Lion in Winter

First off, thank you and Happy Winter Festival Of Your Choice to all those here who fight the good fight and who I've come to think of as friends (people like me a lot better when they don't actually have to meet me). To you, love, peace, friendship, family, home, revolution, and a better world.

But since this is TIO, there's more. It's everything that Christmas isn't supposed to represent, and in my book it's also a lot of what's gone wrong on TIO specifically and in some cases on wider BE. It's a Christmassy thread because this post involves everything that that particular radical socialist trouble-causing hippie revolutionary dude born during this season (ok, apparently it was actually in October or thereabouts) said he was against (and specifically not how the the church establishment later decided to interpret things). So, in no particular order:

• The number of bad faith threads started, ostensibly to "discuss" views on certain issues in a reasonable way, but in actuality started only so that a small number of people can air their bigoted, narrow-minded, and ignorant views on humanity, whether it's skin colour, gender identity, sexuality, etc. Specific examples are the hideous Black Lives Matter and Wokeness threads. When the decent people who post in there to counter the prejudice and intolerance withdraw, what is left is repulsive mutual masturbation. Extraordinary views surface, ideas such as trans people wanting only to sexually assault others in bathrooms, crass sexist stuff like denigrating female heads of state or political leaders on matters of physical appearance, barely disguised views on "replacement" (look it up) and the attribution of negative behaviours to someone's ethnic appearance or national origin. And yet pretending that's not it at all.
• The endless threads and posts all created to blow wind into the sails of xenophobes and bigots under the guise of reasonable behaviour, demonising refugees, migrants, and immigrants in general. Aside from the bigotry and ignorance on display, the endless belittling and condemnation of people who are struggling to provide for themselves and their families coming from people who are living comfortably and don't have to face anything like what these people have faced, ever, betrays not only a complete lack of empathy but an ability to dehumanise others that has only ever ended very badly throughout the entire history of humanity. These people are too old to be children, so bad. These people aren't desparate enough, they are 'economic migrants'. These people should have stopped in another country and not tried to get to the UK. It's vile. And then there's the fake concern - these people are victims of smugglers, we just want to keep them safe. And always, always, it's "them".
• On the subject of 'them' - who do these posters I'm referring to think they are talking to on BE? Do they think that none of us are non white, or that we are all straight cis gender, or that none of us have been victims of violence, domestic, or racial, or anti gay or anti trans, or that none of us have ever had to flee war or poverty, or have never lived in the poor areas of cities that they condemn? I could go on, but you get the picture. We are all on BE - open your minds, people.
• 'Punching down' and bullying. Posters failing to understand that others are struggling with issues and events in life way beyond their own experience and way beyond what they know. Have some humanity, people. Some of us actually get to know each other as people. I've made friends on here who we've lost - they died, and it was real. David (Fatbrit), Ray, Rugbymatt. People here have lost their partners and we have tried to help. People have gone through divorces, illnesses, and natural disasters and we've tried to help. Recently we helped a departed poster and his partner move, because they didn't have enough money to do it. That's a community pulling together. We'd do as much for our mates down the pub. It's our community and we are responsible for it, not IB. We are 'policed' by consent, by mods and admin, but the place belongs to us all. Again recently, another poster lost their spouse but didn't feel able to post it here - just pm'd a few of us - because the trust in the community to communicate personal stuff was gone. They didn't like what they were seeing, and haven't been back either. I wish we had been better able to help.
• What do any of you think people casually passing through BE think of us when they read these threads and posts? What do we look like to them? Ever wonder why we don't get any new posters in here?
• To those posters who are right wing *****. We know you are right wing *****. You are fooling nobody. No, I feel no Christmas goodwill towards you and never will. You hurt people - fix yourselves.
• Bring back our former posters who would have seen off all this shit in short order.

And because it's Christmas, as Dickens said, "mankind is our business". Not "people who like and agree with me or who don't make me feel threatened or doubt my masculinity or way of life are our business". Update it to "humankind is our business", along with the rest of the creatures on the planet.

Peace on earth.

Bipat

Best Wishes for Christmas LIW and I hope 'Little Lion' is OK and has plenty of food --and the 'drink'. Hope the new Year is better for all.
B.

Lion in Winter

Cheers, Bipat.

Let's create a better year and a better BE.

BristolUK

Not to sound like those in the HOC but hear hear.

And so say all of us.

BuckinghamshireBoy

"And so say all of us."

Sounds like this is building towards the punchline of one of those atrocious jokes that Noel Edmonds would trot out when he was a DJ on BBC Radio 1.

The punchline that I have in mind is "Freeze a jolly good cello", but I can't remember the joke.

Thank goodness.

BristolUK

I remember Blue bonnet plague. (and the joke leading up to it)
Milk anyone?

Annetje

Thanks for your post LIW ! Much true in there !
I'm giving up on TIO.
It's just impossible to have a decent conversation and people just do whatever they fancy without any control or self-control.
If this is the way they want it, fine, enjoy !

Have a wonderful time with your son and Happy Christmas to all the decent folks here !
Take care xx

Signing off ...

Lion in Winter

And not one of you lovely people should have to leave or censor yourselves or lose your online friends because of a few screwed up people with screwed up views. Decent people are the majority here, and we should not be pushed out.

SultanOfSwing

Damn right. Happy bloody Christmas to everyone who isn't a twat. And to everyone else, have a day.

spouse of scouse

Amen to every word of that wonderful post Lion.

To all the people who try to make the world a better place, starting with their own little corner of it, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas filled with love and laughter. To all the others, my wish is that you learn a little humility and humanity, and a hope that even if you're unable to imagine the burden others are carrying, that you at least refrain from adding to that burden.

Lion in Winter

+1

Nutek

Yep. I have to agree.

Well said, and Merry Christmas to all the above posters.

BEVS

Raising a glass of cheer
to the sentiments here.



M

scrubbedexpat097

Agree and agree

old.sparkles

I feel excluded






Only joking - well said LIW and Nadolig Llawen / Merry Christmas