Freedom! ForeVer!

Russell, oh dear sweet Russell...

As many of you are no doubt aware by now, Jeremy Paxman recently played host to Russell Brand, that former DJ, current actor, and modern day dandy. If you're not, that's the video of it, right there above this paragraph.

It was an interview that spoke of "voter apathy" and "revolution".  Powerful sentiments, and ones I share. The integrity of his words, however, remains somewhat sketchy.

A few days later, Brand was one of many who participated in the Million Mask March, an event that saw thousands, if not the target million, of people in countries around the world, march through the streets as a collective, each wearing replicas of the Guy Fawkes mask worn by the eponymous protagonist in V For Vendetta.  Late in the evening, Brand stopped to sign autographs for fans who recognised him.

Wait, what?

Yep, you guessed it, Brand unmasked.  Which, on the face of it, somewhat undermines the very purpose of the mask itself.  V wore the mask for practical reasons, yes.  His entire body was horrifically burned in the fire at Larkhill, and it was suggested there was little left of his face.  But any mask can cover those wounds. V wore that particular mask symbolically, in remembrance of the previous attempt to destroy the Houses of Parliament.  V was big on symbolism.

So what was the symbolism of the mask?  V said it himself: "Ideas are bulletproof."  V himself was killed as a result of the final climactic showdown with Creedy and his goons, but that was just the man beneath the mask.  The idea he fought and died for, however, lived, and thousands descended on the centre of London, past military barricades, to watch Parliament blow up.  And all of them wore the mask.  They were all as one at that moment, unified in a common belief: that it was time for a change.  A removal of the old guard, of the crippling constraints and fears, of the oppression and tyranny, of an establishment that had long since lost the faith and conviction of those it claimed to serve.

The mask itself represented that idea, and it has grown beyond a simple movie prop or comic book device. The mask has become a symbol of a desire for change in a real sense.  The hacktivist collective Anonymous is perhaps the most renowned for its use of the mask, but it's not alone.  In fact, it's arguable that Anonymous are partly responsible for making the mask as iconic as it has become.  It has, in fact, become the very symbol it was meant to be in the comic and movie.

The Million Mask March is evidence of the power of a symbol.  That people in many countries marched as one while wearing the mask shows that there is a growing, and powerful, voice of dissension and disenfranchisement with the state of the world. Thanks to a level of communication unprecedented in human history, there is a very strong sense of a global community, through social media, blogs such as this, and instant news.  And as a global community, we have become more aware of the actions of our leaders, governments, corporations and financial institutions, and the effects of those actions on the rest of us - the 99%, as the general populace has become known. Moreover, there is a strong feeling that we, the 99%, are increasingly being marginalised by an elite caste whose overriding concern is with its own interests and avarice, the rest of us be damned.

The London part of the Million Mask March

Russell Brand's interview suggested to me a man who knows there is a major problem with the system in place, but doesn't have a solution beyond crying "revolution!"  I can understand that. I think many of us see a system in freefall, and desperately want to see it change dramatically and fundamentally, but don't know how to make it happen.  Marches, protests, petitions, campaigns and such are all powerful tools, but more needs to be done.  Then there's what comes after.  After the revolution, after the dismantling of the old guard, what do we do? Do we appoint a new leader, someone who truly represents the people?  And then how do we know they'll stay the course? And above all, how will we manage a change as massive as the one we need, after corporations, financial institutions, governments and military regimes are brought down?

The revolution for which Brand calls is one I believe is coming.  But it's not nearly as easy as a simple jingoistic war cry from a celebrity fop.  We have become so accustomed to the way of things - governments making decisions for us, banks telling us how important it is to have money, corporations reminding us daily that we need their products and services, only for us to capitulate like good little consumers - that removing it all from our lives could be too much to take all at once.  Panic would flood the streets, chaos would ensue.

Change needs to occur.  But not all at once.  We simply wouldn't cope with it.  And the truth of the matter is that, like Brand, I don't have an answer.  I don't know how this change should occur, what should replace the current order, and how we carry on beyond it.  But I do know that, jingoistic and ego-driven though he may be, Russell Brand spoke to a lot of people on several levels in that interview, and in some ways made sense.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. The whole thing about him taking off his mask.  Well, he wanted to sign autographs for his fans, didn't he?  Make of that what you will, dear reader. But he wasn't the only one to unmask - indeed, there were many who didn't even have so much as a scarf to cover their face. But making the lack or removal of a mask the focus of this matter is a merely a diversion.  It's not the messenger, or the words, we should focus on, but the spirit and substance of the message.  The symbolism embodied by thousands of people worldwide congregating in a common cause.  The mask is a powerful symbol, but one does not need to be reliant upon it to deliver the message.

