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That #YouClapForMeNow video is a passive-aggressive blast against a country that does not exist.

So, its finally happened someone has managed to turn the Covid-19 crisis into an opportunity to call British people racist. A video in which various key workers of migrant backgrounds read out a poem about how Covid has proven anti-immigration people wrong has gone viral, along with its accompanying hashtag, #YouClapForMeNow.

In the clip, the workers ranging from doctors to Deliveroo riders to that comedian Tez Ilyas, for some reason basically stick two fingers up to the people who might have once told them to go home and stop stealing our jobs but are now relying on migrant workers to get them through this crisis. Theres also a random reference to Malala and Greta Thunberg, for reasons that arent immediately clear. Still, the implied sentiment of the overall clip is well summed up by identitarian commentator Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu.

You see, social-media campaigns like this are not really about celebrating migrant workers and ethnic-minority Brits and the work many of them are doing to keep us safe and well. They are about bashing an imagined bigoted populace. To retweet something like this is not to show your solidarity with migrants, but to show you are better than the conjured-up anti-migrant bogeyman the poem alludes to.

The tiny problem with all this is that this video is trying to land a blow against a country that doesnt exist. Britain is the most pro-immigration society in Europe. Attitudes to immigration have actually become more liberal here since the Brexit vote. No one outside of a bigoted fringe wants to pull up the drawbridge and / or shudders when they think of hardworking migrant-descended Brits in the health service.

It all goes to show that Covid-19 really hasnt killed off the culture wars.

To enquire about republishing spikeds content, a right to reply or to request a correction, please contact the managing editor, Viv Regan.

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The myth of bigoted Britain - Spiked

Even in the face of this crisis, the identitarians are doubling down.

In early March, more than 300 employees at the Guardian signed an open letter to the editor Katharine Viner to protest against the publication of supposedly anti-trans material. The catalyst was Suzanne Moores article on the deplatforming of Professor Selina Todd at Oxford University, an action that had been justified by the organisers on the grounds that Todd had previously spoken at a meeting of Womans Place UK (a group that campaigns for separate spaces and services for women). The signatories to the open letter argued that by publishing Moores views, the Guardian was no longer a safe and welcoming workplace for trans and non-binary people. To complain to ones employer about feeling unsafe has become a standard manoeuvre among those who have little tolerance for the opinions of others.

Many are now asking whether in the midst of a global pandemic in which the notion of safety has been temporarily restored to its original definition such tactics can still be effective. The problem has never been with the cry-bullies of the social-justice movement who disingenuously claim that their safety is compromised by alternative viewpoints, but rather with those in authority who capitulate to their demands. When activists called for the removal of the statue of colonialist Cecil Rhodes at Oriel College, Oxford, part of their strategy was to insist that it was a form of violence to expect black students to walk in its vicinity. The statue remains in place because the university authorities had the courage not to defer to this kind of entitlement. The same cannot be said for the plaques commemorating the visit of King Leopold II of Belgium to Queen Mary University in London, which were removed because of his tyrannical reign in the Congo after a student outcry about 130 years too late.

It should go without saying that nobodys safety is being threatened by atrocities committed by long-dead historical figures. The language of physical harm is a rhetorical device intended to strengthen the case for ideological submission. More generally, the lexicon of social justice has a tendency to reduce individuals to their corporeal substance; we hear this in phrases such as female bodies, black bodies or queer bodies, a strangely dehumanising choice of words. Similarly, those who challenge the content of LGBT sex education at schools are accused of erasing gay people and somehow denying their very existence. Even the phrase brothers and sisters can be reframed as genocidal. As one activist put it, When you say brothers and sisters, youre erasing non-binary, two-spirit, and gender-expansive trans folks who live beyond the binary. Constantly being erased is exhausting.

With the coronavirus death toll rising, and the NHS struggling to cope with the rate of infections, claims that mainstream opinions are tantamount to erasure, violence and a threat to peoples safety now seem more absurd than ever. Leftist identitarians who have spent the past five years having conniptions brought on by fantasies that we are living in a state of near-fascism, and insisting that thousands of relatively affluent people are nonetheless oppressed, are now being confronted with a glimmer of actual hardship. Might it be the case that intersectional identity politics will be fatally undermined by the spread of Covid-19?

