This arrived in my inbox IN THE NICK OF TIME. You’re no idea how badly I needed to laugh this morning. I’m in the U.S. and when I tell you it’s grim, it’s…grimmer?
I’m not certain about the grammar of grimmer but you get the idea.
Very funny, but very sad as well. “If you can’t beat them. then join them”. Unfortunately, many of my family have gone down the right wing Facebook wormhole. Speaking to many of them at Christmas was like talking to people from Nazi Germany. People who had previously quite liberal. Now demanding we deport every Pakistani man because they are all potentially child groomers and rapists! I despair. All of their information came from Facebook. So so sad.
Perhaps the problem lies not so much with Fascism as it does with Liberalism, after all it's been LIberalism that's allowed/encouraged the Fascists to come out of the woodwork in the first place. When the initial attacks on free speech and progressive views came under attack, the LIberals did nothing, said nothing:
“First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist so I did not speak out.
Then they came for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists, but I was neither, so I did not speak out.
Then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew so I did not speak out.
And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me.”
While you write it so funny, I feel it so sad. While you made a point of loving life and people, I get to understand and thank you for writing and be brave writing. ☘️❤️ Thank you for being so bold, so strong and effortlessly love this life in this sad time.
Your last paragraph eloquently sums up the hoax of nationalism. Of course, my first reaction on seeing the photo,in spite of the tongue in cheek, was to say take down that picture! On the other hand it could be your insurance for a very different future…
Yeah I don't think I could ever wear the maga cap, even in jest or mockery. "America's Hitler" has already harmed the lives of countless people, less than two weeks in. A demented psycho surrounded by capable psychos.
Well said, “a demented psycho surrounded by capable psychos.” Trump isn’t the problem, he’s completely maneuverable, it’s the people controlling him that scare the shit out of me.
For a moment, I was going to stop my paid subscription . Then I paused . And read your whole article. Only 2 weeks in and we live in such fear, horror and extreme sadness.
Keep your home fires burning ! We need to know we’ve got an attentive audience.
If one group of legal beagles can drag the greatest democracy in the world down their misogynist rabbit hole ~ Project 25 has to first be WHIPPED INTO a
Christopher Hitchens didn't necessarily move to the right, he just couldn't accept that the Republicans were a greater threat to the West than Al Qaeda, nor that Clinton bombing an aspirin factory, to divert from his infidelity, was beyond criticism. Bill Hicks used to explain his obsessional hatred of boy bands by saying that if people found something so unpalatable irresistible how would they cope with something as seductive as fascism. Finally watch Mussolini, Son of the Century; the book it's based on is brilliant.
My days of a Boris (12yrs) and Trump (4yrs) abruptly ended with my fall on the exact same day as Hanif - 26th Dec 2025! Interesting times they were with an audience of 1.2m on the big march from Hyde Pk to Parliament. Especially treasured facing off the mob when surrounded by the Tommy Robinson Fascists at the 'Brexit celebration' event in Parliament Square! Watching footage of current events in the US on my ipad, in captivity in my care home bed 16 hrs day, I find particularly distressing.
It’s horrible here in the US. My son just lost health care (gender health). His health has been precarious for years; you can imagine the pain. %*%< satire is the only way!!! Thank you. 💙
Loved this! Very eloquent, supremely funny and summed up how I felt when Trump was re-elected - wait, am I missing something? Is he actually a good thing? But no, he is not, and it is all hollow. Thanks for making me laugh out loud and realize I am not alone.
Trump is the result of capitalist society moving further and further to the right since the 1970s. The CIA has been running things since they killed JFK.
This made me laugh a lot. The image of you trundling round mundane west London while Londoners do what Londoners always do to the bizarre - totally ignore it. You may have missed someone exchanging a certain look with a fellow passenger, had you boarded the tube and given voice to your new fantasies.
I've somehow kept two striking cartoons depicting Trump. A French one from 2016 in black and white from the satirical paper Le Canard Enchaîné, with the headline: 'Trumpenstein' with the totally scary-man-monster below saying 'don't be afraid!'... The second one from the Guardian in 2019. Headline: 'It's like we died & gone to hell' and below in bright orange hellish colours, a grotesque Trump with his arm on an equally hideous Boris Johnson saying: 'Stick by me Borice, I'll buy ya Greenland 'n' burn it to the ground!' next to a small but recognisable figure of Macron carrying buckets with G7 written on them presumably trying to extinguish the flames... 9 and 6 years ago...
This arrived in my inbox IN THE NICK OF TIME. You’re no idea how badly I needed to laugh this morning. I’m in the U.S. and when I tell you it’s grim, it’s…grimmer?
I’m not certain about the grammar of grimmer but you get the idea.
Very funny, but very sad as well. “If you can’t beat them. then join them”. Unfortunately, many of my family have gone down the right wing Facebook wormhole. Speaking to many of them at Christmas was like talking to people from Nazi Germany. People who had previously quite liberal. Now demanding we deport every Pakistani man because they are all potentially child groomers and rapists! I despair. All of their information came from Facebook. So so sad.
That’s beyond Sad. That’s Dangerous. Ignorance does no one useful service. Our beloved by all of us Country is being tested in every way.
Please listen to James Fallows on Substack. . . And many other writers, artists, neighbors from around the world & country.
