Brexit

It’s two days before Britain decides whether or not to leave the EU and there are two leaflets at the front door. One is “Labour in for Britain” on behalf of Remain and the other is an “EU Myth Buster” on behalf of Leave. My vote has long since been decided but I thought I’d have a look at them both. The Remain leaflet states that 3 million jobs are linked to our trade with the EU and leaving puts those jobs at risk. A fair concern. The other point it makes is that leaving the EU risks us losing some of our rights at work, such as paid leave, parental leave and equal pay, all of which are currently safeguarded by our EU membership. Again, seems fair enough.

Then I looked at the Leave leaflet. “The EU costs us £350 million per week- we could spend that on the NHS instead”. It makes two other references to how we could build a new NHS Hospital every week with this apparent £350 million saving, or alternatively we could spend it on schools or housing. That sounds brilliant, except this Tory government has stripped apart our NHS, forced doctors and nurses to strike and refused to hold talks with them. Michael Gove, leading campaigner for the Leave campaign, was himself almost single handedly responsible for making the teaching profession an utter misery, leading to a multitude of strikes and a huge number of talented young teachers deciding to leave for a less stressful vocation. Housing, do I even need to start on housing? The people preaching to you about spending money on the NHS, Schools and Housing aren’t suddenly about to change their political beliefs and become socialists because of Brexit. They are the same people who have been pushing through bills for six years to do exactly the opposite.

And who voted for those bills? I certainly didn’t. About 24% of those eligible to vote chose Conservative at the last election, they needed the Lib Dems to jump into bed with them in 2010, and since then they’ve been left to make all the decisions for us. In fact, as ever, many of the laws they pushed through were conveniently left out of their manifestoes or they had explicitly promised they wouldn’t, only to change their minds once in parliament (Lib Dems and tuition fees, tories and their tax credits cuts) but once they had power there was nothing we could do to stop them. In the UK we have an unelected House of Lords. An unelected Head of State. Tens of thousands take to the streets to protest austerity and aren’t acknowledged. And yet all I keep hearing from Leave campaigners is that we are some great Democracy that the EU needs to learn from.

It is all a lie to give us the impression that we will get any say whatsoever on the future of our country other than choosing between Labour and Tory at the next election, and we’ll have a vote in a once in a generation referendum of some sort. The Leave campaign seems focussed squarely on emotive language and an attitude that we are Great Britain, we are better than everyone else, we can go it alone, have some faith, believe in Britain etc etc which is founded on absolutely nothing. Whenever the Remain campaign points to the fact that pretty much every single independent study, every single independent expert says leaving the EU would be a huge risk which would cost the country billions, all Leave can come up with is “well experts have got it wrong in the past before, have some faith.” That isn’t faith, it’s blind faith. At least give us something to think about. “Just have faith” is what religious people say when trying to convert you. But this isn’t faith in Jesus Christ, miracle worker, Son of God, Carpenter and all round top bloke, it’s faith in Nigel Farage, the BNP, Kelvin Mackenzie, Katie Hopkins, Boris Johnson, Michael Gove, Donald Trump and The Sun.

Not one person, propaganda video, politician or leaflet has come up with a plausible reason why leaving the EU would benefit any of us. I have read a lot about how neither campaign has been particularly convincing, which I actually agree with. Having to support David Cameron has been deeply unpleasant. However on such a massive decision for the future of our country surely the emphasis is with the Leave campaign to give us an actual, solid reason to vote out?

This isn’t all to say that the EU is perfect. It is just to say that there is no good reason to leave it. It is to say that we are better off addressing the shortcomings of the EU than to abandon it altogether and put the future of the UK in jeapordy. It has been at times (I think deliberately) a messy and confusing debate. It is hard for people to get to the bottom of the pros and cons because there is nobody giving a measured argument. A lot of good people more intelligent than I am are voting out, but I can’t help but feel it is based more on a combination of jingoistic, idealistic reasons rather than the reality that faces us.

