The Twaddle

Theirs Is A Land Of Hope And Glory...

Man is by nature a political animal.

So said Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher. In my case this is very true, as you shall find out. This is the story of my political life.

Even from an early age I was keenly interested in all things political. My father is a socialist and a self-confessed admirer of Oliver Cromwell and the Levellers (and no, not the God-awful politically-aware indie band of the mid 90's). I loved watching the news and hearing about the situation in Northern Ireland and the on-going power struggle between New Labour and the Conservatives for control of the country. I often listened to the likes of Billy Bragg, Christy Moore and Dick Gaughan, all left-wing singer/songwriters, and even at a young age I was acutely aware of what their songs professed and the political statements behind them. All of this, you would be led to believe, would have made me a dedicated socialist, but in fact exactly the opposite occurred.

I am still to this day not sure what attracted me to far-right politics. I was from a good home, had a brilliant group of friends and had never encountered a black or Asian person before. Yet I found myself becoming increasingly racist and hateful in my attitude to people of another race. Maybe it was because I was young and therefore naïvely reactionary in my thinking but I don't 100% agree with this. In my opinion, it was the internet that led me to becoming a fervent fascist. It opened up brand new worlds for me to explore, and I was soon involved in various different chat forums, mostly discussing politics.

By the time I had reached the age of 15 I had become a dedicated right-winger. I was also a disciple of football violence and many of the forums I posted on happened to be about hooliganism and the “casual” lifestyle; I found many of the people involved happened to be racist and supporters of groups such as the National Front and the British National Party. It was only natural that I wanted to be “one of the lads” so to speak, so I was inclined to share the same views. I would hear about random attacks on whites by black and Asian youths, soaring immigration rates, lack of opportunity for working class whites forced out by cheap foreign labour and cases of political correctness that were (and I still believe that now) utterly barmy. People would post articles written by such people as Enoch Powell, John Tyndall and Nick Griffin and I'm afraid to say I swallowed them whole.

I believed that all non-whites should be deported, that all “coloureds” were inferior and that we should sever all ties with foreign influence immediately. I felt it was the government's duty to put the white man first. I was unwavering in my support of the cause as only an impressionable youth could be.

I was angry at what I perceived to be a conspiracy set up by the British government to lower the standing of the “true” British man in an exchange for a multi-cultural society in which a foreigner's every whim was pandered for. It felt as if the indigenous whites were now second-class citizens and only a nationalist government could right this. I was, and still am to a lesser extent, a great lover of the romantic history of England, its folklore and traditions and the country as a whole. I'd love to read of English heroes from the bygone ages, of the sacrifice they made dying for their country and I saw myself as a patriot who shared their way of thinking. I admired Shakespeare and often read poetry from the likes of Rupert Brooke, both of whom I felt were true Englishmen who had expressed their love for this country in a way I could never do. This in turn even more firmly entrenched me into the right-wing way of thinking. The Left professed to be internationally socialist, whereas the right-wing groups held marches and rallies on St. George's Day and promoted everything I found endearing about Britain. They looked out exclusively for Britain and the British and this is what strongly attracted me to them.

When I reached the age of 16 I decided to take a radical step; I joined the Young National Front. The propaganda I'd read for the past couple of years had made me an extreme right-winger, and I believed that the BNP was too tame for my liking. I believed that all non-whites should be deported, that all “coloureds” were inferior and that we should sever all ties with foreign influence immediately. I felt it was the government's duty to put the white man first. I was unwavering in my support of the cause as only an impressionable youth could be.

I left school and started college, and that was when I first came into contact with other people who had an interest in politics, albeit ones entirely different to mine. They were the editorial team of The Twaddle, whom I met through mutual friends. We'd often discuss politics which usually ended up with me ranting about the shortcomings of the present government. I was active on The Twaddle Forums (user name: “NFThug”!) and often spouted my hateful rhetoric, sometimes in the course of an argument but mostly to get a rise out of the many left-wingers who frequented the place.

absolutely barking mad weirdos who didn't seem to live in the real world. Not one of them I met actually seemed to be all there in the head

It was at this time the first cracks appeared in my support for nationalism. I'd often be out-argued due to the fact that my arguments could not stand up to close scrutiny. Furthermore, I'd always had sympathies with the Republicans over the issue of Northern Ireland, and I strongly believed that Ireland should be united as one. However, the NF, BNP and White Nationalist Party all declared that if they were to come to power then the whole of Ireland would come under British jurisdiction via any means necessary. I found this whole idea totally abhorrent. The fact that many nationalists were ultra-monarchist also began to make me uneasy. I was anti-monarchist and believed that Mrs Windsor and her ilk were old-fashioned and should be done away with, but I was in the minority over this issue. However, the events that totally made me sit up and think happened just as I entered the A-Level stage of college. Firstly, I began leafleting for the NF in the run up to the by-election in Hartlepool, and found many of my fellow members absolutely barking mad weirdos who didn't seem to live in the real world. Not one of them I met actually seemed to be all there in the head. I found myself thinking “What am I doing following these sort of people?” and it gave me grave doubts about my future in right-wing politics.

