Elitism denied: Probably imperative in a democracy
I have a faint claim on an elite identity, in that I have a social science doctorate and a past career as a university teacher, so I was a bit amused by the story below. I really, really am the son of a lumberjack and went to a small and undistinguished Austalian country school. So I am clearly not elite enough
The Eton Wall Game above. Britain's "Public" schools seem to be as influential as ever
During the first TV debate of this year’s election campaign pollster James Johnson handed a thousand viewers a ‘worm’ tracker to monitor their instinctive reactions. In an otherwise tetchy and uneventful hour, one moment elicited a notable bump in Keir Starmer’s favourability. ‘My Dad worked in a factory, he was a toolmaker’, Starmer explained, speaking directly to the camera. ‘We didn’t have a lot of money, and on occasion we were in a position where we couldn’t pay our bills…so I know how that feels’. The worm surged.
A week later at the second leaders debate Starmer told the same origin story. This time the audience audibly groaned. When powerful people successfully convince the general public they’re perfectly ordinary the implications can be powerful. But as this illustrates expressions of ordinariness don’t always land. We also saw this at play when Rishi Sunak – son of a doctor and educated at the elite Winchester College – tried to hark back to his immigrant grandmother to ground himself in a rags-to-riches story in the 2022 Tory leadership campaign. Or more recently when he claimed he ‘went without lots of things’ as a child, including Sky TV. Claiming ordinariness can backfire.
But Starmer and Sunak are not the only influential people to navigate the treacherous terrain of how to tell your backstory. In our new book, Born to Rule: The Making and Remaking of the British Elite, we interviewed hundreds of influential people who told us an upward origin story. But like Sunak many of these claims were questionable. When we surveyed over 3000 entrants of Who’s Who - Britain’s longstanding catalogue of ‘influential and noteworthy’ individuals – we found that 43% of those that told us they came from working-class backgrounds had actually grown up in families where their parents did solidly middle-class professional work.
In interviews this played out in subtle ways. Many mentioned some aspects of their upbringing but omitted others. Others downplayed childhood experiences that might signal privilege; they stressed the inexpensive nature of their private schooling, the periods of economic uncertainty their family had faced, or the working-class struggle of their grandparents. There was a sense that instinctively many felt moved to cast their origin in a humble light. One CEO, Mary (not her real name), explained that she had even gone as far as hiding her elite private schooling from colleagues, and had deliberately omitted it from her Who’s Who profile.
Deflecting privilege is one part of a wider strategy we detected among today’s elite to present themselves as ordinary, regular, and unspectacular. These people generally eschewed their influence, and directly counterposed their meritocratic trajectories with the stuffy aristocratic elites of the past. Claims to ordinariness were also staked via lifestyle. Analysing the changing ‘recreations’ expressed in 70,000 Who’s Who profiles over the last 125 years, our analysis provides a unique window in
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Strange bedfellows over Israel
I find it very hard to comprehend hatred of Israel. I have always seen Israel as a great triumph of the human spirit
Just as Nazis and Soviets once joined forces against a common foe, so too have groups as diverse as the Greens political party, far-left academics, Trotskyites and Islamists found themselves aligned in their opposition to Israel. Despite their differing ideologies and goals, these groups have united in a shared disdain for the Jewish state, finding in each other a temporary ally in the struggle against a common enemy.
Genesis of the alliance
At first glance, the coming together of these groups seems improbable. The Australian Greens, a political party that once focused purely on environmental issues, now aligns with far-left academics who dominate the intellectual landscape of our universities. These academics, steeped in Marxist theory, find common ground with Trotskyites who advocate for permanent revolution, and with Islamists whose vision for the world is rooted in religious law and the establishment of a global caliphate. What binds them together is not shared values but a shared enemy – Israel.
To understand how these strange bedfellows have united, one must look beyond their surface-level differences and explore the deeper currents of ideology and emotion that drive them.
The Greens have long abandoned their single-issue focus on the environment, instead embracing a broader social justice agenda that includes fervent opposition to Israel.
Their rhetoric, once centred on climate change and conservation, now includes sharp criticism of Israel’s policies towards the Palestinians, framing the Jewish state as a colonial oppressor.
Far-left academics, for their part, have embraced a view that sees the world through the lens of oppressor and oppressed. In their narrative, Israel represents the last vestige of Western imperialism, a state that was born of colonialism and continues to perpetuate injustice against the Palestinian people.
These academics have indoctrinated generations of students with this perspective, creating a climate on university campuses where any defence of Israel is met with hostility and attacks on Jews, as supporters of Israel, are acceptable.
