Today, I was a significant part of a protest group on Westminster Bridge outside Parliament, standing against the recent decision to replace student maintenance grants with loans, and in favour of Labour's debate against it, which was taking place simultaneously.
I will confess to the fact that I have been a little bit torn on the subject of the grants. I receive one myself, and it has been pretty invaluable throughout my University education, and I said as much in the interview I gave to London Student last week - in fact, I'm not sure if I would have become a student were it not available to me, but I prefer not to speculate on what might have been. However, I have been reading quite a lot of debate on the matter recently, and surprisingly I did find myself questioning my own viewpoints. I think that whilst I may not be entirely convinced, those against it actually have a reasonable point about how if you borrow money from the Government it is acceptable that you are expected to pay that back once you're earning enough. It is a more reasonable point than some of the frankly idiotic comments I have received on campaigns in the past.
But before you start thinking that I'm about to do a U-turn, read on! After a great deal of thought, I came to the conclusion that no matter how reasonable the rules may be in theory, we live in the real world and there it's a very different story. The gap between the rich and the other 98% is far too wide as it is. We already have unreasonably extortionate tuition fees not enough financial support alongside them and much debt after graduating, and that is just the inequality where education is concerned! The social divide has widened and is continuing to widen, and ultimately, this is about more than just one issue. This is not about the wholly undemocratic way that the decision was made (though that was bad enough in itself, and was one of the things we were protesting about) and contrary to what a good friend of mine suggested recently, it has nothing to do with the fact that it was the Conservatives who implemented it. This is about the ideology of inequality generally, and regardless of the technicalities around it, this will discourage working-class students from education, it will put those who do decide to complete degree courses into more debt which even if they never earn enough to repay it will affect them adversely in a psychological way, and in the long run the social divide will be widened even further. Perhaps if our society was more equal I might feel differently about it - but then again, perhaps not. I became an activist in 2010 when tuition fees were raised because I felt that enough was enough and that free education should be available for all. I still believe that. In that way, arguments about the grants are a mere technicality.
The demonstration today had a lower turn-out than expected, but I can honestly say that I have rarely seen such collective enthusiasm from those who have turned out. I'm sure those attending will agree with me that there was a really exciting and positive atmosphere today. There were possibly thirty seconds or so when I was concerned that things may get confrontational, but generally the police behaved very well. It is always the police who determine whether or not a demo will get violent, but today they let us chant, they allowed us to come and go, they grudgingly allowed us to remain on the bridge for quite a long time before we moved to Parliament Square and disbanded.
Unfortunately the debate today did not go the way we had hoped. Labour's challenge was voted down, albeit by the very narrow margin of 306 to 292. It's disappointing, but no more than I expected. As always, I do not expect this to be the end of the fight. The revolution continues, both for this issue specifically and against the general ideological inequality which is ever-present in this country and worldwide. I recommend this article by Emma Yeomans in London Student (the same reporter who interviewed me for a similar article last week) for other opinions on this campaign. It features an excellent interview with my friend and colleague Aaron Parr.
I'd like to thank everyone who was there today - we had a blast and hopefully our presence may have changed something. Definitely willing and passionate about sticking at it, continuing our campaign. After all, to take inspiration from a chant, the resolution is revolution, right?
Tuesday, 19 January 2016
Tuesday, 1 December 2015
Open letter to Will Quince MP
The is the email that I have just sent to my MP, Will Quince (Conservative) concerning bombing Syria. You can also write to your local MP before tomorrow's vote. Click this link and go from there.
Dear Will Quince MP,
Dear Will Quince MP,
My name is George Harold Millman, and I'm an actor, student, blogger and political activist based in Colchester.
As you no doubt are aware, tomorrow (or from your point of view, probably today, given the time that I am writing this) is the vote on Syrian air strikes. I don't know exactly what your views on this matter are, but I would like to ask that you vote against the strikes, for the following reasons. I feel that for want of a better term, we have an 'all guns blazing' (or in this case, all planes bombing') approach when it comes to managing international relations in the Middle East. This approach has not been helpful in the past. I was only nine when the Iraq war started, and I vividly recall being taken to demonstrations calling for peace, and my parents explaining to me, in age-appropriate terms, the consequences were the war to go ahead. I'm now in my early twenties and as I have matured, I have been able to see the damage that the decisions taken by Blair and Bush twelve years ago has caused. The poverty and devastation suffered by civilians in Iraq has become even more grave than it was in the days of Saddam Hussein. I can see very little that has actually been achieved out there, and it would appear that these decisions were made more to prove that the Western world is doing something than because anyone actually thought it would help matters. I feel that the same can be said with regards to Afghanistan and Libya, and I am deeply concerned that Syria will be next on the list.
