Storytime...
Subject? HATE.
I apologise for nothing. Life was what it was. 1) When a pup in NI, I was quite partial to practising my kissing skills, finding motivation like nothing else before.
Unfortunately, I'd not be one to let 'religion' be a barrier, in my pursuit of glory.
2) This was a problem, back in the dark days.
When you came from an 'estate', known for being a 'stronghold' of one 'side' or other, it was frowned upon & tended to lead to violence of some sort.
God was irrelevant.
3) I remember walking a young lady home, one Saturday night, as one did.
I'm guessing anywhere between 16-18yo, so 1986-88.
I'd got into pubs from 13yo, as most local bouncers were 'locals'.
4) I went right into an estate I knew I should not have entered, but I was never one for rules, so ploughed on regardless.
Always seeking the prize, ignoring the price, always led to problems.
5) I paid the price for my folly, on leaving.
I was set upon by a few & my trip home took a few days longer than anticipated, with a brief hospitalisation interlude & a couple of scars to add to the collection.
I lay in the street for hours before anyone thought to look to me.
6) As was the norm, *my estate* took serious umbrage at this.
So on the day I was released from hospital, I was informed that 'car loads' had gone to the said estate & a riot had occurred.
Many people took a beating from both 'sides'.
7) It was an excuse, in reality.
I was their excuse. I hadn't asked for retribution.
"Own your own shit", has always been a motto I'd live by.
It happened a lot, to many people, but it was all a con. They merely sought an excuse.
8) It was a con, it kept the local youth under control, it fed their hate, it fed their wanton violence.
It bred 'them' the warriors they felt they needed.
It made the confused young feel they 'belonged' to something.
Prey, in reality.
9) Dogma & hate create a pressure-cooker environment.
When you have no release for that pressure. When you can offer nothing to make it reconsider.
It blows.
The young are particularly vulnerable to the pressure.
10) Nowadays, I visit that same estate regularly.
I have a friend there who used to fight me on a regular basis when we were young, but now we're strong friends.
I'd probably die for this guy, if I was offered the privilege to do so.
11) We both saw the religion barrier evaporate.
Saw enough destruction to realise god was absent from any of it.
We both now have an aversion to hurting anything, man or beast.
We both had lucky escape of a grammar school education, giving us an alternative path.
Thanks Maggie 👍
12) The crucial variable, which removed the 'hate' barrier, was the reduction of violence, the opening of debate & the release of the stranglehold that such estates were under from those who needed an army.
"Open the debate, reduce the hate".
It's not rocket science.
13) We'd have an odd drunken evening & debate can get lively.
We openly discuss our different attitudes, because there is no longer any potential for violence.
Violence was a must, in the dark days, or your own would set upon you.
Now it would be abhorrent among such friends.
14) This is why debate is a must.
This is why we cannot allow non-integrated communities to sit outside normal justice, normal transparency, normal debate.
When you leave no alternative, the path forcefed to some is the only path they can see.
15) Notice I haven't mentioned "Islam" once btw.
The religion is irrelevant, HATE ferments wherever it gets a chance.
That's a mistake, to blame the religion.
We need to reduce that, open the debate, give the pressure cooker an outlet, let the confused hear an alternative path.
16) The fake term #Islamophobia stifles debate, whilst it smears ordinary hard-working Muslims across our nation.
We have a radicalisation cancer. We need to open it & cut it out. Give Muslims a chance to show UK their grace.
The other option is hate & it's shit, believe me.
/End
👇 We need to Remain in the EU because: 1) The establishment want us to & they always look after the little guy. 2) JP Morgan & Goldman Sachs say it is a good idea. 3) George Soros has tossed £800k into overturning our Referendum, so we must have got it wrong.
4) Richard Branson wants us to & we need to forgive his VAT Fraud, tax avoidance & tax haven lifestyle. 5) We will run out of sandwiches without the EU. 6) We'll have no medicine & planes will fall from the sky, should we leave the trading bloc.
7) We need to get out of NATO, who have served their purpose at keeping us safe for decades. We can start our own EU army & replace it. 8) London has become too big & we should share it with Frankfurt & Paris. The UK is receiving too much income from London.
#WorldSuicidePreventionDay thread. 👇 1) Lost 7 male pals over 10 yrs to #Suicide & the devastation does not ease.
I don't do 'feels', but perhaps you'll gleam something useful from my rambling account of what it leaves behind.
I'm not subtle, for that I cannot apologise.
2) Long term friendships disappear, as you begin to find remaining pals are nothing but a reminder.
When all your socialising & reminiscing is related to the dead, it becomes less inviting.
When the things you have in common are death-related, your relationship changes.
3) The family of the dead are never the same.
Mothers devastated. Sisters broken. Children damaged.
That constant feeling you have let them down, knowing you HAVE let them down, because you were helpless, useless, & ultimately irrelevant when it mattered. It bites bad.
Thread: "#Brexit & #Chequers, the sellout. Dump it, let's move on".
...
I keep hearing "Where is the plan?" and a load of misinformation on #Brexit, pushed on UK media by irrelevant & biased commentators, elevated simply because they are avid Remoaners.
They aim to distract.
1/19
We already knew from those tasked with the negotiations, there had been a definite direction of travel & #Brexit plans were well advanced, prior to #Chequers.
1) I'm concerned about 'violence', and potential 'street' violence/unrest, if this Tommy Robinson thing gets twisted any further.
This is long, but bear with me.
Particularly if you are likely to attend any demos soon....
2) When large numbers of people take to the streets, often with many harbouring selective facts, things get muddled.
When a large number of those people are what one could describe as 'handy', they can cause chaos if they turn bad.
I am assuming most there are not 'bad' people.
3) If we take a look at the crowd today, then maybe compare it to an SJW-type event, there is a marked difference in the potential for 'handy' people.
I'll ignore the 'far right' thing, it's a debate all on it's own & a distraction from the point. standard.co.uk/news/london/hu…