Sunday 21 October 2012

About Andrew Mitchell MP. I'm Not Into Politics.

I'm not into politics. Never have been, and don't suppose I ever will be. As far as I'm concerned they never seem to achieve much. And as for the promises they make when trying to get into power.... Don't get me started.

The fact is, and this might not be a fact, this might just be my opinion. If they -the government- did what they say they are going to do, and consulted the people on important issues, they would probably stay in power for ever. I mean if they are good at it, why change it? Just do what you are elected to do, and we will keep voting for you. It seems fairly straightforward to me. But then, as I say, I'm not into politics. Never have been, and don't suppose I ever will be.

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The government Chief Whip has had to resign. It is alleged that he called a couple of the coppers who guard the gates of Downing Street, plebs. I expect you know what a pleb is so I won't insult your intelligence by explaining what it means. So if you would kindly look away for a moment, I shall try and explain pleb to those of us who don't know.

It is a word that refers to the lowest in society. From what I can gather, that would be the working class, and lower. I am probably a pleb. When a millionaire member of parliament refers to someone as a pleb, he is being nasty. He is using it to belittle. For it is a derogatory word. The word pleb isn't a word, that would normally be used by the ordinary man or woman in the street. It is a word used only by wealthy,  posh people. I am not sure if it should have a capital letter P.

The thing is, it is only alleged that Mr Mitchell the Chief Whip used the word. He has consistently denied it. He has admitted however that he did swear at the police officers. He got upset because they wouldn't open the gates for him and he had to walk his bike through a side entrance.  Yes it is true, some of our politicians ride bikes. They do this in an effort to appear environmentally aware. They take us for mugs. We all know there is a limousine waiting for them around the corner.

The point I am trying to make here is this. I couldn't care less if Mr Mitchell got angry and swore at the police. In fact I rather admire him for it. It shows him as a real person with real feelings. We could do with more of this sort of thing. I say to politicians be yourselves. If you get angry at something or someone, show you are angry. It is an honest emotion. We the people want you to be real. Mr Mitchell swore at a couple of  police officers. Oh dear, how sad! They must be the only policemen in Britain who have never been sworn at. Our police officers are such sensitive little souls. It must have really hurt when that nasty Mr Mitchell said a rude word to them. They probably had to go and have a lie down after that with a wet flannel on their fevered brows. It was only a swear word. Get over it for fucks sake!

Back to the real insult. The pleb word. He denied using the word. Nobody has come forward to say they heard him use it, except for the officer he allegedly said it to. So there is no proof. If this came to court, and I was the judge, I would say there is no case to answer. Even if he did use the word, so bloody what! No need to pillory the bloke for it.

Mr Mitchell was the Chief Whip. His job is to be a tough guy in parliament and make sure government MP's toe the party line. He cannot afford to be a soft touch. He needs to get angry at times. He has a bit of a temper. This is probably why the Prime Minister gave him the job. He should not have had to resign. And another thing. What about the police officers? What was it they said that made him swear? I bet they are not whiter than white. The police do like to wind people up. I know that for a fact. Bloody plebs!

By the way I am not anti police. I would hate to live in a society without them. Just thought I had better mention that.

Some people say, as a member of parliament Mr Mitchell should be setting an example. Well I say he did set an example. He showed his human side. What's wrong with that?

Anyway that is my opinion on the matter for what it's worth. As I say, I'm not into politics. Never have been and don't suppose I ever will be.






11 comments:

  1. We are in the middle of an ugly election where both sides are jumping on every thing either of them say or mis-say. I wish they would talk about the F***ing economy.

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  2. I'm old fashioned, I know...but I don't care for men who swear at women...and the woman being a P.C. doesn't change matters.

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  3. We've all gone PC mad....no pun intended (OK, it was).
    Jane x

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  4. Thing is, John, the officer accepted Andrew's apology... it was the police federation who jumped on the bandwagon because of another matter entirely. My view is, knowing police as well as I do, that it's one man's word against the other, how many coppers exaggerate the reports in their little books? There were two men there, who else would overhear what went on? Andrew Mitchel is my MP. We're disgusted by the affair. He is a good man, polite (yes), refined, considerate, and helpful. A real gentleman, and there are few of those around.

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  5. Politics, I stay away from them. That aside, things like this make adults sound like whiny little school kids. Get over it and move on. So what if he called them a name. OK, I'm done now :)

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  6. I have mixed feelings on this one. I am concerned at the idea of people in positions of authority loosing their rag but I have been around long enough to know it happens. He apologised, it was accepted .... the end. I dont understand why the police federation had too take it further. HE IS HUMAN AND MADE A MISTAKE.

    Earlier in the week it was reported that police officers had tazered a blind guy because they thought his white stick was a Samurai sword. The police have apologised and the circumstances are being investigated. I very much doubt if the police federation will force the PC to resign though. Nor should they, HE IS HUMAN AND MADE A MISTAKE.

    Like so many of these things the media have a hand in the outcome as us Plebeians only know what they tell us.

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  7. Okay, here we go. I know little about the workings of your political system but it cannot be so different from ours. I do not like it when people belittle other people. If a member of Parliament were to insult another member of Parliament there would probably be an uproar. If a dock worker were to insult another dock worker there would probably be a fight. If the MP did in fact belittle the guard people are upset but many believe it to be an acceptable action. If the guard had belittled the MP the guard would have been called to task and probably would lose his livelyhood. I do not know what happened in this case. Everyone has had a lapse in good judgement in their lives. It is never a good thing to make another person feel inferior. It shows a lack of good breeding.

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  8. I'm lower Middle Class and live well. Being very fugal makes it possible.

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  9. I don't quite get how UK governments work, but over here, if you follow things at all, every candidate gets in huge trouble for off camera remarks that turned out to be on camera.

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  10. Perhaps if Mr. Mitchell adjusted his bicycle seat, so the front is lower than the back, he would be less testy.

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  11. I'm not much into politics either. I wasn't registerd to vote for many years and now I vote mostly in the presidential elections but that's it. I think the reason I stay away from any discussions on politics (and religion) is that I don't feel smart enough. I know little on either subject and can't even really comment. I do have strong feelings on both subjects but they're not always based on what's factual (as if anyone really knows what's factual anyway). So as this time of year comes around and people are blogging about politics I just don't comment. My husband on the other hand doesn't know when to shut up.....

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