Voting for Brexit won’t turn Britain into an old Ealing film where we all walk around saying “good day” to eachother while wearing top hats and leaving our front doors unlocked. It won’t turn Britain into somewhere that actually produces goods again, we have long since sold everything off. It won’t turn Britain into an immigrant free zone. It won’t mean the army stand on the white cliffs of dover looking out for any incoming migrant boats. It won’t mean we get any more of a say than we already do in decisions made in parliament. It won’t mean the threat of terrorism will disappear. It won’t mean that the government will start caring about the NHS again. It won’t mean they’ll reverse all of the privatisation and cheap sell offs that have cost the country millions. It won’t mean they’ll start acting on fair taxation for big businesses and it certainly won’t mean they will suddenly start caring about working class people again. What it would turn Britain into is an isolated little Island, pretending it’s the good old days, with its head in the sand, lead into the unknown by Boris f*cking Johnson.

Hillsborough

Today was a massive day for the families who finally got the verdict that they always knew was correct. In the last few years there’s been so many people asking why Hillsborough is still in the public eye, as if it was all some attention seeking scheme by the families and those who have spent 27 years seeking justice. I’ve seen and heard so many people complaining about seeing Hillsborough in the news “again” or having to observe a minutes silence before a match “again”. Opposition supporters have sang “always the victims, it’s never your fault” and labelled Liverpool “self pity city” like there is some shame to be had for standing up for your own and pursuing Justice.

I remember in 2006 Liverpool played Arsenal in a cup game on the BBC, it was labelled “Truth Day” and was set up by the supporters and the HJC (Hillsborough Justice Campaign). Fans held up a mosaic on the Kop showing “THE TRUTH” and chanted justice for the 96 for the first 6 minutes of the game, six minutes being relevant as it was six minutes into the game on April 15th 1989 when the referee halted the match. Co-commentator Mark Lawrenson, Liverpool player from '81 to '88, asked dismissively at the end of the 6 minutes: “can we get on with the football now?” On the 20^th anniversary of the disaster when the Kop as one chanted for justice as Andy Burnham (then secretary of state for culture, media and sport, now known better for being pipped by Corbyn for Labour leader) addressed them at the service, some people, even other Liverpool fans, argued it was in bad taste.

Today was vindication for the tireless campaigning for justice. Without their bravery, persistence and refusal to lie down after smear after smear, false dawn after false dawn, and heartache after heartache there would have been no ruling of unlawful killing today. In fact, without it to this day the official line would probably still be that drunk and ticketless Liverpool fans killed their own. It has all spoken volumes of the cynical nature of so many people, and I am so pleased for the families and survivors that their tenacity has finally paid off. They should never be ashamed of the work they have done over the last 27 years.

Despite the great news today there is still more to do. The possibility of proper punishment being handed out to SYP looms and until the dust settles on that then we won’t know the true extent of the cover up, although much shocking evidence is already freely available. 

There are, however, still one or two myths prevailing. One of the questions put to the jury was whether the behaviour of Liverpool fans contributed in any way to the disaster.

Firstly, I don’t understand why this was even one of the questions put to the jury. Liverpool fans have been exonerated for a long time and including this question gave the SYP the opportunity to continue to lie about their statements from the day, many of which were found to have been doctored and heavily edited at the request of senior members of the force. Of course, the SYP is now rushing to apologise for all that happened on that day but even during this trial they continued to peddle their lies. 

On the "ticketless" issue, the Leppings Lane end where the disaster happened by all measurements was actually under capacity on the day. The disaster wasn’t caused by there being too many people in the stand, rather there were too many people congregated in one area (two "pens" as they were then known) directly behind the goal. The side pens were virtually empty. This situation occurred largely because the police failed to direct people through the crush at the turnstiles, and once through an exit gate opened by the police, the supporters' only obvious option was to head down a tunnel that lead straight to the middle pens. Many reported being lifted off their feet and "swept" down the tunnel due to the sheer release of pressure once the gate opened. They should have been diverted to the less clear routes either side of the tunnel down to the stand, and thus they would have filled up the empty side pens rather than the already full up area in the middle. The fact that the stand was under capacity at a sold out semi final dispells any notion of there being a huge number of people without tickets.

