or MyLife, but I do indulge in a number of other things, most of which are none of your business.

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    1. Bob - It's subtle and it's to do with British culture. You have to be steeped in it to really appreciate the connotations of that picture. For more understanding go to:-

      http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/nov/21/emily-thornberry-ed-miliband-rochester-tweet


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  6. "
    Let me explain that picture. It seems to encapsulate a widespread and rather snobbish view of the ordinary working class family in Britain today. "

    I thought she was probably describing the typical UKIP voter
    Foolish, but I suspect rather accurate

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    1. Good job she didn't tweet a picture of your abode John - Berlingo outside and Welsh dragon flags hanging from the windows next to your Y fronts. She would have been stereotyping Welsh smallholders.

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  7. Twitter has never appealed to me, and Facebook is of course completely out of the question for anyone who makes their living in the protection of data and privacy.
    As for "followers" and "friends" - both terms are not really accurate, but this is what they call it on Twitter, Facebook and Blogger. I much prefer to refer to blog followers as regular readers (I myself am a regular reader of your blog, but certainly not your Follower), and I consider some of the people I have "met" through my and/or their blog my friends, having had the privilege of meeting a very limited number in real life several times.

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    1. And what I actually meant to say: This picture would have gotten a politician in trouble in Germany only because of the license plate on the car being fully visible. Data protection, you know!

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    2. The Pied Piper of Hamelin had many followers and look what happened to them! He led those poor children into a mountain and left a legacy of misery in the town.I am keen on date protection too - especially at Christmastime when others try to get their greedy hands on my North African dates.

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  8. I'll second Carol and stand up for Twitter! It has caused me no ructions whereas other social networks have, even a bl**dy email! Everything depends how you use it and what for. One day I'll post my Twitter Defence on my blog so all my followers can see where I'm leading them.
    As for the photo and the politician - she should have switched her brain on before tweeting, but that's the same in most walks of life. Think first.

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    1. You are too modern and "with it" for my liking Brian. I bet you have even got a microwave oven and one of those new-fangled electric kettles!

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    2. Read one of my recent posts to see how I'm struggling to keep up with technology like the best of you. Meanwhile, puts another cassette on....

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  9. You remind me of a friend of many years who is a far left wing, atheist retired teacher. He was, pupils and colleagues tell me, a very good teacher. He has a fund of knowledge such as few people I know can store up: perfect for pub quiz's. He is the perfect person to go on holiday with because he's been in every art gallery and place worth visiting and he draws people to him like a magnet so can strike up a conversation anywhere. I know. I've travelled California with him. He also eschews Twitter. He's not really like you though: he is one of the least tolerant people I know and he regards football fans as morons.

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Mr Pudding welcomes all genuine comments - even those with which he disagrees. However, puerile or abusive comments from anonymous contributors will continue to be given the short shrift they deserve. Any spam comments that get through Google/Blogger defences will also be quickly deleted.

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