THERESA MAY’S BREXIT
“Brexit means Brexit”
Broken Windows Theory
Broken windows theory,
is what must be applied.
This breach can not be set aside.
If we allow broken windows to remain in the architecture of our democracy, it will invite others to shatter
these standards we live by.
If we uphold this result,
to our democracy - we say goodbye.
It’s an eyesore.
Criminality leaves a stain
on the referenda process.
It’s merely more democracy we call for, we merely call for decency.
Fair play,
the “British way”
Are we really asking for so much?
Merely that the law is enforced?
merely that criminals face the consequences?
One million patriots took to the streets, with merely one request;
give us a People’s Vote,
only then will we rest.
Democratic Decay
Vote Leave broke the law,
cutting a great gash into the heart of our democracy.
Respecting the result infects the wound, upholding it - the rot sets in.
What kind of country doesn’t rerun, a bought and tainted referendum?
We stand for law and order,
defended it with civil disobedience.
We won’t be silent – it’s our resistance alone staving off full-blown sepsis.
We can still save ourselves. There is a way to stop the spread
of the gangrene of fraud through the body politic.
There is only one cure:
a People’s vote.
To flush their toxic campaign and start again.
A final say
is the only way
our democracy survives.
Waking & Worth
I was asleep to the depth of love I could feel
for my country but Brexit made it real.
I never really considered it, I didn’t care, my country was just - there.
The land I would stand on and nothing more,
but now I see it wounded, I too am sore.
I had no call till now to be a patriot. Brexit is the ringing alarm I’ve got in my head, driving me mad.
The cure - is to do what I can.
Protest! Be it in heat, cold or rain,
limp my way home and collapse in pain. It’s worth it though, I know that for sure. To fight Brexit, I’m willing to endure
all the agony it takes to be there,
to show up for my cause, to show I care.
Even if, as I fear, we can’t stop Brexit the pain will be worth it if I resist.
The State of Things
I’m sick of the lies.
I’m sick of the crimes,
tainting our democracy,
the rhetoric and animosity. Their lies make me nauseous, they’re obviously being cautious to obfuscate and lie.
Surely it can’t just be me that’s getting really fucking sick of the poison in our politics.
Unofficial BBC Watchdog Report
The media has lost sight of its duty.
A profound and dangerous failure
in a time when truth is as subjective as beauty.
One of the worst failures is false equivalence,
including the invalid. Another is omission,
I doubt conspiracy, more like convenience.
Your pursuit of balance is indeed a worthy aim
but you undermine the benefits,
bending backwards,
affording equal weight to any claim.
It is absurd that for all you will accommodate -
palpable nonsense and demonstrable lies, there is one argument excluded from all Brexit debate.
For two long years I have endlessly tried to get you to give it space,
tweets, emails and phone complaint lines.
The argument I advance is based in fact, I think I know why you don’t include it: Cowardice, in knowledge of how your Brexit viewers will react.
It comes down to what’s more hassle for you.
The odd obsessive like me
with the rare time to monitor the BBC
or the kneejerk twitterstorm coming at you
from Brexiters that can’t handle the truth?
I see this distortion of duty in all that you do.
A democracy relies on an informed electorate;
One that can rely on you to, establish what is true.
The media has this high duty,
of this I will never stop reminding you.
Tomorrow We March
I can’t sleep.
Tomorrow we march for a final say. It’s the only democratic way
to end this Brexit nightmare.
Tomorrow we march for our country,
we march against the criminality
our democracy has been perverted by. We march for law and order, you will hear our cry;
Vote Leave Broke The Law Why Don’t You Care?
Tomorrow we march for the disenfranchised,
those who bore the brunt of the rhetoric and were marginalised;
their rights hang in the balance.
Tomorrow we march for the sake of every one of us
because they’re repealing, ripping up
the Charter of Fundamental Rights:
These Rights are human for which I fight.
Tomorrow I get out of my wheelchair and march with the crowd.
Just for a bit, but shit, I’d be proud. Tomorrow I march with a clear conscience. Because if Brexit goes ahead,
Democracy is dead.
