Labour advisor : "You're white and your entire existence is drenched in racism.".

I think it's disgusting that people defend someone calling the Suffragette movement white supremacists.

Do the Toby Young test. If he had said it, would you defend him and move the discussion onto stamps?

The woman who ran that petition Jen is Caroline Criado Perez. She had an argument on twitter with Munroe about this. Lazy and untruthful was her opinion. Perhaps that was the endorsement that got Munroe the job.

I am actually reading a book called Deeds not Words by Helen Pankhurst, Sylvia Pankhurst's granddaughter.
Perhaps you ought to try reading it. It might open your eyes.

Sylvia Pankhurst was one of the first propagaindists for Bolshevism in Britain, founding the People's Russian Information Bureau. Lenin referenced Sylvia Pankhurst at least ten times. She helped to form the Communist Party of Great Britain.

Don't you think the discussion on stamps is relevant?
Helen Pankhurst thinks it is.

I expect many racists are puzzled when called a racist, trying to excuse her is pathetic, there is no excuse.

From a black persons perspective, historically I think they are perfectly entitled to feel as Bergdorf feels. Her remarks were made as a result of what she saw in the South of America, and the Nazi demonstrations after the murder of a black individual.

Her comments are not hate speech, they are comments of a racial minority who have so many battles still to win in order to be treated equally especially in the USA. In fact their cause has certainly taken a backward step recently. Look at what Merkel has had to put up with.

Those using what this person has perfectly entitled to say to comment as they have, have zero understanding of racial issues, and arguably sustain those rascists that have caused so much hate recently.

Oh and this has nothing to do with the Labour Party, or shouldn’t have and those using her comments as a stick to bash Labour should give careful thought about what they are actually or inadvertently supporting.

Oh and I agree with her statement - much of our industrial revolution was funded by the slave trade and yes historically and as a result what we are today - our existence is drenched in racism.

“Yes ALL white people. Because most of ya’ll don’t even realise or refuse to acknowledge that your existence, privilege and success as a race is built on the backs, blood and death of people of colour. Your entire existence is drenched in racism.”

What is wrong with that? It is strongly worded but please tell me why it is inaccurate.

Very well expressed Whitwave.
Oh that there could be equality throughout the world in every aspect of life, (ie poverty, human rights, living standards etc) & thank goodness for those who speak out & fight for it & if we all do that in our day to day lives however insignificant it may seem then we all be helping to make the world a better ,fairer place .

The post, published in the wake of the white supremacist rally in the US city of Charlottesville, added: “Yes ALL white people. Because most of ya’ll don’t even realise or refuse to acknowledge that your existence, privilege and success as a race is built on the backs, blood and death of people of colour. Your entire existence is drenched in racism.”

Again, it seems obvious that this is the truth. Not pleasant to read - sometimes the truth, particularly if it is about us - isn't. The "Tory Vice Chairman" seems not to want to read the truth but that doesn't make it any less true.

How many “ordinary” working people owned property in 1918 for that matter ?

Seems a very bitter person with a rather large chip on the shouder ,

She has a right to that chip, being half British and half Jamaican.

www.theguardian.com/global/2017/sep/04/munroe-bergdorf-on-the-loreal-racism-row-it-puzzles-me-that-my-views-are-considered-extreme

Well said, whitewave.
How many people who condemn bergdorf have read what she said?

half British and half Jamaican , born a male now a female ,

Perhaps a good councillor could help ease the troubled mind of this new advisor to Corbyn-Momentum Party

Socialism shining through again, Annie.
Were you not engaged to a black South African once?

Thanks whitewave, you expressed my own views much more clearly than I would have.
There is a comment up thread that the lives of slaves were similar to those of workers during the Industrial Revolution. The mill workers (my ancestors) in Manchester had a life expectancy of about 30 in the mid 19th century, outside of Manchester it was about 41. However, they were free people. Working conditions were harsh but they were not enslaved. They were not beaten until their backs were shredded if they committed some transgression at work.
The suffragettes were mostly white middle class women because they weren't working 12 hour shifts along with raising a family. As with the history of slaves, the history of white working class women isn't as well documented as that of the Pankhursts.
The legacy of slavery continues to haunt us. That is inevitably much more obvious in US society but our major cities like Liverpool and Bristol could do more to mark the history of involvement in slavery. That should include the efforts by so many people, including the cotton workers, to bring an end to slavery.,

Making names up to compete with the shock Day6 tries to produce now AB. This forum gets more like the Daily Heil daily.

Unsurprisingly, Bergdorf made some people uncomfortable

Including Tory snowflakes, apparently. Let's not knowledge the difficult bits of history hey.

Jen, my relationship with a black South African murdered by white men did not lead me to believe all white people are white supremacists

That's interesting, Iam. Bergdorf transitioned at 24, knowing that life expectancy for women like her was only 30. It's no wonder she spoke out.
“Trans women of colour are being killed at an alarming rate.” When she was transitioning, she says the average life expectancy for a trans woman like her was 30. “At the time, I thought: ‘That’s only a few years. I should be speaking about this.’”

Bergdorf was raped during the period she was transitioning; she reported it to the police, but the attacker was never found. She took even more strongly to activism. “It wasn’t just standing up for rights that were my own,” she explains. “Islamophobia, antisemitism, anything I saw that I didn’t think was right, I would protest or post. I think that’s the stance everyone should take: if white people protested and worked to dismantle racism ... I would have loved to have seen the reaction around Brexit from liberals with racism. If people rallied around issues that don’t affect them as well ones that do, we’d be getting shit done.”

And L'Oreal knew what she was like when they hired her.

This person wrote a racist rant, had the sack, feared losing more work then wrote an excuse for the racist rant.

This "person" as you call her AB is writing from her own experience. Who are you to belittle that? What has she said that isn't true? Obviously unpalatable to some but then, a lot of truths are. Are you seriously suggesting that we should not be discussing a truth?

Thanks for that background Jen, I confess to not knowing much about Bergdorf. Anyone who has lived the life she has, facing prejudice about her race and sexuality knows a thing or two more than many about its impact. I didn't know the life span for trans people is so short.
I can't imagine many gransnet members weren't alive and aware when homosexuality ceased to be a crime (unless you were under the age of 21) in 1967. The change in the law helped society to move on and accept that our sexuality is determined, not chosen. I expect that with time, understanding about gender and trans people will grow and there will be less outrage when people are open about this. I don't feel I know enough about it to judge or criticise but I confess to being relieved that so far, none of my own loved ones have faced this huge challenge in life.

Careful annie you are getting close to the edge with your remarks. You need to shuttle back a bit.