Monday 11 July 2016

Andrea Leadsom & Politically Correct Bigotry

Over the weekend apparently, Andrea Leadsom was involved in a "gaffe" when she said something to the effect that she feels better qualified to be PM than Theresa May on account of being a mother. The press (including the nominally right wing press) then splashed this all over the front pages, presumably as evidence that she was bigoted or stupid or otherwise not fit to govern. 

The press criticism was essentially that Andrea Leadsom's remarks were an offense to one aspect of the politically correct doctrine of equality, i.e. that whether a woman has children, or remains childless, should not affect the decision as to which of them is more capable to perform a job. 

I disagree, and I think this was a perfect opportunity to put a knife or two through the body of political correctness. My disagreement is simply that I think questions of that sort, i.e. whether childless women are statistically less capable or competent than mothers should be settled empirically, if anyone wants to bother to investigate them at all. To adopt one answer or the other without ever having asked the question empirically, and to do so with an attitude of certainty and outrage, is simple bigotry. Only in this case it is politically correct bigotry, and Andrea Leadsom was being bullied by media editors who most likely Remnants. 

Apparently Leadsom has now apologized to May, which is a grievous error and I now worry her candidacy will fail. What she ought to have done was to stand by her remarks, stare the press down and then explain to them why their criticism is motivated by political correctness, that this is the most pernicious form of bigotry in the developed world today, and that there are vast numbers of people across Britain who are sick and tired of it. 

Having thus taken the knife to them, she should have sat down and said calmly that she awaits the next such politically correct bigotry to be thrown at her. 

Unfortunately, she did the exact opposite of this and caved in to them. The stakes are too great and this is not a silly girls' fight at school. 

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