Much as I would like to believe that the pandemic will put matters into perspective, I am also aware that the agents of the culture war are already well inoculated against the concerns of material reality. Even as governments around the world are imposing draconian restrictions to citizens liberty in order to curtail the spread of the virus, social-justice activists are busy claiming the impact will be most keenly felt by disenfranchised groups. An article in Salon declares that the pandemic has been accelerated by white male privilege and the racist white voters responsible for the Trump administration. A writer for Vice bewails the postponement of trans surgery in favour of coronavirus victims. Rolling Stone explains how social distancing could lead to a spike in white nationalism. CNN criticises Donald Trumps coronavirus task force for its lack of diversity. Australian senator Mehreen Faruqi calls it a gendered crisis that carries a disproportionate risk to women, in spite of the fact that men are statistically more likely to die. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez claims that deaths are spiking in ethnic-minority communities, and that Covid relief should be drafted with a lens of reparations.

Closer to home, the Metropolitan Police are urging members of the public to be on the lookout for hate crime related to the Covid-19 pandemic, and academics at Queen Mary University are calling for an intersectional view of the coronavirus pandemic. Not to be outdone, the African-American Policy Forum has just hosted a webinar to explore the intersectional failures that Covid lays bare. One participant, Professor Dorothy Roberts, even went so far as to argue that the spread of the virus had been caused by the current racial-capitalist system and that prisons with their disproportionate number of black inmates should therefore be abolished. It has become all too apparent that it would take an apocalyptic event of Biblical proportions to put an end to the culture war, and even then there would always be commentators available to denounce the plague of locusts for their heteronormativity.

This widespread reassertion of the values of intersectional activism is just one example of how the coronavirus pandemic is being interpreted as an opportunity to win ideological battles. Depending on who you read, the crisis either vindicates socialism or advances the case for capitalism. It either proves that the European Union is a failed enterprise or that Brexit was a mistake and must now be reversed. It will either bring us together and prove the inherent benevolence of humanity, or drive us apart and expose us as the self-interested creatures we always were. Somehow, this disease conveniently ends up proving whichever political or philosophical point wed prefer to make.

It is in our nature to see confirmation of our existing biases in the world around us. This is why, for the time being at least, we would be well advised to hold back on our prognostications. I make no secret of my hope that the cult of social justice will lose its stranglehold on our media, our arts, and our major educational, political and law-enforcement institutions. In a post-coronavirus world, is it conceivable that English faculties at top universities would yield to student demands to decolonise the curriculum of white male authors? Or that thousands of British citizens would be investigated by the police for non-crime? Or that art and literature would be judged primarily on the basis of their fealty to identitarian bugbears?

Although institutionally powerful, the agents of social justice have always been in the minority, and have been indulged largely because of their intimidatory tactics. I would like to think that in the wake of an actual crisis their more hysterical grievances will be treated with the insouciance they deserve, and that this seemingly interminable culture war will draw to a close. But in this respect I am probably as guilty as everyone else of assuming that the effects of the pandemic will confirm the views I have long advocated. Certainly in the short term, the clout of these culture warriors will be diminished. But I fear that it is wishful thinking to suppose that they wont find a way to turn this crisis to their advantage, and emerge more determined and vitriolic and authoritarian than ever before.

I hope Im wrong.

Andrew Doyle is a stand-up comedian and spiked columnist. He is doing a live tour with Douglas Murray in the spring, called Resisting Wokeness. Get tickets here.

To enquire about republishing spikeds content, a right to reply or to request a correction, please contact the managing editor, Viv Regan.

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Coronavirus wont kill the culture wars - Spiked

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to burn its way through America and the world and millions hunker down in their homes, many of the cultural issues that only recently sparked fierce debate now seem oddly irrelevant.

Does anyone want to argue about politically correct language when were facing disaster?

