Posts tagged ‘Jeremy Corbyn’
The Revaluation of All Values
Nietzsche wrote about the revaluation of all values. I believe we are living at a unique time when it is possible to conceive of a revaluation like this. The current dissatisfaction with the way we live forces us to think about other ways. This gives us an opportunity to re-examine the values we live by, and to create new ones or revert back to earlier ones now lost or in danger.
The ascendance of Trump in the US and of Brexit in the UK gives us the chance, indeed the duty, to look at the values we currently live under, and to decide which ones can help us to sustain a life we would like to lead. These events show us in stark relief that the outcomes of our current system have terrible effects on our lives. Do I need to mention Climate Change ? Grenfell? Homelessness? Foodbanks? It is all too obvious.
But Trump will go, and although Brexit will probably happen, its revelation of the sharp divisions in our society, and its breaking up of old settled ideas and ways, gives us a short window when it is possible for us to revalue our values and to make some choices for the future.
This is why I like Jeremy Corbyn, despite his shortcomings. I believe he sincerely wants to create a better society, and to live under better values. These values, ones that can create and sustain a better society, are not the ones we currently live under. We have to decide what is more important, to keep the political economy that currently exists and that leads to greater and greater inequality or to refigure our economic and political life so that it reduces inequality and gives everyone a fair chance of a decent life.
We create society, it is not a given, and if we can dream and plan of a society that is fairer and better, then there is no reason, given the political will, that we cannot create that society. It is political will that is missing. The ideas are all there. We know what good values are, and we know what are bad ones. But do we have the political will to say to ourselves, we need to lose some of these values and to encourage others.
It would be a shame to miss this moment. It doesn’t come around that often.
Is Labour in Danger of Becoming the New Nasty Party? An Open Letter To Jeremy Corbyn
Dear Jeremy
I was pleased that you came out with such a strong statement on sexual abuse and harassment. It was long overdue. But there is another form of harassment – in fact there are three kinds of harassment – that you have not stood up forcefully against. Allowed to continue, this abuse and harassment will turn your party into a nasty party, and you will not get elected as PM.
But before I list them, let me say that I would like to see you become the next PM. I admire the vision enshrined in your manifesto, which is so attractive, clear and understandable. A government that sets out to achieve even a few of those aspirations would be welcome, since change in our society is sorely needed. I watched your annual conference and found it full of positive spirit and energy. This is because you have given people hope after so many years of fear and anxiety.
But there are problems in your party that you need to deal with now. There is a level of vitriol and abuse emanating from the left wing of the Party which if it is allowed to go unchecked will become a hindrance to your aims, and will create the image of a nasty party which will stop you getting elected.
I base my opinion on a number of incidents from the past year. One is the problems is Anti-Semitism, which has not been dealt with adequately. The second is abuse directed at some of your own women MPs by other Labour members and the third is abuse directed at Tory candidates by Labour supporters. Each one of these shows a clear pattern of unpleasant and uncalled for harassment, which is harmful to your cause, and will repel a great number of voters.
The Anti-Semitism problem was poorly addressed by the Chakrabarti report although at conference the party did adopt a new standard to judge Anti-Semitism. This was a positive move, but the missing ingredient was your failure during your speech to take a strong personal stand against Anti-Semitism, and this showed a lack of leadership. To see real leadership in action, look at the response of the US Air Force Academy leader after five black cadets had “Nigger Go Home” scrawled on their doors.
http://www.npr.org/2017/09/30/554698359/air-force-academy-leader-addresses-racist-writing
He told the perpetrators of these hate crimes to go home if they were not able to accept diversity. Not suspension or a dressing down – just get out. Simple and effective. Instead, the Labour conference once more had a messy fringe event in which Jews again felt unwelcome, where some people called for Jews to be expelled from the party, and another speaker declared that Holocaust denial was a legitimate area of debate. Can you imagine the uproar that would ensue if at a Labour event people called for Muslims to be expelled from the party or that denial of slavery was deemed a suitable subject for debate?
Anti-Semitism in the Labour party is not like neo-Nazi right wing race hatred. It is political Anti-Semitism, which emanates from the Israeli-Palestine conflict. The righteous anger that many of your members feel about Israel can easily morph into an anti-Jewish stance. This is a danger to society as a whole, since anti-semitism is like the canary in the coal mine, it is a precursor to a darker, larger and more pervasive set of hatreds. The only solution to anti-semitism is to fight it decisively and stop it in its tracks.
The second area where there is a toxic atmosphere is the relationship between the wings of your party. In 2016 a number of Labour women MPs wrote you complaining about the abuse levelled at women MPs. Their letter said: “Rape threats, death threats, smashed cars and bricks through windows are disgusting and totally unacceptable in any situation.This is acknowledged by all factions yet the simple words of condemnation offered in response are inadequate. We expect swift and tangible action against those who commit such acts. “
Harassment of Labour MPs, whether female or male, by fellow Labour members is dangerous and divisive. If you want a unified party, you must stop attacks like this.
The third area of concern is electioneering. At the recent general election, a Tory councillor running to be an MP suffered the following abuse from Labour supporters:
She was spat on many times and was abused verbally on the street, called a nazi, scum, and a whore. Her posters were defaced with similar epithets and her campaign headquarters vandalised. Lies about her voting record were published in Labour election literature and had to be withdrawn after breaking electoral law. Canvassers were threatened to the extent that police had to be called out. A canvasser’s car was spray fainted with vile abuse. Momentum members congregated outside the candidates’ home to intimidate her and her family. Voters were afraid to put posters in their windows for fear of retaliation.
