For Norway

I don't believe people are born evil, I believe we are taught intolerance, prejudice, selfishness and anger by our society, it is our culture and social networks that teach us - and yes we can rise above that with education and socialisation, but I do not believe that people are born to murder. Waking up on July 23 and wading down stairs to see what was on the 'telly' I was brought face to face with the intolerance and prejudice we have all learned, I was brought face to face with the senseless loss of life.  Fortunately I was with my partner so did not show my revulsion and we both sat in silence trying to work out what happened - not the 'tick tock' of events but what had actually happened, and I still can't make any sense of what has happened; neither can I make sense of what has happened now. I was so glad to be with Holger that day, though we barely spoke of the incident he helped me see that even though there is great evil in the world there is also great goodness. I cannot make sense of the Norwegian Prime Minister's response 'we will fight this with more democracy' and I cannot make sense of the lack of a vengeful response I am so used to hearing from countries when they have been attacked.  I stare at the Prime Minister's statement incredulous at the response, and totally amazed at its grace and wisdom, at its compassion and strength, I watched the King and Queen of Norway cry, and along with others, I want to hug them. Listening to an ex Norwegian Prime Minister on Radio about his trip around the Fjords reading Beowulf and the Norwegian resilience to the evils that once stalked the lands, and how the fight about against this evil is a lifelong battle I cry a little at the humanity of this man, and for the people involved in this tragedy. Making sense of a senseless, in rational eyes, act of murder is impossible, but I am not angry at Breivik, I cannot get past the horror of the tragedy that occurred on Utoya the unbelievable suffering of the families, the survivors, the rescuers and can only struggle to imagine what they must feel.  I cannot get past the grief and compassion, and I am not allowed into hatred because the Norwegian Prime Minister said we will fight this more democracy.  I am reminded of Christ turning the other cheek, I am reminded of Ghandi fasting for peace, and I reminded of Martin Luther King of having a dream, I am reminded that hatred is not the solution, I am reminded I human and I am better than fighting fire with more fire. I am not sure what I could have said to the survivors of Utoya, or the families of those who have died, I don't think there are any words... Words are inadequate, but words that make you feel something are a poor substitute for grief, but a couple of lines of WH Auden keep coming to mind: The stars are not wanted now: put out every one; Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun; Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood. For nothing now can ever come to any good. To families who will live with this tragedy I am sure the sun will shine less brightly now, to those who survived I hope that they will seize every day after the scars have healed. I do not know these people, I have not been to their country, and cannot speak to their language - but I stand with them for they are my brothers and sisters.

A Letter to My MP

Dear Mr Tomlinson

As my constituency MP I would like to register my grave concern over the events of the past week involving ex-employees of NewsCorp, namely Mr Coulson, and the threatening statements by NewsCorp companies against legally and democratically elected members of Parliament, and would like to express my view that the NewsCorp is not fit to run 40% of the United Kingdom’s news media, because of the events of the past and its track record in breaking the law by paying Police Officers for stories and illegal ‘phone hacking’ carried out by the News of the World – a NewsCorp company.

Firstly I would like to know what the Prime Minister is going to do after employing Mr Coulson who, at the time, was under suspicion of breaking the law, and giving him one of the highest security clearances in the Government; it seems foolhardy to associate with someone with a suspect criminal record but then giving him security clearance seems totally reckless.  I cannot understand why Mr Cameron would do such a foolhardy thing, the idea of giving Mr Coulson a ‘second chance’ AND security clearance smacks at recklessness not normally associated with a Prime Minister.

This coalition – which no-one voted for – has made great play of personal responsibility, I would suggest that Mr Cameron would like to exercise some personal responsibility and resign, or at least call another Election to see if the country wants to give the Prime Minister a second chance?

On the note of personal responsibility the Prime Ministers quote that he would ‘would accept Rebekah Brooks resignation’ is a total understatement of the gravity of the situation, surely if the Prime Minister stands for personality he should have echoed Mr Milliband’s call for Ms Brooks resignation as it happened on ‘her watch’?  I am afraid it seems that Mr Cameron afraid of the power of NewCorp that he cannot speak candidly on this subject as he can on other matters.

