We CANNOT Be Blind To The Past

I was a child when I first heard about the Holocaust.  My world was filled with imaginative games, bike rides in the sunshine and books to be read.  The horrors of places like Auschwitz or Belsen were impossible to fathom.  I heard about children as young as I was being imprisoned and eventually gassed to death.  It was too awful to think about and yet for a while after I first learned about the Holocaust, that was all I did.

A few years later, I read the diary of Anne Frank.  I read it when I was at a similar age to hers when it was written.  I recognised the frustrations, the passions and the dreams she filled her pages with.  But there were aspects that were shocking; a world away from the one I knew.  The fear of capture.  The horrors of war.  The hatred faced by people for no reason beyond their creed. 

Just like when I was a child, first hearing about the Holocaust, for a while after I finished the diary, it was all I could think about.  

Slaughter on a mass scale.  Camps that became machines of death.  Hatred that spilled over into atrocity.  I read the words.  I saw the photographs.  I thanked my lucky stars that I was growing up in an altogether different world.  

Or so I believed.

Photo credit: Auschwitz-Berkenau Memorial & Museum

A recent study showed that a shocking 1 in 20 adults in the UK do not believe that the Holocaust actually happened.  The study also revealed that 1 in 12 adults in the UK either have no idea how many Jewish people were systematically murdered during the atrocities, or that they were prone to grossly under-estimating the figure.

It could be seen as easy to write this off as a failing of our education system, or to casually blame it on the fact that 74 years have passed since the liberation of Auschwitz.  But neither excuse is good enough.  

There are countless stories to be found, written or told by survivors of Nazi death camps.  We have photographs of emaciated prisoners in their striped outfits.  Mountains of shoes, pairs of glasses and even locks of human hair can be seen upon visiting Auschwitz itself.  Then there is the fact that the Nazis themselves were detailed record keepers and despite their attempts to conceal what had been happening at their now notorious concentration camps, the world quickly discovered the grim truth, once the war was at an end.

In the face of such harrowing evidence, to deny that the Holocaust ever took place can only happen due to one of two things: sheer determination to keep one's head in the sand and avoid the worst of the world's horrors, or - far more frighteningly - a continuing, hateful level of anti-Semitism.

Photo credit: Getty images

Last January, The Guardian newspaper reported that antisemitic incidents in the UK were at an all-time high.  By last Summer, The Independent were reporting that there had been over 100 antisemitic incidents per month in the UK, during the first half of 2018.

Last year also saw a huge surge in street attacks on Muslim people in the UK, as those whose bigoted views are usually kept under the radar become more and more emboldened, thanks to the likes of "Tommy Robinson" and his ilk.  

Today, as we commemorate the 74th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, there are antisemites on Twitter, continuing to perpetuate hateful stereotypes.  There are people writing similarly vile comments about Muslims.  In fact, it doesn't take more than a couple of minutes of digging (and we're talking shallow levels of digging) on social media, to uncover not only antisemitism or Islamophobia, but racism, misogyny and homophobia being broadcast far more openly than ever before.  Indeed, on one single page (a Twitter user who I have obviously reported for their despicable behaviour), I found not only Holocaust denial, but open racism against black people, homophobia and a vocal insistence that "hate speech" shouldn't be a crime.

People with these views no longer feel they have to keep them quiet.  Donald Trump's election in America - much like the UK's Brexit vote - undoubtedly emboldened far-right men and women, who suddenly believed that their opinions were no longer as unpalatable as they were once perceived.  

And yes, there are people who probably voted for Donald Trump who are not inherently racist or misogynistic, just as there are people who voted for Brexit who are horrified by the rise in racist incidents since the referendum.   The trouble is that those people are being drowned out by a louder, far nastier faction.

Getty images

The holocaust did not start with concentration camps or gas chambers.  It began with words.  It began with hateful rhetoric, aimed at "othering" a section of society.  Back then, it was predominantly aimed at the Jewish community.  Nowadays, with the world seemingly so much smaller and with our words capable of reaching so many more people, it is not only Jews, but Muslims, the LGBT+ community and countless other sections of society who are targeted daily by messages of hatred.

We cannot be blind to the past.  We cannot pretend that hateful ideology does not have the capacity to snowball into slaughter.  We've seen it happen, not only at Auschwitz, but in terrorist atrocities and racially motivated murders in far more recent history.

ANY message of hate is ridiculous, pathetic and undeserving of a place in the modern world.  ANY individual, group or organisation that seeks to undermine or even harm other people, based on nothing but their ethnicity, faith (or lack thereof), gender or sexuality needs to have their platform removed in order to prevent such toxic messages from spreading further.

No individual faith, ethnicity or sexuality is better than all of the others.  The colour of one man's skin does not make him any more or less important than the person next to him.  What an individual believes as part of their religious faith should not have any impact on anyone else's life.  And who you or I choose to have a romantic or sexual relationship with is nobody's business but our own.

We are all humans, all capable of doing right and wrong.  So let's stop turning a blind eye to the most horrific wrongs of the past and work together to prevent them from ever happening again.

Why What's Happening in Charlottesville TERRIFIES Me...

Photo via Getty Images.

I'll be honest.  I hadn't heard of Charlottesville, before this morning.  The small college city had never entered my radar; I'm thousands of miles away, down in Cornwall, England, after all.