My Message to The “Brexiteers”
Stop spitting fireworks,
rest your charred vocal cords.
The razzle dazzle no longer works, we don’t buy your lies any more.
Britannia, she argues with herself;
split personality.
Alternative facts and fake news;
a split reality.
The golden age of advertising, dog days of democracy.
The news reader doesn’t blink at blinding hypocrisy.
Cirque De Brexit
It’s an incredible display.
A performance of cognitive dissonance. The intellectual contortionist,
dislocated from reason, bending over backwards
to maintain the illusion.
How far can they bend before they break? Under what weight of evidence will they buckle?
When does it become too uncomfortable? Perhaps they tolerate being twisted by the lies
to avoid the real discomfort they hide, the knowledge they were conned.
Human
We must have all believed a lie
at least once before.
I’m desperate now, all I can do is implore; I ask you to remember we are all vulnerable,
just human,
it doesn’t make us gullible.
How can one ever be blamed for not seeing what the liar conceals?
Accept it, sometimes we believe lies are real.
It doesn’t mean you’re stupid, it doesn’t make you weak,
our minds are not impenetrable, Can you accept that at least?
It is the most incredible arrogance,
The failure to acknowledge one’s ignorance is ignorance itself;
to believe our psyche is impregnable,
to believe we aren’t so complex and connected: be reasonable.
The less you believe you could ever be influenced by
microtargeting, propaganda and lies,
the more vulnerable you are to it.
The fact you’ll never accept
you were lied to and misled
is what makes you an ideal target.
Believing a lie is not a sign of a lack of acumen,
all it tells me is,
- you are entirely human.
We Know Who & What We Are
They try to gag us with shame, calling us undemocratic.
The same polemic argument, with all the substance of smoke.
We are the ones who understand: One vote once isn’t democracy. Mubarak logic is again used to excuse denial of a democratic vote.
We are the ones who know;
when a democracy can’t change its mind it ceases to exist.
Like David “double D” Davis said.
We are the ones who cast the light on the illegality of Leave.
We demand a clean referendum, not tainted and tampered with
like that joke of the vote. Your mandate is in tatters.
We are the ones who want informed consent
before this mad hatter surgery; hacking blindly, who needs experts?
We’ll “muddle through”.
We are the ones who know the truth - we rely on more than faith,
the surrender of reason.
We are the ones that won’t give up : we will march through the streets.
We will shout to drown out your lies -
Our dissent will ring on in the ears of Westminster.
“We demand a People’s Vote”.
No, I Don’t Think You Are All Racist
Immigrants are met with such mistrust, judgement and suspicion most unjust.
You aren’t all racists, you’ve just bought in to
lies gone mainstream to manipulate you. Victims of the rage and fear monger, turning you on immigrants, giving you the hunger
for strong borders, walls and barricades, not based on truth but a cynical media charade.
Reject or Respect
You say you must respect the result because you’re a democrat.
I understand the logic but if you look at the facts
you should come to the conclusion that you can’t give your respect to an illegal
win. If we did let
this result stand it lands a blow - don’t forget.
A mandate is only ever as strong as the integrity of our democracy. Once compromised,
respect for it becomes hypocrisy.
It has been proven, beyond reasonable doubt.
There can be no respect afforded to the gains
of an illegal and cheating campaign.
Your mistake was understandable but now you know.
So wake up democrat and realise
to say the vote was free and fair is lies.
The way to be a democrat
is to reject this tainted win.
They must not be rewarded for their sin.
With so many that deny truth it is easy to give into apathy. Don’t you dare. Listen to me: Together is the only way
we will ever get our final say.
BRINO
Brexit in name only
is the only Brexit we can afford.
The doctrine of “Brexit means Brexit” Seems, if possible, even more
bloody absurd than before.
Terribly Convenient
Can’t you see them getting away with it? Scott fucking free.
These right-wing press barons,
the vultures of our culture,
feeding off the weary working-class.
They serve the rich, call others “elite”, while owning the Ritz!
They stir the pot, manipulate.
They manufacture hate.
Employing falsehoods to misdirect just anger of the hard life lived
away from those responsible.