I'd often think about my so-called “hate” for coloured people and realise that I'd actually had very little contact with anyone from their community. I began to mellow my opinions, aghast at what I'd become and for a while I remained apolitical. I expressed support for no-one yet at the same time I knew that my support for the right wing was totally over. I believe this was due to the fact that I'd matured a lot around this time and that I actually thought things through a lot more instead of rushing in head first with my opinions. My discussions with people who sat on the left side of the political spectrum also helped because they showed me the error of my ways. I realised I'd been very naïve in my way of thinking, and though my change of views had been gradual, I was pleased that I'd finally seen through the lies and untruths of the right wing. The BNP and the like play on people's fear, and this is what gets them support. Most of their manifesto is either stolen from somewhere else or absolute crap. If they were elected to Government, most of their objectives would be far too complicated and unattainable for them to achieve. In effect, they are living in Cloud Cuckoo Land if they ever hope to make half the things they stand for reality.

My first forays into the Left began when I started researching the Spanish Civil War for a college assignment. I was astounded to read about the “International Brigades”. These were men from all over the globe, including England and Ireland, who had fought for democracy and freedom against General Franco's fascists during the 1930's. I started to research many of those who'd taken part and the reasons they went over to fight. This triggered my interest in socialist and communist thinking and soon I began to intricately research books by men such as Karl Marx, Thomas Paine, Freidrich Engels and James Connolly. They wrote of the ills of capitalism, organised religion, the class system and the need for the unity of workers in order to make the world a better place. It soon became clear that it was global capitalism which was the biggest danger to the working classes of the world, not immigration or race. It let the poor become even poorer whilst the wealthy got wealthier, regardless of skin colour or race. I saw the effects of global capitalism with my own eyes; the once proud industries of Great Britain were now reduced to their knees because the work could be done and the materials could be produced more cheaply abroad, in countries with a lower standard of living than our own. In turn, these foreign workers would be on a pittance, further maximising profits. Now, wary of being sucked in as easily as I was the last time, I reflected upon these works and read editorials written by socialists from different groups such as Red Action, the Socialist Labour Party (whom I voted for in the last election) and the International Working Class Association. These groups, especially Red Action, seemed to be saying what I was thinking around and about this time, and I was quite enamoured with the concepts they hoped to achieve. By this time I'd started University and many groups appeared open for me to join. However, there were stumbling blocks which made me think twice about supporting socialism.

Matters that affect ordinary people are what ordinary people want to hear, not nuclear disarmament or ways to support left-wing guerrillas in Colombia.

The founding of the Labour Party in the early part of the last century created a party who truly fought for the common man. Through the decades the British Left had one common cause; to ensure social and economic justice for the mass of ordinary people. However, when the Left found this beyond them they changed strategy. They fell under the spell of the politics of gender, sexuality and ethnicity. This in turn gained them the support of the liberal elite, people who had huge influence in the country at this time. Yet, do the Left of this country think that by giving a few more women, non-whites and homosexuals good, well-paid jobs they are creating a more equitable society? If they do then they are sorely mistaken. The divide between rich and poor is still massive and is further increasing, regardless of whether a few more non-whites or homosexuals are becoming better off. For example, during the 90's when the US was under Democrat rule, supposedly the more socially minded of the two main parties, the richest 5% of America's families increased their hold on the country's wealth from 15% to 21%. The story is very similar here in Britain.

Furthermore, another factor that galled me was the Left's constant support of international politics and their apparent disregard of events closer to him. As a Newcastle University student I often receive emails from many different political groups, and have been approached to join many societies. During Freshers' Week I spotted a stall with the slogan “Newcastle University Revolution Communists”. Intrigued, I approached it only to find banners on the table such as “Support Cuba, Boycott Bacardi” and “Palestine Shall Be Free”. Yes, international politics are important and they are something which need to be kept in mind, but to gain success you must build from home, and this is something the left wing has seriously neglected. Schemes such as more low-income housing, safer job security and more powerful unions to defend the rights of the worker should come first in any socialist organisation's list to do, but at the moment they are left sadly lagging behind. Matters that affect ordinary people are what ordinary people want to hear, not nuclear disarmament or ways to support left-wing guerrillas in Colombia.

Due to the problems stated, the left-wing in Britain is currently in tatters. The common man, feeling let down by the Labour government, is turning to the extremes, to the party who tell him what he wants to hear, and that is the BNP. They are seizing upon the disenchanted British public of all ages with ideas that seem to solve their problems if only they were given the chance. These people in any other climate would more than likely not feel the way they do, but as it appears they have no other option than to vote BNP, this is what they do. Furthermore, the biggest enemy to the socialist cause, in my opinion, is that of political correctness. When will people figure out it does more harm than good? I find it increasingly frustrating reading newspaper articles about “Baa Baa Black Sheep” turning into “Baa Baa Rainbow Sheep” or whatever. It is just clearly insane and taking things one step too far, and it seems to be pissing a lot of people off. The only left-wing party which seems to be making any progress is the Independent Working Class Association but even they are being torn apart by internal rifts and lack of support from other socialist parties. The BNP are dangerous but they can be stopped; this will only happen if the Left get their act together, unite as one and start offering solutions to the problems the common man is currently facing.

‘No Whites after 8’

Finally, to address another article on The Twaddle by James Longmore which mentions the Lancashire riots; it is a cop-out to blame it only on BNP antagonism. You conveniently fail to mention the murder of Gavin Hopley, a white youth whose only crime was to stray in the wrong (Asian) area at night. Also, in the run up to the riots two or three other youths were badly beaten and a sign on the Glodwick area of Oldham was erected which read “No Whites after 8”. The article on a whole was correct, but that issue I felt needed rectifying. It is not only the whites that cause the problems as pointed out, another factor the left-wingers in this country seem unable to realise.

Currently, I'm not sure which way my political path lies, and to be honest I'm happy just being left of centre. Who knows what will happen in the future?