He walks, hunched, scraggly haired and thuggish, like a huge, clumsy, ominous crow; his aura tainted oafish. Given his size and the way he holds himself, I imagine him as a dodgy bloke hired to clean up operations after a hit gone wrong, New York gangster-style. Behind beady eyes lies not very much of substance; but those entranced by the Cult of Personality have already become smitten, much as with Nigel Farage's followers. They've been lured in by the PR image of Boris as affable, comic relief. Some people think it's charming that he's so 'human', but they fail to notice his darker side; for instance, the rise of Islamophobic comments thanks to his column where he called Muslim women wearing the burqua 'letter boxes' and 'bank robbers,' or perhaps his nauseating racist comments about black people. The old image of Boris the harmless, comedic, affable oaf, is slowly giving way to the new image of Boris; the racist, petulant, arrogant, and selfish man, yet still, some people remain stubbornly loyal to him; their rabid idiocy and their selfishnesss mirrored by his; their yearning to get out of the EU at any cost, the overriding principle.
It's been alleged in passing comment, that he will turn up for a meeting with the wrong speech notes and deliver the wrong speech anyway. He's been accused of being a 'spoilt, selfish child' by his young lover, during a heated, and public row, which I think, is probably completely accurate. He's like a fat truck, or a tank, driving through poetry; nuance is lost on him, patient, complex negotiation and fine-turning, are lost on him. He'll brazen it out, because he's British and we have sort of mystifying God-given right to do what the hell we like according to the elites, who fondly remember the 'good old days' when Britain ruled; it doesn't matter how, or the lack of ethics that accompanied that ruling. The hazy memories have burned for years in their minds, become manic, become nostomania; fond dreams that never even took place at all. 'We'll show Trump! We'll make Britain Great Again!' Boris takes a sip of port, mutters something unintelligible as he stares into the firelight, squinting like Father Jack. 'I'll just produce my British passport, and slap that on the table at Brussells; that, coupled with my plummy British accent and Etonian background will save the day!'
Today, we learn, he's managed to insult French people, by claiming that they are 'turds', not to allow for any changes in Brexit. We ridicule Trump and with good reason, but I'm not sure even he has been this childish. And he's a terrible man-child, rapidly devolving back to the womb. Boris' comment was made whilst he was Foreign Secretary; he was supposed to behave in a way that is reasonably Statesmanlike. The contempt and carelessness is just about everything you don't want, ever, from a neighbour, from your kids, and definitely not from a person who holds a position of power.
The BBC buried this ridiculous remark at the time, and likely it won't stop him from become Prime Minister, just as Trump hasn't been stopped by his insanity, sexual abuse allegations, narcissism, racism, crudity and general idiocy. Yet this remark remains deeply unsettling. Not only is it incredibly rude, it's also simply pathetic; the petulant cry of a spoilt brat who is unable to get what he wants. The EU Courts have made their decision; they didn't make it lightly; there are 27 other member states who might then, quite rightly, also want to change their Terms and Conditions. They need to keep the EU together, not least, perhaps, because of the threat of Russia, or other looming threats. The EU is not perfect, but it is a voice of sanity. They have created careful, thoughtful, rules. This then, is a place that the Boris could never flourish. To produce such a vulgar response is to mirror Trump; the question is, what are we collectively doing or not paying attention to, to allow these people into office at all?
We've stepped across the threshold into a new dawn, a new dimension of deeply unsettling times; when. anything that threatens the left is deemed 'far right', with a new era of Orwellian censorship settling across our media and internet with seemingly barely any response. This isn't conspiracy -- we've just learned for instance, that the Guardian has been in collusion with intelligence agencies, and that Google is working to create a new social engineering programme, of 'fairness' through it's new algorithms, which will mean what they deem fair will show up in your search feed, complete with 1984 connotations. Are you happy knowing a giant corporation is now, blatantly, trying to shape your opinions?
We've known for a short while that YouTube is starting to censor videos, banning some altogether, and showing 'approved' content first, such as Fox News, etc. And in politics, Corbyn, who stands for decency and ethics has been vilified by the British Press for so long that many are brainwashed, and mindlessly repeat 'he's the loony left', or 'he's a communist', without even having the faintest clue why, and not realizing that they can't even back up their argument. A 2016 report found that 75% of media coverage misrepresented Corbyn. And our country is lead by Tories who serve only the elite; foodbank use is directly attributable to their policies, and the DWP is often hell on earth for people who have become impoverished, or people with disabilites. A United Nations report into the level of poverty in the UK has been ignored by the Tory party. The architect of this report, Philip Alston, said that he initially wondered if their response was 'a spoof', such was the level of denial. How can an entire party try to bury, or deny, such an important report?
This post isn't designed to be depressing. We live in interesting times, but these times are also already a hell for many in Britain. We ignore this at their peril, and then at our own. We simply have a duty of care to our fellow citizens, to animals, to our planet, that is not going to be met by willingly giving up our own agency, and by allowing greed and callousness any more of a foothold.
We are starting to see censorship on the internet, so-called 'conspiracies', downplayed. How convenient to call anything that doesn't fit mainstream thinking, a 'conspiracy.' People are having to fight for basic rights across the world. Why? Neoliberalism (too much power handed to corporations), greed, money, power. Our world -- the construct of the system that we live by, is often a form of madness. Now Trump is making threats against Iran. To what end? Is the future of mankind inevitable? Was it sealed the moment the A-bomb was invented?
For now, it might help us all to simply be as aware as possible of what's going on. Awareness means we can make better decisions (if allowed!). In 2022, our decision, might decide our fate, whether or not we cling to the coat-tails of Trump as he and John Bolton, bluster their way into war, if they haven't already. A decent decision in our next General Election might help raise people's standards of living. It might even save lives. We do not need Boris' blunderbuss-approach, his puerile and arrogant responses to intricate situations. We simply need a decent human being, capable of steering us through the difficult waters ahead, with fairness (not in the 1984-esque style of Google), but with a good head on their shoulders. Such people do exist, alas, usually the system destroys them before they have a decent chance. And there are other reasons; we still have the fear of who will make power grabs; so we want a leader who seems powerful too, to save us from potential annihilation. We're all caught in a nightmare of our own making, a twilight world where fear rules and preemptive strikes therefore look attractive, and the demise of humans, because of humans, is the only logical conclusion. As Carl Sagan said; “the nuclear arms race is like two sworn enemies standing waist deep in gasoline, one with three matches, the other with five.”
For the meantime then, lets take note of Boris as he manages to mess it all up with a Trumpesque disregard for anything, whilst trying to call our bluff that He's the Man in Control. We can observe this oafish husk as an emblem of what's wrong with our system at it's core. Because as long as it continues the way it does, there will always be a Trump, or a Boris, or a Theresa May. We see people override their conscience, the natural system of being able to discern right from wrong; to head for the wrong, again and again. People who cannot show compassion because that would look weak. Or, because compassion doesn't pay. And still, we give them our very selves, to do with as they will. As the Dalia Lama has noted, the only way out of this mess is a system that has compassion and kindness intertwined. No reason why capitalism cannot be refined to include these values; it must, if we are to survive.
And when we get the opportunity to get involved, we need to get involved! Whether that be to simply show up and vote in 2022. To stand by and do nothing is to throw open our doors, welcome in the darkness and offer it a drink and a bed for the night. We must stay alert, aware, awake. Don't lets sleepwalk into greater madness, greater inhumanity and unkindness, which will be to our collective detriment.
Open your eyes.
From Pastor Niemoller:
First
they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me
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