I had really wanted to write this week’s newsletter about the cultural importance of sporting events like the Olympics; how taking part in a mass shared experience (that’s mostly positive) is an important part of building social bonds across the community. It fuels happy small talk that brings people together, helps us connect, and that’s what really creates the ‘social cohesion’ that the government has been banging on about for months.

But I can’t make that argument when violent far-right riots have been raging in the U.K. for the past ten days. 

Here is what happened, briefly: On July 29, a 17-year-old killed three children (aged six, even and nine) and injured seven others (5 children) in a stabbing attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport. Before the suspect was named, people were quick to spread false information online that the suspect was a “Muslim asylum seeker who had arrived in the U.K. by boat.” None of this was true – the suspect was born in Wales, to parents originally from Rwanda. Police are not treating the incident as an act of terrorism.

The far right inflamed the rumours and racist rhetoric, leading to a protest outside Southport Mosque on July 30 which escalated into a riot and clashes with police. This sparked days of violence, riots and hate crimes on Muslims and ‘immigrants’ (in the eyes of these people, that means anyone who is not white) across the U.K. I can’t stress how extreme some of these attacks have been – on August 4, they tried to set fire to a hotel used for asylum seeker accommodation.

If you want more detail, this is an explainer of the immediate lead up to the riots*. 

While the horrific July 29 murder is what ‘started’ this violence in terms of news reporting, the real cause of these events is white supremacy and the political validation of the far-right.

Two give just two examples (although there are many, many others): MP Nigel Farage, one of the most vocal Brexit campaigners with a long history of racist beliefs, said in a statement supposedly condemning the violence: “The majority of our population can see the fracturing of our communities as a result of mass, uncontrolled immigration, whether legal or illegal.” 

It was a similar thing in the immediate aftermath of the Westfield Bondi Junction stabbing, when British TV presenter Rachel Riley tweeted: “For six months now, people have been out on our streets proudly calling for the ‘Intifada Revolution’. If you want to know what ‘Globalised Intifada’ looks like, see the Sydney Mall.” 

And then there is the press. This single tweet sums it up better than I ever could:

It’s extremist white supremacist men who are committing these acts of violence and intimidation. But it’s politicians, public figures and right-wing media that embolden them to do so, by endorsing their views (even though they may condemn their actions). It sends the message that the violence is wrong, but the ideas and the anger are right. 

While Australia and the U.K. are different in many ways, we’re very similar in others. Opposition leader Peter Dutton and deputy opposition leader Sussan Ley often demonise immigrants in their public commentary; Senator Pauline Hanson is being sued for racial abuse against her colleague Mehreen Farqui. Sonia Kruger has made multiple racist, Islamophobia and anti-immigration comments… she won the Gold Logie for ‘Most Popular’ TV Personality in 2023, and is nominated again in 2024. Again, just a few examples. These ideas are amplified by our coalition of conservative media giants: News Corp, Nine and Seven West.

All of this sits in the backdrop to local developments, like ASIO raising Australia’s national threat level from ‘possible’ to ‘probably’ (this Conversation article explains what that means without fearmongering). ASIO boss Mike Burgess said it’s because the agency has disrupted 8 incidents where young men were turning to violence as a solution for their specific grievance. “Across the eight there's an equal mix of religiously motivated, nationalist and racist violent extremism.”

For these reasons we should keep a close eye on what happens next in the U.K. – we absolutely cannot follow them down this path. 

– Crystal
Founder & Chief of Everything at Zee Feed
Follow me on Instagram or TikTok

*A note on language: It’s been difficult to figure out what’s the best terminology to describe what’s happening in the U.K. Most media are using ‘riots’... It doesn’t feel precise enough for me. Don’t be surprised if there is a switch to another term (like how the January 6 insurrection was initially reported as a protest and a riot).

Smart stuff on the Internet 💭

All the stuff I found on the web that made me think, smile, or have an ‘aha!’ moment. Spend your Sunday reading them – you'll be better off for it:

Everyone Is Botoxed & No One Is Horny on The Review of Beauty substack
"[Microexpressions are] sort of this universal language that plays an evolutionary role in connecting us — in helping us feel for others, and understand what other people are feeling, and even understand what we’re feeling ourselves. And so I do have to wonder if there’s a link between the rising rates of Botox use, the fact that people are getting neuromodulator injections younger and younger, and the same demographics experiencing feelings of loneliness and disconnection, as well as romantic and sexual frustration.”

Why I Finally Quit Spotify on the New Yorker
“Issues with the listening technology create issues with the music itself; bombarded by generic suggestions and repeats of recent listening, listeners are being conditioned to rely on what Spotify feeds them rather than on what they seek out for themselves… Listeners become alienated from their own tastes; when you never encounter things you don’t like, it’s harder to know what you really do.”

The gymnastics world braces for an AI future on The Verge
“But was this really an improvement over plain ol’ video review? How would seeing the angles of someone’s arms to this degree — a difference of two degrees, to be specific — actually improve the judging? At the top end of the performance, those minute flaws, if they rise to the deductible level, would be sorted out by the execution judges. The JSS [Judging Support System] isn’t up to that particular task yet.”

Jack Karlson, who shot to fame after ‘succulent Chinese meal’ arrest, dies aged 82 on Guardian Australia
A documentary reportedly being made about his life – sounds like a fascinating man. “The man who immortalised the phrase “this is democracy manifest” while starring in what has been described as the pre-eminent Australian meme, Jack Karlson, has died aged 82.”

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