Tag: Twitter

Adios Muthafucka

Hamar WilliamsLeave a comment

It’s about bloody time but according to various news outlets Biden has finally been declared the winner. It has only been about an hour but the internet has gone wild in celebration; memes flying out left, right and centre. The laughter has begun. After four years of jokes tinged with an air of war about them they already feel more fun. People need to let off steam after four years of political bewilderment and horror. The war goes on though. Not only with Trump in the short term as he contests the election but when he refuses to concede. Trump will never concede. He might walk out but he’ll never concede, and likely there will be subtle elements of force at play when he does finally vacate the building. Even then the fight goes on. His legions of fanboys hanging on his every tweet. Waiting on the order to go out and embarrass themselves further in public. It will be interesting to see how quickly people start deserting him though. He’s going to die an embittered lonely old man.

Yet the fight goes on. In America, you now have to deal with the tyranny of centrism. The empty beliefs of people who like everything very much as it is and will withstand any attempts at change. Those foolish enough to not learn the lessons of Trump and what led to him coming to power in the first place. In Britain we won’t stop Brexit but we have to somehow deal with our own version of a government that just does as it feels, one never really held to account despite the glaringly obvious. We have to deal with an entire media incapable of upholding even the most basic tenets of journalism. And we have to deal with an opposition in the image of a centrist like Biden, one also likely unwilling or incapable of dealing with the issues which have allowed for events like Brexit and the extreme fringe wing of a political party now running a country.

This same situation seems to be repeated across the western world. When Emmanuel Macron came to power in France at the expense of the far-right Marie Le Pen, it felt like another short term sticky plaster with nothing to offer but empty charm and words. The sticky plaster can never heal the wounds of a people being left behind by an economic and social ideology that relies on them being behind. All bubbles must burst. Trump was no fluke. Brexit is no accident. Marie Le Pen will return. And then what? More sticky plasters? We celebrate tonight but the evidence will be in what comes next. That’s what it comes down to. With all that in mind though let’s enjoy this moment, that orange prick is finally gone or at least he’s not in power anymore. You know how it goes; “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap…”.

The Donald’s Migration

Hamar WilliamsLeave a comment

Nothing conclusive as of yet, we’re still stuck on a variety of results. The BBC says it’s 253 – 214, CNN 253 – 213 and both The Guardian and Fox News 264 – 214. Why they vary I’m unsure but I assume it comes down to whether a challenge or recount is expected, with the latter two happy to count votes despite the inevitable recount. This delay is no surprise though as we’ve been warned for days prior to the election that it was unlikely to be resolved at the usual speed. None of it is actually a surprise, we knew in states that were close they were always going to be recounted if possible and Trump has always gone on about the prospect of voter fraud that we knew his tactics in advance. It shows how much faith he had in winning that his back up plan was shouted louder than his main one. In the end the polls were not quite accurate and he gained more support than expected but with polls so far off the previous time this was also expected.

It is remarkable to think though that he is ready to sue because of supposed fraud and throw into doubt the legitimacy of a political system the entire country is established upon. In moments like this we need to try and understand what his end game is, and that is something less clear. Clearly he won’t win the election by the votes cast. If he can contest it enough maybe he intends to drag it to the Supreme Court and hopes they’re willing to delegitimise themselves by favouring him on some call we would normally expect of a kangaroo court. If this happens the entire system and the pretence of legitimacy it is built upon will likely come crashing down. The country is so polarised already that something like this could be generationally defining.

Failing all of that we enter other conjectural territory. Is he hoping he can convince his supporters enough of the existence of some heinous injustice that they’ll stand with him in his next move. To suggest he’ll lead a violent uprising, while not impossible, is a little excitable and in reality highly unlikely. He is and always will be an establishment figure despite his lies and protestations. That isn’t to say some of his hardcore support won’t act on his dangerously irresponsible words and commit something unforgivable. Maybe he’s planning on running again in 2024 or on using this supposed wrong in the hope it’ll propel his son Donald Duck Jr or someone else in his inner circle he holds influence over.