But by now, it's becoming a name that many recognise.  They recognise it from the news.  From the horrific photos of so-called "alt-right" activists, beating those who don't share their twisted views, with the torches they carried as they marched.  From the images of these racist thugs (many of whom claim to balk at being called Nazis) performing Nazi salutes.

So, why were so many "disaffected young white men" marching through Charlottesville, last night?  

Well, it was all part of something called Unite The Right.  This is a gathering of groups whose members all claim that white history is being erased in the United States and that they are persecuted simply for the colour of their skin.

Yes.  America, which has become disturbingly notorious for police killings of black people, is apparently persecuting its white folk.

Now, I'm a white person (1/4 Greek Cypriot, 3/4 very pale white British).  I can tell you, with my hand on my heart, that I have never, ever thought: "Good God, I am so persecuted.  I have no rights.  I have no voice.  And it's all because I'm white."

That's because I know history.  It's because I experience white privilege enough to realise that my skin colour, more often than not, protects me rather than leaves me at risk of persecution.  The need for "White Lives Matter" (as these goons in Charlottesville were chanting) is akin to "Straight Pride," in as much as history has given us a whole heap of reasons why it's just not necessary, whereas the reverse very much is.

But since when have racists listened to reason?

White men, in their 20s and 30s (and some who onlookers suggested may have only been in their teens), therefore swarmed through the University of Virginia campus last night, chanting slogans such as "jews will never replace us!" and claiming to be standing up for the poor, voiceless white man.

Because, you know, white men are the least privileged in society.  They get paid less, they never get top jobs, predominantly white neighbourhoods are often referred to as "no-go areas" and woe betide a white man if he's stopped by the police...

Oh, wait.

Now, don't get me wrong.  I'm sure there are people in America who feel they've never been listened to, just as there are plenty of folk here in the UK who say their voices aren't heard.  And when they're talking about important social issues, such as crime, housing or welfare etc, they have just as much right to be listened to as you or I.  That's what a democracy is; everyone is supposed to be able to have their say.

The trouble is, what a lot of these people want to say, are things that we literally fought two wars against.  It's inciting hatred against a race or religion.  It's claiming white superiority and treating anyone of any other ethnicity as somehow "other" or wrong.  It's talking about those important social issues, but pinning the blame for all social problems on immigration, or "political correctness gone mad."

But here's the thing: political correctness and humanity are two different things.  Over the last few years in particular, the lines between the two have become blurred so that they bleed into one another.  For example, if you say "hang on, don't call all Mexicans rapists," you're told by these alt-right morons that you're "being politically correct,"whilst they praise Donald Trump for "telling it like it is," as though he's being somehow brave by inaccurately labelling every single Mexican a sexual abuser (which is rich coming from him, let's face it).  It's not political correctness to say "no, that's not true," it's simply stating a fact, whilst respecting our fellow humans enough to understand that judging an entire group based on the actions of a few is just as unhelpful as wielding torches and claiming that white people are somehow the ones who are being maligned.  

And I'm not going to sit here and say there aren't problems when people move too far to the political left, either.  Because of course any form of extremism - whatever side you lean towards - causes problems.  But far-right extremism has a long and dangerous history and as I watched the news flooding onto Twitter this morning - far-right, torch-wielding racists, encircling protestors against their hateful rhetoric and using those torches as weapons - I realised why this feels so frightening.

Because it's so brazen, now.  Because these people, who once hid beneath ridiculous white hoods, now show their faces quite happily.  Because their abhorrent views are becoming so commonplace, they no longer feel they have to whisper them, but instead flood social media with them, yell them at rallies and take pride in their hatred.

The use of the Internet and social media has no doubt helped these formerly underground, almost cultish groups to come out into the open.  And, as they reach a wider audience, their language and imagery has been emboldened.  A recent Daily Stormer (an alt-right website) article, even ended with the sickening words:

"We will eventually win this struggle and secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.   It is our destiny.   Next stop: Charlottesville.  Final stop: Auschwitz."

Auschwitz.

Where so many Jews were gassed to death during the Holocaust.  These vultures are taking their "fight" to a place that has come to stand as a permanent reminder that we must never allow fascism or hatred to take us to such a dark place ever again.  And they are going there out of hatred, themselves.  Embodying all that the Nazis stood for, yet speaking as though they are the victims.

What is this world they speak of?  Do you live in it?  Because I sure as hell don't.  I know - because my brain cells function correctly - that white people are not about to be erased from history.  I know that we are not being treated like second class citizens on a global scale, the way that so many other cultures have been.  I can see that we are not being demonised or blanket-labelled terrorists (despite the fact that these white scumbags, who are still parading through Charlottesville spouting their nasty crap as I type this, deserve that label entirely).

These mindless, hateful idiots are fighting a war that does not exist.  White people are not being marginalised, enslaved or persecuted.  We are merely living in a multicultural world and the vast majority of people accept the differences among us.  We do not cast hate at those who don't share our skin colour.   We don't tar every member of a community with the same brush when someone from that community commits an atrocity.  The world has - on the whole - moved forwards.

