Brendan O'Neill - Covid, Class & The Decay Of Cultural Confidence In The West

This time on "So What You're Saying Is....", Peter Whittle is joined once again by Brendan O'Neill, editor of Spiked Online and a columnist for various national and international publications. A lockdown sceptic, Brendan believes the tier system is horrendously damaging. He also finds the phrase "the new normal" unbelievably scary, believing it should worry us all. When people assume almost total control of our lives to the extent that they tell us when we can leave our house, who we can hug at Christmas, when we can travel and go to work, when we can go to pubs and restaurants and what we must eat whilst we are there, they are not just going to relinquish that. There are a lot of people who like telling people what to do, and they've had a real taste for authoritarianism over the past year and it will be a really big wrestle to take back our freedom from those that took them away. Covid & Class: The attacks on pubs in particular reeks of classism, Brendan O'Neill argues. But also during lockdown those who were comfortable probably had a pleasant experience, living in their larger homes, with their secure jobs and the ability to order food from companies such as Deliveroo. Meanwhile, for the rest of society life was unbearable. Lockdown revealed an important class divide -- one which was not refelected by the (middle class) media. Brendan also believes that Boris has bottled it on the culture wars. His silence during all of the momentous events of the past few months (Black Lives Matter, statue controversies, legacy of Churchill and the singing of Rule Britannia at The Last Night of the Proms, national institutions auditing their collections based on connections to slavery etc.) should be a major source of concern for everyone. Nevertheless, he thinks the Tories still have time to retain their advantage over Labour because Keir Starmer and Labour are far too woke and out of touch with the Red Wall. --------------- SUBSCRIBE: If you are enjoying the show, please subscribe to our channel on YouTube (click the Subscribe Button underneath the video and then Click on the Bell icon next to it to make sure you Receive All Notifications) AUDIO: If you prefer Audio you can subscribe on itunes or Soundcloud. Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-923838732 itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/s... SUPPORT/DONATE: "So What You're Saying Is.." is still very new and to continue to produce quality programming we need your support. Your donations will help ensure the show not only continues but can grow into a major online platform challenging the cultural orthodoxies dominant in our institutions, public life and media. PAYPAL/ CARD PAYMENTS - ONE TIME & MONTHLY: You can donate in a variety of ways via our website: http://www.newcultureforum.org.uk/#do... It is set up to accept one time and monthly donations. ABOUT THE SHOW: So What You're Saying Is... (SWYSI) is a weekly discussion show with experts and significant figures from the political, cultural and academic worlds. The host is Peter Whittle (@PRWhittle), Founder & Director of The New Culture Forum, a Westminster-based think tank that seeks to challenge the cultural orthodoxies dominant in the media, academia, and British culture / society at large. JOIN US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Web: http://www.newcultureforum.org.uk F: https://www.facebook.com/NCultureForum/ Y: http://www.youtube.com/c/NewCultureForum T: http://www.twitter.com/NewCultureForum (@NewCultureForum)