Somewhere To Write

Posted by Anonymous on 2019/12/07 under Life

Terror attacks kill, maim and terrorise victims and their families. It's always worth remembering that victims typically either lose their lives or are adversely affected for the rest of their lives.

So, I was a little surprised when, around the time of the last general election in the UK, we had three terror attacks. And they seemed to be beneficial to Theresa May and the Conservative government. After the first attack, May's response was considered inadequate, particularly by those on the right. She didn't sound tough enough or convincing enough.

Then we had another attack, a couple of days before the vote. This time May performed her lines triumphantly. She sounded tough, she sounded decisive. And defeat by Jeremy Corbyn's Labour party was averted, just.

The third terror attack at about this time was in some ways the most surprising. The nature of this one was a white man killing an Asian man with his van, while injuring several other people. And so we saw Theresa May showing her sympathy with the bereaved family in the local mosque.

This is the only time I can recall an incident of this nature being called a terror attack. But it allowed Theresa May to make amends for the disastrous way in which she instinctively reacted to the Grenfell fire. May went to the site and, quite reasonably spent time with the firefighters. Appallingly, however, she could not bring herself to talk to any of the victims or their families. She was vilified by sections of the public and press, and needed some way to show she was not racist (a large number of the Grenfell victims were minorities), so we had the white on Asian terror event which she promptly, and seemingly sympathetically, responded to.

The chances of three terrorist events in quick succession, all of which prove helpful to the government and prime minister of the day, taking place by happenstance must be very low. Probability is not the same as, nor proof of, culpability. But the Tory leadership does seem to be active beneficiaries of terror events around recent elections.

Indeed, now it looks as though history may be repeating itself. We have had a terror attack on London Bridge again; this time it is likely to help Boris Johnson 'get Brexit done'. You might think the Conservatives have a sufficiently large lead and do not need the help of such events. But some pundits argue that Boris has a couple of challenges which may mean he is not yet home and dry.

First of all, while Nigel Farage's compliance with President Trump's wishes mean the Brexit Party is no longer seen as a credible force, and its support has fallen away to the Conservatives; Labour's damage to the Liberal Democrats' vote could still go further, and thus reduce the gap between the two leading parties.

And the Conservatives need an overall majority. Anything less and Labour could seek to form a governing alliance, as two of the last three Conservative administrations have done. The hurdle for Boris is thus higher than for Jeremy.

Finally, opinion polls tend to say little about the proportion of the electorate that is undecided. This is typically a sizeable percentage of the vote. And the undecideds are often quite amenable to persuasion by dramatic events, like terror attacks. So, a terrorist has launched an offensive once during this election season. If the last election is anything to go by, we might have another terror event a couple of days before polling. And the incumbent 'law and order party' stands to gain.

Austerity has provided a cover for Conservative policies which, for many, represent terror of a quite different form. We have seen deep and damaging cuts to most public services which have disproportionally affected the poor and vulnerable, while wealthy investors and their startup-forming sons and daughters have enjoyed highly beneficial tax breaks and allowances. And, as we know, global corporations are able to organise their subsidiaries to minimise the tax paid to all but zero. The net result for many ordinary folk is nine years of considerable difficulty. For the poor, the pain inflicted has often been unbearable.

Of late, this administration has promised much. All of a sudden, with an election in view, the need for austerity has passed. But we have a prime minister who is known for being, shall we say, very economical with the truth. So, when he promises 40 new hospitals, he means the refurbishment of six. And when he says he'll get Brexit done by January 2020, he means we'll crash out of Europe by December 2020 and negotiate deals with key nations over the next five to seven years from a position of weakness. And, at the same time, his team surreptitiously and deceitfully creates fake fact check and Labour manifesto websites. With a track record like this, we can have very little confidence that most election promises will not be quietly forgotten until the next general election in 2024, perhaps with its attendant terror attacks.

So, what can we do? I think we might just have enough time for a rapid social media campaign. We circulate the messages we receive first. Then we refine and enhance those messages and circulate them again. Then we enhance again and circulate again. And again, and again.

How do we refine and enhance? Well, we circulate first, then we enhance in any way we wish and any way we can. We might create a poem, or a picture; or a song, rap, or video. We could add facts or references, or create a news article, or a white or academic paper. We circulate first, then enhance in whatever way we wish and circulate again. And then do it again as many times as we are able. Circulate first though. We have only a few days to polling.

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