The Odyssey

I watched this with my son yesterday. Before (and after) the film, we disagreed about Helen of Sparta being black. Watching the film, my views on this are unchanged.  Actually that is wrong, they are different but I will discuss that later.

Unlike Elon Musk I loved the film.  But then I have watched it, something he may not have done. My son liked it, but felt that certain bits who not have been removed, but the film is already three hours long. The only way to include all of his voyage is to make it into more than one film, and we saw how true adaptations like that were to the original story with Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogy’s. I had a translation of The Iliad many years ago, when I was a teenager, but I only ever read adaptations of The Odyssey, and watched the cartoon (which I loved). If you like other Christopher Nolan films, you will probably like this.

As for diversity, I do think it is important in films, but there are ways of adding it. The Percy Jackson TV series has Zeus as black. Athena is portrayed by Zendaya, someone who is not white.  If I was to cast the film to be diverse, Helen of Troy but not her half sister Clytemnestra would have been mixed-race. You can argue that both could be black, both, with other siblings, being hatched from an egg. I would have had Circe, Calypso and Athena reflecting diversity. But that would have still annoyed many. If someone is to be annoyed with the film, it should be for the same reasons as my son, that being what they left out, or other matters that were changed. Odysseus left Troy with more than three ships, his being the only one to survive with the Laestrygonians. There are so many other parts of the tale that have been changed, Circe seducing Odysseus for a year being another example. And Elliot Page was great in the film. I am surprised that those on the right were not in uproar about his inclusion, but I am suspended from Twitter and cannot be arsed to appeal it. 

Basically if you are racist, don’t watch it. If you want a tale true to the original story, don’t watch it (which is why my wife stopped watching The Hobbit films).Otherwise it is an enjoyable “male” film and I would consider watching it again. 

Making racism great again

Reform UK MP Sarah Pochin said seeing adverts of black or Asian people ‘drives me mad’ in a comment that has been seen (rightly) as being racist.  I have listened to people argue that no offence should be taken as she did not mean to be racist.  In fact, I have listened to too many people trying to minimise the racism in her comments.  

I think that it would be wrong to have lots of people of colour in historical drama’s but shows like Bridgerton and My Lady Jane are fiction. I do not understand how people can be annoyed with a series which has a black King but are okay with it having a lot of the population being able to turn into animals! I think that the TV adaptation of The Witcher missed out on having a more realistic take as they could have had different nations having people of different colours.

I do think that it is okay to say or have the view that there are too many darkies on the television, in that someone who states that is allowed to be racist.  But rather than deny their racism, they should be proud of it, not ashamed. 

Diane Abbott and racism, again

Diane Abbott has made an interesting comment on racism, again. She was interviewed on BBC radio, and her words are eighteen minutes into it, but I think she could have been clearer about her views and the letter she sent.

Yes, she is right to state that different groups experience racism in different ways. It is easier to single out a person who is not white and treat them differently, and this has been an issue at university. But her consistency covers an area where many Jews do stand out. When she made her statement in the interview, it did relate to the letter she wrote to The Observer. Bringing that up without clarification now is even worse than it was in early 2023 considering how Hamas would later cross the border in Gaza and murder over a thousand Jews, many in a manner to evoke the collective memories of The Holocaust. 

Her comments about the abhorrent slave trade also forget how Barbary Pirates did manacle white-seeming people on slave ships. 

As for her comments on the Irish, she was politically active when anyone from Eire or Northern Ireland was judged for the actions of the IRA. And that is ignoring the racism they faced before then. 

Diane Abbott and racism

Diane Abbott has faced terrible abuse based on her gender and her race.  She does not deserve to be subject to racist or misogynist hatred, no one does.  However, she is someone who is prone to repeated gaffes. 

One such one is where she refuses to accept that during the time that Jeremy Corbyn was in charge, too many of his supporters ignored his words on Kinder Gentler Politics.  Emily Maitlis explained that she was subjected to vitriol because of her job as a Jewish female journalist. Diane Abbott dismissed her experience of this saying that she did not recognise the toxic atmosphere that may experienced.  Considering the issues that she has created for herself when it comes to her comments on racism, I am surprised that she decided to ignore the abuse others face.

  

I will admit, I do not like her.  I respect what she has achieved, I respect her apologies for her repeated gaffes on racism.  But she keeps making them and for that, I do not respect her. 

The Nuremberg Laws

Since Twitter has been bought by Elon Musk, my feed has been filled with the Far Right as opposed to those I actually want to follow. 