Thankfully, the Jury agreed. But the fact that it was a question deemed worthy of asking in the first place really highlighted to me the affect that those lies in the first few hours after the disaster continue to have.

I guess the point of this long, rambling, after work blog is to pay tribute to those who have campaigned non-stop for 27 years and gotten the results they deserved. It’s a shame on our media, our government and the cynical types amongst the general public that I have talked about that they have faced such a huge uphill battle to get to this point. Some of the most influential campaigners and relatives of the victims have since passed away and never got to see the real, full truth come out. In that respect, while today is a day for relief and respect it is also an extremely sad day too and a time for us all to reflect on just how this all managed to happen and how the lies were allowed to become “the truth”.

Hopefully the lessons learned purely from the aftermath of Hillsborough and the following 27 years must be to never believe the headlines; if you're believing the word of Rupert Murdoch, Kelvin McKenzie and the S*n over grieving, innocent families then you're probably getting it wrong. If you're believing that the Police would never close ranks to stitch up working class people, then you're probably getting it wrong. In fact, if you're taking sides with Jeremy Hunt and the Tories against Junior Doctors who we all rely on to survive then, yep, you're probably getting it wrong. It's time to recognise that we need to stand together and ensure that, never again, should a group of outnumbered but righteous people be allowed to walk alone against the powerful who only wish to protect their own interests.

ISIS- (the radical Islamist terror group, not the brand of TV i've got in my bedroom)

I’ve spent a lot of time reading articles about ISIS and what makes them tick, and so with some authority I can tell you that I still have absolutely no fucking idea what they’re all about.

The basic gist of things seems to be that according to the Quran there is an impending apocalypse, which is nice. In the countdown to the big apocalypse, the Muslims will defeat Rome aka the west in a long drawn out battle which will ultimately be finished off triumphantly and bloodily by none other than Jesus Christ himself. What a twist. I didn’t even know Jesus was part of Islam, but it turns out he is considered a very powerful prophet. And he’s going to kill us all. Happy days.

ISIS believe that they have a “Caliphate”, which I think (I think) translates to an Islamic government/empire ruled by a “Caliph” who is seen as a successor to Prophet Muhammad. Basically (I think) the objective is to keep expanding the boundaries of this Caliphate so that their interpretation of Islam can be dictated to anybody living within it. Until eventually, it all kicks off and there’s a proper nawty, nawsty little ruck and ISIS win. I think. Woohoo.

It all sounds nuts, and there’s a couple of good reasons for that. The first is that I don’t even know if I’m 100% right with the above, so it could well be nuts in the literal “where has he got all that random shit from?” sense. The second reason is quite simply that it just is stark raving bonkers.

Considering how mad it all is it’s no wonder there’s confusion and the same old myths are peddled every time something happens. One such myth is that ISIS supporters aren’t “real” Muslims or that they are “un-Islamic”. Whilst clearly, obviously, it goes without saying etc that the vast majority of Muslims want nothing to do with this apocalyptic death cult, ISIS are taking everything they believe in straight out of the Quran, word for word. Whilst it may be a terrible brand of Islam it’s no less legitimate than the friendlier, peaceful beliefs shared by others. It’s too easy to just say they aren’t Muslims. They are.

On the flip side there are of course the types who’ll just blame all Muslims, which is also total rubbish. Clearly, obviously, it goes without saying etc. The lad on Twitter summed it up when he put something along the lines of “People keep telling me I need to get rid of ISIS when I can’t even get a girl to text me back” which was a point that was equally hilarious as it was well made. So who is to blame?

The next lot of people who get the blame are “us”. “Who me?” “Yes you”. “Couldn’t have been.” “Then who (stole the cookie from the cookie jar) is responsible for the rise of ISIS?” While some hold the extreme view that it’s all down to Islam others have decided it’s “cuz of Bush and Blair innit”. Well, not exactly. While foreign policy obviously hasn’t helped matters over the years I don’t think you can account for a load of blood crazy savages to be running around chopping people’s heads off, shooting concert goers and blowing up train stations.

