I was thinking about this Twitter post when I woke up:
Alex Armstrong works for GB News. Crucially however in his bio heâs listed as a contributor to the BBC. Impartiality in UK politics has been extinct since the 1990âs, and is only enforced on actual Election day due to an act of Parliament. I promise Iâm not pivoting to a political standpoint, there are people like
who do the job far more beautifully than I ever will.I picked this Tweet because of its contrary stances on how the male gaze has poisoned womenâs existences. Dr Sweetâs âstatement of factsâ is as flawed as Armstrongâs: class is irrelevant. A woman can wear what they wish. A woman wears what makes her happy, why on earth does their upbringing have any bearing on choice? It is only social convention that demands women look a certain way in particular circumstances. Thatâs the point.
What women choose to wear is nobodyâs business but their own.
If you can watch the video, please do. This country was built on some terrible, awful things that white people, and white people alone, did as what many others still call progress. We stole artefacts and personal belongings that, in the majority of cases, have never been returned. Millions of people died in the name of colonisation. Slavery was the accepted norm. Being British should never, ever require the level of fealty that conservatives claim is essential to maintain unity.
True unity is loving family as well as your ancestry. It is accepting that this country is only as strong as the support we offer each other and the encouragement we give those who need it most. It should never be performative, and crucially it must never be tainted by the need to be seen to be better than anybody else. We are one family. This island is our home.
We all need to find ways of preserving and nurturing our places within it.
I have been lucky enough to have been taught in the last few years by some remarkable people:
, , Rachel Long, Zena Edwards, John McCullough⌠itâs a long list of poets who all make me think past myself. They force me away from the comfort of normal into the fantastic, the space where all that matters is being satisfied my voice is being heard.Learning past your own existence is crucial. Seeing people as they truly are and not how other people tell you to see them REALLY matters. Learning to identify and remove the classifiers and caveats other people pin on their actions or responses has never been more important than it is now. Your life is nobody elseâs but your own. To live, you must know what works for you and what doesnât.
There is so much noise right now stopping us from doing what needs to be done.
Growth is possible at 57. Itâs possible at any age. You donât stop learning, it is always possible to improve a situation. What matters most is honesty with the self. Life is a series of exchanges, the outcomes of which then provide you with a point in going forward. I often overthink things to the point of damaging my own creativity. Thatâs what we are being honest about today.
Once weâve found a way to make that easier, weâll pick something else. For now, I know that todayâs post is only possible because of the love and support of people who know I am not perfect, but love me regardless of my shortcomings. By their support and encouragement I will not stop growing until I am returned to the earth. That is living well, I think. Everything else is a bonus.
Donât let other peopleâs opinions destroy the facts of your own existence.
I agree wholeheartedly with this sentiment. I feel Iâm swimming upstream (and I canât swim ). Other writers other creatives and family keep me going. Each new day as you wrote previously is a fresh start. Thank you.