Friday, March 27, 2009

Derek Draper & Pyschotherapy.

Channel 4 news had a piece on the Internet phenomenon that was Daniel Hannan's speech delivered to and about Gordon Brown. To respond to it they had Derek Draper, a sometime Labour hack who after leaving politics in disgrace in the late 1990s became Psycho the Rapist a psychotherapist* and has subsequently returned to work with Gordon Brown.

Draper described the speech as "a demented speech from a demented party". Isn't there something seriously unethical about a supposed psychotherapist using 'demented' as a term of abuse? It's like someone who works for SCOPE calling someone a 'spaz'.

* Although Draper's credentials as a psychotherapist may be a bit murky.



Update: Just in case anyone thinks I'm being hypocritical for making a joke about 'Pyscho the Rapist' then criticising Draper for using 'demented', this would only be the case if I worked in a field that involved particular sensitivity towards rape or psychopaths. If some other Labour figure who wasn't a pychotherapist, had used 'demented' as an insult t would just be part of the rough and tumble of politics.

9 comments:

Letters From A Tory said...

A valid comparison. Obviously his poor grasp of ethics is not confined to his political career.

Fidothedog said...

Well its a step up from his window lickers remark, not much but he tries bless him.

Ross said...

"Well its a step up from his window lickers remark"

I might give him the benefit of the doubt on that one, because I wasn't aware of what that meant, so it is possible he wasn't either.

JuliaM said...

I find it hard to believe that anyone could create a site like 'LabourList' without being only too well aware of the meaning of the term 'window
lickers'... ;)

Ross said...

Don't be mean about Labour List, or they might compose a dossier on you:

http://www.labourlist.org/paul-staines-truth-guido-fawkes

Anonymous said...

I don't know what 'window lickers' means exactly but I found hilarious about that episode was the zeal with which he used this new phrase he'd obviously just heard "the kids" using. Much like blogging and twitter. Lefties in don't wanna grow up shocker, innit.

Ross said...

"I found hilarious about that episode was the zeal with which he used this new phrase he'd obviously just heard "the kids" using."

Yes!

I bet he's the sort of person who greets his colleagues with a 'Wassup?", too.

Derek Draper said...

good try but it doesn't just mean suffering from dementia it has a more general meaning:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/demented

Blognor Regis said...

Just watched the clip here so I now get what Ross was on about entirely.

Given his somewhat hyperactive, I'd say somewhat affected, tirade against so-called rasicm at Guido and his camp followers, DD does seem to throw around the mental health epithets a bit too easily.

How does your link aid your argument Mr Draper?

1 : mad , insane
2 : suffering from or exhibiting cognitive dementia


Sorry, but (collective) you and your speech police started this ridiculous game. You think you can step in and declare centuries old idioms out of bounds simply because they might have once had connotations - or even sound like they did, didn't someone in the US Congress have to once apologise for using 'niggardly' for heaven's sake (other post-corporeal religious destinations are available). We are going to hoist you by your own petard.

Not that we need to. Most rats know to leave the sinking ship, I've never known one try to help the clapped out captain by grabbing the tiller and driving the vessel harder onto the rocks. Don't let me stop you. The wreckier the better.