Category Archives: Being Tested

You Don’t Want To Go Down This Road Do You? (An Essay?)

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Up until recent years when it came to politics in all its senses and social issues in all their sense I could be pretty judgemental and unforgiving, some times from A Left perspective (there are dozens, upon dozens of them) I was journeying down a totalitarian state re-education of ‘offenders’ road. At the same time in that way Humans do I was being very worried about the extreme views of others. After a while an old saw ‘Well I know I am right’ just wasn’t sounding as solid as it used to. This post is not not so much one solid argument but a collection of musings based on recent evidence- although Truth Be Known I should have learnt this earlier. This will be a journey with Tricky Issues and ‘Questions’

Do Those Folk Realise How That Makes Them Sound?
Naturally it wouldn’t be a good old Warning Post if there wasn’t some censorious commentary, but be careful there will be a sting in the tail.
Anyway let’s consider some of the statements and sentiments I have encountered of late.
1. FaceBook
There was this post about a fellow being attacked and killed by a shark. What I couldn’t figure out were the Likes and Laughing emojis. I posted that up in Comments. To be told that it was because the event took place is Israel and the guy was either an Israeli or a visiting fellow religionist.
Oh for (bad word)’s sake! Was my reaction. Whichever way you look at their reaction apart from being cruelly insensitive it was racist. They knew nothing about the victim, and yet because they were currently horrified by the Israel Government they thought it fair sport to vilify and cheer when a person with a tenuous link died. That actually puts them in exactly the same mind set as that government and its supporters, and it is no use trying to wriggle out of the charge.
‘Don’t worry little starving traumatised Palestinian Orphan, for I have laughed about possibly Jewish man being eaten by a shark. There does that not make you feel better?’  -Yeah,..right.
2. FaceBook
One of the anti-theist sites. A place where folk whose knowledge of the Faith and the Bible is somewhat limited. I started visiting one because being bemused by their lack of understanding. The conversations are never an exchange of views, I ask a question about their statement, they make an accusation. Anyway in one brief exchange where the fellow was saying how bad the faith was and all of the priests and preachers were bad too. I asked him how did he feel about say Maximilian Klobe  who volunteered to die in place of a stranger in Auschwitz. His response was ‘even bad people do good sometimes’, and then he hurried on with more condemnations. That was one big wall of a statement, to have a view that unconditionally judges everyone on the other side as ‘bad’. A bit like racists who hurriedly say ‘Oh, I know there are some good ones’

Basically we have two examples there, originating from points of view, ie Against the excesses of Israel & questioning the unconditional belief in a God – broadly both of which are seen to be liberal and progressive. And yet amongst all the genuine people with constructive beliefs, who would take issue with Intolerance and Hatred there lurk a minority who embrace exactly those shortcomings in their own outlooks.
We have to ask ourselves. At some stage, at some time, on some subject ‘did I stray down similar paths?’ We can point a finger at FaceBook and other media sites and try to blame them and say ‘we’ don’t use them, anymore; then we have to ask ‘but have I espoused such comments elsewhere?’
It gets more complex.
In this first sub-heading you will note certain elements of condemnation and judgement. Now I can say in my defence, I chose my ground carefully and made my comments with elements of qualification. The trouble there is, we get a bit of a conundrum. In writing these words have I given some folk ammunition to take issue with all critics of Israel and all atheists? It was not my intention, but the tricky thing with writing ‘stuff’ in public is that you never know how the reader is going to react. Therefore dear reader, these words are an example of a door swinging both ways Writer and Reader – Reader and Writer. And sometimes the Writer’s time-honoured lament ‘That’s not what I meant’ sounds just a bit weedy to someone who was injured by the commentary.
In short – we should always be careful how we write what we write and how we read what we read.
That’s why this portion was so long. Arguably the qualifiers took up more time and space than the message. And yet? Did it wholly get across?
We all carry ‘baggage’ in these turbulent times. And it is not always easy to balance between ethically justifiable statements and downright vilification. They seem to be polar opposites, but amongst our many Human flaws we have adopted as a weapon ‘Justification’

 

The Whispering Which Leads to Shouting (What We Think, Not Always Saying)
Anger: There are times when most of us cringe as we go through a ‘What Was I Thinking?’ interlude. Where through a combination of circumstances maybe on one bad day, or which have been building up we just lose control, and either embarrass or scare ourselves. We do try to keep those times under wraps, but…..but.

Anyway we shall talk anymore about those; shall we? We move onto the other side of Anger, the part we institutionalise, within ourselves. A place which is not neatly boxed up but is a tangle, a sprawl of urban ruins or a jungle long left to grow of its own accord. Where we go to when something or someone who represents something comes to our attention and triggers a reaction. We might well sound off on some outlet and craft our opinion into a fairly reasonable comment in mature and restrained language, because we do not want to come across as one of ‘the ignorant, ill-informed masses’, we value our opinions and views too much. And that is laudable insofar as it goes.
Yet at this stage the question we need to ask ourselves is. Where does the motivation come from?
Have we checked our views just to make sure they are up to date? Is that quotation correct in word and attribution? Are those ‘facts’ we are quoting actually ‘facts’? What was the source? Do we feel that strongly about our point of view, or are we just so much against the other we’ll grab any ammunition?
For the challenge we face here is not so much the issue we are against or defending. It is how we view those on the opposite side of the fence. And who built that fence anyhow?
So coming this far. How do we feel about the opposition? Not just the vocal or the loud ones, or the ones who are in it for the material gain. I am referring to the vast majority of the opposition. The ones you would walk by the street and unless they were wearing something to advertise their allegiance, you wouldn’t know would you? Mercy forbid that you have actually formed in that place which is not neatly boxed  a profile of an opposition supporter. Well you stoutly deny that, you do not think that they all look or dress or sound like……What?. And yet another niggling question is, have you formed an idea of what type of person they are? And how does that work?
Well distance for starters. It is far easier to be suspicious of someone who you know nothing about apart from one casual label, than a person who is just an average member of the community, steady family person, employed, and well kind of likeable?
It kind of spoils the place where you secretly go, to know out there, there might actually be basically ‘Good People’ who just see the world differently to you. You can of course reason that their choices are threatening your way of Life; the problem there being they can say that to you too. Does that stop you banding together and asking what’s being done about those potholes in the main road into through and out of town?