It’s all a little excitable I admit but I’m trying to look at this rationally and what ever it is he hopes to achieve by calling fraud on events, beyond salvation in the Supreme Court, is unclear. Maybe he doesn’t expect anything after that or maybe he plans to let future Donald worry about it it when he gets to that point. Expecting a highly irrational man to think rationally is itself slightly irrational. We can assume then he’s just a big baby who can’t accept defeat and is willing to throw the almightiest of tantrums before he’s forced out. If you thought his Twitter was entertaining already, I suspect we’ve only seen the calm before the storm. And one thing is clear, there’s likely a hell of a lot of ‘You’re Fired’ memes in production right now.

The Big Vote

Hamar WilliamsLeave a comment

Today is the day. The calm before the storm. It may feel a million miles away from our lives, and in many ways it is, but for the sake of politics as a sport you’ve got to root for something. It always feels a little strange, or like it’s none of my business who votes in another country. I’m not American and doubt I’ll ever live there but with it’s tentacles in a lot of pies worldwide it is something that will have a lasting affect on us all. That isn’t to say one is a good guy who warrants support and the other the bad, this isn’t Hollywood or the Bible, but it’s clear there’s an issue of morality involved. The deeply immoral one versus the one with a politicians sense of morality. It is also unclear whether voting one way will have a beneficial influence upon the politics or economy of my own country. Our government are on their knees begging not to be screwed over too much in a trade deal with the Americans but there’s little reason to suspect the outcome will vary greatly depending on this election. What it will affect though, is who has been emboldened these last four years.

It is clear that around the world we have seen dramatic shifts to the political, cultural and economic right. In some countries they have succeeded, think Trump, Brexit, Viktor Orban in Hungary and Bolsonaro in Brazil. In others they didn’t quite manage it, think Marie Le Pen, Geert Wilders in the Netherlands, Matteo Salvini in Italy and following recent elections, Bolivia too. What Trump does is embolden not just the right, American politics in general is right wing already, he gives belief to the previously dismissed fringe elements outside his own borders too. The idea of Brexit had always drifted around the edges of British politics but more like a threat, even those campaigning for it seemed surprised by the outcome. You can’t blame Trump on something that occurred before his election, but it is important not to dismiss the influence his election has had since and on the belief of those who previously believed such things as impossible. There may be differences between Biden and Trump regarding healthcare, renewable energy and foreign policy, or at least on the surface, but Trump must not be elected because his mere existence in politics empowers those who should never even believe themselves capable of power let alone holding it. It may be easy to belittle and ridicule the crazies of the world but their current existence in world politics is having a lasting effect on us all.

This will not be resolved today by voting him out. Likely the election itself will not even be called by this time tomorrow. With Trump spending the last few months convincing his supporters postal voting lacks legitimacy, his approach to the post-election is already clear. The possibility that he has a lead denied him as these votes trickle in is very real and it’s a very believable line for him to take with a support already firmly entrenched in the world of deep state conspiracies. This is set up perfectly and he is not a man to go out with a whimper. Even if he accepts initial defeat, imagine for a second his Twitter feed is currently in someway shackled by those around him, can you imagine how a free unhinged sore loser Trump is likely to start behaving. With the passing of this election he is not going to simply disappear and could in theory become even more dangerous as he desperately tries to court an ever diminishing but increasingly devoted core support. He may be a ridiculous man but he’s dangerous too and stepping further into the unknown with such a person is a worrying prospect for us all.

The People Destroyer

Hamar WilliamsLeave a comment

There is a civil war at present in the Labour Party. If we’re honest there has been one ever since Corbyn tried to reclaim control from the right-wing elements of the party. Tony Blairs New Labour strikes back then. What comes next? Certainly the strengthening of the Tory Parties position when half of Labours voters go and support whatever new party is born out of this. even if it’s a third it’ll still destroy Labour. I get the feeling though that Corbyn wouldn’t want to create a new party as he knows the repercussions of splitting the vote. I wonder whether Starmer and his allies would do the same. Regardless of all that Corbyn has been suspended, likely expelled at one point and yes the whole thing is entirely political, it has little to do with actual anti-semitism.

