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mmoa_writes at 08:52am on 20/10/2007
mmoa_writes at 08:52am on 20/10/2007There's a really annoying trend in politics at the moment of the persecution syndrome. Watching Question Time on Thursday, and it struck me that the anti-EU wing protesting that 'Europhiles' have forced the EU agenda and 'led' the debate on the issue of Europe is strangely similar to FOX News and their 'liberal agenda/ media bias' obssession, when it is so clear that there is none (unless you count a few unfunny radio stations and nonsensically large papers with an inability to make headlines devoid of nauseous cliches).
Anyone who is pro-Eruope is instantly shouted down by the, let's face it, xenophobic embers of BNP style British supremacy. Apart from the odd, meandering article in the Guardian, every single media outlet is convincing us that Europe=BAD from the stupid little tabloids with their ridiculous overhyped horror stories of straight bananas and the actually entirely meaningless battle over the use of imperial over metric in markets to the sarcastic, vague news 'correspondences' on the increasingly world-weary BBC. The only reason that is ever given is always something to do with the conceived sovereignity of the French within the EU (because France=Axis of Evil to the average idiot Briton) which seems, like so many arguments of the ignorant, to hold up surprisingly well in the blustering face of the near-weeping 'Euro-phile'.
Eurgh. And how much does that cynical, sneering term remind you of a less offensive (obviously!) version of 'nigger-lover'? As if wanting to be part of the EU equals a snivelling, wishy-washy liberal stammerer who's only desire is to sniff the seat of the (God help us) Frermans (French/Germans; good eh?). Wanting to be part of the EU does not equal 'loving' Europe. How could I not dislike the openly expressed and rarely criticised racism of so many of the main European states that seems to regarded more as a 'well, he's just a simple Andalucian/Breton farmer at heart, he's pro his culture!'. (Yes. Of course). How could I not dislike the ambivalence of nations that once ruled and enslaved the world? How on earth can I 'love' Europe?
It's actually rather amusing that most of the 'Euro-philes' I've come across hardly love Europe in the true sense of the word. Most of us are it's strongest critics and often won't actually be the ones found sunning ourselves in the Portugese sun or drowning ourselves in Italian wines (or arguing with 'Sebastian over that funny cheese I've seen on Nigella's show... you know, the one that pongs a bit...')
But the main reason behind the Eruophobia, as I've mentioned before, is the lingering xenophobia, the only type of racism that's acceptable (sounds like something for a poster). For all that Great Britain has a global legacy, that's as a result of an Empire that is GONE, people, (no really!) and in fact we ought to take off that adjective we insist on spelling wiht a capital letter because it's only effect is to make our European foreign policy sound like a couple of old dinosaurs trying to halt the arrival of the comet by bargaining away bits of the Earth we wouldn't mind it hit (arguing with comets always works, you see).
The EU is such a brilliant opportunity for Britain but, little miss Daily Mail reporter, no one knows that because they have been deliberately misled by the anti EU wing of the media, not delusioned by the 'Euro-philes' who are in fact constantly made to look anti-British and pretentious. It really is the only opportunity to get a real say in the world's future. People seem to forget that we are up against the juggernauts of America, China, and in the future India, Brazil, Turkey, Iran. How can we possible have a say in world politics, which we deserve as much as anyone for partly creating it, when we are up against these giants? Hell, even larger African countries once they get their act together will give us a hard time. In fact, speaking of which, that's an even better reason to stay in the EU: the Commonwealth.
Let's face it, we've failed miserably. We have no influence among the lands that once were 'ours'. Resurging social, religious and political issues have demonstrated to those of us able to see, that there is no question of the Comonwealth following mother Britannia. They will heed no example of ours and look for none of our acceptance or approval and in fact seem to steadily desire our repugnance and disappointment so are more likely to go down the unnecesarily rough road to satisfying democracies. As part of the EU, who knows, we could get their attention, mainly because we'll be working with a juggernaut of our own, and, with the French, we could probably get the attention of and be able to influence the ex-French colonial nations as well.
Without the EU, Great Britain is a pathetic self-righteous pair of islands that otherwise only exists to break up the Atlantic Ocean. We are tiny, we are old, we are jaded. We are not supreme in any way, for all the Americans flatter us (hm, and that's another thing: if I hear another American telling a Briton that 'you belong to a great nation' I might actually go over there and strangle them. Just because it's part of our name, doesn't mean it's true, and actually, what with you being far more intelligent than you want us to think, you are just patronising us. I mean, 'great' how?) and our former colonies leader's politely dismiss us. We have no real economic or political sway unless as a respected member of a larger group, be it the UN (*weeps*) or the EU.
