The Daily Mail defending an immigrant - what's going on?
"First Indian female president of Oxford University students' union QUITS amid backlash after she made 'pun' about the Holocaust, posted picture of her in Malaysia with words 'Ching Chang' and said trans women are not women"
When I got a WhatsApp - I was somewhat bemused one person could simultaneously attack so many groups. Why? Were they drunk?
Apparently, 'Ching Chang' means 'Eat the Plants' but is offensive to Chinese people. Now, I've heard many insults against every ethnic group, including my own and the Chinese. I've missed this one. But, that doesn't mean it's not an insult. I'd put it in the stupid playground category, like if someone called my brownie, but not as bad as Paki. Maybe I'm wrong. I don't think it's the 'n' word and if it were that would be a sacking offense. I'm just trying to understand how the puzzle fits.
She mentioned 'transwomen' and that I am told is offensive to transwomen because it should be 'women' - I didn't know that.
The biggest offensive potentially was she wrote in a photo outside a Holocaust memorial 'The memorial *CASTS* a *HOLLOW* dream of the past atrocities and deeds'.
It's a pun on Holocaust. That would be a stupid pun, pointless, inappropriate, and appears to trivialise the Holocaust. Stupidity would be a reason to be reprimanded. I am trying to see if it's anti-semitic, a hatred for Jewish people. I think it's someone trying to be cleverer than they are and showing a lack of intelligence on many levels.
And let me be clear, as I have said to my Jewish friends who read this paper, I will always be your friend.
Imagine, someone wrote about the massacre of Hindus and was President of a student body. I would consider them stupid, I would expect an apology. Would I consider demanding their resignation? For stupidity? No. For prolongued constant hatred against Hindus, Jews, or any group - yes. Hell, yes.
But I can't seem to find that. I have found comments online that she is Hindu and hatred directed at her for her religion.
As the Mail reported, "Free Speech Union, whose general secretary Toby Young said it was 'disappointed' to see Ms Samant resign from her post and said her apology 'should have been enough'. "
Being Oxford Union President usually meant future PM. Those days have long, long passed. The quality of debate from my time as a student some twenty years ago was yawn-inducing.
A recent exception was Tharoor on Empire - which went viral.
The Mail continued, quoting the FSU, "'Publicly shaming young people and hounding them from the public square just because they've said something a bit daft on social media will deter all but the most boring to get involved in student politics. Whilst we must do all we can to clamp down on racism where it still exists, we must also not lose perspective and context should always be considered.
'Rashmi's comments were entirely inappropriate, there's no doubt about that, but she has since apologised. It is now our job to forgive her and move on.
'We need to get to a point where we can accept someone for the person they are today, without trudging through their social media history from years ago in order to find evidence to discredit them.
'The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Cancel culture is unforgive and unhelpful; it's a misguided approach at social justice.
'We'd do far better to remember the British value - the Christian value - of forgiveness.'
And to the anti-Hindu comments, I've seen - to those writers - you should be the ones resigning - from the human race.
