A sobering encounter with the preachers of tolerance

Artwork used by the Rural Conservative Movement

By RCM staff

HOW to create a Twitter firestorm – be brave enough to talk about the elephant in the room: mass immigration and multiculturalism. The Rural Conservative Twitter account has been besieged over the last few days by a torrent of Left-wing indignation since we published our article Multiculturalism - nemesis of national identity and tweeted praise for comments made by journalist Isabel Oakeshott on the subject.

On Question Time last week, she said to loud applause: “I think the failure to control immigration has been an absolute disaster for this country.” She went on to add that this was one of the key drivers for people voting to get out of the EU. Our tweet at around 11pm on Thursday night contained our own thoughts that mass immigration had “[damaged] our very DNA and sense of who we are.” It also contained a link to our website article.

The full fury of the easily-outraged Left then fell upon us with hundreds of responses denouncing both the tweet itself and the article. Some of the criticism was witty and intelligent and made reasonable points in rebuttal. (It should be pointed out, however, that in no way do we see immigration to this country as wholly bad, merely the on-going colossal scale of it.) Much of the more thoughtful counter-arguments were based on the cherished Left-wing belief that Britain has always been a nation of immigrants and today’s influx is merely a continuation of what has been going on for centuries.

We pointed out that it was simply not true to argue that Britain was a nation of immigrants because during the era in which we reached nationhood and became a cohesive and identifiably British society (950 to 1950) waves of immigration were small, from nearby mainland Europe and fairly easily assimilated. (For more on why this is so, read acclaimed historian Ed West’s excellent book The Diversity Illusion and research by Noah Carl, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oxford, available on the internet.)

Anyway, this article is not about rounding on our critics and pointing out why we are right and they are not. Everyone has their own take on this thorny and divisive subject which always generates a huge amount of ill-feeling. But what is sobering is the vile nature of the abuse directed at us and other conservative-minded individuals and organisations when they dare to question the Leftist narrative that uncontrolled immigration is unquestionably a Good Thing.

It’s true that numerous people, including several of our worthy followers weighed in and attacked in response – gratifyingly showing our tormentors far more courtesy and respect than was received in return. Yet it is a very unpleasant feature of modern politics and in particular Left-wing politics, that the level of public discourse can plunge so low. For a sophisticated nation with long-established traditions of democracy and free speech it is extremely depressing. The viciousness of Left-wing agitators to their detractors is unprecedented. Just look at the feminist lynch mobs in America who recently savaged Judge Kavanaugh in a failed attempt to scupper his nomination to the Supreme Court.

Short of burning someone at the stake, no tactic appears too low and unpleasant for such people. There is a worldwide outpouring of vitriol towards conservatism especially when it is yoked with a pale complexion and, Heaven forbid, the male gender! The word “gammon” has become part of the casual anti-white racist lexicon of the Hard Left – used disparagingly against any pale face backward enough to believe in Brexit or insufficiently on-message with the latest Leftist-inspired equal opportunities campaign.

What lies at the heart of the problem, we would argue, is that many on the Left see their own highly-partisan views on egalitarianism as Universal Truths which any normal, decent, right-thinking member of society should gladly be on board with. Dissenters are beyond the pale, undeserving of having their voice heard and should therefore be howled down until they shut down.

For too long, the Left have been able to silence those critical of mass immigration or their aggressive campaigns on such things as gender fluidity, with name-calling, logic-free emotional denunciations and even direct intimidation. All in the name of tolerance, of course. We see a similar approach to mock and traduce Brexiteers as decrepit, past-it, old fogeys nostalgic for the days of Empire. And there is a new, racist term for us: “gammon”. It’s safe for our foes to use that, since anti-white racism is fine and of no interest to police forces which would take an altogether different view of any other kind of racial abuse.

The Hard Left’s campaign for a further referendum on Brexit, sneeringly termed the “people’s vote” to show contempt for the actual people’s vote of 2016, is now gathering pace as the date of our EU departure draws closer. All sorts of bogus reasons for ignoring the biggest exercise in democracy this country has ever known and insulting 17.4 million people are put forward. Perhaps the sickest and most malevolent is the claim that many of those who voted Leave in 2016 will be dead by now, while many others – vibrant, virile, diverse young things will now be old enough to vote Remain. Among those seriously pushing this as a valid reason is the Independent’s journalist Peter Kellner who estimates that by January 2019, Britain will have a majority for Remain (pity this isn’t borne out by the polls, but never mind).

The point Kellner doesn’t make (but probably thinks) is that if mass immigration continues at current levels, then there will indeed one day be a built-in majority for Remain and in fact, for left-wing political parties, regardless of age factors. Food for thought for our not-very-conservative Conservative Party, which can look forward to electoral oblivion if it squanders its chance while in power to actually do something about our laughable border controls. Those of us on the Right could well find ourselves disenfranchised within a generation if action is not taken soon.

So, where does that leave the usually silent, gentle, anything-for-a-quiet-life majority seeking to hold on as best we can to Middle England? If we keep rolling over to have our tummies tickled by the Very Tolerant Indeed, our reward will continue to be a jackboot in the face. For it is the Fascist Left who wear jackboots these days. And if we don’t stand up to these bullies, it will be the Fascist Left wearing the trousers – for ever more.