These three kinds of harassment in your party are your Achilles Heel. They will cause you to go lame just at the time when you will need all your strength to continue the struggle. You have given people a new sense of hope, and now you must give them a feeling of protection, and by protection I mean security, an essential requirement of a successful state. You need to convince voters that you will fight terrorism, will reduce levels of crime, and create a society that does not live in fear. If your supporters engage in divisive acts of harassment which make people feel a mixture of fear and wariness, you will not succeed. The voters will not trust you; they will be scared.
In the short term this kind of intimidation may win seats, but its success will inevitably lead to an escalation of these kinds of tactics which will become self-defeating. Don’t allow shock troops to flourish. If you allow your party to become the new nasty party you will not be able to unite the country in the way you desire. There are people who will be attracted to this kind of nasty politics, but are they the people you want to attract?
Your aim is to support the many, not the few. But in order to get power, and to have the chance to really support the many, you have to convince them to support you. As long as you do not crack down on all forms of harassment, and show true strong leadership, you will not convince enough of the many to vote for you, even if they are attracted to your ideas.
Kind Regards
Mark Forstater
THE STORY OF TWO FLAGS – and a message for Mr. Corbyn
I was astounded by two recent flag events. The first one was in June when the Chicago Dyke March banned the Jewish Pride Flag and expelled the Jewish lesbians who held them. The second happened just the other day when neo-Nazis (all male I guess) marched in the peaceful streets of Charlottesville carrying rifles, torches and of course – a swastika flag. Two flag stories, very different in their details but pointing in one direction only- towards hate.
Why astounding? I guess because lesbians have been oppressed for so long, I felt really sad and shocked to see their liberation accompanied by such hatred towards Jewish lesbians. Was I naïve for expecting love and inclusiveness? As for the neo-Nazis, it was not so much astounding as terrifying to see this naked hatred unleashed so openly. They have been encouraged by Trump, who has put a dangerous man in the White House and given him influence. – Stephen Bannon. But it is also Trump himself who encouraged these racists by his election campaigning.
What’s odd about this is that Trump is surrounded by Jews, His lawyer, his senior business employees, his daughter and his son-in-law are all Jewish. He attends their bar and bat mitzvahs and weddings, and makes trips to Israel. In fact, in his personal life he is the most pro-Jewish president ever. So how does he reconcile the rhetoric which has led to this ugly confrontation and the fact that Jews are his friends and relatives? I think this is really strange and I don’t have an answer for it.
So Chicago’s dykes and neo-Nazi heteros all join together in hating Jews. This is part of a very old story, that dates back 2000 years. But to put it into a British context, there is something here for Jeremy Corbyn to contemplate. History shows that If you don’t stamp down hard on the first stirrings of anti-Semitism, it will pop up soon in ways that get increasingly ugly. If Labour is truly an anti-racist party, then the leader has to let people know that all racism will not be tolerated – and anti-semitism is racist. So whenever people spew out hatred due to colour or religion they need to be called up on it, and if they are Labour members then they need to be expelled. Racism, Islamaphobia and Anti-Semitism are equally abhorrent and have no place in a party that calls itself progressive.
How to Combat Terrorism
Three terrorist incidents in a short time has brought out Mrs. May’s hardline approach : root out Islamic terrorism in the UK . I believe that imams and mosques that are encouraging young Islamic men and women to fight for Isis or to create terror on our streets should be rooted out. But this can’t be the only approach. To put more of a spotlight of media and police pressure on the Islamic community will only create more inter-communal tensions and may alienate even more of the Islamic young .
To create policy based on fear and anger will only create more fear and anger and will lead to increasing hate attacks on the Islamic community.
What is is needed is a policy that has some hope for the future, and Corbyn has been giving us a vision of that hope in his recent appearances. If we can create a more equal society, a fairer one and a more caring one, we can then live in a better relationship with our neighbours. If we can create better education, with more skills leading to better paid jobs, then more people can feel a part of this country and not alienated by it .
A society like this would be a great attraction for young Muslims to join and women in particular would appreciate that this kind of open society is one that is better for their children than one that is shut off from the modern world.
It is up to Corbyn to present the voters with his vision of a better society and his belief that a better society would be one in which terrorism would be rooted out not just by outside pressure but by the success of the society that we all share.
Where is Labour’s Brexit Team?
I watched the Leaders’ Question Time programme the other night. I thought Mrs May looked a bit rattled, and uncomfortably stiff and grimaced. Corbyn seemed fairly relaxed and looked like he enjoyed getting into it as time went on. Several of the exchanges made an impression on me. The most important was when Mrs. May remarked that the Brexit negotiations were due to start 11 days after the election. That is a short period of time. If I was a wavering Corbyn supporter or one who was thinking about backing him but was on the cusp, this FACT would get me a little worried. It takes time for a new party to move into power. So my questions would be: With these talks about to start so soon, how will they handle it ? Are they ready for this? Who is doing the negotiations? How prepared is he? How able is he?
So If these are real issues, then I think Labour needs to bring out Keil Starmer fast, since he is the person who can answer those questions, and give people the vision of a different Brexit than the one the Tories have been proposing. Starmer would also show that Corbyn has a team and is backed by people of substance and character. His abilities would be convincing.
The second issue that resonated last night was Corbyn’s Trident problem. When he told a questioner, “I don’t want the deaths of millions on my hands,” and then added “and neither do you,” it struck home. No one wants to be responsible for mass murder, and Corbyn had explained that he wanted to use all the diplomatic ways to get North Korea away from their aggressive stance. But he didn’t give enough specifics – such as working with China – or give it a sense of urgency that these talks could take place immediately. So faced with the madness of North Korea, people are not convinced about Jeremy’s ability to deliver this non-nuclear world.
Mark Forstater's Blog 