But these people cannot move forwards, because to do so would be to leave their hateful ideology in the past, where it belongs.  And they are emboldened by a President, whose campaign was run amid racial slurs, misogyny and "anti politically-correct" statements.  A president who, at the time of writing, has yet to condemn the white supremacists and their bullying behaviour.

And why would he, when live footage from Charlottesville just now showed David Duke (notorious white supremacist) saying to the camera: "We're determined to take our country back, to fulfil the promises made by Donald Trump.  That's why we voted for him."

Quick question, David:

WHERE ARE YOU TAKING IT BACK FROM?!  IT DIDN'T GO ANYWHERE, YOU UTTER LOUSE.

It's the bit in red, see??!!

It's always the same script.  We need to "take our country back."  Just as American racists have been buoyed by the success of Donald Trump, so the British far-right, boosted by the Brexit result, have been spouting this nonsense.

Our country is our country.  It's just a more multicultural place than it was thirty, forty years ago.  Same goes for America.  Society is mixed to a greater degree than ever before and we have made enormous strides in the fight for equality for all, regardless of gender, sexuality, race or religion.  That these are good things never seem to enter the heads of these thickies with their banners and torches.  In fact, earlier today, I actually saw some white guy on Twitter (I blocked him, so I can't quote directly)say something along the lines of:

"White culture is being erased, when it's white culture that gave us everything good.  Black culture has given society nothing."

Remember that, next time you're listening to... I don't know, most music ever.  

And it's the brazenness of these trolls (because I refuse to call them anything else, when I encounter them online) that I find so disturbing.  The hoodless racists marching through Charlottesville are just a more visual reminder that these people no longer believe that they have to hide their despicable views from the public gaze.  Islamophobia, racism, anti-Semitism is just casually spoken now, and I find that terrifying.

I also think it is of paramount importance that we, as fellow white people, speak up against this horror.  Lord knows, too many of us (those marching in Charlottesville, for sure) expect Muslims to condemn the actions of terrorists, rather than appreciate that a violent minority group do not represent Islam as a whole.  Just as ISIS falsely claim to be representing Islam, these racism scumbags claim to be defending white people.

Well, I'm white.  And I don't need your defence.  I will never need your defence, because I will never stand alongside you.  I abhor all that you stand for.  You claim to represent me, but I will shout back against you as long as there is still air in my lungs.

We are people.  We are all people, no matter what colour skin we have, or what religion we do or not ascribe to.  Regardless of gender, sexuality or anything else that may separate us, we are all people.  There is no superior race.  How can anyone claim white people are superior, when there's a vile white man in the White House, who openly mocked the disabled and bragged about sexually assaulting women during his presidential campaign?!  Get stuffed.  White people are not superior to anyone.  No race is superior to any other.

Thankfully, if you go onto Twitter and look at the news as it rolls in from Charlottesville right now, the vast majority of people - of all ethnicities - are condemning the racists chanting hateful rhetoric.  But in amongst them, are those who praise their actions.  Those who are proud to describe themselves as "far-right," both in America and over here.  Those who literally carry Swastika flags and wear Adolf Hitler quotes on their clothing.

They are brazen in their hatred.  They no longer need to hide it.

And that should horrify us all enough to ensure that we act to condemn them, once and for all.  To silence them, if possible, or - at the very least - to ensure we push them back into the shadows.  Back into their cowardly hoods.

Because hatred and intolerance have no place in our world.  To see it displayed so brazenly is utterly shameful.

"Do You Hear The People Sing?"

There is little to be cheerful about, at the moment.

America has elected a fascist, who is already attempting to implement unconstitutional, racist policy, aimed at demonising a whole community of people.  Men, women and children are being detained at airports, threatened with the prospect of being returned to unsafe homelands.  And the despicable irony is that these people are not only refugees, but, in several cases, American citizens, who have peacefully lived and worked in the US for many years.  Oh, and just in case that's not enough to make you realise that this is a dangerous man for whom ethics and respect are just good Scrabble words, he's also blocked federal funding for any global health organisations that provide - or even discuss - abortion, leaving women with far fewer choices when dealing with a pregnancy that - for any number of reasons - they feel unable to continue with.  This could force women in developing countries into searching for unsafe methods to end their pregnancies, but hey, we're supposed to believe that this is apparently all for the best.  Because dear old President Trump cares deeply about the sanctity of human life.  

Unless you're a Syrian refugee...

Trump's government seems to be filled with white supremacists, misogynists and homophobes.  The "Land of The Free" has never seemed less so.

Here in the UK, we have a Prime Minister who seems barely able (perhaps unwilling?!) to criticise Donald Trump's blatant Islamophobia with any real conviction.  She is, instead, making ludicrous statements about their relationship, such as "opposites attract" and being encouraged by her Brexit-supporting ministers to ensure we make a deal with Trump, seeing as 52% of the UK decided we ought to be pulled out of the European Union and damnit, "Brexit means Brexit."

Oh, and over in Russia, they've decided to de-criminalise domestic violence.

We are living in a world in which it's not a good time to be a Muslim.  Or non-white.  Or a woman.  Or anything but heterosexual.

Things don't look good.  They don't feel good.  And it's okay to be upset, worried or scared about that.  In fact, I question you more than a little if you're not at all concerned.

But there is something to take comfort in.

People - not merely in twos or threes, but in their hundreds of thousands - are saying: "No."

