Brilliant article; clearly sets out what so many of us think! There is a timidity in government and police services to tackle these protesters head on, as it were. Scared of BLM-style rioting (any excuse). The St George's day lot are easy fish because if they rightfully object to being settled, say, they are obnoxious louts. But they are not. They are British people, mostly men, who have been demonized as far-right extremists - of course. Might be your plumber, your builder or local shop worker, disgusted by always being second-class citizens in their own country. This is very dangerous in the long run. People can only take so much. Thanks LSO.
Thanks so much Giulia. You are so right. There is a timidity as you say. And understandably so, at least from the point of view of the police. I don’t think the police are trained or equipped to deal with this week after week.
Hi LSO. You are describing people paid mainly by the State to exercise this warped, wasteful and malign behaviour. Too many jobsworth referees and too few players, basically. But the State can only spend what it forcibly extorts from me in the form of taxes, debt liabilities and inflation. I know I sound like a cracked record but I really don’t want to pay for all this crazy bollocks. The only answer is a taxpayers’ revolt. Cut off the money. Shrink the State.
Hi Richard, yes the state is at least twice as large as it needs to be I think. And then they wanted us to remain in the EU, so an extra layer on top of that. Sadly I think the appetite for a smaller state is limited. Not surprising when the majority of people are taking out of the system, rather than paying in.
You’re not kidding that ‘appetite..is limited’, LSO! As George Bernard Shaw said: ‘A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul’.
The problem is, HMG has not run a budget surplus this century, printing money and therefore using inflation to make up the difference between taxation and spending. It is, quite literally, robbing Peter and Paul, to pay Paul.
Thanks Dee. Ha ha I loved the old Marvel output so much. Just brilliant popular story telling. I’ve no time for the snobs who look down on something just because it’s popular!
Leniency and mercy are fundamental to any functioning justice system I think. My issue with these guidelines is that they are imposed on judges and magistrates from above. So they are being told who to favour. Not sure that’s a good idea. Your point is well made I think. I can’t remember anyone going to prison over the banking crash. 🤷♂️
Great to hear from you Dee. All the best from me, and all the lads in the woodwind section. LSO
Hi Deidre. The Jewish population of London is not very large. I think the whole British Jewish community only numbers around 250,00. Although I haven’t checked that.
Yes. But only just. The issue with London isn’t that white people are in the minority. It’s that London is badly run, falling apart, and full of drug addicts. If Londoners, wherever they are from, were encouraged to pull together, rather than regard each other as the enemy we’d be a lot better off.
Of course, low status, the whole world would be a better and more peaceful place if we all just pulled together to live in harmony.
My comment was too brief to make my point, which is one you have been making in your articles. That is that: the narrative of these times have become that people of white European heritage are inherently colonizers, racists, and bigots. And, have historically been Christians.
In addition, the past several years has seen a massive influx of immigrants who are not.
The cultures are clashing in many ways and are not only affecting western values but our political systems.
Many years ago I spent over 10 years studying the crusades. I read so many books I have bookshelves filled with them. The start of that journey had little to do with where I ended.
I agree Deidre. Though I’m not envisioning a happy clappy fantasy world. I’m just suggesting that it would better if our bosses stop setting us against each other.
"The cultures are clashing in many ways and are not only affecting western values but our political systems"
Yes, since this mix of lawful and unlawful 'invasion' began in the seventies and is occurring throughout the western world, with all the attendant problems we see, it can only be desired.
Back to 1973, when the major Arab nations were crushed by Israel in the Yom Kippur war, in retaliation at their humiliating defeat, they restricted the supply of oil to the West for supporting Israel. One of their demands in removing the oil block was for the West to allow "unlimited immigration" of their peoples into western countries as well as promoting islamic culture. Whether successive Western leaders realised the potential for future problems at the time or subsequently, Arab leaders certainly knew where this was going - i.e. the president of Algeria in 1974 to the UN: "One day, millions of men will leave the Southern Hemisphere to go to the Northern Hemisphere. And they will not go there as friends. Because they will go there to conquer it. And they will conquer it with their sons. The wombs of our women will give us victory.”
Col. Gaddafi made a similar speech. Their words have become reality throughout the West. As Mark Steyn has often said : "Demography is your future". So if the "awake" not the "woke" recognised this trend eons ago, our dear leaders certainly must have. Hence, my conclusion - as all their policies have assisted the course we are on, they are complicit. Why? Logically, one could claim it's as insane as 'queers for Palestine'. How do they see the end game?
I just think that they are so out of touch with regular people that they can’t see the problem. To them mass immigration is a force for good, because for them it is. Cheap labour, across the board downward pressure on wages, a massive labour pool. Which I guess is just three ways of saying the same thing. Without going too conspiratorial, our elites have little need for nation states. They think internationally. Though I think this might well change a bit as the big economies become more sceptical of globalisation. Or at least talk more and more about bringing back manufacturing etc.
"One day, millions of men will leave the Southern Hemisphere to go to the Northern Hemisphere. And they will not go there as friends. Because they will go there to conquer it. And they will conquer it with their sons. The wombs of our women will give us victory.”
