By Alan Herbert
Where had it all begun? More important where and how would it all end. It seemed infinite.
Enoch Powell had ended his career as an M.P. with his rivers of blood speech. Warning about the danger of uncontrolled immigration. He prophesised race riots in Britain. They laughed at him . They were disgusted and appalled. He was obviously a racist. A Nazi. No, never, race riots? not in Britain. Short years later shocked people shook their heads in disbelief as Brixton burnt.
Would the same people ever have believed what was happening now? Experiments with rats had shown what happens with over crowding. That effect is also seen in physics. Add too much of one element to a solution and the solution becomes unstable and breaks down. Each element attacking the other until a tolerance is found or the solution is completely destroyed. The same is seen in Nuclear physics.. Add one neutron too many and the element then becomes unstable. Throwing off radiation in the the forms of Gamma and Alpha and beta particles. Electrons and positrons collide destroying each other with a massive release of energy.. Protons are ejected to find a balance . Sometimes changing into a completely different element to become stable . As uranium isotopes eventualy becomes lead.
Yes, where had it begun this time? Was it when the Windrush first docked carrying immigrant workers to rebuild the country after the last inbalance. Replacing the millions killed in the effort to become stable again. That instability caused by the instabilty 25 short years before it.
He had seen his own culture start changing. The ruins from the bombing he had played on were rebuilt. More and more immigrants of all nations poured in. In the begining it was good, they brought their culture with them and were absorbed in the culture they found.. Dreary Notting Hill soon had a carnival. Portobello road street market changed with more exotic fruit and vegetables. Soon West Indian Music was booming out everywhere. More exotic restruants appeared. The very language then began to change.. The English language had absorbed many words from other cultures over the centuries many Yiddish and indian words The flow continued. More and more immigrants came.. Other cultures that refused to mix and would not accept the laws or root culture. Would not go into solution. The immigrants also brought with them their own intolerences. Most of all Religions.
It is said that if there was no God man would have to invent him. How true. Man has always looked to a supreme power or many to ask for help or to blame when it all went wrong. When his crops failed or the hunt was bad. When the storms raged or the rains didnt come. Times when he felt powerless and under threat. Then they called on their Gods.
These gods brought their own imbalance into the equation. Man made the religions and with them came intolerence and jealousy. The words of their Gods were passed down and down generation after generation . Each bringing their own interpretation of their Gods words. The words written in the religious books were again translated and again each time influenced by the one maklng the translation.. Even between various factions of the same belief was there intolerance .. Jew against Gentile. Protestant against Catholic, Sunni against Shi ite. All was pouring into the mix making it more and more unstable. Christians versus Muslim versus Hindu versus Sikh versus Bhudist versus Athiest.
Grievances, Some real and some perceived arose. Racial discrimination. Both active and passive. Where a person is seen as less than another. Inferior. Which allows all forms of abuse. Slavery goes back to pre history . Other people forced to work so another could live a life of luxury. This was wonderfully portrayed in George Orwells book Animal Farm. One race, Culture or belief being superior to all others. The master race! Initialy the men abused the animals until they rebelled. The pigs then became superior and replaced the men as the abusers.
He smiled as a memory flashed back. He as a Young man working as a metal worker in a factory. They employed several West Indian immigrants. Sam and Joe stood out. Sam was cool, easy going, laid back, a pleasure to work with. Sam was always ready to help sort out a problem. Joe on the other hand wasnt going to help anyone! Joe was soley out for Joe. If there was a problem with the work he had done. He pulled out the race card. “You is only picking on me cos I’m black” His attitude was the brush that tarred many a west Indian. He would skive off and deliver poor work.
