Is there anything more heart-breaking than when someone you’ve admired your whole life turns out to be a sell-out? Or a sycophantic careerist phony?

Thank God Matt Johnson @thethe is not in the same bracket as today’s mediocre celebs & commentators.

Matt simply questioned why the finances of the Gates Foundation are all over the planet’s health authorities/institutions. The ferocity & abuse in the reaction to this simple question was ridiculous (& actually predictable given the brainwashed/propagandised mob involved).

Despite the tedious groans (“Disappointed Matt. Unfollowed!”), I bet for most people — who are into THE THE, who understand who Matt is and what his art stands for — their estimation of him has shot right up.

I’d like to say a big thank you to Matt cos I am absolutely over the moon that he’s living up to the principled guy I thought he was. As far as I’m concerned, he’s up there with Harold Pinter, Ken Loach, Vanessa Redgrave, Alexei Sayle, Maxine Peake, Roger Waters, Michael Rosen.

Some forces try to relegate these heroes to the “fringes”. Same with journalists (the real ones @jonathan_k_cook, @JohnPilger, @PiersRobinson1).

Thankfully, decent people who’re honest & who have a brain aren’t fooled.

They are heroes to me because (in addition to their talent) they are a vital voice in a society which goes to great lengths to undermine democracy and to ensure the population’s voice is suppressed at much as possible.

Interesting: these twerps jumping at the opportunity to attack Matt like a pack of wolves. Yet they witness daily, in the media, the most horrific lies, distortions, distractions straight out of the Nazi propaganda playbook. And these ‘Waitrose radicals’ don't even bat an eyelid!

The mainstream media is becoming more Alice In Wonderland by the day. Where's their outrage when it comes to this horror? Is their outrage sensor switched off when it comes to “official” media?

They go out of their way to take Matt & his followers to task over an uncontroversial tweet — yet they don't take a monopoly-obsessed, corporate multi-billionaire who represents UNACCOUNTABLE PRIVATE POWER to task over a whole catalogue of wrongdoing.

Nor do they appear to take to task their favourite news outlets which serve up a barrage of lies/distortions every day. Why? Because their news information comes dressed in familiar, official, respectable clothes, with an air of faux "authority".

Someone (probably a number of people) decided that Matt had committed some kind of criminal act & reported him for his decidedly uncontroversial tweet. Can you believe this? How can one reconcile such idiocy? I despair that people can behave in such spineless, unprincipled ways.

It's very clever and self-reinforcing. Living proof that power can indoctrinate the public to do their bidding for them. Many people on this thread certainly seem happy to let our 'betters' take care of running society for us (always in THEIR interests, never ours).

Although sad to witness, the ferocity and abuse in the reaction to Matt’s simple question has been so excruciatingly embarrassing that it's fascinating.

The laziest, cheapest insults (the kind which has become the norm over the last 4-5 years).

“Tin foil hat”, “reckless murderer” and the fallacious “Alex Jones” & “far right” associations

Far right? Matt’s out-lefted the lot of you!

Arguments which amount to "Vaccines save lives" — without any other meaningful discussion — are facile. Of course phrases like “human lives” and “murder” are powerful. Manufactured hysteria is bound to play on this. It would be crazy not to expect it.

Take a quick glance at the profiles of those making nasty comments aboutt Matt Johnson and you'll get an idea of the public figures, politicians, media outlets & commentators they admire and find “credible”.

Surprise, surprise! It's the ones which selectively spout embarrassing, emotive, misleading rhetoric, deliberately distort context, omit important facts and actually tell brazen lies (e.g. Guardian gossip columnists).

Cowardly, servile blind trust of obscene power is stupid & dangerous. It's disgusting how you automatically pour scorn on anyone who questions this. Blind trust in governments & politicians is bad enough. But blind trust of UNACCOUNTABLE PRIVATE POWER (corporations)?

Insane!

"But why go after Bill? He wants more distributed wealth, higher income tax on millionaires, free health care, etc..."

