My country has never been perfect. In fact, it has a history of expansionism, exploitation and plenty of other -isms too, but it was getting better… until now.
Let’s be upfront about this, I’m white, British, and am told, middle class (though I’d debate that), and have left of centre politics. Like most educated people, I voted remain. I’m not the nicest person in the world, but I try. And now, I just don’t know what’s happening.
Two weeks ago, I lived in a country that was also trying. We had laws protecting people from discrimination based on skin colour, religion, gender, sexual preference and many other traits. There were problems, but it was slowly getting better, at least for most. There was a long way still to go for some.
And then, last week, everything changed.
I seem to be living in a racist dystopia all of a sudden. There are signs up on lamp posts threatening immigrants, there are calls for equality laws to be scrapped, there are calls for immigration barriers to be toughened up. And this is Britain, the country that colonised half the world. If any country should be welcoming people, it’s us.
Police have reported that racist attacks are up 500% since last week.
And government is self destructing around us. The Prime Minister gone, and the Tories squabbling like schoolyard bullies over who should be the next gang-leader and who gets to line their pockets with the profits of the sale of the NHS.
Even in opposition, there’s fighting. The most popular Labour leader ever is facing rebellion from the party right, people who by all rights would be a better fit in the Conservative party. They lie, they smear and they twist (or ignore completely) the facts to make out their leader cannot win.
When Mr. Corbyn said yesterday:
“Our Jewish friends are no more responsible for the actions of Israel or the Netanyahu government than our Muslim friends are for those various self-styled Islamic states or organisations.”
people rushed to accuse him of anti-semitism. Think about this for a moment, he said you can’t blame people (Jews or Muslims) for the actions of governments in the middle east. If that’s anti-semitic to you, then you need to buy a dictionary. Or perhaps it was Islamophobes making the accusations; it wouldn’t surprise me, there seem to be enough of those about too.
If nothing changes, we are lost! Perhaps the far more sensible Scots can take over, and let Ms. Sturgeon run the country. She certainly couldn’t do a worse job than the shower we have now.