A common theme which is tweeted on far too frequent as basis is the desire to deport foreign criminals. This leads to what is a foreign criminal. Not that he is a criminal, Boris Johnson was born in New York, so is he foreign born? King Charles had a father who was known as Phil The Greek due to his place of birth and a lot of his mother’s side of the family have German blood.  Mo Farah, one of the greats of British Athletics, was not born in Britain and has no ‘blood link’ to our great nation. I consider him to be British and was proud to have him representing our nation.

I am not saying that foreign nationals should not be deported, I am just expressing concern about how people not accepting that this is already taking place may want this to end. After all, we have seen what can happen when people start calling for measures to encourage racial purity. 

Islamophobia and Racism

There is an argument that Islamophobia is a type of racism.  There has been a rise in this before the October 7th attacks by Hamas, but this has increased much further since. In addition to this, there has also been a huge rise in antisemitic abuse in UK since that evil Hamas attack, probably because of the reaction by the current Israeli government and the civilians that they appear to be killing saying that they are terrorists. 

While being Jewish is to belong to a race, Hitler and the Nazi's showed that, Islam takes in people of any creed.  Due to this, being Islamophobic is not racism.  There was an argument that it was with the comments of Lee Anderson about Sadiq Khan being under the control of Islamists, but he also said that Starmer was.  In addition to this, a recent court case, while not based on Islamophobia, has shown that the Conservatives are more than willing to accuse anyone, white or not, of being led or in favour of extremists.

I do however think that there is a big overlap with racism and Islamophobia, but it should be mentioned that Islam faces unjust prejudice in the UK from various ethnic minorities. 

  

The Last Night Of the Proms

There was annoyance from the right about The Last Night of the Proms.  It appears that they wanted the BBC to censor those waving EU flags.  Those flags apparently had been given out free of charge by an organisation, but if a person wanted a Union Flag, they would have had to buy it from vendors outside.   

I have to agree with Femi in that patriotism is wanting our great nation to be even better, and it was better in the EU than out of it. 

While I would love to re-join the EU, we are never going to get the great deal that we had being in it again.  Any referendum held now could probably be won by those wanting to re-join the EU for reasons shared by Gary Lineker. 

Is Diane Abbott a Tory Mole?

 When I made my post yesterday about St Georges Day, I had not realised what Diane Abbott had written about.  She had made another, huge gaffe.  Now the abuse that she gets based on her skin colour and her being a woman is out of order.  But the abuse she gets for her own words, that is a different thing.  Here words are below, but she has apologised for them and stated that they were a draft which she had not intended to send.

"Tomiwa Owolade claims that Irish, Jewish and Traveller people all suffer from “racism” (“Racism in Britain is not a black and white issue. It’s far more complicated”, Comment). They undoubtedly experience prejudice. This is similar to racism and the two words are often used as if they are interchangeable. 

 It is true that many types of white people with points of difference, such as redheads, can experience this prejudice. But they are not all their lives subject to racism. In pre-civil rights America, Irish people, Jewish people and Travellers were not required to sit at the back of the bus. In apartheid South Africa, these groups were allowed to vote. And at the height of slavery, there were no white-seeming people manacled on the slave ships."

I understand that this was a draft, but to forget that six million Jews died due to racism in Nazi controlled Europe, let alone the antisemitism that they have faced in Britain and abroad for centuries is absurd. The Irish and Travellers face racism, though this was worse in the past in the UK.  But this racism for Travellers still exists now.  Looking at pre-civil rights America, yes, these groups were not subject to slavery on the levels that those from Africa experienced, nor were they required to sit at the back of the bus, but racism did exist for the Irish and Jews. I am not aware of Travellers facing racism in pre-civil rights America, but considering the understandable controversy over the joke by Jimmy Carr, to forget that Travellers were executed by the Nazi's based on their race is inexcusable. 

Antisemitism exists today, in the USA and in the UK, including, sadly, in the Labour Party until recently.  Action should be taken about this, and while this was a mistake, it is the level of the mistake which means stronger action needs to be taken than over the words of Angela Smith.  I guess the issue is when or if should she be allowed to have the Labour Whip returned to her.      

My statement pic.twitter.com/Wu2h4nNOvN

— Diane Abbott MP (@HackneyAbbott) April 23, 2023

Being a patriot

Being British is more than being white or ethnically British.  Our nation literally is built on immigration.  Due to this, it is hard to state who is ethnically British.  If you look up Phil The Greek, you will find that he is not ethnically British.  He was married to someone part German.  Which makes King Charles, his son less than 50% ethnically British.