As for the revolution? Well, it will be more than televised, it will be on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Instagram, and if you look hard enough, probably even the news.  But the aftermath of said revolution? That's the grey area we need to clear up.

Comments and discussion more than welcome, they are encouraged.

Lest we forget...

Remembrance Sunday. It is one of our more sombre traditions, observed on or about the 11th of November.  The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, a moment in history that shall not soon be forgotten.  It was the moment of the Armistice, when a ceasefire was officially declared, which effectively and symbolically saw the end of the first World War, one of the most brutal and horrific conflicts in humanity's history.

The field of battle

At this time of year, at 11:00 on the nearest Sunday to the 11th of November, people observe a moment's silence, in remembrance of those who died in the service of their country during the two World Wars. Thousands of men and women who fought on the mud-plagued battlefields and waterlogged trenches of the front lines of Europe, and gave their lives defending their nation.

It's never, ever, that simple.  Aside from the legal and official side of things - different nations ratified peace at different times and for different conditions, months after the Armistice began - there was the more personal aspect.  Soldiers died for the cause both sides were propagating.  And every single soldier was somebody's son or daughter, or someone's mother or father, brother or sister, husband or wife, friend, neighbour.

And it wasn't just soldiers.  Civilians lost their lives too.  Men, women and children who had neither part or place in the war, were killed by the enemy, and sometimes by friendly fire.  Families of soldiers and civilians alike were left devastated by the loss of a loved one. In some families entire generations were wiped out. Fathers and sons killed side by side in battle.  Homes destroyed. Towns devastated.

And this happened on both sides of the battlefield.  German families, towns and communities were damaged in the wars too.  Russia perhaps suffered the most losses of the entire Second World War.  Two cities in Japan were virtually wiped out by, to date, the only use of nuclear weapons in warfare.  The world as a whole was irrevocably changed by possibly the most devastating wars in human history.  Nobody escaped unscathed.

A moment's peace: Allied and German troops together during
the Christmas Truce of 1914. Picture taken from the Daily Mirror

Yet even in time of war, there is still hope.  This is best exemplified by the Christmas Truce, a series of unofficial ceasefires over the Christmas period of 1914.  During this time, at numerous locations, soldiers on both sides of the conflict put down their guns and walked into No Man's Land.  Instead of fighting, they met, shook hands, and exchanged gifts and souvenirs.  Carols were sung and decorations put up in both trenches. Some exchanged buttons from each other's jackets. The cartoonist Bruce Bairnsfather, who served during the war, reported seeing one German soldier sitting calmly while a British gunner cut his hair.  And perhaps most famously, the two sides engaged in a less bloody conflict - a mass game of football that saw as many as 50 participants kicking a pigskin around the battlefield.  It was an uneasy truce - there were more than a few who were openly hostile to the idea, and warned that if the enemy left their trench and attempted to fraternise, they would be shot. But in some of these cases at least, their reticence proved unfounded.  For just a brief moment and in just a few places, peace won out.

I have never and will ever condone the act of war.  There is always a better solution.  And there are some within the military who glory in warfare, who court it - those who, in simple terms, are spoiling for a fight. But there are others. Those soldiers who signed up to protect and defend those who could not defend themselves.  The ones who held to a code of honour. The ones who carried the stretchers to take their fallen away from the battlefield.  The ones who remained home, trying to keep their house and family going through terrible times.  I don't agree with those who sign up for military action, but neither do I agree that their deaths should be ignored.

I continue to hope for a better world. I'm not convinced I will see an end to war in my lifetime, but I keep hoping that if nothing else, it will fade away.  And sometimes, while war is always the wrong outcome, it may be for the right reasons, or at least burdened with good intentions.  But then, isn't that what the road to Hell is paved with?

And so, on this day, I choose to remember all of those who have lost their lives because of war.  Be they friend or foe, soldier or civilian, everybody matters.  We're all only human.

Rock is dead? Trillians Rockbar shuts its doors.

