Some links

[thisbluespirit]

Well, it continues to be a week here: still nobody in charge, Labour still busy stabbing Jeremy Corbyn, who's still refusing to go; Nigel Farage hasn't vanished, race hate continues, and the most likely option right now seems that we'll Leave but stay in the Common Market, meaning that we keep pretty much everything that every Leave voter wanted not to have while not having the bonuses of MEPs, a veto, or the same level of funding, rights, and protections, making this the worst waste of time and money we've seen for as long as I can think, even before we get to the human cost in fear, hurt, and uncertainty.

Anyway, we all knew that already, so here are some hopefully vaguely cheering links. (Maybe?)

For some reason, despite some very specific anti-German hate in the Leave campaign, at least some Germans had a Twitter campaign to cheer up the UK and tell us that we're still loved.

Speculation on what exactly Arthur could do if he returned now. (Personally, I think he could be more useful than that: just think, he could chase Boris out of Downing Street and Nigel Farage out of the country*, the knights could roam around saving people from race hate, and Merlin might turn out to be a financial wizard, but amusing nevertheless.)

Petty as it is of me, I couldn't help finding it cathartic reading the MEPs shouting at Nigel Farage, including someone who asked him why the hell he was even an MEP when he hated Europe, which is a thing I've been thinking myself for a long time.

And when Nigel Farage was arguing with other MEPs the other day, one MEP behind him was visibly caught sitting with his head in his hands in despair: this is who the man in seat 123 is and what he had to say

In the not-cheerful box, but the awful thing that's so awful most people are still avoiding the subject as hard as they can: nobody in England seems to have been even thinking about Northern Ireland.


Meanwhile, in actual normal parliament sort of news (apparently that is still a thing), the Dept. of Transport were sneakily trying to kill a few of us on the quiet anyway by removing the hard shoulder on motorways.


Um, that wasn't all that cheerful, was it? It does all feel like we clicked on the wrong thingy on the computer and it started giving us melodramatic FATAL ERROR messages and that we really ought to be able to just reboot or do a system restore except we really really can't. (Also, gov'ts who think that an option is not viable in the current economic climate should under no circumstances hold a referendum where that option is one of only two available on the blithe assumption that not many people would tick that box, lol. And if they do, they should have an emergency plan just in case.)

Back to amusing things, I had completely forgotten that football was something anyone might be thinking about right now and when I hunted some of these links down, paused to wonder why the BBC were suggesting that people wanted David Beckham as PM. (They wanted him for England manager. But they said "take charge of England" and there's more than one vacancy in that department at the moment...)


ETA: I forgot to include this: practical advice on how to deal with hate crime incidents if you find yourself a bystander in one.


* Sometimes I'm not as democratic as I ought to be.

Comments

[aralias]

I enjoyed the Arthur thing - thanks. Although I also think he'd probably b v useful. He knows about uniting England - and he's interested in justice and protecting the weak, as you say.

Now I'm just getting disappointed that he's not coming!

[thisbluespirit]

Although if he started on about immigrants, he'd be wanting all these ango-saxon norman viking people out - Romans and Celts only!

Now I'm just getting disappointed that he's not coming!

Well, has anybody thought to check Glastonbury Tor or Cadbury or Alderley Edge lately? Hmm?? ;-D

ETA: I meant Cadbury in Somerset, which is supposed to be the most likely site of Camelot if there ever actually was a Camelot and not the Chocolate. But we should probably check up on that, too.

[st_aurafina]

The man in seat 123 seems like a really good person. I'm glad I read that link.

*hugs you gently* This is all so harsh and weird right now. (As we head into our election...)

[thisbluespirit]

I think so too - I had to share it. I like that he was honest about there being perfectly valid reasons to want to Leave or question the EU (because there are). It's just that here and now, like this, is clearly not it.

And, ha, good luck with yours! At least Elections are a bit fixable after a few years...

[thisiszircon]

It's hard to believe this is actually happening. The political short-sightedness, the in-fighting, the mendacious behaviour of populist egotists.

Re - the horrific and shameful incidents of hate crime reported in recent days:
Have you heard about the safety-pin campaign? I think it's a nice idea.

[thisbluespirit]

I know! :-/

And thanks for the link. I did see about it, but only a while after I made this post.

[grondfic.livejournal.com]

I'm holding on to football atm. as the one area of sanity (!!) in the chaos. England out at the sudden-death stage (check); quarter-finals start tonight (check); BBC have bagged the last vestige of the UK (Wales) still in the tournament, leaving ITV to deal with Cristiano Ronaldo (check); Germany, Italy and France still contenders (check); plucky outsiders (Iceland - check).

See - it's all perfectly normal!

PS: in a further act of lunacy, Michael Gove has just announced his candidacy for the PM job. Apparently he doesn't think Boris is up to the job (plus his wife told him to!)

[john_amend_all]

If he did it to stop Boris, it worked.