Diversity has brought our great nation success in the Olympics and other areas of sport with people born and bred in our nation, as well as those who have come to our nation after birth. I am glad that we are a diverse nation and I do not want our sports teams to be ethnically British only.  

There are those who wish to divide us based on ethnicity, skin colour and our parents but by doing so, they will be saying that one of the most British of institutions, is not British. Lastly, for the record, the presenters on the featured videos, are in my opinion, British, and while I do not agree with them all the time (and one of them only some of the time), I am glad that they enrich our nation which would be so much poorer without them.

Prince Harry is a credit to our nation.

My wife and I had a bit of a disagreement about how Harry and Meghan Markle are being portrayed in the media following the Netflix documentary.  For the record, I am not going to watch it and have no interest in doing so.

I have commented on the double standards shown to the Duchess of Sussex before.  To put it simply, it appears racist when one person who is white is commended for actions that one person who is not white is condemned for the same actions.  Such things are not the fault of the rest of the Royal Family, but rather is the fault of the parts of the media that engage in it.  The media have not been nice to the Royal Family and action taken about this when their privacy has been intruded upon is right.  I understand that The Royal Family cannot comment each time an inaccurate article is published because they would constantly be firefighting.  However, they can and should comment when they see racism.  The inaction of the Royals to condemn the double standards which many see as racist is inexcusable.  

I do not think that King Charles or Prince William would intentionally be racist, but as seen with the recent case with Ngozi Fulani being asked by Lady Susan Hussey where she was really from, people can be unintentionally racist and as seen with Prince Harry when younger, can cause offence.  But too many people have been the victims of double standards, an example is how ethnic minority police officers have faced such issues.

There are calls for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to be stripped of their royal titles, but many of these people are happy for Prince Andrew, the man who did not meet or have sex with a women who had been taken from a state where sex with her would have been considered under age to a nation where sex with her could be legal, to remain a royal.  If Prince Andrew is stripped of his titles first, then we can consider the same for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

In addition to this, there are people who have claimed that Prince Harry hates Britain. This is a man who has served on the frontline for our nation. If he hated it, he would not have served it, or promoted The Invictus Games after he left. Like all those who love their nation, there will be things that he wants to improve. I consider myself to be patriotic and feel that our nation can and should be better. 

Those who can remember are aware how stories about Princess Diana were leaked to the press. People in the media who deny that negative stories have been leaked, are either ignorant or are lying. I suspect that there may be some truths in at least some of these stories, as we saw with Princess Diana, but considering these stories tend to be about Meghan rather than Harry, it appears that even in the couple, one gets an easier deal than the other from the press.

The bottom line is that too many in the media have shown appalling double standards in dealing with the couple. I disagree with the way that the couple are making money from their experiences, but they appear to have no fair way of getting their side of the story out. So far, at least, it appears that some allegations will not be addressed in the documentary, but I doubt the couple will be credited for that either. 

I used to be in a toxic environment. I left it.

Harry and Meghan are in the news again. It is interesting to see aspects of the media who drove them out of the UK continue to berate them.  

In 2010, I left a toxic environment to work where I am now, and while I know they wish I could be better, I do know that they appreciate me.  The sense of liberation I felt when I left was amazing.  I wish the media companies who drove this couple away took a good look at themselves and think on what they did, and how it looks to people affected by racism.

Those of colour of the age of Meghan Markle and those older will all have been treated differently than those who are white in the UK. They know why some papers show double standards. 

Trevor Noah on racism and Rishi Sunak

There has been controversy over the comments that Trevor Noah has made about Rishi Sunak and racism in the UK.  The simple fact is that racism is still an issue for too many people in the UK.  Things are much better than they have been in the past in that we now have a non-white PM who Conservative MP's have voted on who they think is the best person for the job.  There was a time that the Conservatives were the party of racism, and while many would argue that not much has changed with the policies on refugees, Rishi Sunak shows that a lot has changed.  

The video of Jerry from Lowestoft actually shows how a racist changes the expressed views on Rishi Sunak from outright racism, to finding other reasons as to why they are against our first non-white Prime Minister. Many will not like him due to his skin colour, but this may be a sub-conscious issue, i.e. unconscious bias. It will be hard to discern which people who are against him are against him due to his policies, or if his skin colour is a factor because for them, they will cite the arguments that Jerry from Lowestoft finally resorted to almost eight minutes into the video of his call to LBC.  