These days, a safe space is one in which you are protected from a deadly infection, not from offensive ideas. Even the controversy over President Donald Trumps attempt to troll the media by using the term Chinese virus faded quickly. And while a few feminists have tried to claim that women are hardest hit by the pandemic even though more men aredying, no ones paying much attention.

But the culture wars havent gone away theyve only shifted focus. While the so-called social justice warriorson the left have mostly grown quiet, the culture warriors on the right have found a new battlefield in opposition to epidemic control measures. Its a stance that is not only divisive but actively dangerous.

For weeks, right-wing media figures such as radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh and Fox News host Laura Ingraham have been promoting a no big deal narrative about the COVID-19 epidemic (Limbaugh has even insisted that its nothing more than the common cold). They have also railed against stay-at-home orders intended to flatten the curve of the virusand curb the spread of the disease. Some have backed away from that position now that Trump seems to take the coronavirus seriously and has abandoned his plan to reopen America by Easter. Yet Limbaugh still insists that the epidemic is overrated and grumbling that our response to it is dictated by unelected health experts who are part of the insidious Deep State.

Conservative commentator, radio talk show host and frequent Fox News guest Jesse Kelly still rails against the quarantines on Twitter, warning that our economy is being turned into a smoldering wreckage. But the economy isnt Kellys only concern; he believes that the epidemic is an excuse for leftists to turn America into a progressive tyranny. Were reporting our fellow citizens to the police, deciding which businesses are allowed to open, and arresting pastors for having a church service, Kelly tweeted on Tuesday. Coronavirus is not the deadliest thing we imported from China.

Kelly has also connected the lockdown to his perennial theme of the liberal-driven decline of manhood in America: the lockdown, he says, shows that weve apparently become the scared suburban housewife society, cowering in our homes while being terrorized by the prophets of doom. The culture warriors seem to think that risking exposure to the coronavirusto save the economy is somehow akin to risking ones life in battle. Apparently, they still havent realized that in this war, a person who becomes infected can quickly become an unwitting enemy weapon.

Other pundits on the far right are stoking hate toward the progressive, multicultural cities that are seen as strongholds of blue America and that are hardest hit by the coronavirus. Sean Davis, a contributor to The Federalist a once-interesting conservative website that has become a home to crackpot conspiracy theories recently lamented on Twitter that the rest of the country was being shut down because New York City is a filthy, disease-ridden dystopia run by an incompetent communist.

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Its not just a matter of vile rhetoric. The coronavirus deniers actively encouragepeople to defy the quarantine and promoteconspiracy theories that depict the epidemic as a hoax.

This culture war could literally kill us.

Cathy Youngis a contributing editor to Reason magazine.

Cathy Young is a contributing editor to Reason magazine.

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A COVID-19 culture war that can kill us - Newsday

As with all national crises, COVID-19 has stimulated calls for unity and sacrifices for the common good. And millions of Americans have responded magnificently. Health care professionals, first responders, and police officers have put their lives on the line. Unsung heroes include the 8,000 volunteers at Invisible Hands, an organization founded by two 20-somethings, who deliver groceries and supplies to people who are confined to their apartments or homes.

But, alas, there is considerable evidence as well that the fight against the novel coronavirus is also becoming a Hobbesian war of all against all, as individuals and groups compete with one another to survive. And, along with the virus, these (un)civil wars may well get worse before they get better. Unless we do a lot more to flatten their curves.

The generational divide: Politicians and public health officials are redoubling their efforts to get young people who believe they can shrug off the virus to practice social distancing. They have not yet been entirely successful. Dan Patrick, the Lt. Gov. of Texas, did not help matters when he suggested to Tucker Carlson of Fox News that senior citizens should be willing to put themselves at greater risk to open up the nations economy. My message, Patrick declared, is lets get back to work, lets get back to living... and those of us who are 70 plus, well take care of ourselves.

Competition and conflict between states: Because the federal government is playing catch-up and has declined to assume the responsibility for the manufacture and distribution of supplies, states have been forced to compete with one another, driving up the price of N95 masks, PPE, and ventilators. The competition is likely to intensify as coronavirus hot spots appear in more states if the federal government continues to drag its feet.