Trotskyites, whose revolutionary zeal has survived the collapse of the Soviet Union, see Israel as a symbol of capitalism and Western dominance. For them, the struggle against Israel is part of a broader struggle against the global capitalist system. They view the Palestinian cause as a rallying point for anti-imperialist movements worldwide and they are willing to align with any group that shares their goal of dismantling the current world order.
Islamists, meanwhile, have their own reasons for opposing Israel. Their opposition is rooted not in secular ideology but in religious conviction. They view the existence of a Jewish state in the heart of the Muslim world as a direct affront to their faith.
For Islamists, such as Hamas and its fellow travellers in the West, the destruction of Israel is a religious duty and they are willing to make common cause with secular leftists to achieve this goal.
Nature of the alliance
This alliance is not one of mutual respect or shared values; it is an alliance of convenience, forged in the fires of hatred towards a common enemy.
Like the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, it is a fragile and unstable coalition, held together not by love but by loathing. The various factions within this alliance are often at odds with each other on other issues, but when it comes to Israel they are united in their opposition.
What is striking about this coalition is how effectively it has managed to bring together groups that otherwise would be in direct conflict.
The Greens, who champion LGBTQ+ rights, have aligned themselves with Islamists who advocate for sharia law, under which homosexuality is punishable by death. Far-left academics, who preach the virtues of feminism and gender equality, have found common ground with Trotskyites who historically dismissed women’s issues as secondary to class struggle.
This alliance is held together by a shared narrative – one that casts Israel as the ultimate villain in a global drama.
In this narrative, Israel is not just a country with its own interests and security concerns; it is the embodiment of all that is wrong with the world. It is portrayed as a colonialist, apartheid state that oppresses the Palestinians with the full backing of Western powers.
This narrative is repeated endlessly in classrooms, media outlets and political discourse, reinforcing the belief that opposition to Israel is a moral imperative.
And this portrayal of Israel is increasingly tinged with disdain for Jewish people everywhere, so much so that historical anti-Semitic tropes are again rising to the surface of public discourse and violence against Jews, as in the 1940s, is justified.
The role of universities
The universities play a critical role in sustaining this alliance. It is on campus that young minds are shaped and indoctrinated with the idea that Israel is the villain in the story of global injustice.
Far-left academics, who dominate the humanities and social sciences, have used their positions of power to promote anti-Israel rhetoric and to marginalise pro-Israel voices. Students are taught to view the world through a binary lens of oppressor and oppressed, with Israel firmly placed in the role of the oppressor.
This narrative is reinforced by student organisations, many of which are influenced or controlled by Trotskyite groups. These groups organise protests, divestment campaigns and other actions aimed at delegitimising Israel. They create a climate on campus where any expression of support for Israel is met with social ostracism and even violence. It is now well known that Islamists also have been instrumental in organising and directing student protests.
The result is a generation of students who have been indoctrinated to view Israel as the enemy, not just of the Palestinians but of all oppressed people. This indoctrination extends beyond the classroom and into the broader culture, influencing the media, politics and public opinion.
Impact on discourse
The impact of this alliance on public discourse cannot be overstated. The narrative that Israel is a colonialist, apartheid state has become so pervasive that it is now accepted as fact by many in the media, academe and politics.
This narrative has led to a growing polarisation on the issue of Israel, with pro-Israel voices increasingly marginalised.
The alliance also has succeeded in framing the debate over Israel in moral terms, where opposition to Israel is seen as a moral duty. This has created a climate where any criticism of the alliance’s position is dismissed as immoral or even racist. The result is a chilling effect on free speech, where individuals who defend Israel are labelled as bigots or worse.
This stifling of dissent is reminiscent of the tactics used by totalitarian regimes, where dissenting voices are silenced and only the official narrative is allowed to be heard.
It is ironic that groups that claim to champion free speech and human rights are using these tactics to silence their opponents.
Future of the alliance
Like the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the alliance against Israel is unlikely to last. It is an alliance built on hatred and convenience, not on shared values or genuine respect. As the interests of the various factions diverge, the alliance will likely fracture, just as the Nazi-Soviet alliance did when Hitler invaded the Soviet Union.
Already, there are signs of strain within the coalition. The Greens are finding it increasingly difficult to reconcile their social justice agenda with their environmental mission. Far-left academics are facing growing backlash from students and alumni who are tired of the one-sided narrative being pushed on campus. Trotskyites, whose revolutionary zeal has always been out of step with mainstream politics, are finding themselves increasingly isolated. And Islamists, who once found common cause with the left, are being challenged by reformist Muslims who reject their extremist views.
