Hate: It Needs To End

Hate.

Commonplace, misplaced, hate.

The pundits might be debating the reason behind the tragic death of MP Jo Cox, but from where I’m sitting it appears to be the harrowing result of the hatred pushed on us through our papers and screens on a daily basis. Jo Cox was a bright shining light in this world. Her life was stubbed out by a knife and a gun. But ultimately, her life was extinguished by the unchecked hate that we, as a society, have allowed to grow. Though we may nod our heads gently in agreement, we are (nearly) all guilty of standing by and allowing this hatred to go unchallenged. Surely now we should be saying can say enough is enough.

This hatred isn’t new to the EU referendum. Political campaigns have been fought on hatred for decades; race and immigration have formed the backbone of this hate. Back in the 1960s part of the Conservative party used an election slogan that read ‘If you want a n*&&£$ for a neighbour, vote labour’. The poster that Farage unleashed just hours before this senseless murder, was just a more subtle equivalent. Showing a ‘swarm’ of brown faces that would be unleashed on our shores should we remain in the EU. The irony of this hatred, given Britain invaded and colonised countries, making them British territories for decades, and the millions of Britain’s who enjoy the hospitality and benefits of a life abroad as we speak, is a topic for another day.

I’m not using this moment to make a heartfelt call to stay or leave the EU, I don’t think the death of another human is the time to do that. No, I’m using this despicable act to make a call for the end to this hatred. I’m taking the opportunity to address our collective conscious and ask what hatred have you let slip through unchallenged today? What will you pass over as not worth correcting tomorrow? The claim that migrants are taking all our jobs? The contradictory-claim that migrants are stealing all our benefits? Or the audacious claim that migrants are breaking our fragile NHS? I could go on.

These claims are banded around left, right and centre – EU referendum or no EU referendum. But where are the facts? We are a relatively well educated population by global standards, yet for some reason we allow vitriol and lies to fill our papers and our screens day in day out without a concerted effort to challenge it. The facts are there, available for anyone to access should they so wish. The fact that migrants pay more into the tax system than they ever take out. The fact that migrants do not have an overall impact on unemployment rates. The fact that migrants are essential for the NHS to function. The real facts go on and on. 

The freedom we give our press is not intended to let them print lies with impunity. Yet the lies they espouse seem to belie another reality. Occasionally, when promoted to do so, these lies are followed by a small, missable apology in the bottom most corner of the paper. These apologies mean nothing. They come too late; after the coals of fear and hate-mongering have been stoked no-one seems to care for the facts. The reader has long forgotten where this hatred came from, all they know are the feelings which have been whipped up into a frenzy inside their very being. Feelings of hatred and fear. Feelings which may ultimately have sent one man to the brink from which there was no return.

Jo Cox was an inspiring and amazing woman. She didn’t push hatred and fear, she tried to bridge relations within her community – locally and globally. She tried to challenge violence across the world. That Jo has now paid the ultimate price for this hatred we have allowed to fester on our shores; that her children will now pay the most extreme of all prices for the rest of their lives, is unthinkable. But this is the reality. If we allow the press to promote this hatred, to bring it into our lives on a daily basis, people will learn to accept it as a norm. And some people, people who may be vulnerable or unwell, may even take it as a call to arms. The main tabloid papers may not claim outright support for the likes of Britain First, but that’s the hatred they are peddling day in day out; they are becoming the Anjem Choudary of white Britain.

The hatred the British press show towards anyone born outside these perfect isles appears beyond reproach. Yet it is this hatred that is the biggest abomination facing our society today. This hatred has created a situation where a woman can be killed on a day at work. Our hatred is breeding hate. I’m a mother. The idea that my son will grow up surrounded by this hatred fills me with dread.

Surely enough is enough.

Tonight, two small children go to sleep without their mother.

Today, we have lost one of the brightest lights in this world of hate.

Next time you hear the hatred creeping out, remember; the inaction of many provides the space for this hatred to prosper. Until we can all hold our heads high and say we are challenging this hatred then we should hang our heads in shame at the role we as a society have played in the tragic death of Jo Cox.

 

My thoughts and wishes are with Jo’s family and friends at this impossibly difficult time. 

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