Fixing your rage on your fellow man and woman,
struggling just like you.
The papers turned you on your co-workers, dividing by nationality.
They share your low pay,
they aren’t the cause.
But the papers tell you to blame the immigrant.
For your boss that sets your wage: Terribly convenient.
The papers turned you on the other patients,
ill people in the waiting room. Claiming widespread health tourism. The papers tell you to blame the
immigrant,
For the architects of austerity: Terribly convenient.
The papers turned you on your neighbours. They made you believe
migrants made your life harder:
There’s too many, so we have to leave. The papers tell you to blame the immigrant,
For the rich and the government: Terribly convenient.
My Restless Pen
I believe in poetry,
I believe in protest.
I believe in Europe,
I come with one request.
Give the people a final say, only then will my pen rest.
Cut Through
I’m sick and tired of hearing people claim to care about democracy,
yet unconcerned by how Leave pursued their aim.
Compromised with criminality and corrupt practices.
No regard for the integrity of our democracy.
It’s incredible cognitive dissonance,
they can’t see its hypocrisy.
It’s not their fault though, they’ve been lied to,
we try to explain but it just doesn’t cut through.
In this time of emotive politics it
doesn’t seem to matter what the truth is.
Appeal to Theresa May
You have been defeated, Parliament is paralysed. There is no consensus here. Soon you must realise
if they can’t come to an agreement we must have a People’s Vote.
You know that for your precious deal, it is your only hope.
Your only chance is to put it to the people. It’s really the only way,
you want your deal,
we want our final say.
Win-win and you’ll be fine,
we are the majority now.
If you want a chance for your deal, a People’s Vote is how.
Microtargeting
To one they pledge environmental protection,
to another they promise deregulation. These promises are lies.
They know both these assurances they cannot keep.
It was false from the start. For shame, I could weep.
They claimed that to animals the EU was unkind,
sent only to activists that way inclined. Analysed and matched up with messages, for the promise you wanted to believe - microtargeting.
They already stole your vote,
now you’ll get what you’re getting.
These Streets
These streets will know we were here,
The battered ground will remember. Pavements, tarmac, cement vibrates,
our cry for democracy echoes still.
“We demand a People’s Vote” hangs in the air,
like a haze. Tonight the city is buzzing, hope reverberates.
Threat & Damage
How could upholding a tainted result,
not damage the democracy we hold dear? I’m telling you, be afraid of this!
You have misplaced your fear.
The People’s Vote is not the threat. It’s what will put things right:
Heal this gnarly wound left
by those who tore through reason with manipulation of emotion
to sell you Brexit.
By their disregard for democracy and fair play,
by the disenfranchisement of so many.
By these actions our democracy is weakened.
By these actions it loses its definition. Falling apart under the weight of the wrong,
the ballast of lies holding it down, pinning it still to the ground.
Static, the way they like it,
democracy frozen in time.
God forbid the cheating winnerswould ever let the people change their minds.
Retweet
RT,
call out every lie you see.
we must hold them to account.
Dismantle false arguments they will mount. Don’t give them room for their lies; correct and hope people realise
that they have indeed been lied to.
And it will be thanks to you.
The Nature of Protest
I have no delusion.
I know there is very little chance but that’s no reason to stop.
Protest has always been about speaking up when no one is listening.
It is to fight in the face of futility.
It is David and Goliath.
and we are still scrambling for our slingshot;
the fulcrum on which this whole situation could pivot,
tipping the scales that weigh us
against the immense machine of government.
Cumbersome - lumbering and creaking with bureaucracy.
Massive enough to crush dissent if it so chose.
Though - more often than not it responds with a painful indifference;
It strides right over us,
ignoring our presence entirely.
We are dwarfed by its enormity.
It casts it’s shadow over us.
Shade smothers as if to try and put out the flame of our passion
it steps over us; so small.
We know our size,
but regardless, we will continue to try. We make our stand,
make ourselves heard and seen.
To get its attention; change its direction.
Like herding dinosaur or some other metaphor for the near impossible.
The Crash
So here it is: collision
of project fear and fact.
