Graham, you did a podcast with Joey Barton while he was up on charges for kicking his wife in the head, and when questioned you said "innocent until proven guilty."
Then he was proven guilty.
You don't give a fuck about women's safety.
You just hate trans and GNC people.
Stop blaming the poor
This country isn’t poorer because disabled people get £100 a week or asylum seekers get £49 a wk
It’s poorer because the very rich dodge £35 billion a year — and £100 billion a year flows into British enabled tax havens
We’re not broke We’re being robbed
Suicide.
I'm choosing to be deliberately blunt and provocative in this post because it's necessary. Government, charities, football clubs are all pushing water up a hill in highlighting what is undoubtedly a major health crisis.
You take a rope.
You put it up in a garage or a tree nearby or far away.
You're thinking about every loved one you'll leave behind as you put that rope around your neck.
Then you drop.
Some are decapitated.
Some aren't.
All are found by someone who has a lifetime of trauma that will never leave them.
A son.
A daughter.
A brother.
A sister.
A mother.
A father.
I know 2 men who hung themselves.
One was found by his Mom.
One was found by his brother.
Neither have recovered fully. 20 and 30 years on.
A life sentence for people who were already worrying, terrified their loved one may do something.
So just visualise the above and ask, "is there another way"?
A segway for a moment.
I do a few Q&A's every year. Tales of yesterday with a 99% male audience of my age group.
After the stories and fun, my last question back to the audience is..
"Hands up if you struggle with a mental health issue".
Nobody ever puts a hand up. Despite 1 in every 3 of 500 attendees statistically struggling.
"Ah, nobody, that's fucking brilliant! Well I do! ". I then graphically tell people, stunned into silence about how a rope around my neck in the middle of nowhere jolted me to go home and cry like a baby to my Mom.
After the Q&A has finished, something always happens. I'll be chatting to a few guys, saying bye and one by one, men will come over and whisper " I struggle".
Or my mailbox the next day will have 30 emails from guys, their partners or kids saying " Dad/Uncle /Brother was there last night and what you said hit them hard".
And that's how some people realise that it's time to speak to a pal or family member or even rant to me in an email. It works, I often get a follow up email a year or 6 later saying that they took responsibility for their suicidal feelings and are now flying.
Humans are programmed to want to live, to have families and to keep the species growing and thriving. So for a human to want to short circuit that desire isn't normal, and it should never be spoken of as normal. It's the ultimate red flag.
If you suspect your mate, Dad, Brother, Uncle is struggling mentally, they deserve your intervention.
They deserve a " are you OK, please tell me what's up".
They deserve an opportunity to get past wanting to hang a rope over a tree or in a garage and slowly struggle until they die and you find them.
If you've been there and trust me I have plenty, then you'll know that text out of the blue, or a footie mate or one of your kids asking jow you are can open the curtains to some sunshine.
Because when suicide is your only answer, the room is already dark, and you can't see a way out.
So please, fucking pretty please, ask that husband, Dad, Uncle, Cousin, footie pal TODAY how they are.
You may be shocked what comes back but extremely glad that you asked.
For those who struggle, you're not alone.
I'm old enough to remember when virtually everybody in the working class Lancashire town I grew up in voted Labour. Most workers were in unions & most of us were proud democratic socialists. We knew who our opponents were, it wasn't our areas Pakistani community who had come to work hard in our cotton mills; our enemies were the rich, the Tories who didn't want to pay their fair share into society and didn't give a damn for worker's rights & conditions. The country has changed in the past 50 years, but my values have not and never will. Social justice for all, regardless of class, gender, sexuality or ethnicity. I'd rather chop off my hand than vote for the right - Tory or Reform.
Free stickers suitable for flag-bearing lampposts. Send a large A4 envelope with a 1st class large stamp to me at Bragg Office, PO Box 6830 Bridport DT6 9BH and I’ll send you a sheet. #ReclaimtheFlag 🏴🏴🏴🇬🇧
Nothing but a racist, lowlife prick.
Look who this fool amplifies. If you think the tone, the aggression and the conduct is OKAY, you’re going to end up in a lot of trouble.
Be angry at your council, not the working class people employed by them you thick twats.
Pathetic.
I am against violence. I am against celebrating violence. I’m praying for peace. I’m praying for healing. I’m praying for the family, especially the children. I know what they’re going through. I’ve been through it.
I’m deeply scared for this country. The way some people are reacting on both sides is dangerous. If I had one wish right now it would be for everyone to please just step back and take a breath and remember we are all just sophisticated apes trying to coexist on a rock hurtling through space.
If we cannot tolerate polite and reasoned disagreement then there is no hope for our society.
There is a famous quote falsely attributed to Voltaire that however does sum up a principle of enlightenment philosophy, ‘I disagree with what you say, but I would die to defend your right to say it.’
The ideas of people like John Locke and Voltaire and Thomas Paine are what lead to the American Revolution which then inspired the French Revolution. They introduced the World to the idea that individual rights were important and should be protected from Monarchs (tyrants and dictators), and ultimately led to the idea that a country should be governed by its people NOT by the Church and NOT by a King.
If citizens don’t protect and respect each other’s right to disagree, then we cannot have a democracy. If we do not protect our right to disagree then we’ll get violence.
We do NOT want a society where violence is the way we win arguments, because then nobody wins. Everyone loses.
We are ALL losing right now. The whole society is losing together. Losing to violence. It’s unbelievably sad. It took so much work to get us here. We can’t throw it all away like spoilt children.
I did NOT agree with Charlie Kirk’s views on MANY important topics. I know he helped get Trump elected and people hate him for that. But he was a conservative Christian. What do you expect a conservative Christian to believe? How can those views surprise you? He argued those views calmly, reasonably, and considerately as far as I’ve seen.
But no matter what he did not deserve this. His wife did not deserve this. His kids did NOT deserve to have their world torn apart!
The way some people are being so cold and uncaring and even celebrating is disturbing and repugnant to me. It is making me physically ill. If you are celebrating the murder of a non-violent man for his opinions then you are NOT the better person. Look in the mirror. Imagine telling his kids how you feel. Step back. Take a breath. Remember we are all humans. We are all just flickers of consciousness in an endless eternity. Love IS the answer. I really mean it.
We are quite literally ALL in this together. If this ship sinks we ALL drown. Look around you. Everyone you see is a shipmate. We have to figure this out. We have no other choice.