A better understanding of intersectionality
I’ve got a basic understanding of the concept of intersectionality and how the prejudices against overlapping identities can stack and reinforce each other. But it’s always good to learn a little more.
racism
The internet rise of Britain’s far-right
On my list of possible subjects for a story is the threat of far-right violence and terrorism. I don’t have a specific hook for this story yet,
but I am collecting background information for research.
(And getting worried for my country as I do.)
Today, though, there is an autonomous mass of far-right activists propagating hate independently of formal far-right organisations, some of which we have outlined in our new report out today, State of Hate 2018. Some of the biggest names in this world are from the UK and they have global audiences. Many of the largest and most influential far-right sites in the world are visited by huge numbers of UK activists.
Source: Britain’s far-right keyboard warriors are taking advantage of our complacency
There are things worth rioting about right now
Like Marcus Brigstocke’s religion rant, this could become one of those Now Show snippets that needs regularly repeating. I’d rather it didn’t, but with arson attacks on mosques starting, I don’t hold out much hope.
The other extremists 14
I subscribe to the RSS feeds of a few reactionary bigots. They’re good to quote when I want to show how stupid some people’s arguments are and their reality-free beliefs can be amusing.
Admittedly, calls for Gordon Brown to be tried as a traitor because he made a bad financial decision (particularly after fantasising about stringing up “traitors”) don’t seem so funny after Friday’s events in Norway. I don’t think that Stewart Cowan- the quoted blogger, who wants treason redefined around his evidence free conspiracy theories- is going to take up arms against a sea of secular humanists any time soon, but there exist in this country those who might.
Let’s not forget that the UK’s biggest cache of weapons and chemicals hoarded for terror purposes was held by a bunch of white racists, that before 7/7 probably the worst bombing campaign on the mainland was carried out by a racist homophobic idiot (and before that it was the Irish) and that just last year a white racist was jailed for trying to mix up Ricin for his own terror campaign (his son was jailed for having copies of books you can get from Amazon, but that’s a different matter).
It would be nice to think that these events, and before that the decades long IRA campaign, would give we Brits a longer view on terrorism. It would be nice if everybody didn’t cry “Al Quaeda” before the evidence was in. But that’s not how it works. And that’s dangerous, as all the history we so quickly forget shows.
So my mockery of dumb, faith based* prejudices doesn’t seem as much fun now. Which means it’s even more important to continue. Luckily for me, God’s self appointed representative in Salford is back blogging after a hiatus. On Friday he decided to tell us what is wrong with modern Policing. Can you guess what the problem is? (Yes, you’re right, it’s homosexuals- or “homopervuals” as Carvath likes to say- with a side order women. It’s always homosexuals with Richard Carvath, he’s obsessed, and no amount of fantasising about having to save WPCs when “serious and organised” criminals come and kick in his door is going to make any of us think he’s not in denial.) At least some of the reactionaries are still good for a laugh.
A couple of more serious posts on this subject, by people who have stronger stomachs and have looked deeper into the abyss that is the reactionary belief system-
Where Worlds Collide: The Al-Queda of the West?
Little Green Footballs: The Oslo Terrorist’s ‘Counter-Jihad’ Ideology
*I don’t mean religion here, these guys cling to their beliefs in overarching conspiracies and impossibly complex plans with ill defined aims ever tighter when presented with evidence of how ludicrous they are. That sounds like blind faith to me.
Still saying nothing with numbers 2
Not satisfied with simply being homophobic and mysoginist, would be holy warrior Richard Carvath is branching out into racism*. He’s terrified that Mohammed was the 16th most popular name for baby boys in 2009. 16th! All the good white Christian folk are going to be ground under the heels of the Allah chanting brown hordes!
Except that there were 15 more popular names (here’s the top 100). Oliver was most popular- we’re in danger of being overrun by urchins! Harry was third- prepare for the speccy wizard apocalypse! Alfie was fourth- fear the coming wave of cockney lotharios! Etc.**
I know what Carvath thinks he’s saying- the muslim community is growing fast enough for one of their most popular boy’s names to slot into the list amongst all the properly Christian christian names. Something should be done! Because we all know that every single muslim is only one halal burger away from exploding and killing himself and everyone around him.
This fear of a brown neighbour is really weak and quite cowardly. People like Carvath who talk tough about fighting the “evil Mohammedan cult” reveal a lack of faith in the strength of their own beliefs. If they were so sure they were right they’d just go out there and sell their own religion. The only long term solution to religious extremism is secularism and humanism. Politicians need to stop pandering to those who whine loudest about the rights they demand because of their imaginary friend.
*I know that prejudice against Islam isn’t strictly racist, but it’s a fair bet that when Carvath says “Muslim” he’s thinking of brown men with beards, often wearing non Western styles of clothing.
**Jack was second. I can’t think of a cliche associated with Jack. Sorry.
If you know these people turn them in
Up to 20 Muslim graves have been targeted and vandalised at a cemetery in south Manchester.
The vandals struck at the Southern Cemetery on Barlow Moor Road overnight on Thursday.
Staff found the Muslim section of the cemetery littered with broken headstones on Friday morning.
Det Con Rob Southern said: “Sadly, we are treating this as a hate crime. This sort of mindless, racist behaviour must be utterly condemned.”
Police appealed to anyone who has information to come forward.
Southern Cemetry’s a short walk from casa Spinneyhead. I’ve heardx about Jewish graves being vandalised before. Whether it turns out to be the same group of morons remains to be seen.
