"If It Was Safer On The Ground We Wouldn't Be On a Boat"

Aside from providing an amazing comment on the conditioning of today's young people - not only from the mass media's constant focus on "celebrities lacking in integrity" but societies failure in "showing the kids that they matter" - the lyrics to The 1975 's Loving Someone contains a poignant message on the current refugee crisis. 

"WE SHOULDN'T HAVE PEOPLE AFLOAT"

As the civil war in Syria continues, so does the racist rhetoric. The Sun's explicit scepticism around the age of the refugee children (which they actually put in inverted commas) for me, simply highlights how bizarre mindsets can be in regards to a person fleeing danger; I find it insane that people are more concerned about how we are going to scientifically prove their ages, than they are with how we are going to help them. So what if someone is over 18? How are we so in-sensitive as a society that we are more than happy to refuse someone asking for our help? Turning them away? As the 4th richest country in the world it should be our duty to provide aid and safety to anyone who needs it, welcoming them with open arms and not a dental check up. 

It seems that the only time we can muster a degree of sympathy to these people is when we put ourselves in their shoes. This idea of only caring when it directly affects is thrown around time and time again, from being told to imagine Donald Trump "grabbing" the vagina of our own wives or children in order to spark a reaction, Save The Children's short film on how it would look if London were a war torn country also urges us to look at the crisis as though it were us in their position - if you can't see suffering if you're not the victim, then something is wrong here. We need a radical change to how we view others; regardless of country borders, nationalities, cultures, religions - regardless of ANYTHING - we are all just people who happen to be born in different places and into different ways of doing things, it doesn't mean have different emotions or fears.

Although the right wing media might hate to hear you realise it, in-equality is created. 

It will never fail to amaze me that those trying to change the widespread opinion on refugees are labelled as activists, emphasising just how rare it has become to show love and compassion; The 1975's lyrics underlining how trying to escape conflict isn't a choice that you wake up one morning and stumble upon. You aren't midway through picking your breakfast cereal when an idea pops into your head that "hey, it might be a nice day to travel thousands of miles by boat". These are doctors, nurses, teachers, mothers, fathers, rich and poor making a choice on which option they feel gives them the best odds on life - the difference between living and dying. Staying or seeking refuge. 

Donald Trump: A Friendly Reminder

In the highly unlikely event that you aren't already disgusted by the bigoted, sexist, racist, misogynistic, vile excuse for a human being - Donald Trump - then here's a friendly reminder that next month he is going on trial for allegations that he SEXUALLY ASSAULTED A 13 YEAR OLD GIRL. Yes, not only sexual assault but paedophillia too... nothing says amazing potential president quite like sex offender does ay? 

The case follows two previous accusations of sexual violence made against Trump, including one made in 1989 by his first wife that he had brutally raped her. Considering the language the oh so lovely Mr Trump has used when talking about women in the past it's not hard to imagine that he is capable of crimes like these; degrading terms such as "pigs" "dogs" and "disgusting animals" are apparently synonyms for "women" in Trumps thesaurus, as well as his openly admitting to find his own daughter sexually arousing. 

October 14th is when Trump will appear in court, presumably to disprove or prove the allegation - providing the American legal system isn't biased in favour of him as a rich white man in a rape case of course. Note the sarcasm. 

Equality... Or Ice-Cream?

A video of a white policeman in America pulling over a black woman, for no crime other than "driving without an ice-cream cone" has been circulating social media this week. When it appeared on my timeline I was nothing but embarrassed that as a white person, like myself, he has responded to such a huge injustice with an ice cream? Now, I know the intention behind this gesture was clearly to overcome racial divisions with a simple act of kindness - but it is the sheer terror on the woman's face that is the most powerful thing in the video for me. Her immediate readiness for a fight, an unnecessary fight to defend her lawful driving to - who she presumed - was another racist cop. 

That is the REAL issue here, not the lack of ice-cream. Black Lives Matter isn't highlighting an injustice in white drivers receiving cool treats on hot days, its about the innocent BLACK lives that are taken by police officers that have racial prejudice as their only motivation/reason to pull the trigger. You can't eradicate racism with a 99' and a flake. 

