Being politically homeless and walking my own path

I've been taking a break from regular blogging so I can have some time to think about the situation we're in and how that can be reflected on this blog without adding to the negativity and drama that's swirling around us: I'm back...well, sort of... 21.8.24 and: Taking a break... 12.8.24. One of the things I've been thinking about is my political trajectory over the last decade or so, and why the best way I can now define myself is as someone who is politically homeless.

Defining myself in this way is not me soliciting for any sympathy, far from it! Where I am now is actually a good place to be because I can think openly about the issues that concern me and say what I feel about them without having to worry about not offending people. It also leaves me in a position where I can form pragmatic alliances with people on issues of mutual concern without having to apply rigid purity tests. Obviously there are some red lines I won't cross but, having an open minded and flexible attitude is a great help.

Where did it all start to go wrong when it comes to being in a political tribe with all of the attached baggage about having to toe a certain line, or face cancellation and exclusion? For me, it was the pivoting of many anarchists away from class struggle towards identity politics, with gender identity becoming a significant component of their activism. I've never been comfortable with identity politics in any form because it ends up dividing people and pitting them against each other. I've always looked to find what people have in common, particularly around the issue of class, and have strived to create a sense of unity. The obsession with identity politics and creating hierarchies of oppression has inadvertently, or deliberately according to your point of view, led to a toxic environment within activism that has left people afraid to voice an opinion for fear of censure and exclusion.

As I've written before, for me, this all came to a head at the ill fated London anarchist bookfair as I wrote in this piece - Why do I do this to myself? 12.4.23:

These doubts massively accelerated after the ill fated London Anarchist Bookfair in 2017. An event that was disrupted by a mob of trans rights activists angry with the organisers allowing the presence of gender critical and radical feminists. The organisers of the bookfair were happy to have the gender critical and radical feminists there because they wanted to foster an open discussion about the issues with gender identity politics. As far as the trans rights activists were concerned, those issues were not up for debate or discussion. That's why they were harassing and confronting anyone at the bookfair, including the organisers, they felt were facilitating the presence of the gender critical and radical feminists.

As they say in the classics, the rest is history. My reaction to the events at the bookfair and the subsequent development of my loosely gender critical position, lead to the start of my distancing myself from the anarchist movement. A process which at the time I admittedly found upsetting but now in retrospect, I recognise was a necessary step for my own political development.

Then there was the Covid 'crisis' that started in 2020. Initially, I went along with it for the first few weeks but, an increasing number of aspects of what was going on and what was being done to us simply did not add up. So, instead of obediently following The Science TM, I started to look around and conduct my own research. Of course as soon as I started to do that, the accusations of being a 'conspiracy theorist' started to fly in from those anarchists who had fallen into lockstep with the rhetoric about (anti)social distancing, mask wearing and then taking up the experimental mRNA jabs that were on offer. This is what I had to say in this piece - Why do I do this to myself? 12.4.23:

Inevitably, there was some falling out with the few comrades I had left in London. Particularly those who airily dismissed the adverse mental health impact of the lockdowns, the other restrictions we were under and the constant barrage of fear propaganda. I didn't see my granddaughter who was down in Bristol for nine months during 2020 because of all the restrictions. Trust me, that hurt deeply. Which is why for me, it's pretty personal with the zealots who claimed there were no adverse mental health impacts associated with the lockdowns. There I was, quietly screaming on the inside, having to face these dismissals plus the zealous virtue signalling and behaviour policing coming from my now former comrades. That kind of shite can't be forgotten or forgiven as far as I'm concerned.

Things really took a turn when I started to attend some of the anti-lockdown/anti-vaccine mandate protests in 2021, going into early 2022. My attending these protests wasn't me trying to find 'my tribe' after what to all intents and purposes was my exit from the anarchist movement, such as it was. I was upset at what was being done to us and wanted to take to the streets to let the powers that be know I wasn't going to tolerate what was being done to us. It was also a case of being curious about a new social phenomena. That phenomena being the coming together on the streets of a diverse range of currents of dissent against what was being done to us in the name of 'defeating Covid'.

Pretty much from the first protest I attended where I was handing out copies of a specially produced edition of The Stirrer, it was apparent that what I was witnessing and taking part in was just a temporary coalition of diverse currents of opinion coming together on the streets every few weeks. Those currents of opinion were too diverse and often, too contradictory and conflicting to ever coalesce into a new social movement. This was despite a lot of wishful thinking to the contrary by a number of elements among the diverse currents of dissent who were trying to hype what was happening into some kind of new 'truth'/'freedom' movement.

It should be noted that among those who were going all out to paint these diverse currents of dissent as one movement were the numerous anarchists who had fallen into lockstep with the restrictions, the masking and the calls to 'get the jab'. This was so they could conveniently dismiss all criticisms of what was being done to us as 'conspiracy theory' and paint us all as 'alt right'. There was little or no attempt at dealing with the concerns and fears a growing number of people had about the adverse impact of the lockdowns and the risks of taking an experimental mRNA jab. That for me spoke volumes about a fair few people I had once naively considered as comrades.

