Gransnet forums

News & politics

Is Britain going the same way as Syria?

(11 Posts)
geekesse Mon 03-Aug-20 09:20:52

An interesting article in today’s Guardian:
“... the creeping authoritarianism is quite vivid here now,” he suggests. “Contracts going to government cronies; politicians breaking the rules and not facing consequences; this delusional democracy where people are lied to, and vote for the liars.”
www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/02/hassan-akkad-for-someone-from-syria-the-creeping-authoritarianism-is-vivid-in-britain?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

westendgirl Mon 03-Aug-20 11:58:28

What a story , so well worth reading .We should take notice of what he says .

MaizieD Mon 03-Aug-20 12:05:38

That is a very interesting article, geekesse and it's a shame that it won't be read by our resident haters of refugees...

I'm not sure that we are going 'authoritarian', so much as 'banana' republic with corrupt politicians, people making fortunes from public money handed out as 'contracts' and the continual diet of lies and spurious aggrandisement.

There is certainly space for authoritarianism. I understand that the Cabinet recently 'wargamed' a worst case scenario of shortages and civil unrest brought on by the pandemic and by Brexit. The army was a key player in 'keeping order'.

I wonder how compliant the army would be?

Whitewavemark2 Mon 03-Aug-20 13:10:11

We may not have long to wait to find out.

ladymuck Mon 03-Aug-20 13:23:17

No, I don't think so at all. I think this government have lost the plot, (and I voted for them).
The recent riots by the BLM movement is an indication of where things are more likely to lead. A big enough mob would wreak havoc and I think our security forces would just be overwhelmed.
Our streets could very quickly become a war zone with rival factions clashing, and creating no-go areas.
I think we are more likely to become like Northern Ireland, than Syria.

Moonlight113 Mon 03-Aug-20 13:25:27

I think the fact that he made his speech and the government subsequently reversed the decision, illustrates pretty well the difference between this country and Syria. In Syria he would have been a brave man to speak out against the regime.

No. We are nowhere near anything like Syria.

EllanVannin Mon 03-Aug-20 13:56:20

Civil unrest was fully expected from the beginning when the virus struck and we had lockdown. There wasn't any !
It's all auto-suggestion in the hope that there'll be some sort of war. Not even a Northern Ireland, let alone a Syria. Why ??

MaizieD Mon 03-Aug-20 14:03:32

It takes very little time for a country to descend into authoritarianism. Look at the USA...

What BLM riots were those, ladymuck? Be careful, your xenophobia's showing... Because I recall far worse disorder from the statue guarders, those nice white lads...

ladymuck Mon 03-Aug-20 14:21:12

Oh MaizieD...that was SO predictable! I merely used the BLM to illustrate how a large enough crowd/mob can quickly get out of control. Of course someone had to see it as racist!

There is another thread stating that rape is now more or less a non-crime. Why? Because it's so commonplace, it is out of control. Crime is soaring, juvenile nuisance is the norm, our prisons are over-flowing. Lawlessness will take over unless our government gets its act together and takes back control of our streets.

By the way, like it or not, this was one of the reasons why UKIP gained popularity. It wasn't just about Europe. They also wanted to get tough on crime.

Whitewavemark2 Mon 03-Aug-20 14:25:40

ladymuck

Oh MaizieD...that was SO predictable! I merely used the BLM to illustrate how a large enough crowd/mob can quickly get out of control. Of course someone had to see it as racist!

There is another thread stating that rape is now more or less a non-crime. Why? Because it's so commonplace, it is out of control. Crime is soaring, juvenile nuisance is the norm, our prisons are over-flowing. Lawlessness will take over unless our government gets its act together and takes back control of our streets.

By the way, like it or not, this was one of the reasons why UKIP gained popularity. It wasn't just about Europe. They also wanted to get tough on crime.

I saw it as completely racist as well

MaizieD Mon 03-Aug-20 14:38:57

WhitewaveMk2 grin grin grin