Too sure of yourself to brace for impact.
Now your arrogance lies mangled where these forces intercept. What else did you expect?
Ah, - Yes.
The promises made,
you believed them in earnest. There is no shame.
Dust yourself off,
take my hand,
see now, how tall you stand. You’re not the only one
to have ever been deceived,
believe me I know, I remember it feels
shit for sure.
But truth is the cure, medicine is always bitter.
Psychoanalytics
Pychoanalytics is the new frontier of human manipulation.
Personalized propaganda,
a tailor fit campaign.
Dark money and data stalking,
to find out what you care about, what cause your heart is for:
Once they have that string to pull, it’s easy.
Car Crash in Slow Motion
We watch this national tragedy play out before our eyes,
it is heart breaking but we are transfixed. We dare not look away for what calamity could befall,
in the brief seconds of a glance.
A Living Thing
Of the countless,
the worst of the lies
was about the very nature of our democracy.
Sound bites and catchphrases have indoctrinated the public.
They think the will of the people is static. They’ve been fed such falsehood:
that democratic vote could damage democracy.
- I despair!
This wall of rhetoric we must break through is high.
It has proved an effective weapon
in this civil information warfare.
The truth is simple,
democracy is a living thing.
At the mercy of time like you and I.
It must always move forward,
evolving with every vote.
It is the current, the up-to-date will of the people
that will always trump that of two years ago
It is the denial of a free and fair vote that is the intolerable subversion of our democracy;
a dagger called Brexit through it’s beating heart.
One Million Pairs of Feet at Least
One million patriots speaking with one voice.
All we ask is we are given a choice. We want a final say.
We know it is the only way,
to break this Brexit deadlock. We hear the ticking of the clock.
So very much has changed,
do you really think people will vote the same again?
Do you not think us capable of changing our minds?
Do you think everyone still believes your lies?
One million pairs of feet at least,
Marching together, all in peace,
With compassion for the deceived and misled.
It would be an insult to them should Brexit go ahead
without putting it to the people when
the deal passes parliament finally and then doing the right thing: letting us decide. The people is where your power resides.
One million hearts all calling out.
This will be a blow to democracy without the last lock of us having the last say. Otherwise it’s the poor that will pay. This version of Leave foisted upon them with no check it’s what they voted for when
they ticked a box in good faith.
After these three years they’ve had to wait.
now they can see what Leave is.
With those red lines this is it,
the very best deal we’d ever get,
With no idea about the future yet.
So when a minimum of one million people march,
can’t your redlines become a pink arch?
The only chance you have for your deal is to swallow your pride and let the real people of the country evaluate,
decide on your deal love or hate.
Give them the option to remain.
The results may well be the same again, but at least there won’t be corruption this time.
You never mention it,
Theresa, do you think that’s fine?
The only way to put it right
is to listen to our peaceful fight
For a chance to have a voice on it Check - do we even still want Brexit?
BOB
Are you bored of it yet?
Are you sick of Brexit?
Tired of it clogging up the news, taking up governmental bandwidth?
If this is you, then listen to me:
The truth is that the only way
to stop hearing about it all the time
is to vote down Brexit in any final say.
Because - if you were under the impression
that this would all be over in March, I’m sorry to disappoint,
but this is just the start.
Brexit, War & White Privilege
It is only your white privilege
that allows you to call this Civil War. There may be anger and rage around but come on, just think before
you go and open up your mouth. Stop spitting imaginary bullets. Remind yourself of the reality of war, the only gun is in your gullet.
The only tanks, loaded with hate and vitriol,
Are those rolling of your vile tongue. Your rhetoric is violent, that’s true But this is not war,
just being heckled by you.
What They Did to You
Your pride will be the fall of us.
Admit it, they abused your trust,
It’s not your fault, they cheated too, they spent so much money to influence you.
They paid for the best psycholanalytics to find out what you want and say it is what you’ll get if you just vote Leave, any promise you wanted to believe.
Didn’t matter these pledges were incompatible.
Don’t beat yourself up, they are responsible.
