As much as I would personally like to see those responsible held to account I think you’re right in that it would cause untold amounts of harm. It is the right thing to do but there would be huge fallout.

Personally I think America and it’s reputation would benefit much more from putting in place robust laws, even amendments to the constitution to openly and definitively show the world “guys, we’re really sorry. This will absolutely not happen again. Ever”. That’s the only way.

If you prosecute those responsible without changing anything then they will be back with even more vengeance and even more extreme and messed up ideas.

If you’re just going to insult people without contributing to the discussion then go elsewhere.

I’m not going down to your level, just report your behaviour and let the mods deal with it.

There’s no need for it. I came here to talk about politics, not engage with whatever you’re doing.

And for your information there was a misunderstanding that me and the user amicably sorted out. Civil discussion. It’s a good thing. Try it.

I’m not quite sure what it was that I said to trigger that response but I was referring to a leader not accepting a salary to do the job, rather than a leader who doesn’t even have to take bribes which is what the user meant. It was a misunderstanding that was cleared up further in the comments.

I have no idea what part of my comment you’re responding to though. I apologise of this isn’t the case but it looks to me as though you’ve interpreted something in a particular way and used that to go on an angry tirade against Kier Starmer and the rise of right wing politics.

That’s fair enough but not what I was talking about. I’ll leave you to it.

Fair enough. It’s just crossed wires. Thanks for understanding. For what it’s worth I don’t think you’re wrong in many of your points on Starmer. I’m hopeful he’ll improve before he gets the chop but I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t.

What’s your point? Other than being insulting.

I’m not shifting anything!

No mention of salary.

Pay. His pay. Another way to describe that is his salary.

I see by pay you meant “taking a bribe”. You didn’t say that until just now. That’s where the confusion is coming from.

I’m not really appreciating the rudeness either. I can’t be arsed with this. Lets just leave it there.

Wait, are you effectively saying that Kier Starmer took the job of Prime Minister because he was too afraid to say “no”?

Surely it would take more of a spine to say “no” to the money being offered than to say nothing and accept it?

I’m sorry I’m not following your logic here at all. I still can’t see why refusing a salary makes someone spineless. I think the opposite is true.

Transparency International highlighted the UK has slipped due to record spending on election campaigning . Labour, Conservatives and Reform have been guilty of this in various instances.

It’s easy to blame a single party, as some commenters in here might, but this is very clearly a systemic issue.

There need to be strict limits on campaign spending and absolute transparency about where that money has come from.

No more overseas donors. No more Think Tanks taking donations for “research”, from opaque sources and funneling it back to the party.

Politics needs to be cleaned up and freed from the grasp of these rich wankers who think because they have more money they can set the rules on how we as a people are governed.

I get it, you think he’s spineless and corrupt. That’s obvious.

My point is only why does it make a leader - any leader - that doesn’t accept payment for their duties spinless?

That’s what I’m interested in. Why you’re conflating the two. Why does not accepting a salary to be a political leader make someone spineless?

You don’t need to repeat that you think he’s spineless and corrupt. I get that. That’s up to you. I’m talking about the broader sense of any leader here.

I was hoping for a discussion around that topic, rather a repeat of of your views on Kier Starmer. You’ve made them clear. Thanks.

Welcome to America.

Anything and everything is susceptible to private wealth and exploitation of the poor.

Doesn’t matter if it’s your health or your property or you name it. It can and will be exploited to take money from you. The plebs.

I understand what you’re saying but I think you’re misinterpreting what I am asking.

I haven’t made an argument as to whether he is spinless or not. I am purely interested in why you think not having to pay a leader is a bad thing rather than a good thing.

That’s all I want to discuss. I’m not arguing for or against his actions. You’ve gone off on a tangent.

So why do you think not having to pay a leader is a bad thing? Because I personally would view that as a positive as they are not motivated by financial gain. From your point it sounds like a leader should demand to be paid a decent amount?

I didn’t say any of that. I’m simply asking why not having to pay someone is a negative? Or makes them spineless?

a leader so spineless that you don’t even need to pay him? Who’da thought?

Sorry but what do you mean by this? I’m struggling to see how this is bad. Would you rather a leader took all the money they could get their hands on? Because that’s how you end up with Trump.

Sheer opulence.

Oh man. I’m sorry to hear that. It sounds like you’re having a tough time. Far be it from me to ask, so don’t feel as though you need to, but are you getting any professional help? It has been enormously beneficial to me in the past and I highly recommend it. I’ve had a rough year myself as my baby daughter sadly passed away. At times it doesn’t feel like there is much left to life other than your current state of mind but if you can assure yourself that’s not the case and that things will gradually get better then they will. I wish you luck in your struggle.

That story about the sexism sounds like the result of entrenched views on masculinity and ignorance. Absolutely daft. Hopefully you taught her a lesson that day. I find younger people generally more understanding of the equality between genders (excluding all the manosphere bollocks). I’m positive it will keep improving as it has done steadily over the years, though more acceptance would be better!