The EHRC said in the report Labour members would be allowed to criticise the extremity of the findings. Corbyn said the accusations were overstated for political purposes. He did what was allowed of him yet he was suspended anyway. Starmer is picking and choosing what he wants to take out of the report. There are fair criticism but it’s not all as bad as it is being portrayed. This reaction will simply entrench the divisions further. Yet again nobody wins, well not anyone who should.

As I mentioned yesterday it’s the blatant manner in which all of this is unfolding. Or is being perpetrated more like. It all just seems so obvious yet it’s happening and seems unstoppable. Just like America, when did politics in the UK become a soap opera. It’s worrying. It’s also a sign of modern times with twenty-four hour news coverage and politicians using social media for their own personal agendas. While knives were once thrust in backs in dark little corners in Whitehall now it’s done with a tweet. Micheal Gove tweeting today and referencing how little Starmer seemed to give a shit when he was on Corbyn’s Shadow Cabinet. That’s a fair point actually. The obvious one is Trump and the reality television show he has created, he’s completely normalised politicians interacting and attacking each other on Twitter. The world has gone mad. And while this seems extreme it isn’t showing any signs of abating yet.

In the meantime the anti-Corbyn narrative is going strong. Even once he’s resigned they’re still not content. It’s like Assange, don’t just beat him, destroy him so he never even thinks about getting back up again. It does show the danger of him, them. That’s when you know people are really challenging power, or at least a part of power. It’s worth remember that when you see people who talk of making change yet don’t get destroyed by a powerful media narrative. Shall we learn from the past, well we haven’t yet, at least not in the good ways.

The Emotionally Pointless World Of The Football Fan

Hamar WilliamsLeave a comment

What an evening. I’m thoroughly thoroughly unimpressed. I try to avoid talking about football too much. It has always been my dirty little secret in a way. Dirty secret when I’ve been a traveller hanging out with alternate types, be those hippies or anarchists, the multimillion pound world of Premier League football hasn’t entirely fit in with the image or the ideals. We just talk about something else in those moments, but if you want to talk about football I’m all ears.

Football fans are on the whole incredibly annoying. This is generally because not only do they all have an opinion but the majority are wrong and they’re usually wrong because they’re idiots. That sounds harsh but I suggest you take five minutes to read comments on message boards, Twitter or the like. Imagine all the frustrating things that people say about politics and the important issues you care about, convert that to football, multiply the stupidity by at least two and realise it’s on something that on the whole isn’t important which makes it all the worse. But it is important because it is something we use to distract us from our drab existences and as a result can have a huge bearing on our mental state for at least the rest of the evening and likely the morning too when thanks to the excessive coverage online we have to digest the night before once more.

It’s a new season and my team lost. I’m sure that’s obvious. It is unsurprising in a way because we were less match fit than the opposition as our first game was postponed but still they were better. We weren’t good enough. The second goal was a penalty that should never have been given. We now have video assistant referees in football and they were supposed to cut out the controversy but they still get too many decisions wrong for it to be deemed a success. It is early technology and can improve of course but it seems just as inconclusive and debatable, the only difference is the arguments have changed. The only thing people seem to agree on is the passion it has taken out of the game as people instinctively hold back their celebrations by twenty percent in case something is disallowed.

Anyway video technology or not we lost. One silver lining is it puts pressure on our inept board and owners to spend some of the clubs vast wealth and stop being so incompetent with transfers. I use inept in the way I do to describe Tory politicians, shall we just say devilishly genius and self-serving to the detriment of all others? Either way the pressure is now firmly on to buy the players we’ve dithered over buying all summer. Being incisive may cost a little more but I don’t give a shit. It’s not my money and the clubs already badly run for how it should be, it means nothing to me if they spend an extra ten million here or twenty there. It doesn’t mean anything really, it’s just numbers to the idiot fan like me. Hopefully this will be a boot up the arse as the club need it. We invest so much energy and emotion into football. I don’t know why we do it to ourselves.

