The Real Reasons

(In a Covid-19 context. Excerpts from an online chat.)

“How we’ve ended up in this mess? With this government? It’s simple if you stand back.

“To be honest, it could be any of our politicians, left or right. They’re only versions of the same thing – they’re all ‘professional politicians’.

“As for Boris Johnson and his lot, they said anything to get people voting for Brexit. They didn’t care. They just wanted two things. They wanted power. And they wanted to grab whatever they can.

“Grab stuff? I mean feather their nests – their own and their friends and backers. They’re not fools. You might hate them. You might despise them. But they’re not stupid. They know this is their main chance. Maybe their last chance.

“It all comes down to climate change. And all that comes with it. Everything falls apart as the climate changes. From food; even from the dirt it grows in. It’s all under threat. Or failing already.

“And governments know that. They think the whole sh*t-house is going to go up in flames. They want to grab as much as they can while they can.

“And they don’t give a flying … about anyone else.

“And that’s why they’ve made such a foul mess up with Covid. They didn’t get into government to govern. They got into government to grab. That’s why they’ve giving all these Covid contracts and jobs and all that to their friends. That’s why they’re totally and utterly incompetent to actually rule. And when the ruling got tough that just shone a brighter light on how bad they are.

“It’s ugly but that doesn’t stop it being a simple plain truth.

“Their policies, they’ve killed more old and sick people because of Covid than pretty well anywhere else in the world. But it doesn’t matter to them. The old voted for them, they got in, they can grab. Old people dying now? Doesn’t matter to them.

“And the old and all the others that were fooled into Brexit. All of them. They’re only going to get dumped on, but they’ll find out too late. The grabbing will have happened. The damage done.

“No. I’m not saying the EU’s bloody wonderful. But I am saying Britain ain’t big enough, rich enough or powerful enough to go it alone. We live in a global economy now. Get real. We need to be able to stand up in a global context. Haven’t you noticed? We haven’t got an empire anymore.

“So most of what we’re being told, it’s just crap. Like, take limiting Britain’s population. We’ve an ageing population. How you going to pay for them? Pensions, Health. All the rest. Limit the number of young people in the country and then we won’t have a big enough work force to pay for the pensioners. Simple as that.

“You want an NHS that can actually cope? Ha bloody ha. You can whistle for that without enough people at work. It all costs. Full stop. Playing the race card is just an easy way of making people into suckers.

“And those self-same suckers will be some of those who’ll die, victims of poor health care.

“The government – they know all that. They’ve got their private health care so they’re alright Jack. They’ve been running down the NHS for years because they just don’t give a flying …

“‘That’s not what you heard? They say they’re spending more on the NHS than …’ If you really believe that then all I can say is I’m really bloody sorry for you. You might as well believe staring at tea leaves tells you the future. They’re just lies. Simple as that. Anyone can make stats lie. Politicians are masters at it.

“The press? Oh, come on. Grow up. Press, media, social media and all that lot. They’ve got their own cruddy agendas. They’re grabbing for themselves, or trying to. That’s why you’re getting the old-school right wing press in Britain having a go at the right-wing government. The government isn’t grabbing enough for all the press barons’ friends. Dog v dog.

“And it’s just a version of that being played out with the big social media people. Think of any service you reckon you’re getting for free – and realise that all you’ve done is sold yourself. Look, we all know there’s no such thing as a free lunch.

“Oh, maybe there are some good ones. Some good journos. Even some good politicians. But you have to judge them by the company they keep. If you’re not fighting the rot then you’re supporting it. Locally, nationally, internationally. Like I said, we live in a global context now.

“What to do? You decide. It’s up to you. I mean, what are your choices? Fight it, fight them. Or be as grubby as them, grab as best you can and hope you die young.

“You can be glad if you haven’t got kids. If you have … rather you than me. You’d better go out and fight for them. And enlist them to fight by your side. That’s your only real choice. It’s that or condemn them.”