rage in the West could have been averted. Had the impact of migration been more evenly distributed and integration more carefully managed in the UK, so that traditional white working-class areas had not changed beyond recognition, this could have addressed the resentment.
And lastly, if a genuine effort had been made to accommodate and accept working-class values and culture rather than neglecting them, we may have achieved a much higher degree of social mobility within this group. Instead, we have marginalized frustrated young white men, who have gone from being part of the national culture to a subculture wrapped up in a crumpled English flag, unfairly characterized as work-shy, nostalgic, and parochial.
The rise of extremism
The crisis that this subculture is in has reached fever pitch in recent years, and the urgency with which we must deal with it has become painfully apparent, not just because of the political ructions it’s caused with Trump and Brexit, but because of the alarming rise in far-right extremism that we’ve seen come with it. Who could forget the horror of 16 June 2016, when the MP Jo Cox was murdered by far-right extremist Thomas Mair, shouting ‘Britain first’? Before his wife was murdered, Brendan Cox had actually been studying this frightening trend. Speaking a year after Jo’s passing at the 2017 Amnesty International General Meeting, he warned of the grave challenge facing us and issued a clarion call to all those who believe in a fair and inclusive society:
We are facing a new threat today – one that we still haven’t fully appreciated. We have got into the absurd position of celebrating fascists coming second in national elections, rather than first, as if that is a great outcome.
I’m not suggesting that we become defeatist, but unless we are clear about the size and scale of the challenge, we will be defeated by it.
As well as understanding the scale of the problem – we must also call it what it is. Populism is too kind a term. In fact, in most countries these groups we refer to as populist are consistently unpopular.
More importantly, the people who lead these movements are not populists – they are racists, bigots, and xenophobes, intent on tearing our communities apart. And we should call them out for what they are.
The threat of rising far-right extremism is real and it isn’t going to go away quickly. But with resolution, a concerted attempt to reach out, and a focus on building closer communities, we can and we will defeat it.
These so-called ‘populist’ leaders have manipulated and exploited the genuine concerns of a group who are witnessing their traditional way of life evaporating in front of their eyes, and who haven’t been given the right tools to adapt to this change. Fuelled by a ‘Cause Conspiracy’ ignited by the dangerous rhetoric of a new breed of charismatic social-media-savvy demagogues, there has been an exponential increase in far-right membership and incidents. In the UK alone, the ‘suspected far-right extremists flagged to the Government’s key anti-terror programme soared by 30 per cent in the past year’.*
Having a cause to get behind is one of the most powerful of all callings, especially for men who are often lacking in words and therefore prefer action. Our ‘other’ young men who are excluded due to race, class or religion are all more vulnerable to radicalization and the rhetoric of causes, which will supposedly give their life greater significance while at the same time putting it in jeopardy.
America is facing its own issues with a rise in white supremacy movements. Having experienced first-hand the uplifting feeling of unity in Virginia during Obama’s 2008 election, watching the clashes between the far-right extremists and anti-racism protesters in Charlottesville on the news 10 years later filled me with dread; it felt like America had gone back in time, to racial tensions and the strife of the sixties. We had reverted to arguing over whether to celebrate Confederate generals who fought to keep slavery. We were, once again, seeing the KKK marching with lit torches – only this time the marchers were brazen enough to do so without hoods.
This against a background of the mass incarceration of African Americans and their falling victim to countless acts of police brutality and shootings. The one difference with the 1960s is that the then President Lyndon B. Johnson, when faced with the decision of whether to pander to his core base or lead the country to better tomorrow, chose the latter. He paid a price in losing the support of some Southern states, but he took an important step in America’s redemption and progression.
Unfortunately, the current President’s response to overt racism has been tentative at best. He took 48 hours to condemn the violence of the white supremacist protesters and the senseless murder of 32-year-old Heather Hayer, an anti-racism protester, at the suspected hands of James Alex Fields Jr, a far-right extremist and accused domestic terrorist.
Many of these far-right extremists were courted shamelessly by Trump during his campaign as they lapped up his rhetoric on Muslims and Mexicans. However, once in office, his chickens had come home to roost and he found himself in the difficult position of having to denounce them, albeit two days too late. Trump must now address the real issues affecting white working-class men in America: the fears from a changing world where their dominance is diminishing. What’s needed are realistic solutions that allow everyone to thrive in the modern world rather than return America to an older, more racist and less progressive nation. The country has come too far to turn back now.
And there are of course many correlations between radicalized Islamists and radicalized white supremacists. If you explore the lives of many of the perpetrators, it is clear that they were excluded men looking for deeper meaning in their lives, even if that meant ending it and hurting countless innocents in the process. Their lives, as they were, were clearly not worth much, and this was the only way to give them purpose. Radicalized men from opposing sides, ironically working towards the same aim.
A different script
If the Finsbury Park mosque attack (when, targeting a Mosque on 19 June 2017 in the ethnically diverse North London neighbourhood of Finsbury Park, which was over 300 miles away from his home in Wales, Darren Osborne acquired a van and drove it into Muslim worshippers during early-morning Ramadan prayers) showed us one thing, however, it’s that we can change the prescribed narrative surrounding this pattern of behaviour. According to the existing script, the enraged mob at the Finsbury Park mosque, fuelled by fear and a desire for revenge, should have then butchered this lone assailant, fuelling more fear and mistrust. But that’s not how it happened. Mohammed Mahmoud, the imam of the mosque, calmed and reasoned with the crowd and protected the terrorist from attack until the police arrived to make an arrest. Mahmoud was later dubbed a ‘hero’ by the British press and was personally thanked by Prince Charles when he visited the mosque days after the attack. Thousands of Londoners would also show their solidarity with the Muslim community by participating in a flower march the following evening and delivering thousands of bouquets to the mosque.
This is a prime example of how extremism can be fought. This was homegrown terrorism that failed to divide society because good Muslim men were prepared to stand up for compassion and the rule of law, and because the people of London came together in support of this ‘other’ community. Where radicalization is concerned, there is more than one side involved. The conspirators show no sign of quitting, so neither must we in fighting for the values we hold dear.
It’s clear that we can no longer sit back and ignore the disintegration that is brewing in white working-class communities both in the UK and US; it’s their values that for centuries have been the bedrock of British and American society, after all. The traditional values of the white working class are translatable into any setting: loyalty to a cause, hard work, and a grim determination; they are attributes that we want not only in our employees and citizens, but in our leaders and bosses, our friends and family. If we can harness these qualities, equip these men with the education and skills they need to contribute to this new globalized world, and show that they are valued, then the damage that is currently being wrought at every level can be prevented and reversed. Now that’s a cause worth pursuing.
ACTION POINT: Find out how many university degrees are open to applicants without A-levels.
DISCUSSION POINT: What job do you instinctively