Birbalsingh vs Phillips

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C R

Über Member
Can someone explain what Katharine Birbalsingh is complaining about? I can't make head nor tail of the story.
 
D

Deleted member 121

Guest
She has taken it personally that Jess Phillips who is shadow minister for domestic violence and safeguarding, commented "domestic abuse is never OK and we will defeat those who prop up the status quo" after Birbalsingh posted a picture up of Tina Turner with her then abusive husband with the caption "good times".

I think Birbalsingh took it personally and i believe was clumsy and everybody seems to be doubling down until we've gotten to the point where wild accusations are being thrown about. There appears to be no love lost between the two.

It has a very CycleChat NCAP feel about it....
 
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C R

C R

Über Member
She has taken it personally that Jess Phillips who is shadow minister for domestic violence and safeguarding, commented "domestic abuse is never OK and we will defeat those who prop up the status quo" after Birbalsingh posted a picture up of Tina Turner with her then abusive husband with the caption "good times".

I think Birbalsingh took it personally and i believe was clumsy and everybody seems to be doubling down until we've gotten to the point where wild accusations are being thrown about. There appears to be no love lost between the two.

It has a very CycleChat NCAP feel about it....

I got that, but I can't understand what she is complaining about, where exactly is the racism?
 

theclaud

Reading around the chip
I got that, but I can't understand what she is complaining about, where exactly is the racism?

There isn't any, in this case, but it's hugely entertaining anyway because her main schtick is that racism isn't really a thing. She's claiming Phillips singled her out for being a BW speaking at the NatCon conference. She didn't - she was laying into every speaker whilst being at home ill.
 
D

Deleted member 121

Guest
I got that, but I can't understand what she is complaining about, where exactly is the racism?

As far as I'm m aware there isn't any unless there is some unpublished comments. Like I say it is all very NCAP. Personally, I think she's embarrassed by the clumsy post and instead of being holding her hands up and explaining that, we have a classic escalation which the media will love.
 
It was an attempt at point scoring after someone made a genuine mistake (not cropping Ike Turner out of the photo or not realising he was in it til it was posted). I think Birbalsingh is a bit much but it was crass of Phillips to try to make capital out of it.

Birbalsingh feels there was a race factor involved too, though I honestly didn't get that from what I read of it all initially. She might be a remarkable ethnic minority headteacher of a highly rated school (don't know enough to decide tbh), but it doesn't mean every criticism is racist and an attempt to undermine her achievements. I don't think race is why Jess Phillips doesn't like her or why she tried to be a smart arse. Storm in a teacup really and very typical of both of them from what I can see.
 
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C R

C R

Über Member
She's an idiot and a nutcase.

I got that impression when she made her comments about girls and physics*. I guess she has now confirmed it.

*Mrs C R is a physicist and was fuming when she read those comments.
 

theclaud

Reading around the chip
I got that impression when she made her comments about girls and physics*. I guess she has now confirmed it.

*Mrs C R is a physicist and was fuming when she read those comments.

Well, quite. For those lucky enough to be unacquainted with the 'ideas' of 'Miss Snuffy', this is her red-hot take...

Addressing a science and technology committee inquiry on diversity and inclusion in Stem subjects (science, technology, engineering and maths), Katharine Birbalsingh said fewer girls chose physics because “physics isn’t something that girls tend to fancy.

They don’t want to do it, they don’t like it,” she said.“I just think they don’t like it. There’s a lot of hard maths in there that I think they would rather not do.”

“The research generally … just says that’s a natural thing,” she added. “I don’t think there’s anything external.”

Birbalsingh, a French and philosophy graduate, said she was “certainly not out there campaigning” for more girls to do physics
.
 
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She's an idiot and a nutcase.

And the ethnic minority head of a very successful school. The two things are not necessarily mutually exclusive. I do think the press tend to lionise high profile head teachers when successful schools are by definition very much a team effort. They did it endlessly with Jean Else in Manchester, who did some sterling work but ultimately proved to be quite dodgy, and with several other teachers/leaders who 'turned around' poor schools and then weren't quite what they seemed.
 
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I got that, but I can't understand what she is complaining about, where exactly is the racism?

Mostly, maybe wholly, in Ms Birbalsingh's head.

In so far as it's there at all it wasn't in Phillips's posts but a Twatter pile on by others.

KB is not averse to being a controversialist on Social Media and playing the snowflake when you're hurt playing rough house stuff is a pretty poor look.
 
And the ethnic minority head of a very successful school. The two things are not necessarily mutually exclusive. I do think the press tend to lionise high profile head teachers when successful schools are by definition very much a team effort. They did it endlessly with Jean Else in Manchester, who did some sterling work but ultimately proved to be quite dodgy, and with several other teachers/leaders who 'turned around' poor schools and then weren't quite what they seemed.

I'm not sure what the metric for KB being successful is other than Ofsted ratings and being lionised by the UK's (right wing) mainstream print media.

That aside you're spot on.
 
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