Socialism?

I have folk telling me someone is a socialist or someone is not. So what is a socialist? Do you have to be a marxist? No. Do you have to have read Marx or the Socialist manifesto? No. Do you have to care about others? Hell yes! Do you need to believe in taking from the rich to give to the poor? Yes but not in extreme ways. You need to ensure people pay what is fair. Taking £10 off a person on Benefit (entitlement) is more devastating to their ability to exist and survive than taking £10,000 from a billionaire. That is common sense.
Do you need to be anti fascist? Damn right, because people are people. It doesn’t matter where we hail from, we are all alive, we a feel pain and we all die. Every human has the ability to love but some choose not to. It is not their skin colour, their language, their god, that defines that, nor is it their gender, their ability or their perceived worth to society, its not their sexuskity or what they wear, ride or drive that makes them who they are. Often it is sadly their experiences and environment. If you raise a person in poverty, in an unsafe and hostile environment, if you remove their ability to trust, if you starve them, bomb them and displace them, if you use and abuse them you cannot be surprised when they are suspicious of you, they hide from you or sadly they feel a need to fight back.
In my world of being a biker respect is earned, but we as a society need to earn respect too.
Fairness, hope and safety are the keys to ensuring a society that can grow and develop. Fear, aggression and victimisation only breeds hatred and division. A true socialist chooses the former.
In the UK we currently have the safety nets of benefits, (Entitlements) and the great NHS. They are products of socialism. We at this time have human and worker rights, along with protection for our children and the most vulnerable in society. We now may be on the brink of losing all of that.
We right now have a growing wave of capitalism and fascism once again on the rise. Many in Britain seem to feel we shouldn’t join with other communities, we should end diversity and become an isolated isle. We have not been that since humans developed boats.
Socialism is about inclusion, it’s about giving a damn. It truly is about caring for people, for animals and our world.
If that’s wrong in your opinion then sadly we shall likely never agree on ethics or morality. It does stop us being polite, in talking, in discussing, because that’s how humans bring about true change. If I isolate myself from those who disagree with me how can I change minds, reduce hate, and maybe change the world just a little bit? I may never convince people to believe completely in my principles but I might just get them to think about their hate and distrust of others, maybe get them to question greed?
So folks this is my opinion of socialism, in my view its often the scholars of theory that lose sight of the true meaning in practice. I will never belittle anyone for not quoting the Socialist manifesto. My socialist principles were not learned in books, they were developed through being on the streets fighting for the rights of others, by facing down police and likely soldiers attacking us on the orders of the Tory government of the day, through working and living with the most vulnerable in every aspect of this society.
Someone yesterday claimed Angela Rayner was not a socialist, well I can tell you she grew up on the same streets as me, she lived a life that formulated her values and she stands by them. She cares about others. That’s good enough for me.
So before you spout out some quote to belittle a human that’s trying to fight for fairness and humanity, before you undermine a person trying to do the right thing because they haven’t read the book you have, stop and think. A degree in sociology is not what makes a true socialist and socialism is not communism.
These are very much my views. I defy anyone to tell me I am not socialist. But socialism is not a badge of honour, it is a way of life. It is to me what makes me a true humane human.
Jonesy.