It's supposed to be Twelve Nights! I'm always confused by people that take tradition seriously enough to participate, but not so to do it properly. Though all things considered, and where we are, it woudl seem more than a little churlish to complain to the neighbours. A few days extra tinsel propbably makes them feel better and isn't really much compensation for all the stuff that isn't going to happen. It doesn't look like the official council-installed decorations are arriving, and the sight of Christmas trees and babules in the windows of local cafes seem a pretty forlorn invitation for an inadequate takeout replacement. Especially now they are all forced to compete on the same, slim, grounds. No-el here, just hell.
Well not literally, it's just rhymed. Other places fit that description better. Sadly.
Last night Novara Media (a posh way of saying new media, apparently), had an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Youtube last night to celebrate 100,000 students subscribing to hear Aron Bastani bang on about pumping iron. Now you could ask, but the chances of them responding seemed to be dictated by how much you were willing to donate through the 'superchat' mechanism (pay an amount and your comment in the live chat following along gets automatically highlighted, and thus seen).
All this would be fine if it weren't for two things: Novara's continuing and baffling support for Labour electoralism when all signs clearly indicate that the left are no longer welcome in the party. Novara especially. Their argument seems to be: it's the only game in town for an official opposition, and, that, by staying, the left can bring balance back to the force. If only this were true, but as we have seen this year, under an increasingly hapless authoritarian leader, that's not going to happen. The infrastructure just isn't there to support it; the ground has been salted. There is no fertile ground. That will change but not for generations.
What then remains is electoralism; energy and time wasted fighting the very party they want to convince to be the thing they are fighting for. This is at best an exhausting diversion. At worst it blinds people to their own power: the strength of the working class to be masters of its own destiny. No doubt all this is done with the best of intentions. Novara's people are well read and educated, but they are blind to the lived experience of the most deprived. Some of whom they have sneered at in the past through vox pops featuring ill informed paupers caught on the camera. This is not a good look.
I bailed on the conversation, they weren't going to answer my questions anyway. Someone asked about eating meat and, predictably, the vegan position was asserted, without evidence. I'm tired of this. I have no problem with people being vegan; they have every right to that position and to eat no meat if they so choose. It doesn't offend me. However I find the ideology lacking. I don't think you can assert, as Bastani did, that eating meat is "evil". It isn't. It is a function of life on this earth. It's no more evil that I eat meat than if a Lion does. Meat is the optimal source of nutrients for the human body. That's a fact. A vegan diet, in my view, is lacking and I don't want, where it can be avoided, to rely on supplements.
That itself would be fine. I can respect that vegans have a moral principle. But what bothers me is Novara's belief in lab grown meat, impossible burgers and the like. I don't believe these products as they currently exist are remotely healthy. They are vat grown abominations; I believe them to be unnatural. Food should be simple and wholesome - and not in some faddy way. When the latest celebrity chef asserts the virtues of 'simple home cooking' he's being just as pretentious as if he were serving haute cuisine to gullible liberals. What I mean is that good nutritious filling fare should not be subject to corporate commodification and should be freely available for everyone. Calling it evil is no better.
Maybe one day science will be able to culture fake meat that's just as good as the real thing, but for me that's just a form of subterfuge. It's dishonest. Fortunately I don't have to worry about that yet because the science isn't yet there. Capitalism will ensure that such developments are done on the cheap so quality will remain an issue.
More importantly however is the idea that eating meat is harmful for the environment. This idea is omnipresent on the left and among the environmentally active. It saddens me because by lecturing people to give up meat you are going to have a serious impact on many indigenous communities. But that's the voice of the privileged western elite; it is not a working class position. It is also incorrect. There are, of course, many problems with industrial agriculture (as there would be with industrial plant agriculture) under capitalism. However forcing people to adopt an extreme diet is not the answer. Ending capitalism is the best solution. Get animals out on the pasture, raise them well, slaughter them well, and let people eat as humans have always eaten. The way that benefits them, nutritionally and socially. These processes can and should be the glue that bonds communities and families.
The problem with Novara isn't their analysis or their understanding - most of them are way more educated than I. They know, or seem to, an incredible amount of stuff. But they are naive to the needs of the working class. Their position on Labour is logical and rational, but it's also incorrect. Personally I think too much knowledge can be a bad thing, it allows one to over-analyse. This makes them appear high minded, Bastani especially. I don't think they are bad guys/gals, but I do think they are out of touch. They very much represent the liberal intelligentsia stereotype and that's unfortunate because on many issues I agree with them.
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