Fantasy v. reality

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has rightly described Jason Arday’s untimely death as a tragedy. At the same time there has been widespread condemnation of the British press, and the more vocal of Arday’s critics, with Arday himself saying, prior to his death, that he couldn’t cope with the unrelenting level of public scrutiny and abuse. All of which is surely true, and the loss of his life is a scar on the supposed compassionate face of our caring society. But, while acknowledging the contributing pressure of public humiliation, we must not lose sight of the real failures that allowed this situation to develop in the first place, because the real villains of the piece are surely those who, in their quest to impose multiracial ‘equality’ and eliminate what they label the white stranglehold on power, relentlessly pushed their half-baked and dangerous DEI policies, with no real regard to merit. In this, they not just actively discriminated against white candidates – scathingly dismissed as colonialist tools perpetuating patriarchal supremacy – but ruthlessly exploited someone who appears to have been patently unqualified and unfitted for the role being assigned him. And that individual has now paid the price.

The truth, as it now emerges, is that Jason Arday never merited his election at Cambridge. His appointment wasn’t just ‘tokenism’; it was scandalous. Not only have allegations of plagiarism now come to light in relation to his PhD, but it turns out that a book included in his CV, and widely promoted by Arday himself, didn’t exist, and although fellow black academics have leapt to his defence, saying that it’s normal practice to include future publications still in development, the claimed publisher, Palgrave Macmillan, said the project had been abandoned years ago. Similar claims of visiting fellowships at other prestigious universities have been exposed as untrue, while Arday’s teaching has also been called into question, with past students calling his teaching ‘terrible’ and unfocussed, while he himself reportedly accused a white student who expressed dissatisfaction, with being motivated by ‘white privilege’ and racism

This is not to condemn Jason Arday, who was clearly a troubled and needy soul, but it is condemnation of the value system that ruthlessly exploited him for political gain. Many of Arday’s colourful claims are now exposed as fantasy – that he was mute as a child, for instance, and didn’t learn to read or write till 18; that as a teenager, following an accident, he was in a coma for 3 months, during which time, though paralysed, he remained conscious, so that he could hear the discussions of those around him who wanted to turn off life support; that he had had testicular cancer; that he ran 12 marathons in 12 days, for the last three with a broken leg … the stories go on and on, each more fantastic than the last, but all now exposed as fiction. Not for any apparent malign reason, but because they seem to be the stories that Arday himself needed to hear.

What has happened to Jason Arday exposes the underlying evil of the ideological battle raging at the heart of UK society – and to which he has fallen victim. Let us make no mistake, the Christian underpinnings of our once-great nation are under concentrated and deliberate attack from ideologues, whose one aim is to destroy British culture and society, and who have infiltrated our key institutions – including, as is now evident, the University of Cambridge – in order to subvert, undermine and weaken the values that have kept us strong.

This is not to say that there are not inequalities in our society, that need urgently to be identified and properly addressed. But the ruthless exploitation of ideologically reframed ‘morality’ by those who wish to bring down and destroy British culture, and ultimately take over, is wrong. The underlying impetus for this is demonic, and we must stand against it. Yes, we must act with love, but we must recognise, confront, and deal with what are patently strategies of evil.

There is no place in our society for ‘positive discrimination’ that is actively prejudiced against the indigenous population, or that gives priority to one particular group over others, irrespective of merit. As a society, we must stop this colour-partiality, and become colour-blind, pursuing excellence. Otherwise, the standing and strength of our nation can only be further weakened by the promotion of those inadequate to the task … and all will suffer. Not just the villainized ‘ruling class’, but those elevated beyond their strengths and gifts. As all too clearly illustrated by the sad case of Jason Arday.