People, Move On

John Prescott, Deputy Prime Minister Without Portfolio, has actually managed to do something. Shocking, I know, but don’t worry – what he says is total bollocks.

“An annual commemoration day is to be held to recall Britain's role in the slave trade, and the fight against it, John Prescott, the deputy prime minister, has told the Guardian.”

How can John Prescott – a man stripped of all political responsibility because of his inability to keep his wedding tackle in his no doubt voluminous pants – announce anything, even a commemoration day? Or is his new job spokesman for the Labour Party? Is he now the man who announces policy when the spokesperson for the Labour Party is off sick?

“He expected the day to be held in common with the rest of Europe in June so that modern day slavery - human trafficking - could also be recalled and combated.”

Right, and how would remembering something that happened 200 years ago help us to combat the different issue of modern day human trafficking? Wouldn’t it be better to spend the money that would be spent on a day of commemoration for the distant past on enabling the police force to better track down and stop those involved in human trafficking? Or is that too practical and close to common sense for Nu Labour?

“He likened slavery to the Holocaust and expressed his deep personal regret.”

Why oh why oh why does Prescott feel the need to express his personal regret? Really, why? I mean, unless he is 200 years old and was involved in the slave trade, his “deep personal regret” is utterly meaningless. Prezza has far more pressing things that he should be expressing his deep, personal regret for. Such as being John fucking Prescott.

He says:

“"Like the Holocaust, we are learning to talk about the slave trade openly and more honestly. Tragic and terrible as it was, the slave trade defied anyone to discuss it because it was so horrendous."”

People probably talk more about the Holocaust because it is within living memory. There are still people living who have first hand experience of the death camps, and there are still people living who helped to liberate those camps. The slave trade is not in living memory – what, with it having ended 200 years ago (I know I keep on mentioning the 200 years bit, but it is quite fundamental). I think that – more than anything else – is what stifles discussion.

“"We need to get the proper history told, including the good, the bad and dreadful.””

Proper history is being told – in schools, in books, in pubs, just about everywhere – it is just this is the first time that Prezza has taken notice that there is a thing called history.

“The Ghanaians said 'We don't want apologies. We want people to think what we can do to help us. What our ancestors did was horrific, but everyone feels we need to learn and move on from that experience'."”

I’ve highlighted the key phrase. You know what? I think we have learnt the fundamental lesson from slavery – namely that it was abhorrent. So let’s move on from the events of two centuries ago!

“Mr Prescott said the climate of awareness in Britain was changing, pointing out that black youngsters in St Pauls, Bristol, had demanded that the name of the new shopping centre should not be called Traders or Merchants.”

For fuck’s sake, unless the shopping centre is actually going to be involved in the slave trade, I cannot see a problem with them using the words “Traders” or “Merchants” since I am guessing they are using the words in their modern sense.

“He said it was vital that the government went ahead with changing the national education curriculum so that there was a proper presentation of slavery in its true abhorrent sense.”

The last person who needs to be pissing about with national education curriculum is John Prescott - a man who cannot be trusted with anything – even a grace-and-favours home. And a man who cannot string a sentence together, preferring instead to speak with his fists.

John Prescott is simply trying to show he is still relevant by banging on about something that the left-wing in this country would normally care about. But instead Prezza is achieving something else, albeit unintentionally.

He is showing how much of a tit he is.