I cannot see what bombing Syria will achieve. What I can see is the levels of devastation it will cause. We are frequently told that we need to close our borders to immigrants; I personally disagree with this notion, but regardless of anyone's opinion on the matter, bombing Syria will only make matters worse. Civilians there will continue to flee for their lives to countries such as the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe - France has already closed its borders (unsurprising, given recent circumstances, but I still consider it a major blow as I think that this is what ISIS hoped to achieve). Any air strikes in Syria will not help to bring about democracy, and would undermine the UK's position as a diplomat helping to bring about a stronger political settlement. I highly doubt that it will cause any harm to ISIS, because I actually believe that ISIS expects us to bomb Syria, thereby justifying its own twisted agenda against the West. I do not think that it would put the UK into a position where we are less likely to be victims of terrorist attacks; in actual fact, most terrorist attacks have come from individuals who come from the country in which they take place. The instigators of 7/7, for example, were from Leeds. The BBC reports that the main perpetrators in Paris came from either France or Belgium. Prior to 9/11, terrorist attacks were not even considered to be synonymous with the Islamic State.
My political stance is that I will not join any political party as I wish all of my views to remain independent and not swayed by the views of the majority. I will not deny that in recent years I have found it very difficult to find any sympathy with the Conservative Party generally. However, I realise that it does contain some very good eggs - I am hopeful that you will prove to be one of them. This is not about party politics, this is about standing up against those misguided people at the top and voting the right way. I understand that David Cameron is already facing disagreement from around 20% of the Conservative Party - I implore you to be a part of that. At the vote, please take heed of what I have said, stand up and vote against bombing Syria. I will be extremely appreciative if you do.
Thanks for your attention.
Yours sincerely,
George Harold Millman
Saturday, 14 November 2015
Let us take a moment...
'Oh my God. HORRIFIED and TERRIFIED by what's happening in Paris. Any person involved in this terrorism who claims to represent Islam is a LIAR. Islam is a religion of PEACE. Muslim people are a BEAUTIFUL people of peace. These acts are an outrage against ALL people, Muslims included. Allah IS great and is MERCIFUL. These murderers do NOT represent Allah. They represent no one but Satan.'
In light of recent events, I knew that I had to write about it, but there are so many elements to this that I'm not entirely sure where to start, what angle to take or where exactly I'm going to go with it. In fact, at the time of writing this first paragraph I have not yet given this blog a title, because I think my mind will be a lot clearer once my thoughts are down.
I suppose I should start by saying that I am absolutely, without any question of a doubt, thinking of anyone who has lost a loved one in France or in any other part of the world recently. I have a couple of friends in France myself - thankfully, all are fine - and I honestly cannot imagine the worry that must have inhabited so many people's minds over the last couple of days. I think that these events have emotionally affected everyone who has heard about them, whether they had any sort of personal involvement or not.
I think a lot of people who know me will (whether they would appreciate this or not) expect me to write this blog in the angle of pointing out the many other terrorist attacks that do not get this level of coverage, such as in Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq and any other country in the world. I will quite truthfully hold my hands up and say that this is how I normally respond to this kind of occurrence and the reactions that it provokes from the media. On this occasion, however, I would say that this is only partially true. Whilst I do absolutely believe that it is disgraceful that the world seems to believe that this is tragic in Paris and normal in other countries, I would not say the reaction to the events in Paris is in any way extreme. I would say more that the reactions to terrorist attacks normally is unnecessarily low-key, rather than reactions to specific situations being extravagant.
For me personally, I feel that senseless acts of violence are senseless acts of violence, and are not indicative of any sort of wider problem in our society. I am of course entirely disturbed by the question of what causes a person to commit a suicide bombing or a mass shooting, but I am almost as disturbed by the way in which casual news consumers in the West react to something like this. Very quickly, I start to see new stories in my Facebook news feed: 'Islam is an evil evil cancer', 'Deport all terrorists' and most unpleasant of all, 'Let's close all our borders'. The fact that anyone would use the deaths of innocent people to bolster their own twisted political agenda is so disrespectful that it makes me feel physically sick. There is of course the argument that most of these people don't realise how disrespectful this is, but if anything I think that makes it even worse. There is a deliberate attempt to mislead people into scapegoating a minority group (in this case Muslims), even though anyone with any sense is aware that these people do not represent Islam in the slightest. I was going to give a lot of information on this blog about how they don't represent Islam, but frankly I actually can't be bothered. I feel like I spend half my life explaining this to people, and right now I'm just too angry to feel any motivation to change anyone's mindset. All of the information is out there, if you actually want to find out anything (and feel free to ask me for any material on the subject if you wish, I will happily oblige). If you don't, just remember that there are 1.6 billion Muslims in the world, and if Islam was actually a terrorist organisation, the rest of the world would probably be dead by now.
I now know a lot more about this blog than I did when I started (and I have named it now). I had expected this to be a lot more informative than it has turned out to be. I suppose in that way you could argue that it isn't exactly one of my better blogs. There are other elements to this to discuss, and I may well write a more cohesive blog tomorrow or in the next few days to go into detail about them, but I feel that right now is not the time. On my Facebook profile, I generated quite a lot of controversy a couple of days ago for explaining that I don't wear poppies or actively contribute to the silence on Remembrance Day. I'm not going to go into detail about the reasons for that now, but it ultimately boils down to the fact that I think that reflection should be done in one's own time, on one's own terms and in a way that breeds positive action to prevent the things one is reflecting on from happening again. So for the moment, I would like to invite all of my readers to take a moment with me, in one's own time, to reflect on anyone who has been hurt in any way by any form of senseless violence, whether in France or any other part of the world, whether in a medium commonly described as terrorism or not. And then let us wake up to a world that we are ready to make better, not by espousing hate or prejudice, not by alienating sections of the community, but by realising that we are all human beings and ultimately share a common goal of peace and love.