My point was I we have to admit there is also a clash of religions happening, despite the shrinking of Christianity in the west. I just cannot shake the sense that this a crusade of sorts. By the way I am agnostic.
Only just? Google lists the indigenous population as some 37% - that's about a third. Ten years ago, it was about 45%. When it becomes 15% or 10% will that still not be "an issue"? Whilst agreeing with you on many other issues, I can't agree here. Having just returned from a rare visit to London (the city of my birth and many subsequent years), apart from a handful of old friends, nearly everyone I encountered was "foreign". The situation is probably the same in Paris, Berlin and most European major cities. Do most people enjoy or prefer living in a tower of Babel, do you think? It's disappointing to see you endorse a goal of the globalists/WEF etc.
Hey Alexei. I’m not really endorsing anything. I live in Central London and interact with an incredibly diverse mixture of people every day. Most people seem pretty decent to me, wherever they are from originally. That is not the same as endorsing essentially open borders-which I really don’t! Hope you had a good time in the capital anyway.
Travelling everywhere at 20mph on roads filled with speed humps is not my idea of a good time!! And STILL not eliminating the traffic jams of yore in the rush hour! Anyway, since the purpose of my visit was dealing with a difficult family situation, I wasn't expecting "a good time" - thank you for asking anyway! Btw, I worked in Central London for many years including in your area...
Nevertheless, it doesn't seem to me that you're connecting the dots. OTOH, you describe the problem in London as its malfunctioning administration (Khan & cronies I assume)and on the other, you celebrate the huge diversity of people - without recognizing that it's the latter who have continued to vote for the former. As more of the indigenes move away from an imported society and its alien culture, do you think the problems of administering London will improve, or will Tower Hamlets become the norm?
Absolutely fantastic article. I seriously don't know whether to laugh or cry, though. Your humour makes me want to laugh, but the complete absurdity of it all is just mind-boggling and makes me pine for what we've lost (as well as feel fear about where we're going) I agree with you, regarding the protests. They are too destructive now, and have gone on for too long. I think in restricted areas, and at certain times only, as you suggested. Like you, I believe freedom of speech needs to be protected but if protesters are inciting violence, harassing Jewish people or holding up swastika and other symbols, this has to be stopped.
Thanks so much. Thats very kind. I just feel these ‘protests’ have become something else now. A show of strength maybe?
They certainly seem to have emboldened a more open anti semitism on our streets. The Stamford Hill ‘attempted kidnapping’ really worries me. Not sure if that sort of thing would be happening if our bosses had stood up at the beginning and said ‘This is what we believe’.
It’s definitely a tricky one. I’m not a fan of banning stuff, but maybe moving it off the High St is ok. 🤔
I didn't know about the Stamford Hill incident, and just googled it. Very scary. I live in Hungary, the country which the MSM love to smear as 'far right' etc...a place where it's far safer to be Jewish than in the U.K, Germany, France etc.... and where, even in the capital city, you can walk around at night without fear (obviously there are dodgy areas, but Budapest is much safer than many other European cities) These protests are more than just against the war and killing of Palestinian civilians (a legitimate reason to protest, of course) I feel they are exposing the cracks in our broken system of multiculturalism and enabling extremists to vent their anti-semitism under the guise of 'anti-war' protests. Anti-semitism has intensified, but it was happening before, although somehow not talked about by the media. So many things have happened recently which are truly disturbing (e.g. Tory MP Mike Freer having to resign due to death threats, Jewish schools targeted..) These are things that even just 10 years ago I could not have imagined. Very sad.
The Stamford Hill incident is genuinely blood curdling. I so feel for the poor guy too. That would traumatise me no doubt.
I love Budapest Through. Been there twice. Fantastic city, great country, I’ll definitely go back.
I agree with everything you say about these marches. And yes, we are warned that our wicked world is full of racism. But this flavour of bigotry is often dismissed as no big deal. Hmmm. How did that work out last time ? 🤔
When challenged why the law was not being applied to the "anti-Semitic protesters" the Plod replied "there are too many of them". If that's the case then there should be a limit put on the numbers allowed to march on any one day.
What you are describing basically is the method of anarcho-tyranny, where the law is heavy handed on the law abiding and lenient on the lawless. I don’t know whether this is down to incompetence or design - maybe a combination of the two? - but it seems to be official policy. Possibly the ‘people in charge’ think this is a clever way to keep them in charge and the proles in semi-order?
Hi Martin. I think you are right. It is a way to keep the lower orders in their place. But I don’t think this is a ‘conspiracy’ as such, it’s just the way the system is set up.As I point out briefly above, it’s in the government’s interest to fine us for everything, but it’s expensive and difficult to put crooks in prison. So we get more of the former and less of the latter.
I suppose we don’t want to make the effort to keep things tidy. Civilization is not something that just ‘happens’ just as my house does not clean itself.
The problem is when the law is not visibly evenly applied, public buy in to it is corroded. There is either one law under which we are all bound (the underlying principle of Magna Carta), or just the use of force by authoritarian power to enforce their whims of the day, dressed up as ‘law’ while they sit above and outside its constraints. We are increasingly moving to the latter situation.