It’s braver to admit you made a mistake
if it’s a choice you wouldn’t again make. Then join us and fight for a People’s Vote. In your betrayed hearts, hold onto hope.
A Good Democrat
I didn’t come out of the referendum swinging,
I accepted the result,
Like a good democrat.
I began with learning the extent of their many lies
And it was the permanence of the vote that made me realise;
the gravity, the cost, the stakes so very high. With no going back, even though we know it’s lies.
Only then did I campaign and complain to give people the chance
to free themselves from the tyranny of lies.
And then we learnt it was not only falsehoods,
Fake news and fallacies that tainted the result.
The revelations of illegality confirmed it. Then I truly knew my fight was justified: It was clear,
as was my conscience when I say;
that our democracy had been subverted on every level.
Without remedy it can’t redeemed?
The result was not just a farce but a rigged trick-
A bear trap for truth.
Surely I thought criminality should render the
result void,
Surely there must be a second vote,
but Theresa May says “no”.
So, - no.
I didn’t rail against the result from the start,
I gave those “Brexiteers” a chance.
But the more and more I learnt, the more impossible it became
to stand by - quietly
and watch chaos ensue.
So, say what you like but I know
I know that fighting for a final say
is how to be a good democrat these days.
What You Ignore
I’m tired of hearing you claim to care about democracy.
You don’t understand, you just don’t see that what you advocate is the true damage done,
you must take into account the way your side won.
Not just with lies.
No, I am here talking about crime.
So tell me, how can it be right
to ignore this and not to fight?
Against Brexit, against illegality and fraud, electoral crimes never seen in Britain before?
Resist, Reject, Never Respect
I’ll never accept that corrupted result for Brexit;
I resist it, reject it, I’ll never respect it.
That result for a most nebulous option: Leave – with no destination
A result obtained with manipulation and lies,
not only that, it was won by crime
A result achieved with contradictory promises given
to different groups, this is why Leave is riven.
A result won by cynical analysis,
sold as whatever you think Leave is
A result gained by an illegal campaign.
I can’t stress this enough,
It is vital for our democracy that we vote again.
Inanimate
Your interpretation of democracy is an insect trapped in amber. Frozen, cryogenically,
inanimate in stasis.
You stifle democracy with this perception. Trap it in a box,
put a pin through it,
and frame it with a nice mount.
The truth is; it can’t be contained, democracy is too agile to trap.
It adapts too well to be caught.
it refuses to be pinned down.
My democracy lives and breathes,
I won’t ever chain it down.
Your perception of it suffocates in your efforts to keep it still.
Negotiation
No deal looms.
We are fast running out of room, even to breathe.
It’s clear we’re going to need
an extension for sure.
The EU we will have to implore
“Please sir, can I have some more time?” Cross our fingers and hope they say it’s fine.
They aren’t “bullies”, it just turns out they’re really rather good at looking out for their members’ interests – shame, they won’t be negotiating for us again. So is it any surprise people mock replacing them with Liam Fox?
Education Is Not Patronisation
Education is not patronisation,
but that’s how it’s perceived now in this proud nation.
Before we learn, we are all ignorant. You can’t know everything, don’t be arrogant,
Ignorant is not a synonym for stupid, being unaware is all it is.
Speech to The Nation
There she stands,
arrogant and defiant.
She speaks like an autocrat. Democracy: inconvenient.
She spits bile and blame,
not a scrap of humility.
She accuses our representatives, refusing responsibility.
She pits the people against parliament, a most dangerous tiger to ride.
She feeds the betrayal narrative,
in the public rage does rise.
She panders to the ill informed,
making nothing clear.
She is coercing Parliament, forcing their vote with fear.
“National Interest”
So here we are.
Kicked further down the road again. Again uncertainty will persist,
she will go on to insist,
that this is all in the “National Interest”.
A vapid phrase with infinite meaning, adopted by every colour.
Politics refracted,
seen different from every angle,
it’s a matter of perspective.
Fine tune your loyalty and you will see, exactly what it is you want it to be.
Into The Black
May drags us all to the ledge,
making MPs stand there, toes over the edge.
