BC SOCIETY
Saved by @Alex1Powell

Thread: 2021 is gearing up to be a difficult year for human rights. It's all a question of seeing how individual comments and policies create a pattern, but that in turn risks you sounding like a conspiracy theorist, so let's break it down. 1/

 From @pritipatel and @BorisJohnson's comments about "lefty do-gooders" and "activist lawyers" there has been a gradual narrative built up that human rights are some kind of left wing stalking horse. Yet in practical terms they should be apolitical. They apply to all of us. 2/
This is an excellent article by Director of @RunnymedeTrust, Halima Begum about the language the government is using to create division. I fear that it could lead some to think that she is saying the voters being targeted are white supremacists though. 3/
https://t.co/a13PFuzGka
Let's be totally clear here, the "culture war" being gamed by the government is a myth, but it is a myth which resonates with people who feel disconnected from society. A year of isolation, fear and economic concerns has likely increased that disconnect. 4/
Public attitudes fluctuate, and I am not denying that there is still a massive problem of racism within society, but attitudes towards immigration for example are, on the whole, softening. Problem is those against it tend to be more vocal. 5/
https://t.co/JuBxLiRCsI
There is a reason why we use the phrase "dog-whistle terminology". It's true meaning can only be heard by those receptive to it, for others it may seem reasonable. Take @trussliz's recent comments regarding inequality. 6/
https://t.co/POAgV5hN5o
If you're in a socially deprived area hearing we need to focus on geographic inequality sounds reasonable. You probably aren't interested in how race and gender are the two core global drivers of inequality when you struggle to put food on the table. 7/
https://t.co/hhq8KXsOwb
This is how the government works with this though. They make it sound "reasonable". They make human rights sound like something to be afraid of. That rather than protecting you they limit your options and chances. 8/
Look at all the stories about asylum seekers this year. There's a few reasons why channel crossings have increased. Arguably the main being other routes have been closed due to the pandemic. Yet we have seen a decline in overall asylum applications. 9/
https://t.co/3T0XW3htwB.
Listening to @ukhomeoffice though you would be forgiven for thinking there had been a vast increase in the number of asylum seekers coming to the UK. Why else would the government set up prison camps for them if not to protect the public after all? 10/
https://t.co/EwLyOlKcOI
"Othering" is an age old technique for politicians to try and shift blame away from themselves and appeal to voters. This year it has proven particularly useful for a government which has overseen such a massive failure of leadership with Covid-19. 11/
https://t.co/ZSTWmQm35v
The problem with "othering" is that it automatically erodes human rights. It creates a sense that some people are "more deserving" than others, while some are actually to blame for our individual issues. It ignores that human rights are there for everyone. 12/
Look at the argument for reducing Foreign Aid. It was framed as "why spend money abroad when it could be spent here". Reasonable argument I guess, but the savings made from cutting it were wiped out by an increase in spending on the armed forces. 13/
https://t.co/ezpPbiTQGg.
Instead, it actually risks harming the UK economy and creating lasting negative impacts on global safety and security, which in turn present greater long term costs, particularly during a global health emergency. We all suffer for this. 14/
https://t.co/Oaa3jvDWlD
Then you have domestic legislation specifically aimed at reducing compliance with international law. Why should a "sovereign state" be bound by international law? Well, it ensures others are as well. Laws are only as strong as the will to follow and impose them. 15/
The overseas operations bill for example has been condemned for providing a possible way for British forces to avoid prosecution and punishment for war crimes. Aside from the obvious implications of violating the human rights of those in conflicts... 16/
https://t.co/A45sRxTnc6
It poses other risks for the rights of those back in the UK. Firstly, it undermines potential trust in the armed forces which makes cooperation those they are ostensibly tasked to protect harder. Secondly though it opens the door for other countries to do the same. 17/
Only yesterday it was revealed @FCDOGovUK was prepared to deny protection to British citizens arrested overseas. It isn't a long line to draw between UK setting a precedent to break international law and human rights and others following suit. 18/

https://t.co/pJszdXFFza
Then we have the whole issue with "judicial review". Again it has been framed as "lefties undermining the government". What it is in fact is judges holding the government to account and ensuring that it can't violate the law. 19/
https://t.co/bkvGFGvqFj
Many of the rights we all value, no matter our politics, are based on principle the government cannot deny us of them. Judicial review maintains that. Whether you agree with individual judgements or not, you have to question who will protect your rights in future without it. 20/
This is just a small snapshot of how the government is gearing up for a wider attack on human rights and playing voters by trying to make out it is a left or right issue. It isn't. Losing them for one loses them for all. 21/
There are racists and white supremacists, bigots of every stoke, who would dearly love to see human rights limited for some while their own are protected. They tend to be in the minority though. If human rights are eroded further in 2021 then it will hurt all of all. 22/

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Throughout WWII, captured Jewish Soldiers were often tortured and then killed by their German captors.

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As many of you know, I was apart of the white evangelical tradition. I have talked about things I learned about being Black in white spaces. Now I want to say some things about what I learned about once being a Black evangelical returning back to the Black church.

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Spending years in white evangelical churches and schools, specifically from 2012-2018, shapes Black people in more ways than we would like to admit. It shapes us to diminish Blackness, devalue our people’s story, and always test what we have against the white logic and litmus.

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We are invited into the meetings, we are given the mic, we are asked to lead groups on race, the Black church, etc. We are asked though often we actually haven’t read or thought deeply about each. We become a weapon. Profiting and policing/punishing those who get out of line.

All the while, white Christians feel good about themselves and other Black people are left to clean up the mess we’ve made, the ways we’ve made fools of Black folk, and the harmful ways we’ve learned to think, and to preach, and to be around us. It is profoundly depressing.
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@Suman68082748 @thetwinkwolff @x_karran_x @Sunil9130 Lets stop the criticism guys. The lad is good. Losses happen. Losses to unranked players happen too. As do wins vs top 10ers. Let's accept both. Remember Sumit and the likes of him are the best we have. See the bigger picture please.

@thetwinkwolff @x_karran_x @Sunil9130 When the Europeans or South Americans were getting quality practice and tourneys week in week out at reasonable costs, our kids were playing on dung courts or learning outdated serve and volley on grass. Appreciate the fact that the last 10 years have been a hell lot better than

@thetwinkwolff @x_karran_x @Sunil9130 the 10 before that. Real change can't come in a day or even in 10 years. So let's grit our teeth and bide our time till we have an organic self sustaining system in place.

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@thetwinkwolff @x_karran_x @Sunil9130 @siyer30 @SportaSmile @Cric_Writer @RomilShukla @amanthejourno Tennis is my favourite sport in the universe. Has always been. Will always be. I was in love with Steffi and Pete a lot before I fell for Sachin. And while I would love every toddler in my family to play sports professionally, I won't encourage them to pursue my favourite sport.

@thetwinkwolff @x_karran_x @Sunil9130 @siyer30 @SportaSmile @Cric_Writer @RomilShukla @amanthejourno It will be career suicide. In other sports, I can actually plan for my ward to be the next Lin Dan or the next Tiger Woods or the next Schumacher even from a base in India. With tennis, in 2020 I can't do that realistically. Just doesn't adds up. Even for total freaks of nature.
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