We live in a global media age in a heavily populated world
where individuality is not much respected. One feature of this world we have
learned to distrust is the occasional outbreak of mass enthusiasm or even mass
hysteria – seen at Hitler’s rallies in Nuremberg, on the death of Princess
Diana or in the Arab Spring insurrections. Strong emotions are released but
they are often not channelled constructively and everything ends in tears.
This phenomenon is sadly common in politics. The irrational
Referendum surge in support for the SNP in Scotland would normally soon have
dissipated but an untimely UK general election is likely to solidify the SNP’s
representation and cause endless problems at Westminster – shades of the Irish
Nationalists in the 19th century, a perfect nuisance. As Yeats
declared in a different context:
The Best lack all
conviction and the Worst are filled with passionate intensity.
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| SNP's Alex Salmond, a perfect nuisance |
Here in Greece noisy populism is rife, the mob easily worked
up with anti-German rhetoric, stale evocations of the sins of the 1967-74
military Junta or historic visceral hatred of Turkey. The tone of political
debate is unattractive, with strident lady politicians, exaggerated grievances
and slogan shouting. One of the worst
offenders is the New Democracy spokesman and former cabinet Health minister,
Antonis Georgiadis. He works himself into an enormous lather, screaming at the
top of his high-pitched voice, drowning out any opposition; sometimes one
expects the men in white coats to arrive imminently to fit his straitjacket.
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| Pit-bull Antonis Georgiadis |
Mob enthusiasm is easily connected to football and the
raucous supporters of teams throughout the world. Its darker side has recently
been exposed in the case of Ched Evans, a professional footballer jailed for an
unpleasant rape in league with others of a drunk girl. He served his sentence
and reasonably enough wanted to return to his footballing profession. An
enormous furore was stirred up in the Press protesting against Evans being
employed. Under pressure, Sheffield United and Malta’s Hibernians withdrew their
offers, sponsors threatened to withdraw too and an alleged 30,000 signed a
petition to bar Evans. It currently looks as if Oldham will sign up Evans. The
mob seems to have entirely forgotten the simple principle that Evans has
already been judged and punished, had not been sentenced to eternal
unemployment and was expected to rebuild his life.
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| Ched Evans, typical footballer |
It is not as if Ched Evans sought to be re-admitted to the
Bench of Bishops. He merely wants to resume work as a footballer, a modest calling
with a lowly status. Alan Sugar, business mogul, TV personality and erstwhile
Chairman of Tottenham Hotspur summarised this profession in his inimitably
direct fashion: "[Football players
are] scum, total scum. They're bigger scum than journalists, don't you
understand? They don't know what honesty or loyalty is. They're the biggest
scum that walk on this planet and, if they weren't football players, most of
them would be in prison, it's as simple as that”.
Of course when sexual misconduct is suspected, the gutter
press and its mob of followers gets into a frenzy (this frenzy usefully sells
plenty more newspapers). Thus when allegations from a dubious source are made
about the behaviour of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, the Press goes mad. Andrew
does have form as a tin-pot Romeo, but that is not criminal. How dreadful it
must be to live in a gilded glass cage criticised and minutely examined by
every crackpot in town!
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| Beleaguered Prince Andrew |
The libel laws give some basic protection while you are
alive. Dead, you are at the mercy of the mob. I do not have much sympathy with
the shades of sinister Jimmy Saville or grotesque Liberal Sir Cyril Smith. I
did feel some sympathy with Peter Morrison, apparently a well-known pederast,
but known to history as Thatcher’s PPS who mishandled her leadership re-election
campaign in 1990 which led to her downfall. He died in 1995. His homosexuality
is acknowledged but the papers have run speculation up many notches by hinting
that he was involved in the murder of some young lad. I hope they have hard
evidence before submitting his surviving family to such a serious accusation.
I decry the press for its Murdochian excesses but it
basically does serve a useful function in exposing wrong-doing and informing
its readership. Today there has been a truly obscene Jihadist attack and
massacre in Paris leaving 12 dead in the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in pursuit of some Islamic
grievance. Nothing could possibly justify this exercise in fanaticism. I simply
want to urge caution when this or that policy is said to be “contrary to public
opinion”. Interview at random 100 members of the public to ascertain their
opinion. You will be appalled; public opinion is not just ill-informed or
frivolous – too often it is ignorantly moronic and its views are actually dangerous.
This is one of the heavy burdens of democracy.
SMD
7.01.15
Text Copyright © Sidney Donald 2015
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