A Resolution? Maybe?
The Divisions are once more even bigger and better these days. There is and always has been a whole industry built around making sure they stay that way. Its practitioners are either feasting on Hate and Division because it keep them sharp, or they are getting high on the Vanity Kick on account of the number of likes and followers they are harvesting, OR, they are just getting plain wealthy from the kickbacks they get through the Media Outlets in pursuit of subscribers and advertising revenues. Here is a question? How much come from our own strong beliefs or how much are we being used? That’s another tricky one. You might say it is an unfair one to ask- fair enough question my motivation, my first response will be ‘Now you are getting it’
Question, analyse, study, think, conclude. Position yourself by all means. Then when you meet someone of the opposite view, look for the common ground, both of you and place your feet firmly there and resolve to work this ground and harvest its richer crop.
It’ll be tough. But then the worthwhile always comes with that price.

 We still have some time folks.

As Good A Time As Any

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18th February 2026 is for some parts of the Christian Faith the commencement of Lent; a solemn observance prior to Easter. Dates and practices vary
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lent 
By happy synchronicity of calendars this year, the Islamic Ramadan commenced of the 17th February 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramadan 
Both as solemn times of fasting, penitence, religious observation and spiritual reflection. And in consequence seem a good time to write a reflective post across a broad spectrum.   

 

On Human Flaws
There are many some are small niggly little things with a potential to get out of control on the local level- loud music being a classic. Some with a capacity to spread wreckage far and wide. This post is about one which is sometimes a starter all of its own, while other times is brought into the mix.
Conflict 

As we know it can start anywhere, anyhow, anybody. Its causes are myriad, mostly political, misuse of religion, race, greed and social differences. At the lower end it is conducted these days on Social Media, or on The Streets, at the other end on The Battlefield. Sometimes those who claim to be leaders or want to be are the cause, and going back to the other extreme it will be what’s called a grass roots movement of division or discontent that some opportunists will be only to willing to bring their carpet bag or medicine show wagon to.
Thanks to the proliferation of Social Media it often needs only a label or a slogan to get the whole thing rolling and roiling. And constructive thought or true critical thinking does not come into the process – heck those two are quite the encumbrance to Conflict on account of asking that difficult question:
WHY

Now by that I don’t mean ‘Why’ two groups or people are yelling, shouting, threatening, hitting, missile-ing at each other. We know that, the parties strongly don’t get on, feel threatened, fear what the other side represent. That’s the Old Story. I mean the other tricky deeper question WHY ‘the parties strongly don’t get on, feel threatened, fear what the other side represent’ . How did it get to this stage? Never mind what the leaders, pundits, loudmouths, fast buck merchants and Social Media, YouTube, Instagram, X Tik-Tok and whatever other platform stirrers, influencers, I Want More Than Five Minutes of Fame peddlers are pushing. I mean how did YOU, THEY ,US, THEM get here- now? Because to be honest no one in a bright shiny uniform along with a few others in not so bright and shiny equivalents came up to your door said ‘You’re drafted.’ hauled you off, uniformed you up, gave you a weapon and pointed you in the direction of the foe with an instruction to do harm. No YOU,THEY, US,THEM we all signed up as fast as we could. And we could not wait to get at the foe.
At this stage you should be somewhat aggrieved with me and pointing out that there was a Good Cause for YOU, WE to feel this way and it’s because THEY ,THEM are the way THEY are, it’s all their fault.
All their fault?
The supposition amongst the anger and rage is that one side has at least a majority holding in the Ethical and even Practical stakes, while the others are just shorn of all senses and perceptions.
Harsh?
Well since both sides are calling out those shots there is a suggestion the situation is jagged.
Let’s go down to the micro-level to the folk who pay the dues        

 

Those Who Care (About Something)
Everyone has opinions and also have strong beliefs about something or other. Which means at some stage they are going to bump up against those who have the opposite strong beliefs. Now there is a very high likelihood that for a whole slew of reasons neither are ever going to agree.
The question to be asking is – Do WE,YOU,THEY,THEM strongly disagree with everything the people of the other side hold to? Here’s a hardcore example.
Two groups are having a loud ruckus in the street. Suddenly a distressed person is crying for help, distracted with one baby their two other children being kids have got into a boat onto a patch of water, hit something and the boat starting to sink. Do the two groups carry on? Do either of them check out if the parent is on their side of the argument. Or do the whole lot as one group go rushing off to help, form a human chain, or a swim line or anything to help, while others contact the rescue services. I am suggesting here the whole argument gets forgotten and maybe a few tenuous working relationships are formed, because amongst the groups bother will be agreeing that something should have been done about careless leaving of boats at the rickety jetty  and those dangerous bits underwater. You could parallel that with any number of scenarios.(By the way you get social points deducted for trying to blame the parent – they were dealing with the baby and any parent knows if there is something dangerous kids if left unsupervised even for a second will be there!
The point I wish to make is that there is usually some common ground somewhere. I will leave you to imagine less extreme examples.
We all disagree strongly but those who disagree strongly with each will also have common ground. And it is there that we should be, on the common ground, working with the other side, realising some things can be worked through together, while accepting that some won’t.
And won’t those snake oil merchants who trade in conflict hate that? They cannot abide moderation or constructive working together. They want YOU,US,THEM,THEY to be forever divided and filling up their coffers (literally) and ensuring they get the top jobs. 
At this stage…No…I am not going to break out one of those 1960s ‘Let’s All Love Each Other’ songs. I never gave them much store back then when I was teenager and sadly they did not work out either. The nearest anyone got was Lennon/McCartney’s ‘We Can Work It Out’.
Basically time is running out, and there’s too much Conflict . Work together and at the end of the day go home and maybe say ‘Geez I can work fine with them but if I lived with them I swear…..’ 
It’s a start.
Together on The Common Ground.

Take care folks.    

PS: This might be the start of a sort of series of reflective style posts over this (for me) Lenten season.
Not sure yet. We’ll see.

PS II – I don’t know how this will look to you, but I can’t be responsible for where WP is putting it adverts.
Hopefully they will turn up in reasonably sited places

Roger

Seasonal Hand Across The Ether (The Metaphorical Version that is)

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Of the 752 images stored on my WP blog, the first entry still seems the most applicable to cover all posts which are sent in a spirit of Friendship and Hope. Hope. Speaking of Hope
Some task huh?
The third decade of the 21st century appears to be one wrapped in gloom, anguish, despair turmoil, and you my dear reader will be able to add your own words to that list. It would seem that the usual toxins of Greed, Violence, Intolerance and Suppression and now joyously aided by Denial and Ignorance they growing frenetic on the social drugs of Conspiracy and Indulgence. This wretched alliance seems more than capable of finally stifling the brief season of instinctive Joy and Goodwill which used to be a theme of Decembers. After all do you really feel like humming, or whistling, even singing to those seasonal songs and carols which still permeate the air waves and public places or does ‘It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas’ really stick in your craw this year?
This is the stage of the post when I am supposed to heave-ho on the allegorical Helm and wheel the whole sentiment into one of Joy and of course Hope. After laying out One Hundred and Thirty plus words in doing the exact opposite.
Some task, huh?

