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Hi friends 
You've probably noticed I've been a bit more ranty and political lately, and that's likely not what you signed up for by following me. So, please allow me to explain why that's happened.
*Mandatory statement that history IS politics & vice versa* 1/9
You've probably noticed I've been a bit more ranty and political lately, and that's likely not what you signed up for by following me. So, please allow me to explain why that's happened.
*Mandatory statement that history IS politics & vice versa* 1/9
I believe all humans have fundamental rights & that we should all be kind to each other. Apparently this makes me a raging lefty. A democratic socialist, even. Boo!
I've spoken out more because of how flagrantly large segments of society seem to disagree with this lately (2/9)
I've spoken out more because of how flagrantly large segments of society seem to disagree with this lately (2/9)
The last few years have been awful. Full-scale assaults on human rights, democracy, diversity...you know the score. That such obvious charlatans lead this hateful and often violent far-right shift is salt in the wound. The world feels tangibly less good, and that hurts. (3/9)
Literally all of my friends have left the UK for various reasons, but often because they see no future here. Smart, honest, good people, who no longer wish to live in a society drifting in a scary direction. It's tempting to join them. Ergo, hello Twitter echo chamber! (4/9)
What you likely don't know is that my first degree was in Global Political Studies, for which my final paper was an analysis of Gramscian hegemony as applied to modern social movements like Occupy. So, yeah...I think about these things. A lot. Probably an unhealthy amount. (5/9)
Due to various cognitive 'kinks', I have empathy overdrive & am a sensitive wee soul. So when I see migrants, a group I belong to, being dehumanised and scapegoated by hate groups in the country I call home & abroad, I refuse to stay silent about it. Futile as that feels. (6/9)
If I hadn't become a historian I would've been a political journalist. I left that path in my early 20s due to concerns of how that career path would effect my mental health. Yet it seems the world's trajectory is set on making such things urgent for us all, like it or not. (7/9)
So I WILL speak up & I'll look for ways of doing so that aren't just screaming into the Twitter void. I do words good, so maybe I can help that way.
Suffice to say, I'll still post about castles. A lot. But also things that directly effect mine & others' rights & wellbeing (8/9)
Suffice to say, I'll still post about castles. A lot. But also things that directly effect mine & others' rights & wellbeing (8/9)
If that sound like intolerable leftist doctrine to you, I suspect this is goodbye. But if, like me, you're really nerdy about a specific thing but also very concerned about broader things that are hurting people (racism, Brexit, far-right etc) hopefully you'll stay around 
(9/9)
(9/9)
