As the Guardian noted today:
Dominic Raab is to outline a sweeping overhaul of human rights law that he claims will counter “wokery and political correctness” and expedite the deportation of foreign criminals.
Lawyers dismiss the need for any change in the law to enable the deportation of foreign criminals, so that should just be presumed to be yet another dog whistle. In that case what Raab is proposing must be seen for what it is, which is an attack on human rights.
It must be remembered that in 2009 Raab said that he did not believe in either economic or social rights. It seems very likely that he continues to hold this view. One has to presume that the only rights that he respects are those of the owners of wealth.
But the rights that he rejects also have to be noted. It is always worth recalling just how woke is defined. The dictionary.com website defines it as:
having or marked by an active awareness of systemic injustices and prejudices, especially those related to civil and human rights:
In other words, Raab precisely defines his new Human Rights Bill as being an attack on human rights, because to be woke is to be aware of and having a willingness to defend those rights.
Watch out then if you are a person of colour, or were not born here, or are in the LGBTQ community. Fear too if your faith makes you question rentier capitalism. Worry if you are a blogger. Keep your head down if you believe in equality. Don't be a feminist. Or disabled, come to that. Raab does not believe in your rights. Only the white, male owners of capital have rights and he is out to defend those poor oppressed soles from everyone else who so nastily picks on them.
This is ethically and politically unforgivable. But it is happening here, right now.
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Again, well said!
And to think of all those Tory MPs who are banging on against rather feeble covid restrictions because “the UK is not Nazi Germany!” In my more cynical moments I do wonder if the so-called backbench revolt is actually being orchestrated by the likes of Raab and Patel as it creates excellent cover for their sinister agenda.
I’ve just taken Raab’s full name (Dominic Rennie Raab) and put it into an anagram maker and got:
‘Micro Brained Inane’.
But this is how the far right works isn’t it, and also how Neo-liberalism works – they create /it creates their own reality. They redefine everything to fit heir own flaky self-entitled narrative and then bitch about ‘cultural Marxism.
🙂
Dark times. A series of repressive laws criminalising protest and state support for racism, xenophobia, misogyny and an attempt to turn the clock back on LGBTQ issues. This IS fascism in its modern manifestation. Please do not quibble with definitions here. The essence is clear to all who wish to live in a decent, liberal, democratic society. At some point, I presume there will be a mass response, but it will be much delayed by the absence of political leadership and the absence of opposition and an Opposition.
I will speculate.
Fortunately for us there are some real grown ups in the World who represent at least 6 times the numbers of people that our 600 year old Imperial wet dream does, we are going to have to wake from that fairytale illusion.
The ECHR will carry on in some form and prevail if it is extended into a true world wide international Law, as it alone has provided since WW2. There is no alternative.
The WTO and Dollar hagemony and it’s thug institutes of debt (WB/IMF) of poor Peoples and their resources are very much on their last legs. Their unilateral edicts and sanctions by an Exceptionalist supposed New Roman Empire of the US is at the end of its 30 years extension across the Globe. Their Limitations have been defined and clearly articulated.
Tomorrow Xi and Putin will make it as clear as clear can be to the whole worlds 7 billions peoples what they have been diplomatically and through proxy wars making clear to the ancient Powers. “Your time is over – now behave”
This is much bigger than the current fascist clowns of Little Englanders in their full nazi emulating BrexShit bunker mentality – even as they start dressing in snazzy sadomasochistic uniforms , Liz Truss already going Uber Mistress starting with her posing in a tank – she is not even the Defence minister!
The fight is much bigger than our daily pantomime of propaganda. We will all be making choices – the building of internment camps is proceeding.