Conservative Montgomeryshire MP has finally tried to explain his controversial tweet which triggered a huge backlash after he accused academics of not being experts.
Glyn Davies, MP for Montgomeryshire since 2010, said the nation’s teachers and researchers had “no experience of the real world” in a post on Twitter.
Personally, never thought of academics as ‘experts’. No experience of the real world.
— Glyn Davies (@glyndaviesmp) October 29, 2016
His comments earned a swift rebuttal from Lord Philip Norton, a peer from his own party who has been Professor of Government at Hull University since 1986.
Lord Norton didn’t hold back when he retaliated:
@glyndaviesmp They probably know, though, a non sequitur when they see one!— Lord Norton of Louth (@LordNortonLouth) October 29, 2016
Mt Davies starts with a reasonable explanation that he has not been well recentltly
Not been at all well over last few days. My aim of writing a blog a day evaporated as I sunk into what can only be described as a deep sleep.
Though in a previous Blog he had announced he was cutting back on his social media postings any way
On top of this Parliament based work, I want to become more involved in constituency issues, even if most are devolved and not matters for me. It's a question of making my job satisfying and enjoyable. All this work means a significant cutback in social networking. I enjoy Facebook. Most of my 'friends' are Mid Wales based. But there are several thousand of them - way too many. Over the next month, I will go through the list (alphabetically) removing those who shouldn't be there, and probably don't want to be there. If I defriend anyone who actually wants to remain, let me know. I'll apologise and add again. Will probably drop Twitter altogether. Have thousands 'following' me - for no obvious purpose. Going to limit my social networking to an hour per night, which should allow for stimulating a Facebook discussion and a photograph - plus a daily blogpost which I find helps me arrange my thoughts in order. Starting today. So apologies to Adam Ant for de-friending him!
On his " Twitter Storm " he makes a rather pathetic attempt to defend himself.
He writes
So been unable to comment on what I thought a most bizarre Twitter rumpus, following a rather clumsy 'throwaway' tweet of mine around a week ago. The 'Academic Community' didn't take kindly to me writing that I personally don't consider academics to be 'experts'. That is of course not what I actually think. No doubt I'd have altered it if the sheer number of people who considered themselves 'insulted' hadn't taken off into the thousands, by the time I'd finished my supper. Now if I'd said that, "personally, I don't think academics to necessarily be the greatest experts.... " they would prob be still 'insulted'. Blimey, when I think of some of things I'm called on social networks. For good measure I suggested a bit of experience in the real world would help. Whatever, this post is not about justifying the clumsy wording of my tweet, ( which I don't want to justify) but the response to it which I found truly astonishing.
He then goes down the "I am a Victim" route
The numbers who took offence was massive, thousands of them who do work in schools, hospitals, and reseach companies. All these people have great experience of the real world. Anyway that's not the issue. It was the response to a tweet they disagreed with. Lots simply called me a C**t. The liberal use of the F word and worse was enough to make this hill farming rugby player blush. And the leader of one of our national political parties compared me with Hitler (who murdered 6million innocent Jews.) Interesting that I had a few media calls, (which I didn't think justified a response from my sickbed) who wanting to run a story on my tweet. I had no interest whatsoever in what I thought deeply offensive tweets of others. If fact I was asked if I wanted to make an issue of the Hitler tweet. But No. We have heard far too much about the Nazi dictator over recent months. As far as I know the only coverage I actually saw was by BBC Wales's David Cornock. Could have been more but then I wasn't looking for it. It was all so bizarre, I simply refused to comment.
Mr Davies seems to have the time to look at thousands of Twitter responses , but does not seem to acknowledge that the majority seem to be simply mocking him in
As the Hufington Post records
Academics also took to social media to hit back at the accusation, with lecturers from the universities of Portsmouth, Northumbria and Derby among them.
“None of your fancy book learnin’.”F
— Christopher Pittard (@CAPittard) October 29, 2016
Dear @glyndaviesmp, dear @Conservatives,— Dr Tanja Bueltmann (@cliodiaspora) October 29, 2016
Gotcha!
Yours sincerely,
An academic from the unreal world
PS: I’m also a citizen of the world
He finishes with an attempt to justify the Tweet which as made him an object of ridicule.This tweet is everything wrong with our political culture & Universities should fight rather than submit to its rhetoric.— Cath Feely (@cathfeely) October 29, 2016
I'd been been listening to this Welsh political academic, from Cardiff, who is wheeled out almost as often as Derek Brockway on Welsh TV totally rubbishing the Wales Bill. Getting away with murder I thought No-one asking him if he'd actually vote for this awful Bill. Looked to me like he wanted to lambast the Bill, while hoping others would vote to approve it. The Assembly Members won't have that luxury. They are going to have to decide.
He doesn't name anybody but it must be Cardiff University Professor Richard Wyn Jones who recently criticised the 'patronising attitude' he argues underpins parts of the new Wales Bill.
I'm sorry Glyn is not well I hope he gets better soon . But i would have more respect for him if he simply admitted the stupidity of his Tweet, rather than portray himself as a victim.
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