Off Topic Politics Thread

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I jumped in to point out that Badger and others had got indignant about Hester suggesting that Abbott should be shot when Badger had posted something very similar himself. At the time no one said it was an appalling thing to say or that it was truly heinous.
As you can clearly see, my post was referring to Badger's anger at Hester's suggestion and the hypocrisy involved. There was, and is no support of racism. I'm tempted to think you are using racism, because you have no answer to the hypocrisy suggestion.

What am I using racism for? The thing is, in a discussion about a woman being insulted on clearly racial grounds - "makes me hate all black women" - it seems weird to want to bring in Badger wanting to shoot people. I am pretty sure he is not an important figure in society!

Is it not you who is using what you see as hypocrisy to push an agenda? Or maybe everything everyone says is simply peddling their own world view?

I will repeat what I said: I don't think anyone should be saying other people will be shot or thrown off a bridge. I also think attacking Diane Abbott is pretty cheap - and when you make it about race that is also horribly revealing about the underbelly of our society.
 
It's a bit like the difference between anti Israeli and antisemitism. One term is used to hide behind the other.
No it isn’t. There is a vast difference between being against Zionism as espoused by the current Israeli government, which wishes to eradicate the entire Palestinian population, and being antisemitic. Don’t forget that the majority of Israelis don’t actually support their government.
 
No it isn’t. There is a vast difference between being against Zionism as espoused by the current Israeli government, which wishes to eradicate the entire Palestinian population, and being antisemitic. Don’t forget that the majority of Israelis don’t actually support their government.

I kind of think that is what IOAG meant...
 
Sorry I still don’t understand. Are you saying I’m being antisemitic for pointing out the difference?
Not at all. I think all three of us agree. The way the Israeli state re-defined antisemitisim to include criticism of Israel has been a huge problem in the last few years. You can no longer debate the one without being criticised for the other.
 
I guess it’s a race and a religion. But I think most people would say spewing hatred against a religion is racism in modern age speak surely?
No I think that’s stretching the definition of racism, but I am happy if that’s your personal take on it. I suppose what we should probably all agree on is that spewing hatred against any group of human beings is unacceptable, and comes under the broader heading of hate speech. Where it becomes difficult to untangle is when people form a group which itself espouses hatred against another group.

What I always try and remember is what the late MP Jo Cox said, shortly before being murdered by someone who disagreed with her. She said in her maiden speech in the Commons that she had concluded by talking to people in her multi-ethnic, multicultural constituency that “we have far more in common that that which divides us”.
 
I would be interested in taking the emotion out of this and discussing her remarks, but I imagine everyone will get shouty. She was suspended for saying Jews, travellers and the Irish did not experience racism but prejudice. This is a really interesting line - where does race begin and end? What is the difference between prejudice and racism?

All racism is clearly prejudice but not all prejudice is racism. Is prejudice lesser than racism?

Also, are the Irish a homogenous race? Are travellers? What makes their race distinct? Could you, scientifically, argue that prejudice against the Irish and travellers is a prejudice separate to racism? I am struggling to see what is wrong with this view?

That leads to racism / prejudice against Jews. Are Jews just one race? You can marry into Judaism, can you not? Doesn't that make anti-Jewish comments a more general prejudice? If I am Jewish I am not necessarily of the Jewish race, surely? What am I misunderstanding here?

I googled this and the first Jewish site I found said Jews are NOT a race: Are Jews a Race? | My Jewish Learning

Someone educate me here.

And none of this is meant to defend Ms Abbott - as I don't really have any interest in her.

I wouldn’t be so presumptuous as to suggest ‘educating’ you (there a far better teachers!), but I would again point people to read David Baddiel’s excellent book, Jews Don’t Count, for a steer on this.
 
Bob's Mate;
So what are your views on puberty blockers?


Bit late for me at the age of 72.
I don't have enough knowledge on the subject to form an opinion.
#35174
StJabbo1, Jul 17, 2022

Bit late at 72 but at 74 you have miraculously gained enough knowledge on the subject to now form an opinion, even if it is the wrong one. One thing you were right about though, it was a bit late then. It's way past your comprehension now.

There is a load of evidence already posted on here as to why puberty blockers are harmful to children. Schad has decided to ignore it for reasons only known to himself. He obviously has his own agenda but the welfare of children doesn't seem to come into it. Why would anyone support something as seriously damaging to young children? Aligning yourself with Schad discredits you also.
He and anyone who agrees with him are beyond the reach of enlightenment so there is no point in putting up more facts just to be disregarded again. But what I will say is the NHS hasn't stopped prescribing PB's because of my posts on here. Maybe there's a medical reason that Dr Schad is unaware of or has ignored again. Something for you to think about when giving any further opinions.

I've taken the time to read a number of peer reviewed papers and look at the current investigations ongoing and being proposed in the UK and overseas so able to base my opinions on your posts and agree with Schad with a far better understanding than you are ever likely to have.

You have refused to address this regarding the treatment of precocious puberty which Schad has personal experience of.

"The condition doesn’t have to disrupt your child’s life. Providers can treat precocious puberty—marked by breast development before age 8 or testes growth before age 9—with hormonal suppressants, also called puberty blockers. With supervision, these reversible drugs safely and effectively delay a child’s development until they’re ready."
https://www.cedars-sinai.org/blog/puberty-blockers-for-precocious-puberty.html"

Or anything else that opposes your opinion formed in willful ignorance.

"What are the possible benefits of puberty blockers?

