The far-right rioted again last night.
Fuelled by racial hatred, misinformation, disinformation, and utterly inappropriate comments from Farage, hundreds rioted in London and Hartlepool.
It is important to note that the numbers are small.
It is as important to note that these actions are as clearly co-ordinated as was the rioting in Southport the day before.
What we are seeing is deliberate provocation, fuelled by racial hatred.
It was the cynical manipulation of that sentiment that led to Brexit, and all the divisions that flowed from it.
These sentiments mimic the racist attacks of Trump and others on Obama in the US, which sentiment is now being viciously turned on Kamala Harris by the spreading of total untruths. Trump's aim there would appear to be to make racism acceptable.
And this is how fascism works. Undoubted, and even justified, grievances that people have are inflamed by the blaming of ‘others', who are usually immigrants or people considered to be members of ethnic minorities, who are blamed for the perceived injustice. The solution then ceases to be the resolution of the injustice and turns into hatred of the ‘other'.
That works for those fomenting the hatred.
It is only too late that those used by the creators of fascist narratives to create the disruption in society realise that they are the actual ‘other' those creating the fascist sentiment might actually dislike most of all, and for whom they can all easily become expendable, as Putin is proving.
What is the answer to this? I keep saying it is to root out the cause of the grievances in our society. We do have inequality. We have government failing to invest in regions. We have fear about climate change. And in areas where unemployment is a threat and wages are low of course there is economic vulnerability.
It is a falsehood to pretend these things cannot be addressed. They could be. But that would upset those who have become very comfortable after years of austerity. There is a significant class who have done very well from Osborne and all who have followed him, with it looking horribly like Reeves wants to join their number right now.
We cannot defeat the far-right without changing the economy we have, which delivers far too much reward to too few. The balance has to be reset. But will that happen? That's the question, because it's not the rioters who will really deliver fascism, even if that is what they want. It's those who sit by in comfort and refuse to change anything so that those treated unfairly get a fair share who will really deliver fascism.
What will the comfortable classes do?
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It is very wise for you to link these events with what has been previously identified on this blog as the continuing failure of the Neo-liberal ideology. An ideology that has run its course and is in some sort of zombie stage. It’s only answer is more of the same – and in that, its self interest is reified, and its real objective exposed.
People want answers and change and there is that frustration in these events here too. However, quite how the raiding of a local shop in Southport and the stealing of its contents counts as a statement of political frustration is beyond me and always will be.
My only additional comment is that we cannot defeat the right until we have dealt with the same things that enabled BREXIT and the Johnson government: the cynical use of social media and how it is funded. The dis-information wars.
This issue has still not been dealt with in our politics and really needs to be or this sort of thing is likely to continue and also get worse.
Corrupt Scammer & Co drop second stage of Leveson Inquiry presumably to keep Rupert Murdoch happy:-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leveson_Inquiry
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/jul/31/gordon-brown-tom-watson-news-international-william-lewis-rupert-murdoch
https://www.theguardian.com/media/article/2024/jul/25/keir-starmer-confirms-he-has-no-plans-to-revive-second-stage-of-leveson-inquiry
What chance now of keeping the media accountable in regard to not promoting racism?
Thank you for a wisely warning article!
Might Neoliberal austerity have been and be an intro to full bloom fascism?
Might the 1988 and 2010 Education Acts have facilitated and facilitate forms of mass education which made and make students un-analytically questioning, limited in enquiring for themselves and, basically, unhealthily tolerant of what they are told and what is done for/to them?
Good question to which the answer is almost certainly yes
There is a misinformation and disinformation expert who I follow on social media. He is pretty clear that this is a case of misinformation. The riots were not the intent of the originator. A journalist by the name Katherine Denkinson has done some excellent work uncovering the story. I suggest to look up her articles on the matter. Much better written than what I could do. And the story is much bigger and worse than I imagined yesterday.
Those that are to blame will not take responsibility. And they well deny that the far right exists even when I and others see the riots and hatred on the streets.
The choice is clear, the comfortably off either invest in barbed wire, guns and ammunition or the NHS, housing, education and transport.
Today is Earth Overshoot Day…
Yet another persistent failing of capitalism and specifically neoliberalism.
So much for the free market involving the optimal allocation of resources.
In the UK Overshoot Day is 3rd June.
We continue to ignore resource allocation and over consumption at our children and grandchildren’s peril.
https://overshoot.footprintnetwork.org/newsroom/country-overshoot-days/
The ‘comfortable classes’ have always had a collective hang up about talking about money. By extension those hang ups apply to inequality. It can be subtle, but it is pervasive and deflecting. That sets the tone for those you are hung out by inquality.
“When someone says ‘It’s not the money, it’s the principle,’ nine times out of ten, it’s the money.”
Thank you and well said, Richard.
Bit late to the blog today due to office matters.
On my way in, a friend who lives in what was the 2012 Olympic village reports that, overnight, Muslim neighbours have been attacked and their flats sprayed with graffitti.
That is grim