I started this with a quote from Sinead O'Connor. Out of all the quotes that I have read about this, I chose hers for two reasons. One is that Sinead sums it up amazingly, as she of course always does. The second is that she is a Catholic priest, and still understands about Islam. This is the attitude I think we could all do with adopting a little bit more just now - the attitude of celebrating one another and learning, regardless or whether or not we consider ourselves to be within the same individual group. And much as I love Sinead, I'm going to finish on a Katrina and the Waves song. Enjoy!
Peace and love x
Sinead O'Connor
In light of recent events, I knew that I had to write about it, but there are so many elements to this that I'm not entirely sure where to start, what angle to take or where exactly I'm going to go with it. In fact, at the time of writing this first paragraph I have not yet given this blog a title, because I think my mind will be a lot clearer once my thoughts are down.
I suppose I should start by saying that I am absolutely, without any question of a doubt, thinking of anyone who has lost a loved one in France or in any other part of the world recently. I have a couple of friends in France myself - thankfully, all are fine - and I honestly cannot imagine the worry that must have inhabited so many people's minds over the last couple of days. I think that these events have emotionally affected everyone who has heard about them, whether they had any sort of personal involvement or not.
I think a lot of people who know me will (whether they would appreciate this or not) expect me to write this blog in the angle of pointing out the many other terrorist attacks that do not get this level of coverage, such as in Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq and any other country in the world. I will quite truthfully hold my hands up and say that this is how I normally respond to this kind of occurrence and the reactions that it provokes from the media. On this occasion, however, I would say that this is only partially true. Whilst I do absolutely believe that it is disgraceful that the world seems to believe that this is tragic in Paris and normal in other countries, I would not say the reaction to the events in Paris is in any way extreme. I would say more that the reactions to terrorist attacks normally is unnecessarily low-key, rather than reactions to specific situations being extravagant.
For me personally, I feel that senseless acts of violence are senseless acts of violence, and are not indicative of any sort of wider problem in our society. I am of course entirely disturbed by the question of what causes a person to commit a suicide bombing or a mass shooting, but I am almost as disturbed by the way in which casual news consumers in the West react to something like this. Very quickly, I start to see new stories in my Facebook news feed: 'Islam is an evil evil cancer', 'Deport all terrorists' and most unpleasant of all, 'Let's close all our borders'. The fact that anyone would use the deaths of innocent people to bolster their own twisted political agenda is so disrespectful that it makes me feel physically sick. There is of course the argument that most of these people don't realise how disrespectful this is, but if anything I think that makes it even worse. There is a deliberate attempt to mislead people into scapegoating a minority group (in this case Muslims), even though anyone with any sense is aware that these people do not represent Islam in the slightest. I was going to give a lot of information on this blog about how they don't represent Islam, but frankly I actually can't be bothered. I feel like I spend half my life explaining this to people, and right now I'm just too angry to feel any motivation to change anyone's mindset. All of the information is out there, if you actually want to find out anything (and feel free to ask me for any material on the subject if you wish, I will happily oblige). If you don't, just remember that there are 1.6 billion Muslims in the world, and if Islam was actually a terrorist organisation, the rest of the world would probably be dead by now.
I now know a lot more about this blog than I did when I started (and I have named it now). I had expected this to be a lot more informative than it has turned out to be. I suppose in that way you could argue that it isn't exactly one of my better blogs. There are other elements to this to discuss, and I may well write a more cohesive blog tomorrow or in the next few days to go into detail about them, but I feel that right now is not the time. On my Facebook profile, I generated quite a lot of controversy a couple of days ago for explaining that I don't wear poppies or actively contribute to the silence on Remembrance Day. I'm not going to go into detail about the reasons for that now, but it ultimately boils down to the fact that I think that reflection should be done in one's own time, on one's own terms and in a way that breeds positive action to prevent the things one is reflecting on from happening again. So for the moment, I would like to invite all of my readers to take a moment with me, in one's own time, to reflect on anyone who has been hurt in any way by any form of senseless violence, whether in France or any other part of the world, whether in a medium commonly described as terrorism or not. And then let us wake up to a world that we are ready to make better, not by espousing hate or prejudice, not by alienating sections of the community, but by realising that we are all human beings and ultimately share a common goal of peace and love.
I started this with a quote from Sinead O'Connor. Out of all the quotes that I have read about this, I chose hers for two reasons. One is that Sinead sums it up amazingly, as she of course always does. The second is that she is a Catholic priest, and still understands about Islam. This is the attitude I think we could all do with adopting a little bit more just now - the attitude of celebrating one another and learning, regardless or whether or not we consider ourselves to be within the same individual group. And much as I love Sinead, I'm going to finish on a Katrina and the Waves song. Enjoy!
Peace and love x
Thursday, 5 November 2015
Criminalising peaceful protest
There have been many instances in recent times when I have felt that peaceful protest is being cracked down upon, both here in the UK and internationally. This is obviously something that threatens those in command, which is precisely why we must stand up for these rights no matter what is thrown at us. I'm going to focus on two things that have struck me about the subject this week.