As these factions begin to turn on each other, the alliance will likely unravel. But the damage they have done to public discourse and to the perception of Israel will take much longer to repair. The narrative they have created – that Israel is the ultimate villain in a world of injustice – has taken root in the minds of many and it will take a concerted effort to challenge and dismantle it.
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First-time homebuyers in Oregon get $30K grant — but American citizens aren’t eligible
First-time homebuyers in Oregon are being encouraged to apply for a taxpayer-funded $30,000 grant for down payment assistance – but only non-U.S. citizens need apply.
Latino-led housing support group Hacienda Community Development Corporation in Portland is advertising the perk through its Camino a Casa program, which stipulates that it is “only for people who are not American citizens.”
“Clients work closely with financial coaches and HUD-certified housing counselors throughout the entirety of the homebuying process. In addition to mortgage readiness and financial fitness workshops, we provide various opportunities for down-payment assistance,” according to the group.
Republican Oregon state Rep. Ed Diehl called the effort “state-sponsored discrimination” and noted that he is “appalled that the hard-earned, limited tax dollars of Oregonians are being used to prioritize home ownership for certain non-US citizens,” according to the Daily Caller.
The funds come from the state’s tax-funded Economic Equity Investment Program, a program that aims to build economic equity for disadvantaged people, which allocated a $692,775 grant to Hacienda.
Republican elected officials in Oregon, a blue state, are taking steps to repeal some of the state’s sanctuary laws.
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Ordinary Americans have "had enough" of inclusivity and diversity policies at US companies, according to Robby Starbuck, who has led a one-man campaign against the controversial initiatives.
In just three months he has convinced half a dozen US firms to roll back their so-called "DEI" policies, practices aimed at righting historical discrimination but that the right has long criticized as unfairly targeting white people and men, including motor giant Ford.
In an undated memo published by Starbuck this week and confirmed by Ford, the auto maker said it would not impose quotas for minority dealerships or suppliers.
"Sanity is coming for corporate America," Starbuck wrote on X.
His campaign of video "exposes" and letter writing has seen Harley Davidson motorcycles, John Deere tractors and whiskey maker Jack Daniel's abandon their own policies, some of which advocated for LGBTQ workers and racial minorities.
"You end up in a position where every employee is being told you need to consume this one ideological sort of viewpoint and the other viewpoints not represented," he told AFP.
"People are entitled to their views, and we need to have a system that creates equal footing for everybody and doesn't force any one ideology down everybody's throats."
The pro-LGBTQ Human Rights Campaign, from which Ford broke as part of its step back from DEI, called Starbuck an "extremist troll" and said he was using corporate America "as pawns."
HRC had assessed Ford as part of its corporate equality index.
Music video director and producer Starbuck said that before becoming an activist he was a supporter of Donald Trump, the Republican candidate in November's election.
He rails against policies that champion what he describes as "woke culture" that aim to remedy racial inequalities and promote LGBTQ rights which gained traction following the police killing of George Floyd in 2020.
He has also campaigned against the imposition of anti-climate change policies on companies, and in a recent video on X where he has 600,000 followers denounced US militarism abroad.
"We deserve to have our ideology, our ideas, respected in the same way that everybody else wants to be respected," he said.
Starbuck, who wears his hair in a tight ponytail, said that the fight against woke goes beyond Trump.
"One of the great things that Trump did was he changed the dynamics in politics where outsiders could not get inside. They couldn't have their voice heard," said Starbuck who has previously run for office, but insists he has no new plans to seek election.
He questioned why he would want to "muddy" himself when he can instead shape the debate from the comfort of his farm in the home of country music, Nashville in Tennessee where he lives with his activist lawyer wife and their three children.
"We've accomplished more in two months than any other social movement (has with) corporate America in the last decade -- probably the last two decades," Starbuck said, though he did not provide details.
"There's a massive number of people behind me."
He credits the huge number of supporters he has amassed as well as whistleblowers from within the corporations themselves, opposed to management initiatives.
"They don't want to have their lives dictated by this group of people who think that they should be able to force their ideology into every part of our life, into our kids' schools, into our workplaces, everywhere," he said.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/wing-activist-leads-charge-against-021615902.html
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Kristina Pimenova, once said to be the most beautiful girl in the world. Note blue eyes and blonde hair
Bliss: What every woman wants: to feel safe and secure in the arms of her man. Robert Irwin and Rorie Buckey. See
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