The Guardian notes this morning that:
Nigel Farage has turned on broadcasters for questioning him about his alleged teenage racism and antisemitism as the number of school contemporaries who recalled such behaviour to the Guardian reached 28.
In an angry performance at a press conference in London, the Reform leader suggested he would boycott the BBC and said ITV had its own case to answer, as he repeatedly shouted “Bernard Manning”.
They added:
Manning, a comedian from Manchester who died in 2007, was a regular face on British television in the 1970s but he drifted from the public eye after claims that his material was racist and misogynistic.
There are, I suggest, three things to note.
Firstly, and not insignificantly, Farage's claims about the platforming of Bernard Manning by the BBC and ITV in the 1970s and 80s really is something on which he should not rely. The whole point about Manning is that he faded from view precisely because he had been racist and misogynistic, and when the unacceptability of this was appreciated, the only appropriate reaction was to take his platform away. By citing him as evidence in support of his claim that media channels are being hypocritical, Farage is doing two things. First, he is admitting the charges made against him. Secondly, he is saying that despite their truth, for which the evidence is mounting by the day, he should still have a platform. All he makes clear is, firstly, his own true nature, and secondly, his incomprehension of the world's reaction to what people like him think and say.
Secondly, these allegations are sticking. When 28 people have come forward to suggest that Farage was profoundly offensive, racist, and possibly misogynistic when at school, the likelihood that every one of them is wrong and Farage is right is remote in the extreme. That said, I am, of course, aware that youthful indiscretion exists, and mistakes happen. The problem for Farage is that he appears to have maintained his views. He is, in fact, not just admitting that he did have these opinions, but confirms through his actions now that he does still hold them. The classic James Baldwin test applies. We can hear his denial, but the reality is that we need to look at his actions, and when we do, they justify the allegations.
Thirdly, it is notable that the BBC has turned on Farage. I could, of course, say, "At last", and that would be justified. But it does seem as though something significant is happening here. The BBC has it back against a wall. There is little space for it right now between a rock and a hard place. Its enemies are lining up. The critics, including Farage, would like to come in for the kill. And, maybe, just maybe, it realises that there is now only one line of defence left to it, which is to fight back.
I have, this morning, already praised the newspaper for which I write, The National, in Scotland, for speaking truth to power, which is precisely what the press should do. Perhaps, and I can only hope, but I can also pray, that the media has now realised that this is also true with Faragae.
There is only one way to beat the vile politics of this man and his political party, based as it is on both racism and misogyny, coupled with exploitation and hate.
They have to call it out.
They have to name it for what it is.
They have to make clear that this is not just a possibility, but is the reality.
They have to say on their platforms that he is promoting these behaviours, and the evidence is that he has not changed since he was a teenager, and the fact that he is still platformed as a cause of offence to the moral majority in this country, even if he can attract racist support from some, as he undoubtedly does.
I was speaking to well over 300 people in Keele last night to a group called Keele World Affairs. It is an extraordinary organisation that runs twenty public lectures a year with very large audiences. I was talking mainly about modern monetary theory, but the question of how I would deal with Farage came up, and I was asked how I would deal with him. My response was to say we should call him what he is: a racist.
My relationship with racism is personal. The clue is in my name. My father spent his life living in fear, being outed in this country for being Irish at the time when the signs in the pubs said "No blacks, no dogs, no Irish", and in that order. We were at the bottom of the pile. I have every reason to loathe racism. I might look as though I enjoy white male privilege - and of course, to some degree, I do - but I also know from lived experience what racism feels like. I notice it both in its conscious and unconscious forms, with the latter potentially being even worse than the former. And what I know is that unless the media calls it out, as it is finally beginning to do with Farage, we cannot beat it.
I am, therefore, truly grateful to those who have come forward to evidence precisely, based upon their lived experience, just what Farage has been so for so long that he hardly knows any other form of behaviour, and that everything about him is, in fact, based upon a deep-seated hatred of the "other".
My wish is that the media will use this newfound evidence to continue to speak the truth to challenge his attempt to secure power. It is the way to beat him.
