HTR(6): On the need to do better than Tommy Robinson

Never seen a car he could not mend
His yard is full of his machines
One night in the dark I didn't make the bend
And Terry was the first one on the scene

With hands as rough as a farm dogs paw
His fingers grip yours as tight as a wrench
Later in the bar said there ought to be a law
Keeping out the yuppies and the grockles (and the French)

Let me be clear from the outset: I come to praise Tommy Robinson, not to bury him. I have disagreements – which I shall set out below – but I regard him as a man of exemplary moral courage, who has taken significant personal risks in order to defend the vulnerable, and who has been significantly and unfairly mistreated by the British State. Unless I am presented with compelling evidence to the contrary, I believe him when he says that he isn't a racist. Most crucially, I recognise the sort of person he is, he could be a member of my family, I'd like to think he could be a friend of mine.

So in what does my disagreement reside? Well, watch this

I am tempted to say the problem is violence, but that is far too broad-brush (and is too close to the justifications offered by the British State in this situation, and I do not regard that as honest). So I am going to talk about the spirit of his protests, and the spirit of those who protest alongside him.

That there is something that needs protesting against I consider unarguable. The initial presenting issue was the grooming scandal in places like Rotherham, but the problems have widened out significantly. The white working class, especially the men, are the despised of this country, they significantly underperform educationally and in many ways the standard boilerplate on adverts, about seeking greater diversity, is understood as a code for “we don't want another white man”. Which is why the army, for example, is struggling to recruit (both my boys have thought about joining the army recently, and both have decided against it because they perceive – rightly in my view – that the institution would discriminate against them). The sneers against England flag flyers have not been forgotten.

Terry will hold the line
Terry would never run
In uniform he's a hero
On the terraces he's scum

So the question is not whether there is something that needs to be protested and struggled against, the question is how to do it. It is in the answer to this question that I have my disagreements; in particular I think that it is essential to avoid what I think of as 'the satanic dynamic'. A quick summary of how to think about the satan: the word literally means 'accuser', and the satan is the one who accuses, who presides over the culture of accusation, which extends into all forms of worldliness (and offence-taking, I'll write more on that specifically). So the satanic dynamic is one that centres around accusations and counter-accusations, it seeks to apportion blame and it is, inevitably, one that ends up in violent confrontation. Now I am not a pacifist, and I do think there is a place for defending boundaries (see my thought experiment post), but the struggle against Islam is a spiritual struggle, and so we need to be very clear about the spiritual methods that we employ. Put simply, I regard the satanic dynamic as playing in to the enemy's hands.

When I watch videos of Tommy Robinson involved in various confrontations, as in the one referenced above, I see this satanic dynamic at work. There are pointed fingers and clenched fists and assertions and accusations. This is the spirit of a worldly struggle and if we are to live as those who have overcome the world, if we are to engage with this process as Christians, then we need to engage with the Holy Spirit, and we need to reflect that different spirit in how we proceed. So I do not despise the anger, I feel it in myself – and I feel the appeal of blood and thunder and righteous anger – but God is not in the drama.

This is why I think we need to do better than Tommy. I share much of his understanding about what is happening, and why it is important, but we need a bit more Gandhi and creative non-violent resistance. Violent confrontation is far too easy for the British State to suppress. Exactly where this line of thought takes me I haven't fully thought through yet, but this I do believe: in all things it is essential to resist with love and laughter

Six years in the army five months in jail
Four years on the road driving bands
Says he sang a folk song once but he didn't inhale
And what do townies know about living on the land

That's why he always puts red diesel in his tank
And he'd rather be paid in cash and kind
Keeps his money in his pocket never in a bank
I like to think Terry is a friend of mine

I like to think Terry is a friend of mine

(Show of Hands, Red Diesel)