As El Gato Malo says on his Substack: " as we all know, it does not matter what the law says; it matters what the people who apply the law do."
To answer your question about the protests - the police should enforce the law which is repeatedly broken during these protests. They would then fade away. They are being encouraged.
When somebody rapes and kills a judge's daughter, I wonder whether his fellow judges will carefully read all these guidelines to see if they can get the offender off with a week in minimum security?
I’m not sure the judges and magistrates are supportive of these guidelines Jeremy. It doesn’t seem so. I get the impression they would prefer the flexibility of taking into account mitigating circumstances as they see fit, rather than have them imposed from above. You know, like it’s always been up to now!
I would like to think you are right, and my comment was in that vein, but sometimes I wonder. The judge who bent over backwards to ensure Ezedi stayed here comes to mind.
LSO; I don't agree with this particular post, but stand by my specific previous appreciations of specific previous posts, having acknowledged such, for feeling they were puncturing the pomposity. .
Your response to a poster...."I’m just suggesting that it would better if our bosses stop setting us against each other."....is the only valid point I see here, the just is really one of superiority, and selectiviness. Yes I agree, someone poor/poorly educated/in poor housing shouldn't get a get out of jail card free, but to suggest that the guidance gives them an advantage (incentives lack of responsibility/accountability/propogates such) is rather disingenuous. Those better educated, financially resourced don't end up in sentencing in the first place, precisely because the CPS etc, the institutional prejudice to the impoverished, proclivity towards the rich, employed, educated means that someone with a previously societally conforming and enriching life, is presumed to have had a momentary out of character blip - given the benefit of the doubt - and crucially haf access to legal counsel to reinforce such.
The reference/ link to the Jewish guy seems to distract and muddy your point. He had access to question treatment/"justice" that those get out of jailers wouldn't have, having the respectability of being a charity boss (although I would question whether that charity is more about tax efficient grant extraction than cause promotion), and whilst you may have no control over the comments here, a considerable noticeable number here inherently have racist/elitist overtones, that seems at odds with your concern at Jewish man, yet you don't really seem at odds with?
One's questioning of equality, in sentencing doesn't give one a cloak of invisibility to the inequality of society. That you example someone that represents less than 0.5% of Londoners, whilst suggesting 25% (those considered poor) are getting a free ride, propogates divisions. I find this post is fueling a fire of prejudice, under the cloak of questioning such. Dissapointed. And saddened by the prejudice and ignorance prevelance in the comments. With free speech, comes responsibility. The latter is seemingly hidden behind a cloak.
Thanks for taking the time to comment Damien. I absolutely accept some of your points, less convinced by others.
I’m not really saying people are getting an ’advantage’ as such. More that a system which claims it is promoting fairness and equality plays favourites, and demands different rules for different client groups. Sometimes this is driven by the best of intentions maybe, but it still creates an uneven playing field. And that is not mark of a fair justice system.
My point isn’t that people should not be treated with leniency. Just that this leniency shouldn’t be baked in, and should not reflect the ideological preferences of our elites. Each case should be taken on its individual merits by a qualified judge/magistrate. I also think, as I try to articulate, that these particular guidelines are patronising and insulting to many people.
Your point that the better educated don’t often end up in front of the judge is well made. And I should have talked about that maybe.
I brought in Gideon Falter to help tie two different stories into one. Two tier courts ( with your caveats onboard) and two tier policing. The bigger point I was trying to make is that these are all examples where ‘identity’ is taken into account by the law in a way that I don’t think it necessarily should. And how we are seeing an increase in essentially ’lawfare’, the weaponisation of the law for ideological ends across, the world right now.
I’m not really into the idea of ‘privilege’ Top Trumps. Boss or not, Gideon Falter has the same rights as anyone. Or at least he should have.
I’m not sure we can say his charity is any less worthy than the tens of thousands of taxpayer funded charities currently operating in Britain. Or that it is somehow a scam. Not sure where that’s coming from tbh.
I’m also not sure my commentators have ‘racist overtones’. That’s the problem with discussing these issues maybe. They can be interpreted in different ways. But I try to take everything here on good faith. And I believe my commentators do too.
Finally I’m really not suggesting poor people are getting a ‘free ride’. I don’t think anyone who reads my stuff can honestly suggest I am elitist or anti poor. But if that is how this post comes across then that’s only my fault.
Also it’s worth pointing out that I’m not calling for ‘equality’ in our society. Just equality before the law.
I’m sorry you didn’t like this post Damien. I’ve tried to address your points as best I can. I really value your comment so I hope you’ll come back again.
LSO; firstly can I thank you for your response - it is so refreshing to see differing views/standpoints considered and discussed, rather than ignored or ignited. I will continue to read, as your contributions always make me think/learn/reconsider what I, and others, lazily presume. Without responding point by point, whilst appreciating you doing so, sometimes things can be lost in this medium. I certainly misread that you were poor bashing, but totally agree with your point of post, that equality is important, nae sacrosanct. Maybe my personal circumstances/life experiences clouded my interpretation, having had to (successfully) defend myself, without resource or recourse to professional help at court, opposed by a local govt body resplendent with 2 barristers. If I hadn't been poor at that time, I'd never have been at court, and I apologise if such has clouded my stance, and response to you.