On 31st October 2013, Trillians Rockbar celebrated the first night of a two-part Hallowe'en event.  There was music, beer, face-painting and all manner of spooky goings-on, and I imagine a fun time was had by all.  And many left that night looking forward to the second part the next day.

It never happened.

At 8:40 am the following morning, the following message appeared on Trillians' official Facebook page:

Just like that, one of Newcastle's most popular pubs, and a focal point for the rock community of the North East, was gone.  A pub that had seen thousands of bands, including more than a few big names, perform on the little stage opposite the bar, and held dear memories for so many of its patrons young and old, was snuffed out.

Maybe.

The reason for the closure? Trillians was part of the Bramwell Pub Company (formerly Barracuda), who went into administration the same day.  The administrators, Zolfo Cooper, immediately set about closing 25 pubs. Although it hasn't officially been stated yet which ones have been shut, it's fairly safe to assume one of them is Trillians, seeing as how it's suddenly closed for business.

Trillians has been a part of Newcastle, and its rock scene in particular, for many years. From its early days in the 1960s as the Man In The Moon, through Jubilee 77/The Jubilee, to its most recent incarnation, it's seen all manner of performers ply their trade, including the Damned, Napalm Death, At The Gates, Diamond Head, Saxon, Blaze Bayley, All About Eve and who knows how many more, as well as being a prominent venue for local talent to play.

But its more than that.  There are memories in those walls.  From the tables that had tickets, CD covers, flyers and patches of bands like Iron Maiden, AC/DC and Black Sabbath, to the seemingly pointless spiral staircase that went nowhere; from squeezing through an immovable jam-packed throng on a Saturday night for half an hour just to get a drink at the bar, to sitting quietly at a table tucking into some chips in the mid afternoon; meeting friends, making new ones - some people, including "Mrs. Loud", the singer on Meat Loaf's hit "I'd Do Anything For Love", apparently found their future spouses inside the confines of the place.

And in the blink of an eye, it's gone.

Well, I did say maybe.

Not long after the announcement was made, a new group was founded: Save Trillians. And in the space of less than a day, it acquired almost 10,000 members.  So many people who had a lot of memories of Trillians (under any name), or just expressing their sorrow at its closure, or wondering if a new owner would keep it as a rock bar.  One member had even spoken to the administrators about the pub.  There's a large contingent of people who want to keep Trillians alive, and it only takes one to actually start the ball rolling.  But 10,000 can roll it so much quicker.

We've already lost the Mayfair. Let's not lose this as well.

Pigs, dogs and sheep.

Remember New Labour? I had a poster of a spoof colour chart once - things like a washed-out yellow labelled "Urine Stain", a murky brown with the tag "Skidmark", and the obligatory "Token Black". It also included a bold red - "Labour" - and a bold royal blue - "New Labour". There is no left and right in the Houses of Parliament. There is only those who crave power and those who wield it.  Or, as the late legendary Bill Hicks once said "It doesn't matter who you vote for, the Government always wins".  So the question becomes not whose policies are more agreeable to the voter, but whose lies are more palatable.

That said, the current wave of Tory aggression against the less privileged betrays a strong sense of prejudice and disdain from our nation's illustrious fois gras fed elite.  They tighten the noose around the neck of social housing families who have the unmitigated gall to have three bedrooms. They lobby to make it easier to fire people.  They allow employers to offer zero-hour contracts, solely to boost employment figures with no guarantee of income for those who take them.  They petition to control and prescribe the way you use the internet, restricting your freedom under the guise of protecting children - that reliable old chestnut that governments have used for generations to guilt the public into acquiescing to their demands.

And the elite? The top 3%?  They idly bicker in Parliament before retiring to their chambers and quaffing fine wine and brandy with their corporate sponsors.  They continue to award themselves fat bonuses for always doing a hard day's corruption.  They decline culpability for the oft-touted "global economic crisis" in favour of making sure YOU, the man on the street, the average joe, realise why it's your fault.  They punish you for speaking out of turn.  They have you incarcerated simply for voicing an opinion that disapproves of their decisions.  They obfuscate and distract.  They create elaborate smokescreens to incite public outrage at a dead celebrity paedophile while they encroach ever further on your civil rights and liberties. They satiate their vast avaricious appetite on a whim, all the while squeezing the life out of the majority that afforded them their gilded lofty perch, and doing so with a scotch in their hand, a smile on their face, and a room full of guffawing power mongers nodding, winking and smiling along with them.

