WORDS: The Riddler
The following words are very difficult to write, and even more difficult to integrate into a well-adjusted world view, but please try… Tory voters are not cunts.
Yes, they did a cunty thing and voted for people with shady morals and cuntish policies, but it's called making a mistake, and we all make mistakes. The problem is that many of them would be capable of making the same mistake again, and calling them cunts is not the best way to inform them that they made a mistake and educate them, because this would make you the 'other' they fear in their world.
They are all just people, people that are individuals, people who have mainly been brought up without going without, without learning what it means to share, without understanding compassion and without a proper idea of community, because they've always been given whatever they want and they take everything for granted. People now buy presents for each other because they feel they have to, not because they actually want to make the other person happy. Giving is no longer something that makes people happy it's a chore, what the fuck's that all about?
We are all the product of our environment, and we live in a time when a large proportion of people in our country have been spoilt and do not see or understand suffering. They have become lazy and selfish, and happily accept being spoon-fed opinions from mainstream media and absolutely shite TV shows that exaggerate stuff since 'it sells' as 'entertainment'.
Often, people don't have a well-formed opinion. They have fuzzy ideas like, well I think party A is better on the economy, but party B is probably better on the environment, so I don't know which one I'm going to vote for. Older people can still remember what some of the big parties used to stand for and base their votes on this rather than looking at the current policies. Some people even base their votes on their loyalties to what they, or even their relatives, voted for in the past, as if it was a fucking game of football or something.
It's very difficult to change someone's mind about something, especially if you start the conversation by calling them a cunt. To change someone's mind you need to speak with them openly, and mainly allow them to speak, so they can develop their views. You need to understand what they base their decisions on and speak in a way that encourages them to express this. It's not a fight, it's a conversation, between people, people from the same community.
Remember, the vast majority of Tory voters aren't the type of prick you get on the internet using simplistic arguments that are so vague they are difficult to debunk, like "attacking the rich doesn't help the poor", or "the rich contribute more taxes so they are very kind people who like helping the poor" and shit like that. The majority of them are normal, poorly informed British people who see the Pound doing better against the Euro since the Tories got in and think that must mean that the Tories are better for the economy. They're worried about a double dip recession and about losing their jobs, and they want to pay less for a beer when they go on holiday in Europe.
The politics of fear proved very powerful in the recent election: fear of Europe, fear of Scotland, fear of England, fear of UKIP, fear of Tories, fear of recession, and the list goes on. Now the Tories have been elected, there's a danger that many good people will fall into the politics of hate driven by anger.
Fucking Tory lizard wankers, fucking entitled fanny cunts, you are the manky festering scum from under a foreskin that hasn't been washed in weeks, now fuck off and die you self-obsessed greedy destructive pricks, stop fucking up our communities, our lives, and our environment just so you can make a small group of rich selfish cunts richer. Writing that was fun and felt good, but I've said it now and got it out of my system. Now it's time for me to understand that we are all just people.
Tory, UKIP, Green, SNP, Labour, we are all people, like the thousands that have died on boats attempting to cross from Africa to Europe. They are not migrants, they are fucking people like the rest of us. Early in January, the Charlie Hebdo attacks killed 17 people and injured several others. 17 more people dead, fucking shocking. The first is reported widely as a bit of a problem that nobody really knows how to resolve, while the second prompted world leaders to unite and march as a show of solidarity for the dead. Does this mean that the lives of 17 Europeans are worth more than those of thousands of Africans?
Also, random rockets being fired from the Gaza Strip are answered with large-scale military responses using advanced weapons from Israel. Again, the attacks on the World Trade Centre killed around 3,000 people (whoever did it or was complicit in it), while the resulting invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq have likely directly killed or indirectly resulted in the deaths of over a million people.
The only reason any of this is possible is because people are able to dehumanise each other, normally through fear or hatred.
Don't allow yourself to fall into this trap.
Tory voters aren't lizards, they're humans.
The sooner we realise this and work on a constructive approach to building the things that Tory cuts will take away from us - community, sharing, supporting people, doing people a favour, random acts of kindness - the more we can contribute to positive change personally.
Going on sweary anti-Tory rants is cathartic, and if you are angry about them being in power then well done, you are on the right road. Anger is a very powerful emotion, but please harness it and focus it on building something positive, not on hate. If you want to attack the Tories then point out which of their politicians/lords are climate-change deniers, and which ones make hundreds of thousands a year from being directors of weapons companies. Don't just say 'Tories are cunts'.
Pissed off? Don't just whinge and drown your sorrows, get up and fucking do something good yourself! If you already do, then well done, and I hope this gives you even more motivation to carry on.
Elections are massive and they change our country, but politics isn't something that you do once every five years, it is something that you do with your attitudes, energy and behaviour every day of your life.
One very big step is to be mindful about where you spend your money. Pissed off with the Tories but you eat food from McDonalds/Burger King/KFC etc., what the fuck? Pissed off with the Tories but you buy food grown in Israel, what the fuck? Pissed off with the Tories but you live off food from supermarkets and take-away pizza, what the fuck? Pissed off with the Tories but you can't be arsed to recycle, what the fuck? Pissed off with the Tories but you subscribe to SKY fucking TV, what the fucking fuckery fuck? Answer: well just for the football and films really - fuck off, stop giving the pricks your money, turn the telly off and have a fucking conversation with someone. Pissed off with the Tories but you drive short journeys you could easily cycle, what the fuck? Fucking make sure you've got yourself sorted out before complaining about others.
Use your anger to motivate positive changes in your own life, including how you talk about politics…
By just blanket calling all Tories cunts you will either be preaching to the converted, or throwing away the chance of having a discussion that could have helped someone else to develop their opinion. Some people can even go straight from Tory to Green, and that's worth much more than taking someone from Labour or SNP.
Similarly, UKIP is a protest vote. Remember that! We didn't just develop fuck knows how many racists from nowhere, and loads of UKIP voters don't associate themselves with the BNP or any other parties they perceive in their world view as being racist tosspots. Many of these people are people that are disillusioned with our current system! Some people that just voted UKIP could vote Green in the future, but entering into a conversation with them by saying "you're a racist cunt" is not the best way of achieving this. They aren't all right wing pricks, they're people that are disaffected and scared. Get them to explain their opinions and challenge the underlying theory. Encourage them to develop their ideas instead of insulting the person.
When you speak with someone that you think could be a Tory/UKIP voter, don't approach the conversation in a way that will further entrench them in their position, that's counter-productive and self-defeating. Speak honestly and from the heart, but listen to them, understand them, embrace them, help them to grow, show them that you value their opinions, aspirations and hopes; help them to understand yours without creating a polarising confrontation; help another person, another human, to avoid making mistakes in the future.
You're a person, I'm a person, politicians are people, rich people are people, poor people are people, British people are people, foreigners are people, workers are people, unemployed people are people, even fucking Tony Blair and David Cameron are people, strange but true. Think about it and apply it, or you'll become a lizard yourself.