Let’s all of us who profess to be on the left be nice. Let’s all be beacons of tolerance, understanding, and empathy. Let’s bend over backwards to appreciate the points of view of others. Let’s receive anger but send out love. Let’s preach peace and civic responsibility. Let’s never utter a harsh word. Let’s not slag off Philip Hammond for being the most grey and boring individual on the face of the planet since former Prime Minister John Major pulled his Y-fronts over his head. Let’s gaze upon the xenophobic and plain nastiness of Theresa May, Liam Fox, Boorish Johnson, and David Davis and resist the urge to hurl abuse, however well justified it might be.
Yes, we could all do that. We Labourites could behave like paragons of virtue and show such good behaviour that would make a Buddhist monastery look like a drunken brawl in a city centre on a Saturday night, and there would still be headlines in the Daily Express and the Daily Mail about vile cybercoms and how repugnant supporters of Jezza are.
Despite that, what being nice means is that we refrain from attacking one another, we concentrate on making the case for more socialism. We don’t allow our opponents to portray us as divided. What it means is that we put into action the aspirations that we have for a socialist UK, that we demonstrate the tolerance and acceptance and good grace that characterises our vision for this country. What it means is that we don’t provide the right-wing media with ammunition to use against us, because then, when they do attempt to demonise and delegitimise the Labour movement and its supporters, it will be easier to unmask them as the kind of divisive, manipulative fantastists who populate the likes of the Daily Mail and the Express. It means we can occupy the moral high ground. And that it turn makes it easier for us to discredit them. And then we will win.
OK, call me a naïve political dinosaur if you must but I still believe in...
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