Firstly, I read a report posted by an acquaintance on a Facebook page supporting solidarity for Palestine (complete article here) concerning the convictions of a group of Palestine solidarity activists for publicly encouraging people to boycott Israeli products. The actions took place around five years ago, and from what I can tell, essentially involved the campaigners congregating around supermarkets and educating the public about exactly what these products are funding and how to recognise them. The activists were initially acquitted, but were eventually sentenced under an old law prescribing up to a year in prison and large fines for anyone who 'provokes discrimination, hatred or violence against a person or a group of people by reason of their origin or their membership or non-membership in a specific ethnic group, nation, race or religion'. This sentence is even harsher than what would be given in Israel, which at least restricts itself to fines, and not jail.
This form of action is no more than that in which I myself have participated in the UK. Fortunately I have never been arrested or charged for it (although I was kicked to the ground by a police officer once). Personally, I absolutely cannot understand how the boycott of items supplied by a nation which commits international war crimes against civilians can be considered under the umbrella of 'discrimination'. I feel that were this Iraq or Syria, no one would bat an eyelid. At what point does something stop being fact or opinion, and become discrimination? I would argue that it is at the point where an individual or a group is victimised for something which causes no one harm. In the numerous anti-Israel demonstrations that I have attended, I have rarely heard anything said against people who come from Israel itself; merely against the brutality that Israel has inflicted upon the people of Palestine.
One cannot prevent people from issuing warnings about where the profits from certain items ends up; if we do that, we start crossing even further into territory whereby the people are controlled by the powers that be. I have not written much about Israel and Palestine in the last year, simply because I have not come across very much new material to write about. I still do what I can; I continue to boycott all produce from Nestlé, Starbucks, Hewlett-Packard and any other brand which I know to support Israel, and anything that I know to come from Israel itself, and I encourage others to do the same. The reason why this form of action is targeted by those who benefit from cruel regimes is because it works. This right must never be given up.
Well done to all my friends and acquaintances who were at the #grantsnotdebts London demonstration yesterday. As people may or may not have seen (given the low numbers of news sources who reported it even in a negative light) it has the perception of being quite violent. Unfortunately, I had to pass on this one, but I know from personal experience that when political demonstrations are put across in this way, it is often a vast exaggeration. Therefore, I contacted an acquaintance who was at the demonstration to get some more accurate information.
This is what my acquaintance said:
'The demo yesterday wasn't violent at all, literally all that happened was flares thrown and some stink bombs. Police presence was entirely unprecedented and they got so hands-on. They essentially stopped the demo. Most people were kettled, and a lot of us were running from cops for a long time. Other than that though, it was a wonderful demo! Fantastic turn out and brilliant solidarity/atmosphere/enthusiasm. Some amazing chants as well. When we got near any parliamentary buildings the police came down hard, and some people started chanting "fuck the pigs, but not like that'.
Now of course this is the experience of one person and so cannot be said to be reflective, but having attended many such events only for the news media to put across that my side behaved appallingly violently, I have no trouble believing that there is a great deal of truth in that. An official statement of the events from the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts (NCAFC) can be found here. I admire the fact that no one is giving up on this. There is a big part of me that wishes that I had been there, but it appears that the next event is on November 17th. I believe I will be able to attend that one! I shall write more about it nearer the time.
As with France's reaction to the Israel boycott, this is another example that stinks of an unnecessarily heavy-handed reaction to those people who are merely sticking up for what is right. I feel that this ought to be recognised for what it is. History teaches that people who involve themselves in social protest are the ones who generally tend to be remembered as heroes. The recognition comes, in hindsight possibly but it comes. We must not allow ourselves to be intimidated and bullied into a place from which we cannot fight injustice. I certainly do not intend to be, anyway.
Firstly, I read a report posted by an acquaintance on a Facebook page supporting solidarity for Palestine (complete article here) concerning the convictions of a group of Palestine solidarity activists for publicly encouraging people to boycott Israeli products. The actions took place around five years ago, and from what I can tell, essentially involved the campaigners congregating around supermarkets and educating the public about exactly what these products are funding and how to recognise them. The activists were initially acquitted, but were eventually sentenced under an old law prescribing up to a year in prison and large fines for anyone who 'provokes discrimination, hatred or violence against a person or a group of people by reason of their origin or their membership or non-membership in a specific ethnic group, nation, race or religion'. This sentence is even harsher than what would be given in Israel, which at least restricts itself to fines, and not jail.
This form of action is no more than that in which I myself have participated in the UK. Fortunately I have never been arrested or charged for it (although I was kicked to the ground by a police officer once). Personally, I absolutely cannot understand how the boycott of items supplied by a nation which commits international war crimes against civilians can be considered under the umbrella of 'discrimination'. I feel that were this Iraq or Syria, no one would bat an eyelid. At what point does something stop being fact or opinion, and become discrimination? I would argue that it is at the point where an individual or a group is victimised for something which causes no one harm. In the numerous anti-Israel demonstrations that I have attended, I have rarely heard anything said against people who come from Israel itself; merely against the brutality that Israel has inflicted upon the people of Palestine.