Secondly it has been reported that ‘The Sun’ has declared war on the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Milliband, for asking for the resignation of Rebekah Brooks who was Editor, and thus responsible, at the times of ‘phone hacking’ which has caused a righteous uproar over the past week.  I would suggest that  the proposed merger between BSkyB and NewsCorp is not in the interest of the United Kingdom and Parliamentary democracy. NewsCorp has proved itself untrustworthy to take control of 40% of the news media, and ‘The Sun’ has proved that the paper cannot be impartial or trusted be ‘fair’ in reporting of news.

‘The Sun’ in threatening Mr Milliband has shown the unacceptable face of  NewsCorp. Democracy is not served by the agglomeration of power, whether financial or media, in one company – I trust Parliament along with 70% of the people asked about this issue in a recent ‘You Gov’ poll.

I look forward to your reply.

Berlin in a Day

Today was Berlin and the big question as I meandered through Wolfsburg (must visit some day, great architecture of the 60's industrial variety) was what I should see, the list is not endless but Berlin has been, and is destined to remain either a catalyst of European history or the heart of it. Passing Berlin Spandau that seems worth a visit, and at one point was on the list along with Potsdam, in the end I chickened and decided to see what I bumped into on a stroll around.

Walking aimlessly is not an efficient strategy for a day visit, but it worked for me - bumping into the Humboldt University, the Berliner Dom, and Alexanderplatz was more than enough for me. Walking down Unter Den Linden with the smell of flowers wafting through air - honest I smelt flowers - was a chance encounter that I could not have planned, along with the view of Alexanderplatz with the the Telecom Tower ands the Church in the foreground almost emphasising the changing history of this city from the centre of decadence to terror, to repression to liberation with the fall of the wall./

More than anything I didn't really do the sights of Berlin, but I tried to contextualise you, to get to know it for myself, to make sense of the history - it is a city with a 'past' - and try and make sense of how other people see it, how Berliners see it. I tried to see how the remains of its grandeur - its old railway stations at Fredricrtrasse, Alexandraplatz and Ost Bahnhoff run through to Berlin Hauptbahnoff and Leherter Bahnhoff like an artery through its history; the solid high level stations that ran through Berlin during Communism missing stops out because they were in the wrong Sector to Ost Bahnhoff which the link to Eastern Europe and to the East the new Hauptbahnoff built as a monument to reunification. In a testament of defiance the wrought iron roofs of the old stations stood as testaments to the 'old Berlin'.

It is hard for me to write definitives because it is not my city, not even my country, but I can say this is my impression of what is there, and how I interpret it - whether that be wright or wrong.

My major confusion was the street hawkers selling 'genuine' Russian armed forces hats, and the odd Nazi hat, it was this that made me stop and think about Berlin and the changes that have been made, and it interprets its history - for the me the war is over and the lessons learnt, so move on, Communism has come and gone - but I find it peculiar and disturbing at the trivialisation of these momentous events, as if the memories are there to be sold; I am not sure what I feel about the hats, its strange one trivial thing can have such a profound effect, I am sure that when I last visited back in the late 90's there would have been such a trade.

Berlin in day took me from the Bundestag via the Brandenburg Gate, to Alexandraplatz, but in time it took me from the 1920's to the 2010''s a roller-coaster ride that is still running .

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Berlin

Why I am proud to be Gay

In a moment of Cocktail induced euphoria (aided and abetted by Sun and too much Lady GaGa) I 'tweeted' that I was proud to be gay, and now I am wondering how many people have tweeted 'I'm proud to be straight’. - not many I'll wager ya'

So, if I am searching for acceptance and equality, why am I 'proud to be gay' and not just content with ‘happy’?

There are many reason but one must be solidarity with my 'tribe' and our history, against all odds our society has developed from dictatorship to limited democracy, the universal suffrage and within the past 40 years (and I am talking about Europe) through to some form of gay equality.  I am proud of my history, not what I have done, but for what others have done for me, even in my lifetime.

The history of gay repression started with the enlightenment of society and the dawn of the 'scientific age' of the 1900's, social scientist wanting, as scientists are want to do, to label everything, everything must be explained and so the homosexual was born.  All of sudden we became a sub-class not fitting into the 'norms' of the nuclear family we were outsiders - the gay brothels of London in the 1800's quietly disappeared along with the gay man and woman.

