to ask why several prominent members seem to have vanished?!?

No it has not!

Online misogynistic and political abuse (Brexit) preceded the murder of Jo Cox.

No, I do not think that death threatrs and racist abuse of politicians should be the norm, for any politician of any race, colour or creed. Neither do I believe that on Gransnet Diane abbott has been subject to either of these. Some people think that she has not been very good at her job, and have said so, just as some others think that other politicians - Theresa May? - Rees Mogg? - many others - are not very good at theirs, and have said so. Is how Diane Abbott does her job not to be criticised because she is black, but others are fair game because they are white? Is that not just as racist as it would be racist to single her out?

mostlyharmless

Actually you have engaged on another thread discussing the Worcester Labour candidate Mandy Richards who did have a conspiracy theory about the death of Jo Cox if I am not mistaken.

To claim any critcism of Diane Abbott is racist is using the racist card, shame on you . I am off this thread .

I wish to say as a Labour Party member for 50 years, unbroken membership, I disassociate my self from the far left posters here, they certaintly do not speak for all labour supporters, they speak for the biggest danger to the Labour Party and this country, the hard left .

I think if you look into it Elegran you will see that Diane Abbott is constantly abused on social media with misogynistic and racist abuse of the very worst kind. Far worse than other prominent politicians.
Perhaps there is out there on social media but I doubt that Gransnetters would be frequenting those kind of vile sites. Certainly there has never been any abuse of that type on Gransnet - and if there had it would have been deleted pdq and rightly so.

There was concern and discussion on GN when Diane seemed to be losing the plot in interviews on tv and appeared to have no grasp of her facts or figures and people wondered if she was ill or just not up to the job any longer.

You seem to think vile abuse and death threats to politicians should be the norm. Police can sometimes prosecute these abusers if they can track them down.
That is just a ridiculous remark mostlyharmless.

I said:
I think if you look into it Elegran you will see that Diane Abbott is constantly abused on social media with misogynistic and racist abuse of the very worst kind. Far worse than other prominent politicians.

Social media is not just Gransnet!

No death threats on Gransnet thankfully. But I’m saying that persistent abuse of specific people could be interpreted as bullying tactics or even racism. Diane Abbott was a pioneer for black women.

Diane Abbott was a pioneer for black women.
She certainly was and there was a lot of praise for that on GN, even from those who would not support her party. However, her dismal performances on tv last year were very worrying indeed.
The same remarks would have been made had she been a white Shadow Minister not on top of her brief (and not even able to add 2 + 2.)

Social media is not just Gransnet!
Did I not just say that in my post?

mostlyharmless

And you ended your post to Elegran with-

"You seem to think vile abuse and death threats to politicians should be the norm. Police can sometimes prosecute these abusers if they can track them down."

You twisted her post but I think she was gracious in her response .

I am not defending Mandy Richards POGS.

Crossed posts obviously Jalima.

Good for her, and well done.

But you also said "You seem to think vile abuse and death threats to politicians should be the norm." which was not what I said at all, and that was not well done of you. If I were a snowflake I would take offence at that misinterpretation and report it.

However I shall just repeat that racial or misogynistic abuse and death threats are not on toward ANY politician, just as they are not on toward any private individual. Neither is abuse based on the supposed personal character deficiencies which have led them to their political affiliations (The "All Tories hate the poor", or "All Socialists hate businessmen", mantras)

Comment on how well/badly they are doing the job they are employed for (by the taxpayers!) is legitimate, whatever their race, sex, faith or political affiliation. That goes for Diane Abbott, Jeremy Corbyn, Theresa May and all the rest of them.

You twisted her post but I think she was gracious in her response
Very much so imo.

Annie:
I wish to say as a Labour Party member for 50 years, unbroken membership, I disassociate my self from the far left posters here, they certaintly do not speak for all labour supporters, they speak for the biggest danger to the Labour Party and this country, the hard left

Annie are you seriously calling me a hard left supporter? Just because I defend a black female politician!
LOL.

It is you who keeps bringing race into the discussion mostlyharmless.

The women in the past who pioneered the way for women of all races to have equality in careers, financial affairs, child custody and voting rights took a lot of stick too. Was that OK because they were not black?

Really mostlyharmless? I defended David Lammy when there were calls for him to be deselected for attending the Jewish demo, I had no reason to say he was a black politician

Love to know what my hard left credentials are!

Elegran wrote:
"Is how Diane Abbott does her job not to be criticised because she is black, but others are fair game because they are white? Is that not just as racist as it would be racist to single her out?"
So true Elegran. We need a clearer definition of what is meant by 'racist' or 'racism'.
It seems to mean different things to different people.

The word "racism" is being sprayed in all directions these days and it's actually draining real racist acts of its meaning. Accusing someone of racism, where it's inappropriate, is fast becoming just another insult; its becoming meaningless and is actually demeaning the real victims of racist acts. The more the word is bandied about, the more meaningless it becomes. Please, for the sake of those who are genuine victims of racism, stop using it just because you can't think of a more appropriate word to use.

The word is being sprayed in all directions, creating a hall of mirrors that is draining the scarlet R of its meaning and its power, turning it into more of a spitball than a stigma.

Actually I seem to remember there have been comments on GN about Diane Abbot's hair style, which could be construed as racist. I'm perfectly prepared to believe that people believe they are not being racist, however I think they should examine their opinions carefully. I wonder for example why a totally incompetent ex Home office Minister with a history of major mistakes never recives the same level of criticism?

And I seem to remember that their have been similar comments about Theresa May and her leather trousers. And the pink shirt dress that was too short, too tight, not the right style for her. And how she was looking grey faced and tired. They too were "opinions". How do they differ to comments and opinions about Diane Abbott's hair style?

And perhaps the self- described “Corbyn haters” could stop throwing around accusations of Anti-Semitism at Corbyn.

Or is that not classed as racism on here? There seem to be whole threads about that going on for weeks.

I was merely trying to defend Diane Abbott from abuse as I I happen to admire her in many ways.

Diane Abbott was asked about her support for the IRA, her reply was it was a long time ago, she had a different hairstyle then. She made a comment about her hairstyle, I for one said it was a pathetic reply .

"and be abusive about a black woman MP."

I thank the other posters who have taken you up on this. Is Dianne Abbott beyond criticism? You mentioned her skin colour.

Anyone who watches the news in the UK will have seen her, on several occasions, fail to answer questions regarding how Labour will fund its schemes and how much money would be required for certain projects. Mentioning that she hadn't a clue about budgets and costings and knowing Abbott blustered her way through such interviews is NOT abusive. It as well documented and reported.

Why her skin colour has been brought up is beyond me. I find that sort of manipulation of facts disgusting.

Defending Labour MPs is becoming fairly desperate it would seem.