One cannot prevent people from issuing warnings about where the profits from certain items ends up; if we do that, we start crossing even further into territory whereby the people are controlled by the powers that be. I have not written much about Israel and Palestine in the last year, simply because I have not come across very much new material to write about. I still do what I can; I continue to boycott all produce from Nestlé, Starbucks, Hewlett-Packard and any other brand which I know to support Israel, and anything that I know to come from Israel itself, and I encourage others to do the same. The reason why this form of action is targeted by those who benefit from cruel regimes is because it works. This right must never be given up.
Well done to all my friends and acquaintances who were at the #grantsnotdebts London demonstration yesterday. As people may or may not have seen (given the low numbers of news sources who reported it even in a negative light) it has the perception of being quite violent. Unfortunately, I had to pass on this one, but I know from personal experience that when political demonstrations are put across in this way, it is often a vast exaggeration. Therefore, I contacted an acquaintance who was at the demonstration to get some more accurate information.
This is what my acquaintance said:
'The demo yesterday wasn't violent at all, literally all that happened was flares thrown and some stink bombs. Police presence was entirely unprecedented and they got so hands-on. They essentially stopped the demo. Most people were kettled, and a lot of us were running from cops for a long time. Other than that though, it was a wonderful demo! Fantastic turn out and brilliant solidarity/atmosphere/enthusiasm. Some amazing chants as well. When we got near any parliamentary buildings the police came down hard, and some people started chanting "fuck the pigs, but not like that'.
Now of course this is the experience of one person and so cannot be said to be reflective, but having attended many such events only for the news media to put across that my side behaved appallingly violently, I have no trouble believing that there is a great deal of truth in that. An official statement of the events from the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts (NCAFC) can be found here. I admire the fact that no one is giving up on this. There is a big part of me that wishes that I had been there, but it appears that the next event is on November 17th. I believe I will be able to attend that one! I shall write more about it nearer the time.
As with France's reaction to the Israel boycott, this is another example that stinks of an unnecessarily heavy-handed reaction to those people who are merely sticking up for what is right. I feel that this ought to be recognised for what it is. History teaches that people who involve themselves in social protest are the ones who generally tend to be remembered as heroes. The recognition comes, in hindsight possibly but it comes. We must not allow ourselves to be intimidated and bullied into a place from which we cannot fight injustice. I certainly do not intend to be, anyway.
Wednesday, 7 October 2015
Why I am proud to be British
At the Conservative Party conference, the Home Secretary Theresa May made a speech concerning immigration, which claimed to endorse humanity for those who need our help and being tough on those who abuse it. What the speech actually did was reiterate a continued diet of rhetoric and fear-mongering designed to blame minority groups. This has of course happened frequently for quite a long time now, but on this occasion the true intentions were so blatant that it has resulted in an outcry so large that even the Daily Telegraph (commonly referred to as the Torygraph) has criticised Mrs May's stance.
There are many articles clarifying exactly what is wrong with the speech, but the one that I have found the most well-written and informative is this one from the popular political blog Another Angry Voice. I have enjoyed reading AAV's articles for some time, but I feel that Tom has really excelled himself with this one. There are many, many points excellent points raised, quite a lot of which related to things that I was already aware of, but also a few that really opened my eyes to exactly how ludicrous May has made herself look.
I strongly encourage anyone to read the AAV article as Tom sums up the situation a lot better than I can, but for anyone who doesn't have time, I'll just summarise the key points:
There are many articles clarifying exactly what is wrong with the speech, but the one that I have found the most well-written and informative is this one from the popular political blog Another Angry Voice. I have enjoyed reading AAV's articles for some time, but I feel that Tom has really excelled himself with this one. There are many, many points excellent points raised, quite a lot of which related to things that I was already aware of, but also a few that really opened my eyes to exactly how ludicrous May has made herself look.
I strongly encourage anyone to read the AAV article as Tom sums up the situation a lot better than I can, but for anyone who doesn't have time, I'll just summarise the key points:
- Theresa May is making exactly the same promises that she made when the Conservatives were first elected in 2010, and since then the number of immigrants into this country has actually gone up, not down.
- The remarks claimed to be 'facts' have actually been proven to be wrong by an independent analysis funded by Mrs May's own party.
- The draconian immigration laws which are endorsed here actually cause just as much, if not more, trouble to British nationals as they do to anyone else, with examples including - but not limited to: the amount of healthcare required by an ageing population (which we are, especially given that this very same Government are cutting child benefits for third children onwards); British duel heritage children having their families broken up by one of their parents not being allowed in the UK; the burden to the economy caused by targeting foreign students, who can potentially bring talent and skills to this country; potential issues for British nationals living in other states, given that these states may feel no incentive to allow British nationals access to things such as Tax Credits and sick pay if their nationals are not entitled to such things in the UK.
- Despite May's claims of being humane to those who need help, many smaller countries have done considerably more to help refugees than we have, and their Governments weren't even responsible for the situations that drove those people out of their countries in the first place.
Tom said a lot more than this, but I'm not here to just repeat his article. I thought it was worth mentioning because I think it is exceptional and I encourage everyone to read it.