Boris Johnson is "proud of our NHS & wants to give people the care they need today & make sure it’s there for our children & grandchildren".

Barack Obama wanted to "shape our future and strive for peace" and other hope-y change-y stuff.

Gates = UNACCOUNTABLE CORPORATE POWER

Has history not taught us, when it comes to matters of humanity and ethics, that words spoken by powerful elite corporations are hollow? Just a slick PR operation?

When has a corporation ever been a force for good and not purely profit-driven?

Bill & Melinda Gates (and their never ending web of high-tech, pharmaceutical and governmental connections) are a million miles away from your grassroots Mama & Papa business giving back to the local community.

I recognise many joining in the sniggerfest against @TheThe on @DrMatthewSweet's timeline. I remember they dutifully called decent grassroots leftwing people cranks, racists & anti-Semites. People who were part of the greatest force for stamping out racism/Anti-Semitism.

I'm glad I saw others dragged into the smears — reminded me of a couple more to add to the list of heroes mentioned above.

The Heaven 17 member they are smearing is pro-Palestine @MartynWare — a well read socialist & political thinker (like Green Gartside @scrittipolitti).

Yeah, what is it about "80s synth pop" types that makes them prone to wacko far right conspiracy theories? Apparently it is because they never did have any brains, only hairstyles.

They've all done outstanding work in every decade since the 80s & have shown that, in addition to their talents, they are erudite in political thinking & philosophy. Not exactly your vacuous, bandwagon-jumping popstars seeking photo opportunities with Blair, Obama & the Pope.

Corbett's video highlights a lot of basic stuff the world needs to know about Bill Gates (not conspiracy theories), which should actually make anyone with the most basic ethical principles feel uncomfortable.

Again, the arguments as to why Gates is a "noble force for good" seem to amount to "Vaccines save lives!"

Why is criticising Gates a no-go?

Is it because his wealth has bought his way into a mass media narrative which grants him critical immunity & impunity for his actions?

Noble intentions? Isn't it normal and reasonable for people to have concerns when it comes to the idea of corporate monopolies, profiteering and unaccountable private power wedded to government agendas?

Do reckless sociopathic leaders have noble intentions? Boris Johnson is excited by the endless possibilities of the innovations of Gates, the pharmaceutical giants & high-tech corporations. http://t co/aZYGgIWBAM

Do you think Bill Gates, & the countless pharma/tech partners he's in bed with, are going to politely turn down mega-profit government contracts to develop all the surveillance, tracking, control, social credit scoring spin-offs which power cannot wait to implement?

Use your brains! Do you want to be like the creeps who nodded their heads and said: "Yes, Bush & Blair are doing the right thing. Saddam is a nasty person and he does have weapons of mass destruction which are a threat to our green and pleasant land"? History remembers cowards.

The hypocrisy of the people who have swallowed the narratives wholesale is astounding. Many who scream “Reckless murderer!” have ushered in the horror we are now living in — through their dutiful adherence to the pro-establishment status quo consensus.

Those who ignore or instinctively defend the glaring failings of the modern corporate system & the horrendous deception/lies at play are really in no position to sit smugly in judgment on those who wish to question Bill Gates disturbing projects.

This mindset comes from the corporate media & from certain public figures/commentators (be they Matthew Sweet, a Guardian hack or some privileged centrist panel show comedian) who are members of a confident, witty club which has tremendous appeal to a large section of the public.

It's like a filtering system, where these career-driven media people get their lucky breaks in life (usually through obedience) and progress to a position where they have a big platform.

The chummy professional environment they are in leads to them becoming loyal courtiers of the establishment and they gain public fans/followers who regurgitate their observations, values, opinions daily (e.g. in the workplace, social media, dinner parties, etc).

They effectively buy into a lifestyle/culture which is designed to make them feel good about themselves (right-on, progressive, etc). It allows them to support the status quo but with just the right sprinkling of "leftishness" to make them hip, so they don't look like Tories.