State Sanctioned Distraction

Hamar WilliamsLeave a comment

It is kicking off, reality television just got political. I saw something yesterday about Twitter fact checking Trump which was amusing and about time but didn’t check the news again until tonight. It is all going off. The real story must be about another killing by the police but it has become part of something else as Trump takes on Twitter. Originally he was accused of inciting violence, his post was moderated and he got a cyber slap on the wrist. Ultimately that is it. Trump then acts like a spoilt child being told off and is now getting some petty revenge. He’s getting payback. For better or for worse he is a fascinating man. Maybe more this is a fascinating situation playing out but someone like him just isn’t supposed to be that person.

There is the other side of this and that while he is going to war with Twitter and trying to repeal Section230 or 240, I can’t remember and I don’t even really know what it is. I think it’s something to do with regulating social media and whatever it is that allows the social media companies to get away with things. Anyway, he’s just proving he’s the master of distraction, there’s some sleight of hand stuff going on – as there always is with politics and power – but it does allow for a handy distraction from the riots and police violence. It’ll play out with nothing really happening and everything forgotten about after the bluster. The other side of the story which involves police killings and riots then is forgotten about too. For those not having to live it everyday that is. And I accept I am not one of them, and I will forget it because I am not living it everyday.

A rather crass leap to something else right now then, cats walking over loads of spread out objects and not knocking them over. It is quite impressive how they manage to just walk through them without any falling but what impresses me more than anything is that their back feet step in all the right places too. They’re not looking where they stand, they can’t see because they’re looking forward but they’re so aware they always step in the right spot. It is simply incredible. It also makes me realise the importance of cat videos online. State sanctioned what? I’ve forgotten what you’re talking about. Remarkable creatures.

Challenging Our Beliefs

Hamar WilliamsLeave a comment

Today was a day of soul searching. Soul searching in the sense of trying to decide whether I should buy a book which is written by someone who I think holds a different ideological belief to me. For a rather complicated reason I found myself searching through my ebay basket deciding which book out of the ridiculous amount I’ve saved I would buy. I finally settled on one called “Get Over Yourself: Nietzsche For Our Time”. Now while I’m not entirely ignorant of the great mans beliefs I would struggle to sit down and roll many off in much depth and as he is someone who I would like to learn more of I thought this book looked like an interesting read. Quite often we learn better from things we can relate to so the concept of this book seemed ideal for me, and in some ways still does. I decided to do a little research on it though, check out the reviews as much as anything and there aren’t many but I did start to get the impression the author Patrick West was of a more right leaning perspective politically and I won’t deny that this concerned me somewhat. Hence the soul searching.

The thing is I want to hear different perspectives, I think it will help me to create a more well rounded set of beliefs and values. I am more likely to read an article from a left wing news source but I don’t refuse to read something from other sources, unless it’s YouTube of course which I draw the line on. I admit though that I unconsciously and consciously am more critical and demanding of something that potentially challenges my ideals. That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t read this book, I might just agree with him and he might explain it from a perspective that opens my eyes to a new understanding of the world. My problem is that a book that is described as challenging “identity politics, therapy culture, ‘safe spaces’, religious fundamentalism, virtue-signalling, Twitterstorms, public emoting, ‘dumbing-down’, digital addiction and the politics of envy” can easily fall into the realm of alt-right internet trolling bullshit. I would love to read about them from a Nietzschean perspective but Nietzsche’s words have been corrupted so much over the years by all sides that there’s every chance it has happened here again. That’s the problem, I would love to read this perspective and this approach to understanding contemporary issues, but it has to be credible, the arguments can be agreeable or disagreeable but they can’t be flawed through inherent bias.

