Nice job Michael, as I’ve used the quote before “there are none so blind as them can’t see.” I’m actually amazed at many of my friends that do not see the fascist agenda behind the policies and rhetoric and continue to vote for those because they see the left as a bigger threat. Even though that lefty is telling the truth and the other is just a lying scumbag. I’ve been having some arguments lately with friends that go back 60 years who see my words as me being bitter and twisted, but are ready to accept the bullying and lies. Apparently “scumbag & fascist,” are outmoded terms and I should temper that somehow. Yet I’m called “snowflake & liberal, loony lefty” with regularity. They even think I’m a Marxist when I was and probably still am a middle of the road, left of centre, social democrat more in line with Blairite and Clinton (Bill) policies. I was a business supporter of new labour until Blair started siding with Dubya on Iraq and left the party then. So I also consider myself a capitalist who wants to treat employees with fairness and equality, certainly unlike Trump who is the worst sort of employer.
What these people don’t see is behind those authoritarian and nationalist policies claiming to be patriots. The “last refuge of a scoundrel” was the quote by Samuel Johnson in 1775. What happens in the USA affects the rest of us in the free world and it has sadly, been effective in the UK, whipping up the old arguments about how we beat the Germans and saved Europe’s ass, in the Brexit debate. This was quite clearly a plot by a cabal of fascist authoritarian supporters only worried about their own interests using social media and the new digital age to promote their agenda and we must fight them at all costs.
According to those old pals of mine, I’m arrogant to accuse the public of blindly not seeing behind the lines when voting. maybe I am, but 70 million voted for him, isn’t that a worry? Who were the first people to be shot in all revolutions, fascist or communist, the intellectuals, those that put intelligence and wisdom to their politics and analyse, as an opposition? They might be the first to go, but then all others who question follow.
Like you, these days I’m more inclined to just tell them to just “fuck off.” If they really are friends they will accept my opinion, usually backed up by facts, or they can spin on it. I can find new friends.