A way of looking at how our nation is still racist is not how we treat our Prime Minister, but how we treat refugees coming from Ukraine to those coming from other nations.  We may have to exclude Albania from this as it does seem to appear that those fleeing Albania are more likely to be economic migrants than genuine asylum seekers.  Put simply, refugees from Ukraine, despite being in safe nations have rightly been granted asylum, but many in our nation do not want to offer the same to refugees fleeing Afghanistan, Iran Eritrea, Chad, Yemen, Sudan, Syria etc.     

Rishi Sunak, racism and the Conservative party

My wife has just told me that Boris Johnson is not to stand for Conservative leader.  That is bad news for Labour as him being in charge of the Conservatives would result in a return to the numerous lies that caused him to resign before.  

This means that the options are Penny Mordaunt or Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister.  As a Labour voter, the one I fear the most is Penny Mordaunt, she is a brilliant communicator.  While not as good as Boris Johnson in communication, she carries an air of competence.  

The one I fear the least is Rishi Sunak and the reason for this is simple, it is racism.  Not everyone who is against him will be driven by this, but a significant number will be driven by unconscious bias or outright racism.  Earlier today we watched this clip on YouTube when the reason for this voter not voting for Rishi Sunak is racism, though later, they managed to find other excuses not to back him.  No matter how good Rishi Sunak is, there is a large number of people who will not vote for him due to the colour of his skin.  

For the record, Rishi Sunak is British.  I would like to remind anyone who reads this that our King is the son of an immigrant, one who served our nation along with many others. We have members of Team GB who are not white and if Rishi Sunak is not British, those athletes such as Denise Lewis who have won medals for the United Kingdom have actually won it for other nations.

In a way we’re ALL in a massive queue leading to a coffin

Today is a historic day with the funeral of The Queen taking place. I am not sure if my wife and I will be watching history as it happens, being on holiday, but leaders from across the globe have come to pay respects at her funeral.

I am in favour of The Monarchy, not because I consider them to be better than me (I do not do so BTW), but I prefer them to be Head of State. The option of an elected head of state has no appeal for me. In 2019, the Brexit party got the highest percentage of votes in the European Elections which are, or were, our only elections held under Proportional Representation which meant that Nigel Farage won it. In 2014, Brexit supporting parties won over 50% of the vote (a combination of UKIP, the Conservatives and the DUP equalling 50.5% of the vote, Nigel Farage getting the most votes again. If those elections had been for Head of State, we would have had Nigel Farage in office since 2014. The role is essentially ceremonial, The Monarch in essence doing what they are told, keeping their views private. King Charles, when Prince Of Wales, was outspoken on environmental issues, campaigning for this when it was not a big issue for the political mainstream (i.e. before the electoral performance  of The Green Party in the 1989 European Elections). In addition to this, he has reportedly spoken out in private about being against the deportation of refugees and migrants to Rwanda, a policy that would have seen Paddington being sent to the jungles of deepest Africa and Jesus being housed in an inn in Kigali for fleeing The Massacre Of The Innocents. Now, as head of state, he is going to have to appear to speak in favour of policies that will probably increase our contribution to global warming and may include even more radical proposals on deportation. Nigel Farage, in such a position would have a more prominent platform to spread his lies designed to stir up hatred and division in our multicultural nation.

The fact that so many have come to the funeral is a sign of how Britain is viewed and respected across the globe, Biden is risking death to do so by having to meet Liz Truss (though this has been postponed).  Few have sent representatives other than the head of state. 

I am not ashamed to have a Royal Family. I do understand the anger of republicans that so much money is spent on them when so many are facing a cost of living crisis, and it has been pointed out that the Dutch Royal family are housing Ukrainian refugees while ours are not.

What I am ashamed about when it comes to the Royal Family is the double standards shown (again). The Duchess of Sussex held the hand of her grieving husband and faced a backlash from many about this. I suspect that those who felt that she was wrong to do this will not speak out when other wives do the same on official visits to our nation. It just so happens that those couples are not mixed race and both are white. 

Michael Gove backs Rishi Sunak and accuses Liz Truss of being on 'holiday from reality'

 

Sorry to sound cynical about this (again), but as mentioned before, Michael Gove has a history of being linked to racism. The contents of his bookcase came under scrutiny in the past when his wife posted (a now deleted) tweet showing the contents. While the books concerned may have belonged to his wife, and people have every right to read what they want, having books that promote racism, visible to others, is not an advisable move for a politician. When younger, I bought a copy of the Satanic Bible. I do not have it now as I considered it to be literally evil. There was only so much of it that I could read before I threw it away.

