"It's noteworthy, though perhaps predictable, that the political reaction is a circling of the Westminster wagons, and a general lack of regard for the Black person about whom the nasty comments were made. And it speaks to something wider. The comments about Abbott, relayed and endorsed by Ovenden, are not just foul: they also reflect the way in which Black women are routinely dehumanised in this society, and the fact that when that happens, there is little protection."
"What's even more striking about the row today is that remarks of this kind are new, not private and not inconsequential. There were deeply offensive remarks about Abbott and other women in a leaked Labour report from five years ago, which exposed a toxic environment of bullying, racism and misogyny yet instead of launching a cleanup, Labour pretty much brushed it all aside. Behaviour that would have been unacceptable in any other professional workplace was effectively normalised."
Paul Ovenden resigned as director of strategy at Downing Street after admitting he discussed Britain's first Black woman MP, Diane Abbott, in derogatory sexual terms with colleagues in 2017. In messages he described a shag, marry, kill game including discussion of a colleague using a strap-on and the prospect of going down on the MP. Political commentators have focused on Ovenden's loss and dismissed the backlash as factional. The episode highlights routine dehumanisation of Black women, weak protections, and a history of offensive remarks in a leaked Labour report five years ago that revealed bullying, racism and misogyny, which was largely brushed aside, normalising unacceptable behaviour.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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