Rod Liddle: Fuck off and Die.

I have a grudging respect for people who get paid to write a weekly column. They have to deal with the pressure of putting down words to a deadline. On the other hand, they do get paid and they do get to shape the  minds of thousands of people worldwide. It's a lot of pressure and occasionally some folk must feel completely overwhelmed by the task at hand.
One can only assume this is what happened to Rod Liddle when he sat down to write in The Spectator this week. Don't get me wrong, his column is usually dreadful, but this week he surpassed himself with one of the most racist ramblings I've read in years.

Here's his argument: multiculturalism in Britain doesn't work because two morally repugnant young men tried to murder a pregnant 15 year old girl.

http://www.spectator.co.uk/rodliddle/5601833/benefits-of-a-multicultural-britain.thtml

Go on, read it for yourself. I'm sure that it makes prefect sense to some people. But I just don't see how he's worked this one out. "Goat curry"? What the fuck does that even mean? Let's forget that one of these men is of Nigerian descent or that both these young men probably were raised and socialised in the UK. Those are just incidental facts that get in the way of the main thrust of the argument: people from Black, Asian and other minority ethnic communities make Britain a worse place to live.

The crippling recession, the unfair, unjust corporate favoured, neo-liberal policies of the Blair and Brown governments are bad, but what makes it oh-so-much-worse are the presence of African Caribbean "human filth". African Caribbeans commit the most crime in London (untrue, but let's stick with it for now) and they have contributed nothing good to this country other than food and music. I'm sure Rod Liddle doesn't think this is a racist stance. He's sure of the supremacy of British culture and traditions. He knows that if African Caribbeans weren't here, this country would be better.


It's not wise to focus on one person; Rod Liddle is not the only one to express such views. The appearance of this article simply indicates just how far to the right this country has moved. It also indicates the desperate and serious financial situation we are in globally. As the ongoing economic downturn  converges to meet the very real possibility of climate catastrophe, those most responsible, with the most to lose, are looking for scapegoats and distractions. It's a story from history that is both familiar and immediately recognisable as the foundation of brutal, authoritarian, draconian regimes. It's a story that often ends in the state sanctioned murder and incarceration of minority and/or impoverished peoples. It's the raw bones of fascism, imperialism and colonialism.

As things around us begin to unravel, I expect to read more and more articles about racial hygiene (as it was once known). I expect the revival of ideas about racial and cultural superiority to continue to gain currency in science, media and the arts. But I also expect a backlash. I and many others will not sit still while this happens.  I will stand up and be counted, so that Rod Liddle, Nick Griffin, Benyamin Nethanyahu and all their supporters know that they will not go unchallenged. We will not allow them to destroy our lives with their oppression, their violence or their limited visions for humanity. We claim this world for the good people and they can fuck off and die.