We could start with giving ourselves, individually speaking, some space. It is my opinion based on many years’ experience and observation that one problem in the world is whereas the ruthless, selfish, greedy, arrogant folk will very rarely admit to their faults or flaws, ordinary folk are all too willing to blame themselves for much lesser matters as if those were Crimes Against Humanity and by default give the worst of folk wriggle room. Let’s start with those foundational attributes Compassion, Respect and Tolerance (while leaving pop-culture summaries of Nietzsche and his ilk out of it).
Most of us, hereabouts, would like to think that we are predisposed to those qualities, which is something of a plus for Human Nature- we would like to think we are ‘Nice’ (ish). Then we will metaphorically look over our shoulder or maybe agonise over our shortcomings. Now, whereas, it is only right for us avoid being smug, self-congratulatory and hypocritical there are also times when we will wince and think ‘Urgh. That could have gone better’ or ‘What the heck was I thinking of’ . Which is fine, because most of us have an analytical system working there. However:
Compassion– Do you care for those you have not met, but feel because of their situation as a minority or a currently persecuted section or a unfortunate one of a few, that what is being heaped on them is just not fair. That they have been labelled and you, I, us know nothing about them as persons and the negative attention is all unjust. Is that your default position? Well give yourself some credit then. By not embracing Disdain, Suspicion or Apathy, by supporting, or at least not joining in with the mob; there is Compassion in you.
Mind you Compassion makes tough calls on you. How about those folk you have labelled?…. Yeah I know…..Yeah boy do I know…..Still as long as you don’t want all of them incarcerated in a ‘place of correction’ as long as you find that disturbing…. Well keep on keeping on…

Respect– Do you know or have ever countered folk or a community or a people, whose views or ways you do not agree with, or even not understand, and yet your only response is ‘Yes, not for me, couldn’t be like that’ And yet you feel they have a certain something or somethings within their outlooks which merits an understanding and acceptance. Now that should not be the unconditional sort of, like everyone within that group should not be criticised- for every circle has its jerks (yes that was deliberate-stop sniggering at the back). To do that is to condemn the rest by allowing abuse and domination by unpleasant characters. In the individual case it gets even more complex because you may find there are times when an individual has been a complete idiot in one instance over their beliefs but not in every facet. Respect is an even tougher caller than Compassion. But if you can disagree with a view (not necessarily an act) and allow that person their opinion (I know…I know….we are coming to the qualifier when discussing Tolerance). If you can least understand someone’s stance and agree to disagree or Live and Let Live. Are you trying to balance that, but wobble just a bit in the balance? Well it’s something to work with. You are doing well though, just keep working.

   

Tolerance-This is the deal breaker of the trio. It requires an ability to accept those whose views are opposite to yours and whose comments might even set your teeth on edge. However the door swings both ways in that they must react the same way. You do not have to accept those who espouse Intolerance and Hatred, to be biblical and refer to  the teachings of Jesus Christ –  Matthew 10:4 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. This is a fairly allegorical piece of advice. Turn your back on Intolerance and its poisons. Well yes do not expect that balance to be easy. There will always be those places when you get tested to the absolute limit. Oh for the simple loud mouthed bigot, you say, and not this quiet sincere person who speaks in a rational calm way. And yet do you struggle on to make with conversation and contact, even if failing the first, second, third time? Do you ever give up on one attempt but still say ‘Next time. Next time it will go better,’  

The measurement is in your willingness never to in your heart give up on these three. To just keep on trying to spread them, trying to bring people into the fold, try and try and even when it all goes wrong ,you try some more. And never, ever give up on yourself for trying


And there you are. For doing those few efforts – You are worth it

You are not perfect. But You are worth it.
Bear that in mind this Season. Give yourself a smile, a nod and a whispered ‘Well it might have gone better. But next time. Yeah next time,’.

Best of wishes and hopes to you all; Christmas, Holiday, Looking to 2026 whatever. 

20th January 2025. A Most Infamous of Days (From Across The Water)

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These will indeed be times which will test your own individual spirit. An era when everything you have believed in, worked for, held to be true, has been trampled on, mocked, derided and cast away for some 21st Century version of the biblical Golden Calf.

If ever your belief in Hope or Justice or a Theistic message will be subject to unimaginable strains it will be the years ahead.

Some will give up and withdraw into their own small, treasured domesticity. Understandable, but sadly there will be no refuge there. The forces which have been unleashed will not content with a lack of opposition, they will come to places of work, leisure, worship, even  homes and require attendance at their false altars.

Some small in number will seek satisfaction in acts of violence. A sterile act of angry desperation one which will have its own opposite reaction and therein lies disintegration.

Look first to yourselves therefore, into the deepest part of your spirit, your soul, your heart. Swear an oath unto yourself that you will not give up Hope. You will resist in the spirts of Compassion, Respect and Tolerance and never surrender.

   Bless you, The Real Patriots of The USA. The True Bearers of the Flame of Hope

One Small Whisper of Hope

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Candle

News of Death of Innocents, Despair of Society, will it ever evolve  into a Compassionate, Tolerant and Respectful one. Watching self-appointed Billionaires trampling of Democracy while hypocritically claiming they are saving it, Nature sending a message that The World is not pleased with the way we Humanity are behaving. And so on and so on. You thought we might have learned by now, not try and deny Humanity ever did anything wrong.  

And thus it seems that a Night heavy with Toxic Fogs of Denial, Hate, Intolerance and Greed comes in upon the landscape.

I grow a bit weary with myself of falling into my Book of Revelation style of political and social prediction, and yet it is a hard habit to break in the light of the constant stream of news.  

Yet?

Do what we can, as we can, when we can, how we can, and best we can all in the names of Compassion, Tolerance and Respect to fortify the need to sweep away the toxicities which are plaguing our world. For there are many, and in various places. I should not be surprised and yet on FaceBook sites devoted to non-political comic strips become strident battlegrounds, like everyone has the proverbial itchy finger, in this case it being a typing one. Arguing, counter arguing over the slightest thing. While all the suffering goes on. No, it simply will not do anymore. 

‘It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness’ As the English translation of a Chinese proverb goes. I would love to comprehend just what has been missed in translation- still these word will do. A candle of Hope then. And Hope is best nurtured by actions, no matter how small or seemingly fleeting.

And I have a song for you too.