At the end of March, Gina Raimondo, the Democratic governor of Rhode Island, directed police to stop cars with New York State license plates and force drivers to self-quarantine for 14 days. Andrew CuomoAndrew CuomoOvernight Health Care: Trump calls report on hospital shortages 'another fake dossier' | Trump weighs freezing funding to WHO | NY sees another 731 deaths | States battle for supplies | McConnell, Schumer headed for clash Overnight Defense: Navy chief resigns over aircraft carrier controversy | Trump replaces Pentagon IG | Hospital ship crew member tests positive for coronavirus NRA reportedly lays off dozens of employees amid coronavirus MORE, the Democratic governor of New York, declared, I dont believe it was legal. I dont believe it was neighborly and threatened to sue. Raimondo replaced the directive with an executive order compelling visitors from any state arriving in Rhode Island by any mode of transportation for non-work purposes, to self-quarantine for 14 days.

Ron DeSantis, the Republican governor of Florida, issued a similar order for people entering his state from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Louisiana. Checkpoints along Interstates 10 and 95 were reportedly backed up for many miles.

Because the virus is now present in every state, with community spread, these measures, which are difficult to enforce, may not do much good. But they will almost certainly be enacted by other states.

Exacerbating partisan polarization: When dealing with national disasters, political leaders usually set aside partisan differences. President TrumpDonald John TrumpCDC updates website to remove dosage guidance on drug touted by Trump Trump says he'd like economy to reopen 'with a big bang' but acknowledges it may be limited Graham backs Trump, vows no money for WHO in next funding bill MORE, however, has exacerbated partisan polarization during the coronavirus crisis. During a recent press briefing, Trump cited the complaints of three Democratic governors that he had not responded quickly enough to the crisis or federalized the production of ventilators and masks, and told Vice President Pence not to return their calls, demanding that state officials be publicly appreciative if they want help from the federal government.

Trump said he did not believe that N.Y. Gov. Andrew Cuomo really needed 40,000 or 30,000 ventilators. He made fun of Washington State Gov. Jay InsleeJay Robert InsleeCalifornia to send 500 ventilators to national stockpile Juan Williams: Governors lead as Trump flounders Feds send ventilators to coronavirus hot spots around country MOREs constant chirping about the shortage of testing kits and medical supplies. He blasted Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who had pushed for quick delivery of PPE, ventilators and an unfulfilled order of 225,000 masks. Trump seemed to tie his decision on granting Michigan national emergency status to the governors attitude. And in a tweet, he told Michiganders, Your governor, Gretchen Half Whitmer, is way in over her head, she doesnt have a clue. Likes blaming everyone for her own ineptitude!

This episode, reinforced by a multitude of similar comments from the president, raised concerns that he will play a partisan game of red and blue in determining who gets what and when, who lives and who dies.

Rekindling rural-urban culture wars: Culture wars between farmers and city-dwellers are as old as the republic. Think Thomas Jefferson. And William Jennings Bryan. Recall that in 1961 Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz.) opined that the United States would be better off if we could just saw off the Eastern seaboard and let it float out to sea. And that in 1983, the Rev. Jerry Falwell declared that AIDS is not just Gods punishment for homosexuals, its Gods punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals.

Know as well that a survey conducted in 2016 before Donald Trump was elected found that 58 percent of Americans believe big cities are the least like the real America and 38 percent of Republicans believe New Yorkers have worse values than people in the rest of the country.

Might it then be appropriate to ask some hard questions which no one can now answer with certainty? How are Americans in the hinterlands responding to the carnage now being visited by the coronavirus on hotspots, all of which are in cities? How do they think it is being handled? Do they think that President Trumps claim that staff in New York hospitals are stealing masks is credible? If and when the virus descends on their communities, will they react differently? Who, if anyone, will they blame?

Glenn C. Altschuler is the Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Professor of American Studies at Cornell University. He is the co-author (with Stuart Blumin) ofRude Republic: Americans and Their Politics in the Nineteenth Century.