And so the powerful are assured of their place in the stars, certain of their greatness, of how THEY alone improved society, while the rest of us struggle forward, battling against the corporate hurricane in a futile attempt to make life mean more than simply birth-school-work-death.

Thus, the underbelly starts to grumble.  People band together to build on an idea, an alternative to the long-sustained status quo.  The disenfranchised become more vocal. Protests and marches are organised. Hundreds, even thousands of people gather to make their voices heard.  And all in defiance of a powerful minority who simply don't listen.  So the grumble becomes a rage, the proverbial fire burning inside.  Protests become clashes. Marches become riots. The restless proletariat release their pent-up frustration, and violence ensues.

And then the pigs let loose their dogs.  The hounds of justice circle the disgruntled flock, pen them in, then attack. They bite, they claw, they savage, they rend, they bark and snarl.  They pick off the strays and take them back to the pound with them for a feeding frenzy. And thus are the masses put back in their place. Rebellion will not be tolerated.  Return to your homes. Return to your televisions, your reality programmes and quiz shows.  Return to your quiet complacency and your docile acceptance of the status quo.  Your leaders are in control once again.

Blather, rinse, repeat.

The LGBTQ Question

What are you? What am I?

It's an odd question, yet one we have been asking ourselves since the dawn of civilised man.  Philosophers have spent their entire lives debating the purpose of our being here, even if such a purpose exists beyond our own design.  Yet lately it seems to have taken on a more focused significance.

The gays are coming! The gays are coming! Lock up your... um... sons maybe? What about the lezzers? Daughters as well then? What do we do about this problem when there are so many puffs about?

The answer is so ludicrously simple it's barely worth mentioning, yet so many people insist on making an issue out of it.  Ready? Here it is... shut up, grow up, and get over it.


I've never understood homophobia. Now let's clear that up first off all: "homophobia".  It's generally understood that a phobia is a fear of something, usually an irrational one.  There's a meme circulating the likes of Facebook and other social media locales, often attributed to Morgan Freeman, that states "I hate the word ‘homophobia’. It’s not a phobia. You’re not scared. You’re just an asshole." It's a very valid, though not entirely accurate, statement to make.

Think of it like a pyramid. At the top, you have your churches, your presidents, your prime ministers - the apparent heads of society.  Then you trickle down to their underlings - priests, MPs, and so on.  This goes on and on until you finally get to those holding up these institutions - we the people.

Now, let's add an agenda to that, in this case, the LGBTQ question.  You've got your church leaders - for the sake of this argument, I'll go with the Christian church - telling us that homosexuality is a sin and an abomination.  They'll recite chapter and verse from the Bible to prove it.  Their cardinals and archbishops pass this on to their bishops and ministers, who pass it to their priests and vicars, who spread this message to their congregations.

Next, you add the bad.  The message becomes one of demonization - all homosexuals are homicidal paedophiles who sodomise goats and worship SATAN. They all engage in rampant, uninhibited Satanic debauchery and defilement of all that is holy.  I swear, I've actually seen all of the above, and more, used to refer to LGBTQ people.

Then, you personalise it. They're coming for YOUR children, living in YOUR neighbourhood, working in YOUR offices, walking the same streets, breathing the same air, going to the same shops, as YOU. Be careful or you'll catch the gay!

And thus you have the fear.

In other words, homophobia is as much about fear as it is hate.  This fear is partly engineered by our authority figures, but it is a fear nonetheless.  And it's an old axiom that we attack and hate what we fear.  Control through fear is nothing new; nations, religious institutions and other socio-political constructs have been at it for millennia.  Heck, even Star Wars used it - remember when Grand Moff Tarkin announced that the Imperial Senate was being dissolved?

But here's the problem. Right here. You're looking at it. You're using it right now.  The internet. The World Wide Web. Social media has given everyone the opportunity to have a voice, and those voices are loud and out of control.  And for every fear-mongering, misinformation peddling, hate-filled bigot who shouts "God hates fags" or some other uneducated buffoonery, there are many sites, blogs, Facebook pages and Twitter profiles promoting the idea of... get this... LOVE.

I know, crazy right?