Gather more information w depth . We ALL MUST OPEN our minds and hearts to this real democracy buster — Project 25.
Perhaps the problem lies not so much with Fascism as it does with Liberalism, after all it's been LIberalism that's allowed/encouraged the Fascists to come out of the woodwork in the first place. When the initial attacks on free speech and progressive views came under attack, the LIberals did nothing, said nothing:
“First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist so I did not speak out.
Then they came for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists, but I was neither, so I did not speak out.
Then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew so I did not speak out.
And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me.”
- Martin Niemoller.
"First they came for the journalists. We don't know what happened next."
EXPAND your reading! (And LISTENING, and WATCHING too).
Ck out Substack & find some writers, reporters, artists, housewives, social workers, dog walkers, we’re all here.
James Fallows is my current newbie … easy voice to listen to reporting hard news… these are hard times… for the truth ..
Hurrah Hanif ! You’ve still got fire in your belly! ‘Anger is an Energy’ as young Johnny used to say (before he turned right wing)
‘no wall can keep out the realities of a shared world.’ Abso-fucking-lutely
Keep on keeping on xxxxxxx
Such a brilliant read, thank you Hanif. And thank goodness you said this:
The future deserves better than beige uniforms and hate-filled squares.
Dead bloody right!
Phew! I suspected this was satire but these days the most improbable people turn fascist. Interesting insight about it being basically dull though
While you write it so funny, I feel it so sad. While you made a point of loving life and people, I get to understand and thank you for writing and be brave writing. ☘️❤️ Thank you for being so bold, so strong and effortlessly love this life in this sad time.
Your last paragraph eloquently sums up the hoax of nationalism. Of course, my first reaction on seeing the photo,in spite of the tongue in cheek, was to say take down that picture! On the other hand it could be your insurance for a very different future…
Yeah I don't think I could ever wear the maga cap, even in jest or mockery. "America's Hitler" has already harmed the lives of countless people, less than two weeks in. A demented psycho surrounded by capable psychos.
Well said, “a demented psycho surrounded by capable psychos.” Trump isn’t the problem, he’s completely maneuverable, it’s the people controlling him that scare the shit out of me.
For a moment, I was going to stop my paid subscription . Then I paused . And read your whole article. Only 2 weeks in and we live in such fear, horror and extreme sadness.
Keep your home fires burning ! We need to know we’ve got an attentive audience.
If one group of legal beagles can drag the greatest democracy in the world down their misogynist rabbit hole ~ Project 25 has to first be WHIPPED INTO a
Me too :))
Just so hard not to have a knee jerk reaction to all that is happening. I feel like all I do is brace for ignorance and ugliness
By the way seeing that cap on you is like a punk desecration, and it automatically squeezes the heinous ideology out of it :)
It took me a moment to understand that Hanif was leading the charge from Great Britain!
Christopher Hitchens didn't necessarily move to the right, he just couldn't accept that the Republicans were a greater threat to the West than Al Qaeda, nor that Clinton bombing an aspirin factory, to divert from his infidelity, was beyond criticism. Bill Hicks used to explain his obsessional hatred of boy bands by saying that if people found something so unpalatable irresistible how would they cope with something as seductive as fascism. Finally watch Mussolini, Son of the Century; the book it's based on is brilliant.
I disagree. Hitchens suddenly became a Zionist in his later age. That is absolutely unforgivable.
My days of a Boris (12yrs) and Trump (4yrs) abruptly ended with my fall on the exact same day as Hanif - 26th Dec 2025! Interesting times they were with an audience of 1.2m on the big march from Hyde Pk to Parliament. Especially treasured facing off the mob when surrounded by the Tommy Robinson Fascists at the 'Brexit celebration' event in Parliament Square! Watching footage of current events in the US on my ipad, in captivity in my care home bed 16 hrs day, I find particularly distressing.
It’s horrible here in the US. My son just lost health care (gender health). His health has been precarious for years; you can imagine the pain. %*%< satire is the only way!!! Thank you. 💙
Loved this! Very eloquent, supremely funny and summed up how I felt when Trump was re-elected - wait, am I missing something? Is he actually a good thing? But no, he is not, and it is all hollow. Thanks for making me laugh out loud and realize I am not alone.
Trump is the result of capitalist society moving further and further to the right since the 1970s. The CIA has been running things since they killed JFK.
This made me laugh a lot. The image of you trundling round mundane west London while Londoners do what Londoners always do to the bizarre - totally ignore it. You may have missed someone exchanging a certain look with a fellow passenger, had you boarded the tube and given voice to your new fantasies.
I've somehow kept two striking cartoons depicting Trump. A French one from 2016 in black and white from the satirical paper Le Canard Enchaîné, with the headline: 'Trumpenstein' with the totally scary-man-monster below saying 'don't be afraid!'... The second one from the Guardian in 2019. Headline: 'It's like we died & gone to hell' and below in bright orange hellish colours, a grotesque Trump with his arm on an equally hideous Boris Johnson saying: 'Stick by me Borice, I'll buy ya Greenland 'n' burn it to the ground!' next to a small but recognisable figure of Macron carrying buckets with G7 written on them presumably trying to extinguish the flames... 9 and 6 years ago...