Labour’s antisemitism crisis has been absolutely crucial for me in how I think about politics. Let me explain. (1/10)

One of the tenets of the left is that they are the good guys. Because the society left-wingers believe in is a better one – as opposed to conservatism's pessimism about human nature – they often seem to think believing in it makes for better people too. (2/10)

Hence the warm fuzz around Corbyn, and his ‘kinder, gentler politics.’ Marrows, twinkly smiles and bicycles - you know the drill. (3/10)

But this is all a grotesque contrast with what’s gone on with antisemitism. People claiming to be kind and gentle who were at the same time victimizing people based on their ethnicity (such as Jewish Labour MPs). (4/10)

And the dissonance is a very minor example of a persistent theme of far-left regimes: A chasm between the promised Utopian reality and the actual squalid behaviour going on. (5/10)

Like the Khmer Rouge, who spoke of Utopia and killed a quarter of Cambodia's population. Or the DDR which proclaimed itself a free society as people gave their lives trying to escape. (6/10)

Žižek distinguishes between fascists and communists as, I paraphrase, people promising awful things and doing awful things and people promising wonderful things and doing awful things. (7/10)

Promising kinder gentler politics and engaging in or excusing mass shaming and bullying of Jews is this latter. (8/10)

This has all left me thinking that there’s no inherent moral difference conferred on a person by having left-wing or right-wing beliefs. What counts is how people behave. (9/10)

I desperately hope our lamentable government is replaced. But the next government won’t automatically be morally superior because of its beliefs. It'll achieve moral superiority by acting better, and actually practising, to coin a phrase, kinder and gentler politics. (10/10)

Thread maybe of interest @PeteNewbon