Thread 🧵 - Now is the time to stand up, yes, that includes you!
We need to stand up right now to what's going on in this country. I didn't get to this recommendation strictly by political analysis. I get to it by life experience.
If you don't stand up for yourself against bullies, they'll keep coming back and it'll be worse each time they do. Right now we, the overwhelming majority in this country, are being taken for granted by a powerful but tiny clique at the top.
If they get away with what they're doing now, it only goes one way here on in, much worse. Worse for us whenever they want, in whatever way they want.
We’ve seen the full resources of the state, the media and corporate worlds in the UK being deployed.
Billions have been earmarked for energy crisis but that money will go to energy companies. Billions being spent on a billionairess' funeral and her son’s induction day at work.
A family which has skipped inheritance tax possibly in the hundreds of million because of secret deals with the governments blue and red. People are being arrested for the mildest criticism of this.
All of this has all been fully backed by the media with a 24/7 bombardment of distraction and emotional manipulation. Minimal to no dissenting voices or alternative opinions are allowed on air.
The BBC even deleting critical comments on its Africa website from people in Africa, The corporate world has reinforced all this with a blanketing of images and slogans that would put North Korea to shame.
Our politicians at time of crisis that they themselves acknowledged only a week ago will now take over a month off before resuming normal service at Parliament. Not that many of them want to challenge what’s going on.
They are too embedded in the distraction and they benefit from it too. This is at all levels; national, the devolved nations and councils. They’ve all been roped into endorsing the distraction and all that goes with it.
So who is left to stand for us?
Who will demand that the #CostOfLivingCrisis is urgently tackled? Who will defend our democratic rights to question and criticise the unchecked transfer of power and wealth we’re witnessing with the royals? Who will talk to the other storm of crises facing us, from:
- sewage ridden rivers and seas
- the continuing collapse of the NHS and social care
- the crippling effects of the cuts to everything from the justice, police, prison, education to council services
- the prospect of real terms pay cuts from employers?
- the coming disastrous escalation of the #ClimateCrisis, the urgent actions we need to take now to slow it down and mitigate against the damage to come?
Who? Us, the public, the vast majority, the workers, consumers and citizens who make this country run and fuel its economy.
That has to be clear learning from recent events. No one stands with us. Not the politicians who do any and everything except what their voters want. Not the media who can never speak to truth to power because they too are part of that power establishment.
Not the corporates or our employers, the exploiters can’t protect the ones they’re exploiting. We can’t even rely on the police to protect our political rights.
So, it is us, ourselves who have to defend and protect ourselves and push for what we need.
That’s why I titled this “we need to stand up”, all of us and all of us now. This is not the time for waiting for the right time. The challenge and the crises are now and are getting worse by the day.
What does “standing up” mean? I don’t have specific recommendations.
All I can suggest is do what you can. Do what is within the reach of your capabilities and time and what is an acceptable level of risk to you. Whatever that is do it, do it now. It could be as easy as “liking” social media content that talks to this.
If you can re share (eg retweet) the strongest content.
Beyond that if you can directly support protests, strikers and anyone else standing up. They maybe doing things bolder or riskier than you might do yourself but they will still appreciate and need visible signs of support.
Others are better than me at suggesting what to do beyond that. Look out for the people and organisations doing that and support them, share what they’re saying and participate if you can.
I finish where I started. We need to stand up right now to what's going on in this country. The transfer of wealth and the curtailing of our rights that we've seen in just over week has been fast, massive and frightening.
The establishment have shown us who they are and what they're capable of. It can only get worse. This "success" will embolden to do it again, worse and bigger. So, do what you can, do it now. The more we do now will make it harder for them in the future.
Let's put down a marker, we're onto them and we're not going to keep on taking this. All the best with what you chose to do, you won't be alone.
I know many people laugh off the idea that this country is heading towards fascism. Look at this thread, watch the clip. Then explain to me how the police approaching a man for holding up a blank piece of paper isn’t a scary example of an authoritarian state..
1/ongoing 🧵
Bored of non stop royal tv? If you're streamlining, I've put my choices for sci-fi shows here. I've left out big franchises like the Star Wars spin offs and the Star Trek reboots (which are good). I've picked the stand outs which don't get as much attention.
1/ War of the Worlds (2019+) - Disney+
Not just for sci-fi fans, I think anyone will like this. Acting, script, story line, the look all good and compulsive viewing. Many "what would I do?" dilemmas. Way better than the earlier Cruise and BBC reboots.
2/ Foundation (2021+?) - Apple TV+
A contender for one of the best sci fi treatments ever. It doesn't follow the Asimov book and is much, much better. An epic scale, great detail and good acting, script and it makes you think.
1/ #PrivatisationFail - Water Industry
The bare fact about each water company. All of it shocking. The differences between the private companies in England vs the public ones in devolved nations on CEO pay is stark.
Each frame of this clip follows on this thread as a pic.
We are suffering from privatised energy, water, rail and bus services. Not only are they adding to the #CostofLivingCrisis but they've given us sub standard infrastructure that will buckle under the #ClimateCrisis. Yet there is NO discussion of the failure of privatisation.
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2/ Privatisation has gone further in the UK than any other rich developed country, including the US. We are paying the price for it everyday and that price will grow as the #ClimateCrisis worsens. Both mainstream politics and media simply refuse to even discuss it.
3/ Privatisation is no age old principle like freedom speech that should be beyond question. It's barely 40 years old. We should be discussing it and asking it if it has worked or not? If it we should renationalise?
1/ The Tory leadership race - what’s likely?
Ignore current resignations. With the exception of Javid and Sunak, the big players in the Cabinet won’t act before the 1922 Committee. That could be a delegation going to Johnson or a successful rule change. Game on after that.
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2/ The Tory leadership will be come down to two types of candidate: Continuity Johnson, ie carry on as is, (Patel, Raab, Truss) just do what he was doing without illegal parties, free passes for sex cases and less lying.
or
3/ Total Reset, clean out Johnson loyalists, those most closely associated with him. Major on personal integrity, lead charge on cleaning house of bad old ways in Tory party and Parliament, ie kill what caused the Johnson debacle.