Personally, I find it really curious how many of my friends, even some very intelligent people, say, 'I'm happy with immigrants who actually contribute something, but not with those ones who just come over here to claim our services and give nothing back'. It is quite evident to me that these people have spent very little time with anyone who has come to this country from abroad, as this line could be taken almost in its entirety from our mainstream media, which is always controlled by the Government at the time.
I am really not an economist, so the AAV post will give you much better commentary on that perspective than I can, but a lot of people consider this to have a distinctly social point as well, and I feel that I probably have a more realistic viewpoint on that side of the debate. The reason for this is that I have spent most of my life with foreign nationals. I grew up living with a multitude of students hailing from many different parts of the globe, both in the EU and outside, and I went to a secondary school in Bristol where at times, I was actually the ethnic minority in my classes (and that didn't bother me at all). A lot of people seem to have this perception that having large groups of foreign nationals over here (I refuse to use the term 'migrants') causes a great deal of corruption to British values, but I have never quite understood what these 'values' actually are.
I can honestly say that I have never met anyone from another culture who has objected to Christmas or Remembrance Day. I have met a lot more British people who have objected to the existence of mosques. But there also seem to be a lot of things that have been brought over by other cultures that no one seems to have a problem with. Curry houses, for example. Curry is a traditional Indian dish, yet it is so commonplace in the UK that it may as well be considered British by this point. My point is that culture adapts and develops over time. I remember seeing an old sitcom called Love Thy Neighbour, about a white couple with black neighbours next door and the white man's struggle with anything remotely foreign, such as eating mangoes. This sitcom was broadcast in the 1970s, which really hits home the fact that we seem to be stuck in the culture of our time whatever the era. If this is an issue so old that there was satire about it twenty years before I was born, I really don't understand why we're still talking about it.
The only social point anyone makes concerning negatives of immigration is the fact that some people live in communities together and never attempt to integrate themselves or learn the language. That is an important point and one that I think needs to be tackled. But what I would say is: when we constantly scapegoat these people for every problem in society (they somehow appear to be both stealing our jobs and being lazy and taking all our benefits) can you blame them? If I felt that unwelcome, I probably would do the same.
My understanding of Britain is that we're a country that is really proud of its culture, and the really special thing about it is that our culture incorporates the cultures of numerous different peoples and nations. I consider us to be a country of people who are willing to adapt and develop with time, and refuse to get left behind or dragged back to the Dark Ages. It can be argued that this is a rather idealistic understanding of this country, given what Theresa May has said, but I believe that culture is something greater than what is wanted by those in power at any one time. It goes deeper than that, it goes into the territory of how people think and learn. I very much hope that in the fullnesses of time, the majority of people will come to realise how wrong this 'us and them' perception is, but in the meantime, I am content in the knowledge that I myself grew up in a world that taught me that diversity is equal to security, and prejudice is ignorant and foolish. So long as there are still people in the UK believing that, there is hope.
That is why I am proud to be British.
Tuesday, 6 October 2015
Musings of a disjointed activist
Over the summer, I felt quite politically distant, which is why this blog was not updated for two months. I didn't intend for that to happen; there was so much that I intended to write about - Jeremy Corbyn getting in (yay!), EDL protests (boo!), Pig-gate, refugees, more garbage spouted by those wonderful people Theresa May and George Osborne... yet somehow it felt to me like whatever I wrote about it, it would not make any difference in the slightest.
This was very disconcerting, given that this is precisely the attitude that I preach against. I don't know why this came upon me in such an ungracious fashion. There were, of course, certain personal things that distracted me, but this is always the case and I rarely become apathetic, even if I don't have time to update my blog for a while. Going through this has made me consider a little bit more why others are so apathetic. I know many very intelligent people who somehow, just cannot bring themselves to do anything about this world. I never thought I would be amongst them.
I suppose when I really think about it, the catalyst for me becoming like this was because I felt a lack of control and structure. I have still been reading the news and I have many friends and associates who have kept me updated on things that I need to know about. I have even been to a few political demonstrations this summer, and done some public speaking into the bargain. It has just felt at times to have a lack of momentum, as if I am doing it more because I consider it my duty than because I actually feel that I am going to change anything. It has occurred to me that this may be a mark of me ageing and becoming more cynical - I very much hope not, I think I stand a much better chance of making a difference to people's lives when I am actually expecting to, not least because that is my core motivator.
But... I think I have the solution. My lack of structure is what one of my previous directors would refer to as a 'self-licking lollipop' (which I think is a little odd, how would one go about it? But anyway, I digress.) If I feel disjointed, I fail to give my political side the care and attention that it needs to thrive, therefore I don't feed myself any motivation, therefore my lack of structure continues. Structure is something that comes from within. When I write on this blog, obviously I want people to read my work, but a big part of it is to help me make sense of things on a psychological level. The action of writing these things down and putting them in the public domain allows me the feeling that I actually am doing something positive, and that feeling means that I can continue to involve myself in campaigns without feeling as though my actions are worthless. So from now on, I am going to aim to update this more than I ever have before. I have said that to myself numerous times in the five years that I have been writing this, and very often it doesn't work, but on this occasion I will try harder than I ever have done in the past. I have realised that this blog is my sounding-board, and it is only through frequently writing down my own opinions in a structured way that I am going to maintain the mindset that I need to be a successful activist.