Big Brother Biphobia

Recently I have started to notice a weirdly accepted disapproval of bi-sexuality, sadly particularly from member's of older generations who believe its simply a fashion 'trend'. This extended to noticing comments on the TV this week when Christopher Biggins and Renee were having a conversation on Celebrity Big Brother about how "bisexuals are the worst".... nice. As a gay man himself, this bizarre non-acceptance of an entire section of the LGBT+ community coming from WITHIN the community itself surprised me. The pair went on to discuss how people should "pick a team" - what Chelsea? Arsenal? Manchester United? A persons sexuality isn't a game so stop treating it like one. Oh how ironic that those 'outraged' tweets were sent by the young. I agree with Biggins - bi- sexuality is just so 'trendy' these days and these people who talk of their 'fluid' sexuality - all the so called 'outraged' viewers are people under 30 who seem to buy into this trend.Oh how ironic that those 'outraged' tweets were sent by the young. I agree with Biggins - bi- sexuality is just so 'trendy' these days and these people who talk of their 'fluid' sexuality - all the so called 'outraged' viewers are people under 30 who seem to buy into this trend.Oh how ironic that those 'outraged' tweets were sent by the young. I agree with Biggins - bi- sexuality is just so 'trendy' these days and these people who talk of their 'fluid' sexuality - all the so called 'outraged' viewers are people under 30 who seem to buy into this trend.Oh how ironic that those 'outraged' tweets were sent by the young. I agree with Biggins - bi- sexuality is just so 'trendy' these days and these people who talk of their 'fluid' sexuality - all the so called 'outraged' viewers are people under 30 who seem to buy into this trend.nhjjk=hjhtsssasasaddahghh

        "oh how ironic these 'outraged' tweets were sent by the young. I agree with Biggins - bi-sexuality is just so trendy these days and these people who talk of their 'fluid' sexuality - all the so called 'outraged' viewers are people under 30 who seem to buy into this trend" 

a comment on the Daily Express' article on this topic

It also surprised me that not more viewers picked up on the comments, with some taking to social media to express their disdain, while the majority of it's audience stayed silent. There seems to be a weird mindset that unless an issue affects you directly - you ignore it? 

Dear society:

You don't have to be gay to be outraged by homophobia, you don't have to be bisexual to be outraged by these comments, you don't have to be black to be outraged by the way black people aren't treated equally and you don't have to be a woman to be outraged by the way women are treated. 

Oh how ironic that those 'outraged' tweets were sent by the young. I agree with Biggins - bi- sexuality is just so 'trendy' these days and these people who talk of their 'fluid' sexuality - all the so called 'outraged' viewers are people under 30 who seem to buy into this trend.

Oh how ironic that those 'outraged' tweets were sent by the young. I agree with Biggins - bi- sexuality is just so 'trendy' these days and these people who talk of their 'fluid' sexuality - all the so called 'outraged' viewers are people under 30 who seem to buy into this trend. 

In Pictures: Brighton

I spent a few days in Brighton last week and fell in love with it's emphasis on equality and general kindness to everyone. From it's overwhelming support for the LGBTQ+ community, to the stickers on every lamppost about the homophobia and sexism that certain political parties promote *cough* UKIP *cough* and the importance of not supporting these ideologies, Brighton impressed me as a vibrant seaside town with adorable independent cafés and stores - deffo worth a visit!

#____LivesMatter

This week I have began to see the hashtag "Muslim Lives Matter" floating around on various social media platforms. Now, this is a something that has caused controversy, with some people feeling like it undermines the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Aside from that however, I feel what we can't ignore is that in this beautiful and culture rich world, we are reliant on hashtag's to remind people that it's not just white Christians that are important.

In the past 10 days alone there have been 4 terror attacks in predominantly Muslim countries and here in the West we have barely bat an eyelid. The first attack was in Turkey's capital city of Istanbul, killing around 41 people. I was actually in Turkey at the time and it was heartbreaking to hear about the how local people were suffering as the impacts of this, and past acts of terrorism, continue to spread across the country; consequently having a huge affect on the tourism industry. Aside from this, I was deeply saddened by the minimal reaction it received from those back at home. The Paris attacks last year were met by a sea of French flags as Facebook pictures, copious amounts of tweets and Instagram posts expressing their condolences - however my news feed looked as though no-one was even aware of the news. The apathetic response to the devastating events in contrast to the passionate and extensive coverage (rightly so) of the Paris attacks, for example, was in comparable. This presents the ever prominent point that the media just don't seem to care as much if the victims are from the East. 

Baghdad, Dhaka and Madinah have also all been at the peril of evil attacks this week - the death toll of over 200 in Baghdad virtually ignored by the UK media, the minute reaction it received in terms of the its extremity is inadmissible.

It is so important that we remember and continue to express our recognition that these lives matter just as much as those that are nearer to us in terms of geographical location (or language or culture). Why is it okay that hundreds of people are dying and we aren't talking about the fact that Muslims are the very people being killed by so called Islamic groups?