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Is the coronavirus igniting a war of all against all? | TheHill - The Hill

Cooped up in my own little WFH lazaretto, Im spending too much time on Twitter. Then again, its all some of us have left after the pubs were cordoned off and normal human social interaction was replaced by something called Zoom.

It has its uses, though, Twitter, and I am struck by how many of the same vicious tribal divisions we suffered during the Brexit crisis are being reproduced in this Covid-19 crisis. The Leave and Remain armies havent been demobbed; they are regrouping to fight new battles, prosecuting the never-ending culture war in new theatres of combat.

To take a rather extreme example, I offer yesterdaysMail on Sunday spread I discovered it via Twitter, of course under the headline Did Barnier Infect BoJo? This is what my colleague John Rentoul calls a question to which the answer is no, or QTWTAIN. It referred to a meeting between Barnier and the UKs Brexit negotiating team, supplemented by a flowchart and no clinical or other evidence whatsoever.

Sharing the full story, not just the headlines

I suppose the answer to the question might better be: Maybe, but he might also have got it when he was shaking hands with everyone on a Covid-19 ward. In fact the writers surpassed themselves with a supplemental QTWTAIN in the opening paragraph: Could this be the ultimate revenge for Brexit?

It is indicative and telling in the easy conflation of Brexit and an entirely apolitical microorganism.

So what do we see now? Like Brexit, each tribe has its own dogma, heroes and experts. For the corona-sceptics the heroes are, once again, Boris Johnson and Donald Trump. The corona-sceptic dogma is that we should not sacrifice personal liberty and the economy in the name of what is probably an overstated threat best dealt with via herd immunity.

It has its favourite scientists and studies: the ones that are upbeat about finding cures and minimising the excess death toll, arguing that coronavirus is merely bringing deaths of those with underlying conditions forward a bit (so thats sort of all right then, it is implied). They like the studies such as the Oxford analysis that suggests many of us have had the disease without realising it.

There are outriders in this gang too, familiar to us from past arguments including Tim Martin who has implied that you cant get Covid-19 in a Wetherspoons pub. These people blame China for the Chinavirus, wanting a reckoning later on; they mock Brussels difficulties in coordinating EU member states. Their allies in the press write articles (such as that one in the Mail on Sunday) and think pieces entitled The self-pitying woke generation needed a war and in coronavirus theyve got one.

The other side, the corona-istes, criticise Johnson and Trump for being complacent, pointing to the better records of Germany and Korea in tackling the outbreak. They stress the deadly nature of the pandemic and point to Imperial College scientists who suggested that there would be maybe 250,000 deaths if the government didnt change course (which of course it did).

This tribe claim the trillions spent on rescuing the British economy during this unprecedented time shows that Jeremy Corbyn was right all along (he agrees), and that the wicked Tories left the NHS too weak to cope. They regret that the British didnt join the joint EU ventilator procurement programme, and their heroes are the clinical staff who speak out about shortages of masks and gloves.

The divisions cultural and generational are as visceral as they were under Brexit, but, so far, much less evenly matched. Unlike the painful irreconcilability of the 48-52 split, recent polls suggestthat Johnson is enjoying the support of three out four voters during this crisis, with a vast lead over his opponents. That is one reason why you shouldnt pay too much attention to social media, I suppose.

The irony is that the politicians themselves are, this time round, far more collegiate and consensual than the Brexit leaders ever were, and the two cultural tribes still are. The Tory Matt Hancock and Labours John Ashworth are like brothers in arms, constructively battling to defeat a common enemy.

Johnson, going out on the biggest spending spree since the Second World War, semi-nationalising the economy, has dropped the Venezuela socialism jibes against Corbyn. John McDonnell is not so far away from Rishi Sunak these days. Party politics has in effectbeen suspended, and the Brexit argument shelved.

Our political leaders, remarkably, seem to want to work together, stop the bickering and call a truce in the culture wars. Maybe they should point out to their various followers in the press and the keyboard warriors on social media that theres a ceasefire on?

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Coronavirus is the new Brexit another battlefield in the never-ending culture war - The Independent