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| Photo from the Huddersfield Daily Examiner, via The Guardian. |
I can't deal with this story coming out of England, where Jo Cox, Labour MP for Batley and Spen (up in West Yorkshire, near Leeds), was stabbed and shot by a "quiet and polite" middle-aged white man (apparently not so quiet and polite in his Web presence, where he is linked to white supremacists) in the street this morning, as she was coming out of a constituent services session, and has since died of her injuries. The man is said to have shouted "Britain first!" reminding us of course of our Donald, who has adopted the pro-Nazi "America first!" slogan of ca. 1940, though he may be too insistently pig-ignorant to realize that, but Britain First is the name of a political party of sorts (which has said it is "not involved" with the murder), compounded of anti-abortion agitators, Ulster Unionists, and anti-Muslim rowdies, which is probably worse than the Ukip (which is not explicitly anti-Muslim; but Britain First urges its supporters to vote Ukip all the same), as passions rise over the coming referendum over Britain's membership in the European Union.
She was 41 years old and had two little kids. David Cameron, her opponent (but an ally on the EU question, of course), mentioned her "huge compassion".
I'm feeling as if it's our disease, not because of the violent nationalism, which is as English as lemon curd, as you might say, but because of that gun. But the gun is being described as "an old gun, like a musket." No, of course it's really not about us. But it is about the curse of nationalism. Humans First!
Cross-posted at The Rectification of Names.
Horrible story. And yeah, I can't help feeling like our insanity is leaking out.
ReplyDelete[A]n old gun, like a musket.
ReplyDeleteDead never-the-less.
No, of course it's really not about us.
It's bigger than just US.
Early reading of news this morning revealed that he built the gun via instructions he got from an infamous American neo-nazi organization. It was also reported that he had donated money to American white supremacists over the years.
ReplyDeleteBritain First denies any connection with him. I believe however if would be
ReplyDeletefar better for the UK and all Euro governments concerned to demand first Israel take in significant numbers of the refugees, seeing as how her position on immigration is being bandied about by some as a motivation.
She had also pushed for the UK to get involved in squashing Assad, though she might have retreated from this. Not in accord with her pro-BDS stand for Israeli officials have conceded its policy also prefers anarchy and scattered jihadi threats to the Assad-Hezbollah-Iranian axis.