The joy of homegrown terrorism
In the USA Homeland Security recently released two reports. One assessed terror threats from left wing groups- environmentalists burning cars, anti-vivisectionists targetting scientists etc.- one from right wing groups. The report on the lefties didn’t cause any fuss- the dangers are recognised and the only people defending such extreme actions are the ones carrying them out. But the right wing report caused all sort of controversy as self important pundits and Republican senators competed to shout loudest about how conservatives were being maligned by the mere suggestion that white people might participate in terrorism.
Then an abortion doctor was shot in his church, the guard at a Holocaust museum was killed by a white supremacist and a gun nut killed three police officers. The poor victimised conservatives are a bit quieter now, apart from the ones trying to argue that Hitler was a Socialist and therefore the anti-semitic killer was a liberal.
We don’t have quite such a collection of idiots over here, though Richard Littlejohn and Melanie Phillips are trying to make up for that. But we do have a bias of reporting and opinion that the ones we should be scared of are all muslims. What we don’t get is anything more than a passing reference to the other people who’d like to kill those they don’t agree with. The biggest haul of weaponry recovered by the Police belonged to a bunch of white racists and another, arrested for something else entirely, was planning a bombing campaign against the “non-British”.
Daily Mail- it’s okay to be racist if you do it with a smile.
Irony is a writer for the Daily Mail calling other people “pious, pompous, prudish, sanctimonious, semi-hysterical, self-righteous, mealymouthed, whining prigs”. Andrew Alexander thinks it’s okay to give someone a nickname that may sound, to anyone with a brain and some sensitivity, crass and insulting. In that spirit, I shall call him Tosser from now on. Me old mate Tosser thinks it’s a terrible shame that people have pointed out that Paki is a word loaded with racist overtones. He seems to be arguing that as Prince Harry’s used it it’s been given the Royal seal of approval as an acceptable way to refer to our brown friends.
Tosser’s argument is doubly pathetic because of the paper publishing it. The Daily Mail has an editorial policy of being offended by everything and anything that doesn’t fit into its narrow world view and is the loudest source of pious nonsense in the country.
Fear of an Arab planet
It seems that Arab is the new code word for Black amongst the US’s closet racists. This is so they can claim to be making comments on Barack Obama’s name rather than what they’re really doing, which is jumping up and down and shouting “Don’t vote for the nigger!”
It’s going to be an interesting, and probably very depressing, election over there.
Blame Canada
Racists in the southern states of the US have taken to using the cover word “Canadian” when talking about blacks, probably because they’re too stupid to think that people will work it out if they keep using it. From now on we shall use a cover word when referring to these rednecks. I think Morons is a good one.
I was only joking when I said I'd like to smash every tooth in your head
Morrisey, who’s so proud to be British that he lives in Rome, has opened his bigmouth again and claimed that immigration is destroying the “British identity”. He may not be an out and out BNP level racist, or at least he claims not to be, but he is a miserable idiot who’s complaining because things aren’t the way he wants them to be and thus deserves all the ridicule this interview will bring him.
That's so speciesist!
You can get a two film Ewok Adventures dvd from Amazon.
Damn those foreigners for being more English than the English!
He said: “These people have actively sought British citizenship because they want to make a contribution to the UK.
“I am not sure how many people born in this country have the same commitment. The tests for citizenship are greater than they have ever been.
“We are now turning immigrants into better citizens than people born with a British passport.”
The Daily Mail and its frothing “I’m not a racist, but…” readership are up in arms about this, and goes out of its way to cite Abu Hamza et al as examples of the sort of immigrant we’re getting, insinuating that they’re all muggers, rapists and killers. Take any million British citizens and I think you’d find a number of vile scum in the mix. I mean, a few of them would be Daily Mail readers for a start.
BNP to spoil St George's Day
Only recently has the country started to feel it can celebrate St. George’s Day without worrying that some might think they’re being racist. Sadly, a bunch of idiots want to spoil all that hard work- the BNP intend to turn up to the St. George’s parade at the end of the month and sell “patriotic merchandise”.
If I remember, I’ll be there. But I’ll be ignoring the bigots.
Could anyone ever be that angry?
The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust said up to 25% of voters said they “might vote” for the far-right party.
The BNP said the report reflected voter “tension” about multi-cultural Britain.
It sounds more like stupidity to me. If you’re angry at the way the main parties are running the country the last thing to do is vote in a bunch who could only be worse.
I’m probably voting Green in the local elections. But I need to know a bit more about who’s standing.
Technorati tag: Racists, Local Election, BNP
I was twenty-one years when I wrote this song
It’s scary, but I almost agree with David Blunkett. He’s calling for a reclaiming of pride in being English, a celebration of identity that takes nationalism away from the racists. I was thinking much the same thing yesterday whilst walking through the market they’d set up for St. Patrick’s day. (Strictly speaking, by birth at least, I’m Welsh, so what I really want to do is reclaim the Union Jack from the racists.)
(New England, by Billy Bragg, or by Kirsty McColl)
Technorati tag: England
Throw another lie on the barbie
One Serbian jouranlist’s attempts to get an apology from the Sun for their racist hatemongering reporting. Obviously, he lost.
Where the white women at?
Ben Hammersley has found a seam of disturbing, yet somehow also pathetic, race hate sites. Traditional Dress (“What European women wore before homosexual fashion designers came along.” Thank God for homosexuals is all I can say.) would be funny in isolation- some sad little moron pining for the long ago days when women and lesser races knew their place. But it’s connected to sites that publish photos of anti racists so the faithful will know who to attack.
A few years ago this wouldn’t have shocked me so much. I used to spend time searching out the darker edges of the internet with the help of sites like the late, great Hatewatch. It was quite surprising what The Gas’ servers would let through. There are people out there whose beliefs are horrendously stupid and, as Hatewatch and BH point out, we need to find them and face up to them. And subject them to the ridicule and criticism they so richly deserve.