Lyrics:

Something you can’t hideSays you’re lonelyHidden deep insideOf you onlyIt’s there for you to seeTake a look and beBurn slowly the candle of life
 
Something there outsideSays we’re onlyIn the hands of timeFalling slowlyIt’s there for us to knowWith love that we can goBurn slowly the candle of life
 
So love everybodyAnd make them your friendSo love everybodyAnd make them your friend
 
Something you can’t hideSays you’re lonelyHidden deep insideOf you onlyIt’s there for you to seeTake a look and beBurn slowly the candle of life
 
Something there outsideSays we’re onlyIn the hands of timeFalling slowlyIt’s there for us to knowWith love that we can goBurn slowly the candle of life.
 
That’s all I have to say in this post. Anything will devalue the song.
 
Take care all of you. Never let go. Do what you can, as best you can, when you can, how you can. Just try to help keep the World in One Piece (Allegorical that is; the World can look after itself, it’s us who are conditional) 

Just Some Reflections On The Week Passed

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Featured Image -- 1316

As usual over the past week there has been a great deal of news and depending where you live in this world, some events will appear more important than others, and the three I will write about might not understandably matter a jot to you, those closer, literally to your home being of far more importance. Just look upon this then as one person reflecting upon examples of Human reactions, motivations and of course follies. It’s another of those long ruminations though, and a bit convoluted. Bear with me here.

Brian Thompson CEO of United Healthcare
To be honest, chillingly honest maybe, I did not pay much attention to the initial headline, I was skipping quickly to another site, and this just registered as another killing in the USA, a commentary all of it own; the post could have stopped there couldn’t it? A reader could have drawn their own conclusions. Anyway on returning a couple days later the narrative became clearer. The CEO of a controversial but very large USA Healthcare Insurance and ‘provider’. It appears the company has a reputation for finding a way of rejecting or stalling claims.
What was not surprising but worrying nonetheless were the types of reactions. Very little obvious sympathy, much visceral grim humour in messages and one or two cartoons. A great deal of resentment had been building up and in one swift violent act a dam broke. The public reaction garnering its own media attention.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/what-the-murder-of-the-unitedhealthcare-ceo-brian-thompson-means-to-america 
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm2eeeep0npo

The president to be Trump once boasting about his popularity said he could shoot a person on 5th Avenue and not loose votes. It seems the shooter of Brian Thompson proved that could actually be a case. Yes, and the shooter.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly2zwqqr1ro

An Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland family. Those are the facts to date. And why we are not surprised by this link?

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/global-trends/why-thousands-are-supporting-luigi-mangione-the-suspect-in-unitedhealthcare-ceos-murder-and-fundraising-for-him/articleshow/116155704.cms?from=mdr
Those on the Right and outraged by the killing of a CEO should not be horrified, after all Daniel Perry was crowdfunded.
And here is the stark lesson. Just looking at those two examples in point, the USA. Hate and Prejudice those dire siblings are walking hand in hand. Kill someone who represents a subject of Hate and there will be support, approval, and in some corners encouragement for more of the same. What those supporters seem to miss is that they are encouraging the normalisation of such actions. You don’t like someone prominent or supporters of a movement you detest? Fine just take a gun, or household DIY implement or put together your own IED, you might get caught by The Law, but you’ll have a support base out there. You will not be alone. Even become a hero, no matter how unsettled and skewed your perceptions are. You might die and get martyr status. It’s all cool. Apparently. 

This is something that some of the extreme politicians and those thrice removed from the reality of ordinary life entrepreneurs have missed too. For years now, maybe since Obama’s election, the Anger has been building, and blindness to Rationality growing. The first warning eruption was of course in 2016, then 2021 and now in 2024. Anger fed on frustration, anger fed on triumphalism, anger fed on fear, anger feeding itself. On and on. Trump was nearly a casualty, thankfully not, he does not deserve to be mourned like some hero to the cause. Of course he did not learn the lesson, he continues to make inflammatory statements, adding fuel to the fire and there was Vivek Ramaswamy demonstrating a complete lack of understand how a nation works. Thus in the light of Thompson’s death it has to be asked ‘Who’s Next? Right, Liberal or Activist or Someone briefly in the media highlight?’. A shocking comment I know. Yet in a polarised nation with ‘that many’ guns, is it not valid one to worry about, fear. I do not believe the death of Brian Thompson was any good to anyone. Just spare a thought for his family. This time of year will never be the same for them again. Consequences? There are always consequences.

Anger, pent up, building up. So much rage, it would stifle any Christmas Truce.
You’d have to witnessed it close up, or been reading the runes to truly grasp the potential. 

Syria
(How it links to the above)
Only those who have been following the immensely complicated situation could have given a suggestion that the fall of the Assad regime was close at hand. For most of us the fall of Aleppo was the biggest news and one that would have raised an eyebrow. Thus when I read the newsfeeds on Sunday morning 7.30am UK time it was a shock.  
Now here is the qualified guilty secret. My first reaction was delight at how ridiculous some sections of the UK Left would be held up to account in the light of their previous history of a stance to be against any Western criticism of Assad and that included the courageous White Helmets
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Helmets_(Syrian_civil_war)

If you have been following my blogs you will know of my extreme dislike (putting in mildly) of those sections of the UK Left who come out immediately ‘The West’ (and Israel) does anything, but are or have been at best very muted about other outrages around the world. Even explaining how folk like Putin are justified. I will spare you any further of my outrage at this selective protesting, except to say it devalues any protests they do indulge it.

My problem on Sunday and Monday was containing that emotion. I knew somewhere it was wrong, because there were debates within the UK Left over that ‘selective’ approach in 2011-2015. It was necessary to keep on going over and over the number of militias, para-militaries and even small conventional armies which have growing up, and how just because one was claiming it had the bidding rights for government that was not the end of it. Damascus was not actually seized by the main runner, the Islamist HTS, taken advantage of their advances, the SNA (Syrian National Army) backed by Turkey, these days came up from its stronghold in the south and did a land-grab. Although both sides are now in a tentative slender alliance for the moment. It was necessary to remind myself that Libya and Iraq caste off brutal dictators, the former is still in a civil war and the latter still unsettled. No real cause to cheer.
And yet, and yet, for two days I was mentally mocking the most vocal of the history of the UK Left wing protests movements because I had deemed them to be at best simplistic and naïve and at worse prejudiced and willing saps for the more professionals. Talk about ‘Hate’ and losing perspective I had my own version of the debate on the killing of CEO Brian Thompson going on here. 
Thankfully there was the BBC World Service on hand to supply information from those who had worked on the various front lines, had been faced to face with the horrors and had risked their own lives…..Mind you that strategy had its own problems, because another bunch I have no time for are those who blindly criticise the BBC news outlets because it generally supplies the world news as it is and not how they would like it (It has it’s failings on UK national news, can be a bit tabloid at times), so I was muttering about them.