His support of Kemi Badenoch may have been genuine, and his support of Rishi Sunak may be also, but I still an cynical that he is trying to throw off the links that he may have to racism. I am unsure why this may be the case, unless he is planning ahead for a future once Liz Truss, (or Sunak) is removed from office, so that he can try to be leader of the Conservatives again. Or be a Queen/King maker/killer. 

Critical Race Theory

I think that Trevor Noah is a great communicator.  I do not agree with everything he says, but he is able to get his views across in a simple manner which I can only envy.  One of the many things that he has been able to explain well is with how actions to disenfranchise those who are not white in the USA resulted in generational wealth being a perk mainly for (some) white people.  

There are those who do not agree with teaching this, which is fine, but I would love them to watch this and let me know if they think what he has said is wrong, and if so, explain why.  

Am I the only one to be suspicious of the support Gove is giving Kemi Badenoch?

Sorry to sound cynical about this, but Michael Gove has a history of being linked to racism.  The contents of his bookcase came under scrutiny in the past.  While the books concerned may have belonged to his wife, and people have the right to read what they want, having books that promote racism visible to others is not an advisable move for a politician.  When younger, I bought a copy of the Satanic Bible.  I do not have it now as I consider it to be literally evil.  There was only so much of it that I could read before I threw it away.  

I may be wrong, he may think that Kemi Badenoch would have been the best leader for the Conservative party.  But his backing of her will be convenient if he is challenged on racism in the future as he will be able to say that he backed her so cannot be racist.   

White Privilege in the USA

I am amazed at white privilege in the USA. Donald Trump is in a court case about incitement to violence and has come up with a defence only a white person in the USA may get away with that fruit may be dangerous. Likewise, Marjorie Taylor Greene has relied on a defence that she cannot recall what she has said or tweeted. I do not imagine that this defence would work in the UK but I suspect both will be found innocent.

PMQs, taking the knee and my son being in isolation

First of all, my son is in isolation as someone in his form has tested positive for COVID19.  My daughter has managed to escape so far in her school, but with the numbers of those affected by COVID increasing, it is only a matter of time before she is exposed.  At work, several staff have to work from home due to being contacts themselves, or having children who are contacts.  My daughter has a friend who was in isolation due to being a contact and then tested positive two days before her period of isolation ended.  Another friend is in isolation as one of their parents has contracted it despite them being double vaccinated.

The issue of increasing numbers was brought up in PMQ's today as this is not just putting strain on the NHS, but it is also causing issues for business.  A friend of ours has had to shut the business they have as one staff member tested positive which meant that too many had to isolate as a result.  

But the main issue was the question about if it was right for Conservative politicians to speak out against footballers taking the knee, or to refuse to condemn fans who decided to boo their own team for doing so.  Thanks to changes in the law, a protest can be deemed illegal if it is too loud.  To be fair to the Conservatives, some are open about how they were wrong to condemn this and argue that the party needs to change its attitude.  I like many consider the refusal to speak about against 'fans' booing their own team as being linked to the racist abuse that many of the team have faced, notably the three players who missed the penalties. If politicians had spoken out, it would have reminded all that there are issues with racism and that they need to be addressed.  Instead by ignoring it, people have not been reminded that racism is not acceptable.  

The abuse that has been directed to our black footballers is inexcusable, but the love that they have been shown is also amazing.  

Do COVID vaccines work?

The answer to this question is yes and no.

Tucker Carlson, the man who has spread racist conspiracy theories, has questioned why, if the vaccines work, we have to use face masks.  

He has raised concerns about vaccines, but has stated an opinion that will sway people towards not getting vaccinated.

First of all, he is right in that there may be more blood clots than science is aware of associated with vaccination of COVID.  Governments taking action to look at this in more detail is not hiding an issue (which he has claimed), but rather is taking appropriate action.

He also has asked why people have to wear masks even if they have been vaccinated suggesting that the vaccines may not work.  A man of his supposed intelligence either knows the answer, or he is just not that smart.  No vaccine is 100% effective, and this is the case with COVID vaccinations, being both after one or two doses.  Also when it comes to variants, we know that the current vaccinations are not as effective against them as we would like.  We do not know how long immunity from vaccination will last as well.

So does being vaccinated against any illness offer a 100% success that the recipient is immune?  No.  And this is also the case with vaccines targeting COVID.

Does vaccination against COVID work to save lives?  Yes.

Thanks to Tucker Carlson, there will be more people not being vaccinated.  Some of them will catch COVID and die and some will catch COVID and spread it to others who will die.