Let’s clarify a few things. The Saturday Essay. The world is heading straight into a combinations of storms that are all deadly. Political, racial, generational and economic. And they are very few folks calling it as it is. With wisdom. And advice. So, arrogantly here goes!

Politics. Elections are won in the centre by middle class voters who have things to lose. When you get extremists telling you how to change the world then the opposite for them happens. Hatton/foot thatcher. Corben Boris. Hillary Trump. You are going the same way to get Don back.

Normal sane people look at what is going on in Seattle City council in horror. Defund the police, make whites walk naked in the streets with ashcloth, go communist. It’s all there to see. This will re-elect Trump. For the record, Trump like Boris is morally bankrupt. And bad.

Here’s what the “left” and “woke” need to do to make progress on their political aims. Find a Tony Blair type. Someone electable. If trump gets re elected, I’m blaming you lot for gross stupidity.

Race. The black race has been treated appalling in the history of the world. Macro and micro. The good news is that in the last 50 years the progress has been huge. The intellectual battle is won. Anyone who thinks about black inferiority or apartheid wil be locked up. You won!

So what we are currently debating about now is the speed of eliminating the remnants of the thick racists. The issue is not if, but how quickly. Right? So here’s the curveball for you smart kids. The more you push and bully and preach, the longer it will take. Look around.

Plenty of examples of folks who have immense sympathy for your cause digging their heels in not taking the knee. Becuase imho that how people with “backbone” react. They stand up to bullies. Especially young brash ones. Be patient.

“Easy for you to say” is the retort. Well it is actually, cause blacks aren’t the only ones who got a shit deal. Try catholics in scotland or Jews in general. We know and we get it. And we want it to end. My own example is scotland. Institutionally sectarian in the 20th century.

It isn’t any more. Sure, you still get the odd example and then many screaming “it’s still anti catholic”. It isn’t. Loads of micro examples of thicko bigotry but macro-wise the war is won. Once the road is set, it’s only a matter of time. And for black lives, the road is set.

Tactically, don’t force it. Be like the woman in the household. If this isn’t sexist: They make all the decisions by being smart wnough to let the man still think he is in charge. The trick here, when the road is set, is be smart.

This takes us to generational storms. “Ok boomer”. Well, that’s not going to work for you. My generation is ready to move aside but we won’t if disrespected. We screwed up in so many ways but we have all that wisdom of error now. And we too were like you in our 20s. It’s not new.

Here again you are tactically messing up. From Gervais to Pie to your own networks of smart older people, you can see we don’t agree with cancel culture, safe zones and permanent offence. We are the sticks and stones generation. If you force your zeal on us we will delay you.

And that’s not just being obtuse. We actually think you are naive and wrong. We have read animal farm and Fahrenheit451 and the survivor writers of the Soviet Union. We know this story. You are too young to have learned “compromise”. Come back when you’re married. You’ll change.

Economically there is a trend, a belief, for unlimited money for all printed willy-nilly. With no consequences. Robin Hood easy money, and unlimited debt. This is a disaster that will drown us all and make all the other problems seem trivial.

The world needs wisdom and tactical compromise. Not dogma and bullying.