I can't imagine a reference to Oswald Mosley that did not include this savage quote about his fictional representation as Roderick Spode:
"'The trouble with you, Spode, is that just because you have succeeded in inducing a handful of half-wits to disfigure the London scene by going about in black shorts, you think you're someone. You hear them shouting "Heil, Spode!" and you imagine it is the Voice of the People. That is where you make your bloomer. What the Voice of the People is saying is: "Look at that frightful ass Spode swanking about in footer bags! Did you ever in your puff see such a perfect perisher?”'
What we have to look forward to under Stephen Miller and Donald Trump with the help of ICE/GESTAPO, MAGA,Tom Homan, and Kristi Gnome. Video of Kristallnacht violence in Germany. ICE does the same thing! IS THIS HOW YOU WANT TO LIVE?
The problem in 2025 vs 1936 England is the fascists aren't a private gang, like The Proud Boys in 2017. The fascists are the government, with their ICE secret police and other masked federal agents. If leftists try to fight the fascists in 2025, even with a quarter million protestors, how many will be murdered? Our government is itching for the opportunity to murder citizens.
Brit here. Churchill - not a nice man - was the necessary evil at that time.
Neville Chamberlain on the other hand WAS a nice guy. And look where he nearly got us. If he was an American today, he'd probably be the Dems minority leader. Doing "what's right", walking the path of concessions and compromise.
I lived at the corner of Cable St and Back Church Ln for 8 years. I walked past the mural every day and knew the condensed version of the story but this is the first time I’ve heard the story in full. Sadly, the fascists are riding again, so it’s good to be reminded. Thank you!
My father lived through the Great Depression and WW II and was a New Deal Democrat. And needless to say, an anti-fascist. I remember him saying he wanted the party to "Tax and tax and tax, and spend and spend and spend, and elect and elect and elect (Democrats)."
Yes, nice guy, that Churchill. He was the necessary guy when it came to war with Nazi Germany, he had the moxie and charisma to lead the country, but outside a war with a regime as monstrous as Hitler's, he was best removed and forgotten. In his early days in South Africa and Ethiopia, his true views (as expressed in his book THE RIVER WAR) are clear enough, and I believe he referred to Franco as a "true Christian gentleman." He also referred to the Indians (whom he starved with engineered famine) as "a beastly people."
And when he was Home Secretary, the measures he took against striking Welsh miners made his name stink in their valleys. It still did even in World War 2.
How Winston got anywhere after GALLIPOLI! still leaves me stunned. But then, we now have a failed casino owner, paedo, rapist, felon in charge for a second term...
Not having grown up in Britain, I’d never learned about the Battle of Cable Street — until I became a London bus driver for four years. The eastern terminus of Route 100 is in Cable Street so my curiosity was piqued upon seeing a commemorative plaque when I was parked up there between trips.
I can't imagine a reference to Oswald Mosley that did not include this savage quote about his fictional representation as Roderick Spode:
"'The trouble with you, Spode, is that just because you have succeeded in inducing a handful of half-wits to disfigure the London scene by going about in black shorts, you think you're someone. You hear them shouting "Heil, Spode!" and you imagine it is the Voice of the People. That is where you make your bloomer. What the Voice of the People is saying is: "Look at that frightful ass Spode swanking about in footer bags! Did you ever in your puff see such a perfect perisher?”'
― P.G. Wodehouse, The Code of the Woosters"
The Communists organized the resistance.
The Men They Couldn't Hang sang about it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IesWkcW4j8o
What we have to look forward to under Stephen Miller and Donald Trump with the help of ICE/GESTAPO, MAGA,Tom Homan, and Kristi Gnome. Video of Kristallnacht violence in Germany. ICE does the same thing! IS THIS HOW YOU WANT TO LIVE?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yjqPlJ88NQ
This is silly, but how many of you flashed on Gandalf yelling "You shall not pass!" at the Balrog in the Mines of Moria?
Back in the 1920s in Perth Amboy, NJ, just a couple of blocks from here, the KKK had the shit beat out of them.
https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/when-klan-comes-town/
The problem in 2025 vs 1936 England is the fascists aren't a private gang, like The Proud Boys in 2017. The fascists are the government, with their ICE secret police and other masked federal agents. If leftists try to fight the fascists in 2025, even with a quarter million protestors, how many will be murdered? Our government is itching for the opportunity to murder citizens.
Brit here. Churchill - not a nice man - was the necessary evil at that time.
Neville Chamberlain on the other hand WAS a nice guy. And look where he nearly got us. If he was an American today, he'd probably be the Dems minority leader. Doing "what's right", walking the path of concessions and compromise.
So the question is: are we there yet?
Mosley and Unity Mitford. Weird people.
I lived at the corner of Cable St and Back Church Ln for 8 years. I walked past the mural every day and knew the condensed version of the story but this is the first time I’ve heard the story in full. Sadly, the fascists are riding again, so it’s good to be reminded. Thank you!
What a lovely punching fascists type of story! Inspiring!
My father lived through the Great Depression and WW II and was a New Deal Democrat. And needless to say, an anti-fascist. I remember him saying he wanted the party to "Tax and tax and tax, and spend and spend and spend, and elect and elect and elect (Democrats)."
Christ! Another Oswald...
Yes, nice guy, that Churchill. He was the necessary guy when it came to war with Nazi Germany, he had the moxie and charisma to lead the country, but outside a war with a regime as monstrous as Hitler's, he was best removed and forgotten. In his early days in South Africa and Ethiopia, his true views (as expressed in his book THE RIVER WAR) are clear enough, and I believe he referred to Franco as a "true Christian gentleman." He also referred to the Indians (whom he starved with engineered famine) as "a beastly people."
And when he was Home Secretary, the measures he took against striking Welsh miners made his name stink in their valleys. It still did even in World War 2.
How Winston got anywhere after GALLIPOLI! still leaves me stunned. But then, we now have a failed casino owner, paedo, rapist, felon in charge for a second term...
Ta, Erik. This was well portrayed in a great little British TV series, whose title I cannot recall.
Several, actually. They are much less hesitant to call an Asshole an Asshole than are we.
Thanks for this view into history that is so pertinent to our times. Different times but
similar circumstances.
Not having grown up in Britain, I’d never learned about the Battle of Cable Street — until I became a London bus driver for four years. The eastern terminus of Route 100 is in Cable Street so my curiosity was piqued upon seeing a commemorative plaque when I was parked up there between trips.