I went on this Patrick West’s Twitter and it’s not clear from any news articles he posts where he really stands. He’s written for The Spectator which is a respectable conservative magazine, and The New Statesman which is a respectable left wing magazine. What concerns me though is that in each of his Tweets he starts off ‘The latest The New Poujadist’ and it turns out there was a chap called Pierre Poujade in France in the 1950s who led a right wing populist movement. This doesn’t fill me with confidence that someone who is that willing to pick a side, although I don’t discount I misunderstand this cultural reference, could in anyway write a balanced sociopolitical book on contemporary society. And it’s so frustrating because in a way I actively want to read things I disagree with but I also don’t want to waste my time on crap and a book that could have had such potential may just be a load of crap. We live in such polarised times that stepping out of bubbles has never been more important, but coincidently, it feels like it’s never been so hard either when people are so intent on making noise in some vain and inglorious desire for attention. Back to the drawing board.

How To Be Human In The Zombie Apocalypse

Hamar WilliamsLeave a comment

Coronavirus panic seems to have ramped up to zombie apocalypse levels. I have not been able to resist keeping an eye on the latest news updates online and we seem to just be seeing photo’s of empty shelves and pandemonium everywhere. Apparently everyone is being selfish and one Tweet from some politician told of some guy buying the last of the pasta and refusing to share even one with some old lady. This would seem to prove the existence of widespread selfish behaviour, or at least prove examples of it exist and therefore the selfish narrative if you’re attempting to push one. I of course wasn’t there and haven’t been to a big supermarket in about ten days when I went to buy some goats milk butter, I’m so middle class, because they don’t have it in my local shop. Unsurprisingly there had not been a rush on it although I can confirm there wasn’t a great deal of toilet paper left, it does appear people think they can eat it. Seriously though of all the things to rush to buy, the one thing people think they can’t survive without is loo roll? In times of emergency I reckon you’ll get used to Indian style pretty quickly.

But back to this arsehole hoarding the pasta. If true I would love to know the bigger picture. Did he finally give her some? Did someone step in and persuade him to share? Or even force him to share? There are videos online of people fighting over toilet roll, imagine how it’ll be when it’s over the last tin of baked beans. I wonder what I would do in that situation, would I be a coward or would I stand up for the old lady, and would I give up or persevere. I doubt people really know beyond the fantasy of their imagination but I’m sure we all hope we would one way or another have managed to get the old lady her pasta.

Other updates in the ensuing apocalypse are that a raft of rather disagreeable world leaders seem to be getting tested. It’s a tricky one and I wonder how our public sentiments on these issues vary from our inner thoughts. Scumbags like Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton have tested positive, do we respond joyfully, neutrally or compassionately for him as a human being (supposedly). The Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro tested negative, do we admit to a little disappointment? And then there’s the big one, The Donald has taken his test and will find out in a day or two. We are only human, are we at sainthood levels when we can react equally to everyone in the public eye getting tested? At what point do we just admit our response to hearing Tom Hanks and his wife tested positive was not the same as when we heard Donald Trump is being tested. Does that make us bad? They are still humans, they are still someones mother or father despite how disconnected from any concept of an emotional bond we imagine they have. But we’re also human so we’re fallible. That also means if we want to be excused for our own fallibility we may just have to try understand and excuse theirs. Or just continue being fallible, and proving how human we are.

Saying all of this, it won’t matter anyway soon. We’re all going to be deep in a zombie apocalypse as people prove the fragility of society. Proving they have no sense at all of the so called community they think they’re fighting for with guns or the ballot box. It’s depressing when you realise just how shit people not are but can be. I really hope that old lady got her pasta and whoever reported the moment didn’t just stand there and take a video of it on their phone. To miss the point of ones very own judgemental reporting. Ah to be human.

