Sick of the gaslighting yet?
In the 1970s and 1980s we had the NF (National Front), we had skinheads, football hooligans, racist gangs going out on the street beating people up (paki bashing) for the colour of their skin. red laces in their DM boots to show their solidarity with racist groups, union jack flags & tatoos and T shirts, weaponised symbolis pretending to be patriotic but really just nationlistic and hateful, I remember it. Then they got started on the gay people once AIDs happened.
This was slowly defeated by music, art, community, information and some progressive social politics, the racism started to relax, society got more integrated, in a good way, people became used to different cultures and the UK became a melting pot of cultures which spawned incredible art, music, culture, food and communities, the racism in the UK was forced almost out of the picture. Not far enough in my opinion.
Until now.
The NF the BNP and the EDL never really went away, the wankers that ran these spiteful groups simply went underground, plotting their next move. It has come in the shape of the a perfect storm, the internet, social media, the middle east crisis, Iraq/Afghan war, Syria, UK Reform, Donald Trump, the misunderstandings of immigration and refugees, the mistakes of past wars and interference in other countries politics for our own greed and the genral fears of the unknown.
Reform are simply the old NF in a new guise. Once again using the same old routine, preying on people who may not actually be actively racist in a daily way, but perhaps don’t have much experience of other cultures and it’s easy to scare them. Telling them that there will be repercussions from their own friends and family if they don’t join in, telling them that their communities are not going to be safe and that these new “illegal” immigrants will commit all sorts of atrocities if allowed to stay. Telling them that “our culture” is under threat, our “way of life” is in danger, if these people come into our societies we will all be under shia law and going down the mosque every Sunday. Vague, nonsensical, untrue, racist nonsense. But people are falling for it, a lot.
Seriously I can’t belive that people fall for this shit but they do, over and over again. I could go on and on about it, but I’ll leave it there. I think it’s just stupid if you think the UK is going to disappear and be reborn as some kind of islamic state, really really fucking stupid. Excatly what these racist fuckers want you to think, and they love to blow it all way our of proportion to really get the fear of god into you. Making out it’s an invasion, when it really isn’t, we are taking about 50,000 migrants coming to a country of 60 million.
The numbers of small boats crossing have been increasing aso we keep hearing, But when we put this into perspective Brexit has made it more difficult to return refugees and more difficult to work directly with our European neighbours in policing the gangs traficking people. Another own goal fuelled by the UK far right need for “sovereignty” which hasnn’t really worked out that way at all.
But really, we have one common enemy, the super rich. They own everything, the social media platforms, the TV companies, the food, the transport, the banks, the stock exchange, the minerals, the oil, everything. It is much easier for them to stay in power when we are divided. The more divided we are the more likely we are to vote for authority. This is a free gift to them. A perfect scenario for the comeback of 1980s style boot boy racism. They are rubbing their hands in glee, watching us fighting over pathetic numbers of refugees in hotels and small boats while they line their pockets.
We need to do something. I don’t know where this is going or how it will end. I recently started supporting Zarah Sultana and Jeremy Corbyn’s new party, I don’t know if it will help. It’s bad this time, way worse than before and it’s across the world not just UK. I’m not professing to have any answers but this is my standpoint, this is my blog and I’m saying what I think.
Stay safe out there.
Peace and Love
H