The Tories are going to win tonight. And here's why:
I can't look on social media for 2 minutes without someone bullying folk into voting with one hand, and/or bashing the Tories with the other. All this tells folk is that you'll only be happy if folk vote and vote the way you want them to, but more importantly it's not encouraging anyone to get involved with politics, nor is it winning any arguments. It's just making Tory opposition look inept. It paints the picture that those who oppose the the Tories are incapable of argument, evidenced by the underhand tactics employed to shame folk out of voting Tory as opposed to arguing the merits of their own position. This won't change anyone's mind.
I've been taking it easy on the political posts for good reason. This election I've found myself typing something in response to some political post - engaging in debate with the intent to strengthen our democracy - to then lose heart and delete it, realising all I'm doing is setting myself up for insults for not adhering to the mainstream narrative. I mean don't get me wrong I love a good spar as much as the next, but some of the rhetoric these days is fucking atrocious and it's a waste of time to get involved in a slagging match when you want to talk about the effectiveness of policy without getting called a "Fucking Tory." (Which I'm not).
Same with Tump and with Brexit. Remainers spent the election calling Leave voters racists instead of arguing the merits of the EU. American Democrats spent the election calling Trump sexist instead of presenting Clinton as someone people could actually trust. Similar thing with the independence referendum in Scotland in 2014. The YES side (of which I was a part) spent more time calling folk "yoons" than explaining how the currency would work. The the silent majorty - relegated to expressing their opinions exclusively at the ballot box as opposed to online or the pub - shut us the fuck down. Every time. The left have only themselves to blame for this hostile "right wing" takeover. The snobbish, smug attitude of voter bullies and pompous left wingers who assume the have a monopoly on compassion has ruined debate. When dissent is discouraged to the point where you can't make an argument without being insulted - or worse, being an opponent of 'compassionate politics' - then the only place one has left to express their opinion is anonymously; in a polling booth hidden from any judgmental eye.
So don't be surprised when the Tories win, who's voters have been watching this pantomime, watching their Candidates get dead rats sent to them, watching their businesses and property get vandalised, watching hysterical middle class students lying in front of their cars and trains while trying to get to work, and watching post after post on social media calling them everything under the sun, silently asking themselves what's the best way to piss off a bunch of elitists who assume that anyone who doesn't think like them are morally inferior. It's even tempted me to vote Tory for the first time in my life. It'd be worth seeing Bojo as PM just to watch the faces of smug, entitled bullies turn to shit on Friday.
Maybe if the Tories do win again, this time we might realise that the measure of success of politics in this country depends on bringing opponents over to your side using argument and debate, not screeching "Racist! Sexist! Tory Scum!" at them in some vain attempt to shame folk into thinking as you do.
That would bring far more value to politics than any candidate, party or government has in the lifespan of this archaic fucking parliament.
