Why I Write

This was kind of a New Year's resolution: to try and find time each day just to write about whatever comes to mind, based on what's happening in the geopolitical clusterfuck that we call "the world".

So, here it is.

If you know me from the real world or Facebook, you'll know that much of the content will be links elsewhere, with a commentary consisting of equal parts bitter cynicism and an off-kilter sense of humour. If you didn't spot the allusion to Orwell in the title of this post, it's probably worth noting that I sit fairly far on the political left. In fact, now I live in the US, I'm actually so far to the left I sometimes drop off the radar and re-appear on the other side of the screen. Not that this means I suddenly become right-wing, but rather that the American political radar is broken: there is no left in American politics. And if you've just read that sentence and decided I'm anti-American: I'm not.

I'm anti-certain parts of American socio-politics, particularly anything which happens to be supportive of religious fundamentalism or gun rights, or doctrinaire interpretations of the sanctity of the free market. In short, I'm anti-libertarian, where "libertarian" in this context is understood not in its more benign social guise, but the new, nastier version of Republicanism: a combination of fascism and neoliberal capitalism dressed up as "freedom". More on that later, but  - briefly - I have an issue with political and discursive sleights of hand which transform the right of the individual to be free from oppression and exploitation into the right of the individual to be free to exploit and oppress others.

And, to demonstrate that my ire isn't solely directed at the American version of this, I'm deeply critical of the discourse of libertarianism wherever it appears in the world: as such, I'm on the offensive against globalisation and corporatisation on a broader scale. I save particular venom especially for the current British government.

This blog is called alter/narrative for a reason (in fact, it should probably be pluralised). These are my re-readings, re-interpretations and re-explanations of dominant narratives in politics and the media. They are my opinions, and mine alone (my employer's legal representatives, please take note). They're not always palatable. They're rarely moderate. They're never final. I don't claim to be speaking truth to power. I don't claim to be deconstructing everything from some omniscient, objective, value-free perspective. I don't claim to have all the answers. But my opinions are honestly stated, at least at the time I write them.

Feel free to comment on, caterwaul at or criticize anything I write here. Links are always very welcome, too. But what I certainly have neither the desire nor the time to do is to debunk the minutiae of each and every whack-job, out-there conspiracy theory in the known universe, so save that for somewhere else.

PS. Please bear in mind that this is a work-in-progress, which is why it looks a little thin at the moment. But, insh'allah, I'll be adding new stuff fairly rapidly. Social media whore that I am, please note that you can like/share/tweet/[insert corporatized verb of your choice] the content here on the "More" drop-down menu on the top left of the page, or via the relevant buttons under each post.