I didn't quite catch that...

From the delightfully titled ToryScum:

Jim Davidson is clearly Tory Scum and I’m relieved he finally left the country.

However, your next Celebra-tory should be Paul Daniels – remember how he threatened to leave the country in 1997 if Labour got in, but never did? Probably increased turnout for Labour by several thousand.

Now, this is merely a comment on a blog, but it was a widespread comment at the time. The conventional wisdom was that, if people didn’t like the result of the 1997 election, then they could either lump it or leave. In the end, few of those who said that they would leave actually did, but that merely increased the crowing of those who were celebrating victory.

Now, yesterday’s news.

An aide to London Mayor Boris Johnson has resigned after making a comment to a reporter which sparked a race row.
…
In his online article he [Reporter Marc Wadsworth] writes: “I pointed out to him a critical comment of Voice columnist Darcus Howe that the election of ‘Boris Johnson, a right-wing Conservative, might just trigger off a mass exodus of older Caribbean migrants back to our homelands’.

“He retorted: ‘Well, let them go if they don’t like it here.’ McGrath dismissed Mr Howe as ‘shrill’.”

What, exactly, is it that makes the second comment – made off the cuff in response to a specific challenge – worse than the legion of comments in the style of the first? I’ve looked quite closely and can’t see anything that doesn’t reflect the inbuilt racism of the accuser, rather than any racism on the part of Mr McGrath…