by Rab Bruce’s Spider

I’ve made several aborted attempts to put my concerns about the current state of politics into a readable article. Sadly, it has proved to be very difficult to express things in the way I’d like without coming across as some sort of sanctimonious zealot.

I remain angry at what is happening, but I’ve confined myself to a couple of comments which I hope will resonate with others.

First, I am increasingly concerned that the move to the far Right by elected leaders in the UK and USA could have disastrous consequences. I hope I’m wrong, but both nations are already deeply divided and the push to extremism may result in a violent reaction from those on the Left. That won’t do anyone any good and, if it happens, will only result in the authoritarian Right Wing Governments becoming even more extreme. What we need is common sense, strong political opposition to the Far Right, not protests about the result of elections which we don’t like.

Secondly, I am appalled by the media in the UK which is attempting to portray both the Brexit politicians and Donald Trump as holding views which are perfectly normal. Of course, the newspapers have pushed the Hate agenda for years, demonising foreigners, the poor, the unemployed and the disabled, and they are only going to become more extreme now that their hate-mongering has virtually become official Government policy.

The BBC cannot escape criticism either. They have promoted Nigel Farage and UKIP at every opportunity, and are now openly giving platforms to Fascists who are permitted to expound their doctrines with virtually no challenge, while anyone on the Left of politics is mercilessly grilled on every tiny aspect of their agenda.

The thing we must all keep in mind is that these authoritarian, Far Right views are not normal. Donald Trump has shown himself to be a xenophobic, homophobic, misogynist racist. Theresa May and her Brexit Ministers have also displayed xenophobic tendencies and are likely to take encouragement from Trump’s election success. I fully expect to see further examples of authoritarian extremism from Westminster.

But none of this is normal! It is merely the latest symptom of the increasingly Rightward drift of the political mainstream. It is only portrayed as normal because journalists know their paymasters wish to retain their positions as part of the wealthy elite. It is in the interests of the media to assure citizens that every harm done to them, every instance of public services being cut, every example of the wealthy and of corporate entities avoiding paying tax is perfectly normal. This is because the neo-liberal system suits those in the upper echelons of society. They want a docile, unquestioning public who are too afraid of losing their jobs; they want things to stay just the way they are. That’s why they’ll tell us that there is nothing to fear from Trump or May, why they’ll tell us that anyone who disagrees is a bigot, a fool or naïve.

There is only one way to counter this barrage of propaganda. If you must listen to the mainstream News, don’t accept what they tell you at face value. They have an agenda, so please find alternative sources of information to counter the propaganda. And don’t buy the newspapers which peddle hatred. The best way to hurt them is by not buying their papers.

Then, when you get the chance in the ballot box, show the Far Right that it is not they who are normal, it is the rest of us.