Why Ireland needs a judicial public inquiry into historical child sexual predatory abuse within Boarding Schools, Day Schools.

Open letter to Irish Government, Churches and Media
~
Why Ireland needs a judicial public inquiry into historical child sexual predatory abuse within Boarding Schools, Day Schools.




As a child of Ireland, a ward of guardians, I was placed in five Irish Catholic boarding schools over a 11 year period, from 1966 through to 1977. 

A convent boarding school, an elite preparatory school, an Irish speaking school, a reformatory boarding school, another Irish speaking school.

I was subjected to predatory abuse within all these schools. I was utterly alone. I had no advocates, no protectors, I told no one. It was quite awful, all the time. I became habituated to that state. That was my normal. A child of Ireland. I fled Ireland aged 19.

I have endured the adverse effects of cPTSD for all my adult life.  I had always thought I was the problem. Shame, self loathing, narcissism, a tendency to be a bully, paranoia, sleep problems, always over compensating, never good enough. In my heart and mind, a darkness lurked. 

This has impacted all my adult relationships, adversely. I accept my part in all of that. I also understand the symptoms of years of chronic exposure to abuse as they present as behaviour. 

I am in counselling.

I know for sure that I am not an outlier, a unique and rare case. 

I was a child alone, as were so many others, who will remain countless until we find out how many were predated upon by men and women who got away with it, more or less, courtesy of the power of the Institutions.

Survivors deserve honesty, justice and reparation, support and recognition, kindness and respect.

This Inquiry could have been suggested in 1992.  There were already enough proven cases and allegations known to the Government of Ireland and to the Churches to justify same.

What harms have fallen upon survivors in the past 30 years, as a result?

Ireland, as a State and a people,  must avoid  repeating that failure to act in a timely manner.

We need a full Public Inquiry covering all State and Religious run schools across Ireland, where any allegations of predatory abuse have ever emerged since commencement of the State. 

We must start with judicial oversight, with open verified access to all religious order data and papers related to predatory abuse mandated, as a means to meet the needs of Survivors. 

The State and Institutions know what they knew. Survivors do not. That is an inequitable disparity. 

And that is the problem that only a Judicial Public Inquiry can resolve. Timely in this instance means complete the task, look at and appraise the full extent of the child predation, bullying, the violence and psychological abuse, hold accountable those who are accountable, make reparations and design a schooling system, a cultural environment that prevents all of that from ever happening again.

Every child of Ireland deserves nothing less than that, past and present.

Corneilius Crowley







Kindest regards

Corneilius

Thank you for reading this blog.

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Open Letter to Media and Politicians in Ireland - Blackrock Boys

 A recent RTE Radio Documentary 'Blackrock Boys' brought up the story of clerical abuse of children in one of Irelands elite Boarding Schools.

https://www.rte.ie/radio/doconone/1333550-blackrock-boys


Alison O'Connor's article in The Examiner, 11th November speaks to this dreadful situation.

"Where to begin with a story that just never ends? It is almost 30 years ago since I, as a young journalist, first spoke to someone who had been sexually abused by a priest as a child.

Three decades on it has been honestly nauseating to listen, first, to the very fine RTÉ Doc on One, Blackrock Boys, and the subsequent horrific outpouring all week of other boys, now men, of their own abuse at the hands of clerics."


https://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/arid-41003687.html

Vincent Healy, who took his case against the Spiritans to the courts in 2009, and won, as his case was proven, has been working as a Survivors advocate ever since.

 “I want answers from the State and religious congregations about the suffering of children who attended day schools, and only an inquiry can determine the numbers affected. The State has a responsibility to secure the welfare of students, but day-school students have been criminally neglected.

He added the State had been “belligerent towards people like me” and said “victims of abuse have been subjected to the rigours of the courts, criminal and civil”.


The sexual abuse of boys by Spiritan priests first came to public attention in Ireland in March 2009 when Fr Henry Maloney was convicted of abusing Mark Vincent Healy and Paul Daly, who died in June 2011, when both were pupils at St Mary’s College, Rathmines, between 1969 and 1973. Moloney was given a suspended sentence due to ill health and as he was already under strict supervision at the Spiritans’ Kimmage Manor in Dublin. He had been out of ministry and under supervision since 1996.

A second Spiritan priest accused by Mr Healy, Fr Arthur Carragher, died in Canada in January 2011. He taught at St Mary’s in 1969. In 2001 two brothers made abuse allegations against Fr Carragher but there is no extradition treaty between Ireland and Canada, where he then lived, and he successfully resisted being tried in Ireland. The priest later admitted abusing the brothers.

For decades the reaction of both The Spiritans and The Irish State has been to 'manage a crisis' of confidence, to maintain status quo of power in an adversarial manner that has prevented Survivors from a full accounting of the harms caused by predatory clerics and those who masked the abuse of children in their care.

