What a disgraceful fluff piece. If the author stopped his despicable white guilt hand-wringing for a second, he'd realise that most of us 'white people' (since when did we stop being English?) don't actually have all the "power, jobs, control and everything".

Diane Abbott made a sweeping generalisation about millions of people based on the colour of their skin. It's racist and it's unacceptable.

Fair enough Steve - it is all rather storm in a tea cupish. However it becomes a bit more significant when the comments are looked at in context.

What Abbot was saying was, in effect, 'don't rock the boat - if you're black, then you're part of the black community whether you like it or not, and whether or not you agree with the self appointed community leaders, you should stand behind them because they are from the same ethnic background as you'.

So the really problematic thing is not whether her characterisation of whites was racist - that was mere stupidity - its the implication that, unlike white people, black people must submit to representation by unelected 'leaders', and pretend to like it, lest they give the impression of division.

Its a worrying way of thinking, all to prevelant on the dinosaur left that Abbott stands for - they say they stand for solidarity, but in practice they compartmentalise and divide on the basis of 'race' and ethnicity. Thats the really sinsiter aspect of the conversation.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1290047/Metropolitan-Police-crim...

Black Britain....not a nice place!

Great article - the only problem I have with is it is the idea that white people, by being white, have access to jobs, money, power, etc. Middle class white people have those things, maybe, but working class white people? No. But we've never properly addressed class politics and divides in this country, which leads to resentment and often spills over into stuff that's genuinely ugly and genuinely racist. And it's much easier for middle/upper class white politicians to leap upon something like Abbott's tweet and present it as 'black on white' racism and kick up a fuss, than it is to address the reasons why most people are racist in the first place - lack of jobs, power, money, etc, all of which breeds resentment and ignorance. Until those issues are addressed these storms will always be handy smokescreens, and regardless of the rights or wrongs of what Abbott (who, fwiw, I don't have any time for) said, I don't think we should play their game.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/gang-rape-is-it-a-race-issue-...

Whilst white people like to divide and rule ....it seems black people like to gang rape!!!

"If you're genuinely wounded by Diane Abbott's comments, I pity you."

I'm not offended at all, but I will publicly point at public idiocy and say; "look at that idiot!"

And if I choose to deride the hypocrisy of someone making sweeping racial generalisations to complain about how people make sweeping racial generalisations about her then I'm sure my privileged white background isn't going to stop me.

Anti-racism is the thing being used by the elite to bind a nation. Nick Clegg is is outraged. What a twat. He and the other mealy-mouthed MPs calling for Abbott's head - and tht includes the dickish Ed Miliband phoning her while she's on the telly - try to tap into the nation wide directive that it's not good being non-racist, you have to be an ardent anti-racist. And if no racism is there to wail against, you just just have to look harder for it...

I believe Dianne Abbott has explained how her tweet was taken out of context. She was responding to a couple of tweets which reasonably made the point that the concept of a 'black community' is at beat a convenient fiction and is itself harmful. Abbott clearly thinks that 'black community' is a valid and useful collective term; presumably because all black people share at least two common attributes; namely blackness and victimhood at the hands of a largely racist wider society..ie. 'white people'.

Of course, she has a vested interest in promoting such a picture of society since without it the concept of 'black spokespeople' and 'black community leaders' loses any remnant of credibility...and in some cases a nice little earner as 'race professionals'..thank you very much.

And so in response to..

"I do wish everyone would stop saying 'the black community' though."

and...

"I hate the generally lazy thinking behind the use of the term. Same for 'black community leaders'."

...Abbott tweeted...

"I understand the cultural point you are making. But you are playing into a "divide and rule" agenda."

Now we are supposed to accept that the following...

"Tweet taken out of context. Refers to nature of 19th century European colonialism. Bit much to get into 140 characters."

Now exactly why would anybody respond to the initial tweets, which are clearly a commentary on contemporary British society, by suddenly changing the context to that of 19th century colonialism?

If that's the best she can do then she's an idiot. How fuckin stupid does she think people are? If she really had been referring to 19th century colonialism, shouldn't she at least have hinted as much.

