20 days ago
When 1200 Jews were slaughtered by Hamas on October 7 my friend of twenty five years T did not write me an angry email saying how he supported my articles expressing my horror. He did not mind that 10 of them were British Jews or that 2 British Jews were taken into Gaza as hostages by the Hamas rapists. But today T has been in touch to slate me as being a “fascist” for supporting the Jewish State after the tragedy of Israel accidentally killing seven aid workers, three of whom were Brits. A man with a history degree does not seem able to understand that in the context of real fascism that is just such an utterly offensive thing to say. Our exchange follows and I just despair. I guess I have lost another friend.
1274 days ago
I have been sent a stern email by the Vicar in Shipston about tomorrow’s funeral for my father. She knows my views and position but reminds me that the Church is only following the law in requiring us all to muzzle up and not sing. Naturally I have replied but the attachment below, the Church’s guidance on Covid prevention, strikes me as a monstrous deception which, in time, it will be forced to recognise and will come to regret.
2211 days ago
There is no doubt in my mind that the appalling way that the evil apartheid regime treated the late Winnie Mandela and her children is a very legitimate mitigating factor for Winnie as she trudges her way on the long march towards a meeting with St Peter. Indeed the evil of apartheid and the way it treated all dissenters and all black Africans is another factor St Pete will take into account. But I very much doubt that he will be utterly forgiving and, I am sure, that Mrs Mandela will show no sense of repentance. Natch the Guardian, the newspaper of the liberal elite, thinks she did nothing wrong and it goes further, in its usual poisonous way, as it tries to silence debate on this matter. .
3735 days ago
Sitting on a train on my way to inflicting misery on my daughter by taking her to Upton Park, I am thinking of last night’s film. But first one I saw the other day: Mandela. As those who have read my articles will know, the man is a hero of mine so I suppose it is hard for me to view the film entirely objectively. But it was wonderful.
There may be some younger readers who forget that Mandela (reluctantly) found himself and the ANC engaging in acts of terror in the early 1960s. There were those on the right who branded Mandela a terrorist as a result. I suppose a Gandhi- style campaign of passive resistance might have been more desirable. However, the Apartheid regime in South Africa was a lot more evil and heavy handed than the British in India. The Mandela defence of “just cause” is not something I feel uncomfortable with. The film begs the question and allows each of us to answer it.
The two things about Mandela which make him truly remarkable were his willingness to admit to his failings as a man and his unbelievable power of forgiveness to those who had locked him up and made his life hell for 30 years. It was the latter that give South Africa a chance to heal its wounds and move forward.
Mandela insisted that his biography, upon which the film was based, did not airbrush out his failings. How many other world leaders would have behaved thus? The lamentable (BBC) aspect to coverage of the death of this great man was that it attempted to portray him as a saint, whiter than the driven snow. Mandela did not view himself in that way which makes him all the more of an amazing human being. It is a subtlety some missed.
As to the forgiveness,
3782 days ago
The BBC is already starting its annual process of celebrating Christmas without mentioning Jesus, the nativity and all that religious crap too much. It is all so terribly 19th Century. Let’s talk about multicultural issues, get as many Imams as possible to speak of brotherly love, look forward to the Eastenders special and talk about getting pissed. Just do not mention the Jesus word.
But in another context, it was a BBC reporter who first compared the late Nelson Mandela to er….Jesus. In another age that might have been consider blasphemous.
In this age it should just be considered ridiculous. I am in no position to cast judgement on the fact that Mandela was serially unfaithful to two of his wives. Heck, from what I have read I rather admire the stamina of the old goat in his younger days. But it is also clear that Mandela as a younger man was a bully and a wife beater. Not quite following in the footsteps of Jesus.
The great thing about Mandela
3791 days ago
I regard the late Nelson Mandela as a hero but the media coverage of his sad demise is somewhere between OTT and nauseating.
Why is he a hero? Apartheid was an evil regime and he played his part in its overthrow. He wasted the best part of his life in prison for the cause but the same could be said for many who stand up to evil. For me his heroism was in his actions post-Apartheid.
I could understand had he been bitter but if he was he hid it well. The way he showed forgiveness, compassion and was reconciliation embodied, was truly heroic. Moreover – in stark contrast to those now running the ANC – when gaining power he did not plunder the State’s coffers for personal gain as he could have done.
For anyone of my age Mandela truly was a hero of our era.
However, as the UK suffers the worst storms in living memory and one or two other things happen which might not please the BBC (the most upbeat Autumn statement in years), the wall to wall coverage on Mandela’s demise at the expense of all other news is OTT. Having listened to the same soundbites about ten times today I gave up on the news and will only start watching it again in a few days when the Mandela-fest has eased.
But the worst part of it is the excuse it has given the BBC and other twisted and deluded lefties to rewrite history and bash the Tories, notably Margaret Thatcher.