Thanks so much for your open and generous reply Damien. I really appreciate it.
Also delighted to hear that you succeeded in your court case against your local council(?). Sounds terrifying and stressful to me. As I guess, it was designed to be!
Thanks again for taking the time to reply and for your continued support.
The key here is the word equality. What the guidelines do (and much social justice activism tends towards) is to substitute equality with equity. The former requires only a level playing field. The latter requires consciously tilting the playing field to make up for perceived disadvantage. Everybody can recognise level but only the elites can define perceived disadvantage and the amount of tilt required to correct it.
I was at the St George's Day parade in London. There was a wide cross section of people walking, we talked with a lovely lady who was probably a muslim, but she felt English and wanted to show her support.
There was also inevitably some thugs (the FB invite referred to them as the 'football lads') who led the march. These fine gentlemen could not resist having a bit of a barney with the rozzers.
There was undoubtedly a very heavy polis presence, including boys in full riot gear. But strangely, I did not feel that was an overwhelming reason to want to try and get arrested. Others did.
I guess it was the usual mixed bag, some rowdy lads on the lager and some polis on overtime looking to try out their new baton.
Ha ha very much a typical Saturday in town. Thanks for the insight Rob. To be honest I found that crowd, or at least the bit I saw, quite intimidating. Those ‘football lads’ have the same right to be there as the ‘pro Palestinian lads’ I think. But I do feel they are easily stereotyped, and make any form of English nationalism, even the soft ‘English Heritage’ type, easier to marginalise and dismiss .
But did not the football lads play straight into the stereotype and justified the police heavy presence?
I was debating on the FB Group ("Ban RNLI Ferryinh ILLRGALS to our Country" - not the most cute name ever!) where it was organised from (at least from my perspective). The 'lads' were saying the presence of the police (in riot gear true enough) was an outright provocation and asking for a rumble. I was trying to suggest maybe they should have asked "why all the riot squad" rather than proving the police were correct.
No point arguing with these chaps however.
If the likes of Reform UK want to be serious about winning seats in the election, then they do NOT need this kind of publicity. IMHO, which is the HO that counts :-)
I just feel it’s such an own goal Rob. As you say, this sort of publicity is unwelcome. Again, I appreciate I might be just be being wet here. But why not organise some St George’s Day street parties instead? Or some of those trips for underprivileged kids like the taxi drivers used to do? Try and associate the flag with something more wholesome positive and community based. Maybe I’m just being naive.
Hmmm. Interesting point. The 'football lads' do themselves no favours, in terms of mannerisms, behaviour, appearances, etc, even though I suspect they want fairness and justice to prevail too. They too are worried, concerned that so many political issues are changing the country of their birth, and challenging their way of life, and the traditions and cultural norms they have grown up with. Love of your country and way of life and cultural norms is not a crime. Racism is.
It is a genuine and reasonable concern, expressed badly, without consideration of all the issues, I daresay.
No one likes wholesale change, no one wants all that is familiar taken away (or considered inappropriate) and to be described as a 'gammon' for protesting about loss of familiarity, injustice and their country going down the plughole in favour of what seems to be an alien way of life - and two tier justice and policing which turns a blind-eye to anti-semitism.
Those are serious and genuine issues, but inciting hatred ain't the way to solve the problems.
Strangely, pro-Hamas, pro Palestine supporters and protesters can get away with screaming hatred and carrying placards to express abhorrent views. Our police allow that.
It is our duty for the sake of future generations to question it.
The 'football lads' need a makeover. They don't help their cause.
Kudos to them however, and for those with the guts - and it does take courage - to take to the streets to fight obvious injustice. There are ways of doing it however, but standing up to be counted goes a long way in my book.
Another excellent piece LSO. As usual I enjoyed reading it because it was perceptive and both well and amusingly written but, again as usual, it made me feel somewhat deflated because what you say is so true and it is becoming difficult to see a way out of this mess. Maybe a Labour govenment will sort it all out. Just as they'll ensure that the weather will improve and that we'll all be millionaires by this time next year. Sorted, I'm feeling better already
I’d don’t see a way out of this mess either Bill. I feel that the Labour Party might simply see the disaster the SNP has made of Scotland and say, ‘that looks good, let’s do that.’
Brilliant article; clearly sets out what so many of us think! There is a timidity in government and police services to tackle these protesters head on, as it were. Scared of BLM-style rioting (any excuse). The St George's day lot are easy fish because if they rightfully object to being settled, say, they are obnoxious louts. But they are not. They are British people, mostly men, who have been demonized as far-right extremists - of course. Might be your plumber, your builder or local shop worker, disgusted by always being second-class citizens in their own country. This is very dangerous in the long run. People can only take so much. Thanks LSO.
Thanks so much Giulia. You are so right. There is a timidity as you say. And understandably so, at least from the point of view of the police. I don’t think the police are trained or equipped to deal with this week after week.
