Labour MP Jo Cox shot in Birstall

I apologise for the couple of typos in the post above. Small keyboard issues!

voxpoliticalonline.com/2016/06/16/blind-hate/

It's worth reading in full.

I agree with you Anniebach.

I remember being in this country (England) as a young girl born here of Irish parents,M having to listen to the muttering so of them taking British jobs, remarks such a "thick Paddy". Even, as a barrister, being called "Boggo" (bog Irish) "but I'm not racism".

I knew they did may not have understood the pain and humiliation this caused. I understood that not matter how prevalent their views at the time, that they had diminished themselves, made themselves a bit smaller and a bit meaner...and unhappier.

I am proud to say we have an exceptionally well qualified family that has continued now fo the next generation and the next. This, alone defies the slights.

These were people who would be regard as perfectly normal citizens who merely were speaking as they felt in defence of their island and nationality. All my siblings (and I) have worked hard in public service to give back that which we have been given.

For that reason and so many others, including those mentioned by Anniebach and others here,I abhor the growth of the "little Englander" mind set that I can see being fed and nourished in some quarters.

I disagree with Neversaydie when she says it is irrelevant if he was part of a right wing fascist group. If that is what fuels what looks remarkably like an act of hatred (stabbing and shooting Jo Cox) it will have to be understood in the context of the killer's own outlook and mindset AND the conditions that enable this mindset to flourish. The reason the 'sub juice' rule is not active at the time of the interviews is because the person arrested had not been charged and brought before the court. He was still under investigation.

The best tribute we can make for Jo Cox, her husband and children is to stop, think and act in a way that would nurture the generous attitudes that she tried to encourage when living.

She was obviously a wonderful, charismatic young woman, cruelty killed while doing the work she loved and was so good at. My deepest sympathy to her husband and children and all who loved her - she was obviously deeply loved by many and will be very much missed for years to come. Why so often do the good die young.........RIP Jo Cox

True Luckygirl, whilst I do not want the return of those awful asylums care in the community is not working . In the seventies I was in a hospital for help with severe post natal depression, this meant help around the clock, care in the community means a visit by a CPN perhaps once a week or month and this does not give the help needed .

From the latest reports it does seem that this man was under the "care" of the mental health services, which are sadly lacking. The move to community care sounded good on paper all those years ago, but was really an attempt at a cost-cutting exercise. There has long been no "asylum" (in the best sense of the word) for those suffering serious mental illness.

What a sorry business this all is. The blast of the inevitable publicity surrounding this will I fear reduce the safety of all MPs who will start to seem even more attractive as terrorist targets. What a sad old world we live in at the moment.

So sad to hear of such a tragedy.

So so sad - she was a beautiful mother, wife and daughter as well as being a politician who was doing such good work in her community. My heart goes out to them all especially the little ones.

ab you can't blame anyone, we simply do not know at present.I wish that everyone would try and stay calm about this, on here at least. We expect the papers/ Twitter etc to be spewing all sorts of stuff, but if we add to it what does it do to help?It doesn't, it just gets people worked up.

The perpetrator of this awful killing may be someone who should have been on medication, or a politically/hate motivated fanatic. Sadly the result is the same, a family bereft and a loss to the country. It's a wonder anyone puts their head above the parapet to fight for the disadvantaged.

You never know why anyone does anything, but I do think cuts to NHS budgets do not help when people like him slip through the net and then go on to do something so awful.

RIP Jo Cox

It is such a shame that Jo Cox may be remembered not for the good she did in her life, but for the way she died.

Good post Joelsnan, if the likes of UKIP and the out campaign hadn't blamed immigrants for all the ills in this country hatred may not have been ignited in this man

There seem to be a lot of possibilities why this happened, but what it does highlight is how vulnerable MP's actually are, in their surgeries,trying to calm people with problems.

I have been crying - because there is so much hate in our world & because a wonderful young woman has died as a result. I hope her husband's words will resonate with us all and that we will work hard together to celebrate what unites us rather than what divides us.

Good post Joelsnan

I didn't know this lovely lady. From the news reports she was obviously a force for good in the world.

I am sick to my stomach at the idea that an MP can't safely hold a surgery for her constituents without being gunned down.

My deepest sympathy goes to her husband and two young children. Awful.

How long was apartheid ignored by this country untill some here spoke out and said enough is enough. Even then it took many years, if silence had been maintained the black South African would still not be allowed to vote . Racism , hatred must always be exposed and condemned . If we had spoken out in the thirties the horrors of the death camps may have been avoided, but we remained silent.

'All it takes for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing '

What a truly tragic affair. I have pondered what has made an apparently benign man who although suffering from mental issues with his own self worth has led a life of community service. Could he have been affected by the austerity measures such as bedroom tax, has he had benefit issues because of his hospital admissions. Far from being diverse, Batley is a very polarised community with a very high Muslim population it is locally referred to as Batleystan where most of the women now wear the full face veil, maybe he was feeling the stranger in his own community and the rhetoric of some of the politicians with regard to immigration in the run up to the referendum imust be making some in the community more alienated. Most people can disagree and not take action, maybe in this case, his lot in life had become so poor that he saw poor Jo Cox as encouraging changes that would only see his life get worse. There are those at the bottom of the pile who are not aligned to far right theology, just struggling to survive. I am not condoning this, far from it, I am trying to rationalise why someone could be driven so mad as to do something so heinous.

Luckygirl, you spoke for me. RIP someone who just wanted to help humanity.

Thank you for your post, Luckygirl

That's exactly how I feel.

What a terrible loss of such a talented young person, who had so much to live for. Cameron praised her support for the Syrian refugees and said she was instrumental in changing policy, and she'd only been an MP for a year, but had a wealth of experience with Oxfam. I do think society seems to becoming more polarised, and she appeared such a brilliant support and voice for the vulnerable.

My DH (a journalist) once made a documentary on Britain First .He has been in some difficult and frightening situations in his working life(think Beiruit ,the Birmingham pub bombings).He said it was chilling and the most scared he had ever felt.Scared not for his own safety but for our children and the future of the UK
My elder DD has a very intelligent and thoughtful German friend She says the rise of neo Nazi organisations in Germany is truly frightening .
Where does all this hate come from ? I found myself weeping yesterday for Jo Cox and her family but also for theworld that she tried so hard to make a better place

Also, sick comments from Facebook or Twitter have no place on Gransnet, and I think GNHQ may well agree with that?

Let us not be all too ready 'to dive too quickly back into the rancour that was preoccupying us until 1pm yesterday'