There’s a racist undertone to that kind of thinking that says people anywhere east of our fair Isle are simple minded types, prone to pre-historic savagery if you dare upset them in any way. They have a cause they believe in, they are well organised, they are backed up by a holy book that nobody dares to question and they don’t need some toff from the UK or an absolute imbecile of a Yank part time golfer to reinforce their beliefs.

So who is to blame? And what can we do about it? God/Allah (delete as applicable) knows. There are too many reasons to list and I don’t know half of them. Don’t ask me, I’m just a little twat who writes a blog once every 35 years.

The way I see it, these loons are like the dementors off Harry Potter. They thrive off misery, pain and suffering. They want you to spread hate, it’s the only way their message will spread and help their borders to expand. Don’t become their most powerful recruiters by blaming innocents and leaving them disenfranchised. Basically, without wishing to sound like a flipping great hippy (cuz I’m not mate, alright?) we’ve just got to keep going about our lives spreading joy, happiness, and all those other hippy type things.

When, inevitably, they come after London again, and it is inevitable, the same applies. Don’t turn to Farage or some other crackpot of his ilk. It’ll be tempting, deep down, to strike out. You'll feel that rage in your stomach usually reserved for your team conceding a last minute winner. But that’s how they win. Don’t let them win.

Shakespeare wuz ere

I was in the pub on Saturday nursing a dreadful hangover. In the 6 hours I was there I had two solitary pints; hair of the dog my friends, it doesn’t always work.

The pub is the best place to go to discuss all the burning issues with your mates. Football, music, current affairs, girls etc. so naturally I brought up Ed Sheeran’s appearance on Home and Away last Friday evening. Well, it was a burning issue to me and loads of other people, alright?

I was asked by my good pal Bakes if I actually watched the show in question, to which I told him yes, obviously. Every weeknight at 6pm, channel 5, immediately after Neighbours. If you’re lucky enough to have a day off you can even treat yourself to watching it in the early afternoon for a change of pace, where for some reason they break tradition by putting it on before Neighbours instead of after it. I’m not 100% sure why this is, but I reckon it’s something to do with water flushing the other way in Australia.

“That just sums you up. The little things like that” he told me.

I’ve been thinking about that line ever since. And by ever since, I don’t really mean ever since, I mean I thought about it for ten minutes last night, had a minor existential crisis and thought I’d write a blog about it. Does it really sum me up? What do people think of me? What do all of these little things say about me? How am I perceived by the world?

Nowadays, social media is the ideal place to cast judgement on people. I thought I’d take a look at my social media activity and imagine I was a stranger to get some clue on what a real stranger might think of me. I know, I am a genius. I’ve had a week off work this week, so this was the ideal opportunity to see what the real me is all about.

Twitter will tell you that on Monday I “watched, and genuinely enjoyed” a programme on BBC4 about the changing of the seasons. Facebook will tell you that on Tuesday I went to Tudor World in Stratford Upon Avon and dressed up as an executioner with my girlfriend, where I wrote “Shakespeare wuz ere 2k15” with a quill. You may also note that my Facebook profile is a picture of me in a Dec mask and my whatsapp profile picture is a screenshot from the film “Grease” (“Rockin’, rollin’ and whatnot”, classic gag). I've also revealed via this blog that i'm an avid Home and Away watcher. And that’s it for the week; living life to its fullest.

Two immediate questions sprung to mind; how has this lad got a girlfriend, and how long before she dumps him?

These things all say something about me and I’m not entirely sure they are positive. It was interesting to look from the outside though and wonder what categories I fit into, what I would think of myself through the eyes of someone else. Anyone who says they don’t care what other people think about them is either a liar or a total sociopath, but maybe the extent we worry about it varies from person to person.

How do you think you are perceived? How do you want people to look at you? It might be my next burning issue to discuss when we’re at the pub. Sure you’ll look forward to that one, Bakes.

Whehey, it's the General Election

I've actually quite enjoyed the build up to this election so far.