Hi LSO. You are describing people paid mainly by the State to exercise this warped, wasteful and malign behaviour. Too many jobsworth referees and too few players, basically. But the State can only spend what it forcibly extorts from me in the form of taxes, debt liabilities and inflation. I know I sound like a cracked record but I really don’t want to pay for all this crazy bollocks. The only answer is a taxpayers’ revolt. Cut off the money. Shrink the State.
Hi Richard, yes the state is at least twice as large as it needs to be I think. And then they wanted us to remain in the EU, so an extra layer on top of that. Sadly I think the appetite for a smaller state is limited. Not surprising when the majority of people are taking out of the system, rather than paying in.
You’re not kidding that ‘appetite..is limited’, LSO! As George Bernard Shaw said: ‘A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul’.
The problem is, HMG has not run a budget surplus this century, printing money and therefore using inflation to make up the difference between taxation and spending. It is, quite literally, robbing Peter and Paul, to pay Paul.
Ha ha. Spot on GBS!
Thanks Dee. Ha ha I loved the old Marvel output so much. Just brilliant popular story telling. I’ve no time for the snobs who look down on something just because it’s popular!
Leniency and mercy are fundamental to any functioning justice system I think. My issue with these guidelines is that they are imposed on judges and magistrates from above. So they are being told who to favour. Not sure that’s a good idea. Your point is well made I think. I can’t remember anyone going to prison over the banking crash. 🤷♂️
Great to hear from you Dee. All the best from me, and all the lads in the woodwind section. LSO
Aren’t the white and Jewish the minority in London. Who actually are the minority these days?
Hi Deidre. The Jewish population of London is not very large. I think the whole British Jewish community only numbers around 250,00. Although I haven’t checked that.
Yes I had heard that but white English a minority as well in London?
Yes. But only just. The issue with London isn’t that white people are in the minority. It’s that London is badly run, falling apart, and full of drug addicts. If Londoners, wherever they are from, were encouraged to pull together, rather than regard each other as the enemy we’d be a lot better off.
Of course, low status, the whole world would be a better and more peaceful place if we all just pulled together to live in harmony.
My comment was too brief to make my point, which is one you have been making in your articles. That is that: the narrative of these times have become that people of white European heritage are inherently colonizers, racists, and bigots. And, have historically been Christians.
In addition, the past several years has seen a massive influx of immigrants who are not.
The cultures are clashing in many ways and are not only affecting western values but our political systems.
Many years ago I spent over 10 years studying the crusades. I read so many books I have bookshelves filled with them. The start of that journey had little to do with where I ended.
I agree Deidre. Though I’m not envisioning a happy clappy fantasy world. I’m just suggesting that it would better if our bosses stop setting us against each other.
"The cultures are clashing in many ways and are not only affecting western values but our political systems"
Yes, since this mix of lawful and unlawful 'invasion' began in the seventies and is occurring throughout the western world, with all the attendant problems we see, it can only be desired.
Back to 1973, when the major Arab nations were crushed by Israel in the Yom Kippur war, in retaliation at their humiliating defeat, they restricted the supply of oil to the West for supporting Israel. One of their demands in removing the oil block was for the West to allow "unlimited immigration" of their peoples into western countries as well as promoting islamic culture. Whether successive Western leaders realised the potential for future problems at the time or subsequently, Arab leaders certainly knew where this was going - i.e. the president of Algeria in 1974 to the UN: "One day, millions of men will leave the Southern Hemisphere to go to the Northern Hemisphere. And they will not go there as friends. Because they will go there to conquer it. And they will conquer it with their sons. The wombs of our women will give us victory.”
Col. Gaddafi made a similar speech. Their words have become reality throughout the West. As Mark Steyn has often said : "Demography is your future". So if the "awake" not the "woke" recognised this trend eons ago, our dear leaders certainly must have. Hence, my conclusion - as all their policies have assisted the course we are on, they are complicit. Why? Logically, one could claim it's as insane as 'queers for Palestine'. How do they see the end game?
I just think that they are so out of touch with regular people that they can’t see the problem. To them mass immigration is a force for good, because for them it is. Cheap labour, across the board downward pressure on wages, a massive labour pool. Which I guess is just three ways of saying the same thing. Without going too conspiratorial, our elites have little need for nation states. They think internationally. Though I think this might well change a bit as the big economies become more sceptical of globalisation. Or at least talk more and more about bringing back manufacturing etc.
"One day, millions of men will leave the Southern Hemisphere to go to the Northern Hemisphere. And they will not go there as friends. Because they will go there to conquer it. And they will conquer it with their sons. The wombs of our women will give us victory.”
He got that right.
I didn't know about this demand from Arab countries (oil for immigration and promoting Islamic culture)
Very interesting, was not aware of that. It makes sense.
Whoops
My point was I we have to admit there is also a clash of religions happening, despite the shrinking of Christianity in the west. I just cannot shake the sense that this a crusade of sorts. By the way I am agnostic.
