We learned this morning that Jason Arday died yesterday, appearing to have taken his own life.
I extend my sympathy to all of his family and friends. This is an immensely difficult, and possibly life-changing, event to have to come to terms with. Parts of their lives are lost, as well as his. I hope they get all the care and support they need.
I have not previously commented on this story. I did not know all the facts. Nor did those in the right-wing media who hounded him, as we now know, to his death. They published, according to newscord.org, around 249 articles on him in 22 days. The last was published minutes before his death became known.
Jason Arday might have made mistakes, but who has not? That, though, is not why he was harassed. He was subject to a pernicious public shaming because he dared to succeed and be different: he was young, black, autistic and challenging. And some could not forgive him for that.
I am shocked, but not totally surprised by his death. I am appalled, though. This is what privilege, small-mindedness, and hate do. He was their victim.
May he now rest in peace. And may we learn the lessons, including to love our neighbour as we love ourselves, which is the instruction that the right wing seems so keen to ignore. That seemingly deliberate failure summarises their crime.
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The press is a good example of neoliberalism in action, picking on an individual to sell newspapers and advertising space, by being sanctimonious and judgmental. Profit before people. The press got its pound of flesh.
May Jason rest in peace.
And may we please reflect on this and learn something……………………
It is ironic that he was at Jesus
My heart aches for him and his family. I hope those responsible realise and experience the knowledge of their own wrongdoing – i don’t expect anyone will be held to account. It seems to me like an ‘academic version’ of a lynch mob.
That expression has been used by Jacqueline and me this morning.
As someone said on Twitter – when have you ever seen a named CEO of a sewage dumping water company being subject to such a toxic personalised bullying by Mail Telegraph etc <p>
Of course not<p>
Or the boss of Exxon who over decades covered up the fact that their own research team had predicted that continued burning of fossil fuels would cause the catastrophic warming we are now witnessing.<p>
Yet another reason Leveson 2 about media should be instigated, but won’t be.
Agreed
Cameron’s spineless pandering to Murdoch in refusing to implement Leveson 2 has helped being this about. The foul, vicious and stupid (decrying net zero and still, after this summer, playing down the climate disaster) right wing media in this country needs bringing to heel. Just as with Trump, these bullies need to be stood up to, and opposed by responsible politicians and citizens. If Burnham’s government is really going to change things and reverse 40 years of neoliberal disaster, implementing Leverson 2 is something he should do.
Agreed. But it has to do much more than that.
The original accusation was from a confirmed Nazi eugenicist. Cambridge has form for far right influence (viz recent issue of Byline Times).
As you say Richard who amongst us have not made mistakes. Jason Arday had resigned therefore assuming responsibility for any errors ( yet to be formally proved). His hounding & abuse in order to establish a political narrative was abhorrent. He was a clever,gentle & articulate academic & I am sure will be missed greatly by his family & friends. I am not religious so I see no comfort in suggesting he RIP, however I do feel an intense anger that he felt so tormented that he ended his life & I have nothing but contempt for those who think that their privilege & bigotry constitute political debate. My thoughts remain with those left to deal with this tragedy.
Arday’s persecution to an early death by a neurotypical priveliged white ruling class mob is acting as a UK culture lightning rod. Highlighting a social landscape riven by class and race war. A conflict gleefully harnessed by managerial VIPs of bad faith in mass media, politics and social institutions to justify and reinforce personal bigotries.
What will neurodiverse children and those from British ethnically diverse backgrounds learn from witnessing the tragic trajectory of Arday’s life? First his British institutional grooming into media celebrity followed by a public lynching by the same machine at a point where his social platform, given his background and empathic creativity and therein a character that had to embody social engagement or die, nowhere else to go.
His death will serve to politically deeply radicalise a generation.
If it does it might be a legacy. That will not help his family right now, though.
“institutional grooming into media celebrity followed by a public lynching by the same machine” we have seen this happen time and time again over the last 5 or six decades. Now sped up and amplified by social media.
So sad.
In all the noise I have not heard anyone ask “Was he good at his job?”. What did his students and immediate colleagues think of him as he went about his daily duties?
Many of us may have ended up in roles that we were not qualified for…. some may have blagged their way in. But generally we are judged by our current output.
A very good point…
This is a deeply tragic story. What I found despicable is the way the right wing media went after Mr. Arday when another former University Professor who happened to be very right wing, Mr. Matt Goodwin who ran as a Reform candidate and lost in Gorton and Denton literally made up quotes and used AI to write his racist diatribe titled ‘Suicide of a Nation: Immigration, Islam, Identity’.
The book on Amazon claims to have been a ‘No.1 Sunday Times Best Seller’ There were a few stories about this when it came to light but nowhere near the furore as happened to Jason Arday. The hounding of Arday went on for weeks splashed all over the front pages.
Matt Goodwin, wanted to be an MP in parliament. He has sold tens of thousands of books. He is a regular pundit on right wing GB News, a position he still holds. This seems far more damaging to the public at large than any damage Jason Arday may have caused. Massive double standards at play but we have come to expect that from the right wing press.
I agree; my only issue is that this may have been a Sunday Times No. 1 bestseller, but on a dull week with 4,400 copies.
The suggestions about Goodwin’s work are well supported.
I am equally speechless at the despair this young man must have felt to have decided the only option was to take his own life. What a horrendous thing.
As a journalist , I am fascinated to know what kind of news editors were so desperate to wring this story dry – 249 stories! – and what kind of individuals they, their editors and owners are?
Not the same as my own family minded, empathetic editors, for sure.
Putting to one side, for now, the accusations of plagiarism this was the public hounding of an individual not in the court of public opinion but the court of the right-wing media and a constant, regular hounding day-upon-day-upon-day. He was a human being and whist we have resilience that amount of hounding will wear you down and it did wear him to the point of this was unbelievably tragic ending.
The right wing media had decided Jason Arday was guilty and they went for him with their usual level of hatred, anger and vile language. Jason Arday wasn’t the first victim and, sadly, he won’t be the last. He is just the latest victim of a group who think they can act with impunity, without accountability and with no regard to the feelings of their victim nor the potential consequences.
RIP, Professor Arday. May your soul find the peace you could not find here on earth.
Craig
Much to agree with
Amen.
The original story/allegation did not deserve the media coverage that it received, in reality the original story should have been a minor news article. For me, this implies some form of ‘intent’. I hope there are now lawyers looking at the possibility of legal action.
Post Mortem the vitriol continues: Politics: looking for a tragedy | Turbulent Times