We all thought that 2019 was the worst year in human history thus far. We were wrong: 2020 is already turning out to be an utter disaster for social justice. On New Year’s day I had the misfortune of seeing Toy Story 4 with my seven-year-old niece (formerly my nephew) at my local cinema.
I was shocked at the lack of diverse representation, and even more shocked to see that there were people of colour in the audience who appeared to be enjoying themselves. I later read an article in the Hollywood Reporter by a middle-class white journalist which explained to minorities why they ought to be offended by this film, so that made me feel a little better about the whole thing.
But worse was still to come. On the second day of January the US government — rightly described as a “terrorist regime” by oppressed millionaire actor Rose McGowan — killed Qasem Soleimani in an air strike. Soleimani (described by the Washington Post as Iran’s “most revered military leader”) is the latest US assassination since that of Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (described by the Washington Post as an “austere religious scholar”). In the case of al-Baghdadi, an army dog was awarded a medal of bravery for his role in the operation, which just goes to show that even American dogs are Islamophobic.
Meanwhile, a story was doing the rounds on social media about a couple who had recently had a baby. “Transgender man gives birth to non-binary partner’s baby with female sperm donor” ran the headline in the Daily Mirror. Social justice activists were furious with the implied mockery. I for one am utterly sick of the media making woke people look stupid by using the words we tell them to use.
And now, the most woke candidate for Labour leader, Jess Phillips, is no longer in the running.
Jess is a staunch feminist and a genuine socialist.
We know this because she has such a strong regional accent. She was also the only candidate who had suggested that she would campaign for us to rejoin the EU. After Boris Johnson’s victory, we badly needed an opposition leader who was brave enough to stand up against the stupidity of the electorate. Sadly, it was not to be.
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