Questions to the lefty types

[Crispy]

yes
no
yes
no
yes
no
yes
no
46 and a half
no
yes
no
yes
no
yes
no
yes
that would be an ecumenical matter

 

[danny la rouge]

I am a lefty. I have a series of special cards issued by the Labour Party over twenty-five years confirming this fact.

Your cards in themselves prove nothing, other than you belonged to an increasingly neo-liberal party.

Are you an entryist?

 

[Fullyplumped]

Are you an entryist?

I probably was in 1983!

 

[lights.out.london]

1) Do you dislike having someone disagree with you?
2) Do you think that I or anyone else has the right to do so?
3) Are you able to construct arguments as to why you think you are right without resorting to schoolboy tactics of name calling and/or threats?
4) If there is a left wing “day of action” for whatever cause do I have the right to talk to a friend about if even if he happens to be a copper in that area?
5) Can you give me any example of an extreme left wing government that hasn’t fucked up the country they managed to get into power in?
6) If I point out that Scargill has made comments supporting Stalin (With links) is this acceptable?
7) Would you go to a day of action on the word of one poster with no back up to his allegations? (If so, why?)
8) Should all left wing politicians do their political work for minimum / average UK wage (or free of charge)?
9) Is there any way that an elected government may be removed from power except by another election?
(Excepting illegal actions on the part of that government proven in a court of law)
9a) Would military or industrial action against your own government be OK by you if they didn‘t share your political opinions?
10) If a worker crosses a picket line to go to work while his union is on strike what do you think should happen to him?
11) If a left wing politician has made large chunks of money from his position is that acceptable?
12) Should all people be paid the same for their work regardless of what they do?
12) Is the use of violence acceptable in an industrial dispute?
13) Is it OK for empoyees to demand more for money for their work if they get paid more than people in lesser jobs?
14) Is it acceptable for a British politician to work for a foreign propaganda broadcasting network?
15) Is it acceptable for someone to hold and forward extreme right wing opinions (BNP etc)? - If not what do you think should happen to them?

Is the child labour market bouyant this month, or are you getting by with just the one junior "servant" (you word, not mine)?

Troll.

 

[Fullyplumped]

Troll.

Notta troll. The questions are interesting and it would be good to see the diversity of answers, especially if people didn't snarl when responding. The fact that you or I wouldn't necessarily have chosen the questions shouldn't be a problem, after all we don't choose the questions in a "fun quiz" in Cosmopolitan!

 

[Fullyplumped]

14) Is it acceptable for a British politician to work for a foreign propaganda broadcasting network?

I would still like the original poster to be absolutely clear who she or means in this.

 

[lights.out.london]

I don't read 'Cosmo'.

The "snarl" has to do with the poster and the motivation.

Anyway. I'm not a 'Leftie', so I guess if you have the time to dance to derf's tune... and maybe you can serve him tea on the veranda whilst you're at it.

 

[danny la rouge]

I probably was in 1983!

But since Mandy's rebranding did you flow with the direction of policy? ie, ever rightward.

 

[taffboy gwyrdd]

self styled "lefties" can be a pain in the arse as the simplistic OP implies, but capitalists make for some of the biggest zealots you'll ever come across.

 

[Fullyplumped]

I don't read 'Cosmo'. The "snarl" has to do with the poster and the motivation. Anyway. I'm not a 'Leftie', so I guess if you have the time to dance to derf's tune... and maybe you can serve him tea on the veranda whilst you're at it.

Hey, if we have time to sit and faff about on a Saturday lunchtime with U75 politics forum, and we all clearly do, we have time to answer a fun quiz, here or in Cosmopolitan. I'm not going to make Derf tea, but I might make myself some.

People are very TENSE, aren't they!

 

[taffboy gwyrdd]

I would still like the original poster to be absolutely clear who she or means in this.

Must be all the flunkies that do Murdochs bidding.

 

[Fullyplumped]

But since Mandy's rebranding did you flow with the direction of policy? ie, ever rightward.

Well I was certainly a tireless worker over the fourteen years it took to make Labour electable.

(Sits back and enjoys the fruits of my handiwork).

 

[FridgeMagnet]

Hey, if we have time to sit and faff about on a Saturday lunchtime with U75 politics forum, and we all clearly do, we have time to answer a fun quiz, here or in Cosmopolitan. I'm not going to make Derf tea, but I might make myself some.