I never thought I would type those words as I usually fall under the umbrella of people who hate it all and think politicians are all the same. Tax dodging, false promises, tens of thousands on expenses, posh Eton boys protecting their mates' wallets etc etc.  But having got a bit more involved I can see that the problem isn't that all politicians are the same, it's that we keep voting for the same politicians and expect them to be different. And if you want to quote that and layer it on top of a picture of me looking pensive then please, go ahead. Something like this would suffice:

Two sets of people, though, have been frustrating me. Firstly, there is the group that I formerly belonged to. The ones who won't get involved, won't research their options, they are prejudiced from the start and decide they won't vote because they don't think there is anyone worth voting for. But if you look past Labour and the Tories there are genuine alternatives. Watching the debates a couple of weeks ago was fantastic, and I don't understand how anyone could watch it and not have thought: "Sod it, let's just give the job to them three women" (or something to that affect).

Natalie Bennett of the Greens, Leanne Wood of Plaid Cymru, and Nicola Sturgeon of the SNP gave me real faith that there are people out there who are genuine progressives and have our interests at heart. Seeing the three ladies on stage bossing the whole debate while Farage stood in the corner moaning about the audience (probably full of foreigners) and Ed being his usual uninspiring self, it felt like the old guard vs the future. Now clearly it's impossible to vote for 2 of those 3 unless i've gained a cult following in Wales and Scotland, which is doubtful, but the point still stands; politicians aren't inherently bad, we just need to do our homework, make the effort to find the right ones and then vote them in. Bloody simples.

The second group of people who have frustrated me are the tactical voters. I read something on Twitter a couple of weeks back that said "the only wasted vote is a vote for a party you don't believe in". That sums it up beautifully. If you want to see politics change for the better, look up the manifestos, read them carefully, pick the one you agree with most and go with them. I don't want the Tories in again, but I won't vote Labour just to keep them out. The truth is that Labour aren't the Labour of old and while they are better than the Tories they are basically just a slightly nicer, watered down version. I'll be voting for the party who I feel most reflect my views on the world and what our priorities should be, I would encourage you to do the same.

Nothing will ever change if we keep voting between these two parties. I can't think of anybody I know that is happy with how this country is run, yet we're in the same two horse race we've been in since god knows when; it doesn't make any sense but we do have the power to change it.

I haven't mentioned UKIP because enough has been said about them over the last year or so. If anyone is considering voting UKIP, I would give you the same advise I would give anyone, read the manifestos first. Even just the basic summary. If you read that and still wish to vote for them, that is absolutely your right.  Although I do hope that a Romanian rugby tackles you on your way to the Polling Station.

After a brief writing hiatus, ladies and gentleman, I hath returned. I knew it was time to call it a day for the blog when my Mum deleted me off Facebook. She reckons she did it because I kept texting her demanding to know why she's flirting with men on her statuses, but I know it's really because she couldn't stand seeing this blog pop up now and then. Not to mention having to see the picture of her son in a pink jacket and god awful hat, thumbs up looking like a complete penis. Why did I choose that picture anyway?

I hope i'm not the only one that gets scared by eating out at a new restaurant. I have a crippling fear of unfamiliar menus, and it's often what sways me to decide against a fancy new place and settling for Nandos instead. Fucking hell, this is all in French, how do I know what I'm ordering without getting google translate up on my phone? And how much of a gorm am I gunna look trying to pronounce that one to the waitress?

It becomes especially difficult when you're on holiday, as I have recently discovered. I've just come to the end of a wonderful week in Rovinj, Croatia. It's a pretty amazing place. It's a fishing town and it's close to Italy, so you're either eating pasta, pizza or fish. Me being the man of the world that I truly am I thought i'd try a bit of fish, lovingly captured in waters nearby and placed carefully onto my plate. What I was actually presented with was an actual animal, with eyes staring deep into my soul as if to say "why, James, why?" or whatever the Croatian translation is. Probably something with way more z's than seems necessary.

First I checked if he had a pulse and then I pondered whether his name would have been Paulo or Francesco. And that's when I knew I had a problem, and not just a mental one. Morally, where do I stand on this one? It's no different to having a fish cake at home, so why am I so repulsed by what's on my plate? Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed picking him up, putting on an Italian accent and getting him to plead my girlfriend for mercy, but I was never about to eat the little chap.

