Thread by @docrussjackson

#THREAD

Last year a row broke out about the Churchill Fellowship, a charity which funds study & work placements overseas for poorer people, after it changed its name from the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust.

This thread is about truth, the culture war, & our broken news media.

In a typical culture war-fuelling diatribe, Boris Johnson accused the charity, set up in Winston Churchill's name, of "airbrushing" his achievements out of history - despite the wartime leader's grandson, Sir Nicholas Soames, dismissing the row as 'ridiculous'.

Using typically inflammatory language, Johnson said it was "absurd, misguided & wrong" that the Churchill Fellowship appeared to be distancing itself from the wartime PM.

Then Culture War Minister Oliver Dowden amplified the criticism, & lurid 'anti-woke' headlines followed.

The row started after the charity issued a statement noting not unreasonably that “aspects” of Winston Churchill's life were today controversial, a simple statement of fact at a time when people were focused on racism following the killing of George Floyd.
independent.co.uk/news/uk/politi…

Oliver Dowden went on LBC to spout his divisive culture war rhetoric, demonising the charity as 'woke'. The Sun claimed that some of the foundation's volunteers had taken exception to the name change, arguing Churchill was being "erased from his own charity by the woke brigade!"

The Express joined in, with an unhinged rant from its 'Head of Comment', who in his article made numerous bizarre claims, including "all teenagers think they are the first people to discover sex" & that #ExtinctionRebellion are another "deeply annoying example of ignorant youth!"

The Right's contradictions were foregrounded: the Express said: "When you read about Churchill, or any figure in history ever, you SHOULD feel slightly OFFENDED & maybe a little HORRIFIED", yet the focus of anti-woke rhetoric is ALWAYS on "snowflakes" who are "slightly offended"!

Predictably, the Mail joined in the attack on the Charity & "left-wing activists", claiming that volunteers said it was 'rewriting history', with one supposedly saying "It beggars belief that the man who saved this nation in our darkest hour finds himself cancelled in this way!"

Inevitably, professional far-right liar & shit-stirrer Nigel Farage put on his best serious face to solemnly tell all five GB "News" viewers that we must "fight this", because the "demonisation" of Churchill "goes beyond cancel culture" & the charity wants to "erase" Churchill!

The story generated numerous 'anti-woke' headlines around the world, for several weeks.

So what's the truth about this attempt to "erase" Churchill?

Basically, the charity's website refresh had resulted in a short statement in light of the global #BlackLivesMatter protests.

"Many of his views on race are widely seen as unacceptable today, a view that we share. At the same time, he is internationally admired for his wartime leadership in saving Britain & the world from Nazism" - Churchill Fellowship statement.

Seems pretty nuanced & balanced, no?

"We acknowledge the many issues & complexities involved on all sides, but do not accept racism of any kind." Surely some nuance in our polarised world is a GOOD thing, right? And who DOES accept racism? Could it possibly be those whinging about the charity's reasonable statement?

Immediately after the criticism, the charity, founded on February 1, 1965, two days after Churchill's funeral, responded with a rebuttal featuring a large photograph of Churchill.

The Charity made their position crystal clear, so even the stupidest of critics would understand:

"Last month we simplified our name to 'the Churchill Fellowship'. We did so not because we are disowning Sir Winston, but because over many years we have found that, in a simple practical sense, the name was confusing to people & did not explain what we do."

But let's not take the Charity's word for it, let's listen to what Churchill's grandson, Sir Nicholas Winston Soames has to say about this high profile story.

For context, Soames served as a Tory MP from 1983 - 2019 & was Minister of State for the Armed Forces from 1994 to 1997.

Soames told The Times that claims the charity was trying to distance itself from Churchill were "ABSOLUTE BOLLOCKS!"

He said: "I just think this whole thing is so sad & so pathetic. Let me tell you that his family 100 per cent, unequivocally support the work of the fellowship."

Soames said that the claims were "so repulsive it makes one despair of our country, really. The Churchill family - I am genuinely speaking for all of them - we unreservedly, wholly admire & respect the astonishingly good work of the Winston Churchill Fellowship."

"It's very well run. We take a very close interest in it. It's testimony to how brilliant they are, to see the demand for the fellowships."

Asked about the website, he said: "I'm not involved in that. I don't know. I have seen the site. I think it looks absolutely excellent."

"Apparently anyone who modernises anything or does anything to remotely bring it up to date is 'woke'. It's absolute bollocks."

And I entirely agree.

As an ironic aside, it's interesting to note that the quote below is often misattributed to Churchill.

interestingliterature.com/2021/06/lie-ha…

As a footnote, I'm not sure there is anyone in Britain who is so stupid &/or brainwashed to be actually incapable of recognising that Churchill was BOTH a great wartime leader who played a vital role in helping defeat the Nazis AND someone who held some utterly grotesque views.

Historians will always debate the nature & significance of his legacy, as they will about everyone's. Many UK scholars conclude that he was a great man despite his explicitly racist views, which although were more common during his lifetime, were certainly not universally shared.

Born in 1874, Churchill justified British imperialism as being for the good of the "primitive" & "subject races". He was a believer in eugenics, supported the segregation of "feeble-minded" people & warned that the breeding of "unfit" people posed a "terrible danger to the race".

Historians also point to the Churchill government's failure to ship food to India during the 1943 Bengal famine, arguing his actions were informed by his views on race & contributed to the death of up to 3 million people.

But Culture War warriors really aren't interested truth.

I've written several detailed #THREADS about how the Right misrepresent spurious non-stories in order to divide & mislead voters by waging their dangerous & divisive 'war on woke'. This one is about absurd claims of “racial segregation” in UK universities:

This #THREAD is about a ridiculous story manufactured out of nothing, which falsely claimed that a London park named after William Gladstone could be rebranded “Diane Abbott Park” by a @UKLabour council, “as part of a slavery review”:

And this #THREAD is about a profoundly misleading anti-@BBC story, which originated in The Critic magazine, which was co-founded by ERG 'Strategist' Christopher Montgomery, & funded by multi-millionaire Conservative & Reclaim Party donor, Jeremy Hosking: