As somebody with what is generally considered an alternative world view, who is longing for a true radical political party to come along and shake things up in Britain, I’m disheartened with the continual support for UKIP. They are somewhat different from the big three, mainly in their opposition to the European Union, so we should expect a certain amount of mud-slinging and smear-campaigning against them, but their ongoing foot-in-mouth problem goes far beyond the idea that they’re just being discredited by the establishment.
Lets call a spade a spade. In my observation UKIP is full of ignorant and out of touch fools, and they most certainly don’t represent the growing tide of free thinkers and activists that have sprung up over the past decade.
Take for instance the latest faux pas from UKIP MEP Godfrey Bloom, where he called a conference full of female politicians who did not clean behind their fridges “sluts”.
I’m a real human and not a sensationalist Sky News reporter, so I know and accept he was joking and that a “slut” to a Grammar school educated older chap, doesn’t necessarily have sexual connotations, but nonetheless he was foolish enough to say it. That’s really the point.
In all of Bloom’s years in politics, as part of a highly scrutinised and distant alternative party, which has been called out time and time again for distasteful comments, he was stupid enough to use such a phrase. Is this the man that’s going to slay the head of the beast? Or somebody coasting along that doesn’t give so much as a thought about what he says?
Now I don’t personally care what he says, but then I’m not an MEP vowing to take the fight to the Superstate and the crooks in parliament. You’d think he’d at least show some self awareness about what UKIP are up against. A machine that will pick apart everything they say.
I could ignore it if this was a one off, but Bloom has a long track record of being out of touch with the values of modern voters and the game that must be played to make a real difference. In a 2004 interview on the topic of gender equality – this after he was appointed to the European Parliament’s Committee on the subject, he said:
“No self-respecting small businessman with a brain in the right place would ever employ a lady of child-bearing age,” and that “I just don’t think [women] clean behind the fridge enough,” and also that he wants to represent “women who always have dinner on the table when you get home.”
UKIP advocates can sit there and argue that he’s just talking about the virtues of the free market, and the business owner’s right to employee who they want, and how the breakdown of the family unit has had a negative impact on society. But any rational person can tell by his colourful language that really, he’s just being sexist and pointlessly inflammatory. And if I’ve interpreted his comments completely wrong, he still chose to say those words, once again demonstrating that he just isn’t good at PR or even explaining his points without pissing people off.
In my short time dealing with the alternative media I’ve come across loads of brilliant minds … true modern thinkers. People who are compassionate, demonstrate equality and just want humanity to be free of state and corporate shackles. Some are Libertarians, some are Anarchists, some would call themselves truthers and others would feel more comfortable on the left. Very few, if any, would say the same distasteful and poorly strategised things as Godfrey Bloom. Sadly some of them will however defend him.
Aside from the numerous times he’s been found drunk and pilled-up in EU Parliament (I might have let him off if he was stoned), other choice remarks include “Bongo Bongo Land”, in reference to the less fortunate countries Britain sends aid to.
I actually happen to think that the aid programs of the West in general are a bad idea, not least because Britain is bankrupt. They also do nothing to free the third world from their corporate slavery. However I wouldn’t for the life of me ever think to call those countries something as short sighted and racist as “Bongo Bongo Land”. Why? Because I respect all human life and know for the most part, the reason poor countries haven’t developed is because the “richer” countries actively or indirectly prevent them from doing so. “Bongo Bongo Land” just happens to be where child slaves are mining rare earth minerals for Bloom’s smart phone. Have some respect!
Does this man really stand for any particular ideology or does he just use UKIP as an excuse to ignorantly spout off and offend people? He certainly doesn’t have a backbone because he quit the party over the “sluts” comment last week, suggesting he really was being sexist. As noted above it’s not even the first time he’s used the “cleaning behind fridges” comment.
Whether it’s homophobic remarks, saying women carrying babies with genetic disorders should have forced abortions, racism and xenophobia, the continual allegations of sexism, and a laundry list of other goofs, UKIP just can’t seem to craft a positive public image, even when they do sometimes have solid points to make.
When one digs deeper you will discover they aren’t even for what most people think they’re for. They may be anti-EU, but are pro NATO and pro military. It could be argued that NATO is an even larger power union than the EU itself, and they’re constantly embroiled in unjustified wars.
UKIP may call for financial ring fencing, but they also want to grant more powers to the Bank of England, in many ways a conflicting policy. They espouse fair taxation, but will actually be crippling the lower and would-be middle classes while giving the elite a tax break. Everything else is about bloomin immigrants and playing off the country’s fears. As Tom Secker and I explored previously … UKIP Are Not The Answer.
