Oops Tory MP backtracking after twitter comments

[malaise]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/jul/28/olympics-multicultural-crap-tweet-misunderstood
<snip>
A Tory MP who sparked a major backlash by branding the Olympic opening ceremony "leftie multicultural crap" has insisted he was misunderstood and had been provoked by the presence of rappers at the event.

Aidan Burley, who lost his job as a ministerial aide after attending a Nazi-themed stag do last year, made his outspoken comments late on Friday evening to a barrage of criticism and calls for him to lose his place in the Tory party.

Burley wrote: "The most leftie opening ceremony I have ever seen – more than Beijing, the capital of a communist state! Welfare tribute next?" Shortly afterwards, he added: "Thank God the athletes have arrived! Now we can move on from leftie multicultural crap. Bring back red arrows, Shakespeare and the Stones."

The tweets were roundly condemned across the political spectrum but after initially claiming, again on Twitter, that he had been misunderstood, Burley appeared in danger of further damaging his career prospects in a hastily convened TV interview. He told the BBC: "I wasn't having a go at multiculturalism itself, I was having a go at the rather trite way, frankly, it was represented in the opening ceremony.

"We all love the NHS but really for all the people watching overseas, 20 minutes of children and nurses jumping on beds, that seems quite strange.
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Rmoney has company

[nc4bo]

1. Put all of them on several deep sea oil rigs, in the middle of some ocean

and let them have at it.

Those of us concerned with the health and welfare of our fellow human beings can create a new, kinder, gentler society free from their madness.

[drm604]

2. Children and nurses jumping on beds?

I didn't see the ceremonies. Did they really do that? Not that Burley's remarks weren't idiotic and racist.

[GreenPartyVoter]

3. Yes, but it's not quite like it sounds. The theme of that segment was about

nannies trying to get their charges to bed, and the kids were running wild.

[drm604]

4. Okay.

That makes sense.

[GreenPartyVoter]

12. I may be mistaken. It might have been medical nurses and not nannies. I am still a little

confused because I remember some Mary Poppinses dropping in (literally) and that's why I thought they were nannies.

[dkf]

8. Lol that does sound pretty odd doesn't it?

I guess they would rather be known for their health care than their lax financial regs that are screwing up the world's financial system.

[flamingdem]

10. ha ha right on that one n/t

[Spazito]

11. LOL, like the "lax financial regs" in the U.S. had nothing to do with...

screwing up the world's financial system. I give your post a "10" in it's attempt to divest the U.S. of any responsibility.

[rosesaylavee]

9. I think the larger theme tho after the initial focus

of real NHS docs and nurses was the focus on children's literature and the dreams they had while on the beds conjured up scary images like Voltermort and Captain Hook and they were subsequently rescued by a bunch of Mary Poppinses. It was great theater celebrating a lot of great literature that's come out of the UK. The segment started with a reading by JK Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books.

[louis-t]

5. Conservatives just can't keep their hatred to themselves

can they?

[DURHAM D]

7. No they can't.

And we seem to have a lot of them on DU.

[grantcart]

6. Nobody messes with NHS and survives in the UK