Yesterday, shadow health minister Diane Abbott was forced to apologise after posting on Twitter, in response to a discussion about Stephen Lawrence, that “White people like to play divide and rule.”
However, Abbott has been vilified again today after a tweet she sent on Tuesday was unearthed, reading: “Dubious of black people claiming they’ve never experienced racism. Ever tried hailing a taxi I always wonder?”
The comment has sparked anger from London cab drivers who say her claim is unfounded and offensive.
Steve McNamara, a spokesman for the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, who has personally driven Abbott in his cab, said: “This is a typically silly comment by Diane Abbott and deeply unfair. The modern generation of taxi drivers is as diverse as London itself and most of the knowledge schools now have prayer rooms.
“Her comment is a silly stereotype that harks back to the days of ‘I don’t go south of the river’ and ‘hanging’s too good for them’. It is as outdated and insulting as the stereotype that black people wear woolly hats all the time.”
Namara added that a “substantial proportion” of the LTDA’s 9,000 members are from black, Muslim, and other ethnic minority backgrounds.
On Twitter, discussion about Diane Abbott ifs rife and opinions mixed.
“Uncomfortable with Diane Abbott being vilified as “racist” over a single Tweet about a racist murder and institutionalised corruption,” tweeted Caitlin Moran.
Ed Miliband’s Twitter typo
Amusingly, Ed Miliband appears to have made a Twitter blunder of his own, mistyping the word Blockbusters in a tweet about the death of host Bob Holness.
“Sad to hear that Bob Holness has died. A generation will remember him fondly from Blackbusters,” wrote Miliband, before hastily correcting his mistake.
What would Freud say we wonder?