A Media Corona Love-In

Hamar WilliamsLeave a comment

For anyone who has read many of these over the near four months it must have been now since the first one, they will have realised I don’t hold the mainstream media in very high regard. This piece is only going to further the previous sentiment. I was listening to the radio in my car earlier, for the last week or two it has been on in the background when I go anywhere, BBC Radio Five to be specific about the channel, and they were just like ever day it would appear, discussing the Coronavirus. Now this is not a piece on whether the virus is real or how dangerous it is or isn’t, but I would like to focus on it’s coverage in the media.

Last week all they were talking about was how deadly it was and how it was going to kill everybody. They obviously did not say that last point but this was implied by the heightened and sensational coverage they were giving it. There were episodes describing how to wash hands and the necessities of perfect hygiene, some of which I actually mentioned in a piece last week. Today in response to the populace freaking out and stockpiling anything they can from the supermarkets, they held a phone-in on the this issue with people calling in who stockpiled and those who disagreed with it morally. The point was they were being critical of people stockpiling and questioning what was leading people to do it.

Clearly the official line and message they were being told to push was no longer that you’re in danger, run for the hills or fear bacteria everywhere, you’re completely in you right mind to be neurotic; it was now that stockpiling is out of order, unjustified and you’re a bad person for doing so. Phone-in’s it appears are simply ‘Comment’ sections on websites or Twitter for those with ears, of course it is moderated but it helps to be heard if you’re a little sensational. A few people called in to defend their stockpiling, but finally one person called who reminded the presenter that the media must expect people to do this when all they’ve been hearing for the last few weeks is that they’re either going to die or be quarantined for eternity. He called out the very people he was talking to. They brushed it off with some kind of non-answer topic changer and the debate carried on.

It couldn’t have been more to the point. People who suggest this virus may not be as deadly as we’re being told are called irresponsible but we don’t seem to be hearing much about the irresponsibility of a media machine creating panic simply for click-bait and attention. How are people supposed to make sensible and informed decisions on something which could turn out to be deadly for them or their loved ones if they never receive balanced and credible information from what for many people is their only source of news. To sensationalise and then not only act surprised once people panic but be critical of them because it sells more stories and airtime. How people believe a word these charlatans have to say is beyond me. Why I still listen is even further beyond me.

The Art Of Procrastinating

Hamar WilliamsLeave a comment

Procrastinating really is an art form when done at it’s finest. I sat down an hour ago at my computer to do some work on something and knowing I had a little more time than usual decided to just have a little browse of the easy thoughtless websites I usually like kill time with. My version of those are football related and I can easily spend an hour reading the latest news, transfer gossip, he said / she said stories that don’t require much thought. Perhaps that is why they do so well; they grab you with click-bait style headlines and then are usually written so simply the mind needs to put in only the minimum effort to read them. They are also addictive. Facebook is the other procrastinator but while football is seemingly still there, I have managed to give up bothering with it much beyond emails to other people and obviously posting these blog pieces. Twitter and Instagram? Don’t be silly.

Why do we procrastinate then? Is this another example of a lack of discipline? Procrastinating is about doing something else, usually thoughtless and a waste of time, to avoid doing something more important and likely more challenging. Even this piece today is in itself procrastinating; just as I finally closed the football related windows I realised how much I had just been wasting time for the last hour and how I was still stuck in the old habits of the past. Why not write about it then and while I need to write something today, there is probably a slight avoidance in this action by doing it at this moment.

We all procrastinate though and modern society is just full of opportunities. If it’s not football news it’s Facebook. If not that it’s some stupid click-bait site giving you thirty moments someone you don’t actually care about either embarrassed themselves or didn’t wear make-up. Struggling with not enough click-bait then why not play some kind of addictive game on your phone or become a zombie to short YouTube videos. These are all technological methods but what did people do before Nokia kicked it all off with it’s highly memorable Snake game? People must have still procrastinated but I was about sixteen then so it’s hard to say. Maybe doodling was more common, people certainly read newspapers more but that’s not solely a procrastinating thing. Genuinely I don’t know. Perhaps I can find out online, that should kill some more time.