Tuesday, September 05, 2017
Why on-line abuse is damaging our democracy
The vast majority (99.99%) of politicians seek election for honourable and good reasons; out of a sense of public duty; or a strong desire to change things for the better. In my case I had developed a set of beliefs and a philosophy during the miners' strike in the 1970s and took it into college. The logical next step was to seek election to try and put into effect my beliefs.
Many people appreciate the reasons why politicians choose this path. Often rants against the profession itself are moderated by appreciation for the actions of individuals known to the critic. Despite that those opting for politics as a career are frequently treated with derision.
What is particularly sad (and disgusting) is that a small minority take these feelings on-line and do so in a misogynist way by targeting women politicians. According to the Telegraph, research by Amnesty International has found that female MPs from all parties were sent more than 25,000 abusive messages on Twitter in just six months this year.
They found that nearly half of all abusive messages were directed at Diane Abbott, the shadow home secretary, including racist Tweets and death threats. It is little wonder that Amnesty have accused Twitter of failing to take down rape threats and death threats, have warned the threats are having a "chilling effect" and that they could drive women off the internet completely.
They say that other female MPs subjected to the most abuse included Joanne Cherry, the SNP MP, Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, Jess Phillips, a Labour MP and Anna Soubry, a Tory MP.
My concern is not just that this level of abuse will deter politicians from engaging on social media but it will also drive people, and women in particular out of politics altogether. That would be a very bad thing from the point of view of diversity, it would undermine our democratic process.
Let's face it, the idiots who indulge in these vicious antics would be the first to complain if we ceased to be a democracy and they had their freedoms taken away from them. Democracy may not be perfect, but it the best form of governance we have got. I suspect even that statement is too deep for many of these sexist abusers.
Many people appreciate the reasons why politicians choose this path. Often rants against the profession itself are moderated by appreciation for the actions of individuals known to the critic. Despite that those opting for politics as a career are frequently treated with derision.
What is particularly sad (and disgusting) is that a small minority take these feelings on-line and do so in a misogynist way by targeting women politicians. According to the Telegraph, research by Amnesty International has found that female MPs from all parties were sent more than 25,000 abusive messages on Twitter in just six months this year.
They found that nearly half of all abusive messages were directed at Diane Abbott, the shadow home secretary, including racist Tweets and death threats. It is little wonder that Amnesty have accused Twitter of failing to take down rape threats and death threats, have warned the threats are having a "chilling effect" and that they could drive women off the internet completely.
They say that other female MPs subjected to the most abuse included Joanne Cherry, the SNP MP, Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, Jess Phillips, a Labour MP and Anna Soubry, a Tory MP.
My concern is not just that this level of abuse will deter politicians from engaging on social media but it will also drive people, and women in particular out of politics altogether. That would be a very bad thing from the point of view of diversity, it would undermine our democratic process.
Let's face it, the idiots who indulge in these vicious antics would be the first to complain if we ceased to be a democracy and they had their freedoms taken away from them. Democracy may not be perfect, but it the best form of governance we have got. I suspect even that statement is too deep for many of these sexist abusers.
