Inevitably the national discourse today centres on what should be done to take the hate out of politics. One suggestion, gaining some traction, is to ban anonymous social media accounts. Forgive me if I am unable to intersect with the point here, but Carole Malone, Allison Pearson, Lee Harpin, Julie Burchill, Dan Hodges, Julia Heartless-Sewer, Kelvin McKenzie, Stephen Pollard, Katie Hopkins, Melanie Phillips et al are not anonymous. These manic Fleet Street hate preachers, pumping out poison towards minorities from the cess pits of the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, Spectator, Sun etc, are not anonymous. Not only that but they command online, broadcast and print platforms running into many millions of views. Their reach is global.
The idea that their toxic and malignant influence will somehow wither and die if a few basement-dwelling inadequates trolling under anonymity are banned from Twitter is, I humbly proffer, ridiculous. But not as ridiculous as the suggestion that this has anything at all to do with countering hate anyway. Hate is absolutely fine when directed at immigrants, refugees, Muslims, women, homosexuals, environmentalists, lefties, teachers, GPs, nurses, black people, the ‘woke’ and whatever other demographic branded enemies of the state by this increasingly monstrous regime masquerading as a government.
Interestingly, one of the politicians most concerned with the hate infecting political debate in the country is Priti Patel. Oh, my aching sides. For those unacquainted with the current Home Secretary – a British national of Ugandan heritage – she is currently exploring ways to allow her border goons exemption from prosecution for causing human beings to drown. A somewhat odd juxtaposition of two seemingly contradictory positions there, one might say. Others might say chilling inhumanity and sickening hypocrisy.
There is, though, something bleakly amusing about some of the richest, most powerful and privileged people in the country squeaking in horror at being described as “scum” by Angela Rayner. And their drawing of a direct link between her description of Conservative MPs and the murder of one of their colleagues. I mean, I’m not convinced of said link but I’d be happy to run with it if Boris ‘grinning piccaninnies with watermelon smiles tank-topped bum boys letterboxes bank robbers feckless wasters’ Johnson – a foreign-born British national of Turkish descent – along with his toadies and client media offered a quid pro quo and a mea culpa for the Prime Minister’s remarks. Remarks which have been linked directly to a surge in hate crimes. What say you, fellas? No? Thought not.
In any case, I’m not convinced our politicians aren’t simply overthinking all this somewhat. After all, if Tory MPs feel unsafe surely they can just flag down a passing bus, right, ladies?
Harry Paterson 