By the time I was born in the sixties, amid the sexual revolution, it seemed time for a complete sexual revolution and time for Stonewall to kick start the fight back, by the time I was at school in the 70's a prototypical sub-culture had developed, by the time I had left school in the 80's we had had our first heroes, Quentin Crisp, Peter Tatchell, Tom Robinson (who strangely turned 'straight'), by the mid 80's we had AIDS and the battle to educate and refute the tide of anti-sentiment (and I remember the jokes, and the headlines - 5 Million to die o AIDS in the UK by 1990) and take our role as educators.  By the 90's we were becoming very public, a few politicians raised their heads above the parapet - with Chris Smith (Labour MP) coming out with the quote 'I am a Gay MP, now let’s talk politics' - throwing away the gay label to be accepted for he was elected to do.

In the 90's I came out at work, even though I could still be sacked for being gay, I wasn't sacked and accepted for being myself - a privilege I have experienced throughout my working life -and then came the 21st Century.

The 21st Century has given us acceptance, and its dawn Ben Bradshaw, Labour MP for Exeter, an openly gay candidate ousted an openly homophobic Tory - more than that on becoming a Foreign Minister on a trip to Indonesia he insisted his partner be treated equally against the protests of the Indonesian government.
I am proud not of my own achievements but of the scattered and indistinct and diverse community I belong to, being gay does not define me as a person as it did my those who protested in the 70's, but I am proud to be able to have such a rich heritage, and I am proud to stand alongside though gay people in Zimbabwe who have been facing violent discrimination, and proud to have seen the proposed death penalty for being gay in Zimbabwe rescinded, I am proud of my heritage.

As a Gay Civil Rights campaigner said in the 60's 'the only difference between Black and Gay is that you don't to tell your mother your're Black'

AV or not to AV

AV - Not what you can do for your political party, but what you can do for your democracy

The argument is now over, and all the parties can do is look at the fall out from the campaign and decide what must be done next, in fact many of the politicians have been doing this before the first vote had been cast such is the political machine. I have to point out that I voted for AV as it seem logical that if someone is going to get his snout in the trough at my expense then they had better been elected by over 50% of the electorate - and while I am on the subject of the electorate let me say that I think there should be compulsory voting - but that is another argument!

Listening to the debates, well the sound bites really as we don't debate lofty ideas in this country as much as throw soundbites around like confetti until enough sticks (ooh nearly mixed a metaphor there!), it was obvious the vote was about politics. For some it may be strange to think of the AV issue as being anything but politics, but surely it should be about something higher that, perhaps it should have been about was fairer, what enshrined the ideals of democracy and not about what was best for one political party or another.

The argument has been about self-interest, and not the greater good, and the debate has degenerated into mud slinging between Cameron and Clegg, with Millliband attempting to play 'honest''. I suppose the idea of a politician playing honest is unfortunately a misnomer but the media has portrayed both parties as self serving; and lets face the LibDems will be consigned to limbo for the next 20 years, they have had one glorious year in the sun, to bask in the media spotlight and play their 'ace in the hole' - but their day is over, and their chance evaporating with each vote cast.


The debate, and I use the word 'debate' as a metaphor for what for what happened, was not lofty it was crass and self-seeking, if you want to see what a reasoned arguement looks like I refer you to the State Legislature of Massaschutess on whether marriage should be defined as being solely between and a man and a woman. I was amazed when I saw the clip on U Tube, here was a man arguing rationally about why this should not be so, we were taken from point to point, with recognition of the opposing argument and with the conclusion that the listeners, in private, should reflect on their views. The presentation was was an object lesson in serious people talking about serious issues- and proof that the 'ya-boo' politics which has marred the discussion of serious issues for the past 50 years.

Again I bring my blog back to the question 'what was the best outcome for democracy and not was the best for politicians .

