London's Carnaby Street is pictured above on Saturday under the national lockdown.
What if the days did not, after all, start to grow longer after Christmas? Well, yes, of course they will (won't they?) but I feel a dark, oppressive foreboding which makes spring seem very far away. Why is this?
I sense that I and some others have now become the targets of a worrying wave of spite, censorship and intolerance, very like the McCarthyite frenzy in 1950s America which swept up all kinds of innocent people in what claimed to be an attack on Communism.
The modern Left love to claim they are against that sort of thing. But only when they are not doing it themselves. There are three important groups here.
The ones who snarl and point the finger, demanding that I should be an outcast; the ones who join in the mob; and the ones who are too scared to stand up against it. I can see them all forming. I think they should all be ashamed of themselves.
Some examples: A claim by a doctor that I and my allies have blood on our hands because we think lockdowns are a mistake; a person on social media who thought he was entitled to say that I was stirring up hatred against NHS staff, a baseless lie, and the many others who applauded and defended him when I stood up to this; the cartoonist in a supposedly anti-establishment magazine who last week portrayed mask opponents as the equivalents of football louts; the former senior BBC journalist Paul Mason, who tweeted that I was one of a group of 'fascist-enabling' public figures, on 'the same spectrum as full-blown science-denial'.
The new Red Guards love to accuse dissenters of 'denial' of Covid. This may seem ludicrous. Covid exists. I wouldn't and don't deny it. But the phrase is a dog whistle, designed to make hearers think sceptics are like Holocaust deniers, a straightforward lie and smear.Mr Mason rejoiced that American tech giant YouTube had obliterated recordings of TalkRadio, a station which has - unlike the BBC - given generous platforms to opposition views.
He said: 'I was glad to see YouTube temporarily pull the plug on TalkRadio. I would be even gladder to see Ofcom review the station's licence to broadcast and Twitter and Facebook label the claims of columnists as questionable or false where appropriate. But above all, I want to see politicians and public figures proactively and strongly refute Covid denialism.'Again, he equated dissenters with fascists. 'As with full-blown fascism, ignoring it does not make it go away.' What he means is 'shut these people up. There is now only one permitted opinion'.By the way, when YouTube last week censored a recording of one of the conversations I have each Monday with the TalkRadio presenter Mike Graham (as they blatantly did), it was not temporary. It was permanent.
On January 4, the same Mr Mason tweeted: 'I don't just want Johnson to say 'Stay home, save lives' etc. I want him to call out and ridicule the bull**** anti-maskers, lockdown skeptics and denialists in his own party - and order social media platforms to suppress/label Covid disinformation. That's leadership.'This is plainly a call for censorship. By 'disinformation', such people always mean 'things I disagree with'. When I challenge them, they can come up with no examples of untruths. I mention Mr Mason because he is unusually frank about his real aims. Unlike many establishment Left-wingers he has always been open about his revolutionary views. But he says plainly what many in the Left-wing elite feel in private. And this explains their rather odd enthusiasm for Johnson's closure of the country. I'm sure they are moved by deep compassion for sufferers from Covid. But they are also excited, more excited than they have been at any time since 1997, when the Blair victory swept the Cultural Revolution to power.
That revolution is now about 90 per cent complete. But there were obstacles: a Parliament with a real opposition, an independent Civil Service, an independent, conservative press, courts that stood up to the state, a BBC that at least permitted some dissent on its airwaves, a police force that at least tried to police by consent, independent universities.
Lockdown, with amazing speed, showed that all these seemingly mighty defences were paper tigers. We now have (with tiny exceptions) a lifeless rubber-stamp parliament, doormat judges, monolithic state broadcasting, a nearly-unanimous media, and a shouty, bossy state militia which obeys government rather than law.I've seen all these things before. I'd foolishly thought they were gone for good, back in 1991. With the welcome support of many readers, I have tried since March to suggest that the Government's policy has been wrong. I have cited many experts, explained my doubts in detail, opened myself to challenge on social media and - when possible - on the airwaves.
I think this is my duty as a member of a free society. I have been given many gifts: an old-fashioned schooling which taught me how to think, not what to think; four decades in the University of Fleet Street, with a front seat at many of the major events of our time - plus some detailed knowledge of how politicians and officials work.
I've seen people die, heard bullets zip past, watched great states turn to dust, reported from more than 50 countries. I've published books about the colossal changes in Britain which have happened in my lifetime. I have been incredibly fortunate. So I thought I had a special duty to speak out against something I thought was wrong.
It was unpopular but so what? Free speech usually is. I have done it before, on smaller issues. But this time it is different. I am, for the first time in my life, deeply afraid for the future of freedom in my own country. So should you be.I used to be a stickler for Twelfth Night - down came the decorations and the tree. Now, I'll leave our tree up until all its needles have dropped and possibly longer. I'm thinking of buying a new one. Its presence is a reminder of better things and better times and keeping it feels like an act of resistance.
Masking a problemMaurice the Masked Engine, spotted at Paddington Station in London. Apparently the painted-on mask, approved by the Fat Controller, is supposed to promote the wearing of face-coverings on trains. Make of it what you will, but it strikes me that it can't get round a problem that Thomas and his friends also never solved. Railway engines just don't have ears.
