The Righteous Indignation of Stupid Men and Women

My thoughts on the riots at home.

I read a book at the start of the year called ‘The Fifth Science’. It’s a brilliant work of science fiction telling a series of short stories that intertwine over the course of thousands of years. There’s one story about a man stuck at the far end of the Universe while his own planet, maybe his entire galaxy, is destroyed.

When the news reaches him, it’s too late. His family, his nation, everything he has ever known, is destroyed. The very existence of these things only exist in his memories and imagination. When he is gone, all record of this galaxy goes with him.

It might sound like an exaggeration, but there is a part of me that feels some fraction of this when I scroll through my social media feeds and see the destruction of homes, communities and social security on the streets of a country I will always call home.

I am over 7,500 miles away and I fear that my family are not as safe as they would be if only they had a different skin tone. When I see videos of hooded men and irrational cheerleaders stopping cars in Middlesborough if the drivers are not white, I feel scared. When I see lone black men being set upon by gangs of thugs in Manchester, I feel scared. When I see a Holiday Inn in Tamworth being set alight with assumed refugees barricaded inside, I feel scared.

Holiday Inn, Tamworth

I am very far from a victim here. My skin is fairly light, I have a strong Lancashire accent and I doubt I’ll return to the U.K for at least 2 more years. But I am scared for my family and I’m scared for the people in my community. I’m scared about what I will return to and I am scared about what I will have to stand up to.

Over the past four months, weary of African delays, power cuts and corruption, I have extolled the virtues of Great Britain, but more specifically, England. The phrase ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’ has never been more apt. I’ve waxed lyrical about the Lake District, the friendliness of the North West and the abilities of working-class Brits to come together in times of great need. We have outstanding volunteer programs and the willingness of people to step up and support those when it counts is unparalleled.

The British general election was another example of what we do best. Our democratic process is world-class and the peaceful transfer of power is something that cannot be underestimated. Reform UK won 4 million votes and the opinions of that many people cannot be ignored.

The problems and grievances of 4 million people cannot and should not be ignored.

However, these problems and grievances are not the responsibility of (at the most) less than 2% of the population. That is roughly the number of illegal migrants currently settled in the U.K.

If your problems are with muslim men and women born in the U.K. then you are a racist.

If your problems are with muslim men and women who arrived in the U.K. legally then you are a racist.

If your problems are with any ethnic minority who has either been born in the U.K or arrived here legally then you are, in the most equivocal of terms, a racist.

One of many far-right protests in the U.K over the weekend.

If you have any concerns with the rate of legal migration, with the integration of ethnic minorities or the unavailability of affordable housing for British nationals (including those who are not white, obviously), then you should get involved in politics. You should support ethnic minorities with their integration. You should make your communities welcoming and safe spaces for all those who live there.

We have beaten fascism in Britain once before, and we will beat fascism once again.

While I know it’s a privilege to do what I’m doing, I also can’t wait to go home and serve my community. I have more conviction than ever that England is the place for me and my future family. I love my country and I love the people that make it great.

Mackems and Geordies, Scousers and Mancs.

Cockneys, Brummies and proper Yorkshiremen.

You might say that in my time spent away from home I have become a patriot. But that does not and never will make me a nationalist. Loving my country means serving it in the best way possible and that does not mean hating and discriminating against the most vulnerable people in our society.

It means uplifting those people.

Show kindness and it will be returned.

None of the flag-bearing, can-swilling, knuckle-draggers rioting in our towns over the weekend have ever tried to assist with integration. Many of them have never volunteered a minute of their time - outside community service - to actually serve their communities. We are living in an era of hypocrisy and untruth and the only antidote is kindness and reconciliation.

The anti-fascists might argue for violent confrontation but that is really what the far-right wants. They will be excused by their mirror image. They want us all to be dragged into a petty and avoidable national conflict.

If you  truly want to make a difference in your community, volunteer.

If you think the voices of 4 million Reform voters deserve to be heard, get into politics and fight in the House of Commons.

If you want nationalism, islamophobia and racism, then be prepared to be met with an overwhelmingly hostile attitude wherever you go. Prepare to be pushed to the fringes of your community, in work, at home, in the pub. Prepare to become the grumbling, hate-filled pessimist that your family resent spending time with.

People stopping cars of non-white drivers, Middlesborough

I think part of writing this is to weed out the people in my life who might flirt with nazi-apologism. If you see yourselves in these rioters, then I cannot and will not associate you when I come back to the U.K. But also, I feel compelled to stand with the minorities, the vulnerable people in our society and those who should feel safe in the place they call home.

“We don’t feel safe,” you might say, “we need to stand against a growing problem of Islam, sharia law and the no-go areas in our country.” To that I would urge you to also act. Speak to your local imam, go to the “no-go” areas and have lots and lots of children if you think that’s going to be the solution (it’s not). But one thing that is categorically not the answer, is the vandalism of our streets and the assaults of innocent people.

In this, You are only hurting yourselves.

I can’t wait to come home and be a part of what makes Chorley, in my opinion, the best place on Earth. But after seeing the spurts of fascist hatred on the streets of Blackpool, Bolton and Blackburn, I fear that I will be returning to a far more divided place than I left in 2023.