Out there on the far right, a new campaign has been launched, backed by such luminaries as UKIP peer Lord Pearson of Rannoch, MEP Janice Atkinson, who was too poisonous even for the Kippers, and For Britain’s leader Anne-Marie Waters. It has also been endorsed by Stephen Yaxley Lennon, who styles himself Tommy Robinson.
Janice Atkinson - before UKIP kicked her out
The 1400 Campaign is so-named after the estimated number of victims of sexual abuse in the town of Rotherham. That estimate has been upgraded by some of those backing the campaign to confirmed cases of rape, a claim that cannot be stood up (hence the use of the word “estimate”). It will “provide the first national helpline for those suffering the rape and exploitation that continues across the country”.
Because of the backstory of some who have backed this initiative, questions have been asked and concerns raised. And that is where the problems have started: instead of responding to the questions and concerns, those doing the asking have been subjected to a welter of abuse. Some have been accused of supporting sexual exploitation because they do not unequivocally support the 1400 Campaign.
Worse, the meltdown exhibited by one Shazia Hobbs, who was involved with the launch event, is beyond unfortunate. There is no lobbying, no persuasion, no setting out of the stall to win over doubters. From Ms Hobbs there is only baseless abuse.
Off
she went: “
When Tommy Robinson shared The#1400Campaign promotion, the usual far left blue-ticked haters were all over Twitter quickly smearing it and telling their followers not to back the campaign” [no citation]. “
Irrational blind hate led them to jump on the wrong bandwagon and smear a campaign that has been months in the making, solely because Tommy shared it on his Facebook page” [no citation]. And there was more.
“
When I see the blue-ticked hateful lowlife, and the so called feminists smearing the campaign because Tommy shared it, it makes me realise the truth”. Ah, it’s THE TRUTH again. That’s THE TRUTH as in someone’s opinion upgraded in the retelling. But do go on.
“
They simply don’t care about these crimes. They aren’t interested in providing the victims all the help they deserve … Not one of them has apologised for their error”.
What error? What don’t they care about? Time and again, the refrain is the same - “
anyone opposed to us is supporting sexual exploitation and paedophilia”. Why not just pony up some answers to the concerns raised about this campaign? Like, oh I dunno, those voiced by author Louise Raw, who has, you guessed it, been subject to abuse instead.
Dr Raw concluded “
All we need to know about #The1400campaign is it was launched by Lord Pearson of [Rannoch], who proudly calls himself a close friend of Tommy Robinson & wants him in UKIP. No surprise it focuses only on Muslim paedophiles, not the 90% of lone UK abusers who are white. Dangerous”. The abuse followed.
A selection of variously ungrammatical, incoherent and intolerant Tweets has been included. No attempt to engage with Dr Raw, just accusations that she is covering for paedophiles, attacking survivors, suggestions that she is covering for gang rape, anti-BBC smears and attempts to link the whole saga to the EU.
Worse, no effort is made at correction, just the usual refrain of “
you’re a liar”. And that’s not good enough. Questions are bound to be asked about the qualifications of those answering the helpline, as well as who will be handling and perhaps benefiting from the data they obtain during its operation. Also, it is unclear whether the 1400 Campaign is a charity. This is difficult to ascertain if the only response is abuse.
And if it is being backed by an MEP best known for crude and abusive gestures, the leader of a party even more driven by bigotry than UKIP, and a serial criminal and thug best known for intimidating and threatening those who call him out, no mainstream politician or media outlet is going to go near it. That isn’t an indication of supporting gang rape or paedophilia, it’s an indication that many people don’t want to be associated with bigots.
The 1400 Campaign may be a noble and groundbreaking exercise. It may not. But as long as its supporters behave the way they are right now, it is going nowhere.
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