Too often, we hear criticism of musicians, actors and other celebrities, for weighing in on political issues, but it is those people with platforms who are often able to shout the loudest.  And shout they have.

Whether in award acceptance speeches, at rallies or just on Twitter, famous people with enough clout to have their views heard have been saying: "No."

And it's not just celebrities.  The day after Trump's inauguration, millions took to the street in cities across the globe, as part of a march for women's rights, and indeed human rights.  In response to Trump's funding cuts for health organisations and the politicisation of women's reproductive rights (amongst other things, including the new President's blatant misogyny and alarming propensity to brag about sexual assault), millions said: "No."

Now, as officials at American airports detain refugees and citizens alike, based on only their countries of birth (or indeed, their religion), many thousands more people have turned up to loudly protest.  They are saying - they are screaming: "NO."

Todd Maisel/New York Daily News

There will be cynics reading this, who will sigh and shake their heads at the idea of finding hope through noisy Twitter accounts, or protesters who will, eventually, have to go back to their normal, everyday lives.  "What can they achieve?" Those cynics will ask.

Well, firstly, never underestimate people-power.  However much his ego may like to think it, Donald Trump is not America.  The people are.  No matter how little the cynics amongst you might think can be achieved by people all over the world raising their voices, history has shown many times that if you shout loud enough, eventually someone has to listen.  Now is not the time to sit silently on the sidelines.  Now is not the time for glib remarks about it not being our problem, or that it might not be as bad as we think, or that we can't really care about X, because we didn't protest Y.  

Where you see injustice, or inequality, it must be called out.  Anywhere and everywhere.

Only by uniting to speak out against fascism do we ever stand a hope of really challenging it.  Individually, some guy on Twitter may not have much power.  But, combined with thousands of others - writers, politicians, people with platforms that allow the message to travel further - that power becomes immeasurable.

It's also vital to remember that, in a world that now feels isolated to many, purely because of their ethnicity, religion, sexuality or gender, the significance of voices raised in solidarity is enormous.  People whose rights are being systematically removed from them should always have support and to see it being given, via protests, petitions and yes, angry tweets, is a ray of light in a steadily darkening world.

Picture taken from Liberation News.

There is not a lot to be cheerful about, currently.

But as long as people continue to raise their voices against the rising threat of fascism, and as long as their words lead to actions, then there is still some hope to be found.  And I will cling to that hope, because, I too believe that, deep down, people are good.

And if we continue to work together and support one another, now and in the future, goodness will prevail.  However long it takes.  I have to believe that, because the alternative is unthinkable.

So, keep marching, keep tweeting, keep refusing to be quiet and accept the status quo.  Keep speaking up and defending those who need it now more than ever.  

However, you choose to speak out or act against the problems you're seeing, just keep going.  You never know whose life you're bringing hope to, when you do.

We Need To Talk About Donald...

He's a baby.  You know, just in case this image was too subtle.

I feel like 2016 is trolling us.  First, it took Bowie, plus a whole heap of other awesome celebrities (seriously, next year's "in memorium" section at the BAFTAs is going to be about an hour long...).  Then, a Brexit campaign fought using a combination of racist rhetoric, scare-mongering and outright lies (hey, Mr Farage?  How about that £350million for the NHS, now that we're leaving the EU?!) actually won - albeit with a minority so small that, had the result gone the other way, you can bet your backside that Farage and co would be screaming from the rooftops about how unfair it was.  And now, we have an orange, weird haired, misogynistic bigot on his way to the White House.  If it wasn't for the fact that he's dead, I'd be convinced that Jeremy Beadle was about to pop out and tell us that this is all just some hilarious prank that the whole world somehow fell for.

Beadle's About.  He has to be about, right?!

The thing is, if I really force myself to imagine being in the shoes of a Leave voter, I can attempt to work out one or two supposedly sensible reasons for wanting Brexit, beyond mere racism and intolerance.  I don't agree with any of the reasons given for voting Leave, but I can just about understand where people are coming from, even if I will never share their views.  Trying to understand why other people think and feel the way they do is a pretty natural thing for most of us to want to do, because it can help foster better relations on both sides.  

But even if I try really, really hard to abandon all common sense for a while and get into the mindset of someone so fed up with the status quo that they feel that something radical must be done, even if that something means that a total wreck of a human being with all the moral integrity of a genital wart is put in a position of enormous power, I can't understand anyone voting Donald Trump into office.

Regardless of how frustrated you are with the way things are going in your county, it is never okay to decide that only the worst kind of human can fix it.  There is literally no excuse in this day and age (not that there ever truly was) for blatant racism, outright misogyny, homophobia or mocking of the disabled.  And yet these were all facets of Donald Trump's campaign, either from him directly, or as a result of his choice of running-mate, Mike Pence (the kind of charming guy who believes in electro-shock therapy to "cure" gay people).

He looks mad.  He probably has blood coming out of his... wherever.  Or something.

Now, we find ourselves watching in dismay, as Trump picks yet more racists for his cabinet team. In the past couple of days, Neo-Nazi webzine Daily Stormer, referred to Trump's cabinet as being "like Christmas" for those with racist beliefs.  Trump himself was gleefully cheered on by members of the KKK.  This is not a case of the liberals whinging that a crazy guy wants to build a bloody great wall to keep all the Mexican "rapists" out.  This is now actually happening: a man with openly bigoted views is assembling a cabinet of racists.  