Only just? Google lists the indigenous population as some 37% - that's about a third. Ten years ago, it was about 45%. When it becomes 15% or 10% will that still not be "an issue"? Whilst agreeing with you on many other issues, I can't agree here. Having just returned from a rare visit to London (the city of my birth and many subsequent years), apart from a handful of old friends, nearly everyone I encountered was "foreign". The situation is probably the same in Paris, Berlin and most European major cities. Do most people enjoy or prefer living in a tower of Babel, do you think? It's disappointing to see you endorse a goal of the globalists/WEF etc.
Hey Alexei. I’m not really endorsing anything. I live in Central London and interact with an incredibly diverse mixture of people every day. Most people seem pretty decent to me, wherever they are from originally. That is not the same as endorsing essentially open borders-which I really don’t! Hope you had a good time in the capital anyway.
Travelling everywhere at 20mph on roads filled with speed humps is not my idea of a good time!! And STILL not eliminating the traffic jams of yore in the rush hour! Anyway, since the purpose of my visit was dealing with a difficult family situation, I wasn't expecting "a good time" - thank you for asking anyway! Btw, I worked in Central London for many years including in your area...
Nevertheless, it doesn't seem to me that you're connecting the dots. OTOH, you describe the problem in London as its malfunctioning administration (Khan & cronies I assume)and on the other, you celebrate the huge diversity of people - without recognizing that it's the latter who have continued to vote for the former. As more of the indigenes move away from an imported society and its alien culture, do you think the problems of administering London will improve, or will Tower Hamlets become the norm?
Absolutely fantastic article. I seriously don't know whether to laugh or cry, though. Your humour makes me want to laugh, but the complete absurdity of it all is just mind-boggling and makes me pine for what we've lost (as well as feel fear about where we're going) I agree with you, regarding the protests. They are too destructive now, and have gone on for too long. I think in restricted areas, and at certain times only, as you suggested. Like you, I believe freedom of speech needs to be protected but if protesters are inciting violence, harassing Jewish people or holding up swastika and other symbols, this has to be stopped.
Thanks so much. Thats very kind. I just feel these ‘protests’ have become something else now. A show of strength maybe?
They certainly seem to have emboldened a more open anti semitism on our streets. The Stamford Hill ‘attempted kidnapping’ really worries me. Not sure if that sort of thing would be happening if our bosses had stood up at the beginning and said ‘This is what we believe’.
It’s definitely a tricky one. I’m not a fan of banning stuff, but maybe moving it off the High St is ok. 🤔
I didn't know about the Stamford Hill incident, and just googled it. Very scary. I live in Hungary, the country which the MSM love to smear as 'far right' etc...a place where it's far safer to be Jewish than in the U.K, Germany, France etc.... and where, even in the capital city, you can walk around at night without fear (obviously there are dodgy areas, but Budapest is much safer than many other European cities) These protests are more than just against the war and killing of Palestinian civilians (a legitimate reason to protest, of course) I feel they are exposing the cracks in our broken system of multiculturalism and enabling extremists to vent their anti-semitism under the guise of 'anti-war' protests. Anti-semitism has intensified, but it was happening before, although somehow not talked about by the media. So many things have happened recently which are truly disturbing (e.g. Tory MP Mike Freer having to resign due to death threats, Jewish schools targeted..) These are things that even just 10 years ago I could not have imagined. Very sad.
The Stamford Hill incident is genuinely blood curdling. I so feel for the poor guy too. That would traumatise me no doubt.
I love Budapest Through. Been there twice. Fantastic city, great country, I’ll definitely go back.
I agree with everything you say about these marches. And yes, we are warned that our wicked world is full of racism. But this flavour of bigotry is often dismissed as no big deal. Hmmm. How did that work out last time ? 🤔
When challenged why the law was not being applied to the "anti-Semitic protesters" the Plod replied "there are too many of them". If that's the case then there should be a limit put on the numbers allowed to march on any one day.
Agreed Iris. The police are understandably scared that everything will kick off. And if it does, they will be unable to do much about it.
What you are describing basically is the method of anarcho-tyranny, where the law is heavy handed on the law abiding and lenient on the lawless. I don’t know whether this is down to incompetence or design - maybe a combination of the two? - but it seems to be official policy. Possibly the ‘people in charge’ think this is a clever way to keep them in charge and the proles in semi-order?
Hi Martin. I think you are right. It is a way to keep the lower orders in their place. But I don’t think this is a ‘conspiracy’ as such, it’s just the way the system is set up.As I point out briefly above, it’s in the government’s interest to fine us for everything, but it’s expensive and difficult to put crooks in prison. So we get more of the former and less of the latter.
I suppose we don’t want to make the effort to keep things tidy. Civilization is not something that just ‘happens’ just as my house does not clean itself.
The problem is when the law is not visibly evenly applied, public buy in to it is corroded. There is either one law under which we are all bound (the underlying principle of Magna Carta), or just the use of force by authoritarian power to enforce their whims of the day, dressed up as ‘law’ while they sit above and outside its constraints. We are increasingly moving to the latter situation.
Exactly that P.
As El Gato Malo says on his Substack: " as we all know, it does not matter what the law says; it matters what the people who apply the law do."
