What I saw of the Unite The Kingdom rally wasn’t strength or patriotism. It was monetised grievance, imported outrage culture and profound second-hand embarrassment.
Yes and then they tried to unplug it. Don’t know why but that did seem funny to me. As if positivity is kryptonite to the message, which I suppose it is.
Wasn't this another example of the kind of thing Bear is talking about? Bait right-wingers, get them riled up, hope for a reaction and film it all for clicks.
Having been away for some time, part of it in Bhutan where prayer flags spread blessings of health, longevity, prosperity and 101 other good things, all the time, carried out over the Himalayan mountains with every passing breeze, I would say the Alt-Right has become more than just sad. It is irrelevant, boring, out of touch with humanity and just another pathetic screaming machine all hollow inside but belching smoke. One of these fine days it will implode upon itself and its pathetic “guru”, the ghastly Yuckxley-Lemon, will, with any luck, implode with it. He’s been in prison before and will be back there sooner or later, poor sad, shrivelled little puppet.
Great article as always. I think the far-right is more varied than is often portrayed; it is not all thugs and hooligans'.
For some it is real 'sadness', looking for somewhere to belong, someone to blame for their own feelings of sadness about their isolation, poverty, lack of education and knowing that they are being sneered at and looked down on by uppity middle classes. What is truly frustrating is that (a) this group of people ironically have far more in common with swathes of people in Britain of all ethnicities (including white) i.e. struggles with all that you list (housing etc.) and (b) their 'glorious leaders' don't give a flying monkey's about them; they are just fodder for their own ends and don't want to live anywhere near the communities they profess to care about.
Some of course are just looking for an excuse to be aggressive as has always been the case and will jump on any 'cause' to fulfil that need.
Some have acquired the language of intellect and rhetoric to a high degree (I see dear old Nick Griffin has an account on here now) to try and put an intelligent case forward for what is just racism in disguise. It is a classic formula. Start with one fact/truth then proceed to write endless 'reasoned argument' (which it is not but it can be very convincing!) explaining why it's a problem. A classic example of such a formula goes, "a school in (wherever) is now over 80% non -white". This is a fact. So what? However there then follows endless drivel about why this is a problem and what it symbolises. One of these diatribes can contain over 20 of these set-ups so it becomes exhausting to pull it apart; to do so you would need to write an essay responding to each item. And then you realise no-one will read it anyway because the people reading his (and others) posts are just looking for the echo chamber.
Too much power and wealth is in too few hands so we end up helpless, powerless, angry and then turn on each other. Uniting as a kingdom would be better served by everyone standing together for a better and fairer life where there is no shame in making a profit, but not at the expense of most of the nation, where there is acceptance of the extraordinarily varied and interesting people who live in the UK and enrich it, recognising that a welfare state is not a burden but something we will benefit from at some time and displays the care and compassion a nation has for its people and remembering that the UK is not "the English" .
The PayPal mafia. Racist White South African link. Elon Musk, David Sacks, Peter Thiel, Roelof Botha and I think there’s a fifth whose name escapes me now.
Much of my substack feed bears out your points about monetisation. There's no end of substacks dissecting Trump's latest outrage and building fear around his actions and deterioration. All accompanied by pleas to subscribe. And now I'm seeing the same around Reform.
You and Joe Witowski are my regular political reads. Yours because it's more varied and nuanced. Joe's because I enjoy his Alexi Sayle like outrage and turn of phrase.
Very perceptive ... Yaxley-Lennon's schtick has become refined and US-focused, while his main issues have been taken up by Reform (though they are vaguely embarrassed by this fascist rump) and the fringe right-wing parties. No doubt he'll keep grinding out the content though, because money is money whether it's American green or British plastic.
Boring times indeed Bear but just dangerous enough to pose a threat… there will always be those who will drink deep from the polluted Thames. Thank goodness is it nowhere near me where we have had the sense to hand power to Plaid Cymru and not Reform.
D&D is the safest, fantastic way to fight the eternal battle between good and evil. I'm glad you do both. Let's all keep amassing XP to carry on the fight.
Imported slogans, trying to pretend they have a broad appeal. Looking to the media to inflate their popularity; frankly embarrassing.
I used to feel sorry for those who attended out of frustration. If you have grievances that you want sorted in civil society, by all means, group together and protest. But I am no longer sympathetic. If you hang out with racists and fascists, then you too are a racist and fascist. Own it.
Hope yous don’t mind me posting here something I wrote up earlier for a comment on a similar flag based topic:
My one interaction with some of Tommy’s more committed followers was a few years ago now.
It was on an early Saturday morning tube train, there was only me and a young woman at the other end of the carriage when a bunch of about 30 English Defence League casuals (they were wearing EDL pins) poured on. They were drinking and obviously on a mission. The young white woman was immediately sexually abused by the leader who stood in front of her thrusting his groin at her face while sniffing her hair and making lurid remarks, all the while being encouraged by his laughing comrades. This was going on for some minutes and I was contemplating at what point I was to intervene and get a good old defence league hiding myself when the train pulled into Waterloo and the young lady made her escape.
I reported the incident to the transport police but the young woman had not come forward. I just hope she wasn’t too badly traumatised.
The drone coverage of Robinson’s soirée was illustrative of just how sad they are. You get better numbers at a small town music festival on Dartmoor.
And rather classier as well.
I was much amused by the Led by Donkeys display - it took quite a while for the passers by to realise they were being trolled.
Yes and then they tried to unplug it. Don’t know why but that did seem funny to me. As if positivity is kryptonite to the message, which I suppose it is.
Wasn't this another example of the kind of thing Bear is talking about? Bait right-wingers, get them riled up, hope for a reaction and film it all for clicks.
