UK EU Referendum Thoughts

[Mr. Tea]

Has anyone else seen well-meaning but perhaps not overly analytical friends sharing this utter brainturd on social media?

I think if I were wavering, crap like this could push me into the Leave camp. For what possible reason are we meant to like Benedict Cumberbatch and dislike Michael Caine? Why is James Dyson, a man mainly known for making fancy hoovers, supposed to be unlikeable while we're apparently meant to think well of Richard Branson, who is raking in hundreds of millions through the carve-up of the NHS? And let's consider the pitting of David 'harmless loony' Icke against Barack 'drone war' Obama for a moment. (I notice they didn't use Tony 'bombin' fer Jesus' Blair, for some reason.)

The Leave campaign have used some appalling propaganda but what really pains me is to see idiots in the Remain camp doing the Leavers' work for them with fuckwittery like this.

 

[droid]

Oh come on - who could resist Blessed?

 

[Mr. Tea]

Oh come on - who could resist Blessed?

OK, I'll concede that point alone. And Pat Stewart. But still.

 

[trza]

those people in boats were all over twitter this morning then something else happened and everyone is talking about anything else but for one morning everyone was all over the boat thing

 

[Mr. Tea]

Be great if the boats crashed into each other and started sinking and everyone in them was all screaming for help and the govt was like "Sorry, cutbacks. Plus, you know, if we rescue you, it'll only encourage others to attempt the journey."

 

[droid]

Britain First

http://time.com/4371330/jo-cox-shot-stabbed-birstall-england/?xid=tcoshare

 

[Woebot]

labour remain LP shot

http://www.theguardian.com/politics...endum-live-osborne-brexit-budget-leave-tories

utterly disgraceful act by a lunatic

 

[Mr. Tea]

The fuck is happening to this country? Yesterday's Farage/Geldof twat-off on the Thames was kind of grimly amusing but this is just awful.

A couple of weeks ago I got into an argument with some FB semi-mates (and D's own Baboon and Craner) about whether or not the EDL were 'fascists'. My stance was that some bonehead who likes to go on a little march with his right arm held up at a jaunty angle and then goes back to his mum's house for tea is in no meaningful way a fascist, but a sort of fascism reenactment enthusiast.

But this looks horribly like the real thing.

 

[droid]

 

[Corpsey]

Utterly fucked up.

 

[Mr. Tea]

I don't want to get into (yet another) debate about the precise definition of 'fascism', but: no, Farage isn't a fascist. A reactionary, populist xenophobe, sure, but there's more to fascism than reactionary populism and xenophobia.

 

[Mr. Tea]

Bloody hell, she's died. This is just fucking awful.

 

[droid]

RIP. Awful news.

That lunatic may just have swung the referendum too.

 

[Corpsey]

I keep wondering if the political climate in this country is particularly awful at present or if it's always been like this and I'm just waking up to it as I get older.

 

[droid]

I don't want to get into (yet another) debate about the precise definition of 'fascism', but: no, Farage isn't a fascist. A reactionary, populist xenophobe, sure, but there's more to fascism than reactionary populism and xenophobia.

Sure, he's just a reactionary populist xenophobe who uses the imagery of nazi propaganda to further a racist political agenda.

I actually agree with Craner that fascism is quite a narrow technical category - but in colloquial terms, Farage ticks most of the boxes.

 

[droid]

I keep wondering if the political climate in this country is particularly awful at present or if it's always been like this and I'm just waking up to it as I get older.

The blame rests squarely on the shoulders of the centrists. You cant blow the dog whistle for years and then be surprised when your house ends up surrounded by a baying pack.

The GOP have done the same thing in the US, encouraging toxic politics to run rampant may bring about short term gains, but then you have to deal with a large contingent of people who actually take it seriously.

 

[Mr. Tea]

As I understand it, violence is as intrinsic to the definition of fascism as class struggle is to Marxism and personal freedom is to liberalism. I think you can be a fascist sympathizer or a fascism enthusiast without exercising violence yourself or ordering, sponsoring or funding violence by others, but not an actual fascist.

This murder meets the definition right down to a T, obviously.

 

[droid]

Predictably grotesque display of hypocrisy from the usual media suspects today. Chorus of voices saying its: 'to soon to talk about motive', 'mental illness', 'lone wolf', etc. - probably reasonable points but regularly discarded when convenient. The Star is the only one to call it as it (apparently) is.

I suspect the politicians know full well what's happened here. This should be a wake up call for everybody.

 

[droid]

False flag narrative coming through strong as well. Even when the left is attacked it's the lefts fault.

 

[luka]

Everything now is a false flag though. It's been kneejerk since 9/11...