People are very TENSE, aren't they!

This isn't much of a fun quiz. Comes across as bitter and aggressive to be honest. I'd rather see what Fun Fearless Fiction Read Is Right For Me.

http://www.cosmopolitan.com/archive/you/quiz/

 

[danny la rouge]

Well I was certainly a tireless worker over the fourteen years it took to make Labour electable.

(Sits back and enjoys the fruits of my handiwork).

So, in jettisoning everything "left", to become electable, you magically remain a lefty?

 

[Lo Siento.]

I would still like the original poster to be absolutely clear who she or means in this.

presumably George Galloway working with the Iranian state TV channel?

 

[FridgeMagnet]

Ooh, it gave me three. "The Almost Moon" by Alice Sebold, "Daddy's Girl" by Lisa Scottoline, and "Nineteen Minutes" by Jodi Picoult. Any good?

 

[Fullyplumped]

Must be all the flunkies that do Murdochs bidding.

Possibly, but I imagine it's more like Press TV.

 

[_angel_]

So, in jettisoning everything "left", to become electable, you magically remain a lefty?

 

[danny la rouge]

presumably George Galloway working with the Iranian state TV channel?

I see.

Add that to the poll, then, derf:

Do you like George Galloway?

No.

 

[Fullyplumped]

So, in jettisoning everything "left", to become electable, you magically remain a lefty?

Us lefties don't believe in magic, you silly.

One of the nice things about questionnaires like Derf's is that you just answer and people compare the answers and draw a conclusion from a mass of information instead of trying to get into arguments designed to embarrass and hopefully "defeat" an individual interlocutor in front of others. Like you're trying to do with me, as evidenced by _angel_'s smiley. It depends on my being polite and respectful enough to engage with you as an individual, though. Well, I'm nothing if not polite and respectful to people who show me the same courtesy, but this isn't a thread to have an argument about the rights and wrongs of Labour being in government for eleven years , or even who gets to call themselves a lefty and who else gets to determine who isn't.

 

[Lo Siento.]

Labour being in government for eleven years

don't think very many people found it particularly

 

[danny la rouge]

Us lefties don't believe in magic, you silly.

One of the nice things about questionnaires like Derf's is that you just answer and people compare the answers and draw a conclusion from a mass of information instead of trying to get into arguments designed to embarrass and hopefully "defeat" an individual interlocutor in front of others. Like you're trying to do with me, as evidenced by _angel_'s smiley. It depends on my being polite and respectful enough to engage with you as an individual, though. Well, I'm nothing if not polite and respectful to people who show me the same courtesy, but this isn't a thread to have an argument about the rights and wrongs of Labour being in government for eleven years , or even who gets to call themselves a lefty and who else gets to determine who isn't.

I didn't post _angel_'s smilie, so it doesn't really tell you anything about my motivations.

I come here for a discussion. I enjoy it. My guess is that other interlocutors are going to be more entertaining and interesting than the OP, who comes across as quite bitter and hostile. (Which is fine, btw. There are things I'm bitter and hostile anout).

The reason your post interested me is that you claim to be a lefty and yet still support the New Labour project. I'm interested in knowing how that works, and what defnition of lefty you're using

Cards on table: I last voted Labour in 1983. I am a former member of said party.

 

[LLETSA]

1) Do you dislike having someone disagree with you?
2) Do you think that I or anyone else has the right to do so?

Yes. And you already seem like somebody who ought to be shot.

 

[Blagsta]

Notta troll. The questions are interesting and it would be good to see the diversity of answers, especially if people didn't snarl when responding. The fact that you or I wouldn't necessarily have chosen the questions shouldn't be a problem, after all we don't choose the questions in a "fun quiz" in Cosmopolitan!

They're simplistic questions with an obvious agenda. I was just mentally going through how I'd answer them and most I can't answer, because, as with most things in life, the answer would depend on the particular context and situation at the time. The fact that derf thinks that they are an intelligent list of questions says bundles about his capacity for political thinking IMO.

 

[ViolentPanda]

1) Do you dislike having someone disagree with you?

Not if the disagreement is well-informed and informative.

2) Do you think that I or anyone else has the right to do so?

Yes, just as I have a right to disagree with you, you have a right to disagree with me.