This has been quite an unusual blog post, as it is entirely about me and has very few references to what has been happening. I did wonder briefly if it was even worth posting, given the marked tone difference to how I normally write - but after thinking on it, I realised that it is something that is important to talk about. A lot of people that I know who come across as quite apathetic have proved (probably as much to themselves as anyone else) that they are actually very passionate, if they feel like they are achieving something. I used to feel quite scathing towards people who said that 'nothing I do will make a difference', but I realise now how easy it is to slip into that mindset. If I can do it, anyone can do it. I need to learn from my mistakes and move forward. So please continue to watch this space - there will be more blogs coming, very soon.
George the activist has returned!
This was very disconcerting, given that this is precisely the attitude that I preach against. I don't know why this came upon me in such an ungracious fashion. There were, of course, certain personal things that distracted me, but this is always the case and I rarely become apathetic, even if I don't have time to update my blog for a while. Going through this has made me consider a little bit more why others are so apathetic. I know many very intelligent people who somehow, just cannot bring themselves to do anything about this world. I never thought I would be amongst them.
I suppose when I really think about it, the catalyst for me becoming like this was because I felt a lack of control and structure. I have still been reading the news and I have many friends and associates who have kept me updated on things that I need to know about. I have even been to a few political demonstrations this summer, and done some public speaking into the bargain. It has just felt at times to have a lack of momentum, as if I am doing it more because I consider it my duty than because I actually feel that I am going to change anything. It has occurred to me that this may be a mark of me ageing and becoming more cynical - I very much hope not, I think I stand a much better chance of making a difference to people's lives when I am actually expecting to, not least because that is my core motivator.
But... I think I have the solution. My lack of structure is what one of my previous directors would refer to as a 'self-licking lollipop' (which I think is a little odd, how would one go about it? But anyway, I digress.) If I feel disjointed, I fail to give my political side the care and attention that it needs to thrive, therefore I don't feed myself any motivation, therefore my lack of structure continues. Structure is something that comes from within. When I write on this blog, obviously I want people to read my work, but a big part of it is to help me make sense of things on a psychological level. The action of writing these things down and putting them in the public domain allows me the feeling that I actually am doing something positive, and that feeling means that I can continue to involve myself in campaigns without feeling as though my actions are worthless. So from now on, I am going to aim to update this more than I ever have before. I have said that to myself numerous times in the five years that I have been writing this, and very often it doesn't work, but on this occasion I will try harder than I ever have done in the past. I have realised that this blog is my sounding-board, and it is only through frequently writing down my own opinions in a structured way that I am going to maintain the mindset that I need to be a successful activist.
This has been quite an unusual blog post, as it is entirely about me and has very few references to what has been happening. I did wonder briefly if it was even worth posting, given the marked tone difference to how I normally write - but after thinking on it, I realised that it is something that is important to talk about. A lot of people that I know who come across as quite apathetic have proved (probably as much to themselves as anyone else) that they are actually very passionate, if they feel like they are achieving something. I used to feel quite scathing towards people who said that 'nothing I do will make a difference', but I realise now how easy it is to slip into that mindset. If I can do it, anyone can do it. I need to learn from my mistakes and move forward. So please continue to watch this space - there will be more blogs coming, very soon.
George the activist has returned!
Saturday, 1 August 2015
Labour and Jeremy Corbyn
Apologies for the late update. I actually started writing this a week ago, but some important things in my personal life made it difficult for me to write for a while.
Cuts to welfare. Increased use of food banks. Threats to our civil liberties. NHS privatisation. 10,600 people dying within six months of being declared fit for work by Atos over a ten-month period. This is what we have been subjected to by the Conservative Party and what I have been working against. It would appear that the 'opposition' is now that in all but name, as from what has been shown in recent weeks, the Labour Party has been disgracefully weak in opposing the Tory agenda. This is not very far from what I was expecting actually, but is still a huge blow (and much appreciation to the 48 Labour MPs who defied Harriet Harman's decree that the new Welfare Reforms be abstained by Labour, and voted against them anyway).
I recently read an article that suggested Labour could be led just as effectively by an automated out-of-office email, and to be honest I find this hard to argue with. It really does not seem just now that they are the opposition that they claim to be. Harriet Harman, instead of being the inspirational figurehead that Labour really does need, appears to be playing a political game that I really struggle to understand. According to the Independent, Andy Burnham abstained from the vote on the Welfare Reforms despite being vehemently opposed to them, because that way he can unite the party against it, and get Labour's wishy-washy amendments pushed through. Presumably he will therefore be telling people in the leadership elections to support him but abstain from voting in order to unite the British public in his favour.
However, it may not all be bad news for Labour, as the popularity of Jeremy Corbyn has taken the media by storm over the last few weeks. I know anecdotally of people who have eaten their words and registered as a one-off supporter of the Labour Party in order to be able to vote for Corbyn in the election. There has been much discussion from all different angles - we have, for want of a better term, the 'new Labour' politicians threatening to leave if he gets elected, displaying an arrogance and lack of respect for democracy that I really should not be surprised at by now; we have numerous articles claiming that Corbyn will be the best thing that has happened to this country for the last thirty years, and a few other left-wing social commentators concerned that the hysteria surrounding Corbyn will lead to disappointment, as he may be elevated into something too good to be true.
