Today (for me) marks the 118th anniversary of my father’s (above) birth.
Today, a person I and others know is in a very bad place.
Today two nations (and there are of course others) are in a very bad place. These being the USA and the UK.
Today I believe and trust that because of his Christian faith, my father is in a very good place!
I chose the above image of my father for a specific set of reasons. The photograph was taken before the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 – there will be those in China who will argue that it started in 1937 and there will be many members of the American public who will feel that it started on December 7 1941 at Pearl Harbor.
The world when that photo was taken was a very different world from the world today. A world that my father would little recognise. Were he transported here he would be amazed (and disturbed) at the technological advances. He would be angry, shocked and saddened at the political and social developments. Developments that only the most PC of the wokeists would describe as advances!
On my side of the pond we now have a politically biased police force, large numbers of British Citizens calling for Sharia Law to be imposed, not only on themselves but the indigenous population the vast majority of whom are not Muslims. Whilst the police tolerate to an undue degree the activities of Muslim activists they persecute evangelical Christians who want to bear their Christian witness in the land of their birth. The police routinely arrest persons knowing that there is no realistic possibility of charging them with an offence that they could secure a conviction on and they release them without charge several hours after questioning. You see they regard the process as the punishment!
In more serious cases such as a “street preacher” – reciting Leviticus 20:13 for instance – the police will not only arrest but charge the person with a “Hate Crime”. The person will likely be convicted in the Magistrates Court and receive a fine and/or a community service order. If they want to remove themselves from the database of offenders (those who have criminal records) they can do so by the additional expense of appealing to the Crown Court. This requires the services of a barrister and a healthy bank account! Past results show that the appeal will be successful and the conviction quashed. This is a more cogent example of the oppressive doctrine of the process is the punishment!
BG readers may well suggest that this resembles the so called “banana republic”! Of course, the UK is not and cannot ever become a banana republic! This for two reasons:
#1: The United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland is a monarchy!
#2: The climate of the British Isles is unsuitable for the commercial production of bananas!
This is NOT the case however for BG Readers who are denizens of the USA!
The USA is most definitely a republic! Furthermore, bananas can be commercially gown in the USA! Herewith the website of NK Lago Farms, on the eastern shore of Lake Okeechobee, Fla. They grow 34 different varieties of mini-bananas, bananas and plantains: https://www.nklagofarms.com/
Thus it can be accurately said that the USA is a banana republic!
Many patriotic Americans will be as angry, shocked and saddened at the political and social developments as my late father would have been (about the UK) were he around today!
These patriotic Americans will angry, shocked and saddened at the de jure “lawfare” of former President Donald Trump which is de facto political persecution which is of a nature people expect from counties elsewhere in the Americas. One thinks of the other banana republics of Central America!
Of course, the nation to the north of the USA – Canada – is every bit as affected with the travails of wokeism and the PC doctrines encompassed by “EDI” and “ESG” but then Canada is not a banana republic for the same reasons as the UK: HM King Charles III is Canada’s sovereign and bananas cannot be commercially grown in Canada!
Thus it is that despite their many differences, Prime Minister Sunak and Prime Minister Trudeau can both sing off the song sheet:
“Yes! We have no home grown bananas!”
Ironically then, both President Biden and President Trump are united in their ability to sing from this song sheet:
“Yes! We have Floridian grown bananas!”
A particular and egregious form of PC/EDI fanaticism is the “trans” issue! In particular the institutionalised misogyny that is the subjugation of women involved in sporting activities.
The American journalist and media personality Megyn Kelly has become a known figure insofar as the “trans issue” is concerned and has recently interviewed the sports personality Riley Gaines:
When I was listening to Megyn Kelly interview Riley Gaines and hearing Ms Gaines’s discretion of the distress her fellow athletes had when confronted by a competitor who had an inbuilt biological advantage they had little chance of beating I was reminded of an incident that took place in October 1976:
I was a young chap who had recently left the Merchant Navy. Working as a salesman for a multi-national corporation, I had embarked on a two year evening course at what was then Leeds Polytechnic. Being a mature part-time student, I discovered that I was able to avail myself of all the sporting facilities on the campus which included a gymnasium with a trampoline and weight training equipment for bodybuilders.
Now, I was not a trampoline user nor a bodybuilder and was not intending to be so. However I saw a very attractive young lady wearing a leotard that covered and yet revealed a figure that whilst it was very toned and athletic was still very attractive. Thus it was I followed the young lady into the gym notwithstanding the fact that I had no intention of using the trampoline or the bodybuilding equipment.
The gym only had a few in it and I spent the time looking around before climbing up a rope. After getting down from the rope without breaking a leg, I wandered over to the section where the young lady was exercising. She was using a piece of weight lifting equipment associated with something called a bench press of the type shown in the image below. The young lady was doing what the young man in the image was doing.
The young lady finished what she was doing and got off this instrument of voluntary self torture. As she got off I walked over and the conversation went something like this (it was forty eight years ago so obviously I cannot remember it word for word):
“I’ll have a go.”
To which she replied, “Have you used the bench before?”
“No. First time.”
At that she went over and began to remove the weights she had added.
“No. It’s OK.” I said.
“But you say you’ve not done this before.”
“I know. Don’t worry. I’ll be alright.”
With that she stood back and watched. I think standing by to help if I had difficulties.
I assumed the position of the young man above. I grabbed a hold of the bar and began to push. I was not using enough muscle energy. I stopped. I took a deep breath and pushed very hard. Thankfully, I managed to avoid embarrassing myself in front of this young lady and managed to lift the bar and weights up.
“Be careful as you lower it!” she cried out. “Don’t drop it onto yourself.”
“OK.” I replied.
I managed to lower the bar onto the cradle. After a moment, I took another deep breath and tried it again. I managed it again but my arms were tiring. I decided to quit whilst I was ahead and got off.
“Interesting.” I replied to her then, “It’s a hackneyed line, but, do you come here often. For weight training I mean.”
“Yes.” She replied. “I saw you use the rope. Is that what you normally work out on?”
“No. I don’t work out. In a gym I mean. My exercise is around the house and in the garden and on our allotment.”
“Oh.” she replied.
A look of irritation and disappointment was on the young lady’s face. You see, she had spent much effort training up to do what she had done here comes me, a bloke, who plonks himself on the bench and does (after an effort) what she had spent time training to do.
I had a built in biological advantage due to my sex – now commonly referred to as “my gender”.
So you see, Ms Gaines’s anger and frustration with biological male athletes calling themselves “trans women” walking away with prizes that should rightfully belong to Ms Gaines and her fellow ladies struck home.