This post nails it about left wing voters on Mumsnet over the last two days

[ProudAmberTurtle]

It's by an ex-academic on X, about posts on Reddit over the last 48 hours but is equally applicable to Mumsnet, where I can seeing posts stating things like:

"How stupid are Reform voters? Don't they realise they'll get fewer benefits?!"

The irony is of course that it's those posters who need to be educated, not the working class voters they mock because they think they're thick.

Here you go:

Reading through Reddit threads in which leftists/progressives express their bewilderment/confusion/fury at working class English voters for casting their lot in with Reform, one of the things I'm starting to understand is this:

They simply do not understand how a government could help working-class people in any other way besides giving them benefits, handouts, and other free things.

Their entire mental architecture is premised upon the premises that

1. Working class people are poor
2. The only way for them to not be poor is for the state to give them free stuff
3. So left-wing parties need to promise them lots of free stuff

Then, when these working-class voters instead vote for right-of-centre parties who instead promise an economy in which they can build a career, start their own business, make a financial success of themselves and start a family, they're confused.

Because, again, in their mental architecture, what the working class are supposed to want is free benefits from the state.

But what they actually want is a fair shake at making their own way in the world, making money, getting on in life.

And the left simply doesn't understand that what these voters want from the state is an economy in which they can actually do this.

x.com/i/status/2053073719086469193

I am not overriding anyone.

I asked a question. What British Culture things can't people do anymore ?

Why not just answer instead of saying I need to search about something that happened in Iran 45 years ago.

Er you asked what happened 45 years ago, as I said if you’re interested there’s plenty out there for you.

If you don’t know what women are talking about, how can you have a strong view on what’s ok

@RedTagAlan
Cultural differences I am observing:
A rise in antisemitism
Pro-palestine marches occurring every few weeks-supporting Hamas-extreme Islamists in another country. Something that has almost nothing to do with British people.
Schools and hospitals serving halal meat, without giving people a choice. Many British people disagree with killing meat in this way.
Children wearing headscarves-IMO children should not have to cover their hair.
Calls for repatriation for the slave trade to Caribeean countries when most British people's ancestors were peasants and essentially slave themselves at the time (1562-1807). This would make Britain poorer and benefit another country.
If you see yourself as British, then British interests should come first.
Standing up for British culture means standing up for equality for women, eating normal meat, women not having to cover their hair or face, not persecuting Jewish people, choosing your own partner, women having equal decision-making in a relationship etc.

I asked about the culture thing. You said Iran '79.

Can't you just answer the culture question ?

I can do that, and do so most days. With Ddog. If I see another person, it's probably another middle age or older lady, and we mostly stop to chat shit. I don't talk to lone men other to to say good morning politely, but they are also usually just exercising their dog/s too. But I live in rural countryside. I shall be very interested to learn how things change when we move to a small city.

Read back that post wasn’t to you, it was to another poster as I quoted her.

I see nothing in there that says what cultural things Brits are not allowed to do any more.

When I move to the Midlands, I expect that I'll continue shopping at the local butcher. It won't be halal meat, because I prefer to know the meat I eat has been humanely killed. I won't suddenly become pro-Palestine, because Israel is a democracy and infinitely superior. I can feel sorry for the Gazan population too.

People cannot believe anymore that their society’s aim is to achieve personal emancipation, equality between sexes, scientific progress, or freedom from obscurantism and dogma.

@RedTagAlan

No, you are right, because I don't see any evidence that increasingly Muslim majority towns believe in ANY of those.

The growing power and presence of Islam in the UK means we're in danger of bringing in blasphemy laws by the back door.

We're allowed to criticise and make fun of religion in the UK. Life of Brian was voted Britain's favourite comedy. But the government's anti-Muslim hate proposals threatens this and means we cannot criticise or make fun of Islam. And if we do we risk losing our jobs or livelihoods. There is a push back against this. But when you settle in someone else's country, you should adapt to their customs, not expect them to adapt to yours.

Someone should have told all the missionaries who went god bothering all over the world that. Why the fuck would you want to make fun of someone else’s religion?

@Blossomtoes
The point is that a feature of British culture is being able to make fun of things we think are absurd or ridiculous. The term "taking the mick" as I am sure you kow includes making fun of too strict social rules or people who take themselves too seriously. Life of Brian doesn't make fun of Christianity but it does make fun of dogmatic beliefs and organised religion. It makes fun of blind belief and teachings being taken too literally. This is the cornerstone of British culture. We make fun of our government, our institutions, religious dogma etc. That is why @5MinuteArgument says Life of Brian is so popular. People who move to the UK must accept our British values. We should not be bringing in anti-Muslim hate laws to prevent us making fun of religious dogma or teachings being taken too literally or being twisted for selfish reasons.

Because it's part of a healthy democracy to be able to criticise and make fun of religion - all religions. That's why we have Life of Brian, Father Ted, Book of Mormon etc.

But if people start to lose their jobs because they criticise Islam, which is what the government's new proposals threaten, that would be a real backward step for this country. At the moment, nobody dares mock Islam because they've seen what happens. The cartoonists at Charlie Hebdo paid with their lives. So in a way, the Islamists have already won.

I think making fun of people’s religion is profoundly disrespectful regardless of what their faith is. Freedom to practice your chosen religion without being mocked for it has absolutely nothing to do with democracy. Quite honestly if these are British values the sooner they go in the bin the better.

Now I do have to be very careful here because my point is subjective, @RedTagAlan some parts of the UK, where separate ethnic communities are living side by side with limited contact, have come to be known as parallel communities.

These parts of the UK might be such places where this might be experienced.

What ... no Father Ted, no Life of Brian? How dull.

MIL was offended by Life of Brian but is part of a religion where she just has to put up with being offended (Christianity).

It is part of British culture to laugh at ourselves and others, even on serious subjects.

Come on, this is the UK. We are not beholden to religious constraints anymore thankfully. Should we be? Wouldn’t that be going backwards?

Agree, of course we can have Life of Brian, the Book of Mormon and Father Ted. How censorious and stale to got rid of them.

We can laugh at ourselves all we like, that doesn’t give us license to mock other people’s religion. I’ve got friends who are Buddhists, they wouldn’t be my friends for very long if I took the piss out of their beliefs.

No one is going to meet a Buddhist or a Muslim or a Christian and mock and laugh at them in tje face. That is a very different thing. PPs are talking about freedom of speech, art and culture. I don’t think anyone on this particular thread is advocating what you seem to be implying.

Agree it would be rude to mock a friend's religion to their face. I wouldn't do that either though we do laugh at MIL behind her back for some of her more ridiculous beliefs like God helps her find parking spaces.

Mocking religious beliefs generally though - that is a very British thing to do as we like to take the piss out of anyone taking anything so seriously they become irrational.

Yep I mean people don’t mock many things if friends. How people look, what they do and perhaps a religion.

There’s still a healthy dose of critique in society over many things, including religion as said in @MNLurker1345post.

Maybe it’s time we got better values.