I mean, we could do really great things with the EU, things that we could never really hope of doing alone (like space programmes, defence and anti-terrorist programmes, because let's face it, we need help from the countries where people get in from in order to get to Britain). But we can't do it every time the Europhobes scream and rant away a bit, and encourage silly, unnecessary, money-wasting sessions of lawyers desperately trying to find some extra little clause in the EU treaty to draw some stupid red-lines around (I love how no-one seems to be disturbed by the fact that we have spent a couple of years aruging over the treaty that has now come out, after all that, PRETTY MUCH THE SAME, by about 90-99%. See, if I were writing an essay that after five hours barely consisted of an opening paragraph, I would pretty much count it a failure. Instead, everyone's bleating on about a referendum. For God's sake, people...) because that's what all this is really about.
Europhiles tend to just want Britain to be a member of the EU, we don't actually want all the stupid concessions to laws that we (shock, shock, horror, horror) set up in the first place. Why? Because it makes us look politically immature and just plain hypocritical before our EU counterparts. The only reason Brown insisted on these red lines is as a pathetic 'HAH!' to the Europhobes, because he's such an insecure leader, he has to assuage the extremists rather than just turn and say to them "Look, you voted my party to lead, and that is what I am doing: complain, sure, but I'm doing what I think is right for the country - these are my reasons (no, don't interrupt!)."
Wow. I really am ticked off.
Oh, and Richard Dawkins was on 'The Late Edition' which has to be the unfunniest show I have ever watched. It lasts for about half an hour, twenty minutes of which was taken up by flat satire (expect the bit on Dr Watson's comments. Personally, I'm a little relieved that someone has finally spoken out what they really feel like because let's face it, behind all that fund raising and sympathy documentaries, and the reports on 'disenfranchised' angry black young men turning to drugs and violence, most people probably do secretly think there must be something mentally disadvantaged about black people because we act so... constantly stupidly rather like we shoot ourselves in one foot, then again, then in the other one and then just for good measure, in the head too...
I was also quite pleased that we finally get some real racism on show for all these bleaters to take note of. You see people, that is what racism is, not some faux-celebrity making a few silly jokes about an Indian in relation to her national food. True to form, one leader of the Scientists for Equality or something equally stupid was harping on about an apology to 'all black people, especially African nationals' because apologies are just so darn great, you know? Especially when you don't actually mean them and they don't actually solve anything) Anyway. The man (Richard Dawkins) had a cold, said how he's yet to be accosted by any fundamentalists (he found this a bit embarrassing, which I thought was quite sweet. Maybe we should pay some to wave placards at him?) and deplores the lack of scientific understanding. He also said something nice about the Archbishop of Canterbury and gave Mark B-thingmajig a Richard Dawkins T-shirt. Mark B-thinmajig gave him a... Richard Dawkins doll (rocks!)!
Why I'm going on in such detail, I have no idea. I suppose it's because I haven't written anything decent on livejournal (apart from a few strange pseudo-philosophical rants, bleargh) for a couple of months now and I am vomiting literal juice as you can see.
Half term! w00t!
Anyone who is pro-Eruope is instantly shouted down by the, let's face it, xenophobic embers of BNP style British supremacy. Apart from the odd, meandering article in the Guardian, every single media outlet is convincing us that Europe=BAD from the stupid little tabloids with their ridiculous overhyped horror stories of straight bananas and the actually entirely meaningless battle over the use of imperial over metric in markets to the sarcastic, vague news 'correspondences' on the increasingly world-weary BBC. The only reason that is ever given is always something to do with the conceived sovereignity of the French within the EU (because France=Axis of Evil to the average idiot Briton) which seems, like so many arguments of the ignorant, to hold up surprisingly well in the blustering face of the near-weeping 'Euro-phile'.
Eurgh. And how much does that cynical, sneering term remind you of a less offensive (obviously!) version of 'nigger-lover'? As if wanting to be part of the EU equals a snivelling, wishy-washy liberal stammerer who's only desire is to sniff the seat of the (God help us) Frermans (French/Germans; good eh?). Wanting to be part of the EU does not equal 'loving' Europe. How could I not dislike the openly expressed and rarely criticised racism of so many of the main European states that seems to regarded more as a 'well, he's just a simple Andalucian/Breton farmer at heart, he's pro his culture!'. (Yes. Of course). How could I not dislike the ambivalence of nations that once ruled and enslaved the world? How on earth can I 'love' Europe?
It's actually rather amusing that most of the 'Euro-philes' I've come across hardly love Europe in the true sense of the word. Most of us are it's strongest critics and often won't actually be the ones found sunning ourselves in the Portugese sun or drowning ourselves in Italian wines (or arguing with 'Sebastian over that funny cheese I've seen on Nigella's show... you know, the one that pongs a bit...')
But the main reason behind the Eruophobia, as I've mentioned before, is the lingering xenophobia, the only type of racism that's acceptable (sounds like something for a poster). For all that Great Britain has a global legacy, that's as a result of an Empire that is GONE, people, (no really!) and in fact we ought to take off that adjective we insist on spelling wiht a capital letter because it's only effect is to make our European foreign policy sound like a couple of old dinosaurs trying to halt the arrival of the comet by bargaining away bits of the Earth we wouldn't mind it hit (arguing with comets always works, you see).
