There are so many things wrong with this (the video in the tweet can be played):
https://twitter.com/PoliticsForAlI/status/1407386391819005957?s=20
Let's start with the obvious contempt within this policy for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Let's call this, for that reason, racist.
Let's also note that this is explicitly an English policy: education is a devolved power.
Let's note it is not clear what Britain is: there is no accepted definition.
Let's then note that this has implicit within it all the messages of supposed unity that have always characterised those seeking to impose their enforced will.
Let's just call this one step from the sort of fascist messaging that I always presumed that the countries of the UK opposed.
Let's simply call this brainwashing.
Let's say this is the last vestige of colonialism, gone mad.
Let's just say that this is profoundly wrong.
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What you say may be so, however you are not the intended audience for this!
We can add incompetence to the list of charges. They appear unaware that schools in Scotland finish for the summer holidays on the 24th.
But isn’t singing not allowed in schools? Or anywhere come to that? Good way to ensure more school children catch the virus though!
Perhaps the campaign’s leader Kash Singh is motivated by a desire, as the OBON website says, to “bring[ ] us together, not to focus on our differences but to celebrate the values we share: tolerance, kindness, pride, respect, and a tremendous desire to help others”.
There is certainly much that can be said for community efforts to “reinforce and revive what collectively unites us” but somehow that slides into creating “a harmonised society” that is “an international model of moral rectitude”, and “a single culture that embraces and accommodates differences without over-emphasising and reinforcing them”. I am can see how a (former) police inspector from Bradford sees the need for a project to bring diverse communities together to celebrate their shared values.
That said, there is something distasteful abut the government encouraging the indoctrination of our children with a message of “One Britain One Nation”, all wrapped up in the Union Flag (with nasty overtones of “One People One Leader”).
Does the campaign have a uniform or special salute? Could
I suggest something orange perhaps. And some drums and fifes. Or dog whistles.
How does this play in the various communities in Northern Ireland?
How about brown or black uniforms? They would fit with this ridiculous exercise. One could be forgiven for thinking this could function as a slippery slope to something worse.
Watched the video for about 30 seconds. Couldn’t stomach it any longer. Appalling, stage managed shite – and deeply disturbing and dangerous. And using children singing as the focal point is the icing on the cake. No doubt next year they’ll be in uniform (anyone remember the Hitler Youth – they started out in similar ‘innocent’ fashion) and any school that doesn’t participate will be punished. And the year after, they’ll be arresting anyone who doesn’t sing along. The road to fascism indeed.
Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Fuhrer……One Britain, One Land, One Boris
Spot on – and the Nazi songs were actually very catchy tunes and extremely popular such as “DIe Fahne flattert uns voran” – The flag leads us onwards – and we know where the Germans were ultimately led to.
The trick is to choose a melody that is easy to sing and will appeal to children. That way you can set any words you like to it and children will still sing it. “The East is Red”, which was sung at the start of the day in schools throughout China during the cultural revolution, has the tune of a traditional children’s song “Sesame Oil and Cabbage Hearts.” Most children would have already knew the tune before being taught the words.
Just what I was thinking.
As far as I am aware, most Scottish schools close on Thursday, 24th, June.
Most appalled and vehement responses to this baiting by the propaganda PR / psychos has already made the rounds – so no need to add to it.
So let’s get meta upon their arses.
Knowing that the response would be an easy comparison to Nazis and indeed xenophobic European Imperialism prior to that – what then, is the purpose?
Not to encourage the simplistic jingoism obviously.
There is perhaps the element of ‘Exceptionalism’ that is running through the ‘Easiest Oven Ready Deal’ piece of cake – that was never meant to be eaten;
There is the pushing of the pendulum to get fake two party democracy moving again to keep us pacified that we really have a system of government and electoral transparency;
There is the insistence of the ancient martial families from the Aristos who have always had a general in the family, never having actually done a real job of any kind for countless generations – to their salt’o’earth serf types in the garrison towns, who have always sent their sons to die and fertilise some foreign natives piece of Earth – to do and die and not question why;
There is the subterfuge to help Sturgeon remain in corrupt office and stifle her fake stance of actually wants by Scottish Indy;
Equally to rile up the demented Irish Unionists and the comically named Drummer ‘Boys’ for the marching season.
Etc
We must remember that such seemingly cack handed efforts are a result of the most advanced communicators and PR/Advertising types – the sort that knows exactly what such button pushing is aimed at – so let’s find out exactly what.
I do know that as the ignored scientists have warned that we are about to go into a spike for July/August the toffs know that many younger people are going to get very ill – they are being encouraged to do so. I guess as Europe achieves the considered planned response to control Covid and gallops past our spivs deadly efforts , the U.K. will be placed into quarantine and we will be required to throw rocks at them across the Channel rather than at Downing Street / Whitehall / the Mall and the City.
On which note this is a most brilliant and no nonsense slap down of the fat unruly Bozo and BrexShit
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/jun/23/brexit-has-weakened-and-isolated-the-uk-says-eu-vaccine-chief
And to amplify Mr Bretons statement on the resilience plans for EU states – many hundreds of €Billions being magicked to do it collectively , what BrexShitHeads said was impossible and another reason for leaving, the latest press releases – still in English!
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/home/en
This is all straight out of the totalitarian play book. Flags, songs, media control (Channel 4 sell off), presidential yacht, gold wallpaper, statue preservation, painted planes, and on. Work camps next for us of the awkward squad?
More ludicrous flag shagging bilge from a government that demonstrates by its behaviour the exact opposite of values such as tolerance, kindness, pride, respect, and a tremendous desire to help others.
Intolerance, viciousness, arrogance and contempt for everyone who doesn’t share their stupid, deluded English exceptionalism. With these wretches, everything they do is the opposite of what they say they stand for. Brexit and everything associated with it, are making Britain weaker every day. ‘Great nation? Pull the other one, the longer these fools try and shove their ‘Britishness’ down our throats, the more likely it is that the UK will break up.
Our international reputation is ruined, many of our industries are being ruined, farming will be destroyed by the appalling trade deals they enact, and our commitment to combating climate change is already a joke. The institutions that really are great in Britain are being attacked and undermined all the time. The BBC, C4, the NHS, the civil service. Christ, what pathetic, creepy, empty fascistic drivel.
Roll on England being knocked out of the bloody football (which they will do sooner or later) so this poxy ‘patriotism’ can be knocked back.
Readers of Professor Murphy’s blog, who live in the London TV area may have seen the BBC TV Regional London News broadcast at 6.30 pm on 7 April 2021, during the London Mayoral Campaign. The Programme’s Political Editor, Tim Donovan, visited an unnamed primary school with a film crew and reported on a visit there by Sean Bailey, the Tory candidate. The programme featured primary school children having their lunch prepared by the candidate, listening to him address them in the school hall and, finally, him in the playground, getting a group of children to jump in the air with him on a count of three, as it might be, at a PE lesson. Interspliced were several parts of an interview the Editor gave the candidate.
Three other Mayoral candidates featured in the programme. The times devoted to each one were as follows: Sean Bailey, 93 seconds; Sadiq Khan, 14 seconds; Sian Berry and Louisa Porritt, 11 seconds each. The report on all four together with the commentary lasted 143 seconds.
BBC Regional London News regularly devoted a part of each early evening’s programme to a report on the Mayoral campaign. The BBC Complaints department deny any unfairness in the times given to the respective candidates in the edition of the programme on 7 April 2021 and offer no reply to criticism of the programme’s editorial choices.