Summary- Thus Far
It is so easy isn’t it to fall into the reactive approach, to see the other side as blinkered, narrow minded, downright prejudiced and with no perception of Reality, particularly when in their own passions they act just as you expect (or is that…want?) them to. Well of course you are right to feel that way, just look at the way they carry on. 
There’s something wrong there, but there’s no satisfaction in admitting it, if they are opposition, then they deserve all you are saying about them, every single one of them.
I think? 
But I can say that because I am very broad minded in my condemnation, be they Right or Left. Or Cancel Culture, or Objecting to Cancel Culture. Or whatever.

Hate. Intolerance. Sneaky little blighters are they not?

There’s most certainly something wrong these days. Less tolerance. More polarisation. So easy to just hit the old keyboard, rattle away and press ‘send’ Just where is the dividing line between Honest Opposition or Justifiable Outrage and the simply urge to give way to the delicious thrill of ‘venting’ blind anger (Who me? Prejudiced? Most certainly not. It’s just that Some people….)

Oh yes there are those feeding off it all the time, growing rich and famous. Trouble is, they had better watch their back… Those who live by the sword, as it were

A Footnote, and a Warning To Some
We’ve all heard of trolls of course. Onerous, pathetic folk mostly. And yet in this frenetic social media world, high-profile world, some have figured out a way to make use of  Troll-anger by deliberately prodding them through triggering their intense dislike of anyone with a high and arguably self-congratulatory profile. Or if not Trolls, selecting the triggers which upset people. Check this, it’s called Rage-Baiting.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gp555xy5ro

Yes, I know, worrying isn’t it? There is one thing these trigger-merchants might have overlooked. They have high profiles, they are well-known to internet users and they are upsetting a lot of folk. They might want to pause as we come around in a very wide circle and they might wish to consider the fate of Brian Thompson. And the social reaction.

Conclusion

By now we should be in the season of Cheer, Goodwill and smiling a lot at strangers….At leastways that was how we felt it should have been. And yet now we are facing the consistently ugly side of Humanity (as advertised on TV and The Internet) how do we put the blood red genie back in the bottle?

6th November 2024. When Hope and Faith Are Being Tested To Breaking Point

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Strolling

A time to get the initial feelings of sorrow, the disappointment and the fear out of our systems before we take up the struggle again. 

What better way that music?

 

When it just gets too much


Just like the Seneca*
I have lost my place
And where I’ve been planted now
Soon will be shaken
And just like the Seneca, it’s a losin’ race

Too soon tomorrow will come, and nighttime’s awakening
Brings forth a melody I’ve heard before

Oh my god, must it be so hard
Just to breathe and love and learn to be man
I am doing all I can

Too soon tomorrow
Nighttime delay its pace
Too soon tomorrow becomes yesterday
Too soon tomorrow
Nighttime delay its pace
Too soon tomorrow becomes yesterday

Oh my god, must it be so hard
Just to breathe and love and learn to be man
Oh my god, must it be so hard
Just to breathe and love and learn to be man
I am doing all I can
Yeah

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seneca_people

Of course….

And also:

Feel free to add your own suggestions or create your own Lamentation Play List

weeping-statue-of-liberty

To all my very good friends in the USA from the UK.

We are with you, you millions who can see beyond the cheap words, and what the folly the rest may bring upon you

A Spectre to be Exorcised (Communal Violence)- A Repeated from 2022

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Uncle Sam

I Am Looking To You To Do Your Patriotic Duty

Precursor: I originally wrote this post on the 8th May 2022. It featured in another blog of mine where I deal with grim subjects – The World As It Is. Not As It Should Be. Now it seems that WP’s response to my posting a recent link to this post has result in WP saying it cannot find it….. Ah well, let us not get diverted in the various whimsies that are WP’s speciality.

Thus here is a Copy & Paste of that post is here for your consideration. It may be too late to do anything about what might happen in the USA on and after the 5th of November 2024, and the subsequent ramifications across the world- for you are one of three largest and most globally influential nation states. Instead think of this as either a warning to keep to the legal and civil side of resistance against the tide of Ignorance, Hate and Falsehoods, or worst case a preparation for Discord.

Foreword

This post has to be long. Histories have to be considered. Social tides and trends examined. That most troublesome of all factors Human Nature faced. It is hoped you find this grim reading, but not sensationalist. This is a precursor for you to discuss in your homes, your blogs, your meeting places. These words are based on histories of communal violence throughout the world. Including the USA. I have tried to be apolitical, most of the time. It is not always possible. Blame has to be laid in places.

Introduction

The present view that so politically polarised the USA has become, a civil war could take place has moved from blog site discussion onto the mainstream where more sober assessments are. For example:

Brookings in the following assessment of September 2021 concluded there was a sizeable proportion of the USA population who were of this mindset:

Is the US headed for another Civil War? (brookings.edu)

In January of 2022 an article in the UK Guardian raised this possibility along the lines of the UK’s own experience in Ulster

Is the US really heading for a second civil war? | US politics | The Guardian

Overview

It should be borne in mind that Racism, Intolerance, Profiling and Subjugation  are regrettably part of the Human Construct. No race, people, community, grouping, belief system have been free of it. So it is within the USA.

Although legislation and more constructive outlooks made moves to minimise the effects of these corrosions it requires a mammoth task of social engineering to purge them. Something which would challenge even the most efficient and established of authoritarian states.

Thus not the passing phase of the 1960s counter-culture whose short tenure could reduce it to arguably a fashion. Instead it was in the deep-rooted places of a Human Insecurity in sections of The White Community fed by the fear of loss of position in society where the nascent rebellions would grow.

The US involvement in Vietnam with a cost of wasted blood and treasure, left on one side a sense of worthless loss, on the other an anger at some sort of betrayal at home; possibly the first cultural fracture line in The White Community; the dominant group within the USA. These would be played out in the Culture Wars. Not enough attention being given to the mindset which gave rise to the Oklahoma City Bombing of 19th April 1995; this was the warning.

Then in the opening years of the 21st Century came two tipping points:

9/11 and the election of an African American into the Whitehouse, twice with majorities. The former had shaken America and set loose more of those toxic fantasies Conspiracy Theories, for the long term trust in government of the USA as dangerous as any handgun. In the case of the latter, the fact he was a Democrat made the backlash easier for one element of the White Community. Had Colin Powell or Condoleezza Rice accepted a Eisenhower type draft and won, the Republican Party and Fundamentalist Right would have suffered a truly existential crisis. But they had a black democrat. This made everything much easier.

Civil Discord (The Path to Communal Violence)

It is now necessary to move from the historical to consider the dynamics of civil discord  which lead to a break down in the common currency of discourse, bargaining, and the tacit, sometimes humorous acceptance of tribal lines.