3) Are you able to construct arguments as to why you think you are right without resorting to schoolboy tactics of name calling and/or threats?

I am, are you?

4) If there is a left wing “day of action” for whatever cause do I have the right to talk to a friend about if even if he happens to be a copper in that area?

That depends on what you're going to say, I'd suspect.

5) Can you give me any example of an extreme left wing government that hasn’t fucked up the country they managed to get into power in?

What do you mean by "extreme left"? Many of your posts appear to project that you believe new labour to be dangerously socialistic, so our perceptions of what is "extreme left" may differ somewhat.

6) If I point out that Scargill has made comments supporting Stalin (With links) is this acceptable?

That'd depend on both the context of Scargill's original comments, and the context in which you decided to place the comments.

7) Would you go to a day of action on the word of one poster with no back up to his allegations? (If so, why?)

That'd depend on the poster, the allegations and whether I was physically well enough to do so.

8) Should all left wing politicians do their political work for minimum / average UK wage (or free of charge)?

Most left-wing politicians do do their political work for minimal remuneration. I suspect you're falling into the "new labour is socialist" error again.

9) Is there any way that an elected government may be removed from power except by another election?
(Excepting illegal actions on the part of that government proven in a court of law)

Mass murder (or "a homage to Guido Fawkes", as I like to think of it).

9a) Would military or industrial action against your own government be OK by you if they didn‘t share your political opinions?

Depends on the logical basis for doing so.

10) If a worker crosses a picket line to go to work while his union is on strike what do you think should happen to him?

Officially? Removal of his union membership and blacklisting by all other unions.

11) If a left wing politician has made large chunks of money from his position is that acceptable?

If he's made "large chunks of money from his position" he's liable to be breaking the law. If he/she has made large chunks of money outwith their political responsibilities that a matter for their conscience and for revolutionary justice.

12) Should all people be paid the same for their work regardless of what they do?

This question makes no sense because you've (unsurprisingly) given it no context.

12) Is the use of violence acceptable in an industrial dispute?

By whom?

13) Is it OK for empoyees to demand more for money for their work if they get paid more than people in lesser jobs?

In a perfect world reward would be commensurate with both degree of effort and degree of skill, so while you'd have pay differentials, they'd be minimal and incremental.

14) Is it acceptable for a British politician to work for a foreign propaganda broadcasting network?

I think you'll find that all broadcast networks are, by their very nature, propagandistic.

15) Is it acceptable for someone to hold and forward extreme right wing opinions (BNP etc)? - If not what do you think should happen to them?

I'm fine with people holding those opinions, I'm even against the idea of "no platform for the BNP". It generally makes it easier to expose those opinions as the pernicious trash they are if they're out in the open, you see.

 

[ViolentPanda]

The questions aren't designed to get a genuine response - they're merely another vehicle for derf's platform.

Obviously, but if we bear this in mind we can then identify and question derf's own prejudices and assumptions while answering his somewhat trite, somewhat loaded "questions", innit?

 

[greenman]

I would guess that question 4 -

4) If there is a left wing “day of action” for whatever cause do I have the right to talk to a friend about if even if he happens to be a copper in that area?

Does not really encourage people to give honest answers to the questions does it? It does however tell us something about the OP's own modus operandi and ethics.

What amuses me about much of the online output of the British right and self styled "capitalists" is how despite the fact that the left - (as opposed to economically neo-liberal social liberals with residual statist tendencies) - in this country is small and ineffectual, despite this, they are in fear and loathing of this composite beast ready and able to deprive them of their rights, liberties and lives - a "left" that exists only in the fevered imaginations and nightmares of those who have managed to convince themselves of the social utility and moral value of selfishness, greed, toadying, backstabbing, ruthlessness, superstition and willed ignorance......
Projection.

 

[taffboy gwyrdd]

A lot of intelligent posters have had their time wasted by detailed response to this pile of random toss.

 

[ViolentPanda]

A lot of intelligent posters have had their time wasted by detailed response to this pile of random toss.

Yeah, but there's a certain satisfaction to answering it merely to highlight why it's a pile of random toss.

 

[shagnasty]

I did call him a dick which he is but i answered by saying the right as no monopoly on democracy. i have seen things from the likes of norman tebbit that would raise the eyebrows of any democrate i talk about his law to make unions vote for a political fund which was designed to cripple the labour party