You had your work backing up and the supervisor was on your case to get the order out. Where was Joe? Usually in the toilets, smoking a cigarette and reading the racing page. Then he would have to rush the work. Mess it up and it would have to be done again.. He could not understand that it had nothing to do with his skin colour when you were angry at him. The story found an echoe with the increasing use of a knife to settle an argument. It was a different, alien to the root culture. Most of the people killed injured or doing the stabbing were “People of colour” as it now must be phrased so as not to cause offence. The police stopped and searched the most likely candidates to be carrying a knife as a weapon. “You is only picking on me co’s I is black”. In essence true. The police stopped searching young people of colour as they had been accused of being institutionaly racists.. More youth of colour died. That is very different to the real discriminatory situation where a person is only considered suitable for the most menial of task, based on the colour of their skin or their country of birth . Their education, training, experience and skills can in no way be equal . It was impossible for them to be equal to or even better at a task than a member of “The master race”. That is real discrimination and it is very destructive. This discrimination most certainly exists. This has been clearly shown in many moments of instabilty through history. In the Japanese prison of war camps . In the death camps of the Holocaust and in the Russian Gulags. Humans were treated less than animals. their lives were nothing.
The are plenty of moments were this ideal was proved wrong. Jessie Owens Olympic champion athelete showed Germany as the Tuskagee squadron of Fighter pilots showed America and the squadrons of Polish fighter pilots showed Britain. Such truths are ignored.
With the distrust comes jealousy. “ The immigrants get more help, more benefit money than we do. They have paid nothing into the system yet get more out than I do. Half truths about the culture.. “They are dirty, smelly and carry disease” . A common story being that they ate tinned cat food. More intolerence to increase the instability. The master race are the pigs in animal farm
In George Orwells Wells 1984 which increasingly came true. Substitute the Pigs for Big Brother.. They ruled your very life from birth to death . They decreed everything. You could not question them. They would decide. Their enemy was your enemy today. Tomorrow that enemy would be their friend and you had become the enemy. The bad person to be punished. Any dissidence would be punished. They would decide what was best for you. You had nothing to say , A prol. Your meaning was irrelevent. Only what they wanted mattered. They lived in luxury at the cost of the prols.. The trick was keeping the prols seperated. Divide and conquer worked well. This strategy was used to good effect by the pigs. Political colours. Left and right wing. Red blue and yellow. Prime colours.
The Pigs never died in the wars they started. They werent left homeless and destitute, abandoned and despised for doing their duty
Of course such brought resentement which grew and festered. Often this was ignored by Big Brother or crushed with a mixture of lies and half truths. Keep the prols confused.. one party would say one thing the other something opposite. Who was right? Who told the truth .
So what had happend. What had been the final catalyst. What had finaly released all the hate and intolerance. Moreover how destructive would it be and what would be left? The World had reached a critical mass. It seethed with anger.
There had been an increasing number ofatrocities in the name of Islam. A club in Bali,A hotel in India. A rock concert and a newspaper office in Paris. A Christmas market in Germany. A street market in France. A pop concert in Manchester... Tourists on Londons Westminster bridge. . A street market near London Bridge. An Airport terminal. The most brutal and callous murders of innocent people. Aid workers had been beheaded and the videos streamed on news channels. Christian Churches were attacked. Londons Islamic mayor stated that terrorism was the price of living in a city.. The left wing complained that people had Islamophobia. Was it any wonder? Meanwhile the hate preachers of Islam and their several wives and children were housed in Luxury with all benefits . Meanwhile old soldiers were left homeless, sleeping on the streets, abandoned and criminalised They had been sent to fight for Big Brothers interests. Sent to stop religous factions fighting. Sent to do an impossible tasks with their hands tied. They had been sent to an illegal war on a bed of lies. The veterans protested. First a hundred marched through the streets of London and held a rally and delivered a petition. They were a disciplined group. They had sworn allegiance to the monarchy and the country.. The police had had no problems with them . Respect was mutual.. Marches numbering up to two thousand took place. Big Brother said nice words but ignored the demands. The petitions tossed in the bin. The mainstream media apart from a few minor newspapers had ignored the veterans marches.. Eventually the Military, the Police and the Veterans had had enough. Biased propaganda poured forth from the media. Truth or fake news.? Choose. The people became more and more polarised. Big brother did not heed the warnings they were given..
In a way it was sad that the hippy movement of so many years ago literally went up in sweet smoke.. A false heaven via the back door of drugs to dim the harsh reality of life.. The Hippies, a movement of love and peace living with nature. Flower power. No possesions. no religions. No reason to fight and kill. No hunger. Sharing everything. The words of John Lennon were sad but true They had been dreamers.
