Britannia used to rule the waves, now it assaults defenceless folks in tiny boats to deflect from its personal sinking standing

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The British as soon as had the best navy on the planet. Now we’re making a giant deal of ‘defending’ ourselves from an imaginary ‘invasion’ of refugees with the intention to distract from our embarrassing collapse into financial and ethical destroy.

“Rule, Britannia! Britannia, rule the waves! Britons by no means, by no means, by no means shall be slaves.”

If you happen to’re not conscious, these are the opening traces from the refrain of Rule, Britannia! – a well-liked patriotic ditty from the 18th century nonetheless sung with vigour at present, most notably on the Final Night time of the Proms.

For the 18th century, it’s a banger and positively one to get the patriotic juices flowing. It’s an anthem that stirs ideas of Britain’s nice maritime previous, from Drake’s defeat of the Spanish Armada by way of Prepare dinner’s voyages of discovery, some very profitable piracy, and Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar, to the heroics of World Struggle II and a treasure chest filled with Olympic crusing medals. This small island nation has defended its borders (whereas invading a couple of others) with out breach for almost 1,000 years due in no small half to our naval prowess. In brief, traditionally, we’re actually good at sea.

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Which makes this week’s huge UK information story all of the extra embarrassing as our authorities and media made this small island nation appear like it has a small island mentality.

What’s that information? The most important recession within the nation’s historical past and the G7’s worst-performing financial system? Nope. How in regards to the regular enhance in recorded Covid-19 instances? Nah. The massive information is… little boats of refugees are crossing the English channel. 

The federal government has finished what it all the time does – it’s brought on a distraction from its personal failings by blaming an ‘different.’ Generally that ‘different’ can defend itself, like China or Russia, however whenever you’re metaphorically in deep water, the federal government’s favorite factor to do is level at determined, defenceless folks actually in deep water and blame them for all the issues they’ve brought on. It’s not a lot dog-whistle xenophobia as loudly shouting, “Assault the foreigners, Fido!”

And the press has been a keen pooch. 

Going by British media protection, you’d suppose it was the D-Day landings in reverse: a fleet of lazy or prison ‘others’ coming to “take our advantages.” The mainstream media – BBC and all – have fashioned an precise flotilla within the Channel, ready like fishermen for the little dinghies carrying the refugees, earlier than pursuing them with all of the fevered ardour of Captain Ahab going after Moby Dick, simply with bland questions being hurled on the prey as an alternative of harpoons, clicks and likes their haul. 

The language is of an “invasion” by folks with nothing however the garments on their again. The federal government even appointed a ‘Clandestine Channel Risk Commander’ to guard our shores. I can solely assume that it’s the menace that’s purported to be clandestine and never the commander, seeing as he’s been named and photographed with the house secretary, which isn’t very clandestine. 

Is that this what we’re scared of now? German U-boats (correctly clandestine, them) and the would possibly of the Spanish Armada have been one factor, however heavens shield us from marauding dentists and gardeners hitting Margate seaside armed with orange life vests and sorrowful tales of their houses being destroyed. 

Britannia Guidelines the waves, so long as there’s no precise menace in them.

Put apart the rights, wrongs and in-betweens of a rustic accepting refugees from a Center East hellhole that it helped create. Overlook the truth that no proof or statistics again up the fears round asylum seekers, that the UK takes far fewer than some smaller European international locations and that, removed from desirous to “destroy our lifestyle,” refugees are extra passionate about the UK than its personal residents.

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Overlook, too, the humanitarian side, which made cupboard ministers so delicate that they acquired upset when some ice cream known as them out over it. And that we may in all probability do with some contemporary blood round right here, having misplaced report numbers of individuals to Covid-19 (sorry, we’re not supposed to say that).

Overlook all that. That’s one other debate. What’s necessary right here is that the massive guys (the federal government and the media) are utilizing the little guys to divert our consideration away from the way it’s failed its personal folks and, properly, it’s all a bit pathetic.

Choosing on the ‘different’ is the oldest trick within the ebook and but it really works, which might be why it’s nonetheless within the ebook. In keeping with a YouGov ballot, half of Britons have “little or no sympathy” for the refugees crossing the Channel. (It’s superb how short-lived the All Lives Matter slogan was.) It’s an perspective born of a number of components. Now we have an island mentality and a army and colonial previous that offers some folks a way of superiority and entitlement that’s very laborious to shake (or justify).

It’s additionally resulting from a story constructed by successive governments pandering to right-wing extremes as a result of tragic Little Englander elitists like Nigel Farage whipped up a big variety of votes by hating on foreigners after the 2008 financial crash – and people governments fancied having these votes. Even the Labour Celebration has a forest of splinters in its collective bottom from leaping on, off and over the fence on immigration making an attempt to learn the citizens.

However it’s primarily resulting from the truth that we’ve had years and years of an absolute clown present in Quantity 10, with the present troupe, led by Bozo, probably the almost certainly to see the automotive absolutely collapse beneath it. And they also’ve constantly pointed on the ‘others,’ blaming them for all our issues, because the tent burns within the distance. This has been gleefully echoed by the media who, in the identical manner as the federal government desires votes, need gross sales and clicks and suppose that is a straightforward strategy to get them. Which, sadly, it’s.

That is what Britannia has grow to be: an institution of incompetent bullies choosing on the little man and blaming him for all of the ways in which it’s made our homegrown little guys’ lives suck. 

Now, as we drift in our personal crappy little dinghy via the Strait of Believing All the things We Learn in direction of more and more jagged financial rocks and the iceberg of Brexit past, nonetheless pointing and shouting at some poor soul making an attempt to leg it from battle or famine, I can solely think about the good captains and admirals of the previous handing over Davy Jones’ locker – and it provides me a sinking feeling.

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