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David Amess MP stabbed in Leigh-On-Sea

farfromthesun said:
I'll be honest; I didn't really know what I felt when I initially heard what was going on. He was MP for Basildon when I was a kid, then Southend; I have always had a visceral dislike for him. His voting record is atrocious, etc. However, my over-riding emotion is one of sadness at what has happened. Despite the fact that I hated pretty much everything that he stood for, no human being deserves to have their life ended in this way. Today has been a day where I have reflected on myself to a certain degree, but I don't expect that the majority of people will do the same, and as such, this whole, sorry episode will just accelerate the current direction of travel of "politics" in this country.
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I think this is a very honest post and highlights the problem that hatred is an all consuming emotion that initially clouds humanity.
 
flatpopely said:
I think this is a very honest post and highlights the problem that hatred is an all consuming emotion that initially clouds humanity.
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I agree it was a good post and respect to @farfromthesun for being honest. However, I think it's entirely possible to think/feel all of these things at once:

1. Nobody deserves to die in such a terrible fashion.

2. Human sympathy for the loved ones Amess leaves behind.

3. Fear about the state of politics in this country. I want to live in a country where MPs can meet the people they represent face to face. It is good for democracy. Anything that makes that more difficult is bad for democracy.

4. Revulsion at the man's voting record.

The latter is not an abstract ideological point. It is grounded in direct experience of seeing the policies this man voted for immiserate people I love, literally making them sick with worry. Many thousands of people have not been so lucky during a decade of Tory rule and have either taken their own lives or died from neglect. I wonder when the loss of those lives will be mourned so publicly.

So I don't think this is a case of hatred (I would say anger) clouding humanity. Anger (e.g. when loved ones are hurt) is as much a part of being human as any other emotion and can co-exist with (e.g.) human solidarity for the bereaved. If anything, the suggestion that people ought not to express their anger (and deny a part of their own humanity) is inhumane.
 
RIP David Amess. This is shockingly awful, and seems to be a symptom of the cancer of divisiveness that has infected politics.
 
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I am appalled that this has happened... again.. and I too recognise it as a direct assault upon the fabric of our democracy. I too feel for the man, his family, friends and colleagues.

However.. I am almost equally appalled that a man so universally described as 'a nice bloke' etc.. could have the voting record outlined below, as it points to someone driven either by a meanness of spirit, or some sort of religious fervour.
https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/10009/david_amess/southend_west/votes

And finally, I am afraid that when the dust settles.. this will be used by some, to justify their increasing use of repressive regulation, far beyond that needed to protect elected representatives.
 
Having not resided now in the UK for 30 years I feel perhaps unable to comment other that to say that as others have noted, whether one agrees or disagrees with an elected officials position on issues, it is a sad day when an event like this happens, and it will only serve to swing public opinion to the right with respect to immigration and minorities.

One has to vigorously defend the democratic system, as we have seen in the USA with the Trump administration, democracies are not iron clad and never too far from a tipping point.
 
Dreadful news, I listened to the unfolding news last night between 4 and 7 in the car. It's an appalling crime, very much shades of Jo Cox. Very similar, both doing their jobs, both very well received working for their constituents. Both had families.
As for his voting record, of course it's relevant. It's the first place you go to find out what he believed. Jo Cox was murdered for her beliefs and what she voted for and against, so it's a distinct possibility that the same motive may apply here in a very similar crime. It may be that it turns out to be unconnected, but we'd all agree that it's a reasonable question to ask as a starting point.
 
The newspapers are full of understandable coverage, you could be forgiven for not remembering that several of them have been ramping up divisiveness for years. More so recently, with screaming headlines of Traitors!, Enemies Of The People! and so on. Perhaps the self examination could be taken beyond MP's security.
 
Woodface said:
He didn’t stab himself multiple times
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I'm well aware of that:rolleyes:. However if the police are treating it as a terrorist incident, then there has to have been information to support that assertion. The below comment by @stevec67 is worthy of reflection.

stevec67 said:
Not necessarily. He may have been coerced, brainwashed, be the fall guy for a bigger group conspiring to commit murder, any manner of possibilities.
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