Perhaps it is time we all asked 'not what can your country do for you' but what you can do for your country.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

No Flags Please

I am a Miners son, you remember the Miners I suppose, those people who did dangerous work and spent most of their lives buried alive, I come from Sheffield where heavy industry reigned – my mother was a ‘Jolly Buffer’ (someone who polished knives) and we made steel, we were fiercely Socialist but also Royalist – I never worked out the contradiction I just accepted it -  I was brought up my Grandma who was adamant that ‘Royalty’ had special blood in them – no dirty jokes please, at least not in the same sentence as my Grandma!

We adored the Monarchy, they were special and they did add colour, and I think were above politics and this is something that people who do not have a Royal Family can fully understand, and I would defend them; I actually like that our national anthem celebrates a person and not the country.  They are the personification of noblese oblige.  So with all this indoctrination why am I not waiving my flag on 29 April 2011?

It started a year ago when I began to realise that the wedding seems ‘convenient’ to shore up an unpopular government, I believe it was suggested a wedding in April 2011 would be good after we have slashed social services, give the plebs something to take their minds of the real issues – bread and circuses and all that.

 Then there was the thing about the ‘cheers in the Cabinet’ when it was announced - it just sounded so ... Tory (God Bless their gracious majesties, forelocks touched and medal shone!), I have this image of a scene from the ‘Planet of the Apes’ with the Gorillas and Chimpanzees jumping up and down on the table, and swinging from the chandeliers - rather disturbing.  

The guest list to the wedding is the he good and great, the despicable and morally corrupt, everything the Republicans hate about the Monarchy, they couldn’t invite Gordon Brown and Tony Blair because they were not ‘Knights of the Garter’ but can invite the ambassador of Uganda who’s country nearly passed a law issuing death sentences to people living with HIV, and only at the last minute have we rescinded the invite of the Syrian Ambassador, but still the Ambassador of Zimbabwe, North Korea and Iran will be there, but not our former, democratically , elected leaders – this is just plain wrong!  Seeing Cameron and the Cabinet, dressed in their aristocratic monkey suits, is just nauseating.  It is just an exercise in power and privilege.

Funnily enough the people protesting against the war in Afghanistan and Iraq are not allowed to protest because they are obstructing the pavement, but people who can camp out for five days to wave their flags.  

The wedding is an exercise of privilege and political spin and I'm not waving my flag

Please like me, I want to be your friend ...

Looking at my daily Twitter stats I get dismayed when I get unfollowed, sometimes even when it is a 'spambot', it as if I am being rejected, that I am not popular anymore; the same with Facebook when I look at the 'De-Friended' App on my iPhone - I am less loved, I am less interesting, I am devalued.
But why?

It seems to me that we live increasingly by what others think of us, and derive our value from others opinions of us, the juxtaposition is that the people I admire did not, and do not, outwardly give a tinkers curse about what others thought of them, other than that they had sense of 'doing right' and being true to themselves.  This global and technological insecurity is further articulated by the advertising, the slimming plans, the 'lifestyle' models we are given; our identity is more and more mediated by capitalism and by social networking rather than an sense of individual identity.

Being an openly gay man, from South Yorkshire there are all sorts of tensions going on in my head, my political beliefs about social justice, and doing what is right (thanks to my Grandmother the Church I went to!) and also about taking a stand - well in 'my day' being gay was a political statement and not a lifestyle choice. Being a socialist and gay do inform each other, we should judge less, forgive more, and tolerate and embrace culture, but this is being constantly mediated by how many Facebook friends I have, or have not.

It's true we all derive, and strive for, affirmation from our peer group, but with Facebook and Twitter (and I suppose all other social network sites) our peer group is now extended, not unlike an extended networked family, in an age when the biological family is contracting - no more 300 guests (and the village) at the wedding now - or are we trying to recreate that familial extension with strangers.

My goal, which I seem to have relented on, is to create my own identity; being gay is part of my identity but not a big part, being a socialist is more part of it now, and now I am trying to adapt into all this being a 'partner' and with the savage cuts being a little more political (which so far as amounted to drinking Cocktails with friends on Hoxton!); there is no ready made identity for me, for any of use, and I must contintually construct it under the spotlight of the internet (if I so choose).  Somehow I am going to have to accept that not everyone is going to like that the construction, c'est la vie!

To end, abruptly I know, I want to leave you with something Woodie Guthrie said 'the problem is that you are too old, too young, too fat, too thin ...'