To counter the negative impact of Andrew Tate and people like him, Labour would provide proper help and train young influencers, said the shadow Education secretary Bridget Phillipson. While having an interview with the Guardian, she said the party would help schools train models as a “power counterbalance” in order to combat sexual harassment.
Andrew Tate is a self-professed misogynist and popular social media influencer, having more than 8 million followers on X (Twitter). Although he is facing r*pe and hum*n-tr*fficking charges, he has continued to use his social media platforms to share his updates and perspectives.
Keeping today’s scenarios in mind, the Labour Party announced plans to help schools in the development of young male mentors and teach them how to question the material they see on social media from people like Tate.
She is hoping that some of the young men will become leaders in the schools and connect with more people online. She said, “Young male mentors within schools would be a powerful counterbalance to some of the negativity that young men might be exposed to online.”
She further said, “I would hope that the young male mentors involved would then also be able to share their experiences more widely, to kind of shift the discussion around what it is to be growing up as a young man today in modern Britain.”
According to the proposal suggested by the party, the regional improvement teams will be sent to schools to train staff on introducing the peer-to-peer mentoring program.
Bridget Phillipson Detailed Discussion on Party’s Plan
The Labour Party is to teach students how to deal with today’s negativity in society. She said, “I do think it is incredibly important that, if we are going to tackle misogyny in our schools and wider society, then we need to start making progress with children and young people.”
“It also has to be young men and young women alike; we can’t just leave it to young women to call out unacceptable behaviours or report issues that are happening. It’s really powerful if men all step in and make clear that kind of sexist or misogynistic behaviour is not acceptable, and they don’t tolerate it either.”
She focused on developing critical-thinking skills in students to analyze what they are seeing and feeding to their minds. She believed that people should have the ability to interrogate what’s in front of them.
That’s why the Labour government is thinking about the introduction of lessons on how to spot information as part of a wider review of the school curriculum.
She said, “It’s not simply about understanding how to use technology. It’s about having the skills to question what’s in front of you, to challenge, to think, “Why is this being presented in a certain way?”
She also discussed that her children, aged seven and 11, have smartphones. But, she and her husband have checked everything and limited what they could see and how many hours they spent using them.
Writer Clint Edwards His Views On Tate’s Philosophy
Standup Comedian and Writer Clint Edwards wrote about Tate’s Philosophy and his influence on young children. According to him, Tate radiates so much insecurity, masked with aggression and arrogance.
However, he also wrote, “He’s been banned from TikTok and Twitter (before he came back under Musk’s diktat, arguably giving him an even bigger boost) and is currently in prison – but Tate’s influence abounds. Why? What’s the appeal? If Tate’s views are so objectionable, and he’s such an obvious charlatan to the rest of us, why isn’t he coming across that way to so many young men? Why are thousands of them taking him seriously?”
He suggested a simple answer that he is speaking with his audience. That’s what we are lacking.
