I have no intention of making this a contentious post - just the reverse. It is about the currently topical subject of anti-semitism in Britain though, so it is bound to upset someone.
For reasons of work, I Googled up Baron Jacob Rothschild the other night and was amazed at what appeared on the screen. I have had a few indirect dealings with him in the past by visiting his house in the country and some of the shops he has interests in, all with my sculptor's hat on. I don't know much about his personality, and thought I might get a few insights by looking him up on the net.
Underneath the usual Wikipedia entries concentrating on his banking history, age and siblings, etc, there is page after page of truly mad and vile websites with gaudy, doctored photos of him, depicting him as a vampire, a nazi ghoul, strange looking troll-like creatures and lizards.
One website has a photo of a deformed and elongated skull set alongside a photo of Rothschild's head to compare, the bonkers theory being that there is an elite group of lizard aliens who control the world's banks, governments and media outlets. Apparently there is a large group of completely nutty conspiracy theorists who actually believe this to be a fact.
Many more disturbed and disturbing sites claim that he is the head of the European Illuminati who single-handedly created the state of Israel, and there is plenty of other stuff which is far less dramatic - the usual type of far-right, anti-semitic propaganda that you find down any dark, rubbish-strewn alleys.
I really had no idea about the strength of the vitriol spread about by a few extremists in this country, but this is the stuff of fairy tales or Lord of the Rings. It seems that the scale of resentment increases in direct relation to an individual's success, whether or not they were born into it.
The other Jacob, Rees-Mogg that is, who you accused me of being dim for saying something in his support the other day, was verbally attacked along with his children by some left wing extremist who decided to tell his children that everybody hates their daddy and attack the nanny. The small group of extremists said, as they were photographed, that they intend to carry on with this behaviour and similar attacks. The news took several days before it reached The Guardian and I am not sure whether it ever reached the BBC. Of course if it had been the Far Right and a left wing politician it would have been newsworthy immediately. But, yes, these extremists are out there.
ReplyDeleteThis post has nothing to do with Rees Mogg or your slavish devotion to him. How funny that the right always accuses the BBC of being left and the left of it being right. The shameful attack on Rees Mogg's children was reported immediately, but you would have missed it because you are prejudiced against the BBC.
DeleteThis post was about extremism. I am.in no way obsessed about Rees-Mogg, it was a recent example in the news of extremism and extremist groups. And if you don't believe the BBC is biased to the Left and run by the Left then you are as dim as you say I am.
DeleteRe: Rachel's defense of Rees-Mogg: This is what is known in America as "What About-ism", a well known tactic of the right to deflect any discussion of right wing policies or politicians. You are writing about the lunatic and hateful right-wing anti-Semitic attacks on a Rothschild, and Rachel chimes in, in an attempt to defend or obscure the facts, What about...
ReplyDeleteBTW, the reporting of centrist/fact-based objective news organizations (*cough * BBC) only appears to be left wing to those nut jobs who are standing too far right to understand what moderation looks like.
You have saved me the trouble of responding to her last comment Vivian. A right winger recently pointed out that the BBC only has stupid people defending Brexit and intelligent ones defending remain. He was so dim that he construed this as bias...
DeleteAs you wish.
DeleteI wonder why it is so hard for Rachel to just say, "Yes, those attacks on Baron Rothschild are vile and wicked." Shouldn't it be easy for anyone with any decency to say that Baron Rothschild is not a lizard or part of a cabal that controls the world?
ReplyDeleteI also wonder why it was so hard for Trump to distance himself from the American Nazis who marched in Charlottesville, Va last year.
Oh, wait...
If there's one sure way to stir-up the hatred of the crazy left, it's to be born into a wealthy family.
ReplyDeleteThat's why Viscount Anthony Wedgwood Benn called himself Tony. It doesn't explain the Sitwells though.
DeleteStansgate was an oddball, he mixed with the wrong people; even the Russians thought he was crazy. The Sitwells were just plain odd.
DeleteHe struck me as far too intelligent to be brainwashed.
DeleteSpot on, Vivian.
ReplyDeleteDo you remember a time when no one spoke of the crazy left or right wing nut jobs? We had different opinions but it was more about “we” and not these divisions that are destroying us. Hate has now replaced disagreeing and violence is its result.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember that time really, the divide is getting wider these days.
DeleteAll I know about him is he owned Waddesdon Manor which we used to visit as children as my dad loved going there. He used to cycle from London to Buckinghamshire as a teenager to visit our relatives in Aylesbury. XXXX
ReplyDeleteI cannot remember the name of the house, but I have some monumental stuff in its garden.
DeleteOff-topic, but peripherally connected...
ReplyDeleteAn old friend from college acquired a step-mother many years ago who, I was told, was related to the 'Rothschild family in New York'. I didn't know what that meant, but what I did mean for my friend was that she and her sister were lent money with which to purchase a house in SF at the height of the last housing bubble.
I wonder if there is a connection between the UK Rothschilds and the US Rothschilds?
Also: Roth-Schild=Red shield
All the Rothschilds are connected, but not for anything other than the obvious reasons. The ones in France make very good wine.
DeleteThis internet thing has become an almost uncontrollable beast, where no-one seems to be accountable any more. It is allowing the mad fringe to become more dominant.
ReplyDeleteIt's Hyde Park Corner x 10 billion.
DeleteWhat a brilliant analogy .... so true mores the pity. XXXX
DeleteGeorge Soros: Rich and good or rich and bad?
ReplyDeleteMark Zuckerberg: ditto
Bill Gates: ditto
It's what they do with their money...
Very true. The extremely rich can - and should - be a benefit to society. I keep having to remind some people that I do not operate under the rules of resentment when it comes to the ever-widening wealth gap.
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