On 20 March I wrote this on this blog:
In 2003 historian Laurence W. Britt suggested that there were 14 characteristics to fascist regimes. They were:
- Powerful and continuing nationalism
- Disdain for human rights
- Identification of enemies as a unifying cause
- Supremacy of the military
- Rampant sexism
- Controlled mass media
- Obsession with national security
- Religion and government intertwined
- Corporate power protected
- Labour power suppressed
- Disdain for intellectuals & the arts
- Obsession with crime & punishment
- Rampant cronyism & corruption
- Fraudulent elections
Of these I used to say that only supremacy of the military and an intertwining with religion were absent from the UK, and I dismissed the latter as no longer being of any popular relevance.
Given recent announcements on defence spending and nuclear weapons I am not now sure that the supremacy of the military over other claims on the public purse can be dismissed any more.
If that is the case then thirteen out of the now fourteen relevant criteria are now met by the current UK government.
And then yesterday Cabinet minister Nadhim Zahawi tweeted this:
— Nadhim Zahawi (@nadhimzahawi) April 2, 2021
The set is complete.
Religion has been appropriated by the Tories.
Fourteen out of fourteen.
Worry.
And at the same time be horrified that he thought this in any way appropriate.
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I’d probably have dismissed this as a personal tweet but then Priti Patel posted exactly the same image.
I think you’re right.
I could not find it…
Christianity isn’t a serious religion in the UK anymore. We all know about it and acknowledge its history, some know the parables, and others mock it affectionately.
The real religions in the UK that get serious worship are the NHS, Islam and equity. The Tories appropriated the first one of those long ago.
Your insensitivity is beginning to seriously grate
There are also many troll characteristics to your posts now
Assume that however many times you try to change your identity you will be blocked
What the Tories have done and continue to do, no longer horrifies me sadly. It does terrify me though.
Yet, people would vote for them again. That does horrify me. The ‘Opposition’ is anything but. I profess to feeling some despair. I fear things are going to get worse before, and if, they get better. I wish I could see some hope.
I do what I can to protest in my little way and stand ready to get behind something that can exercise a greater, more positive influence on events.
Easter is a time of hope and I’m reflecting on that and what that can give life to.
Good luck
Having principles really matters
They are the one thing no one can take away from you
That tweet shows the logo of a political party next to the image of an instrument of capital punishment. I wonder if there is an additional message being sent here.
I didn’t even get that one
Zahawi is not a very nice man.
But that is ridiculous.
Do you think a certain Mr Welby has seen this at all?
I have seen no comment – which is shocking in itself
Whatever next? The Hot Cross Tories?
Perhaps “I vow to thee my country” to be made compulsory at school assemblies – while turning to ‘face the flag’ soon to flutter in every kindergarten (it’s German) playground? The CofE already prays for the Queen – perhaps to be extended to…… (fill in as inappropriate).
We must meet this farago (it’s Latin) of faux (it’s French) patriotism (it’s Greek) and bogus (it’s American) religiosity (its old French) with the derision it deserves. Fascism never had a sense of humour – only the snigger that issues from hate.
As for posting that at Easter! No wonder they have problems with the Good Friday Agreement.
It would be interesting to put these 14 characteristics in a national poll & to see what the great British public thought of our current Govt.
What with the Head of State also being the Head of the C of E, and bishops having an automatic right to entry to the legislature, I’d say separation of Church and State never existed.
I differ – but you have a point
Perhaps it heralds a return to the Holy war against Islam, a second set of The Crusades. Islam is a religion which preaches that while lending to your brother is perfectly ok, charging him interest on the loan absolutely isn’t, a philosophy which would wipe out the entire rentier class if it ever caught on. There is already quite clearly a religious war going on then. Perhaps it will now become overt.
Like many Christians (and probably non-Christians too) I am appalled at the Tory tweet that conflates Easter, and by implication Christianity, with the Conservative party.
But they are probably emboldened by the, to me, equally appalling fact that at least one half of all Christians vote Conservative.
I refer to the report “Religious Affiliation and Party Choice at the 2017 General Election” published on 11 Aug 2017 by British Religion In Numbers (BRIN), University of Manchester, (Search http://www.brin.ac.uk).
Yet despite years of headline news clearly reporting the awful effects of the government’s policies, Christians have repeatedly voted for it in substantial numbers.
Why do Christians vote this way? On the subject of poverty and injustice, subjects mentioned hundreds of times, the Bible is crystal clear. The poorest and weakest members of society should be given justice, dignity and respect, and the necessities of life. There is no biblical mandate to oppress the poor.
I can think of no British government of the past 100 years that has treated so many of its most vulnerable citizens with such gratuitous cruelty.
And yet the continuing and substantial support by Christians for the Torys seems to attract no attention or adverse comment whatsoever.
More details here: https://christiansvsconservatives.wordpress.com/
I remember Thatcher hating Bishop David Shepherd fir his report ‘Bias to the Poor’ but that is exactly what Christianity requires
I still have my copy
Ironically, and empty cross is a symbol of Easter (or the KluKluxKlan), while a symbol of good Friday would be the body of Jesus on the cross.
Indeed
Welcome to the CHAOS (Crazy Hideous Age Of Stupid). Or, if you prefer, the Endarkenment.
I like both
This may sound strange to some but I think it was the Alton Towers Roller Coaster crash in 2015 that I began to notice something disturbing.
It was reported that out of all the witnesses to the disaster the first and overriding priority for a sizeable number was to take pictures of the carnage on their mobiles rather than use said mobiles to contact the emergency services.
It seemed to herald something sinister beginning to take shape.
I’ve now just finished Will Black’s book ‘Psychopathic Cultures and Toxic Empires’ which I can thoroughly recommend.
To extract two paragraphs which should explain a lot.
‘Psychopathic indicators include self esteem being derived from personal gain, power and pleasure, lack of concern for feelings, needs and suffering of others and a tendency to exploit, deceive and coerce.’
‘Experiments devised by social psychologists Stanley Milgram and Philip Zimbardo demonstrated that mentally normal people can be encouraged to become oppressive, needlessly cruel and even torturous if instructed to by ‘authority’ figures. These studies, beginning in the 1960s and 1970s have huge implications for societies everywhere. They show how easily perfectly normal, intelligent people can be manipulated into doing deeply unpleasant things to others’
And then today Sir Alan Duncan releases his book, to be serialised in the Daily Mail (believe it or not) packed with juicy condemnations of fellow Tories including Boris Johnson, Theresa May, Pritti Patel, Michael Gove and David Cameron.
Interesting times. Just maybe this could be the beginning of the end of the lunatics running the asylum and England beginning to try and heal it’s PTSD (Post Thatcher Stress Disorder)