Jo Cox’s murder was not just a coincidence

The coarsening of our political discourse might have played a part

by John McTernan / June 17, 2016 / Leave a comment

People gather around a memorial to Labour MP Jo Cox in Parliament Square, Westminster, London, 17th June 2016 ©Yui Mok/PA Wire/Press Association Images

Killed in the line of duty.

There are public servants who know that there is risk—however small—when they go out to work. Soldiers. Police officers. Fire fighters.

But members of parliament?

The shock of the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox yesterday came from the sheer brutality of the attack. Then, like an aftershock, came the sense of outrage that she was killed at work, just doing her job. And that job—as friends, colleagues, journalists have attested to so well—was helping people with generosity, diligence and, so often, flair.

Senseless violence makes us mourn, and it freezes us in despair. But like a lightning bolt it doesn’t just have destructive power; it sheds a fierce light. We suddenly see ourselves and our country illuminated starkly, and it is not a comfortable experience. We learn of the hate mail that Jo Cox had been receiving, though not connected to this attack, and not solely aimed at her: other female MPs are targets too. And if we think, we can recall the vile—and at times violent—misogynist abuse received previously by Jess Phillips, Luciana Berger and Stella Creasy.

Ask around and you will find that many staff who work with MPs and who handle surgeries know about FTAC—the Fixated Threat Assessment Centre. FTAC was set up in 2006 and is a joint police and mental health operation to deal with the threat to prominent public figures from the fixated. As it says in the FAQs section on the FTAC’s website: “The fixated are those who have an obsessional pre-occupation (often delusional) with a person or a perceived grievance, which they pursue to an irrational degree.”

“The intense preoccupation in many cases drives out everything else, alienating friends and relatives, undermining social networks, and dissipating financial resources. The fixated are, in consequence of their fixation, isolated individuals.”

FTAC receive around a thousand referrals a year, and take up around 150 new cases a year. Again, if you talk to MPs or their staff you will learn that behaviour has to be very serious before it can be referred, well beyond what most of us would regard as…