[thisbluespirit]

0_o

Which is good... I think. /o\

[thisbluespirit]

Ha, yes, nothing wrong with football - and wow, Wales are still in? Good luck to them! I just had a really stupid moment, probably because I was busy trying to re-find the EU articles I'd actually liked.

Which now begs the question of which of them is actually the more alarming? I suppose I'll have to look on the bright side and hope it was Boris!

[lycoris.livejournal.com]

Aw, bless the Germans, that was adorable. :) I approve. I think the only thing we can do at the moment is focus on the little individual acts of goodness, kindness and excellence - the rest of it is so beyond fixable at this point. *sighs* Just got to get on with it and try and show that we're not like the other fuckers.

[thisbluespirit]

It was, wasn't it? Given how many people keep going on about not letting the Germans tell us what to do, I've no idea why they're being so sweet, but I do appreciate it. And, yes, I agree. I wasn't meaning to make another post on the subject, but I wanted to share some of these! <3

[a-phoenixdragon.livejournal.com]

These are all awesome links...and I wanna be on the Daily Mash list!! Tis like the Onion...but with Continental Flavoring. *CACKLES*

OMG...all of this.YES. And thank you. And yes.

*squishes you silly*

[thisbluespirit]

Glad you liked them - I know you've been following all of this closely, so do share in some tiny bit more positive things.

[elen_nare]

The German twitter campaign is lovely, and I agree that Arthur could be more useful than that! And yes, people shouting at Nigel Farage is most cathartic.

Also, gov'ts who think that an option is not viable in the current economic climate should under no circumstances hold a referendum where that option is one of only two available on the blithe assumption that not many people would tick that box, lol. And if they do, they should have an emergency plan just in case.
Yes, quite! (Mind you, people should also not tick a box they don't actually want just because they think it won't win but will piss off the gov't, either...)

Honestly, David Beckham for PM doesn't seem that absurd right now! (My dad is now hoping Iceland knock out France too.)

[thisbluespirit]

Shouting at Nigel Farage doesn't really help anything, but I think a lot of us would like to & know we never would or could, so yes.

And, lol, yes! Frankly, there are a lot of people who'd look like a better choice than this group of Tories. or the Labour party, who are apparently more intent on their party than worrying about the country.

[lexigent.livejournal.com]

Thank you for linking these. The Daily Mash thing and the German social media campaign were lovely.

[thisbluespirit]

My pleasure! Despite the horribleness of the situation right now, it's good to know that there are still some good people and things around.

*sends hugs*

[liadt]

Yay, Germany:) Waves cosmic LPs in air. And in other cheerful things outside Tescos I saw an elderly English man talking to a Pole on Monday about the footy so even in Hate Town UK it's not all racists.

And on it continues... But now I know why Boris isn't in the running, he's stepped aside for King Arthur!

I'm glad the man in seat 123 doesn't want to punish he UK for voting leave.

I think Farage is over. He's the leader of a one issue party and made a twit of himself in Brussels. Nobody I've talked to is impressed with him.

I still don't see why brexit can't be cancelled as the leave voters won't get what they wanted and obv the remain aren't either.

[thisbluespirit]

No, it's not all bad. It just felt very like it for a while - and now there's just the awful feeling of the best case scenario being okay but dreary, with still some worst case scenarios not quite banished, I think. :-/

Yes, I hope so re. Farage and UKIP, but I rather suspect having gained momentum and power over this, they're not going to disappear that easily. Here's to hoping I'm wrong, though!

I still don't see why brexit can't be cancelled as the leave voters won't get what they wanted and obv the remain aren't either.

Yeah, enough now, call it a draw and call it all off, thanks. I think there are just a lot of questions about how it looks if you offer something up to the will of the people and then don't go with it because you didn't like the answer. But, yeah, I can't see many Leave voters being thrilled with that solution. Still, better than the end of the world, right? ;-)

[classics-lover.livejournal.com]

(Saying this as someone who grew up in the Republic during the tail end of the Troubles (I was 13 when Omagh happened)) The Brits will remember Northern Ireland as soon as the next IRA phone call telling them there's a bomb somewhere. If there is a referendum for a united Ireland there will be a lot more violence, which deeply saddens me. I would *love* to live in a united Ireland where England has no jurisdiction - well, after Brexit, I would. We were all perfectly happy the last ten years or so. *sigh*

[thisbluespirit]

Indeed! I have a close friend in Belfast, and I know via her and visiting her just a tiny bit of how hard-won and valued this decade of peace has been. I'm still trying to even think what to say to her when next we speak. :-/ I just hope that something can be worked out without a return to the violence of previous years - but it'll be no thanks to England's Leave vote or its leaders, that's for sure.

[classics-lover.livejournal.com]

Honestly, Farage really should have met with Gerry Adams for a quiet word before spouting off. I don't agree with the man, but the leader of the IRA might have made him shut up for a minute and think. It's such a mess.