The matter remains unresolved. A public Inquiry is necessary to resolve this situation.

Here follows an open letter I sent out today to Irish Media and politicians.

To the Editor, To members of the Irish Government, an open letter.

A Chara,

The recently aired RTE Radio documentary 'Blackrock Boys' tells a truly awful, tragic story. Two brothers, a few years apart, groomed, bullied and sexually assaulted by the same cleric, in the same school.  They were unable to tell their parents or each other. 

The institutions adversarial defence. Survivors in deep distress for decades. Family life disrupted for generations. A similar pattern took place in many other residential and day schools across Ireland. We do not yet know the full extent and scope of this pattern. That is why we need a Public Inquiry.

The RTE Documentary also speaks to the courage, the humility, the heart of Survivors and their advocates, who work  to hold accountable those who were and are responsible for the harms caused, be they  individuals, Religious or State institutions and other organisations.

The determination of Survivors and their advocates to proceed. in spite of an overtly adversarial dynamic, where the culpable parties attempt to mitigate their exposure to public accountability through various means, methods we are all too familiar, with is heroic.  

It can be said that genuine humane  courage is exemplified when those who have caused harm acknowledge the harm they have caused, admit the things done that prevented prevention, understand  that defensive behaviour by institutions and individuals has exacerbated adverse life long outcomes for those children so harmed, into adulthood,  and to honestly and transparently give a full accounting of what transpired, with a view to prevention, reparations and justice..

That is what Jesus would probably urge, is it not? Hold a full and honest accounting of the harms caused, and address the needs of Survivors.

Ireland is rated in international comparisons as the most helpful State in terms of global goodness.

Why is it that Ireland cannot reach that happy state for hundreds of thousands of it's own children who have been so deeply harmed?



Kindest regards


Corneilius

Thank you for reading this blog.

"Do what you love, it is your gift to universe."

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When we claim the Politicians are incompetent, I think we are trying to evade the truth.

When we, the people, claim the Politicians are incompetent, I think we and the politicians are trying to evade the truth.

The NeoLiberal Politicians are extremely able - indeed they are adept, experts, geniuses - at looting the taxpayer, and increasing wealth extraction. 

Whilst we - the ordinary worker and tax payer - are utterly incompetent in countering that, let alone preventing it.

The inability of Labour socially minded MPs to counter the disgusting abusive campaigns of slander, gaslighting, bullying by the Labour NeoLiberals within the party it self speaks to this truth.

We ordinary folk need to up our game. Big Time. Collectively.



How Bullying operates in Politics.

"Very few people, when put to the test, have the integrity and moral courage to stand up against bullying, harassment, abuse, threats and corruption. The targets of adult bullying are selected often because they DO have the moral courage to challenge; many people will pass by on the other side.

A target of adult bullying is most often chosen because of their strength, not their weaknessResearch shows that targets of bullying tend to have highly developed empathy, and sensitivity for others, a high degree of perceptiveness, high moral values, a well-developed integrity, a strong sense of fair play and reasonableness, a low propensity to violence, a reluctance to pursue grievance, disciplinary or legal action, a strong forgiving streak and a mature understanding of the need to resolve conflict with dialogue. Often, targets of bullying are independent, self-reliant and “different” in some way. Weak people often disingenuously confuse these hallmarks of character with weakness.

Bullies aim to inflict psychological injury more often than physical injury. Their main aim is to control, discredit, isolate and eliminate their target.

The word “victim” also allows disingenuous people to tap into and stimulate other people’s misconceptions and prejudices of victimhood which include the inference that the person was somehow complicit in the abuse. (See just-world fallacy and victim-blame narrative). So I use the word “target”, which is also accurate because bullying involves the intentional singling out of a person for abuse.

Bullies, who have no integrity, are vindictive, aggressive, demanding, and regularly violate others’ boundaries; displaying aggression does not respect peoples’ rights, and a bully’s “requests” come with a negative consequence if the course of action demanded by the bully is declined. A bully’s bad behaviour is entirely his or her responsibility, they intend to cause their targets harm, to undermine them and damage them socially, emotionally, psychologically and sometimes, physically. And they often do.

Bullies typically isolate and dehumanise their targets in order to disempower themIt’s a key tactic of control used by all abusers, it can be particularly injuring, emotionally.

The major triggers for bullying come from the bully’s own sense of inadequacy, according to research

Feeling
 envious and threatened by others with competence, integrity and popularity, the bully will project onto them their own inadequacy and incompetence, and often the bully will use their own behaviours and thoughts, attributing them to their target, to rally support for their “cause”. The inadequacy or envy of a bully is often translated into negative language used intentionally to completely diminish the target’s positive qualities, socially.