Firstly the notion that ‘There is no Democracy’ has to be put aside, for people are able within the USA take to  the streets, the airwaves, the internet to give voice to their feelings. Thus there is freedom of speech and action, however in an atmosphere of heightened feeling this freedom comes with  tensions and reactions. The first tension arises when people feel their views are not being listened to, or being stifled. The second tension arises when those frustrations are inflamed by the feeling ‘The Other Side’ are not just ignoring, but are seen to be imposing. At this point there occurs a fault line when a shared perception results in ‘The Other Side’ being seen as a threat and there can be no discourse, the only facet shared by both sides being this mindset. At this stage both sides will feel the need to demonstrate, one will feel it is defending, the other will perceive this as aggression, engendered through the fault line affect. Initially it will be seen one side is more aggressive and assertive thus encourage within them a certain sense of triumphalism. This adds to the danger as in playing to its own support it fails to take into account that the very forces which placed it in this position will also work within the opposition. There is made a fundamental error that the triumphant side  can use Democracy and the Other Side will adhere to that rule. In addition some of its more strident supporters will feel the leaders are not strong enough and perceive the need to be ready to defend or if necessary attack with unconstitutional force. The stance sets within The Other Side the feeling they had better prepare. You need only scroll the internet to see that the ridiculously named ‘Snowflakes’ have been starting to own guns.

2016 to Today

To support my views in the previous section it is necessary to consider the last two presidential elections. In 2016 the victory went not to the candidate with the most votes but the electoral college votes. Thus from Day One the losing side felt robbed. A more astute winner in 2016 would have sensed the issue and navigated. By 2016 this was not wanted by the winning side and the other side were willing to take up the fight. By 2020 the lack of discourse had reached such a pitch that the losers of that election believed they had the right to seize back power because of a fraudulent election. This theme continues even now as a backdrop in the 2024 election.

The Republican Reaction as seen from The Other Side

Although cast out of the Whitehouse and seeming to fail in the courts of law, aside from the Supreme Court, the political machines now holding control of the Republican Party have been working at a pace to unravel the social, legal and communal trends of the past 50 years as they seek to defend their own ground. Instead of the usual slow, methodical  approach in this heightened tension they have sought to dismantle the processes of The History of Race Relations, Sexual Orientation and Abortion with no effort in trying to convince the opposition of their causes, they pass a simple edict. As they see it, this was done to them, it is now time to undo it. This is against the wishes of the Executive branch, the Whitehouse. Another layer of  confrontation therefore plays into the dynamic of continuing Civil Discord. In both cases ‘The Other Side’ are a threat.

Update: As it will have been noted in the schools, against the Abortion Clinics, the LGBT+ community and the refugees, the Right has seen fit not to use the politics of reasoned argument but of extreme language. Which is turn has resulted in similar response. Thus rather than try to calm down the situation, the temperature has increased so by this year 2024 the polarisation is wider.

The Acceleration of Civil Discord

In this frenetic atmosphere attention must be given to the structure of the USA at federal level. In use of the three office system: Executive (The Whitehouse). The Legislature (Congress/Senate) and Judiciary (Supreme Court) mirrored at State Level it was believed enough checks and balances had been built in. However with Conspiracy as deadly to the body politic as Covid to the population; dismay raised to horror by one group or another at the result of the last four presidential elections, the legislature abrogating its traditional and beneficial wheeler-dealing to consensus and the Supreme Court no longer perceived as a body above The Common Brawl another layer of toxicity has arisen. Belief that the system is no longer working. Either dread for the future, anger at The Other Side,  grim preparation to defend the home becomes a norm, or violent intention to impose The Will of Our Side(s).

The Tipping Point into Communal Violence

One action leading to a sudden call to or inexorable slide to fully conventionally armed groups is not how this will start. In a nation nearly inured to gun crime you might even miss the start; another shooting, unless of course it is between two groups. The next tranche of violent confrontations, would be by the bombs,  IEDs, the murder of prominent activists or journalists, politicians and any combination. These will be the signals the Tipping Point has been reached. This will lead to the ‘No Go Areas’, the latter being underscored by some very unwise incursion by one group into another and the subsequent ambush. It would appear police are already experiencing these; the next step in this will be the targeting of individual officers. From here will come the targeting of official buildings of government, of one party or another, and then for some twisted thought process a hospital, parents might well start to keep children away from school, seeing the history of school killings this would hardly be surprising.

In this atmosphere although groups will be surveyed, there will be the under the radar individuals for each person has their own tipping point. In recent years I have read the remarks of avid anti-war believers and pro-gun control supporters intimating or outright suggest a violent response is a feasible solution. You will never know when the normally placid person will take a gun with the specific purpose of solving a problem, or the group who decided to investigate how to make bombs, because they’ve been pushed too far. Of course each of these actions will bring the reaction.

The Institutionalisation of Violence

One fatalistic view is, considering the level of gun crime, this state is already in place. However the level can become more intense, once armed groups with names and agenda become seen by one community or another as legitimate alternative police or local guard. There is another level though, this being when the group imposes upon the community a code of behaviour and underground tax to support them, the tax does not have a right of appeal either. With this comes disputes within the group and rivalries with other groups. Hardened now by violence and fuelled by suspicion the violent solution is seen as the norm. And of course wherever there is chaos and violence goes crime, gangs would quite naturally seek to impose their own will either to take over a group or keep a group out of their activities. Those who felt it was only necessary to parade in paramilitary style in a threatening way will find themselves quite out of their depths as a fearful natural selection takes place.

The Official Response.

This is where matters are not so predictable. The National Guard would of course be called in to areas where the police are losing control. Being in a local part-time force with local affiliation it has to be assumed that members or groups within the guard will have sympathies, or feel a certain intimidation. Direct and open large scale mutinies would be very unlikely but expecting all The Guard to be a faceless, emotionless unified body acting only for the defence of Stability and safety of all is naïve, there will be fractures.

The Security Services be they Police, FBI, NSA etc would face the same pressures from within. Also they being closer to the body politic and the civil viewpoint would be in the position of doing deals or reaching accords with whichever group or groups they feel they can work with. In all civil discord this is an ugly fact. Whether in a federal system such as the USA this would be a uniform approach is again highly unlikely.

Whether or not the Armed Forces become involved would depend on whether the nation is still governable as a working state comparable with the pre-violent situation:

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”  Is open to interpretations, if some decide ‘The President’ is not legally ‘The President’. One thing would be certain, the element of internal security and supervision of members of the armed forces would be increased. Forget Conspiracies. Think of Factionalism.

