Twitter Q&As remind the Bradford MP of some uncomfortable truths
Yesterday George Galloway made a unique offer to his Twitter followers: if they all sent him a question, he would choose ‘the best one’ and donate his own time to answering it.
Inevitably, Twitter users chose to ask Galloway about his infamous friendship with Saddam Hussein; in 2002 he coyly told the Guardian how the Iraqi dictator had complimented him on his weight loss.
He has also flirted with other repressive regimes, describing President Assad as ‘a breath of fresh air’ and saying it was ‘not true’ that Iran executed homosexuals.
Most recently he made headlines for refusing to debate with an Israeli student at Oxford, saying that he did not recognise or speak to Israelis. He has publicly declared Bradford an ‘Israel free zone’, but has also received criticism in his constituency for how little he is present there.
Here are some of the highlights of yesterday’s questions:
My mate says that Putin’s the best authoritarian dickwad but I think he hasn’t got a moustache so doesn’t count. Do you agree? #askGalloway
— Boris Watch (@BorisWatch) January 28, 2015
#askGalloway Can you remember which northern town beginning with a B you are the MP for? — Duncan Hothersall (@dhothersall) January 28, 2015
If you were to salute the courage, strength, and indefatigability of any living dictator, who would it be and why? #AskGalloway
— Steven Nash (@nashienet) January 28, 2015
What does it feel like to be on the payroll of a country that regularly hangs homosexuals? #AskGalloway — Alex Barnes (@adbarnes1) January 28, 2015
Are you happy being in a union with Dumfries? #askGalloway
— John B (@johnb78) January 28, 2015
Hi George, you want a blasphemy law in Britain. How would you like to see apostates dealt with? Beheading, or hanging? #askgalloway — Ex-Muslims Forum (@CEMB_forum) January 28, 2015
And finally:
When did you decide to consciously start dressing like Gary Glitter? #AskGallowaypic.twitter.com/1Pl63ohH2v
— Jake Warren (@TheJakeWarren) January 28, 2015
Unsurprisingly, Galloway has ended up with a few less Twitter friends than before:
Why did you block me? 🙁 #askgalloway
— Jamie Ross (@JamieRoss7) January 28, 2015
34 Responses to “#AskGalloway backfires spectacularly”
ForeignRedTory
HARRUMPH. Have you forgotten that Hamas uses human shields?
‘Second, how do you compare Hamas to the Warsaw ghetto fighters?’
That Warsaw fighters were fighting for goof, whereas the Islamist Terrorists of Hamas are fighting for what they, which is to say, unmitigated Evil.
Don’t take my word for it, though, let Sam Haris explain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HX-UPcrejHc
Any form of defense or excuse for Hamas is morally reprehensible.
137point036
Hamas does nasty things. What military does not?
The comparison is this: when you are invaded by a force that has more fire-power than you do, and it uses it against you, you either give in or you fight dirty.
There are always two sides to an argument: one side is good the other is evil. Which is which depends on which side you are on. I tend to support those who have been invaded but it is not a hard and fast rule.
I like Sam Harris but I would not rely on his opinion of Hamas or GG. And vice versa.
There are GGs on all sides of this argument. We should not trust any of them more than we have to. And we shouldn’t just focus on those on one side.
The fact that there are nasty men in the military on all sides is good for the news media but is also a distraction. Someone should spend more time working out why the millions of people in the middle east produce so many dedicated killers, on all sides. Just killing the killers is not sustainable.
Peep
What would be their excuse for hanging homosexuals and throwing members of an opposition party off a roof? Is the difficulty of living under occupation the reason for that?
ForeignRedTory
Hamas preaches Genocide – the killing of Jews even if there was no Israel.
Hamas practises Islamism, a wicked and vile ideology that no decent human being can possibly tolerate.
‘Which is which depends on which side you are on’
If you are not completely on board with the total annihilation of Islamism, whether we find it in Gaza, or Mekka, or Cairo, or Ankara, or Karachi, or let us not forget Paris, you are part of the problem
.Wether the Islamist is in the AKP, or in Hamas, or in Daash, or in AQ, or in the Brotherhood , or in Respect, is completely irrelevant.
137point036
No excuse. But, who are we talking about? Did Hamas do that somewhere? In what country?
What excuse is there for the good guys to do equivalent stuff? Torture people in Gitmo for being Muslim. Murder all the men of a village in the Balkans for being the wrong men. Disappear people in South America for complaining about the withdrawal of moxie?
Can we move on – or, in fact, get back to the topic: the widespread contagion of hypocrisy?