For transgender and gender-diverse youth who have gender dysphoria, delaying puberty might:
  • improve mental well-being.
  • Ease depression and anxiety.
  • Improve social interactions with others.
  • Lower the need for future surgeries.
  • Ease thoughts or actions of self-harm.
Taking puberty blockers alone, however, without other medical or behavioral treatment, might not be enough to ease gender dysphoria."

"What are the criteria for use of puberty blockers?

In most cases, to begin using puberty blockers, an individual needs to:
  • Show a lasting pattern of gender nonconformity or gender dysphoria.
  • Have gender dysphoria that began or worsened at the start of puberty.
  • Address any psychological, medical or social problems that could interfere with the treatment.
  • Be able to understand the treatment and agree to have it. This is called informed consent.
Puberty blockers are not recommended for children who have not started puberty.

In most cases, youth aren't old enough to get medical treatment without a parent, guardian or other caregiver's permission. This is called medical consent. For those who haven't reached the age of medical consent, a parent, guardian or caregiver often needs to agree to the use of puberty blockers. Parent and family support and encouragement also has been shown to be an important part of boosting mental health and well-being throughout this treatment."

Going back two years and similar with other posts is more than obsessive. The denigrating comments you made above are condescending, arrogant and pompous insults which render your arguments worthless.
.
There's been no credible posts of PB doing widespread damage posted here certainly plenty of shrill homophobic hysteria. You do know NHS hasn't stopped prescribing PB/PSH or don't you? You've obviously poasted sensational headlines from the gutter press without bothering to get the full story. This is the NHS current policy, some points for consideration highlighted. - https://www.engage.england.nhs.uk/c...ones-for-gender-incongruence-or-dysphoria.pdf
"We have concluded that there is not enough evidence to support the safety or clinical effectiveness of PSH to make the treatment routinely available at this time. NHS England recommends that access to PSH for children and young people with gender incongruence/dysphoria should only be available as part of research. On an exceptional, case by case basis any clinical recommendation to prescribe PSH for the purpose of puberty suppression outside of research and in contradiction to the routine commissioning position set out in this policy must be considered and approved by a national multidisciplinary team. For children and young people who, at the point the proposed clinical commissioning policy takes effect, have been referred into an endocrine clinic but have not yet been assessed by a consultant endocrinologist for suitability of PSH, or who are already administering PSH through an NHS prescription, there is an expectation of consideration for treatment that would need to be clinically managed. In these cases it would be for the consultant endocrinologist to consider with the child or young person and their family whether to continue with off- label prescribing within the current clinical pathway."
The 100 or so children on a program will continue to be prescribed their medication. Others may be prescribed but under clear clinical management in full consultation with all concerned..
 
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I wouldn’t be so presumptuous as to suggest ‘educating’ you (there a far better teachers!), but I would again point people to read David Baddiel’s excellent book, Jews Don’t Count, for a steer on this.

Yet, just to poke the hive a little, this book is widely criticised by black Jews as being insensitive to the variety of Jews who exist. In the television documentary, there is even a very awkward exchange with his own black Jewish niece.

Ergo, I can go look here, but I won't find answers to the unanswerable.

In fact, Chilco already gave the best answer, in my opinion: we have more in common with each other than differences. I dislike the modern move towards enshrining difference. We need to go back to celebrating commonality.
 
Yet, just to poke the hive a little, this book is widely criticised by black Jews as being insensitive to the variety of Jews who exist. In the television documentary, there is even a very awkward exchange with his own black Jewish niece.

Ergo, I can go look here, but I won't find answers to the unanswerable.

In fact, Chilco already gave the best answer, in my opinion: we have more in common with each other than differences. I dislike the modern move towards enshrining difference. We need to go back to celebrating commonality.

Hold up a minute though - you asked for some learning options - I've pointed you toward a book that I found incredibly enlightening and useful, but you're not going to read it because some people might not agree with all of that (which would be all books then).

I honestly think you should. You might even find some answers.

(I've not seen the TV documentary though. I always find books far better tbh).
 
Yet, just to poke the hive a little, this book is widely criticised by black Jews as being insensitive to the variety of Jews who exist. In the television documentary, there is even a very awkward exchange with his own black Jewish niece.

Ergo, I can go look here, but I won't find answers to the unanswerable.

In fact, Chilco already gave the best answer, in my opinion: we have more in common with each other than differences. I dislike the modern move towards enshrining difference. We need to go back to celebrating commonality.
Worth remembering that every single human being on the planet is 99.9% genetically identical to every other human being. All that divides us are our own perceptions and prejudices, which are all learned.
 
Hold up a minute though - you asked for some learning options - I've pointed you toward a book that I found incredibly enlightening and useful, but you're not going to read it because some people might not agree with all of that (which would be all books then).

I honestly think you should. You might even find some answers.

(I've not seen the TV documentary though. I always find books far better tbh).

It isn't that I won't read it. If I get a chance, it could be interesting. But David Baddiel is a wealthy white man and I would find it hard to take him seriously when he talks about how white privilege doesn't apply to him.
 
Yet, just to poke the hive a little, this book is widely criticised by black Jews as being insensitive to the variety of Jews who exist. In the television documentary, there is even a very awkward exchange with his own black Jewish niece.

Ergo, I can go look here, but I won't find answers to the unanswerable.

In fact, Chilco already gave the best answer, in my opinion: we have more in common with each other than differences. I dislike the modern move towards enshrining difference. We need to go back to celebrating commonality.

I am a member of a group of people .

all different types all over the world .

One thing we are all asked to do when first attending meetings is “ Try and focus on the similarities & not the differences “

I was sceptical at first , but it’s true .