Big Brother could not begin to imagine such a World. There was no profit for them in such a World. They would be powerless in such a World. A few ageing hippies still cling to the dream, living with nature. Taking only what they need and nothing more, harming nothing and no one . He had once met such a couple while hiking. It was a self sufficient small holding on a hikers route. A small sign on the trail pointed hikers to the place. A small campsite and refreshments . Fresh soup made with their own home grown organic vegetables... made with water that came from a well. The freshly baked cakes and rolls were all organic produce. Sun and wind provided the Electricity required.. Nothing was wasted. As you entered the site it exuded warmth and peace as did they.. No, Big Brother had nothing on such people. Only John Lennon would be smiling down on them. One could only hope such people would survive on their small holdings and become the new element as the World tore itself apart.
Long ago, some thirty years , he had read the Dennis Wheatley Gregory Sallust story” Black August” and had recognized that much of what was describded was happening right there and then. It was a shock to find that the story had been written some forty years earlier. Before the second World war had started . Now it had finally happend. Big brother hadnt listened. That old adage about fooling all of the people some of the time and some of the people all of the time. It had come home to roost.
Divisive politics had split the country almost exactly in half.. Lies and half truths firing each side. Scaremongering was used as a motivation and spread by the Big Brothers media. When given the chance more than half the people had voted against what Big Brother had wanted and expected . The people turned against each other. Big Brother played them as fools , not willing to carry out the peoples wishes. The people planned a huge protest march.!
A soldier was used as a scapegoat for politcal reasons. The enemy at the time were now the friends, all sins forgiven. The leaders of the murderous faction had been given roles withing big brother Now a second soldier from that same conflict was being criminalised for political reasons. The Forthcoming trial would be a farce. He would be found guilty. Big Brother had given him as an offering to the wolves and the media had crucified him. Earlier a soldier from another conflict had been saved after huge protests. After a third tour in which he had seen his men killed and their bodies desecrated. He had lost control and shot a dying terrorist. The terrorist had had no chance of surviving his wounds. The soldier had only hastened the outcome. It was wrong. It was a against the Geneva convention. The life sentence demanded was overthrown. He was dishonourably discharged from the forces with loss of pension His long and impeccable career over .
This was three strikes and out. Every soldier, sailor and airman that had ever served was angry. Three hundred thousand angry veterans whom had served in this now unpopular campaign were angry... Each that person had served in that conflict knew that they could easily have been the scapegoat soldier that after forty years had been thrown to the wolves. Added to them was almost every single veteran. The Veterans planned a major protest march. Hundreds of thousands would attend.
Financial bumbling by the outgoing political party had left the treasury empty. Just I .O.U’s in the money box.The incoming political party had had to clean up the mess. One party blamed the others incompetance. It had caused hardship. With many cuts to reduce the debts.. Cuts to the emergency services. Caps on pay rises.. the poorest people were the hardest hit. Contravertially the Pigs of Big Brother awarded themselves pay rises far above the national average to their already over inflated salaries. Big Brothers excessive and often fraudulent expenses claims combined would have paid for enough nurses to completely staff a medium sized hospital for a year.. The disabled saw their benefits cut by a third. Dying people were told they were fit to work and had their benefits cut.. The pension age was increased to sixty seven years and their state pension capped... One of big brother that had voted for this act had then immediatlely retired at sixty one with an immediate pension double that of a nurses annual salary. The pensioners were not impressed. Those people that should have been retiring finding they must work for another two years were not happy. There was much discontent.. Big Brother did not take heed. Instead frauds and corrupt acts were uncovered time and again..A prol single mother got caught making a fraudulant claim for benefits. She had had a boyfriend move in and had not informed the benefits office. She was given a jail sentence and had to repay the money she had been overpaid... One of big brother made a fraudulent claim for an expense he did not have. The sum many times greater than the single mother.. He was given a reprimand and the sum written off. Naughty boy dont do that again. Against such injustices the people were growing very angry. Big Brother had become a den of corruption. Lies fraud and and sleaze had become endemic. The people were angry.