[daibhid-c.livejournal.com]

"including someone who asked him why the hell he was even an MEP when he hated Europe, which is a thing I've been thinking myself for a long time."

I swear, Scotland's UKIP MEP, without a trace of irony, was saying much the same thing on the Twitter about the SNP in Westminster...

[thisbluespirit]

Heh, it's not really hard to believe...

[scripsi.livejournal.com]

I read somewhere today where someone said something along the lines that all this is like it was Baldrick who had came up with it...

[thisbluespirit]

I think I saw someone saying, "At least Baldrick had a plan..." Which is fair enough, really!

[scripsi.livejournal.com]

He had- and they were cunning too! :D

[swordznsorcery.livejournal.com]

Good links! I'm particularly taken with the idea of Arthur returning. He has a big sword, and he can wield it in the general direction of Boris Johnson and Ian Duncan Smith. I'm not sure I'd encourage him to dirty it with Nigel Farage, but that might be overly nasty of me. Thank you for the bit about the man in seat 123, by the way! I'd seen the footage of his spectacular facepalm, but it was certainly worth reading his views. Sounds like an interesting bloke, too.


Sometimes I'm not as democratic as I ought to be.

Democracy is pretty rubbish, but is better than the alternative, as somebody I ought to be able to name once said (though not in those exact words). However, it was democracy that got us into this mess, so it'll just have to put up with being glared at for a bit.

[thisbluespirit]

Glad you liked the links! And it was Winston Churchill who said that, wasn't it, and who believes the words of a Tory these days? ;-D

[weaselett.livejournal.com]

It is all an epic mess *face palms* (and the children MPs continue to fight, as though it helps - I have started to wonder what the lib dems are up to....)
We had heard about the hard shoulder nonsense (our section of the M6 is apparently the perfect place for trying these things, as it's quiet and safe....according to the south) - and there's the whole no one talk about the conservatives repelling the Human Rights Act (instead of amending the one bit they want to change - the idiots).

*throws up hands* - I have been wating lots of cake.

But Wales are still in the football, and Andy Murray is progressing at wimbledon......

[thisbluespirit]

Cake is probably the best solution, indede. *nods* *hides from all the rest of it*

[lindahoyland.livejournal.com]

Great links. We need King Arthur! At least Boris isn't standing for PM.

[thisbluespirit]

Yes, I'm not sure how much better the alternatives are right now, but Boris is clearly a liability, so it is good to know we're not getting him at least!

[oonaseckar.livejournal.com]

Just one 'Et tu, Brute?' after another, isn't it. I think I detect a homicidal glint in Corbyn's eye at this point. That man is the definition of 'I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore.'

we really ought to be able to just reboot or do a system restore
I'm voting for a time machine. Or I would, if we had a referendum on it.

I can't see how David Beckham could do a worse job than any of the current clueless crop of contenders. He'd probably have kept us in Europe on the basis of having mates in European teams, and how would we have been worse off?

[thisbluespirit]

He could be manager and PM - I'm sure someone could hold down both of those posts at once without problem, or ever getting confused and making the Cabinet jog round Westminster to keep fit. :-)

A time machine would be handy, but if we went back in time to stop ourselves, it would be a paradox and we've already screwed up the UK, we don't want to screw up the entire timeline...

[oonaseckar.livejournal.com]

Nah, you've watched too much DW. How could things be more screwed up? How do we know a paradox is bad until we give it a go? Timey-wimey fun! Ten had it right: "The laws of time are mine, and they will obey me!"

[thisbluespirit]

... are you quoting the Time Lord Victorious?

*worries*

[oonaseckar.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I like that one best! heh. No sissy doubts and qualms at all...

Adelaide was v. inspiring though. Some UST there with the Doc? (Any fic?)

Also, Eleven thus: 'I take Keep Out signs as suggestions more than actual orders'... It's not like he reformed much over regenerations, not really...

[thisbluespirit]

LOL! *backs away from you cautiously* :-p

Well, there's fic and this shippy one is by an excellent author, so worth a shot.

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

Speculation on what exactly Arthur could do if he returned now.

Oh dear... My first thought was of Arthur from Cabin Pressure. So, I don't think he could fix things but I'm positive he'd do his best to get everyone looking on the bright side.

Arthur of the Britons would have been a very different series with him in it, wouldn't it? :oD

[thisbluespirit]

:loL: I didn't know that Arthur had even left! ;-)

[flowsoffire.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

Nigel Farage hasn't vanished
Well, he has now, from what I could gather! At least there's that. ♥

[thisbluespirit]

Thanks! And apparently Nigel Farage has resigned as leader of UKIP three times already, so I think we need to wait a bit before we dare to assume he's really gone this time.

[flowsoffire.livejournal.com]

…oh.

Golden rule: <>never trust a populist's words ;P