Using unwarranted criticism and threats, the bully tries to control their target and subjugate them, without a thought for that persons’ contributions, reputation, well-being, health or self confidence. Sooner or later this person – the bully’s target – realises that they are not only being “managed” but bullied, and they will start to show signs of resistance to that. Often, anything said in the target’s self-defence will be distorted and used by the bully, too. Gaslighting involves attempts to either negate or redefine a target’s experiences, and abusers often use this method.

The bully often fears exposure of his/her own incompetence and inadequacy, and takes steps to disable the the target, typically by isolating them and/or destroying their credibility and reputation among peers and decision-makers, putting them out of the picture in the workplace through dismissal, forced resignation or even early retirement. Once the target has gone, within about two weeks, the bully’s focus turns to someone else and the cycle starts again.

Some people enjoy the sense of power and control that bullying others gives them.  

Online bullies aim to isolate the target, destroy their credibility and force them out of established communities and groups." 

This describes exactly what Brexit, and the anti-Corbyn campaign within Labour and across the News Media, did.

Source : https://politicsandinsights.org/2015/01/22/how-bullying-works-projection-and-scapegoating

This blog is essential reading for everyone who votes, and indeed for those who do not vote...  


Kindest regards


Corneilius

Thank you for reading this blog.

"Do what you love, it is your gift to universe."

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Letter to News Media - Report of IICSA England and Wales ought to send shock waves through English Society

Of these two, which one would be more likely to respond robustly to the IICSA report?


To The Editor

Last week The Report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in England and Wales was delivered.

"The protection of personal and institutional reputations above the protection of children was a frequent institutional reaction. Statutory agencies were not informed, perpetrators were ‘moved on’ and there were failures by those in authority to thoroughly investigate allegations. Records about child sexual abuse allegations were not kept."

This is a pattern familiar to all Irish, Australian, Canadian and American Survivors of Clerical Child Sexual Abuse, Magdalene Laundries, Mental Asylums, Boarding Schools, Day Schools, Adoption Services, Foster Homes, Care Homes and other institutional care settings. 

It is also a pattern familiar to Rape survivors, Domestic  Abuse Survivors and many others.  Indeed, Jeremy Corbyn might be familiar with this cultural reactionary pattern.

The protection of status, image and financial interests of institutions over rides meeting the needs of those who were harmed. That is the pattern.

The publishing of this critically important report was completely over cast by the Conservatives "election-election-election!" soap opera dominating the news cycles in England.

It is true that there is a lot to contend with given the many crises we are all currently enduring. 

Nonetheless, this report ought to send shock waves through English Society at large, just as similar Public Inquiries elsewhere have done.  We ought be appalled at it's conclusions and be evermore determined to change that pattern to one of open, transparent accountability and a robust program of prevention of harm to children, and others rendered vulnerable by power disparity of any kind.


It is therefore both a tragedy and an act of supreme negligence that Labour leader Starmer and others in UK Parliament and indeed the News Media that they are not on the ball on this. One might have hope that 'lessons learned' in other cases might be applied here, but the outlook is not positive. 

How can Irish society help our neighbours, across English society, to confront this cultural problem?

Kindest Regards

Corneilius Crowley

Harrow, London, 


Kindest regards

Corneilius

Thank you for reading this blog.

"Do what you love, it is your gift to universe."

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The Pattern : The independent inquiry into child sexual abuse (IICSA) in England and Wales has delivered its findings; again the evidence emerges.




The independent inquiry into child sexual abuse (IICSA) in England and Wales has delivered its findings;  again the evidence emerges. There is a behavioural pattern here.

"The protection of personal and institutional reputations above the protection of children was a frequent institutional reaction. Statutory agencies were not informed, perpetrators were ‘moved on’ and there were failures by those in authority to thoroughly investigate allegations. Records about child sexual abuse allegations were not kept.

Some institutions had no child protection policies and procedures. Where policies and procedures were in existence, they were often inadequate or not complied with. Inspections of institutions were, at times, lacking. Recommendations made following internal or external reviews were infrequently implemented and sometimes ignored." source : Executive Summary Of IICSA Report.

Evidence of a pattern of behaviour observed in every country that has ever held a  public inquiry into child abuse and the response of institutional culture to the children and adult survivors reporting their abuse. I have been observing this pattern for most of my life. From early boarding school onwards.
What the evidence shows is less a matter of response and responsibility so much as reactionary protectionism.

Evidence that the culture of those who hold power over children is such that it will always seek to protect that power, status and image.  

Evidence that this culture of power will set that priority above the welfare of the children who were under their watch, the children who were harmed, who reported their abuse, and those who were silent.

If that priority stands above the social material welfare of the children, it stands over the social material welfare of our entire community.

That priority stands above the vulnerable within families and  community halls, within the Churches and Temples, within Police Stations, it stands over your local councillor and your local MP,  denial and dehumanisation is found written into so-called Sacred Texts and our News Entertainment Media, within Banks and Prisons and in many other areas of our institutional systems.