There had been calls for The monarchy to step in and disolve parliment and calls for the monarchy to give the two Soldiers a Royal pardon for their alleged crimes. The Incidents had been investigated at the time and the soldiers had been found not at fault for how they are handled.
It wasn’t yet August when almost a million Forces veterans staged their protest march. Thousand upon thousand of angry men and women that had proudly served Queen and Country formed up in Hyde park. Most veterans were easily identifiable in their blazers with miltary insignia and their campaign medals.. Korea, Malaya, Borneo, Aden, Northern Ireland, The falklands, Iraq and Afghanistan. Some veterans were just approaching middle age. Others were showing the signs of their years. Some needing a walking stick, Some on crutches some attended being pushed in wheelchairs, others on mobility scooters. Some were victims of age, others victims of war. They had come together to show Big Brother their discontent.
With a Pipe band leading they moved off in three columns. In an orderly fashion the column snaked its way out of Hyde park across Hyde park corner. Permision for the march had been requested and refused. But how do a handulf of disgruntled Police many of them Veterans too stop such a mass? There would have been no stopping them as they moved with quiet purpose. The Police ahd lottle chioice and stopped the traffic to let the column pass.
More Veterans joined the column as it wound its way through Green park. There were no banners, no shouting of slogans.. They were disciplined. This was to be a quiet show of strength. There was to be no violence. Many veterans gave an eyes right salute as they passed Buckingham palace. The palace guards tense as the veterans passed by.. There were under no illusions about what could transpire if things got silly. The veterans knew they were being watched by the Commander in Chief . The Royal Standard was flying proudly above the palace. The veterans were on their best behaviour. Their argument was with Big Brother in Westminster. Not here.
On the Victoria Embankment another parade was moving off. Thousand angry people. Left wing right wing. Young couples old age pensioners. Disabled. Off duty nurses. Firemen. Ambulance workers. The contrast between the two marches couldn’ t have been greater. Led by a van with huge loud speakers blasting pop music. Banners and placards waving. shouting their demands through loudhailers. This wasnt a march it was a mob. A mob being stoked up higher and higher by the extremists. Out for anarchy. They were on their way and they were ready for trouble. They expected it. some welcomed it. they werent to be disappointed.’
The Veterans marched down Whitehall flanked by a few police. Several were chatting with the marchers. They shared many of the veterans grievances.. They halted briefly while yet another petition was handed in at Downing street by a small cortege.. One marcher began to voice his discintent and was quickly silenced by those around him.. He was given the simple choice to be quiet or leave. They moved off again toward Parliment square. At parliment square a group of protesters had already gathered, some had been camped there for several days. Shouting in support of Big Brother. The few police and soldiers standing guard at Westminster were suddenly joined by three van loads of riot Police. Four mounted police arrived.. The police were now expecting some trouble. The media having got word of the marches taking place and now had several helicopters clattering overhead..
The stage was set. The groups came together in Parliment square. Police called to the groups to disperse. The request went unheeded.. The two mobs began a shouting match. Loud hailers blaring. The veterans remaining apart, in column, standing still and silent, looked on. Many of the veterans had faced mobs like this before.. They knew what was coming as did the police and the handful of soldiers on duty.. In the great hall the members of big bother began to feel fear at the rising crescendo of noise from the mobs. .They wanted more police and armed soldiers here. Now! But traffic was at a standstill, gridlocked Those three vans were all that would be coming. They had only managed to get through via the south side and crossing the River but now the bridges were impassable . There would be no help. The police were a very thin blue line. They were scared. Their mouths were dry as they looked at the scene unfolding before them..