Thank you for the blog. I’ll try and make sense of it aha. I’ll read the Nitter post too when I’m ready. Have you ever watched Adam Curtis documentaries? He’s incredible. There was a clip where some Asian shop owners in the 80s were beong harassed by drunk Englishmen in a really racially abusive manner. It made me realise that whilst we have a long way to go the current attitudes are also quite a distance from where they used to be.

Side note: Do you partake in any form of political activism? As a not very young but not very old person I’m sort of stuck looking for ways to make a difference in the community and have some kind of impact on change, even if it’s small. You seem like someone who would possibly have ideas about all that. I could be wrong!

Right. I agree with everything you said.

I don’t see this as a problem with Israel though.

This a problem with the way the USA. The way billionaires use their wealth to spread their political beliefs and influence.

Israel is a benefactor, like the far right figures he also bankrolls.

The issue for me is the USA’s failure to police the rich elite and stop them from using their money to meddle in foreign affairs.

It’s been an issue long before Trump and under Trump it’s getting much worse. They are the enemy for me. The oligarchs of America.

I think what this actually means is that some companies are now using technology to extract as much money as they possibly can from you and me.

I bet it will soon be the majority (if it isn’t already).

Am I reading this right?

To me that reads that Robert Shillman is funding both Israeli interests and far right interests.

There’s a link but that doesn’t mean that Israel are doing the funding? Quite the opposite. They’re taking cash from some absolute arsehole who is also funding a load of far right agitators.

Have I missed something? I am not being obtuse.

Wow. Thanks for the in depth response! Really appreciate it.

Reading some of those stories is slightly disheartening. The world is such a fucked up place and hard to make sense of when you’re growing up without people discriminating against you for something you have no control over. It makes me incredibly angry that people behave on that sort of way. Really thought we had turned a corner after the whole "all muslims are terrorists’ bollocks of the 2000s as well. I have seen videos of what it was like in the 1980s and 90s and it was horrific. Surely we would never return to that. Surely.

It was interesting reading that there seems to be some different versions of the same discriminatory behaviour even within your community as well as being victims of it. It’s baffling to be honest. I know it’s not as simple as “lets all hug it out” but surely those that seek tolerance should also be practicing it. I’m guessing there’s a lot of cultural history related to it that I’m not currently aware of. Still, it’s interesting.

It sounds like your experiences, whilst you wouldn’t wish them of anyone, have given you a preparedness for when people say and do stup pidly intolerant things. I guess it helps build character in a morbid way. You handled it well.

London is something I’m thankful for in terms of the cultural diversity. I’m in Surrey just outside of it so it’s much quieter but also much less diverse. Everyone is very well behaved and tolerant where I live but perhaps because there’s very little to tolerate. There are big Muslim communities in Surrey though and they seem to thrive but there’s not much reason to visit unless you practice Islam. I do go to London and enjoy a few things though and it’s great to see all different types of people getting along.

Are you aware of the narrative that right wing influencers are trying to peddle at the moment in terms of London being a crime ridden hellscape? It’s laughable. Completely shows they need that sense of fear and division in people to make their messaging effective. I’m guessing where are in there is nothing of the sort! Hopefully aha.

Can I ask, why do you think you experience sexism more than any other form of discrimination these days then? Do you think it’s due to the whole “manosphere” Andrew Tate rubbish or just a failure of some to change their entrenched views of the other sex? Or both?

America is hopefully a unique case on my view. I think we can make it easier on ourselves jere and in the EU by punishing social media companies and persecuting hate speech. That is impossible in the US due to Freedom of Speech laws so people can spread whatever lies they want. Particularly billionaires. They can also pay as much as they want to influence elections. Again, they can’t here. Our system is a bit more robust. It’s not infallible, I just hope it will stand up better than the US to the tidal wave of right wing propaganda.

Well done for persevering with the autism too. Sounds tough. It’s hard to say as I don’t know you personally but you seem like someone who has their shit together so good on you.

Enjoy the essay back.

Am I fine with age verification? Yes, I am. Especially for social media. I don’t want children being brainwashed by right wing propaganda that is prevalent on there and I believe the state has a duty of care to protect citizens.

No channels of privacy? No, I am not fine with that. I haven’t seen any evidence to suggest that private conversations are not possible though, either via chat encryption or any other method. Is there any for the UK?

Chat control? I’m not sure. That sounds vague. I would need to know the specifics and what it’s protective purpose is.

You are welcome to call me blind. You still haven’t presented any evidence that the government is keeping secret social scores on it’s citizens though, nor any evidence of state wide internet restrictions on privacy. If there is such evidence and I believe it is a threat to an open and democratic society then I will act.

The USA is currently descending into authoritarianism, in my view precisely because “freedom of speech” and freedom of ownership are so closely protected. Malicious forces can spread whatever messages they want and influence whoever they want with impunity.

My view is that the current UK government is not a threat to the people. The elites looking to purchase power and influence and eventually become the government are the biggest threat. Social media is their most effective weapon.

I would argue that if you can’t see that then you are blind yourself.

I’m happy to agree to disagree though. Civility and all that.