We are a police state, with poverty as deliberate policy, we defend apartheid & arm genocidal regimes, we ignore international law, we break treaties, we host global corruption, our covid-19 response failed, we promote racist hostility: we are a failed state. #ToryBritain
The reason the world is in such a mess is because morally bereft states like Britain conspire with others to accumulate all the wealth & power. The brazen confidence of this evil empire means we don't even try to hide mechanisms like permanent seats on the UN Security Council.
All attempts to break this hegemony, to live outside this international model, are destroyed in infancy by armed conflict, economic armageddon & illegal coups, with alternative philosophies demonised so effectively they are despised by the very people they seek to emancipate.
The depth & complexity of the systems at play are rooted in & reflect the prejudices & insecurities of a tiny elite taught for generations to take everything they can grasp in the belief that everyone else is, ultimately, as selfish & devoid of empathy as they are themselves.
We are ruled by sociopaths & psychopaths because only their warped kind of strength has the ruthlessness required to suppress & enslave the billions of us used to feed their greed. We will never win against such adversaries if we play by the rules created by them.
It is hardly a surprise that they continually raise the bar for punishing dissent, so we leave the boot where it is on our backs & try to wriggle some room between the treads for fear of being squashed. #PoliceCrackdownBill
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So much of our culture is predatory. Boys & girls are bombarded daily by thousands of advertising images objectifying women's bodies on buses, bus stops, walls & newspapers. Online, porn depicts men (literally & routinely) foot pinning a woman's face, fetishising force & pain.
I teach at secondary school level & frequently overhear & deal with young boys (even the 'nice' ones) making rape jokes, disrespecting female peers, sexually pressurising & shaming their classmates. It's rife. It's also hardly surprising. They reflect cultural values around them.
Have a look at popular newspapers online editions today & you will see the way women are depicted smothering every page. Not just the images, look at the words...
Yesterday, I did just that with the UK's 2nd most popular newspaper, The Daily Mail (online edition).
Walking in the woods near London last weekend, I discovered two more homeless camps hidden within the trees. That night, temperatures dropped to -6°C, today there's 3 inches of snow on the ground.
This is the reality of life for many vulnerable people in Britain today. 1/46
Over the last 18 months, I've discovered 8 similar camps in woods near my home, within 25 miles of London. Many of these makeshift camps (including these two), though well-hidden, are situated within 200m of a row of massive mansions, many of which lie empty. 2/46
The average price of a mansion on this one road is more than £2 million. Their huge gardens back onto the extensive woods & commons in which these desperate people have chosen to build their shelters because they offer thick tree cover & the best chance of going undetected. 3/46
Brexit Betrayal.
Talk about missed opportunities… With Brexit & Corbyn we had an historic chance to kick out corporatism, to fight back against the neo-liberal charge off the cliff, a movement ready to shine a socialist beacon of hope across the entire European continent. 1/44
Instead, we have Keith & Boris pushing their Bad Deal...
What follows is a post from November 2018 in which I ‘confessed’ to voting Leave (it felt like that). It outlines some of the reasons why (if you prefer it in verse, see my other Brexit thread). 2/44
I agonised over this decision. I have family on the continent, I spend a lot of time there, but I did my research, I read the Lisbon Treaty & realised that as a socialist I could only vote Leave…
It seems relevant now, as Boris’ dreadful deal reignites discussion. 3/44
I teach loud, grubby kids in unventilated classrooms just outside London & have managed to stay Covid-free while colleagues & students drop like flies.
In early March I recommended the recipe below, which may have helped keep me safe.
...why weren't you recommending people boost their immune systems way back then? It's common sense.
I fear that the 'homeopathy is bunkem, so follow the science' attitude has something to do with profit, &, more particularly, with politicians interests in drugs companies... 2/9
...The suggestion is that any traditional knowledge, gained by humans over hundreds of thousands of years experimenting with plant ingredients, which remedies ailments is just luck, & is probably dangerous.
Only pre-packaged, trademarked plant extracts can be relied upon... 3/9
Of course, it's not what we're getting with the Tories, but I still believe a socialist Brexit would have been best. Here's why (in poem form from April 2019 - why not?):
It's called 'Can Rhyme Help Reason? (for Brian Bilston)'
1/21
The Brexit division is causing debate,
As leaders hedge bets and play with our fate.
When people were asked, the decision was tight,
Whether this way was wrong or that way was right. 2/21
As deadlines get closer, and more rifts appear,
And families argue, and newspapers smear,
Opinions are strong, but knowledge is lacking.
And all of us want to send lawmakers packing. 3/21