The centre-right corporate Guardian is the Grand Master of this. Like "M&S Food", its brand is powerful, well-thought out, speaks to its target audience in a seductive, appealing way which reinforces the perfect, ideal, fashionable image people want to have of themselves.

Apple does it brilliantly. The Barack Obama brand does it brilliantly too. It amazes me that people still think Apple is an ethical company and see Obama as the “dude president”. Actually it doesn’t amaze (surprise) me. Such is the power of a well-crafted public image.

It’s a self-reinforcing ecosystem. What's brilliant is that these fashionable institutions get to say (with great authority) who are the cult-y, cranky, conspiracy theorists when in fact THEY are the real cult.

Indeed they’re probably the most dangerous cult of all cos they're the most effective force for ensuring that the status quo remains intact People are more readily brainwashed and propagandised by the Guardian than any amount of wacko site lurking in the dark corners of the web.

Relatively speaking, debating with Tories is a breeze. They'll more or less tell you straight that they despise riff raff, scroungers & will blabber unconvincingly about trickle-down economics etc.

Whereas these 'Waitrose radicals' — who (probably) ultimately know their left veneer is totally fake (like a Benetton advert) — will become like a pack of hyenas whenever they feel threatened by criticism, because their whole belief system collapses.

The hypocrisy and dishonesty is just so sickening. If these people were honest — and let's face it, they can't be honest for risk of humiliation upon being exposed — the phrases below would more or less sum them up...

You can't have any ethics if what's in store for the people of the world (goverments colluding with concentrations of wealth/power) doesn't make your blood run cold. It should be one's moral duty to oppose this—rather than calling people Tin Foil Hats. http://t co/oJBUMasS93

I don't care about getting slagged off for writing a long thread. Call it David & Goliath. It's well worth it to speak up for the "good guys" who are in too short supply in this day & age. Like tiny drops of sanity in a vast ocean of self-serving sycophancy and phoniness.

Last year the kindhearted, anti-racist peacemonger, Andy Partridge of XTC was hounded off Twitter for being a “rabid anti-semite” (I was there in the threads defending him during that episode). The nasty mob got to him & I understand why he wanted to get away from the stress.

I got “anti-semite” slurs for a year & actually got my @josefkalf account permanently banned for calling out a nasty pro-Israel anti-socialist who called Corbyn a child-molester: the famous clip where school kids are cheering him & he shouts “Get back to your lessons!”

I still have hope that there are enough people who are waking up to the hypocrisy and lies in today’s society. Enough grassroots people who are prepared to stand up for what’s right and who can see the manufactured consent and oppose it.

Talking of grassroots, Matt Johnson comes from a salt-of-the-earth East London background, his father was an amazing man with incredible stories of life. The artistic output from Matt and his brothers has been outstanding.

When it comes to capturing modern times — the state of our nation and the planet — the projects of THE THE have proven to be way ahead of their time.

So, adherents, you don't think this chillingly prophetic, prescient artist has the family background, life experience, nous and critical thinking behind him to have a grasp of real life and how the world works? He’s just another tin-foil wacko?

Sorry, I'd rather trust the salt-of-the-earth than the Kool-Aid of blind, cowardly obedience to the establishment, celebrity mediocrity and power-friendly narratives.

It's harder to have the courage to stick to your values & challenge the existing state of affairs. When you're a career-driven drip, it's easy to fall in with the media's power-friendly narratives & to avoid saying anything outside the acceptable limits of your privileged clique.

So, thanks again Matt, for being a true artist; a thoughtful, compassionate thinker with solid politics. Forget about the lazy, nasty idiots. You’re one of the good guys and you’ve got a load of good people behind you who are glad you’re someone who stays true to your principles.

I’d recommend following @TheThe, and if anyone is interested in the kind of topics raised in this thread (media shaping of thought/opinion, manufacturing consent, how power works), I would recommend reading the excellent @Jonathan_k_Cook & his compeers.

Welcome to the era of the Great Disillusionment

By @Jonathan_K_Cook https://www.jonathan-cook.net/blog/2020-04-28/era-great-disillusionment/