His pick for Attorney General is Jeff Sessions, a man who was rejected as a Federal Judge in the 1980s, because of several racist comments he'd made.

His pick for National Security Adviser is Michael Flynn, a man who was unable to say, when pressed, that he outright disagreed with Trump's openness to reinstating extreme interrogation practises, such as waterboarding, nor would he outright deny that he agreed with Trump's threat to kill the entire families of suspected terrorists.

Mike Pompeo is Trump's choice for the chief of the CIA.  This is a man who voted against renewing the Violence Against Women Act, is a hardline anti-abortion campaigner and a lifelong member of the NRA.  He too, has also come under fire for racist comments.  Anyone else seeing a theme developing...?!

And of course, Steve Bannon, who has been handed the role of Trump's Chief Strategist, is the man Neo-Nazis and White Nationalists are cheering about, seemingly loudest of all.

Here's the thing:  It doesn't take much to realise that when the KKK and other such openly racist groups are applauding your new President and his cabinet, you don't cheer with them, unless you are also openly racist.  You've got to have been bashed over the head with the stupid stick if you can't see that connection.

The trouble is, even if not everyone who voted for Trump is a racist, there is a noisy group who very much are.  And those people believed that their grotesque, backwards views had been given legitimacy by his victory (much like the Leave voters here in the UK who did vote out of racist views).  Those same people are watching Trump fill his cabinet with fellow racists and are now, as the Neo-Nazi webzine mentioned earlier put it, feeling like it's Christmas.  If you are a Trump supporter and you're reading this and you are not racist in any way, I've just got to ask: can you not see this connection??!!  Can you really not see how Trump and his fellow cabinet members are giving racists a perceived golden ticket to air their views wherever they like, and to believe that they are now the majority?!  Is this the change you wanted?!

The trouble is, take away all the racism, homophobia and misogyny and what are you left with?  A spoilt, attention-seeking little brat whose moral compass has gone seriously awry.

Seriously, when we're talking about Donald Trump, when you cut away the "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN" rhetoric, you'll find a guy who lies and lies and lies.  He's a man-child, so emotionally stunted that he cannot accept a single word of criticism, however legitimate.  He will find any excuse to paint himself and those around him as victims, in order to whip up more hate.  This is a man whose victory speech was clearly penned by someone else, in order to have him on record saying that he will heal the divisions across the nation.  Yet, just days later, Trump was back on Twitter, insulting publications that failed to back him, by wrongly insinuating that they are failing.

When Mike Pence attended a performance of Hamilton on Broadway, the cast made an eloquent, heartfelt plea at the end of the performance, for Pence and the rest of the government to act on behalf of all citizens, regardless of ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender.  There was no mud-slinging, no swearing or harsh words.  It was an honest admission that many are afraid of what lies ahead.  It was a request for every American citizen to be considered equal.  There is video footage and a transcript readily available.  And yet Trump's response was to take to Twitter and lie, saying that Pence was "harrassed" and that an apology was due.  This, from the man who insinuated that he would support Hillary Clinton being shot, if she won the election.  This, from the man who claimed that he could sexually assault women and get away with it.  This, from the man who, at one electoral rally, openly mocked a disabled member of his audience.

The ACTUAL President of the ACTUAL United States.  I can't.

People - many of whom are Trump supporters - are insisting that we need to give this guy a chance.  We have to see what he actually does in office, before we judge him.  

NO.  

This is a man whose entire campaign was built on hating his opponent, making Islamophobic and racist remarks, belittling women and mocking the disabled.  We judge people on what they put out into the world and what Trump put out in his entire Presidential campaign was enough to make many people genuinely fearful of what his time in office would mean for them and for the wider world.  He is now the President-Elect and he is still lying and spitting out his dummy on his Twitter account.  He is hiring a cabinet made up of men who've made headlines for their racist views.  He is doing nothing to calm the fears of those who are most at risk from him being given power.  He's said very little against the racial attacks carried out in his name.  He has not made any effort to unify his divided nation.

I may be just one, very small blogger in the UK.  But I am very serious when I say, we need to talk about Donald.  Because there is a real risk that something dreadful could happen - not only to America, but the world - if we stay silent.

We CANNOT Allow Racism To Divide Us.

Me and my little sister with our grandparents.  

Our grandfather came to the UK from Cyprus.

There are a lot of things that I speak out against.  Not because I just like shouting my mouth off (although a good rant now and then is healthy, if you ask me), but because it's right to speak out against them.  Those things include homophobia, Islamophobia and all forms of abuse.  Many of the things I speak out about (abuse aside), are things I have not personally experienced.  For example, I talk about tackling racism, but I had never experienced it, myself.

Until today.

Now, I'm fully aware that I have a massive amount of privilege.  I'm white, straight, cis and whilst I might not be wealthy at all, I have a roof over my head and an income of my own.  In no way, shape or form, is what I experienced this morning comparable to the racism that affects others in the world and I want to make it very, very clear that I am not about to try to paint myself as the tragic victim, or elicit waves of sympathy from communities who've had it far, far worse than I could dream of.  No.  All I want to do is talk about it.  Because the truly frightening thing about what I experienced today was that it came from fellow Brits.

