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Peter the Prophet


by Neil Robertson    
April 28, 2008 at 4:04 pm

Ah, those Hitchens boys and their messianic resolve. This time, it’s the runt of the family:

I sometimes wonder why I bother being a prophet. All my predictions of horrible things come true, and nobody does anything about any of them.

The BBC have discovered that there are now quite a lot of grannies in this country in their 30s. They interviewed Tara Bailee, 36, who goes clubbing twice a month, has (of course) split up with the father of her daughter Rickeita, who got pregnant at 15 and has (of course) split up with the father of her daughter, Lexie.


It’s hard not to sympathise; I’m sure Joseph Smith, L Ron Hubbard and David Koresh all suffered similar bouts of ennui as they tried to save the ungrateful masses. If only we’d ignored their narcissism and laughable fairytales and paid attention to the divine prophesies they tried to pass on.

But if Hitchens is a prophet, there’s got to be some kind of antichrist to warn against, right? Yup. Lots of ‘em, in fact. They all happen to be single mothers and their routine failure to keep their legs closed is responsible for the downfall of everything from the Roman Empire onwards. Here’s how he explains the terrible cost of their cheap morals:

The consequences, in terms of crime, drug abuse, welfare parasitism, educational disaster and social chaos are predictable and miserable and will end in total national collapse and bankruptcy.

They were predictable many years ago, when it was still just possible for mainstream politicians to attack the mad subsidies given to unmarried mothers, which have, of course, led to there being more and more and more of them.

Holy shit, they’ll kill us all! So how much longer do we have before our descent into hell? A few months? A year? A few years? A decade? Is there any point saving up for that conservatory?

Alas, he doesn’t say. Why can’t our prophets be more bleeding specific?!

It’s always possible, I suppose, that one day we’ll be so debased we elect as Prime Minister a 30-year-old grandmother of 10 who’s had more men in a year than that suave man-slut Nick Clegg’s had in a life time. And I suppose it’s also possible that she’ll use her power as Premier of ASBO Britain to have the welfare state subsidise free ferraris, alcopops & holidays in Ibiza. And yes, I suppose one day these alcohol-addled, parasitic poor people could suck so much life from the country that it becomes a wretched, pathetic insult to its former greatness.

If that day ever comes, I’m sure those who remember the Good Old Days will paw over Hitchens’ writings and wonder ‘why didn’t we listen when we had the chance’?

On that day, he will be elevated alongside Smith, Hubbard and Koresh as one of the visionaries of his age.

Alas, I don’t either he or I will live long enough to see it happen.


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About the author
Neil Robertson is a regular contributor to Liberal Conspiracy. He was born in Barnsley in 1984, and through a mixture of good luck and circumstance he ended up passing through Cambridge, Sheffield and Coventry before finally landing in London, where he works in education. His writing often focuses on social policy or international relations, because that's what all the Cool Kids write about. He mostly blogs at: The Bleeding Heart Show.
· Other posts by Neil Robertson

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7 responses in total   ||  



Reader comments

I can’t really see the point of this post, even from a left wing perspective. It assumes, rather than reinforces, the groupthink mentality of this blog, hoping that simply quoting a few words from someone who is (it must be acknowledged) a complete nutter, will be enough to get a few nods of approval. The problem of welfare dependency won’t go away because you laugh at some of the people who are writing about it in newspapers. It remains a problem for those stuck in the welfare trap, and the people who are paying for it, and the victims of violent crime that is caused by it. Even if it isn’t going to lead to Armageddon, it still contributes to a society that is worse off.

Was it sun tzu who said something along the lines of if you always choose your opponent wisely, you will not lose in a thousand battles? By picking mail columnists as opponents, you certainly aren’t going to lose easily but is the victory all that valuable? Are you really only at the level of arguing with Mel and Pete from the Mail?

I nearly posted a comment along the same lines as Nick.
But thought the absence of comments spoke for itself.

There’s only one problem here guys, and it should be pretty obvious. While in the world of blogs run by super-highly intelligent people who clearly know the Daily Mail is written for by idiots – its still the most powerful paper in the country. An easy target? Erm, maybe the Daily Express or the Star but not the Mail.

And besides, you’ll find our friend Peter being very lauded and respected by mainstream right-wing blogs such as Iain Dale and Conservative Home. Next thing you’ll be telling us David Cameron is an easy target so we should focus on Ken Livingstone :)

Well, I did have to switch Iain Dale off my RSS feed as he was getting too annoying, and CentreRight (the part of conservative home I subscribe to) tends to coo more over telegraph commentary than the Mail, so I am being consistent in my criticism. But if you want this blog to be the left’s answer to Iain Dale then be my guest :) .

We’re a broad chuch. Picking a fight with the Daily Mail is only part of the plan :)

6. Planeshift

Nick,

It’s no different to right wing bloggers picking on Polly Toynbee and then proclaiming the left has been defeated once her arguments have been discredited.

Well I am glad we can agree that the Guardian is on the same intellectual level as the Mail.


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