Where's our insurance policy to protect us from loss of power, loss of wealth and status?

Defend the Flag.  Protect the Power. 

Who will stand for the children, wading neck deep, against such a cold, cruel cultural tide?

We must give some serious thought as to what that really means.

"There are things that should happen in a child's life, and there are things that should not happen that do."

A child should never be exploited by anyone for sex, and when the child tries to reach out for help the child must be made safe from the predator, and child's case must be dealt with transparently, robustly to ensure future safety.

The consequences, of both the abuse and the malign cultural reaction of those in power to the abused, linger on and on, and on.

Every suicide of a neglected, abandoned child or an adult survivor is also a matter of social murder, murder by neglect. The Institutionalised neglect of duty of care.

Decades of psychological, emotional and physical distress, some of it passed through to the children of the survivors, in learned behaviour and many other ways too that cause harm to that generation. Without being resolved, the patterns and cycles of distress continue to play out. This social silence is a well of pain, and it must be drawn, and emptied.

The costs of child abuse are externalised by those who were and are in positions of trust, care and power over children. 

The lived experience costs - hundreds of thousands of distressed lives, if not millions. 

The social material costs of inadequate social and economic services support systems crisis managing that distress, only to exacerbate it.

Adults within a clearly defined structure and culture of power behave in this manner towards vulnerable distressed harmed children.

This is a cultural behavioural characteristic, not merely the malign influence of a few 'bad apples'.

This must stop. 

Today.

But here's the thing - it's not just about sexual abuse of children and vulnerable people. 

It is about the abuse of power by anyone in a position of power and dominance, and the cultural pattern of defence of that Power at all and any cost. Be it Blair or Putin, Savile or Epstein, Suella Braverman or Boris Johnson, be it Austerity or War, Fracking or maintaining poverty as a political and economic strategic necessity, the harmed are routinely ignored, their cases minimised.

What of the 204,000 deaths caused by pandemic mismanagement, the 330,000 deaths caused by the economic violence of Austerity? What of the voices, evidence, lived experience of all those closely connected to the deceased?

Child Sexual Abuse is a pattern of behaviour that tells us more about our society, our culture and our current condition than most will acknowledge. Some will try to weaponise CSA to distract, to make tribal political points.

I am saying that the abuse of children and the defence of institutional power are two defining cultural behavioural characteristic, and that culture is of one of power hierarchy, violence, wealth and warfare which currently afflict us all and it is profoundly unhealthy. 

Healthy governance requires we acknowledge this and then take intentional, determined and robust action to correct the situation.

All of us. Join the dots. Before it's yet again too late, already.





Kindest regards

Corneilius

Thank you for reading this blog.

"Do what you love, it is your gift to universe."

This blog, like all my other content creation work is not monetised via advertising. If you like what I present, consider sharing my content. If you can afford the price of a cup of coffee or a pint of beer/ale/cider for a few months, please donate via my Patreon account.

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The Truth About Poverty - it is deliberately maintained, and why imposing judgemental caricature of the impoverished as the mainstream narrative is so important.

The Truth About Poverty - it is deliberately maintained, and why imposing judgemental caricature of the impoverished as the mainstream narrative is so important.

"The silver lining in an otherwise grim landscape is that the disastrous right-wing grip on public policy has been shattered. Truss was right on one thing: it is an imperative the country breaks out of economic stagnation. The alternative to trickle-down economics is to raise public and private investment along with rising exports, the universal drivers of economic growth. Britain needs a step change upwards in public investment and it needs to recast its financial and ownership system to foster the great companies that innovate and invest."

The Observer Lead Opinion Sunday 16 October 2022

Nothing about poverty, let alone the fact that poverty is deliberately inculcated, intentionally maintained, the impoverished constantly gaslighted, with great human harm as a consequence .... and as it happens, no - the neoliberal grip has not been shattered, they are flexing it, and there's more to come.

Middle Class myopia. Hope. Unfortunately, growth of the economy does not correlate with a robust, happy pulse of the health, welfare and safety of the population. It is not an accurate measure, taken on it's own. 

The Observer headline for this rather dull witted passage: Patronising bollocks.


None of this is new, none of this poverty is necessary.

1914
The lived experience and the meaning of social mutual aid, and it's absence.

2008 - The Subprime Lending Fraud collapses, States bail out fraudulent system. Poverty increases, wealth accumulation increases. Austerity and Big Society, tiny state. 

'The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better'
 was published in 2009. 

"Written by Kate Pickett and Richard Wilkinson, the book highlights the "pernicious effects that inequality has on societies: eroding trust, increasing anxiety and illness, (and) encouraging excessive consumption". 

It shows that for each of eleven different health and social problems: physical health, mental health, drug abuse, education, imprisonment, obesity, social mobility, trust and community life, violence, teenage pregnancies, and child well-being, outcomes are significantly worse in more unequal rich countries."