I'm starting to think she ought to resign, purely on the grounds of stupidity and the conceit evident in her expectation that people would be stupid enough to believe her.

Most white people are relatively poor with little to no influence. They are NOT the powerful controller idiots like Baxter would love you to believe. But when a LEFT racist makes an openly racist remark, the LEFT cannot see any other option other than defence. Abott made a sweeping generalization about an entire race. And that's not racist? However, this is the same editorial that makes apologies for Islamic fascism and its effects. Excellcent.

Re-arrange this well known saying "Petard,hoisted by her own"
Serves her right.Her career has been built on poor race relations as well as numerous other groups getting funding finding offence where there isn't any...

Simon Hinds

You're a bigot

"Dividing and ruling black people is a plan and a choice."

This is true in its way, but it is of course possible to utter a factual statement which is, at the same, a massive untruth on the grounds of omission. You've managed to miss out the point that dividing and ruling is a tactic adopted by every political plurality in history; every state, every culture, every society is prone to unscrupulous politicians doing just the same.

That you've chosen to pick on one particular part of one particular society and flagrantly disregarded all others means I can really take you seriously and that, yes, you're a bigot who's cherry-picking examples which suit your agenda.

Of course, for me, the great irony in all this is the effect that Abbott's brand of relativistic identity politics has had on the left in this country. It has introduced divisions and built fences wherever its influence has been felt. In place of solidarity and commonality, we have special pleading from groups aligning themselves in terms of race, gender, sexuality and culture. The old-style left has been eviscerated. 'Unity and Organisation' has been replaced by self-indulgent introspection and the privileging of discrete and individuated identities.

Naturally, this process has little to do with actual working class people. This shit is handed down by fiat by liberal academics and commentators. It's been a bourgeois revolution which has shifted the left from its quest for economic justice and replaced it instead with abstract platitudinous misnomers like 'empowerment' and 'cultural affirmation'. It's bollocks

Of course, the liberal media have proved the most enthusiastic cheerleaders for our multicultural gender-neutral utopia. It's fuckin wonderful; or it would be if it hadn't left the dispossessed disarmed and vulnerable to exploitation by any thieving bastards who want to make a quick buck.

The author is equally guilty of a crass generalisation however. I know Abbot wasn't racist; far from it and it's out of context but "pitying" those who are offended just makes the author a patronising git. Yes there were Tories exploiting it; angry contrarians; racists etc. That isn't everyone though; there are plenty of poor white people (you know those guys who rioted) who get smeared with the ethnicity of their richer more successful kin. They see a privileged Black Woman who gets on TV and earns more in a month than some of them do in a year; and they are jealous, bitter and angry. They can be offended that they are lumped in with the Man. Because the truth is it isn't White/ Black it's just Rich vs Poor. Abbot is no racist; but those excusing her remarks are usually elitist asshats who don't care about poor white people (and their concern for poor Black people is usually as fake as they are).

Some people have a right to be upset. Saying they don't pretty much makes YOU the problem.

The real question that should be put to Diane Abbot; is why is she playing the white man's game joining their political parties and sending her child to their public schools.

Don't mind me just a privileged white person trying to have some fun playing divide and rule.

Jon Stone

"It seems all the right-wingers and closet racists commentating on this are befuddled by what they think is moving the goalposts."

lovely...no rhyme, no reason, no justification, just an all round all purpose slur. Brilliant...obviously anybody who thinks Abbott was remotely out of line is inherently racist. Well done you!

Jon Stone

"If I said "white people have held by far the most socio-economic power throughout the course of modern history", you wouldn't (unless you're an idiot) assume I meant every single white person sits in a seat of power - you'd know I was talking about certain trends."

No you'd be right...but then again, I'd wonder why you were either too lazy or inarticulate to add a rider which let the reader know that you were in fact referring to a tiny privileged subsection of 'white people'.