The Resulting Political Overview

In this area prediction is near impossible, as a great deal would depend on the strength of character of individuals around which groups marshal. There are many possibilities. One of the least worst outcomes would be the fragmentation of the current USA into states which have autonomy. Washington, The Whitehouse and Capitol Hill being reduced to places of symbolism and the possible headquarters of Americanised versions of The EU and NATO, in an attempt to shore up America from outside influences while making workable the large armed forces and corporation based trading systems onto the world stage. How workable this would be is beyond the scope of this post.

Conclusion

Whereas The Ulster Conflict was conducted under a higher level of government the situation in the USA has the potential to reach up to the highest levels as already demonstrated and this is a most distressing situation. Thus what can a US citizen fearful for this scenario do? My suggestion is to voice your concerns, not in a partisan way from your own standpoint but as an appeal to stop this slide. Raise this spectre which everyday seems to draw an inch nearer. Demand of your representatives a return to consensus. Warn them, that they in the final analysis in any failure to bring discourse and consensus to the issues; that they in pandering to, or failing to confront the extremist levels will be complicit in the deaths of their fellow citizens. Raise this in conversation. Not as a warning to prepare, but as a concern as to what might come. The concern must become a talking point in the run up to the next elections. The violent minorities must be marginalised and the conspiracies put back in the toy box.

An Update in Late October 2024

A Formulaic View of The Acceleration of Civic Discord

Regrettably what passes as rhetoric by the republican candidate and his running mate suggests that neither have much concern about what effect they are having on any opposition, in that they are playing only to their own and on the fears of the undecided. They are therefore playing with matches in a forest in a high summer’s drought. And the groups feeling the subject of hate and discrimination I will repeat this formulae for you based on a possibility of the result of the presidential election, itself based on current polls:

160 million votes cast
Trump wins by 82 millions to 78 million. That’s 78,000,000 folk upset about the result.
10% are very, very angry . That’s 7,800,000 angry folk.
10% of that 7,800,000 are so angry they feel their way of Life and Democracy is seriously threatened, the feeling parallel to if the nation was invaded. That’s 780,000.
1% of the 780,000 feel the new administration and its supporters in the states are now viable targets. That’s 7,800. A very small number, but how many of the others tucked away the previous number have a sympathy that ‘does not yet speak it’s name,’ .
The 7,800 start to go public and as stated above with it make those inflammatory statements and acts. A similar reaction arises within the ranks of the supporters of Trump.

And so it begins. Not ranks as in the Civil War, but the covert groups as we in the UK saw in Northern Ireland, no central control, agendas within agendas and legal access to so many guns.

Violence be it is war or communal discord contains its own grim logic and thus inevitability.

Take heed. But look not to the gun. Look to Democracy while it still gasps for breath. Look to the Law. Look to the Passive Civil Disobedience. Cling to and nurture Hope. Never give up. Support the Persecuted. Speak with those who are only broadly conservative. Defy The Hate-Mongers. Convince or Warn the Uncertain. Keep on.

Prove my unhappy words to be just written out of Fear and not out of Histories.

Before You Go Any Further on Palestine

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Protests at DNC

Foreword / Forewarning : We are going to some very unpleasant places, where choices have to be made in which no one wins all that they want. There is no easy out either, it’s so narrow, even not getting involved is a choice, and maybe when considering the stakes and options, the very worst. Welcome to the Reality of The World. Accept the harsh facts. What ever you will do, you have to hope it was the least worst option. Bleak? I am afraid so. For many around this world, even in your home region, it is a way of Life. Read on. 

It is understandable that folk are upset, angry, furious or incandescent at what has been taking place in the Gaza region of the Middle East. Even though there is a fearful and dread predictability to it, you only have to travel a few hundred miles north to learn the same type of slaughter took place a decade and less ago; the difference being at least in the UK the demonstrations were not to get involved at all, apparently Assad was entitled to slaughter his own people and the government was criticised for trying to get involved.

Yes folk should be horrified. At any slaughter or mass abuse. I have listed them before, if you don’t know about any others I would suggest checking on Wikipedia under ‘Genocide’. Of course folk will tell me the difference now is that the ‘our’ governments are supporting Israel and supplying arms. This is a good and relevant argument, in part that is, for the simple, grim, unavoidable reason that this event in Gaza is not taking place in isolation. One of the many factors it is linked to is what is and will be taking place in the USA from now until 5th November 2024. The stark choice between a possibly less than perfect Democratic candidate of Kamala Harris and thence her administration, and the manifestation of all that is wrong with the USA’s political and social judgement Donald Trump along with the cabal of Right Wing reaction behind him. The forces which are restricting women’s right to abortion, censoring to what can be read in schools, intimidating the right to walk safely in public places by allowing guns to be proliferated, the persecution of the right to be of any sexual orientation, the eradicating of an administration staffed by folk who do not necessarily agree,  with the president and of course whether you will be allowed not to believe in a god of their manufacture. Make no mistake it will be one or the other. Make no mistake if Trump is let back in at a time of his own questionable judgement there will be a whole group of folk with him with their own agendas, and as long as they feed his ego that will be just fine.

There are folk demonstrating at the Democrat Convention, raising the political tensions. Distracting for events in their own back yard, truth be known. There appear to be some 750,000 voters who have made much of being undecided about voting democrat because of the current administration’s support for Israel. As unpleasant as they might find that stance, I cannot see what solace they would have in by withholding their votes and possibly allowing a Trump administration in, or how they would believe that administration would be sympathetic to the Palestinians. And this is a terrible fact. If this body of voters withhold their votes and by default Trump gets in, then they will be complicit in whatever fate befalls the Palestinians.

And it gets worse. Not just the Palestinians but the Ukrainians. Does anyone need reminding that for some twisted reasoning many Republicans like Putin, he is their kind of guy. And if that were not bad enough. Read back to the summary two paragraphs above. Withhold those votes let Trump in and those 750,000 will be complicit in the misery of women with unwanted or dangerous pregnancies, the fear gripping the LGBT communities in many states, the pressure on teachers to teach ‘The Right Way’, the questionable religious indoctrination of communities, the intimidation of minorities and of course the pardoning of several individuals found guilty of riot and assault on the seat of government.

By now I can imagine some readers may be shaking their head or howling at my words. Demanding what solution do I have then? Am I content to let an extreme religiously fundamentalist government slaughter thousands. Firstly I would have to say ‘no’ and then follow up with asking where were those asking that question when previous genocides were taking place? If you care, you don’t get to pick and chose which Crime Against Humanity you feel is worthy of your attention. Secondly and more importantly at this juncture, at this crossroad, at this challenge  to the stability and democracy of The USA do you, questionnaire feel you have the right to destabilise or hinder an attempt by the forces of true Democracy and Tolerance to halt the march of Intolerance and Regression in your own land? Because by your demonstrations and your other actions that is exactly what you are doing.