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Comments

JimmieMack
June 18, 2016 at 11:06
Yet another piece (the liberal media is currently in full outcry) which attempts without evidence to link the terrible murder of a young woman to political views that liberals disagree with, and which concludes that the answer is to smother free speech. Contrast this with the case of Roshonara Choudhry, where the liberal rush to comment was that her attempted murder of Stephen Timms can't be linked to her Muslim religion, even though Choudhry made that link explicit. Let's at least have the decency (and the scepticism essential to clear thinking) to hold off the instant judgements.
1. Rob Slack
  June 18, 2016 at 11:52
  You go to extreme lengths of distirtion to support your prejudices. Maybe you are part of the problem discussed in the article.
2. Francien L
  June 19, 2016 at 11:56
  Nonsense. The so called liberal media has totally avoided making such accusations and considering that 99% of the British media is actually pushing for Brexit, it's ridiculous to blame the media. This is an article by an MP with a very logical conclusion. Hitler could never have caused WWII on his own. I'm sure that many Germans who voted for Hitler thought they were doing so for all the right reasons. After all, he never personally killed anyone, but through his hatred and rhetoric, he DID enable a certain type of person to crawl out of the woodwork. He did make xenophobia and hatred of others (in this case, Jews specifically) acceptable. Donald Trump is the same. He is making abuse of Muslims and Mexicans okay even if he isn't personally attacking them himself. We live in a difficult time and it is important not to surrender to base human instincts and rise above it. The fact that Jo Cox was a) supportive of refugees and b) AGAINST leaving the EU, probably had a lot to do with her murder. Quite frankly, do we want a Britain (or more likely, an England) that promotes the views of Jo Cox, or the views of Tommy Mair? I know which kind I'd prefer and which, for a fact, in the long term is the better option.
3. Susan Burningham
  June 23, 2016 at 15:46
  Whether we like it or not the level of political discourse has become less sophisticated and in recent months remarkably witless from all sides. School playground 'yes you did, no you didn't' nonsense. The word debate does not apply. Jo Cox's husband has spoken clearly about the political links to her murder. It was a brutal act and linked in the perpetrator's mind to a 'free Britain' whatever that means. I am grateful for John McTernan's piece - if only because it makes us stop and think.
Alyson K
June 18, 2016 at 11:13
Back in 2010 Harriet Harman was guiding amendments to the Equality Act through Parliament that would have seen hate speech against women given the same sanctions as hate speech against racial minorities and disabled people. When the coalition came into power it was at the final hurdle but was dropped immediately. Since then we have seen misogyny rise to new heights, especially in internet gaming and revenge porn. Hate crimes against women are found more in societies that follow Darwinian principles rather than democratic cooperation and rule of law. Domestic violence, murders sanctioned under Sharia law, FGM, Grand Theft Auto game, porn, and other media influences need to come under scrutiny and Hate preachers of all denominations including political and media ideologies all need to be addressed to ensure that Hate Speech is not allowed to become Hate violence. It may be that fear is a factor and that an amnesty is needed when legislation can protect the weak and the brave in future. Events have shown that Hate speech can rouse some individuals to commit violent Hate crimes both in Birstall and in Orlando. The media needs to be regulated and any articles suggesting that any group is less worthy of respect than any other must be curtailed. There has been too much racism, too much singling out of doctors and nurses to blame for our Austerity cuts, too much callous disregard for Human Rights and common decency. Misogyny in speech or deed should be against the law. If it had been passed into law in 2010, who knows if things might not have come to this?
Malcolm Kane
June 18, 2016 at 11:19
John is a trenchant thinker who's views I always respect. What is missing from this (obviously rapid) response is an analysis of the security arrangements available to MPs. The only person to come to Jo Cox's aid was a 77 year old man. There are simply no adequate security arrangements whatsoever, and that is unprofessional and negligent. Parliament has it's own failure to answer for and attend to here. The least that every MP should have is an appropriately trained and probably male assistant, with state-of-the-art communications for emergency assistance. Every constituency ought to be able to produce such local support...with the added advantage of local knowledge.
David A.
June 18, 2016 at 11:19
Don't think there is anything in the article to suggest that "smothering free speech" is being advocated. Given Mair's comments from the dock, I think we maybe do have evidence that Jo's murder can be linked with "political views that liberals disagree with".
1. JimmieMack
  June 18, 2016 at 15:18
  Thank you for the comment, David. A few short points: 1. Mair's comments from the dock came today. McTernan's piece was published yesterday. 2. Mair's comments at least suggest the possibility that he may be mentally ill, and maybe we should wait until the full facts emerge before rushing to judgement about what motivated him. 3. McTernan is attempting to link the murder, without evidence, to the 'coarsening of political debate' which he then explicitly links with the political right and the 'Leave' campaign. 4. The whole point of this piece is that "consequences flow from unbridled freedom of speech", leaving us in little doubt that that he thinks that, in the light of this appalling act, free speech (when it comes from the political right) should be bridled. 5. The sentence “If you can say anything about someone then perhaps you will be willing to do anything to them” should chill anyone who values a free society. This is Orwell’s ‘thought crime’ or, for a younger generation, Minority Report. 6. I am, by the way, not of the right but a left-wing socialist.
  1. Alyson K
    June 18, 2016 at 16:36
