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The (wealth + ethnic diversity + HE) divide continues to show on the petition map as the votes tally rises. Not merely an Oxbridge axis, but a Broxbridgewich axis (yep you heard the word here first) - stretching from Bristol through Oxford and Cambridge to Norwich, across some more affluent rural areas. Britain remains divided as ever, mainly along wealth lines. Dr Hillary J. Shaw www.fooddeserts.org -----Original Message----- From: David Featherstone <[log in to unmask]> To: CRIT-GEOG-FORUM <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Mon, Jan 30, 2017 1:19 pm Subject: Re: Petition: Prevent Donald Trump from making a State Visit to the United Kingdom. Hi all, Thanks for this and the general discussion around how best we oppose Trump etc. In this regard I think it is great that over a million people have signed a petition against Trump (so please read what follows in light of this!). Am I alone however in finding the text of the petition absolutely absurd and really troubling (see key extract below)... I find the premise that the reason we shouldn't want Trump to come to the UK because it would cause embarrassment to the Queen (while it is ok for him to come as head of state) is very problematic. Now I would certainly not want the Queen to be embarrassed (except perhaps when Tony Benn when he was post master general - showed her blow up replicas of what stamps without her head on them might look like)... but the idea that this should be the terms on which we oppose a Trump visit strikes me as something worthy of debate and discussion- and raises important questions about the imaginative geographies constructed the emerging opposition. I guess if it works to galvanise opposition from a broad constituency of folk then I could understand- tho I imagine a lot of people are signing this because of their opposition to Trump not out of a wish to spare the Queen having to him... I certainly was pretty gobsmacked when I clicked through from the Guardian website to sign it yesterday - read the text and reconsidered. Dave Donald Trump should be allowed to enter the UK in his capacity as head of the US Government, but he should not be invited to make an official State Visit because it would cause embarrassment to Her Majesty the Queen. From: A forum for critical and radical geographers [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Jon Cloke [[log in to unmask]] Sent: Monday, January 30, 2017 12:45 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Petition: Prevent Donald Trump from making a State Visit to the United Kingdom. I would also like to offer this to list members who may not have seen it yet https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/171928 Jon Cloke