I might also wonder, given the ubiquitous adoption of 'divide and rule' in virtually every past and present society , why Abbott didn't say , "Those holding power love playing 'divide and rule" rather than "White people love playing 'divide and rule". It's hardly as though it's a tactic confined to majority white states, societies or cultures...and you'd have to put on some pretty impressive blinkers to miss that.

I don't think anyone is deeply offended. Not anyone who is worth listening too at any rate. But people are annoyed at double standards. This comment, her comment about blonde, blue-eyed Finnish girls and her comment about West Indian mums, if reversed, would lead to a sacking/resignation issue with Diane Abbott at the front of the queue demanding action. I'm really not bothered, but I think people are entitled to hold such a view without you belittling them in such an arrogant, self-satisfied way.

There may very well be some divide and rule going on in the UK, but at the moment the vast majority is coming from the likes of you and Diane Abbott in the media classes. She who decries all Tory policy while sending her own kid to private school and leaving her constituents to the state, after all what were they going to achieve anyway? She is the hypocrite's hypocrite.

I don't doubt there are many idiotic white nuts out there, but you can't make such a ridiculous argument that this is all that there is too it without showing yourself up to be an idiotic white nut yourself, blindly defending someone of your own 'colour' - red.

@Simon Hinds: "To describe her statement as racist is illiterate. Dividing and ruling black people is a plan and a choice. It is not a trait or characteristic. White people are perfectly capable of chosing to opposing divide and rule. And guess what. White people have and do so today. Ask them whether opposition to divide and rule is typical of white people in general."

Okay, character trait, plan...It's irrelevant.

She said that members of the white ethnic group like to divide and conquer.

Look at it like this: black people are over-represented as suspects i street crime. That is from victim report studies before you start about Police racism, BTW.

So, a white MP says: "Black people love committing street crime."

Is that racist? Yet, it is no different to what Abbott has said.

I don't care what work she has done for white people facing injustice. In my hypothetical example, above, would you care what the white MP had done for black people facing injustice?

I also wouldn't dream of calling you a bigot. I'll call you a racist bigot.

@Martin: How isn't Abbott a racist?

Btw: The tram lady - Emma West and the use of vulgar language in the delivery of her rant about immigration may have been offensive to the chattering classes who live in the leafier parts of britain - but in most working class areas of London this directness is very common.

Never suffered prejudice? When I worked in a predominantly Indian & Pakistani intake school, I was spat at and called "white trash" by several Asian youths. Then when taking a Y1 class out on a trip I was abused by white people asking why I couldn't get a "proper job" & saying I was a P*** lover. So don't make glib assumptions about white people please. I've felt what racism does and it's vile, demeaning and frightening. But most people, like the lovely warm Asian families I worked with, despise it.
As for Diane, what a plonker! She's no racist but as a prominent politician she should think before she tweets. This was all avoidable had she simply engaged her brain before sending that message. We all make mistakes. Move on.

The reason I'm uncomfortable with your argument is that you're basically saying that in the UK, black people can't be racist to white people. You can't contextualise or change the rules when it comes to something like racism, the word has a clear definition. Yesterday Diane Abbott said that all white people want to "divide and rule" black people. That is clearly a racist statement. Don't be an apologist for it because of your own political prejudices.

But this is just Dorian Lynskey's blog from yesterday, shortened.

Also "A tweet FFS" is not an excuse. Abbott's position decrees she should have better judgement than that - just because it's social media doesn't somehow make a remark less important than something said in a tv interview, for example.

And, she needs to grasp how to use hashtags, because she's terrible at them.

Lucy, are you comments supposed to be satirical?

I've done quite a lot of travelling, and I can tell you that Britain is on the whole one of the least racist countries in the world, and it is precisely because this country ruled over an empire. And I think you might want to redirect your attention to Spain where Latin America is concerned.

Abbott would very much like to put the switcherooed into reality. See Zimbabwe and South Africa or majority black cities in America that are dangerous Basketcase hellholes. St Louis Atlanta, Detroit, Oakland.

See Hackney as we speak. Last summer was just a taste of what's to come if figures like Abbott are not checked.

She'd very much like to put the idea of a reversal into effect.