Who threw the first punch remains debatable. In seconds parliment square erupted like a western style bar fight. The group of Big Brother suporters stood little chance. The mounted police rode into the mob wielding their batons to try and break up the mêlee only to be dragged from their horses. The mob then turned their attention to the police. A petrol bomb sailed through the air and then a second. The mob surged forward. The soldiers cocked their weapons and aimed at the crowd.. They hesitated. Was history to repeat itself.. In years to come would they be on trial for murder? ? Acused of firing into an unarmed crowd of peaceful protest marchers? The crowd took the decision from them. The Veterans seeing the police and their brothers in arms being slaughtered like animals broke ranks to help their brothers in arms. Shots were fired. By whom will never be known. The dead soldiers soldiers rifles had never been recovered. The mob ran for the great hall. The great wooden doors had been locked and barred from inside. A shout of burn the bastards rang out and a petrol bomb smashed it way through an ornate window into the hall, then another. In a short time the palace of West minster was ablaze . Whether anyone from Big Brother actually escaped the mob is unknown. Some had tried unsuccessfully to hide in the cellars, some had seen jumping into the fast flowing Thames to try and escape..Parliament had been disolved.
The mob seeing the great hall ablaze then turned their attention to Buckingham Palace and started up the mall. The veterans with the few remaining police attempted to turn them back. As the mob reached the palace Gates two military helicopters sped away from the back of the palace . The Royal family were safe.
A violent explosion heralded by the shouts of Allahu Akba tore through the massed crowds adding to the carnage already littering Birdcage walk.. Left and right wing protesters, Young and old . soldiers veterans and police alike were ripped apart by the huge blast. That was the signal for the jihad that both Right wing and Muslim extremists had craved... The circuling media helicopters meant the horrors had been beamed live across the World.. The result was almost instant. It was like crystal night all over again but in broad daylight.
The worm turned. This was the final atrocity, the final insult. Mobs took to the streets. Soon Brixton, Bristol, Bradford and Birmingham were burning. Every Asian owned corner shop looted and burnt. It didnt matter if the owner was a Pakistani , Indian or a Sikh . Ignorance was bliss. If it was a person of colour it was probably a muslim. Kill it before it killed you.
The arms caches that had long been suspected appeared in the hands of Islamic Jihadis. They were mainly AK47’s that had been smuggled in through various ports from a thousand hot spots around the World. There was to be no containing this wildfire. Every intolerance bore fruit. Every slight or wrong was avanged. Left wing fought right wing. Black fought white. Cathholic fought protestant. Islam against every other Infidel. There was no quarter given or taken.. Churches Mosques and synagogs blazed. Priests and Rabbis put to the sword. Each barbaric act worse than the last. The flame rapidly spread across the whole of Europe. Paris was burning as was Rotterdam. The Infidels living in predominently Turkish and Morrocan suburbs had been massacred, Slaughtered by those who had been their friends and neighbours.
Even Enoch Powell could never have envisaged this.. The flame crossed the ocean to the divided America. Republicans fought democrats in a new civil war. Black fought against white. The flow at the Mexican border had gone into reverse.
The fighting in Europe was Street to street, house to house, neighbour against neighbour and hand to hand. It was the horrors of Belfast and Londonderry all over again as angry oppressed Catholics had burnt out and killed protestants. Revenge for a wrong that had been festering for four hundred years....
The already weakend police forces had been decimated by the mobs. The armed forces had tried to install martial law but failed. They were now fighting for their own survival. There were no goverments. No real leaders from the warring factions to get around a peace table. It was an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Vengence for a thousand real and imagined wrongs .. The Royal family had escaped to New Zealand. Would Britain become a dominion as Dennis Wheatley had predicted when peace finaly reigned again. When would that be? When would there have been enough killing?. The only winner was mother Earth. In the few short weeks since it all began millions had been killed. Mass graves were everywhere. Even nuclear weapons had been used by some powers. Islamabad had been wiped from the face of the earth. Irans nuclear ambitions cut short in a pre emptive attack by Isreal. He could have run but where to. He had pledged allegiance to Queen and country. It had no end date. He was a veteran . This was his country, his people his culture and his identity he was fighting for.
The clatter of tin cans broke his reverie as a trip wire was triggered ... In the dim light he loaded the magazine holding his last 10 rounds into the rifle and cocked it... The crossbow was cocked and loaded with a broadhead bolt.he had obtained illegally so long ago. .If a single intruder he wouldn’t need to give his position away. With a Khukri close at hand he peered into the darkness searching for the intruder or intruders. Was it friend or foe? Silently he prayed it was no more than a passing cat..
Alan xx