Having been away for some time, part of it in Bhutan where prayer flags spread blessings of health, longevity, prosperity and 101 other good things, all the time, carried out over the Himalayan mountains with every passing breeze, I would say the Alt-Right has become more than just sad. It is irrelevant, boring, out of touch with humanity and just another pathetic screaming machine all hollow inside but belching smoke. One of these fine days it will implode upon itself and its pathetic “guru”, the ghastly Yuckxley-Lemon, will, with any luck, implode with it. He’s been in prison before and will be back there sooner or later, poor sad, shrivelled little puppet.
He may go to prison he may not, but his damage to social cohesion will be around for some time.
Yes. A bit like the hantavirus.
Good analogy, he’s a social pathogen.
Great article as always. I think the far-right is more varied than is often portrayed; it is not all thugs and hooligans'.
For some it is real 'sadness', looking for somewhere to belong, someone to blame for their own feelings of sadness about their isolation, poverty, lack of education and knowing that they are being sneered at and looked down on by uppity middle classes. What is truly frustrating is that (a) this group of people ironically have far more in common with swathes of people in Britain of all ethnicities (including white) i.e. struggles with all that you list (housing etc.) and (b) their 'glorious leaders' don't give a flying monkey's about them; they are just fodder for their own ends and don't want to live anywhere near the communities they profess to care about.
Some of course are just looking for an excuse to be aggressive as has always been the case and will jump on any 'cause' to fulfil that need.
Some have acquired the language of intellect and rhetoric to a high degree (I see dear old Nick Griffin has an account on here now) to try and put an intelligent case forward for what is just racism in disguise. It is a classic formula. Start with one fact/truth then proceed to write endless 'reasoned argument' (which it is not but it can be very convincing!) explaining why it's a problem. A classic example of such a formula goes, "a school in (wherever) is now over 80% non -white". This is a fact. So what? However there then follows endless drivel about why this is a problem and what it symbolises. One of these diatribes can contain over 20 of these set-ups so it becomes exhausting to pull it apart; to do so you would need to write an essay responding to each item. And then you realise no-one will read it anyway because the people reading his (and others) posts are just looking for the echo chamber.
Too much power and wealth is in too few hands so we end up helpless, powerless, angry and then turn on each other. Uniting as a kingdom would be better served by everyone standing together for a better and fairer life where there is no shame in making a profit, but not at the expense of most of the nation, where there is acceptance of the extraordinarily varied and interesting people who live in the UK and enrich it, recognising that a welfare state is not a burden but something we will benefit from at some time and displays the care and compassion a nation has for its people and remembering that the UK is not "the English" .
The PayPal mafia. Racist White South African link. Elon Musk, David Sacks, Peter Thiel, Roelof Botha and I think there’s a fifth whose name escapes me now.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/26/elon-musk-peter-thiel-apartheid-south-africa
They lost in SA and have been trying to recreate their ideal home ever since.
Yes project 2025 is based on the apartheid South Africa model.
Much of my substack feed bears out your points about monetisation. There's no end of substacks dissecting Trump's latest outrage and building fear around his actions and deterioration. All accompanied by pleas to subscribe. And now I'm seeing the same around Reform.
You and Joe Witowski are my regular political reads. Yours because it's more varied and nuanced. Joe's because I enjoy his Alexi Sayle like outrage and turn of phrase.
Nailed it, as so often. Follow the money, folks...
I love Sunday mornings, after a walk with the dog, back home to coffee and toast and a good read of common sense, you keep me sane. Thank you.
Very perceptive ... Yaxley-Lennon's schtick has become refined and US-focused, while his main issues have been taken up by Reform (though they are vaguely embarrassed by this fascist rump) and the fringe right-wing parties. No doubt he'll keep grinding out the content though, because money is money whether it's American green or British plastic.
Boring times indeed Bear but just dangerous enough to pose a threat… there will always be those who will drink deep from the polluted Thames. Thank goodness is it nowhere near me where we have had the sense to hand power to Plaid Cymru and not Reform.
D&D is the safest, fantastic way to fight the eternal battle between good and evil. I'm glad you do both. Let's all keep amassing XP to carry on the fight.
Exactly this.
Imported slogans, trying to pretend they have a broad appeal. Looking to the media to inflate their popularity; frankly embarrassing.
I used to feel sorry for those who attended out of frustration. If you have grievances that you want sorted in civil society, by all means, group together and protest. But I am no longer sympathetic. If you hang out with racists and fascists, then you too are a racist and fascist. Own it.
i find it kind of strange that as i think something, the next day you write about it.. 🤔
Hope yous don’t mind me posting here something I wrote up earlier for a comment on a similar flag based topic:
My one interaction with some of Tommy’s more committed followers was a few years ago now.
It was on an early Saturday morning tube train, there was only me and a young woman at the other end of the carriage when a bunch of about 30 English Defence League casuals (they were wearing EDL pins) poured on. They were drinking and obviously on a mission. The young white woman was immediately sexually abused by the leader who stood in front of her thrusting his groin at her face while sniffing her hair and making lurid remarks, all the while being encouraged by his laughing comrades. This was going on for some minutes and I was contemplating at what point I was to intervene and get a good old defence league hiding myself when the train pulled into Waterloo and the young lady made her escape.
I reported the incident to the transport police but the young woman had not come forward. I just hope she wasn’t too badly traumatised.
Traumatised that is, by the defenders of England.
Ah, these proud defenders of British womanhood!
Drunk misogyny - the worst type of misogyny.
Does anyone think that Stephen is cross because...
A. He's shorter than the average UK male.
B. He had a shit turnout for his "rally", or,
C. Because he'd prefer to be a Stephen, with a V.
D. He was born that way.
????
Aggressive misogyny can be worse, but then I used to work with sex offenders!