Diane Abbott has been accused of inflaming tensions following the shooting of a prominent BLM activist over the weekend. Sasha Johnson was shot in the head at a property in Peckham, south London, in the early hours of Sunday morning. A party had been in progress when a group of men arrived, followed by a disturbance that appears to have culminated in the shooting. Despite police statements to the contrary, Abbott tweeted the following day to suggest that Johnson had been specifically targeted because of her activism (see below).
Abbott also appeared a short time later on Newsnight, where she faced a similar grilling from Emily Maitlis. This time Abbott had a more coherent excuse, suggesting that she had based her imaginary version of events on statements from Ms Johnson's political party, that are similarly in denial about the apparent nature of the shooting. Unfortunately for Diane, there was simply no getting away from the fact that she had blatantly tried to stir up racial tensions. No amount of trying to infer that people who call her out are 'racist' will change that.
The shooting of Sasha Johnson highlights an awkward issue for BLM and its supporters - the harsh reality of the black-on-black violence that the organisation routinely and deliberately ignores. Abbott's apparent refusal to accept that Johnson's assailants were fellow black people is part of an inherent culture of denial. If Johnson survives, she is going to have to confront an uncomfortable reality.
The 27-year-old likes to be known as the 'Black Panther of Oxford', alluding to her love of paramilitary gear and Marxism. She reportedly moved to London from Oxford recently, although it is not clear if it was her home at which the shooting took place. During last year's BLM protests in London she addressed rallies while wearing combat gear and called for a 'black militia'. She went on to co-found the Taking the Initiative Party (TTIP). The party stood four candidates in this year's local elections - two in Croydon and two in Enfield - none of whom were elected.
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| Sasha Johnson pictured addressing a BLM rally last summer |
TTIP have responded angrily to police statements following the recent shooting. Echoing Abbott's views, the party released a statement on its Instagram account: "We are disgusted by the way that this narrative has been portrayed as a ‘black-on-black crime’ and a ‘gang crime’, not acknowledging that this is a hate crime or a targeted attack at worst". It appears that, like Abbott, they will not acknowledge black-on-black crime even when they fall victim to it themselves. These professional race baiters are in denial about a crime-wave that is responsible for way more loss of life in the black community than the police are. How ironic.