Source : https://equalitytrust.org.uk/resources/the-spirit-level

2022 - Things are not improving, are they? War budgets and Billionaires wealth are increasing in line with the increase of poverty. 

The Truth About Poverty

Everything we think we know about poverty is probably incorrect, a caricature of the impoverished, designed to mislead us. 

The Truth About Poverty - and why it is deliberately maintained, and why imposing judgemental caricature as the mainstream narrative is so important.

We see all around us, above us, besides us, below us - an institutional culture of deliberate judgemental paternalistic societally enforced snobbery, for profit. 

People must be taught to see the poor as having only themselves to blame 'because people are flawed and selfish and lazy. Inferior.'

What of the 'advice' given to the poor from that perspective?

Pull up your socks?

Whereas the truth is much simpler - most people are decent, honest and caring. And most people are living with near intolerable levels of chronic stress.

Why so decent? Because it's so much healthier. That's just common sense. Food banks, local charities, applause for health care workers, raises for all workers, peace and a clean environment. No more than what we need for a genuinely healthy life. Decency. Humanity. Community. These are all real political forces if we truly understood their potency.


Rutger Bergman gets into the detail, in the video just above - it's a friendly chat.

Make a cup of team sit back, open the popcorn, switch off the phone, take it all in. This is healthy science meets social care as an economic commons at it's very best.

Given our general good nature, what's happened to our perception of one another?

This raises the question as to why the caricature of poverty and the theme of the selfish individual remain as existential assumptions within the narratives of the established political and economic system, irrespective of ideology, creed, 

Hegemony 

Maintaining the dominance of Corporations and Wealth over the people, as it is,  is cruelty beyond imagination.




Kindest regards

Corneilius

Thank you for reading this blog.

"Do what you love, it is your gift to universe."

This blog, like all my other content creation work is not monetised via advertising. If you like what I present, consider sharing my content. If you can afford the price of a cup of coffee or a pint of beer/ale/cider for a few months, please donate via my Patreon account.

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The Labour Files : Bullying in Politics, how it operates. Bystanders are faced with a choice - enable or disable the bullies.


The Labour Files : Al Jazeera has tens of thousands of documents that reveal an internal series of dirty campaigns to get rid of Socialist members, using false allegations to engineer dismissals, there was intimidation, slander, racism, minor incidents escalated, spurious charges of breaking party rules and even misogyny against targets, and even when there are witnesses who confirm the alleged offences did not occur, the purge continued without regard. Appalling behaviour.

Listen to the words of Wimborne-Idrissi. She was interviewed for ‘The Labour Files’ and gave her view afterwards here In particular this is the most important question we all need to ask, and answer, and be accountable.

‘If I were to have a face to face discussion with Keir Starmer, I would ask him does he seriously believe that the people of this country want a party in which the sort of injustices and abuses that were revealed in the Al Jazeera files take place. People will ask the question, if you cannot manage dissent and honest debate in your own party, how on earth can you presume to stand as the leader of the government of a nation?’

It is a vital and disturbing question that remains unanswered.


It's not about anti-Semitism, it's not about Racism, it's not about Misogyny - it's about bullying in politics, how it is operated as a strategic and tactical weapon. It's one thing to be faced with an office bully - it's another matter when it is co-ordinated action by a large group of people aimed at another group.

He knew, he knew all along.

The Labour Files documentary reveals a dramatic tip of the iceberg of a sordid callous cold behavioural dynamic within a so-called socialist workers party. A culture of bullying fully institutionalised and deployed as a tactical weapon against decent, honourable people willing to put effort into forming a more healthy, humane and body politic, a genuinely just and equitable social agenda of State Governance and International Relations.

Very few people, when put to the test, have the integrity and moral courage to stand up against bullying, harassment, abuse, threats and corruption. The targets of adult bullying are selected often because they DO have the moral courage to challenge; many people will pass by on the other side.

A target of adult bullying is most often chosen because of their strength, not their weakness. Research shows that targets of bullying tend to have highly developed empathy, and sensitivity for others, a high degree of perceptiveness, high moral values, a well-developed integrity, a strong sense of fair play and reasonableness, a low propensity to violence, a reluctance to pursue grievance, disciplinary or legal action, a strong forgiving streak and a mature understanding of the need to resolve conflict with dialogue. "

Source : 
https://politicsandinsights.org/2015/01/22/how-bullying-works-projection-and-scapegoating/

And it makes perfect sense. This one blog article is a genuine resource for anyone trying to understand what is being done, and I think that it is also a useful lens to try out, when trying to peer through the fog of war.

The Innocent and the Guilty. The Strong and the Weak. 
In that order, Left to Right.