Underneath all of this, however, one thing is solid; we may not know exactly how he would fare as leader in the event of his election, but in Jeremy Corbyn, we have someone who appears to condemn the policies implemented by the Conservative Party in a way that promotes direct opposition to them, as opposed to the ineffectual attitude of the rest of the Labour Party, which to me does not show any of the backbone that an opposition needs to show. Over the last few months, I would say that the main opposition to the Conservatives has been the Scottish National Party. Labour are not currently doing anything to earn that distinction in Parliament. I do not know if history will remember Jeremy Corbyn as the hero who saved Labour or as the villain who was popular and let people down, but I believe that the only chance, however remote, that Labour has of earning back the status of opposition lies with him. For me, that is a good enough reason to elect him.
Click here for information on how to vote in the Labour election. You need to be either a member of Labour, an affiliated supporter (meaning that you support them through an affiliated party) or a registered one-off supporter, which costs £3. Ballot papers are sent out on Friday 14 August (two weeks from the time of writing) and the deadline for registering is Wednesday 12 August. You do need to be on the electoral register to vote.
I strongly encourage anyone reading this to do what they can to ensure that they are able to vote for the new leader of the Labour Party, and to vote for Jeremy Corbyn. I'm not so naive to think that with his election, everything will get better straight away. I've been in this game for long enough to know that every positive result involves a long hard slog. I prefer to think of each campaign as being one more step towards achieving a decent society, and I think that electing Jeremy Corbyn could be the next step right now.
I shall post further updates soon.
Cuts to welfare. Increased use of food banks. Threats to our civil liberties. NHS privatisation. 10,600 people dying within six months of being declared fit for work by Atos over a ten-month period. This is what we have been subjected to by the Conservative Party and what I have been working against. It would appear that the 'opposition' is now that in all but name, as from what has been shown in recent weeks, the Labour Party has been disgracefully weak in opposing the Tory agenda. This is not very far from what I was expecting actually, but is still a huge blow (and much appreciation to the 48 Labour MPs who defied Harriet Harman's decree that the new Welfare Reforms be abstained by Labour, and voted against them anyway).
I recently read an article that suggested Labour could be led just as effectively by an automated out-of-office email, and to be honest I find this hard to argue with. It really does not seem just now that they are the opposition that they claim to be. Harriet Harman, instead of being the inspirational figurehead that Labour really does need, appears to be playing a political game that I really struggle to understand. According to the Independent, Andy Burnham abstained from the vote on the Welfare Reforms despite being vehemently opposed to them, because that way he can unite the party against it, and get Labour's wishy-washy amendments pushed through. Presumably he will therefore be telling people in the leadership elections to support him but abstain from voting in order to unite the British public in his favour.
However, it may not all be bad news for Labour, as the popularity of Jeremy Corbyn has taken the media by storm over the last few weeks. I know anecdotally of people who have eaten their words and registered as a one-off supporter of the Labour Party in order to be able to vote for Corbyn in the election. There has been much discussion from all different angles - we have, for want of a better term, the 'new Labour' politicians threatening to leave if he gets elected, displaying an arrogance and lack of respect for democracy that I really should not be surprised at by now; we have numerous articles claiming that Corbyn will be the best thing that has happened to this country for the last thirty years, and a few other left-wing social commentators concerned that the hysteria surrounding Corbyn will lead to disappointment, as he may be elevated into something too good to be true.
Underneath all of this, however, one thing is solid; we may not know exactly how he would fare as leader in the event of his election, but in Jeremy Corbyn, we have someone who appears to condemn the policies implemented by the Conservative Party in a way that promotes direct opposition to them, as opposed to the ineffectual attitude of the rest of the Labour Party, which to me does not show any of the backbone that an opposition needs to show. Over the last few months, I would say that the main opposition to the Conservatives has been the Scottish National Party. Labour are not currently doing anything to earn that distinction in Parliament. I do not know if history will remember Jeremy Corbyn as the hero who saved Labour or as the villain who was popular and let people down, but I believe that the only chance, however remote, that Labour has of earning back the status of opposition lies with him. For me, that is a good enough reason to elect him.
Click here for information on how to vote in the Labour election. You need to be either a member of Labour, an affiliated supporter (meaning that you support them through an affiliated party) or a registered one-off supporter, which costs £3. Ballot papers are sent out on Friday 14 August (two weeks from the time of writing) and the deadline for registering is Wednesday 12 August. You do need to be on the electoral register to vote.
I strongly encourage anyone reading this to do what they can to ensure that they are able to vote for the new leader of the Labour Party, and to vote for Jeremy Corbyn. I'm not so naive to think that with his election, everything will get better straight away. I've been in this game for long enough to know that every positive result involves a long hard slog. I prefer to think of each campaign as being one more step towards achieving a decent society, and I think that electing Jeremy Corbyn could be the next step right now.
I shall post further updates soon.
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