Yesterday, I offered my thoughts on Britain's decision to leave the European Union.  They are, after all, my thoughts.  And seeing as I share them with sixteen million other people in the UK, I didn't feel that I shouldn't share those views.  I won't lie, I expected some comeback from Leave voters.  I expected to be told I was wrong, that this is a fantastic opportunity to make Britain "Great" again and that I should shut up.  And, sure enough, I woke up to several tweets saying exactly that.  What I did not expect, was abuse and - worse - racism.

And I got a truckload of it.

Bizarrely, the first round of abuse came from America.  I was "a dumb bitch," a "whining c*nt" and an "ungrateful idiot."  I was, they told me, failing to see that I had gained my country back.  Although, I'm pretty sure it was here when I woke up this time last week, so...  Anyway, every single one of the US-based trolls had Donald Trump in either their profile pictures, bio descriptions or their cover photos, so I figured it stood to reason that they would leap to the fanatical "MAKE BRITAIN GREAT AGAIN" side of things, without much to back it all up with.  Like butter from a warm knife, it slid off me pretty easily.

Then the British attacks came.

"EMMA TOFF!"  One simply said.  Now, I get it.  I'm an English speaker and I'm aware that "toff" refers to someone "posh."  And I'm aware that a lot of British people voted "Leave" based on the idea that they were somehow sticking two fingers up to the elite in doing so (and let's be real; this isn't a government who have put the working classes first ever, so nobody could blame anyone for being dissatisfied with the status quo and wanting to make a statement).

But my surname is "Tofi."  It's Greek Cypriot and, if you're interested, it's pronounced "Toe-Fee."  Throughout my life, I've had people call me "Emma Toffee," "Emma Toff," "Emma Too-Fee," "Emma Toe-Figh" and so on.  At school, it was deliberate.  As an adult, I'd like to think that I just happen to have a name that very few people can pronounce correctly on the first go.

So, with a worrying, niggling feeling in my stomach, I decided to respond.  I asked whether the person in question was calling me posh (and explained that I'm not), or whether they were reducing themselves to taking the mick out of my surname, based on it being obviously not British in origin.  I wanted it to be the first one.  I wanted - so badly - for them to respond, attacking me for their perception of me being wealthy and privileged, hence voting Remain.

What I got back, was this:

But... But... What did my ARSE do to you?!

Maybe they had originally been calling me "posh."  Or maybe they had deliberately chosen to sink to the playground level of mocking a surname that was unfamiliar.  Either way, there was no alternative manner in which to take the response.  I had a non-British surname.  I was, by extension, "not as British" as this person.

Now, I know what they all say.  "Don't feed the trolls" and so on.  But, well, since we're on the subject, I am part Greek-Cypriot and I do have a fiery side that makes itself known from time to time.  So, biting my tongue (as much as I could), I explained to this person that I was British born and raised and I contribute to our economy etc, I just happened to have Greek heritage. 

They responded:

But...But... I'm not even wearing pink in my profile pic...

That's a British person calling me, a fellow British person, "foreign."  Because my surname's different.

I stopped screencapping and started blocking the most disgusting commentators at this point, which is annoying, because this is where it descended into nightmarish "leave our country" style nastiness (yes, someone actually told me to do that), when the troll got their fellow racists involved.  There were cries to "listen to the actual British people," as though I wasn't one of them.  There were people calling me derogatory names - "bitch, c*nt, twat" and so on.  And by this point, it had nothing to do with my thoughts on wanting us to remain in the EU.  It was based on my surname.  It was because I was, supposedly, "other."

It got personal.  One vile person even told me that they "can't tell whether (I'm) male or female," then referred to me as both "HE" and "she" (yes, the "HE" was capitalised).  For reference, my name is "Emma" on Twitter and this is my Twitter profile picture:

I can see how you'd be confused.

When I visited the original troll's page, in order to mute them (on the whole, I prefer to mute, rather than block, as nothing gives me more satisfaction than knowing a troll is probably still screaming into a void, with their words never reaching me), they were telling an equally racist friend: "Some far-left extremist bitch is attacking me."  Being infuriated and hugely upset by this point, I replied to both the troll and their friend, reminding them that I hadn't attacked anyone, but was refusing to tolerate their racist remarks.  Their response was to remind me that I'm "not even British."

Except I am.  I was born here.  Aside from a brief spell in Germany, whilst my father was in the military, I've lived here my whole life.  I drink tea, I get short-tempered over bad grammar on the Internet and I can explain the offside rule.  I am as British as they come.  

Am I proud of my Greek-Cypriot heritage?  Of course.  I love that it makes me a bit different and I even love the unruly curls it's blessed me with.  I would be a fool not to love part of my family history.

But I am British, first and foremost.  And to be attacked, patronised and abused by my fellow countrymen and women, based on nothing but the fact that I have a Greek surname, is a disgrace.

I was being calm, but I deviated...

Look, the vote has been cast.  It's done, now.  What we need is to become united to improve the situation we're currently in.  The pound has crashed, we're going to have an unelected Prime Minister and there's talk of another Scottish referendum and a Northern Irish one.  If we're going to make big changes that could define Britain for decades, we need to make them together.  And that means we have to work with one another, not against each other.

