(Jewish Group) Islamophobia And Anti-Semitism Underline How Toxic The UK Is Now

[Behind the Aegis]

(THIS IS THE JEWISH GROUP! RESPECT!!)

We have now reached a moment where both main parties are suffering from institutional racism - neither are worthy of leading this country

--snip--

Boris Johnson’s comments about the burka sparked a furious debate. Firstly, it’s different to the niqab. It’s perfectly possible, and arguably necessary, to criticise it. Those who believe in structuralism would correctly pinpoint that it wields toxic cultural powers that impose misogynistic norms upon women. But does anyone think Boris Johnson’s comments stemmed from feminist motives? To argue for a ban or mock the women wearing it as Boris did is to deride them, to turn them into tropes and punch-bags for the bigots. And that is precisely what happened in the wake of his comments as the anti-Muslim hate crime watchdog Tell Mama reported a severe spike in Islamophobic incidents which they directly linked to his comments. Boris Johnson didn’t create anti-Muslim hate crime, but he lent it credence, a feeling of legitimacy. He’s in power and his words have power. He knew that.

What’s deeply unsettling is that the timing of these comments is not coincidental. The #FreeTommy movement highlighted the connectedness of the far-right on a global scale, loosely scattered yet converging across causes. Boris Johnson has been supported by Steve Bannon. Various influential far-right groups have been supporting Tommy Robinson’s release. The man has used his time in prison to parade himself as some sort of victim rather than an aggressive bigot. All of this has whipped up a maelstrom of support and it is that in which Boris Johnson has been tapping into, knowingly. Muslim women are an easy target. Erased entirely of their voices, by both sides, they have endured the bulk of anti-Muslim abuse and assaults.

--snip---

To which we come to the other side of racism, from a group you would least expect it from, but only if you knew very little about their politics: Jeremy Corbyn and the far-left. The last few weeks, even months, have been dominated by the storm of the anti-Semitism crisis in the party. Corbyn has failed to quell it, even so much as disinterested with doing so. His supporters have refused to accept criticisms of him, dismissing them as smears and insisting in the goodness of his character. This is essentially cult behaviour, the sort you would hear in religious stories of those who were following the prophets. They believe in utopianism and treat people as expendable cogs with the ends justifying the means, no matter the costs of the suffering, because the cause of promised utopia is deemed worth it. But Corbyn is not a prophet: he’s a mediocre politician and one who has facilitated the outbreak of deep-rooted anti-Semitism in the left to break out in the party.

Whether it’s his regular sharing of platforms with anti-Semites, whether it’s his dismissive attitude towards Jewish critics like Margaret Hodge and Jonathan Freedland; whether it’s the mural, the Facebook groups, the wreath, Marc Wadsworth, Chris Williamson, Peter Willsman, there is a long list of enabling racism that keeps piling up. His most ardent supporters, like Owen Jones, promise an all-out unrelenting war on anti-Semitism and yet spend most of their time trying to excuse Corbyn and instead criticising Jews who take rightly take offence with Corbyn. Worse, with each tweet and article, Jones has lately become little more than a spin doctor for Corbyn; Alistair Campbell, but without all the likeable traits. For all their promises to tackle anti-Semitism, many within Labour are dishonestly policing the debate to treat anti-Semitism as outbursts of prejudice unconnected to Corbyn rather than an institutional rot linked to his leadership.

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[LeftishBrit]

1. While there has always been antisemitism, racism, Islamophobia and anti-immigrant bigotry in the UK.

there is no doubt that Brexit and the vile associated campaigns have emboldened racists of all sorts.

And the parties are in a mess with their leaders. I don't remember a time when BOTH the Tory and Labour leaders were so bad; and I'm old enough to remember Thatcher vs Kinnock. And Howard vs Blair was nothing to write home about either.

May is bad enough; just wait till she's replaced by Boris Johnson; then both parties will be led by bigots stuck in the past (actually so's May, though in her case it's general anti-immigrant bigotry, rather than specific groups).

O joy.

All this and Trump too.