    Whether of the Right or of the Left Hate speech incentivises dangerous individuals to act to cause harm, including Muslim extremist acts and far right extremist acts. Better to consider the consequences before speaking than have to deal with such consequences. We should recognise that hatred is a contagion which is harmful to those afflicted or affected and promote consideration and respect for the well being of others.
Alasdair B.
June 18, 2016 at 11:35
The unnecessary #EuRef has divided our Westminster Government as never before & exposed the deep divide within Itself. The coarsening of politics is a direct result of Blue on Blue warfare using the #EUref as a proxy battleground for the future direction & leadership of the Tory party. The Remain campaign with its Fear Factor has been deeply divisive and anything but pleasant, civil or informative. Is it any wonder the public have essentially stopped listening & the polls now show a surge towards Leave. At this time there is little evidence to support your continuum theory and link this to the murder of a well loved MP by a loner with serious mental health problems.
Andrew C.
June 18, 2016 at 13:01
A very poignant reflection on one of the consequences of the irresponsible rhetoric that has been a sad hallmark of the Brexit campaign. Words of division and enmity have been used by several visible characters in the campaign, and the assassination of Jo Cox is the saddest and most tragic outcome of this bitter crusade. May Jo Cox be always remembered for being the caring and passionate person that she was, striving to make the world a better place for all.
Paul M
June 18, 2016 at 15:27
It's difficult to explain such brutality, and reduce it conveniently to one cause or another. The argument about misogynist abuse of some female MPs is certainly well made though (but this social media "trolling" has impacted on other areas of life too - so it's not just about political discourse). But the comment on Farage is misplaced. Tony Benn said that when people start to feel they have "lost control", they "start throwing bricks through windows". Farage was simply making the same point; neither were advocating violence or bricks through window - rather arguing against conditions that might foment it. In trying to score a point, has the author sunk into the sort of discourse he seems to suggest is the heart of this all?
Thomas greaves
June 18, 2016 at 17:26
Over one hundred and twenty years ago Freud described the origins of neurosis in repression. PC is an instrument of repression that has huge consequences for the society: social neurosis on a nationwide scale. Irrational and violent behaviour is often symptomatic of neurotic rage and hatred, which could be avoided if the individual is allowed to express and work through the emotional charge they are holding in. Of all the mistakes being made PC has to be one of the most blind and dangerous of them all.
Andrew Anderson
June 19, 2016 at 11:45
JImmieMack is absolutely right. John McTernan's piece is indeed a rush to judgement. Let's remember a few facts: (a) this seems to have been an isolated act of violence, (b) any comments on the accused or any other aspects of the crime could jeopardise a trial and (c) the murder took place in the street, not during Jo Cox's surgery. Let's wait until we have a few more such facts before holding forth. We do of course know about the attempted murder of Stephen Timms (and the actual killing of someone whose name I won't be alone in not remembering), and, as JimmieMack points out, they support a strong connection between one woman's religious beliefs and violence. Should we therefore tar all Muslims with the same nasty brush? Of course not, any more than we should demonise whatever group, gender, religion or nationality that the murderer - when and if someone has been tried and convicted - turns out belongs to. Finally, a question for all the McTernans of this complex world: do you think social scientists are wasting their time in trying to offer useful explanations for human behaviour? You write as if you do, but how can anyone possibly know today that Jo Cox's murder wasn't a "coincidence"?
PETER BURNETT
June 20, 2016 at 19:02
On 7 October 2006, I was using my computer and switched to the Yahoo page, intending to send an e-mail. I saw a news headline: Anna Politkovskaya had just been murdered outside her home in Moscow. There was a comments heading under the news item. Without thinking, I clicked on it. Inadvertently, I had opened a window onto Hell. Not some imaginary "other" place. Here, in our midst. Ghouls, gloating. Necrophiliac ghouls, writing what they would have liked to do to this woman's corpse. In the same breath as praises for "Greater Russia" and promises of worse for the likes of Polikovskaya, and for any who dare step out of line. Later, Putin himself spoke of the murdered woman's "insignificance"... Such depths of misogyny are by no means insignificant, and there's reason to fear that we shall be seeing far more of this, not just in Russia, not just in Saudi Arabia and among the myrmidons of Daech, not just in the spoutings of Donald Trump and in his actions if he is given half a chance; but here, there, everywhere.
Alyson K
June 21, 2016 at 09:12
Things have changed very fast in the last few days. Does Farage endorse violence? Yes he does. Quote - he said: "I think it is legitimate to say that if people think they have lost control ... of our borders ... And if people feel that voting doesn't change anything then violence is the next step." In the Telegraph today a UKIP candidate deflects the use of the term 'treason' when calling anti-democratically for his rivals to be hanged, and the party's membership in Caerphilly said after the Paris attacks that 'do-gooders should be shot'. Pictures of the Britain First violence training camp are in the Daily Mail today. This movement is anti democracy itself. The Referendum has revealed deep fractures across our society. The red tops have made immigrants the scape-goats for Austerity cuts. They have fed people's fears and anger. After the Referendum we will need a Government of National Unity to work together to heal the rifts that have opened up, to address the concerns of UKIP voters if the vote is for Remain and to counter the rhetoric in the press that has gone unchallenged until we have reached this late realisation too late.