She forces them to gaze into the abyss. Every time they look up
her deal is that bit less repellent.
This is her solitary tactic,
her hammer method.
Days pass and we draw nearer, inexorably towards the depths. No deal is a black hole,
and this, from our Prime Minister, has no other name than blackmail.
The Way Things Are
The way things are breaks my heart. They have truly perfected the art
of subverting our democracy
with lies and hypocrisy.
Calling us undemocratic -
what utter bullshit that is!
The Leaver’s Seven Stages of Grief
I open my heart to the victims of lies. Those stalked, their data stolen,
to find the promise they wanted to believe.
Contradictory pledges
to convince them to leave.
A rigged game,
With such money, effort and technology, they aren’t themselves to blame.
It’s a deeply painful process,
for them to see they were deceived. The Leaver’s seven stages of grief.
Were they shocked?
As is stage one.
When the promises weren’t fulfilled.
Too uncomfortable they moved swiftly onto
stage two:
Denial,
Leaver’s have been doing this for a while. Many stay there
paralysed by it.
Not embracing the just anger deserved, Stage three.
There are those that have
now and they are brimming with it, Furious at the contempt shown in the falsehood sold to them.
They’ve been through bargaining,
Stage four.
Insisting they never believed they would be better off,
that’s being poorer is the price they were willing to pay.
“I never promised Brexit would be a great success”
Farage says.
They need to avoid guilt: Stage five.
To do so they must forget, all the other things he said.
Depression is never fun,
I do hope stage six doesn’t last too long. They are the ones that were wronged. They deserve justice,
a chance to cast another vote.
Until then, the final stage,
seven - acceptance, remains out of reach.
I have compassion for the deceived.
You can’t blame anyone for not seeing what the liar conceals.
I’ve been lied to also; I know how it feels.
I open my heart to all those brave enough to confess their regret.
We must have a final say,
to liberate them from the vote they were manipulated into making,
now we know Leave broke the law, now we know they were faking.
We need a final say to let them give informed consent,
now they see it was all lies.
It’s not them that need repent.
What we need is for them to join the fight, strive for our country and what is right. Strive for the vote we all deserve,
this campaign is not the reserve
of those that voted to remain,
I know if they got the chance again, those angry and brave enough to change their mind,
are who ensures we will win this blind.
How We Heal Together Now
The people need closure,
divisions have only deepened.
We need a vote of informed consent.
Yes, campaigns may be divisive, but if this time they’re lawful The result will be decisive.
Don’t fear the People’s Vote, fear now. Fear the one we had. Fear the lies and hypocrisy, fear the death of democracy. Fear this splinter of falsehood, festering in the wound,
will mean we never heal.
But if we try again.
If we remove the thorn,
That way maybe,
this tired skin of society
will knit itself back together again. A final say is the only way we will convalesce.
I’m Talking to You, the Passing Crowd
Hear me,
if you’ve considered my words too, then don’t walk by,
you know what to do.
Take this moment,
stand with us.
Make it clear that in these politicians, we can’t place our trust.
Infighting like children,
Why should they decide?
They said it was the People’s choice, it really doesn’t matter what side. you’re on in this fraught debate,
Remain or Leave we all deserve,
a chance to choose before it’s too late.
If you want a final say,
if you want a choice.
Know you will not get it
if you don’t use your voice.
Rebuild
We deserve fair vote,
a chance to Remain,
Whatever the result,
At least, if lawful we will find
a solid foundation on which to rebuild.
Heal the rupture left
by Leave’s jagged illegality.
By its corruption and criminality.
Can this cut ever convalesce?
Will the pain stop?
Do we, the shards of a shattered society do the pieces of this divided people still fit together?
Is this a storm we can weather?
Is it possible now to reunite, to reconstruct?
Or, have they now divided us too much?
I fear that until reluctant recognition of the con
until everyone they way we were wronged, These bastards still will have won.
We can’t have a cohesive society
if we can’t agree on a common reality.
Brexit & Truth
See no truth,
Britain has gone blind.
Hear no truth, continue to deny.
Speak no truth, double down on lies.
