Oooh...How EDGY!

(trigger warning for violence, racism, Islamophobia)

Colour me shocked - SHOCKED, I tell you - that it's a Conservative pol who's been caught for this particular type of offence.

SHOCKED. This is my shocked face: ō_ō

In the UK on Wednesday, a Tory member (Gareth Compton) of local government in Birmingham¹ posted to Twitter the following comment (since expunged):

Can someone please stone Yasmin Alibhai-Brown to death? I shan't tell Amnesty if you don't. It would be a blessing, really.

There's so much fail in this that I can't even...well, I guess I'll try anyway. Ms. Alibhai-Brown is a journalist who had earlier remarked that any British politician who had supported the war in Iraq was on shaky ground criticizing other governments for their human-rights records.

First, "jokingly"² referring to the death of a political opponent is an appalling escalation, and one we're seeing more and more. And it will come as no surprise here to know that this "joke" is more frequently deployed against people with marginalized bodies. Ms. Alibhai-Brown, as a woman, a Muslim, and a person of colour, clearly fits the bill. People with marginalized bodies are always going to be an easier target for this sort of thing, as the "joker" perceives them to not have the power to do anything about the "joke", and will instead be silenced. As Liss wrote recently, that's kind of a goal of privilege.

Second, it's profoundly racist to make this particular "joke" about stoning someone to death, and the insensitivity of it - given the current campaign (led, I might note, by Amnesty International, one of my own particular favourite groups) to fend off the execution of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani - is breathtaking.

Third, hate-motivated attacks against South and West Asians in Britain³ have been endemic since the London bombings, fueled by a river of vitriolic xenophobia from right-wing politicians, both the extremists of the BNP and the "moderate" racists of the Conservative party.

I look forward to seeing the news of the trial of Mr. Compton, who was rightly arrested for the threat. I will hope that the courts recognize that there's no joke in receiving death threats, as both I and our Shakesville host can attest personally.

¹ Britain's second-largest city, and one which has a large percentage of the population being of South Asian backgrounds - including many, many Muslims.

² Scare quotes because what exactly is supposed to be funny about a woman being beaten to death with hurled rocks?

³ Muslims and non-Muslims; most bigots don't bother to find out before they hurl their words, bricks, whatever's handy. :/