Shamed - by a judge with gutsNearly three months ago I said here that Julian Assange, of WikiLeaks, should not be extradited to the USA by a British court. Anybody who believes in press freedom had to take this position, whether they liked him (I don't) or not.
I also think Stella Moris, mother of two of his children, has conducted herself with great dignity in fighting for his release.
I was astonished that almost nobody in the British media joined me in supporting this call.So now that a judge has refused to extradite him, I have this to say to all the men and women of my trade: How does it feel to be outdone in support of justice and liberty - by a judge?A judge has shown more guts towards the establishment than you, supposedly independent supporters of free expression. Have you got that?
Reader Comments
I also started waking up when all the numbers on the digital clock are all the same. Sometimes I can do that two or three times a night, at 3:33, 4:44, etc. Is that weird or what?
Point is, the coffee is cold, you missed the bus, I ate all the donuts already, and you're late for school. The wake up call for this crap was years ago. People who didn't see this coming have a screw loose, IMO.
I don't know why but I kinda like it.
But I always view myself as pleasantly odd anyway, so maybe it is just that.
'It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.'
A lot of lemmings can be driven over the cliff, before the 'wise' lemming 'suddenly' 'sobers' up.
Way to go Peter Hitchens.
You da man.
Ja.
I am in agreement with my fellow commenters here. Great comments guys!
But that does not mean we conform.
Conformity and agreement are not the same animal.
One lives in a zoo or cage.
And one remains wild and free.
Choose the latter beast.
ned,
OUT
I suppose they could let the gun confiscation slide for a while as they mop up the gravy from all the "right wing terrorist" rhetoric. They'll use the incidents to oil their machine, I'm sure, but I wonder how long it will be before they can get their "programs" installed and running, and gun confiscation started. They'll have a lot of help. This industry is eager to go. All kinds of heavy hitters are lined up and falling over each other to lend a helping hand. It's the same way down here on the bottom too. People can't wait for the vaccines, "So we can get back to..uh...some kind of resemblance of normalcy. Huh-huh." That's what I'm hearing down here.
I should go review my "Go-Bag." I'm probably something of a hypocrite, because I know it's not in proper order. Neither are the kids' bags. I've let it go, because I just don't feel like running. But, I know this Cambodian who would assure me that I will change my mind when mine's the next family on the bus.
Thanks, Peter.
R.C.
I think (hope) it's largely a con job, and most people are just much simpler than I could have imagined, and not really as freakishly wicked as they...this apology isn't working for me. I'm trying, but I'm just not that elastic anymore. I'm tired of this BS, and I hope they get what they're begging for, mostly because of how smug they are about it.
I just wish at some point people would realize what kind of monsters they have put in charge. Some point before the door to door meet and greets start happening would have been great, but it's already too late for that isn't it? Pigs are already going door to door, beating innocent civilians up in front of their wives and children too, not that they seem to be safe from their brutalities either.
I'm really mad. I hate the world. Thanks for letting me vent.
God must think you people are worth all this. He doesn't even seem to talk to them anymore. They don't seem to have any idea what's going to happen. They're all just going along, making merry. WTF? How?
I read about a tradition they used to have a couple thousand years ago, where they would find a fool, and make him king for a day. They would get him drunk, and high, and laid, and then they would kill him when it was the day was done. This looks like a last meal to me.
The resolution we find will have to be decisive and complete. There is no sense in repeating this scenario...well, It's senseless in the first place, so that goes without saying, doesn't it? None of this should ever have happened.
And this:
[Link]
Have a high speed listen and get back to me.
RC
I can't get behind this Simon Parkes fellow, because of his odd lizard persons belief, but that of course does not mean it isn't true...the insurrection thing. The Lizard person delusion is ridiculous. It's fun, but wow.
It certainly is what should happen at this point (Insurrection Act ) If America is to have a future, it must happen. If Trump wants to keep his daddy's name all shiny honorable, it's what he needs to do. If the world is going to have a chance of fighting off the tyranny that is beset upon them, this will help. It's a good start. I bet it has a bad middle. I hope it ends in victory.
Either way it only makes sense to triple one's own efforts to get ready for Creepy Uncle Joe and the communist Kamel by March. Be armed, be fit, be mobile and the same goes for anyone local you can trust. Obtain a good VHF radio and know how to use it. The Internet will be easily restricted to only state approved lies.
If you can, move to as rural a red state as you can far away from population centers.
I wouldn't want to underestimate this guy, though. That seems to have proven unwise.
As it stands, it looks like All Star Wrestling to me. I've been taken for a fool, and I'm a little upset about that. I let myself have hope that an honest leader had appeared, and America might finally stand by me after a lifetime of being treated like it's red-headed step child. I knew it wasn't likely, but I was all in. The betrayal hurts because it's the only time I ever felt like waving that piece of crap, two-faced, treasonous flag of hypocrisy. It's the only time I ever heard my voice coming from this filthy nation's murder capitol. Now I feel like maybe it was all Hollywood, and I should have known better. DC can burn. Trump can go to hell. Sooner the better. They all have my fullest condemnation. I'll never humor another word from their heathen pulpit of BS...unless these rumors prove true. That would be great.
I long ago looked up how to pronounce that and stored it - now the mispronunciation is so . . pronounced that people say sim when it should be kim. Oh well.
RC