To think that a personality cult has developed around Boris Johnson?

[Applejaxx]

I know this sounds completley ridiculous but have a quick look around social media and in particular Twitter, and you will see a disturbing number of people with lots of union flags in their twitter handle name who effectively think that the sun shines out of his arse, that he can do no wrong and that any justifiable criticism of his or his governments handling of the current crisis is part of a massive 'leftie' conspiracy against him.

They are terrified of 'lefties's and 'liberals' and think all of the media are out to get Boris and his government, it is just bat shit. Its not just Twitter either, I had to unfriend someone on Facebook after they told me that I should 'show Boris some fucking respect' a few weeks ago. This was after I'd shared something criticising his handling of the pandemic. Thankfully it was somone I don't really know that well and never have to see again, but still!

If im honest it all a bit disturbing. Its reminscent of a personality cult IMO, 'how dare you disrespect our glorious leader'.

Quite so Alsohuman.

We could add:

MIchael Foot in a good coat but the wrong cut, being ridiculed for wearing a Donkey Jacket.
Corbyn being told by Cameron to get suit, and also turning up at the Centotaph in a raincoat.

Heinous crimes. Lack of respect, blah blah.

Boris Johnson turning up at the Centotaph looking totally dishevelled, laying the wreath the wrong way - lovable Boris.

A child whose parents aren’t married is illegitimate, it’s a fact.

If you’re still talking about “bastards” and “illegitimacy” in 2020, then I have news for you - you’re a 1950s social conservative at heart, no matter what progressive veneer you paint over it.

Boris Johnson turning up at the Centotaph looking totally dishevelled, laying the wreath the wrong way - lovable Boris.

And the BBC then showing older footage.

Nobody has answered the question:
What exactly is our PM doing?
He is treated like some kind of rock star.
Mick Jagger type. Oh look how great he is.
But here’s the thing , he is a PM, not a rock star.
I don’t deny he has been ill. But he isn’t so Ill now is he. He is not in hospital so in my book, as someone having to work tirelessly through this, he should be doing video links from chequers. If he is too ill to do even that, then we should be informed of this.
This thread proves the op is correct.
Some people hero worship Borris. Why?

Nobody has answered the question: What exactly is our PM doing?

I don't think anyone knows exactly, why should they? He's entitled to privacy while he recovers from a serious illness.
If you read the 40 plus plus thread you'll find that it can take a long time to get over covid19, even for those who weren't hospitalised.
Anyway the good news is he's coming back tomorrow

He is Risen.

He is Return-ed.

We are saved.

Yes, I'm getting that tone from the news Mockers. Newsflash - most people don't need to check on the health of any so-called leader before deciding whether to leave their houses. All this coverage and concern over Johnson's heath does have a decidedly unhealthy tone, in what is already a state with highly centralised control mechanisms.

I just stumbled across this from mid-2018. www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2018/08/british-democracy-dangerously-vulnerable-tyranny
“Post-Brexit Britain–a land of broken promises and disappointed expectations–will be fertile territory for the far right. A demagogic Prime Minister, with a large Commons majority, would be a terrifying force.”

A demagogic Prime Minister, with a large Commons majority, would be a terrifying force.

I know, right? How very dare he get so many more votes than the opposition? And in a democracy, too!

Demagogy and democracy are very different things. Demagoguery is what democracy degrades into when the watch fails. Every political system has its shadow.

Oh shit.

Historian Reinhard Luthin defined demagogue thus: "What is a demagogue? He is a politician skilled in oratory, flattery and invective; evasive in discussing vital issues; promising everything to everybody; appealing to the passions rather than the reason of the public; and arousing racial, religious, and class prejudices—a man whose lust for power without recourse to principle leads him to seek to become a master of the masses. He has for centuries practiced his profession of 'man of the people'. He is a product of a political tradition nearly as old as western civilization itself."[6]

And in a democracy, too

What should a decent democracy look like?

I am sure there are essays and books on this.

Loads . Some of it dating back to its invention in ancient Greece. Wikipedia has a page somewhere about it: ours is described as a minimal democracy. Reviving local democracy is an essential.

Demagogy and democracy are very different things.

Let me guess: demagogy is what you call it when the side you don’t like wins?

A political party should be more than 1 person.

That goes for all political parties BTW.
Cults aren't good

I think the Cult of Sunak is coming along quite nicely...

So do you think Johnson will have had a Damascene conversion on his ICU bed?

I think it will have affected him.

No, Cendrillon. Demagoguery is what you call appeals to the emotional and irrational en masse. Democracy is what you call it when it is founded on information. Information is always incomplete and different points of view will result. Information about different political systems is very widely available, even to amateurs, so don't try pulling that one again.

I don’t quite understand what this conversion is supposed to be. Investment in the NHS was a major focus of the election campaign and was always going to be one of the main planks of this Parliament’s spending commitments even before CV reared its ugly head, so that will be even more the case now. What exactly is he supposed to convert to?

You’re right, you don’t understand. We’re not talking about the NHS.

Demagoguery is what you call appeals to the emotional and irrational en masse.

Information about different political systems is very widely available, even to amateurs, so don't try pulling that one again.

Ooh, that’s me told. Did you have a similar battery of principled complaints when the far left demagogues were making their emotional and irrational bid for power?

You’re right, you don’t understand. We’re not talking about the NHS.

Oh, I see - you expect him to become your personal definition of the ideal human and repent his sins to you. Which would be pretty ridiculous, so I don’t think it’s likely.

I don’t quite understand what this conversion is supposed to be

I take it you understand what a Damascene conversion is?

Which far left demagogues were those? I certainly haven't supported the irrational and emotional appeals of the trans activist allies.

Reading back, I should probably clarify that amateurs meant me.