Bystanders within The Labour Party at all levels are now faced with a choice - support those who were targeted and attacked, and do so in public, so that all can see, in order to disable the bullies, or enable more of the same. They have the evidence and now the ball is in their court. They need to ace it.

It is not an easy task. Not many people understand enough about how bullying really works.

This blog post (see below), from Kitty Jones, 'How Bullying In Politics Works' will prove an invaluable resource for all those afflicted by the bullying The Labour Files has laid out.

They say that Politics is distinct from Healthy Governance in that Politics is about  the struggle for power, a war waged to gain access to leveraged power, for good or for ill. Of course, all involved will claim fervently their case is for good. 

Healthy Governance on the other hand is the best practice management of a communities or countries shared resources, their shared environment, their shared equity and wealth, for the best welfare of all concerned, especially those who are most vulnerable. 

What 'The Labour Files' documentaries and trove of documents reveal is the dark side of politics in the pure form, designed to thwart healthy Governance, in full swing within Labour, a party purporting to represent the interests of workers as a counter weight to the influence of the owners, Capital as some describe - whom I like to call the Wealth Extraction and Accumulation Faction - who extract wealth and accumulate it as a political and cultural weapon, in order to maintain their position as a dominant political, economic and cultural hegemon.

Bystanders within the Labour Party must now get off their comfortable fences and act. 

The 330,000 Austerity deaths and 240,000 COVID deaths caused by the deliberate mismanagement of successive Conservative Governments over a 12 year period ought to urge them onwards, to prove that there are decent people who can take robust action when the time arrives for such action. That time was then and is now.

----- the following are excerpts from the blog.-----

https://politicsandinsights.org/2015/01/22/how-bullying-works-projection-and-scapegoating

"Very few people, when put to the test, have the integrity and moral courage to stand up against bullying, harassment, abuse, threats and corruption.

A target of adult bullying is most often chosen because of their strength, not their weakness

Research shows that targets of bullying tend to have highly developed empathy, and sensitivity for others, a high degree of perceptiveness, high moral values, a well-developed integrity, a strong sense of fair play and reasonableness, a low propensity to violence, a reluctance to pursue grievance, disciplinary or legal action, a strong forgiving streak and a mature understanding of the need to resolve conflict with dialogue. 

Often, targets of bullying are independent, self-reliant and “different” in some way. Weak people often disingenuously confuse these hallmarks of character with weakness.

Bullies aim to inflict psychological injury more often than physical injury. Their main aim is to control, discredit, isolate and eliminate their target.

The word “victim” also allows disingenuous people to tap into and stimulate other people’s misconceptions and prejudices of victimhood which include the inference that the person was somehow complicit in the abuse. (See just-world fallacy and victim-blame narrative). So I use the word “target”, which is also accurate because bullying involves the intentional singling out of a person for abuse.

Introduction to the Serial Bully – “Perhaps the most easily recognisable Serial Bully traits are:

  • Jekyll and Hyde nature – Dr Jekyll is “charming” and “charismatic”; “Hyde” is “evil”;
  • Exploits the trust and needs of organisations and individuals, for personal gain;
  • Convincing liar – Makes up anything to fit their needs at that moment;
  • Damages the health and reputations of organisations and individuals;
  • Reacts to criticism with Denial, Retaliation, Feigned Victimhood;
  • Blames victims/targets;
  • Moves to a new target when the present one burns out.

What is a Bully – “Projection behaviour and denial are hallmarks of the serial bully. It is believed by some that bullying is present behind all forms of harassment, discrimination, prejudice, abuse, persecution, conflict and violence.

What bullies fear most is exposure and being called publicly to account for their behaviour so they can go to great lengths to keep their target (victim) quiet from misdirection when it is reported to using threats of disciplinary action, dismissal, gagging clauses and fear.

Despite the façade that such people put up, bullies have another side to them. What complicates matters is that the  bully may not be aware or acknowledge to themselves they very often suffer from one or more of the following:

# Envy# Jealousy# Low self-confidence# Low self-esteem# Feel insecure# Seething with resentment# Bitterness# Hatred# Anger# InadequacyAnd may have a wide range of prejudices as a vehicle for dumping anger onto others.”

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I urge my Labour Party readers to go to Kitty Jones blog on Bullying in Politics and read it, print it out, keep it handy, and utilise the insight, wisdom and robust clarity it articulates as and  when the need arises.

"Very few people, when put to the test, have the integrity and moral courage to stand up against bullying, harassment, abuse, threats and corruption. The targets of adult bullying are selected often because they DO have the moral courage to challenge; many people will pass by on the other side.

"A target of adult bullying is most often chosen because of their strength, not their weakness. 

Research shows that targets of bullying tend to have highly developed empathy, and sensitivity for others, a high degree of perceptiveness, high moral values, a well-developed integrity, a strong sense of fair play and reasonableness, a low propensity to violence, a reluctance to pursue grievance, disciplinary or legal action, a strong forgiving streak and a mature understanding of the need to resolve conflict with dialogue.