Some choice huh? Get behind a government that supports Israel or allow another in which will not just support but encourage Israel. There is no ‘wriggle room’ here. There is no space to shout loudly  in one direction and refuse to support them because they are not being perfect for you. When the Harsh Realities surface on your newsfeeds because everyone knows that the Middle East makes good copy, there are no simple choices involved. Not now. It’s not as simple as it was in previous wars. There has been one going on in your own backyard these past twenty years and it really heated up when an African American was voted in twice to the Whitehouse.

And there is the grimmest of all choices. You stick to your outrage, and you risk letting Trump back in. 

Simple as that.

Welcome to the Rest of the World. There are people making choices like this all over the world. Compromise, take the least worst path, for the alternative will come back to haunt you.   

No escape from that. You can’t switch it off like a TV or a Video Game.     

When You Can See From The Side You Hate

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Left SideRight Side

Riots in the UK. The first of the volumes are being written, of course the political ones, then the social ones and the analytical ones. While there are the excruciatingly narrow-minded blatherings or one liners on social media.

And everyone seems to have forgotten that there are families in a town called Southport who are experiencing unimaginable grief, and there are children whose once young, joyous lives are now permanently engraved with the image of a knife-wielding man stabbing, slashing, stabbing; blood, blood, screams. Yes, let’s not dwell on that. Far better to scream, rage, hate, simmer or slump into a corner as the fog despair seeps in under doors, through cracks in on the air.  At some stage we might pay attention to the twisted motivation or cause of that attack.

Currently the riots are the thing. So maybe the people of Southport can grieve in some sort of privacy from a media swarm whose attentions are elsewhere.

So what about the mindset of those mobs? What were those motivations? What was racing through them? Can you comprehend even beginning to answer those questions? Does you disgust at the actions simply have you justifiably recoil?

WARNING: The expression of very strong views will follow. You may be upset, you may recoil. You may encounter triggers. You may even be upset with yourself for agreeing. It is not my intention to win over coverts. The intention is to take those chose to follow into a Mindset. A lesson? A warning? A sharing? There won’t be any answers here. Just illustrations. Sorry about that.  

The anger is a constant. I cannot abide the extremism birthed out of ignorance, prejudice, nor because someone read something on social media and straightways took it to heart. I care not the political affiliation, nor the cause. I despise in equal measure the bigot on the Right and the single subject protestor on the Left. Though for the latter it is an analytical contempt for choosing only one subject for one reason and not for embracing others in equal suffering.

When it comes to the Right and their violent physical bullying foul mothed degenerate hate. Well, all reason goes out of the window and my urge is to respond in equal measure. To pay like with like. Orders to the police ‘Arrest and contain with extreme prejudice’. Recall parliament. Announce a state of emergency could be declared. Warning to any newspaper on the Right or legal politicians that unless you support the authorities you are against them and we will shut you down. More arrests. Those arrested paced in currently empty military camps under military guard. Announcement to the public to report any hate speech or support of hate speech or anything sympathetic seen on social media to be reported to The authorities (text, Whats App, phone number, Gov.UK web site supplied). Aggressive social media response to the Right. Message to Elon Musk or anyone outside of the UK to keep out. If Russia or Iran were involved in mis-information set up units to reply in kind on their own doorsteps. Bring any UK right wing activists home by all means available. Let the world know whoever they are the UK govt is playing by the Big Boys and Girls rules.

It’s all very bizarre actually. Thinking like Putin or Lukashenko of Belarus when it comes to domestic policy on any disruption, agreeing with their methods when not their reasons. But then I have always been inclined to respond that way when nudged. Irrational, visceral, extreme response to any perceived threat to my way of life, to my set of ‘values’. Response and not consequences. As long as there is the chance to lash out at the foe. As long they can be seen being crushed under foot and so battered they can’t rise again…… There must be something wrong there somewhere. Talking and reasoning one way, preaching about seeking the middle, rational ground, while knowing that down, just below the surface simmers, crouching The Beast. Ready to spring on anyone of a very long list of potential ‘threats’ (to me anyway). But as I have argued, I am very broadminded when it comes to who or what qualifies as a threat, political, social or religious. If they are intolerant, bigoted, ignorant of the facts, a threat to the stability of the whole community; they go on the list. Never negotiate with diseases. That’s what I say. Say. Say.

Actually when it comes down to it. When you consider the folk of Southport’s own response, the Mosque where they came out to talk and give food to protestors

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c84jjv7kp1wo

When thousands came out across the UK to stifle another round of Right-Wing protests:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cy8497l7dx8t

When the authorities are going about the business in a lawful, administrative way :

See above.

Well then, look at me. Poster-Boy for the emotional motivation of those Right-Wing thugs. Just the sort to react to the media and inflame the situation. The guy who every time he has put up a political post there has been a sometimes subtle, sometime not, sub-textual slap in the face for an extremist. For I am very extreme in my hate of extremists. Yes, beneath the emotional skin I am not so different. Beware folks, beware. The extremists come in all shapes and sizes, tones and means of argument. Hypocrisy?……Me?……Gosh. I can’t stand it! Nothing worse than folk who say one thing and think another….Err…whoops?

Yes…definitely Mea Culpa time. Or to be sardonically humorous about it, taking a leaf out of my Far Left wing inclinations and having a dose of ‘self-criticism’ (which was actually a communist regime’s process of getting scapegoats to take the blame for something to state had done wrong).

And there you are a look inside the sort of convoluted mindset that was going on in those riots. Nothing pretty, nothing reasonable, nothing noble, nothing justifiable, nothing constructive. Just a Nothing. That’s how I know. I visit there. Far too often.

And sorry to everyone for not replying much to your tireless posts, it takes a lot of effort to keep The Beast chained up and to heel. Once it was loose I’d never really know where it was going to lash out, or how.

But let’s end on a lighter note:

My daughter Meg who is a Matron Midwife in Barnet, within the general region of London offered to her Muslim staff the chance to go home early if they wanted to. To a woman they said they would stay.

‘Hi Meg. Mum was showing me your txt msgs
Manager to manager – Dad to daughter let me say how proud of you I am for offering your Muslim Staff the opportunity to leave work early. Now that is management. Well done.
Also if you feel it is correct to do so let those staff know from me they displayed true courage, true devotion and true care to this country. Each one of them is worth fifty of that rioting trash. Bless you. Bless them’ 

Maybe it makes up for a week spent internally raging.

Now a deep breath, and get back to writing, reading and reviewing fiction. I said a while back I was going to do a lot more of that. I should be, I really should be.