BORIS JOHNSON’S BREXIT
“Do or die”
Quantum Politics
Mercurial and in flux;
principles, politics
only ever present under observation.
Each gaze is unique.
The charlatan.
The chameleon.
He has another trick
up his Eton cuff-linked sleeve.
The quantum politics you observe Becomes whatever you want it to be.
Countering Claims of Surrender
This impasse is not the fault of MPs. It’s the inevitable failure of Brexit.
It is the consequence of voting Leave.
Of course these charlatans have to blame parliament.
Otherwise it’s they that must explain,
after their claims of sunlit uplands, how very wrong their precious Brexit went.
Obviously you did not know this at the time.
Please bear with me, do not attack or malign.
Many of you will bridle at my words but they wouldn’t offend
if they were all heard.
Because what I am saying to you
is that when it comes to being informed I know the truth.
It really just comes down to time.
When I got engaged with Brexit I did find so many are just too busy just getting by. Myself included for far long.
It’s not insult, but understanding, these words of mine.
It was always just unreasonable to expect us to know enough
to vote on an issue so complex
and lied about so much.
There is nothing wrong with having been wrong.
That’s what I’ve been saying all along!
It is not an insult to suggest there may be more to know.
This perception is a symptom of the division they wantonly sow.
So let me be explicit,
Let me be clear.Just for a moment please lend me your ear. There are things you know that I am ignorant of
and vice versa. From my heart with love,
I extend to you my hand, a way out.
You must have by now at least a flicker of doubt.
Quickly dampened down by a universal tendency to look away from what we fear. They set this trap, pouring lies into your ear.
A narrative created by those that wronged you.
They need you not to accept the truth. They need you to think not to know is stupid.
They need you to believe
that if in fact you did not know enough, if perhaps you misplaced your trust, their false claim that you’re stupid in the eyes of the nation.
They implant the idea that to admit a mistake is humiliation.
These charlatans lie!
We have all believed a lie before,
don’t pretend, neither will I.
If we can push past our intellectual discomfort, resist our defensiveness, something exacerbated in Brexiters but innate to all of us.
If we can all overcome ego, acknowledge our ignorance
we can all learn from one another.
If we could, I believe we’d rediscover.
That, in the immortal words of Jo Cox, there’s more we have in common
than the things that divide us.
The Harvest
Send out your crop dusters.
Sow division, draw divides. Pollinate the public consciousness, fertilise with “fake news” and lies.
The key ingredient to control
is this pesticide;
kill off that pesky critical thinking that can change a mind.
Instead, ferment entrenchment,
so deep they’ll defend bare lies. Now with reason utterly polluted they stay blindly loyal at your side.
Incredible. How, absurdly, you can convince
Yours and their interests
could ever be aligned.
All the while waiting, behind your back the sharpest Shock Doctrine scythe.
A Silent & Still Democracy
We’ve all learnt this new word: Prorogation.
Definition, in this context, to silence MPs, to deny the people representation.
It is to suspend democracy,
holding it static in stasis.
The way they like it; steeped in hypocrisy.
They cling to a desperate logic that democracy was frozen in 2016. They need this
to protect their illegitimate win.
Though unlawful, corrupted,
though distorted by disinformation and lies,
though undeliverable;
they demand we hold democracy still. denying us a democratic vote,
they care not for the people’s true will.
That would, as it should,
supersede their false mandate.
If we win, which I believe
- even they think we could.
Snake Oil
Their words were slick and black,
were you mesmerised by the iridescence? All you see is rainbows.
Not the black, not the facts.
How was it to swallow?
Did it slide down smooth?
That seductive poison; some will keep it down. But more will come around. It’s a painful process,
retching and spluttering,
Gag reflex fluttering,
lies splatter onto the ground.
It’s taking longer for some than others - longer than the expectations of many.
I have is hope I will still hark
the abject symphony
of a nation being sick.
Groomed
This comes from the heart.
With no judgement or patronisation.
This is genuine,
I say it for the sake of this family of nations.
I say it for the sake of families that will loose out.
I say it for the sake of healthy inquiry and doubt.
I don’t use this comparison with the intent to wound.