As I suspected, what some had either hopefully, or maliciously, painted as a movement, started to unravel on October 7^th 2023 with the Hamas incursion into Israel and the subsequent escalation of the conflict between Israel and Palestine. In the aftermath of this, a number of grifters and chancers who were hanging onto the anti-lockdown/anti-vaccine mandate protests for their own cynical motives revealed themselves to be nothing more than Zionist shills. This disintegration of an illusory movement was something I wrote about in this piece - It was never going to last so, we need to move on... 16.10.23:

I've got some bad news for those who have been berating me for my involvement in one of the many currents of opposition to the Covid narrative and the great reset - I'm not mourning the loss of what was nothing more than an illusory sense of unity. At some point, the shit had to be cleaned out of the stables - that has finally happened. I'll be honest and admit that it should have happened a lot sooner. Anyway, a massive shaking out has happened so, while I haven't found what could be termed a tribe, I have found a range of people thinking roughly along the same lines I can work with on fighting the great reset.

Another thing about the so called 'truth'/'freedom' movement is the number of self styled leaders, voices and gurus who have popped up, and the number of people who seemingly blindly hang on to their every word. This is people who mocked those following every bit of advice during the Covid 'crisis' who are uncritically following these self appointed voices and not recognising that they're doing exactly what they've condemned others for. This is seriously embarrassing to witness. I laid out my thoughts on this here - We don't need 'leaders', 'voices' or false idols for our revolution 18.9.23:

Certain sections of what has loosely been termed the 'resistance' have got themselves into the current situation because of their tendency to look for a leader or a voice to articulate their concerns and fears rather than doing it for themselves. They've also allowed people to co-opt the 'resistance' and act as self appointed leaders and voices with minimal or no questioning about their motives and agendas.

As mentioned earlier, when I attended the anti-lockdown/anti-vaccine mandate protests, it was clear that they attracted a wide range of people from across and beyond the political spectrum. That perception was reinforced when I talked to people as I was handing out copies of The Stirrer. Given the range of people attending, it was inevitable that a few dodgy elements with questionable agendas were turning up as well. It would appear that a number of them did not absorb any of the lessons from 2020 and 2021 about falling for agendas and being played. This became evident when they and the grifters who were sniffing round the fringes of the anti-lockdown/anti-vaccine mandate protests turned out on the streets (or sat in their armchairs at home egging people on) in the disorder that followed the sickening murder of three young girls in Southport on Monday 29^th July. This is something I dealt with in this piece - Problem, reaction, solution - how it's playing out so far 6.8.24:

What gets me and also, anyone who can think critically, are the number of people allowing themselves to be led onto the streets to participate in actions that are engineered to end up with clashes with the police and counter protesters, when they show up, further ratcheting up tensions, so that the aforementioned repressive measures can be imposed upon us. During the Covid 'crisis' in 2020 and 2021, I and many other people pointed out how the situation was being manipulated in order to justify a range of measures that would curtail our freedom. Sadly, it would seem that some of the people who were on the anti-lockdown/anti-vaccine mandate protests in 2021 have participated in the anti-immigrant protests, allowing themselves to directly fuel the tensions that will be used as a justification for a clampdown on our freedoms.

The idea that there's a monolithic 'truth'/'freedom' movement is an illusion. Sure, in the wake of the Covid 'crisis', there are plenty of people who are fighting against the weaponising of that crisis in accelerating the imposition of the techno-fascist 'great reset'. A lot of them have very sound motives. Sadly, among their number are the grifters, chancers and self appointed leaders, all with questionable agendas. Discernment is essential as is a firm commitment to not falling into the trap of regarding anyone as having a definitive analysis or voice. That's not to rule out collaboration on areas of mutual concern which is obviously needed. It's just that a healthy level of scepticism is needed so that each and every one of us is held to account. Mutual accountability is the only way we can move forward to build the momentum for change that's needed.

I don't pretend to have the answers. This blog is my way of trying to find some answers and also, a way forward to a better future. Anyone who goes through this blog with a fine tooth comb will find contradictions and possibly, some hints of me repudiating former positions. I'm fine with that because I see this blog as a constant work in progress. Essentially, it's me thinking out loud. With my youthful arrogance long consigned to the dustbin of history, I've been able to make plenty of room for doubt and questioning. That's not to be used as an excuse for inaction, far from it. However, a willingness to question and entertain doubt should be something we can all carry with us in the struggle to build a better world.

I think my acceptance of doubt and the need to question narratives from all sides has been a major factor in me concluding that to all intents and purposes, I'm politically homeless. As I've already mentioned, at my stage of life, it's not something to mourn, it's something to celebrate. We live in challenging and unique times. Being politically homeless gives me the flexibility I need to try to understand and navigate my way through where we are. Having said that, I'm always open to collaboration with others on areas of mutual concern providing it's possible to agree to disagree on other issues we may differ on. Now it's time for me to move on...