Sherbert Madmoo

On the topic of unhelpful things, I normally try to avoid this kind of name-based insult. People don’t get to choose their names and it is very easy to cross the line into the racist thing of refusing to call people with ‘foreign-sounding’ names by their correct name.

Her actions and speech are both deplorable, her name is not.

@HarriettMB @david_chisnall @normjess

Randy Andy
Darryl Hall and John the Other One

I guess we have always done this ...

@normjess @HarriettMB

I get your point, I'm sure racists twist names like Mahmood and use them as insults

They do. Deliberately picking some insulting English words that sound a bit like someone's name is a common racist strategy to other people. And they then follow up with 'it's just a joke,' 'it's all in good fun,' and 'they should grow a thicker skin'.

I don't believe you (or @Geri ) intended it in this way, but when you use the same tactics as racists then you normalise them. And you hear about the experiences of folks like Diane Abbott and Sadiq Khan, where it starts with this kind of name calling and escalates. And when people call out the racists, they hide behind 'everyone on your side does it too!' And they can, because there are lots of examples.

@david_chisnall @HarriettMB
I get your point, I'm sure racists twist names like Mahmood and use them as insults

but I was disrespecting the name of someone who's doing incredible harm to immigrant communities I stand in solidarity with - as we speak

if you are concerned about some knock on effect to people with the same name I get that

it will never be my first line of attack, I am a person who goes on long policy based rants and only resorts to name calling when I'm spent and still raging

but we might also put ourselves in a corner where it becomes very hard - for people not as eloquent as me - to talk shit about someone who may be the next Labour Leader off the back of a mass deportation nightmare and take our politics down a very dark path indeed

some people need to be torn down in the public square - not by racism, by derision

its usually good advice to NOT copy me, so feel free to rise above, ignore me, cast me out - it wont be the first time x

@normjess @HarriettMB

It looks like @normjess has blocked me, so I can't see what that reply was. Oh well.

@david_chisnall @HarriettMB He has blocked me too. Frankly, David, the ad hom aspect of any argument is fallacious. I took him to task for using that. He, knowing I was right, decided to block rather than apologise.

I hold you in esteem, and I don't take kindly to you being casually insulted.

Xx

Anyone that needs their phone.

Last year I dropped mine and shatterred the screen (though, not as badly as yours). I would have been screwed if it had been rendered useless. Took me a year to scratch together enough for a replacement.

First thing i did with the replacement was get a durable hard case for it because I'm terrified it will happen again.