Politics divides us. It turns us into argumentative individuals, refusing to accept compromise. We throw buzzwords into the mix – Leftist, Far-Right, fascist, racist, Far-Left, antisemite, and everything in between. But can those labels really be applicable to any of us?

Twitter – or X – brings out the worst in people. The trolls, the extremists, the idiots, the opinionated, it’s a fearful battleground where you can find yourself being insulted by hundreds of people merely for posting a comment on a politician’s tweet. And we all do it. It’s that bullying thing all over again. Pile onto the person who’s being verbally abused.

I’ll tell you now, I’m not sure who I will vote for in the upcoming British general election. I’m a confirmed Conservative voter, my local MP does a lot for the community, but the Tories are going to reduce help for the disabled and those with serious mental health issues. I cannot, in good conscience, vote for them. I can’t vote for Reform, because they’re a one-trick pony. Yes, I agree that immigration is too high (mostly the illegal immigration) – and, go on, call me a fascist and a racist for saying that. It’s happened to me before. “You’re a fucking fascist, and your books are Nazi propaganda. I’m going to write a bad review on Amazon.” – but Reform is just a gaggle of individuals who have never had any real experience of politics. I can’t vote Lib Dem, because they’re just pathetic. I’m not a Green person. So I’m left with the Labour Party. And I don’t like Labour. But it’s looking increasingly like I will vote for them.

Anyway, back to what I was saying, and the title of this post. I’m not a fascist. I’m not a racist. I’ve written a series of alternative history novels based in a world where the Germans won the Second World War. I’m currently finishing off book number 5 in the series. Nazis are not nice people, but it’s easy to write about them because they are, for obvious reasons, the archetypal villain. I know quite a bit about the Nazis and about the politics and culture of Nazi Germany. If you want to know more about that, look for “Hitler’s Willing Executioners” – not written by me. Written by Daniel Goldhagen. It provides a darker insight into what happened in the 1940s in Germany. In my novels, there is some separation, because they’re set in the late 1990s, early 2000s. And I like to write good villains and also sympathetic bad guys. But I’m not a Nazi. People have seen the image above on my X profile, and have just jumped to an absurd conclusion. That’s a row of some of my published novels. Similarly, my novel “Muslamic Ray Gun” receives a lot of hate from the Far Left for being “racist”. It’s not. It’s a novel about racists, and ultimately, it demonstrates how visceral, how idiotic, how narrowminded racism is.

But these accusations are difficult to counter. How can I prove that I’m not a racist? How can I prove that I’m not a fascist? Well, most people don’t even understand what fascism is, for starters. But there is no answer to the accusation that one is a racist. All you can say is, “I’m not.” And they’ll say, “Yes, you are.” I’m certainly not a fascist. I don’t have the power to control a government, and fascists generally want to bring about an end to free speech. In which case, we’d be living in a Marxist bubble, an echo chamber in which we’re not allowed to participate.

Look, can’t we just all agree that none of us are racists, bigots, fascists or antisemites? And just debate politics without the ad hominem attacks? You know, I’m just a writer with a couple of thousand followers, most of whom don’t actually know me, and probably skim through my tweets without looking at them. I can’t influence voters. I don’t have that power. I’m allowed to voice an opinion, everyone is, but those with hundreds of thousands of followers should perhaps keep some of their views to themselves, moderate their tweets, condemn only that which is irrefutably condemnable. But me, just a hack writer with a very small following, perhaps I’m allowed to cross the line. No-one is going to change the way they vote because of something I say.

You know, I enjoy debating politics with my friends, each of them supporting a different political outlook. And it would be nice if the social media landscape was more tolerant of other views. People have to shout and say nasty things to rise above the echo chamber. It shouldn’t be that way.

Alas, it’s not called social ME-dia without good reason.

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