Often, targets of bullying are independent, self-reliant and “different” in some way. 

Weak people often disingenuously confuse these hallmarks of character with weakness."

From Kitty Jones Blog on Bullying in Politics, how it operates.

Listen to the words of Wimborne-Idrissi. She was interviewed for ‘The Labour Files’ and gave her view afterwards here, in Mint Press News. In particular:

‘If I were to have a face to face discussion with Keir Starmer, I would ask him does he seriously believe that the people of this country want a party in which the sort of injustices and abuses that were revealed in the Al Jazeera files take place. People will ask the question, if you cannot manage dissent and honest debate in your own party, how on earth can you presume to stand as the leader of the government of a nation?’

It is a vital and disturbing question that remains unanswered. And I think it is a question that needs to be asked everywhere formal governance is active, within our legislatures and our police stations, within our churches and the halls of finance, across all social services and social strata.

What is it with this bully culture? 




Kindest regards

Corneilius

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Power, grift, harm causation and denial in one meme - Externalised Costs imposed upon the most vulnerable.


Power, grift, harm causation and denial in one meme - Externalised Costs imposed upon the most vulnerable.

As it happens, it has been understood that combustion particulates cross the blood barrier in the womb since the mid 1980s. This is not 'new' information, it is further more precise confirmation. I will cite four resources, using their own text, within quotation marks, to lay out the basic floor plan.


1. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/05/toxic-air-pollution-particles-found-in-lungs-and-brains-of-unborn-babies

"Toxic air pollution particles have been found in the lungs, livers and brains of unborn babies, long before they have taken their first breath. Researchers said their “groundbreaking” discovery was “very worrying”, as the gestation period of foetuses is the most vulnerable stage of human development.

Thousands of black carbon particles were found in each cubic millimetre of tissue, which were breathed in by the mother during pregnancy and then passed through the bloodstream and placenta to the foetus.

Dirty air was already known to strongly correlate with increased miscarriagespremature births, low birth weights and disturbed brain development. But the new study provides direct evidence of how that harm may be caused. The scientists said the pollution could cause lifelong health effects."


2. https://www.sciencealert.com/shocking-new-evidence-suggests-soot-particles-can-cross-the-placenta-after-all

"Tiny carbon particles dumped into the atmosphere by industry and transport have been found on the wrong side of the placenta - a critical barrier meant to protect unborn babies from harm.

Only last year researchers spotted ominous flecks of soot in placental white blood cells, the first solid indication that the pollutants could migrate so close to a foetus. Now there's evidence that these potential toxins can creep even closer still.

Researchers from Belgium's Hasselt University and East-Limburg Hospital used high resolution imagery to highlight tiny accumulations of black particles on both the mother's and foetus's side of every placenta taken from 28 births.

Further testing on the tiny clumps confirmed they were firmly embedded in the tissue, and were made up of the kind of potentially hazardous 'black carbon' particles emitted by combustion engines and fossil fuel power plants.

While the study stops short of linking carbon particles with birth complications, it does show the barrier at the core of the placenta isn't filtering out enough of the material already associated with a variety of serious health concerns for developing bodies."


3. https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2020/01/fossil-fuel-political-giving-outdistances-renewables-13-to-one/

"Corporations, special interest groups, and individuals inject billions of dollars into the American political system every year. Much of the financial support in politics is concealed from public view, as some rules – and loopholes – allow “dark money” and undisclosed donors to remain behind a wall. But some of those contributions can be traced via the Federal Election Commission, the IRS, congressional public records offices, and other resources.

The Open Secrets database, for instance, shines a light on this often murky process. The website is the work of the Center for Responsive Politics, whose stated mission is to improve transparency and citizen engagement around the influences of money in public policy. The website uses existing transparency laws to track the finances of candidates, political parties, lobbyists, and outside groups, and it describes ways cash is funneled through the system.

Few seriously question whether fossil fuel money in politics has played a substantial role in climate change and energy policy, and some researchers say it’s the single most important reason climate action has been stalled for decades in the U.S. Investigative reporting by InsideClimate News showed that Exxon and other oil companies have spent more than $5 billion undermining climate science and fighting clean energy policies. It reported in a 2017 article on how money circulated through multiple channels:

The industry sowed doubt for decades about climate science, spending $2.9 billion on advocacy advertising alone in a 10-year period ending in 2015. It spent $1.3 billion more lobbying to shape public policy on energy issues during the same period and has pumped out $827.9 million in campaign contributions since 2000 to elect sympathetic officials at the local, state and federal levels.

While the breadth of fossil fuel spending on climate policy and political issues is not surprising, the scope and scale is perhaps best understood when hard numbers are brought out to daylight.