The EU is such a brilliant opportunity for Britain but, little miss Daily Mail reporter, no one knows that because they have been deliberately misled by the anti EU wing of the media, not delusioned by the 'Euro-philes' who are in fact constantly made to look anti-British and pretentious. It really is the only opportunity to get a real say in the world's future. People seem to forget that we are up against the juggernauts of America, China, and in the future India, Brazil, Turkey, Iran. How can we possible have a say in world politics, which we deserve as much as anyone for partly creating it, when we are up against these giants? Hell, even larger African countries once they get their act together will give us a hard time. In fact, speaking of which, that's an even better reason to stay in the EU: the Commonwealth.
Let's face it, we've failed miserably. We have no influence among the lands that once were 'ours'. Resurging social, religious and political issues have demonstrated to those of us able to see, that there is no question of the Comonwealth following mother Britannia. They will heed no example of ours and look for none of our acceptance or approval and in fact seem to steadily desire our repugnance and disappointment so are more likely to go down the unnecesarily rough road to satisfying democracies. As part of the EU, who knows, we could get their attention, mainly because we'll be working with a juggernaut of our own, and, with the French, we could probably get the attention of and be able to influence the ex-French colonial nations as well.
Without the EU, Great Britain is a pathetic self-righteous pair of islands that otherwise only exists to break up the Atlantic Ocean. We are tiny, we are old, we are jaded. We are not supreme in any way, for all the Americans flatter us (hm, and that's another thing: if I hear another American telling a Briton that 'you belong to a great nation' I might actually go over there and strangle them. Just because it's part of our name, doesn't mean it's true, and actually, what with you being far more intelligent than you want us to think, you are just patronising us. I mean, 'great' how?) and our former colonies leader's politely dismiss us. We have no real economic or political sway unless as a respected member of a larger group, be it the UN (*weeps*) or the EU.
I mean, we could do really great things with the EU, things that we could never really hope of doing alone (like space programmes, defence and anti-terrorist programmes, because let's face it, we need help from the countries where people get in from in order to get to Britain). But we can't do it every time the Europhobes scream and rant away a bit, and encourage silly, unnecessary, money-wasting sessions of lawyers desperately trying to find some extra little clause in the EU treaty to draw some stupid red-lines around (I love how no-one seems to be disturbed by the fact that we have spent a couple of years aruging over the treaty that has now come out, after all that, PRETTY MUCH THE SAME, by about 90-99%. See, if I were writing an essay that after five hours barely consisted of an opening paragraph, I would pretty much count it a failure. Instead, everyone's bleating on about a referendum. For God's sake, people...) because that's what all this is really about.
Europhiles tend to just want Britain to be a member of the EU, we don't actually want all the stupid concessions to laws that we (shock, shock, horror, horror) set up in the first place. Why? Because it makes us look politically immature and just plain hypocritical before our EU counterparts. The only reason Brown insisted on these red lines is as a pathetic 'HAH!' to the Europhobes, because he's such an insecure leader, he has to assuage the extremists rather than just turn and say to them "Look, you voted my party to lead, and that is what I am doing: complain, sure, but I'm doing what I think is right for the country - these are my reasons (no, don't interrupt!)."
Wow. I really am ticked off.
Oh, and Richard Dawkins was on 'The Late Edition' which has to be the unfunniest show I have ever watched. It lasts for about half an hour, twenty minutes of which was taken up by flat satire (expect the bit on Dr Watson's comments. Personally, I'm a little relieved that someone has finally spoken out what they really feel like because let's face it, behind all that fund raising and sympathy documentaries, and the reports on 'disenfranchised' angry black young men turning to drugs and violence, most people probably do secretly think there must be something mentally disadvantaged about black people because we act so... constantly stupidly rather like we shoot ourselves in one foot, then again, then in the other one and then just for good measure, in the head too...
I was also quite pleased that we finally get some real racism on show for all these bleaters to take note of. You see people, that is what racism is, not some faux-celebrity making a few silly jokes about an Indian in relation to her national food. True to form, one leader of the Scientists for Equality or something equally stupid was harping on about an apology to 'all black people, especially African nationals' because apologies are just so darn great, you know? Especially when you don't actually mean them and they don't actually solve anything) Anyway. The man (Richard Dawkins) had a cold, said how he's yet to be accosted by any fundamentalists (he found this a bit embarrassing, which I thought was quite sweet. Maybe we should pay some to wave placards at him?) and deplores the lack of scientific understanding. He also said something nice about the Archbishop of Canterbury and gave Mark B-thingmajig a Richard Dawkins T-shirt. Mark B-thinmajig gave him a... Richard Dawkins doll (rocks!)!
Why I'm going on in such detail, I have no idea. I suppose it's because I haven't written anything decent on livejournal (apart from a few strange pseudo-philosophical rants, bleargh) for a couple of months now and I am vomiting literal juice as you can see.
Half term! w00t!
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