The controversial British tabloid journalist Katie Hopkins often calls London Mayor Sadiq Khan ‘Khant.’
https://twitter.com/KTHopkins/status/889499737426210816
But the Mayor is not necessarily such a Khant-do as Hopkins would appear to imply. On some level, Khan deserves respect for his realism about terrorism. Terrorism is indeed a reality of today’s UK, so perhaps it is wrong to condemn the messenger:
It is a reality I’m afraid that London, New York, other major cities around the world have got to be prepared for these sorts of things.
The fact that such comments have proven ‘controversial’ is deeply unsettling.
This is a further development of the ‘new normal.’ I expect that in future, there will be more clashes between both far right factions: Islamists and white nationalists. It seems inevitable. Terrorism is likely to get larger in scale (perhaps even much much larger) before the crisis diminishes.
As my Sputnik article says, various factions are to blame.
It’s important to take a comprehensive view.
It’s important to attribute blame and responsibility alike to all relevant factions.
Jihadi choppers.
Islamists.
White nationalists.
The anti-Islamophobia industry and general victimhood peddlers.
The corrupt press and dishonest politicians of all political persuasions.
It is too late to talk about curbing the threat of the white nationalist far right. The rise of these thugs is a direct consequence of a substantial % of the media and politicians too.
The regressive left’s wanton trivialization of Islamism/Jihadism. Too few real, actual liberals & socialists were prepared to speak up. Conservatives, too, have bought into PC rhetoric; whether out of cowardice, or out of some low desire for gaining material or spiritual capital at a knockdown price.
And what happened in the end?
White nationalists have filled the vacuum. This was 100% predictable.
And why is anybody surprised? Come on now! Get a grip! The recent unforgivable terrorist atrocities by white nationalists were 100% predictable. It’s exactly what any reasonable person would expect.
And I don’t expect to see any huge progress soon in containing and rolling back ‘Alt-Islam,’ if you will. Alt-Islam, or the religious branch of the Alt-Right, the God-bothering faction of the Far Right; they are here to stay, albeit not forever.
This is not pessimism; it is realism. The battle can be won, but it is a generational struggle; it requires courage and determination. Incremental progress will be made, and even huge gains from time to time; but there will also be many setbacks.
And worse, many losses.
Human losses.
So, whenever people like Sadiq Khan tell you the cold hard truth, please listen in future. Khan has given the realist version, not the fanciful head-in-sand version, so of course he should be respected for that.
Everybody else should learn from Sadiq Khan’s hard-headedness. Let’s not be naive, & think this situation is easy to work with.
Image attribution:
By Katy Blackwood (Crop of original image by Katy Blackwood) [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons
