Stung by his inability to bend the world to his will once again, after his paper spent years slagging off the HS2 project only to see it green-lighted this week, the legendarily foul mouthed Paul Dacre has finally gone totally Gaga and exploded in an editorial rant worthy of Mr Creosote himself. Today’s Daily Mail Comment, the authentic voice of the Vagina Monologue, has taken aim at anyone who disagrees with him over the EU.
What the f***'s wrong with losing my rag and going totally Hatstand, c***?!? Er, with the greatest of respect, Mr Jay
“Damn the unpatriotic Bremoaners and their plot to subvert the will of the British people” thunders the front page teaser as Dacre fires up the Daily Mail quote generator to let his faithful readers know, whether they like it of not, that anyone of dissenting view is Whinging, Contemptuous, and yes, Unpatriotic.
Out poured the soundbites: “hysterical claim … shackles imposed by Brussels … utterly discredited Project Fear … unedifying spectacles … BBC … unsubstantiated claims of impending doom … unskilled mass immigration … defeatist position … appeasing instincts … embittered Remainers … anti-democratic games … sore losers … desperate subterfuge … breathtaking mendacity … Newspeak style of Orwell … petulant and unacceptable … metropolitan elite … sneers at the public’s concerns”.
And there was more: “well-heeled group of London intellectuals … the BBC … is leading the Remain charge … embittered pro-EU ramblings … most egregious Remainers … entirely fatuous arguments …billions of pounds to Brussels … diktats … vast annual membership fee … trades-union puppet … unelectable politicians … talking Britain down … delighting in the fall in the Pound … sore losers … deeply unpatriotic … sclerotic, bureaucratic, one-size-fits-all EU … metropolitan elite … contempt for democracy”.
As Sir Sean nearly said, I think we got the point.
So let me answer the ranting of the Daily Mail’s editor, who talks of the “metropolitan elite” while managing not to tell his readers that he, with his seven-figure remuneration package, pied-à-terre in Belgravia, mansion in the country, Scottish estate, private healthcare, sons both sent to Eton, and chauffeur-driven lifestyle, is one of them.
Patriotism is not merely the waving of flags and singing of anthems, but wanting the best for your country. Not everyone is happy at the prospect of a worthless currency and a looming economic slowdown, with the only comfort on offer some kind of woolly optimism, talk of “freedom”, “independence”, a “sovereign nation”, and of course “taking control”.
Patriotism is not served by frothing and ranting at those who, in a democracy that values freedom of speech and welcomes freedom of expression, wish to caution against acting in haste, and articulate their own vision for the country they love, that they should pipe down and respect their self-appointed betters at Northcliffe House.
Patriotism is not served by the forcible silencing of dissent. That way leads to only one thing, and that is totalitarian dictatorship, a concept that the Mail knows all too well.
Patriotism, to borrow the Star Trek metaphor, is where the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one. Even if the one is called Paul Dacre.
7 comments:
Wasn't part of taking back control the right to disregard the opinions of foreign domiciled tax avoiding (patriots pah!)owners and their tax avoiding media organisations?
Next you will be telling us Lord D'Acres of Grouseland is another with entree via the back door to No 10?
Perhaps it is no surprise that the Mail's most succesful enterprise at present appears to be it's online presence in the USA most probably attracting the audience of the that 42%, who the polls say, still support Trump.
The current performance of politicians and media alike just reflect the poor state of reasoned debate in the UK and the antipathy of a disillusioned electorate to listen to it.
As others have commented, the referendum offered people a two-way choice. That was a problem.
It's my belief that those who voted remain did so for generally similar reasons - that they felt the UK was best served by remaining within the EU. Whether they felt that the EU needed reform, or was fine as was, is beside the point.
As for Leave, why did people vote to leave? Some did so because they thought the UK would be better off economically and politically outside it. Others voted because they wanted to send 'em all back. One person I know voted leave because he thought the Remain camp would walk it so it was best to even things up a bit (yes, really!). Others voted to stick two fingers up to politicians in general. Or a combination of reasons.
Whatever the case, while big promises were made about what we'd do with all that lovely leave money, not one solid plan for actually leaving was made and put to the people. In some quarters this is being written up as a good thing ("never reveal your hand!"). It mystifies many, especially those who thought leaving would be the political equivalent of a dawn flit after a disastrous one night stand - quickly dress, slip out and be off before they know you're gone.
Now though, it seems that to do anything but to blindly cheer on the government (who seem to have no plan and only the roughest of timetables) is to commit the highest of treason. Well, damn Dacre and his kind. Whatever people's reasons for voting, I suspect nobody intended for a cabal of tabloid editors and owners to become our new masters.
How dare you! Mr D is salt of the earth. His dad risked his life in WWII writing about show business so that he could bring up a rounded individual who is compassionate and caring.
It's surely an admission that Brexit is in serious trouble if the DM is blamig Remainers for the fact that things are going pear-shaped nearly half a year before Article 50.
They're running a bit scared, these Leavers, if that sort of reaction is thought necessary. Scared presumably, as sooner or later, Parliament will bite back.
All very predictable of course, but, as ever, the most annoying thing is the accusation of a wish to subvert the will of the people.
All the while forgetting, natch, that a mere 25% of the population have carried this vote. Different had the vote been compulsory. So, full justification there for subverting that will. It's our duty.
And forgetting also, conveniently, that the referendum was merely advisory. Just a seeking of views.
@ Andy McDonald
It was fuuny that when a world weary James O'Brien on LBC debating with a "vote leaver" on why he voted as he did the answer was to escape from the EU laws that have ensalved the UK. When pushed to name exactly which laws he couldn't even think of one! Although as a joke the Boris inspired straight banana was mentioned.
It's the blind ambition of some leading the many blind to reason to a blind spot somewhere in the distant future. Blindingly obvious is it not?
"As others have commented, the referendum offered people a two-way choice. That was a problem."
That's the problem with a yes/no vote... people will do it for a variety of reasons and not consider that The Powers That Be might create their own reasons for a result. There was exactly this problem with the Alternative Vote referendum a few years back. Some people voted "No" to AV because they wanted FPTP, and others voted "No" because they wanted PR. So you had some No voters wanted things to stay as they are, and other No voters saying the changes didn't go far enough. However, in the end, it all got interpreted as "people are happy with the current system so nothing will change".
(It's why people who complained about New Labour "only" bringing in civil partnerships missed the point. Civil Partnerships was never the end-game, but a stepping stone. However, rather than going from 1-100, you move to 50 first, wait a bit, let people see that the world hasn't ended, and then carry on to 100. It is frustrating if you are one of those affected, but it works out in the longer-term.)
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