To answer your question about the protests - the police should enforce the law which is repeatedly broken during these protests. They would then fade away. They are being encouraged.
When somebody rapes and kills a judge's daughter, I wonder whether his fellow judges will carefully read all these guidelines to see if they can get the offender off with a week in minimum security?
I’m not sure the judges and magistrates are supportive of these guidelines Jeremy. It doesn’t seem so. I get the impression they would prefer the flexibility of taking into account mitigating circumstances as they see fit, rather than have them imposed from above. You know, like it’s always been up to now!
My comment was meant to be ironic.
Yes sorry Jeremy! I just wanted to stress I don’t think the judges are complicit in all this. Sorry if I was being a bit slow……..
I would like to think you are right, and my comment was in that vein, but sometimes I wonder. The judge who bent over backwards to ensure Ezedi stayed here comes to mind.
LSO; I don't agree with this particular post, but stand by my specific previous appreciations of specific previous posts, having acknowledged such, for feeling they were puncturing the pomposity. .
Your response to a poster...."I’m just suggesting that it would better if our bosses stop setting us against each other."....is the only valid point I see here, the just is really one of superiority, and selectiviness. Yes I agree, someone poor/poorly educated/in poor housing shouldn't get a get out of jail card free, but to suggest that the guidance gives them an advantage (incentives lack of responsibility/accountability/propogates such) is rather disingenuous. Those better educated, financially resourced don't end up in sentencing in the first place, precisely because the CPS etc, the institutional prejudice to the impoverished, proclivity towards the rich, employed, educated means that someone with a previously societally conforming and enriching life, is presumed to have had a momentary out of character blip - given the benefit of the doubt - and crucially haf access to legal counsel to reinforce such.
The reference/ link to the Jewish guy seems to distract and muddy your point. He had access to question treatment/"justice" that those get out of jailers wouldn't have, having the respectability of being a charity boss (although I would question whether that charity is more about tax efficient grant extraction than cause promotion), and whilst you may have no control over the comments here, a considerable noticeable number here inherently have racist/elitist overtones, that seems at odds with your concern at Jewish man, yet you don't really seem at odds with?
One's questioning of equality, in sentencing doesn't give one a cloak of invisibility to the inequality of society. That you example someone that represents less than 0.5% of Londoners, whilst suggesting 25% (those considered poor) are getting a free ride, propogates divisions. I find this post is fueling a fire of prejudice, under the cloak of questioning such. Dissapointed. And saddened by the prejudice and ignorance prevelance in the comments. With free speech, comes responsibility. The latter is seemingly hidden behind a cloak.
Thanks for taking the time to comment Damien. I absolutely accept some of your points, less convinced by others.
I’m not really saying people are getting an ’advantage’ as such. More that a system which claims it is promoting fairness and equality plays favourites, and demands different rules for different client groups. Sometimes this is driven by the best of intentions maybe, but it still creates an uneven playing field. And that is not mark of a fair justice system.
My point isn’t that people should not be treated with leniency. Just that this leniency shouldn’t be baked in, and should not reflect the ideological preferences of our elites. Each case should be taken on its individual merits by a qualified judge/magistrate. I also think, as I try to articulate, that these particular guidelines are patronising and insulting to many people.
Your point that the better educated don’t often end up in front of the judge is well made. And I should have talked about that maybe.
I brought in Gideon Falter to help tie two different stories into one. Two tier courts ( with your caveats onboard) and two tier policing. The bigger point I was trying to make is that these are all examples where ‘identity’ is taken into account by the law in a way that I don’t think it necessarily should. And how we are seeing an increase in essentially ’lawfare’, the weaponisation of the law for ideological ends across, the world right now.
I’m not really into the idea of ‘privilege’ Top Trumps. Boss or not, Gideon Falter has the same rights as anyone. Or at least he should have.
I’m not sure we can say his charity is any less worthy than the tens of thousands of taxpayer funded charities currently operating in Britain. Or that it is somehow a scam. Not sure where that’s coming from tbh.
I’m also not sure my commentators have ‘racist overtones’. That’s the problem with discussing these issues maybe. They can be interpreted in different ways. But I try to take everything here on good faith. And I believe my commentators do too.
Finally I’m really not suggesting poor people are getting a ‘free ride’. I don’t think anyone who reads my stuff can honestly suggest I am elitist or anti poor. But if that is how this post comes across then that’s only my fault.
Also it’s worth pointing out that I’m not calling for ‘equality’ in our society. Just equality before the law.
I’m sorry you didn’t like this post Damien. I’ve tried to address your points as best I can. I really value your comment so I hope you’ll come back again.
All the best
LSO; firstly can I thank you for your response - it is so refreshing to see differing views/standpoints considered and discussed, rather than ignored or ignited. I will continue to read, as your contributions always make me think/learn/reconsider what I, and others, lazily presume. Without responding point by point, whilst appreciating you doing so, sometimes things can be lost in this medium. I certainly misread that you were poor bashing, but totally agree with your point of post, that equality is important, nae sacrosanct. Maybe my personal circumstances/life experiences clouded my interpretation, having had to (successfully) defend myself, without resource or recourse to professional help at court, opposed by a local govt body resplendent with 2 barristers. If I hadn't been poor at that time, I'd never have been at court, and I apologise if such has clouded my stance, and response to you.
