Cut This Bullshit Out

I am so fucking sick of this. The race baiting, the claims of racism every single time a person of colour his killed by Police. It appears that there is a certain vocal section of the planet that just see racism everywhere. Take the case of Ma’Khia Bryant, 16 year old black girl shot by police shortly after the Chauvin trial concluded. Police in Columbus took the extraordinary step of releasing bodycam footage of the incident just hours after the event. This was to get out ahead of the inevitable claims of racist police gunning down in cold blood an innocent black minor. Of course even this wasn’t quick enough because the narrative was already out there. I strongly suggest everybody watch the bodycam footage as it shows Ma’Khia holding a knife having already pushed one person to the ground before forcing another black girl against a car and raising the knife to strike. The attending Officer has seconds to react, and after issuing a verbal warning he is faced with allowing a potentially lethal stabbing to occur or shoot the person with the weapon. His actions were heroic and may well have saved a life, but no that won’t do. I mean we’re meant to believe that if we are white we must be racist. We must have some curdling hatred of people of colour which motivates us to do foul and heinous deeds. Enough. Just cut this insane bullshit out. Stop seeing racism everywhere you look and stop race baiting. It’s causing a division amongst society and the premise is built upon a falsehood. There is no white on black genocide. There is no crusade to ethnically cleanse an entire race. Legacy media such as the BBC and CNN to name but two have a moral obligation to report the news with impartiality and integrity, and they are failing again and again to come even close. And this is driving a wedge through the heart of us, and it can lead us nowhere good. I repeat again, for the umpteenth time, we need to root out racism when we encounter it but we must not conjure up racism when it is not present. Horrible organisations like BLM would have you believe that white people are the devil incarnate. That we are seeking to keep our knee on the necks of all who differ. This is a poisonous and rancid doctrine and I intend to speak out against it at every possible opportunity. I won’t be the caricature you want me to be. I won’t accept the label you ascribe me. I am a proud white man and a proud Englishman and I am for creating a world where there is opportunity and hope for all. I am sick and tired of the vitriol and the misinformation, but more than that I’m sick of people’s rank stupidity. For fuck sake learn to fact check. Don’t just accept claims like some lobotomized cretin. You need to be wiser, sharper, and a whole lot less gullible. There’s a time for anger and indignation and we all have a part to play in making society better and more diverse. But focus on the real problems because goodness knows there’s no shortage. Social deprivation, poverty, or any number of other’s. Just enough of the nonsense talk about race and racism because all we are doing is forcing ourselves further apart just at the time when we need to be doing the reverse.

Living With Uncertainty

We all have to do it. It doesn't mean you have to like it. For those whom know me you will be aware that I am a former Bible believing Christian. I was sincere, genuine, and passionate. I've written elsewhere and at length as to my reasons why I no longer hold these views so I will not repeat myself here. From time to time I keep tabs on the Christian Post website, and today saw an article about a man much like myself. A more high profile Christian whom has also walked away. I ventured a comment in support of him, acknowledging the difficulty of his path and warning him of the things he could likely expect. The response to my thoughts were fascinating. I find that there is a certain type of Christian who really struggles when a former brother or sister in Christ falls away. It triggers a defence mechanism and this can take several forms. The ugliest is the one that asserts that "They must never have been a true Christian". This is a vile observation and it typically comes from a place of ignorance. I had always thought of myself as genuine, and I hope my dear Christian friends would acknowledge this. To simply dismiss a person as being a fraud from the get go strikes me as an incredibly unkind thing to say. In contrast, there are kinder and wiser people of faith who have compassion and empathy and are willing to get alongside you. They choose a path of love and warmth. They understand that leaving a faith is an utterly traumatic and scary thing to do. They will grieve with you even though they might disagree with your choice. This is beautiful to me. This is living out your faith. Along with these examples there are the fire breathers whom threaten Hell and eternal punishment. As if the person losing faith has not considered this? This is a fear response and usually comes from those bereft of intellectual capacity. The hell fire warnings have an algorithmic quality to them and are likely views that were shoe horned into them as they were growing up. Perhaps I should be a bit more compassion with these types? But to the point of today's post. All of us, irrespective of what we do or do not believe has to accept life is an uncertain thing. A precarious thing. Possibly a finite thing. Uncertainty, to my mind, should be a reason why we reach out and be compassionate with each other. We're all in the same boat. None of us really know the future despite wishing it were otherwise. Has the last year taught us nothing? And this principle extends far beyond just issues of faith. Relationships, employment, health, wealth all fall within the grasp of uncertainty. This is just the way the world is. There is so much you and I cannot control. We'd do well to recognise this. Now whilst I do not have a faith I accept I could be wrong. And if that is so then I'm in for a very rough ride post mortem. But that's no reason to profess belief in something when none exists. And if there really is a God do you think he would not see straight through me? So as hard as it is, we just have to accept that the world comes with a lot of uncomfortable realities, and we should try to make peace with that. You are not in control. You never were. But it's ok to try to exert a little when you can. As I write this I'm still getting flack from many on the Christian Post website. It's fine. I don't blame them. People like me are a threat to the notion of certainty. I have to be real about that. But what has any of this got to do with you? Possibly nothing. Perhaps you might want to reflect upon your own need to control your environment? Perhaps you too can come to appreciate the fragility and precarious nature of being a human on a planet like this. There's a lot to go wrong. A lot of it you have no control over. That's the truth of the human condition. We think ourselves robust when we are not. One way or another life is going to have its way with us, and all we can do is choose how to live in light of this disquieting fact.