Very day we see more attempts to silence the Left.
The insults & accusations we have long got accustomed to such as 'liar', 'stupid', 'crank', 'deluded', 'racist' have been joined by cries of 'Trumpian' & 'Tory enabler'.
Any support for any cause that challenges...1/7
... inequality or injustice, whilst fighting for a just distribution of income & argues for respectful treatment of all is dismissed as 'woke', as 'unpatriotic', as 'hard Left' (whatever that is).
It's fine to cheer for nonagenarians & footballers who do the job that...2/7
Feb 13, 2021 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
I can think of nothing that Jeremy Corbyn needs to apologise for.
Keir Starmer on the other hand should apologise for his:
- 'No ifs, no buts' comment & his continued failure to listen to teachers, parents, unions
- systematic abandoning of his 10 pledges which were clearly just a leadership election con
- constant courting of media outlets that regularly attack & demonise the powerless
- whipping LAB to abstain on votes that seriously attack human rights 2/2
Jul 20, 2020 • 16 tweets • 3 min read
I wrote the following for my paper at the International Conference of Autoethnography #ICAE7 today. It's a work in progress (I think) with probably more to come:
T'was a night during #lockdown 1/16
T’was a night during lockdown, when all thro’ the House (of Commons),
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The politicians were home, with absolutely no stress,
No zoom or team meetings, this eve they can rest. 2/16
May 21, 2020 • 16 tweets • 5 min read
For the last few days, along with others, I've been concerned & tweeting about not only the physical health consequences of #schoolsreopening but also the psychological & emotional impact of social distancing in primary schools.
And now this 👇 1/
unherd.com/2020/05/lockdo…
We're days into a row that started when @OwenJones84 dared to suggest that folk lucky enough to have cleaners might pay them to stay at home during #Covid_19 This most recent piece by @sarahditum asks for kindness & I write this thread with that plea in mind. 2/
Dec 21, 2019 • 9 tweets • 2 min read
Smile it might never happen.’
Have you said it?
Have you heard it?
Maybe someone said it to you when ‘it’ had already occurred;
A death of a loved one,
A job loss,
A relationship breakup,
An unwanted, frightening diagnosis. 1/9
‘Smile it might never happen.’
An oft-used platitude. Advice with some meaning or just something to say?
Whatever, the implied criticism is clear;
Rise above your problems,
Don’t be so self-indulgent
Show some stiff upper lip.
Be happy, or at least pretend that you are, 2/9
Dec 18, 2019 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Seems that the latest #BashCorbyn frenzy is 'why doesn't he apologise?'
So:
I want an apology from every member of the 2016 'Chicken Coup'.
I want an apology for all those members expelled for spurious reasons during the 2016 leadership election. 1/4
I want an apology from every LAB MP/'grand olde' spokes(wo)man who ever insulted a member.
I want an apology from every MP/party member who has ever told a lie about Jeremy Corbyn.
I want an apology from every MP/LPC/Councillor who didn't get fully behind the... 2/4
Dec 3, 2019 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
After yesterday's #channel4news I've been trying to think why some might see Johnson as a 'lovable baffoon':
- his premiership (and personal life) is based on lies & lying is his default position.
- he has made it clear, again & again, that he sides with the richest...1/4
...& the bankers at the expense of us all.
- his intense dislike and distain for women, for working class people & his racism, his homophibia are clear for all to see.
- he has failed again and again in parliament, is generally ill-prepared & is often hardly coherent. 2/4
Nov 28, 2019 • 6 tweets • 3 min read
When folk say (and I've heard it a few times now) 'I disagree with 99% of everything that Jeremy Corbyn and Labour stand for.' I wonder:
- do they want old ladies to lie in the street for 3 hours waiting for an ambulance?
- do they want children to go to school hungry? 1/6
- do they want homelessness to rise?
- do they want public sector workers to suffer such high levels of stress that they leave their jobs?
- do they want suicide to increase?
- do they want 1000s of families to continue to live in fire-risk accomodation? 2/6
Nov 11, 2019 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
1. When I was at school I had a teacher who said that everyone should take 10 years off between school & higher education. I didn't quite do that as I trained to be a nursery nurse after school but after 8 years of work (as NN & in clerical positions) I started a degree aged 28.
2. My undergraduate (and post-graduate) studies were both fee-free and supported by grant/bursary. I've been teaching & mentoring in HE for nearly three decades now and that those I teach & support have not had such advantages makes me ANGRY. I get frustrated too when students...
Nov 10, 2019 • 7 tweets • 3 min read
My twitter presence is much bigger than it was a year ago (thank you everyone) and inevitable this means I face more online 'critique' than previously.
I have just a few things to say: 1/7
As the granddaughter and daughter of army and navy veterans I know personally about the costs of war & would suggest that my views are as valid as anyone's.
As a sociologist, and a critical thinker, I argue that ALL life is political and what more than war & peace, war ... 2/7
