'I can't see why you're laughing'-gate

Is Andrew laughing now?

I see that 'I can't see why you're laughing'-gate has gathered momentum throughout the day as more and more people react against Andrew Marr's unjust telling off of Priti Patel for "laughing". 

As I wrote this morning, she wasn't laughing. 

I watched and re-watched it before posting that, and she just wasn't doing what Andrew accused her of.

So what was she doing that so irked Andrew Marr into verbally manslapping a woman of colour? 

Well, as I also wrote this morning, she was just doing that thing she often does with her face while not talking. Is it a smirk, as her opponents claim, or a nervous thing, or just something she's always done and the natural resting place of her face while listening and politely engaging with people? 

(Whatever it is, I like it. I think it makes her look cute...Should I say that? Probably not.)

Still, it roused Andrew Marr to enough anger to say what he said to her in such a sharp, condemnatory tone. 

Others on Twitter are saying that it showed gross bias on Mr Marr's part in that she was the only one he seriously interrupted and was huffy towards. 

Well, yes, Priti Patel most certainly did get the toughest treatment today. Neither Becky Long-Bailey nor Nikki Sturgeon received such forceful treatment.

But, as ever, such things need to be balanced over time. Just because Priti Patel got the toughest treatment today doesn't prove bias.

Anyhow, I see that both Andrew and Rob Burley are (so far) maintaining radio silence on Twitter about it. Are they both thinking that Andrew got it badly wrong?

I hope so (as he did), and that they'll apologise to her.

It's the right thing for them to do.