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But the BBC and the other media – are almost silent on the elephant in Farage’s Reformuk’s room. The Russia bribery treason – which isn’t 50 years ago as Farage keeps on pointing out.
Many of Farage’s supporters know he’s racist – and want him to be racist, but the Russia treason thing is right here and now – and Starmer has not set up an Inquiry – but is asking Farage to enquire into himself.
An Inquiry could potentially destroy ReformUK as a foreign funded entity – but it would also open up the whole can of worms on Israeli funding Starmer’s Labour faction – and dark money corrupting out politics from top to bottom.
So now I seem to see conspiracies more than before – the school playground story seems a convenient way of the BBC to avoid the real story.
Isn’t Nigel Farage an ad hominem attack man, his attack line people of a different skin colour or from certain other countries are forever inferior? You can bet also that he believes the nonsense that money as a unit of account and medium of exchange only grows on rich people. After all if you attempt to explain to people that money is created debt free from nothing by the government and with debt from nothing by the licenced banks you get the ad hominem thrown at you that you believe money grows on trees and no attempt is made to explain how it is created. This is straight out of Margaret Thatcher’s Libertarian play book:-
“… the State has no source of money other than money which people earn themselves.”
https://www.margaretthatcher.org/document%2F105454
This country appears to have an awful lot of Libertarians who can only justify their Libertarianism by throwing ad hominems. We ought to be asking why psychologically such people feel the need to sling ad hominems including Nigel Farage!
So he should not be condemned for views that he held as a teenager? Was he still a teenager when he appeared on the infamous Breaking Point poster during the Brexit referendum?
Sometimes leopards do not change their spots.
Agreed
I allow for the errors of youth, of course, but not for those spending a lifetime repeating them.
Well – you were at Keele again! I shall ask my mother about your talk because she was there (as she usually is). I shall also watch on the website when it appears in a day or two. Happy me!
I was introduced to your work via a Keele talk you did in about 2016/17 when both my parents were present. My dad in particular found you very interesting – and it let to an even more interesting exchange for him when he was discussing your work with his grandson. The grandson at the time was mid-teens and not very interested in world affairs, politics, economy etc so my dad thought he would quickly switch off from the conversation. But he didn’t – he was actually extremely interested. The two of them had a long and thoughtful conversation which my dad valued highly at the time and afterwards.
That led me to seek you out online and thus I came to this valuable blog / website. I retain more via reading than listening so I don’t watch your videos, but I do read the transcripts and your other posts.
Please keep up the good work that your whole team now does – but balance that with taking time for your other activities and time out for rest. Many thanks.
Thanks
You are right – this was my second visit
Take note of his references, Bernard Manning and It Ain’t Half Hot Mum. It’s indicative of the age of his supporters, and him, that they are his go to examples. Reform is not the party of the young, despite some of the young men in his retinue (and I have my suspicions about where they are plucked from, given Farage’s connections to Bannon). Reform is a party that is out of touch, out of date, and a last gasp of an old order, despite their so called innovative use of modern technology.
It would not be difficult for Farage to make an apology for his behaviour when at school, something I note that caused concerns at the time.
Autre Temp Autre Mors, he was under 18 etc etc
So why cant he manage it?
Because that would admit he did it.
“”No blacks, no dogs, no Irish””
I have a T-shirt that boldly states:
More Blacks
More Dogs
More Irish
LOL!
🙂
My daughter recently did a presentation at Uni about the politics of envy which of course is part of the science of Fascism. Reflecting on her own research, I think that that the public are still pretty much unaware of the extent and existence of this sort of ‘technology’ in forming opinions in society.
So, if we can contemplate that, we must look at other chinks in the Farage’s armour. I can think of two;
1. His role in BREXIT. There is plenty of buyer’s remorse for us to capitalise on (You do remember that this bloke was instrumental in making Europe harder for you to enjoy as well as more expensive – how much was your passport recently?).
2. He is just another rich guy, surrounded by other rich guys, playing at politics – they are not you or one of us – they are looking after themselves, feathering their own nests.
On top of that he is just a lazy bastard. He got BREXIT done and then pissed off and left everyone else with the consequences. What sort of ‘leader’ is that?