Keep writing. Keep me thinking. Keep questioning.
Thanks so much for your open and generous reply Damien. I really appreciate it.
Also delighted to hear that you succeeded in your court case against your local council(?). Sounds terrifying and stressful to me. As I guess, it was designed to be!
Thanks again for taking the time to reply and for your continued support.
The key here is the word equality. What the guidelines do (and much social justice activism tends towards) is to substitute equality with equity. The former requires only a level playing field. The latter requires consciously tilting the playing field to make up for perceived disadvantage. Everybody can recognise level but only the elites can define perceived disadvantage and the amount of tilt required to correct it.
Well put Martin.
Another superb article.
I'd be happy for protests to continue if they showed any sign of rooting out the islamists and antisemitism.
But they don't want to do that, so they can bugger off as far as I'm concerned.
Free speech is one thing, but hateful gits are hateful gits and everyone else shouldn't have to listen to them.
Thanks Ian.
I was at the St George's Day parade in London. There was a wide cross section of people walking, we talked with a lovely lady who was probably a muslim, but she felt English and wanted to show her support.
There was also inevitably some thugs (the FB invite referred to them as the 'football lads') who led the march. These fine gentlemen could not resist having a bit of a barney with the rozzers.
There was undoubtedly a very heavy polis presence, including boys in full riot gear. But strangely, I did not feel that was an overwhelming reason to want to try and get arrested. Others did.
I guess it was the usual mixed bag, some rowdy lads on the lager and some polis on overtime looking to try out their new baton.
So overall a typical day out in London.
Ha ha very much a typical Saturday in town. Thanks for the insight Rob. To be honest I found that crowd, or at least the bit I saw, quite intimidating. Those ‘football lads’ have the same right to be there as the ‘pro Palestinian lads’ I think. But I do feel they are easily stereotyped, and make any form of English nationalism, even the soft ‘English Heritage’ type, easier to marginalise and dismiss .
But did not the football lads play straight into the stereotype and justified the police heavy presence?
I was debating on the FB Group ("Ban RNLI Ferryinh ILLRGALS to our Country" - not the most cute name ever!) where it was organised from (at least from my perspective). The 'lads' were saying the presence of the police (in riot gear true enough) was an outright provocation and asking for a rumble. I was trying to suggest maybe they should have asked "why all the riot squad" rather than proving the police were correct.
No point arguing with these chaps however.
If the likes of Reform UK want to be serious about winning seats in the election, then they do NOT need this kind of publicity. IMHO, which is the HO that counts :-)
I just feel it’s such an own goal Rob. As you say, this sort of publicity is unwelcome. Again, I appreciate I might be just be being wet here. But why not organise some St George’s Day street parties instead? Or some of those trips for underprivileged kids like the taxi drivers used to do? Try and associate the flag with something more wholesome positive and community based. Maybe I’m just being naive.
Hmmm. Interesting point. The 'football lads' do themselves no favours, in terms of mannerisms, behaviour, appearances, etc, even though I suspect they want fairness and justice to prevail too. They too are worried, concerned that so many political issues are changing the country of their birth, and challenging their way of life, and the traditions and cultural norms they have grown up with. Love of your country and way of life and cultural norms is not a crime. Racism is.
It is a genuine and reasonable concern, expressed badly, without consideration of all the issues, I daresay.
No one likes wholesale change, no one wants all that is familiar taken away (or considered inappropriate) and to be described as a 'gammon' for protesting about loss of familiarity, injustice and their country going down the plughole in favour of what seems to be an alien way of life - and two tier justice and policing which turns a blind-eye to anti-semitism.
Those are serious and genuine issues, but inciting hatred ain't the way to solve the problems.
Strangely, pro-Hamas, pro Palestine supporters and protesters can get away with screaming hatred and carrying placards to express abhorrent views. Our police allow that.
It is our duty for the sake of future generations to question it.
The 'football lads' need a makeover. They don't help their cause.
Kudos to them however, and for those with the guts - and it does take courage - to take to the streets to fight obvious injustice. There are ways of doing it however, but standing up to be counted goes a long way in my book.
Agreed Dee. Great comment.
Lacerating. And brilliant.
Thanks Paul!
*That should be 'kettled' not settled!
Another excellent piece LSO. As usual I enjoyed reading it because it was perceptive and both well and amusingly written but, again as usual, it made me feel somewhat deflated because what you say is so true and it is becoming difficult to see a way out of this mess. Maybe a Labour govenment will sort it all out. Just as they'll ensure that the weather will improve and that we'll all be millionaires by this time next year. Sorted, I'm feeling better already
I’d don’t see a way out of this mess either Bill. I feel that the Labour Party might simply see the disaster the SNP has made of Scotland and say, ‘that looks good, let’s do that.’
Thanks for your kind comment.
Reminds me of West Side Story - I'm depraved on account of I'm deprived
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7TT4jnnWys
Ha ha absolutely perfect!