Guido Mental Health Smear Fawked

Obsession, coupled with vindictiveness, can be bad not just for those targeted, but for those targeting them. So it has proved for the perpetually thirsty Paul Staines and his rabble at the Guido Fawkes blog, and their creepy attacks on Labour MP Nadia Whittome, who represents Nottingham East, and is taking a leave of absence from Parliament.

Nadia Whittome MP

On her doctor’s advice, Ms Whittome, as the Guardian has reported, has taken time off after “being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder … she had been ‘battling some persistent health issues’ for several months, and that while she had ‘been attempting to manage them’ alongside her duties as a politician, it had recently ‘become clear that this is not feasible’”. Her colleagues have sent messages of support.

Behold the arbiter of taste and decency

“Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, sent ‘love, solidarity and strength’, and said that ‘even by just publishing this statement you’ve shown so much bravery and you will have helped so many other people’ … Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader who sits as an independent MP … hailed Whittome as ‘bold and brave’”.

And then came the sneering, smearing intervention from The Great Guido. Titled “Nadia’s Shell Shock Shows Politicians Need Life Experience … Nadia’s Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder”, it juxtaposes Ms Whittome’s photo with that of a World War I soldier. Readers are told “Guido has no insight into what ails the youngest MP in parliament, Nadia Whittome, such that she needs to take a break from parliament due to PTSD. Parliament may be daunting though nothing akin to the trenches of the First World War”.

The authorship of this singularly repellant take is given as “order-order”, which suggests one of three things: One, it’s not the work of Christian Calgie or Adam Cherry, but has been delegated to a new Fawkes gofer, Two, Staines wrote it himself, or maybe Three, nobody chez Fawkes is prepared to put their name to the attack.

This steepling ignorance of mental health issues, not least that PTSD is not restricted to war veterans, and that Ms Whittome worked at a care home while the Covid-19 pandemic was raging, continued as the Fawkes Twitter feed told followers “Nadia’s Shell Shock Shows Politicians Need Life Experience”. The pushback was not long in arriving.

Stan Cross put The Great Guido straight. “She was a frontline care worker during a global pandemic you ugly freaks. What the fuck did you do?” And the Tweeter known as Technically Ron mused “Guido once again showing that he is the journalistic equivalent of shitting yourself in public for attention”. Ms Whittome’s fellow MPs were also unimpressed.

Zarah Sultana told “This extreme right-wing blog is truly the worst of gutter journalism. It should be shunned by anyone who cares about decency in politics, but instead is disgracefully accepted by much of the mainstream. Solidarity to [Nadia Whittome], who has bravely spoken about mental health”. Dawn Butler added “I think you're wrong to refer to it as journalism Zarah. Solidarity to the wonderful Nadia”.

And Mic Wright concluded “The next time Guido Fawkes is included in a Sky or BBC news review, remember this. It has been allowed to be treated as a legitimate pipeline into established media when it is, in fact, an open sewer”. Also, I’m sure it has nothing to do with Ms Whittome not being white. Another fine mess, once again.

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