(Salma Yaqoob) Be afraid, very afraid of the future here in the UK

[Suffer-not]

Salma Yaqoob

While a Respect Party councillor in Birmingham, Yaqoob infamously refused to join applause for George Cross-winning war hero Lance Corporal Matt Croucher.

L/Cpl Croucher threw himself on top of a Taliban grenade in Helmand in 2008, saving the lives of his colleagues.

As decorated Croucher entered the council chamber, Yaqoob sat with her arms crossed.

[JoeLeg]

So you're saying that in an incident that occurred six years ago, someone who repeatedly failed to be elected as an MP, and who could only become a local councillor as part of the widely discredited personal vanity project that is George Galloways 'Respect' party, became somehow indicative of the future of the U.K.?

Yaqoob failed as a politician, is remembered mainly for that crass attempt at provocation which you describe - and which was roundly condemned, and has not been part of public life since 2012. She in no way represents the future of this nation.

I'll have some of whatever you're drinking.

[Seabag]

What is the point of this post

Utter cark from a long time ago

I'm sure there are forums for this kind of stuff, just I'm pretty sure it isn't this one

[ianr]

The paragraph originally appeared on Guido Fawkes' website on ?20 [corrected] February, prefaced by

"If you are going to organise a rally protesting against Donald Trump, you should probably try to make sure it isn?t hijacked by cranks, extremists and anti-Semites. Alas, the speakers at this afternoon?s ?Stop Trump? rally in Westminster are a roll call of wrong ?uns?"

In the last couple of days the copy-and-paste brigade have stuck it on other sites such as 4chan and elderofziyon.blogspot.com, from one of which OP is probably bravely relaying it for our education. Which one was it?

[rendelharris]

I'd be rather more afraid for our future if people weren't permitted to make whatever gesture suits them within the limits of the law, whether one agrees or disagrees with it (see also the Irish footballer who gets berated every year for refusing to have a poppy on his shirt).

[Jules-and-Boo]

I can't believe I read this.

[Loz]

Someone has sat with their arms crossed?? REALLY? How awful.

That's it - starting this weekend, I'm digging the fallout shelter in the garden.

[jaywalker]

I have this when I have to attend church (e.g. a funeral) and refuse to pray. Perhaps it would be more polite to get on my knees. But then I might start believing.

[JohnL]

But at least he didn't dance down to the cenotaph

(nor did Corbyn but he was accused of it)

[Otta]

All this thread has achieved is to remind me of the existence of Salma Yaqoob.

[Toffee]

Suffernot. Be prepared for all the liberal left on this forum to tear you to pieces. How bloody dare a British soldier look after his mates? Good job the guy was totally disrespected. Wow.sorry to both my grandfathers who lost their lives.

[Toffee]

What part. I'm livid

[JoeLeg]

Toffee Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Suffernot. Be prepared for all the liberal left

> on this forum to tear you to pieces. How bloody

> dare a British soldier look after his mates? Good

> job the guy was totally disrespected. Wow.sorry to

> both my grandfathers who lost their lives.

Screw you Toffee. Absolutely no one on this thread said anything against the Marine (he's a Marine, by the way, not a soldier - they emphasis the difference). Don't go tainting us by association. All you've read here is a bunch of people pointing out the Yaqoob is a tool, and that it's totally wrong to say what she did has any bearing on how this country is going forward. If you can't handle that then maybe stop thinking that when people point out the strawman nature of a post like that, that it equals disrespect for service personnel.

Here's a suggestion - swing over to ARRSE and post on there asking what they think of Yaqoob. You'll find most of them can't be bothered wasting time thinking about her. People like Yaqoob and their infantile gestures only succeed when others give them credence. If you haven't figured that out then good luck to you.

And by the way, before I was a chef, I was a Fusilier.

[JohnL]

Toffee Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Suffernot. Be prepared for all the liberal left

> on this forum to tear you to pieces. How bloody

> dare a British soldier look after his mates? Good

> job the guy was totally disrespected. Wow.sorry to

> both my grandfathers who lost their lives.

The issue was the applause.

If you think about it - you can only judge the value

of people applauding by the fact some don't.

If everyone clapped me just because they felt they had

to - it doesn't mean anything.

[JoeLeg]

If someone who threw themselves on a grenade walked into a room where I was I'd probably applaud too - I hope I'd have as much courage as him.

But we live in a society where people are free not to applaud. That's who we are - this isn't Starship Troopers. We live in a pluralistic society and tolerate those who hold opinions we disagree with. Personally I'd rather know who they are, so we can ignore/monitor them.

It's the ones who applaud while secretly plotting violence that I worry about. Yaqoob was just being a twat; when you're already a Respect (ha!) councillor, such foolishness is expected of you. And the rest of us just have out low opinion of you confirmed.

[Otta]

Toffee Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Suffernot. Be prepared for all the liberal left

> on this forum to tear you to pieces. How bloody

> dare a British soldier look after his mates? Good

> job the guy was totally disrespected. Wow.sorry to

> both my grandfathers who lost their lives.

She chose to make a stupid gesture.

Paul Golding (Britain Frist mayoral candidate) turned his back when the Muslim candidate Sidiq Khan won last year.

Both were gestures of protest. Both were a pathetic. Both should just be ignored and forgotten. Nothing left wing about that, this whole thread has just given her gesture more publicity years later, and seems entirely counterproductive.

[rendelharris]

Toffee Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Suffernot. Be prepared for all the liberal left

> on this forum to tear you to pieces. How bloody

> dare a British soldier look after his mates? Good

> job the guy was totally disrespected. Wow.sorry to

> both my grandfathers who lost their lives.

I can't beat that, I only lost one grandfather, though the other was wounded in both the first and second wars - once as a soldier (WW1) and as a London firewatcher in WWII. The surviving one was outspoken in his criticism of "forced patriotism" such as people being criticised for not wearing a poppy etc. As he said, if I was fighting for anything, it was for people to have the freedom to do things I don't agree with.

[uncleglen]

Given the appalling behaviour at Wootten Bassett I think most people are aware of the views of some islamists and as there is safety in numbers the muslim politicians would rather express the views held by muslims rathers than non-muslims.