Labour MP Jo Cox shot in Birstall

I think the sheer violence of this attack suggests hatred, but hatred of what is another question. Whether it was the result of the man's mental condition, or was politically motivated or was deliberately targeting poor Jo for whatever reason is something that we will have to wait to find out.

I was looking at 3 year old GS2 today and wondering how on earth you would start to explain that Mummy is never coming back.

Heart breaking. No matter what your political persuasion. Heart breaking. Condolences to her family and what a sad loss of a woman who was a rising political star. Someone who cared. Answers. I don't have any.

Jalima , can we avoid the real world ? That vile tweet was written by someone in the real world

I don't think it is too late Gracesgran

I posted earlier but don't wish to add much more to this thread except to say that I think most right-minded people of any political persuasion have been shocked, horrified and, yes, bereft at the shocking loss of such a bright young MPwith such a promising future - it was a sad day for the whole country.

I was, however, very upset to read a post earlier repeating vile tweets from a right wing group and I think vile, aggressive words like that have no place on GN.
We know about these people and do not need to visit their sites to read their filth - I hope the authorities are dealing with them.

I'm not sure anyone does Ana although I know no more than you. People may well have said what they want to say.

Well, it's not too late to open a Questions and Theories about the Birstall killer thread, if anyone really wants to.

JbF sadly we haven't been in this position before so we didn't know what to do but what a good idea it would have been to ask GNHQ to open a special condolence thread. I suppose it is too late now.

Mental health issues? [this may illustrate the motive]

As I see it the way to fight hatred is to show more compassion, less readiness to condemn. That would be a fitting tribute to a remarkable, decent and caring woman. A tragic loss to her family and to the country.

It's shameful that so many psychiatric hospitals and units have been closed. There are so few places of safety where people can get treatment now. Whilst not excusing what happened to Jo Cox the Government needs to take a long hard look at NHS mental health care. I feel so sorry for Jo Cox and her family, may they find peace.

Thank you Micmac, yes reject, but to reject can mean dismiss and hatred being spread needs more than a dismissal , well I think so . Your poem was so moving, thank you

I agree that reject is a word that we can all relate to.

Well said, Anniebach. Whether it was the result of a disturbed mind or not, it was most certainly hatred that killed Jo Cox, and her husband has every right to say so, and to call for it to be rejected.

The poor man made that statement when he was overcome by shock and grief.

How can anyone fight anything if they don't know the facts and what does he actually mean by 'fight'?

I think it needs to be taken as a statement brought on by the horror of the event and not taken too literally.

My thoughts are for her family at this time. RIP Jo

There us no political point scoring on this thread unless your politics support hatred , and often when mental health problems are brought up on threads of murders they are dismissed as 'just an excuse for evil' by some

Anyway this is about the murder of Jo Cox and her husbands request that hatred be fought

It's a very sad event, a fatal attack on an MP committed by a man who has mental health issues.As a lot of these kind of attacks in the street tend to be.So all posts about 'evil' and 'fight the hatred' are meaningless.Thankfully, these attacks in our country are very rare.People do look for explanations, but blaming it on anything and everything , when this man is obviously disturbed, is a waste of time.
It's a terrible thing for her husband, children, family and friends and colleagues.
as POGS and many others say, it would be nice if political point scoring stopped.

Jinglbellsfrocks, I take your point and if that is the majority view of the posters on here so be it. I just feel that arguments can get very heated and that moving to a new arena rather than one which was opened as the event unfolded would allow people who felt uneasy posting their thoughts on the same site the chance to do so.

The murder of Jo Cox was an appalling act - the loss of a young mother and a life committed to public service. A cruel and senseless act.

Whilst I agree it is always necessary to try to understand the motivations of someone who commits such a deed, I do think the American commentator on the Orlando bombings had a point when he said that a non-white assassin is automatically labelled "terrorist" whereas a white one is "mentally ill". In both cases, both labels probably apply.

RIP Jo. I am feeling so sad today. I am ashamed to say that I hadn't heard about Jo Cox until yesterday, but from what I have heard she sounds a remarkable woman and it is heartening to hear that there are some MPs who are there to make a difference rather than to further their own careers, whichever party they may be in. It is so sad that our media only likes to tell us about the negative and ugly things in life. I also feel that they encourage the sound bite "look at me" politicians to fill their pages/screens so that we don't have a full picture of what is going on.

Worthy though that might be of course.

Unrealistic to think this thread will avoid the views of posters about why it happened. And why should it?

We can't turn this into some sort of condolences book.

I think we can still protect that right to explore the deeper reasons behind such attacks but I do agree very strongly with those who have suggested that a separate thread should be opened on it. I am so saddened by this event. Democracy is very fragile, something which I tried to instil into the children I taught, and needs to be protected vigorously. This is why people need to open a new thread IMO to explore the question raised and what we do about it.

mcim Thank you.

I wonder if one person can tell another how to grieve, for we all will be grieving, for this poor lady, her husband, her children, the career she would have had and the consequences of that which could have improved lives. Some will find they just want to add condolences, some will want to explore the possible reasons - should we really be saying one is wrong. Isn't the greatest loss nationally that we have lost a little bit of our very open democracy. Surely, as long as we are not attacking another member personally or limiting their views we should be able to exercise that democracy.