Already, in the past 24 hours, there has been too much talk of people snapping "pack your bags" to their fellow citizens, based on their ethnicity or even religion.  On buses, in offices, in the street...  Even a channel 4 journalist tweeted that as he stood in a town centre, ready to report on the referendum results, three people yelled "send them home!" within the space of fifteen minutes.  Already, we've had a woman on the teatime national news, proudly declaring: "It's the immigrants - get 'em out!"

Newsflash, guys:  Xenophobia is not going to make Britain "Great."

I mean, let's look at how STUPID racism and xenophobia is: you can't even tell whether someone's British or not!  My surname is Greek, but I'm a Brit.  Someone else might be wearing a burka, but of course they can just as easily be British.  A person who moved here from the EU years ago and has been working legally, contributing to our economy and enjoying British culture may consider themselves to be adopted British.  And if we think logically - hard for racists, I know - very few people can trace their heritage back and find only British ancestry.  We've invaded and been invaded over the centuries.  Our blood is mixed.  WHERE DO YOU WANT THE LINE DRAWN?!

I saw a woman on Twitter casually announce "I voted Leave so we can kick the Poles out - they're stealing our jobs!"  And then I did an eye-roll so hard that I almost saw the back of my skull.

At this point, it's best to welcome the insanity this result is driving me towards.

Here's the deal: if someone Polish - or from bloody anywhere outside of the UK - is here legally, working, contributing to society and our economy, then guess what, Little Miss Racist 2016: THAT'S ALLOWED.  We're a multicultural society and it's something to be proud of!  And if you can't see how much you rely on imports and creations from other cultures, you need to forcibly remove your head from your damn arse.  Ideally, yesterday.

Look, I'm not tarring everyone with the same brush.  I know and care for people who voted Leave.  Just because I am wildly opposed to their choice, doesn't mean I'm going to label them unfairly.  Not every Leave voter is racist and it would be completely wrong to judge them all by the foul-mouthed, intolerant actions of a few.

But the fact is, those few are there.  And we cannot - must not - ignore that fact, if we want to recreate a United Kingdom.

As one person yelled at me in shouty capitals earlier: "GET UP, SOLDIER, WE'RE LEAVING!" (I know, I laughed, too) That's the gist of it.  The die has been cast.  We're very unlikely to wriggle out of this; it's happening.  That's democracy - like it, or lump it.

But know this: whatever road we travel down from this point onwards, we have got to be travelling together.  Not with a few of us sticking our nasty little heads out of the window, gesturing at "foreigners" to turn their cars around and "get back to their own countries."  Not with people on the Leave side refusing to condemn the racist actions of a minority in that group (it's all well and good saying "nobody needs to speak out against nastiness, because everyone just knows it's wrong," but frankly, a lack of outcry just seemingly legitimises that nastiness).  And, as hard as it is, not with the Remain camp labelling everyone who voted Leave a racist and moving forwards with negativity and hate.

Regardless of which box you ticked, we're all in this together, now.  Whatever happens, happens.  We can either unite to force through positive changes as a result of the referendum, or we can sit and bicker, reducing one another to something as ridiculous as their bloody surname.

We must all stand up to decry racism, regardless of which way we voted.  We must all understand that Britain is a multicultural society and that people can identify as "British" and have this country's best interest at heart regardless of their heritage.  We have to work together to decide what we want, going forwards.  We can't become a bitter, intolerant society, because that will benefit precisely nobody.

The nation is divided.  We cannot allow racism, Islamophobia and xenophobia to divide us any further.  

Why Clarkson Should Go (From a Self-Confessed Top Gear Fan)

I'm going to say it, straight from the off:  I am (or at least have been; I've waned in recent years) a fan of Top Gear.  The banter, the silliness, the cars... It appealed to me and my sense of humour.  I own several Top Gear DVDs, at least three books written by the presenters and back when Richard Hammond nearly lost his life in a jet car accident, I was frantically glued to the news footage, praying to Gods I'm not even sure I believe in, for him to pull through.  I loved the show so much that I went along to one of the Top Gear Live shows they put on every year. I even went to see the TV show being filmed and met the presenters.  It was a brilliant day and all three of the guys - Richard Hammond, James May and of course, Jeremy Clarkson, were witty, chatty and entertaining.

Not the best photo of me, I know.  But you get the point...

But in the last couple of years, my affection for the show has dwindled somewhat.  It started to get a little same-y and then I started to feel slightly uncomfortable with some of the "banter."  What had once had me chuckling away on my sofa, started to make me cringe.  

In 2012, when Top Gear went to India, Jeremy Clarkson made several provocative remarks about the country's food and history.  It was then that I started wondering whether he was crossing a line from close-to-the-knuckle humour into something bordering on xenophobia.  It wasn't as though he hadn't made similar comments before, but I suppose when you're a fan of something to the degree I was (and yes, prior to that point, I was one of those people vehemently defending Clarkson to his detractors), you simply don't want to see that it could be problematic.  But it was at that point that I started to feel less comfortable with the jokes being made.