That's it, I thought, i'm gunna have to turn into a veggie. If it's good enough for Paul McCartney and Lisa Simpson, it's good enough for me.

Surely, in this day and age, we don't need to kill animals to survive? There's so many alternatives, aren't there? The truth is that most of us are hypocrites. Not many would have eaten Francesco, and similarly we all get outraged upon discovering we've actually been eating horse meat, or them pesky Muslims have conned us into eating Halal. Or when we find out some mental country somewhere is eating cats and dogs with their chips.Yet we think nothing of munching into a maccies or getting the barbie out while summer's *actually* happening. My morals seem to lead me into only being a vegetarian when I can give my meal a name or if I could envisage it being my pet. Nobody gives a fish finger a name do they? And if they do, they want sectioning. Although now i'm thinking about it, I doubt i'll ever be able to eat a fish finger again without naming it first...Roger, perhaps?

So James, you rambling fucking fool, what are you going to do about it? Well, maybe i'll have a stab at being a veggie, but I know it's never going to last. As humans we naturally want to develop, evolve, gain more intelligence etc but I reckon once i've moved on from my ordeal in Rovinj, i'll be back to burying my head in the sand and pretending to believe that somehow another beings life is of less value than mine. So I do apologise Frannie me old pal, but I sincerely hope you're resting in peace up there in fishy heaven. Away from little dishy's, and boats that come in.

It’s been a while since i’ve done one of these and it’s mainly because i’ve had absolutely nothing to write about; my life isn’t particularly interesting to anyone. However, I was encouraged by a couple of mates last night to keep up the writing, which was particularly touching because they’re usually a right pair of bellends. This one’s for you boys.

In amongst all this election stuff lately i’ve been thinking pretty deeply. This is always worrying because I usually struggle to think anything deeper than “blimey, what if I can’t get a ticket for Dover away next season? Could I get in the home end?” but i’ve gone ahead and thought away regardless. The question i’ve been asking myself is why do all the values we’re taught as children get thrown out the window as soon as adulthood sets in?

How deep is that?

I remember being taught fundamental values in school, on kids TV and from my Mum and Dad. All those stories and fables you used to read. Share with others, be honest, treat people how you want to be treated, be understanding and polite, slow and steady wins the race. That last one doesn’t have much relevance, but the rest do. And it’s a cracking point nonetheless.

What i’m getting at is that you look at them having debates on the tele, shouting over each other, giving out a bellyful of “raah” whenever someone says something they agree with. Is this what we should aspire to when we’re children? If so they ought to change this business about putting your hand up and waiting patiently, because I sense if you do that in one of these debates you’ll never get heard. What kind of example are these people setting?

“Share with others” is definitely something they could do with learning about. Our NHS is being dismantled so that MP’s with money in private healthcare can get richer. At least they’re sharing amongst each other, but it’s balls to the majority i’m afraid. I saw the other day that the 85 richest people in the world earn the same amount as the poorest 3.5 billion. Basically children, share until you leave school and then lie, cheat and steal whatever you can at the expense of everyone else and you’ll get to the top in no time.

While all this is going on, all the people in authority who we’re taught to trust are on TV blaming the poor for it. “Yeah, alright, the banks crashed because of greed and criminal negligence, stealing from you all in the process, and we let them get away with it. But it’s them bloody Romanian job seekers and the unemployed you want to watch out for." I could give examples all day but I want a cuppa before bed and i’m running out of time. No-one wants to fall asleep when they’ve got a cuppa still in prime drinking temperature.

 It’s not just politics i’m talking about though. You look at the big bosses at work and many of them are bullies, they have no regard for people as humans and they just want to get as much money out of you as possible. Seemingly the bigger the business, the less tax you need to pay. The message: if you want to do well in life, cheat whenever possible. The bigger the business, the lower the wages paid and the lower the working conditions. The message: if you want to do well in life, don’t share with others and don’t treat people fairly and equally. Everything we’re taught is ultimately contradicted somewhere down the line.

The world would be a better place if we could all step back and remember those basic values we were taught as kids. I just wish the people in charge saw it the same way.