But I believe it’s relevant,
I want to share,
I know what its like to be groomed.
I look back now and can’t understand
how I believed the things I did, all the bullshit I put up with.
For a long time I couldn’t,
I refused, I wouldn’t
accept that I had been manipulated. Though I know now it was misplaced for so long it was myself I hated.
I couldn’t bear to acknowledge the con shame kept me from accepting it,
this was his game
and for far too long he won.
My rage is immeasurable;
seeing these charlatans win,
they way they keep you loyal, believing in this confidence trick;
Also known as Brexit.
These people who have diminished discourse
These charlatans, cynically they are the cause
Of this divisive deception,
Creating the toxic narrative,
Conflation of ignorance with stupidity
To critical thinking; corruptive.
So I can say they are playing you but I know you won’t want to accept it.
I understand, I’ve explained,
denial is what I also did.
I don’t judge you. No,
I condemn them.
You aren’t stupid. Take a moment, just think that when,
everyone now works for less,
when so many feel so much stress.
when people are kept in work that’s insecure,
when government does nothing to help the poor,
how can it be reasonable to expect
that with family and work pressures,
people with normal lives have any time left to spend digging
deeper than the news reel provides?
The media doesn’t help, with the way they simplify.
It is only because my life isn’t normal
that I have the time to monitor the awful
tragic spectacle that is our politics.
I know just how unfair this expectation is.
I only have this capacity to learn now
because I am no longer
merely keeping my head above water
with regular resuscitation,
by which I mean hospitalisation
After so many near drownings in this deep trauma.
I’ve tried to explain. Please,
I need for you to know I hold no ill will towards the misled or deceived.
Regardless of the disdain I know my empathy will illicit.
Because I’ve been there, I do understand. I see the manipulation that has been perpetrated.
It’s prefect:
It ensures truth tellers are hated.
Cliff Edge
I have peered over the edge,
get back, I say,
Get back!
I’m telling you it’s a long way down. They glance over the edge wearing a sceptical frown.
They say -
I don’t see the drop. I don’t see the rocks on which you say we’ll be dashed. No, I see open sky, not a fall but a place to fly.
“Lovin’ It”
Laughing, they are “lovin’ it”.
Entertained at how we rage against these lies.
Of course, his deceit was not what shocked,
it was the new cynical blatancy that was a surprise.
Even his cheerleaders didn’t try to defend. Worse yet, they applaud him,
they don’t even attempt to pretend
that this sharp practice was deployed for any reason other
than silencing our representatives, gagging our mother
of parliaments, always one of the most robust.
But now watching this play out I can’t avoid the fear that we are on the cusp, teetering on the edge of a new politics I don’t want to see.
If the court rules this lawful
it amounts to a terrible impunity.
Room To Breathe At Last
Another deadline passed,
François said the country would explode The media went to film the predicted protest and riots
but it seems Brexit fans couldn’t be arsed.
A stark contrast -
to the assemblies for People’s Vote. A million strong we march.
Putin Bought Brexit
If Putin bought Brexit,
if you love democracy,
you will fight for a final say, fight despite ideology.
So join us, fight for what we love, whatever you believe.
We need a People’s Vote;
you can always still vote Leave.
Protesters Confession
Protest is something you do for little or no return.
There is this strange thing you must learn,
you have to figure out
how to hold in your mind
acceptance of that little return
and hope for change at the same time.
You must not be disheartened by
no movement on the other side.
You need optimism and hope for great change.
And the realism to know you will likely fail, get up and try again.
How do we do both without our hearts breaking?
Know that when I say “we can do this” a part of me is faking.
Broken Politics
This two party system, we must smash it,
If our politics is to be fixed.
our democracy needs to be reconstructed.
To disenfranchise us is destructive.
We are done being forced between
the red devil and the deep blue sea.
It’s proportional representation we need
not that flawed attempt at direct democracy
People don’t feel represented.
This system stinks, we resent it.
We demand PR!
Democrats is what we are
And we call on you Parliament
To bring about the change we want.
We want a real democracy
First Past the Post is hypocrisy.