In this writer's less-than-humble opinion, all this hatred and discrimination being levelled at the LGBTQ community is frankly ludicrous.  There are campaigns to abolish and criminalise non-straight sexualities in nations all over the world.  I've heard of lobbying to legalise flogging for being gay, death penalties being debated, social ostracising, company policies prohibiting homosexuality... all for what?  The prevention of someone being in love?

It's frequently touted that the Bible explicitly states homosexuality is evil (Leviticus 18:22, for example). This same book both prohibits (Leviticus 19:27) and demands (1 Corinthians 11:14) haircuts, for crying out loud!  Some people are so consumed with obeying the letter of the Bible that they give themselves headaches with all the contradictions contained within.  But here's the real kicker: some of these Christian folk... are you sitting down? Comfy?... are GAY! How does that work?!  How do you reconcile your faith with your sexuality? Oh, that's easy - with love.  I once asked a bisexual Catholic friend this question, and she answered, quite simply, that she adheres to and advocates the message of love, tolerance, respect and peace contained in the teachings of Christ. No room for all that hatred and persecution that folk like the Westboro Baptist Church bang on about.

Then there are the charges that same-sex marriage will lead to incestuous weddings, or that homosexuals are all paedophiles and rapists, or other such idiotic claims.  I can't decide whether these are hilarious or disturbing.  That some people would stoop so low as to make these accusations is both a damning indictment of the accusers, and completely unsurprising. Am I saying there aren't gay paedophiles? No I'm not - how many Catholic priests have been caught out? But to say all gays are paedophiles, or all paedophiles are gay, is nothing short of vile. One could make a realistic claim to it being a hate crime.

So what about the claim that it's a choice? Well, that's slightly more tricky - it can be argued that there is an element of choice involved. But here's the tricky part - it has been proven that a person's sexual orientation or gender identity is genetically encoded into them at birth. So where's the choice? Simple: acceptance or denial. You can accept who you are and be true to yourself, or you can supress it and live a lie. Social factors will, of course, have an influence in your direction, but at the end of it all, the decision is not to be gay or straight.  It's to be honest with yourself and everyone around you, or to live a lie and deceive your friends, your family and yourself.

It's not that simple, though.  And here's where the fear rears its ugly head again.  Coming out can be a major step for some, especially with family. Some will accept it and say it's OK. Some will say they already knew. And some, sadly, will react badly. They'll disown their "loved one" out, or become hostile, even violent, and the prospect of that can be overwhelming.  So sometimes, one will supress their true self to keep the peace, which can be just as painful and damaging.

Just don't give me that crap about "curing the gay" out of someone. It's not an illness, it's not a disease, it's not a condition. It's a state of being, a lifestyle, a way of life.  You can't cure life, you can only begin, live and end it. Curing it is a myth - all you do is supress it, deny it, pretend it's not real. You live a lie.

Thankfully, society has evolved a lot since Oscar Wilde was jailed. We're in a world where some of our best and brightest artists are openly gay. UK soap Coronation Street counts a trans woman and a number of gay and lesbian individuals among its characters.  Jim Parsons, Jodie Foster, Stephen Fry, Clive Barker, John Barrowman, George Takei, Graham Norton, KD Lang, Ellen DeGeneres, Anna Paquin, and hundreds of others have become immensely successful in music, theatre, literature, film and television, and all are gay, lesbian or bi.  Isreali singer and transsexual woman Dana International became the winner of the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest.  Eddie Izzard is an immensely successful comedian, actor and writer is not only open about his transvestism, but has regularly made it a part of his stage act.  Politicians, police officers, doctors, even vicars, have come out.  And across the world, love is finally winning - marriage is becoming a reality for thousands of gay and lesbian couples across the world. There is still much to do, but there is also palpable, observable progress. More and more people are thinking of LGBTQ people not as "one of them" but as "one of us" - not a group of people to be treated as a curiosity or an oddity or pariahs, but as human beings.

Personally, it doesn't matter to me what your orientation or gender is.  What matters is who you are as a person, a human being. Good people come from all walks of life, just as bad people do. Being straight, gay, bi or trans doesn't make you a bad person. It doesn't make you a good person either. It simply makes you who you are.

I hope this entry into my blog has been informative to some degree, and that it might, in some small way, be helpful to someone.  I hope I've not come across as patronising or uninformed, and I sincerely apologise if you do get that impression. This is just me trying to make sense of a senseless world in my own little way.

Thanks for reading. Constructive criticism and comments always welcome.