FAO - rage baiters, divide and rule merchants and, useful idiots

How many times have I been obliged to use this meme to illustrate a post? How many more times will I have to use it before the message sinks in?

As expected and predicted, the tensions that have been bubbling away under the surface since last summer have started to come to the surface again. The most recent manifestation of this being protests in the affluent Essex commuter town of Epping against asylum seekers being housed in a hotel in the town. There’s a lot to unpack with this latest incident, and I am keeping a watching brief on what happened, why it was allowed to happen, and the subsequent fall out.

Whether I’ll write a blog post on it is another matter. That’s because I really do not want to be drawn into knee jerk reactions to other peoples agendas. It’s also because the situation is pretty complex and there’s a lot of manipulation, making things happen on purpose, letting things happen on purpose and the like going on. A web that requires a fair bit of untangling.

However, with my community activist hat on, I can’t let the impact of recent events pass by without making some kind of comment on them. Suffice to say, the current tensions aren’t making it easier for any community activists trying to build a sense of cohesion and solidarity at the level of the neighbourhood. I’ve written more than I care to remember about this. I’ve also written more than I care to remember about the dangers posed by those who presume to rule over us seeking to divide us, the divide and rule merchants who are their useful idiots, the rage baiters and, the race baiters.

At this point, rather than re-inventing the wheel, I think it’s best to publish links to some of the posts I’ve been writing about this over the last year. Salient quotes from each one are included. Even though some of these go back almost a year, the points raised in them are still relevant. Informed comment on these posts will be more than welcome.

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A sense of belonging 7.7.25

It’s about celebrating who we are as a community. That’s one of the key building blocks of the philosophy we’ve adopted as part of the project of bringing about change at the grassroots. If there’s no sense of community, there are no foundations at all to build for any radical change. It’s also about us walking the walk when it comes to practical action that makes a difference.

A timely reminder about the need for community solidarity... 3.7.25

Bloody culture wars eh? Designed to divide us. Designed to get us at each others throats. Designed to atomise us and create a state of fear. Designed to get us looking to the authorities to come in with draconian laws to keep the lid on the situation, all in the name of ‘safety’. Problem, reaction, solution. Something that people who really should know better keep falling for, time after bloody time. Which for those of us working to promote neighbourhood solidarity as the foundation for successful community projects is a massive headache. It’s almost as if there are forces that don’t want to see successful, autonomous grassroots projects...hang on a minute, there are forces who don’t want this!

Building for change from the base upwards 23.6.25

This is why we support community projects that bring people together, regardless of their backgrounds. At the end of the day, whoever we are and wherever we’re from, we all want to live in a neighbourhood where people look out for and care for each other. A neighbourhood that in an age of failing public services can provide networks of support for its more vulnerable members. A neighbourhood that’s making steps to take control of its food supply with community gardens/allotments, community food kitchens, food buying groups and the like. A neighbourhood that once it gains a degree of self confidence about looking after itself, will start to ask some searching questions about power, who exercises it and how it has to be brought right down to the grassroots.

Thinking out loud...again! 1.5.25

Here in the UK, it feels like we’re in for a ‘hot summer’ on the streets as tensions over a range of issues simmer under the lid, with the potential to boil over. When you take a deep breath, stand back and analyse what’s behind those tensions, and more importantly, who’s manipulating them, then the only conclusion that can be drawn is that people are being massively played. I’ve written this many times before but, it bears repeating – those who presume to rule over us want us angry, stressed and at each other’s throats. It’s the classic scenario of problem, reaction and then a ‘solution’.

Too much change, too much turmoil 6.9.24

What has compounded things is the feeling that change is coming at an ever increasing pace and none of that change is good because it's imposed from the top down. Granted, social media does have an amplifying effect but, you only have to use the evidence of your own experiences to conclude that the pace and intensity of change is now unsustainable when it comes to our mental health and general well being.

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.

Right, I hope you found the above posts illuminating and thought provoking. Below are a number of memes on how we’re being played, the dangers of useful idiots and the need for cool heads. They’re all high resolution and copyright free so, you’re welcome to use and share them as you see fit:)