MEME MONDAY #61

Karl's absence continued last week and Richey tried his best to fill in the gaps with some topical efforts...

Mon 10 Nov - 216 shares

Tue 11 Nov - 33 shares

Tue 11 Nov - 135 shares

Wed 12 Nov - 44 shares

Wed 12 Nov - 64 shares

Thu 13 Nov - 117 shares

Sat 15 Nov - 56 shares

Sat 15 Nov - 1,430 shares

Sun 16 Nov - 82 shares

Sun 16 Nov - 82 shares

The only Facebook Story published last week was a personal message from Karl, who has spent the last fortnight away from home dealing with a close family bereavement.  He is very grateful for the messages of support.

HITCHENS VS HODGES

TalkRadio's Mike Graham chaired what was billed as the 'Great Lockdown Debate' on Thursday, albeit there were only two participants.  Lockdown sceptic Peter Hitchens went up against his Mail on Sunday colleague Dan Hodges, a lockdown enthusiast and former Labour member.  There's clearly no love lost between them, but the virtual debate was largely devoid of excitement and while neither scored a knockout blow, Hitchens spoke last and delivered a scorcher that Hodges could only nod helplessly in acknowledgment.  It was perhaps well-deserved, seeing as Hodges had repeatedly goaded Hitchens throughout by using the word 'denier' as opposed to 'sceptic', a tactic used by journalists to smear lockdown opponents and conflate them with Covid conspiracy theorists.

The full 53 minute debate can be seen below (contains ads).

A couple of months ago Owen Jones tried to get the better of Hitchens on lockdown and ended up being schooled.  For Hodges to hold his own against the same opponent is yet another humiliation for the wee lad.  Jones and his pal Ash Sarkar despise Hodges, who they regard as a Blarite scab who left the party after Corbyn took over.  The truth is that Jones is an amateur who remains a small boy in a man's world.

HITCHENS SCHOOLS LITTLE OWEN

The Guardian's Owen Jones rocked up to his Zoom call with the Mail on Sunday's Peter Hitchens arrogantly expecting a scalp and ended up on the receiving end of a lockdown lesson.  Central to their debate was the question of whether lockdowns were effective and, in particular, whether or not the initial spring lockdown was primarily responsible for bringing down infections.  Lockdown enthusiast Little Owen refused to concede the argument and the pair went round in circles until a final monologue from Hitchens laid bare the dire consequences that will weigh heavily on this country for years to come.

Watch the best bits below.

Hitchens is spot on, of course.  It may not have dawned on everyone to begin with - BTLP included - but sooner or later the grievance and anger will engulf millions, including some of the most ardent lockdown enthusiasts of today.

HARD TO ARGUE WITH HITCHENS

Peter Hitchens has been a critic of the government's approach to the pandemic since the outset, arguing that authoritarian measures such as lockdowns and mandatory face masks are a huge overreaction.  He accepts the virus is real and a threat to life, but makes his case eloquently and without resorting to any of the nonsense espoused by the likes of Piers Corbyn and his band of Covid-deniers.

Hitchens has conducted many lengthy interviews throughout the year, but a condensed snippet of some of his views can be found in the 7 minute clip below, in which he has an impromptu chat with fellow lockdown critic Francis O'Neill.

It's hard to argue with his rational train of thought, but even as the economic catastrophe begins to unfold a shrinking number will insist on doing just that.

For more in depth interviews exploring Hitchens' thinking, please visit the YouTube links below.

Interview with John Anderson (April 2020)

Interview with PoliticsJoe (May 2020)

Interview with Mike Graham (September 2020)

THE HARASSMENT OF HITCHENS

Peter Hitchens watches as protesters 'take the knee' at Oxford University

Mail On Sunday columnist Peter Hitchens has been keeping a close eye on events in Oxford.  The campaign to bring down the statue of Cecil Rhodes from the Oriel College building was reignited recently after the mob tore down the Colston statue in Bristol.  A protest was organised the very next day and Peter Hitchens was there to observe.  A photograph of him standing while the protesters 'took the knee' made him an instant target.

He was back in Oxford again on Tuesday as the protesters marched again.  This time they singled him out and gave him the loudspeaker treatment.  The following video was posted online yesterday showing Hitchens being followed by the mob while they chant "Peter Hitchens has to go".

The person who posted the video made several outlandish claims about Hitchens, saying he was there to "goad the protesters" and was spouting "racist shit".  Aaron Gabriel, who describes himself as a 'professional trans person', said he asked Hitchens to leave as "his presence was upsetting".  Gabriel's assessment that the protesters made Hitchens "look so small and insignificant" is clearly not what most people see in the video.  The way in which the journalist strolls so nonchalantly and carefree as the mob follow him and chant his name shows a man of great integrity.  He looks ten feet tall, stoic and effortlessly dignified.  Hitchens even defended many of the protesters in a tweet, saying: "Most of the crowd were very good-natured.  I had interesting conversations with several of them".  Big man.

Conversely, once he obtains his PhD in French philosophy, Hitchens' antagonist Aaron Gabriel will clearly go far in life!

The political journey of Peter Hitchens is yet another example that bodes well for the future.  He was himself once on the left and briefly a member of the Labour Party in the 1970s.  It's highly doubtful that many of those trying to intimidate him will be quite as Marxist-oriented by the time they get to his age.  Once they have departed the hard left arena of further education and spent a few years in the real world, they will begin to learn that the doctrine they currently promote spells disaster in practice.