By the time Clarkson was forced to apologise for appearing to mutter the N-word during an un-broadcast piece of footage in 2014, I was no longer regularly watching the show.  When the footage made the news, it concerned me, but didn't shock me, which is of itself, fairly indicative of Clarkson's notoriety for that kind of thing.  I presumed he'd said it deliberately, for shock-value and I thought it was a bloody stupid, offensive thing to do.  But I wasn't calling for his head to be on the block - perhaps wrongly - because I hoped that the rightful anger directed at him for his use of such a word would shock him into reigning in his behaviour and seeing that racist language is not in any way, shape or form acceptable.

Then, just months later, he proved me wrong when he used the word "slope" as a derogatory term for an Asian man (whilst describing a makeshift bridge he and his co-presenters had built across a river, he remarked to Richard Hammond: "this is a proud moment, but there's a slope on it" - clearly making a pun on the fact that an Asian man was crossing the bridge at the time) and I came to realise that Clarkson was a person with no intention of changing his ways.  Indeed, again just months later, he drove through Argentina in a vehicle with a personalised number plate that was a clear reference to the Falklands War.

It's at this point that people start saying things like "Clarkson shouldn't be sacked; this is political correctness gone mad!"

Don't get me wrong; I think we can be too politically correct in this country at times.  And I don't want to see genuine humour curtailed by it.  But it seems to me that too often, people use the term to describe a rightful reaction to a negative situation.  "So you can't have a joke at the expense of Asians anymore?  It's political correctness gone mad!"

Except, no.  It's just bloody decency.  If people are telling you not to make racial slurs, it's not "political correctness," it's humanity.  Are we really prepared to fight for our right to be racist, homophobic, sexist or otherwise bigoted?!  

Recently, Clarkson was suspended by the BBC, following an incident in a Yorkshire hotel, during which he punched a producer in the face over an argument about food.  Clarkson had supposedly returned from a day's filming at 10pm, after the hotel's restaurant kitchen had stopped serving hot food.  He demanded a steak and was instead offered a platter of either cheese or cold meats.  This wasn't adequate, so he became verbally abusive, swearing at the producer and telling him that he'd ensure he lost his job, before landing a punch.  Witnesses have expressed shock at the display, but I think I've gone past shock, where Jeremy Clarkson is concerned...

What I am shocked by, however, is the reaction of the public.  At the time of writing, over 800,000 people have signed a petition for Clarkson to keep his job.  From the arguments I've read online, their main concern seems to be that he's a "good TV presenter."  Well, yes, he is (when he's not being racist...).  But is that enough of a reason to let him off again?

This is a man who was warned over his use of racist language, only to go right ahead and use it again.  This is a man who used physical violence and verbal abuse against someone, just because he wasn't immediately offered what he wanted for dinner.  And yet more people care that he keeps his job than they care about signing a petition to stop cuts to our vital NHS mental health services...

What's more important to you?  Potentially life-saving intervention for those who truly need it, or an incredibly rich, white guy being allowed to go around saying and doing whatever he likes, because he's quite entertaining on the telly?!

What that petition says to me is that 800,000+ people think that assaulting a colleague over a trivial matter is an acceptable, non-sackable offence.  800,000+ people apparently miss the "good old days," when you could make racist jokes without consequences.  800,000+ people will think that in writing this, I'm dull, "politically correct" and trying to strangle humour.

I'm not.  I'm just saying that for many, "jokes" that are at the expense of minorities aren't funny.  And for many, assaulting someone over a missing steak sandwich is not acceptable behaviour, either.  I'm saying that whilst Jeremy Clarkson was often witty and entertaining on Top Gear, that shouldn't mean that he's given a free pass to do and say whatever he pleases.  Where do we draw the line?  Do we wait for him to assault someone else, or make further racist slurs?  And if/when that happens, do we put off the inevitable again?  What exactly are we waiting for?!

The suggestion is that Top Gear might die out completely, without Clarkson at the helm.  That would be sad, because it's capable of being a brilliant programme.  But is it so beyond the realm of possibility that it could remain popular without him?  The show could still feature banter, caravans being blown up and stars in reasonably priced cars, after all.  It's understandable that the BBC are scared of losing viewers of what is one of its most successful and widely exported TV shows ever, but are they really willing to give Jeremy Clarkson just another slap on the wrist?  Had it been the other way around and the producer had punched Clarkson, would there even be a question as to whether or not that guy lost his job?!  Of course not.  They'd be publicly stating that workplace violence is unacceptable.  Which it is.

For me, Clarkson has crossed the line for the final time.  If the BBC want to prove that they are anti-racism, anti-abuse and no longer tip-toeing around their star presenters, afraid of rightfully rebuking them, then they need to stop giving him second (and third, fourth and fifth) chances.  He's an intelligent man, with a brilliant presenting style and I was once a big fan.  But like a spoilt child, he has begun pushing the boundaries, to see just what he can get away with.  With his deliberate attempts to "shock," he's ceasing to be funny on screen.  And with this behaviour off-camera, he's surely beyond the usual excuses BBC bosses are so keen to make for him.  Let him apologise, let him promise to reign in his behaviour from now on, by all means.  But let him prove himself a man of his word on a different television show.  You can't keep giving warnings, or they become meaningless.  As a fan of Top Gear, I want to see it go back to being a funny, clever show about cars.  I don't want to keep seeing it making headlines for the same reasons, over and over again.  It's time for Clarkson to go.

I always preferred Hamster, anyway...