Fossil fuel interests outspend renewable energy by more than 13 to 1"

4. https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/fighting-climate-chaos/exxon-and-the-oil-industry-knew-about-climate-crisis/exxons-climate-denial-history-a-timeline/

A timeline of the understanding within Fossil Fuel Industry of the likelihood of Greenhouse Gas rapid increase due to fossil fuel use leading to climate disruption and the development of campaigns of denial and obfuscation in order to avoid taking action to prevent that outcome.  Prevention which would have imposed costs that might have made the entire industry unprofitable, and reduced the economic and political power behind it. I cite the early years from the Greenpeace Article, and note that the basic scientific proof of Greenhouse Gas effect had been established in 1859, by John Tyndal, an Irish Physicist, a century before I was born.

The following is taken from the Greenpeace Article. The point here is knowledge of harm, and a long campaign of denial - in effect the externalisation of the costs of preventing the harm. Now, babies in all our mothers wombs are bearing that cost.

"1957

Scientists working at Humble Oil (now ExxonMobil) publish a paper on the dilution of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and ocean. The paper notes: “Although appreciable amounts of carbon dioxide have undoubtedly been added from soils by tilling of land, apparently a much greater amount has resulted from the combustion of fossil fuels”–indicating company scientists understood the link between fossil fuel use and rising CO2. (Source: Center for International Environmental Law)

1978 (Global COlevel: 335 ppm, Exxon annual profit: $2.4 billion)

James Black, working under Exxon’s Products Research Division, writes an internal briefing paper called “The Greenhouse Effect” following from a 1977 presentation to Exxon’s management committee. The paper warns that human-caused emissions could raise global temperatures and result in serious consequences. “Present thinking holds that man has a time window of five to ten years before the need for hard decisions regarding changes in energy strategies might become critical,” Black writes in his summary of the presentation. (Source:InsideClimate News)

1979-1983

Major fossil fuel companies, including Exxon, Mobil, Amoco, Phillips, Texaco, Shell, Sunoco, Sohio and Standard Oil of California and Gulf Oil (two companies that became Chevron) meet regularly as part of a task force to discuss the science and implications of climate change. The meetings are organized with the help of the American Petroleum Institute. A minutes document from one of the meetings suggests that oil companies knew that climate change was occurring, and that they would bear some responsibility for managing it. (Source: InsideClimate News)

1982

Roger Cohen, director of the Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences Laboratory at Exxon, writes a memo summarizing Exxon’s climate modeling research. The memo states: “The consensus is that a doubling of atmospheric CO2 from its pre-industrial revolution value would result in an average global temperature rise of (3.0 ± 1.5)°C [equal to 5.4 ± 1.7°F]…There is unanimous agreement in the scientific community that a temperature increase of this magnitude would bring about significant changes in the earth’s climate, including rainfall distribution and alterations in the biosphere.” Cohen would later become a lead climate science denier at an Exxon-funded front group.

1983  (Global COlevel: 343 ppm, Exxon annual profit: $5 billion)

Exxon cuts funding for climate research from $900,000 per year to $150,000. Exxon’s total research budget at the time was more than $600 million.

2000 (Global COlevel: 370 ppm, Exxon annual profit: $17.7 billion)

ExxonMobil publishes an ad, titled “Unsettled science,” highlighting a study showing a historical decrease in temperatures in the Sargasso Sea. CEO Lee Raymond presents the study at that year’s shareholder meeting as evidence that fossil fuels may not be causing global warming. The author of the study, Lloyd Keigwin, later complains that Exxon misused the data: “I believe ExxonMobil has been misleading in its use of the Sargasso Sea data. There’s really no way these results bear on the question of human-induced climate warming…I think the sad thing is that a company with the resources of ExxonMobil is exploiting the data for political purposes…”

January 2001

George W. Bush inaugurated as US president, with $100,000 in inaugural funding from ExxonMobil. Just days before Bush’s inauguration, Exxon’s publishes an advertisement titled “An energy policy for the new administration.” The ad argues that “the unrealistic and economically damaging Kyoto process needs to be rethought.” 

February 2001

The Bush White House receives a letter from Exxon asking if the administration can oust climate scientist Robert Watson from his position as chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Under Watson’s chairmanship, the IPCC had released a number of reports linking climate change to human activity.

March 2001

Bush administration announces withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol."

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It's worth reading all 4 articles.

Externalising costs and political corruption - hedging bets on behalf of Wealth Extraction and Wealth Accumulation as a Political Hegemon, waging a war against democratic legislative regulation of toxic industrial practice.

What must we do to counter this?

Kindest regards

Corneilius

Thank you for reading this blog.

"Do what you love, it is your gift to universe."

This blog, like all my other content creation work is not monetised via advertising. If you like what I present, consider sharing my content. If you can afford the price of a cup of coffee or a pint of beer/ale/cider for a few months, please donate via my Patreon account.

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