Who needs the BNP when you've got the Oxford University Conservative Association?
Over the years’ the Oxford University Conservative Association has had quite a number of bad headlines. Racist and sexist, indulging in alleged electoral malpractice. Their public image has been of badly behaved and boorish Hooray Henrys – a sort of provisional wing of the Bullingdon Club. Over the years, they have. like Cameron, sought for present the face of modern, caring Conservatism to the world. Only last month, the association contributed to a piece on the university’s student web site ‘Cherwell‘ stating “Those in the University who have questions or even problems with us would benefit most by engaging with us, rather than relying on stereotypes“.
The author of that quote was Nick Gallagher, currently OUCA’s publicity officer and now running for the post of political officer, which liaises with the senior party. But the problem with stereotypes is that some people can’t help living down to them. Last week, at a hustings for the new president, Gallagher allegedly led the telling of ‘inappropriate’ jokes, saying ‘What do you say if you see a TV moving across your living room? “Drop it, n*****‘. Another student reportedly made a gag about a family of three black people being lynched.
The one faint silver lining in this thunderstorm is that at least the students realised that the jokes were inappropriate. But they told them anyway. The trick with being an adult is that when you know something is inappropriate, you don’t do it, however tempting it might seem and particularly when it would be not only inappropriate, but highly offensive too.
Some of us are old enough (just) to remember the Federation of Conservative Students. Their ‘antics’ eventually led to them being shut down, ironically by Norman Tebbit, after they embarrassed the national leadership once too often. How long before Dave takes action at his alma mater?
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Comments
11 June 2009, 1:17 pm
Sure, but still – £80m for Ronaldo?!
12 June 2009, 2:20 am
I’m unlucky enough to attend Gallagher’s college and be “related” to him through the tradition of JCR “families”. Hilariously for the Republican-Tory, this lineage landed him with a gay father and lesbian grandmother. He’s a total git, racist by any standards.
I think it’s particularly telling that Gallagher told the joke although he wasn’t being husted – thus presumably, he wasn’t even asked directly to tell such a joke; that would surely have only happened to the candidates up for election. He, of course, was already an officer (as the OUCA site still shows him to be).
I hope this experience changes him for the better.