My latest adventure in my lifelong aim to highlight the stupidity of all human groups including the entirety of humanity itself and including myself leads to a questioning of Britain's "Class War" .

Class War is apparently enjoying a bit of a resurgence probably due to fears of a worldwide global economic crash. http://globaleconomiccrash.com

I would question whether the philosophy behind Class War is likely to be effective in actually creating any social change.

According to Wikipedia, the newspaper Class War declared that the enemy was not just a system-wide abstraction, but each and every person who belonged to the ruling class. It advocated active violence against the wealthy, and the paper used colloquial language and gallows humour. Class War explained that their intent here was to show that people could 'fight back' against the state rather than be 'passive victims'.

I would propose that the advocation of violence in times of relative peace, is in fact an encouragement of that very same victim mentality. For unless you are directly facing violence by government or otherwise, your actions are best put toward non violent action and the changing of attitudes. My criticism of the British "Class War" is that their message does more harm than good. Not in the obvious stereotypical sense of assuming that violence is always bad, but oddly more by promoting this idea of an "us" and "them" mentality and thus creating a wider psychological barrier.

As an American living between the US and UK for the past 22 years, I am mystified by the idea that Britains would think they need a Class War. I feel a bit like the kid in "The Emperor's New Clothes". The barriers to me, seems more a problem of perception rather than something which can be attacked physically. To the British working class person who is a member of Class War, I offer the following analogy:

Imagine yourself as one in a group of flies trapped in a jar with a lid preventing escape. One day, someone removes the lid and rather than escape, you are still swarming resentfully at the bottom and scheming a way out. On the outside are a bunch of aristocratic flies laughing at your stupidity and enjoying the lack of competition for resources.

My problem with the British working classes is that though they may complain that they are being oppressed by the Upper Classes, when given the choice between leaving the jar and staying. Most stay. Being American, I do not automatically and unconsciously give the edge to the posher accent when it comes to judging another. But natives of this country do. They do automatically take more seriously the voice with the public school educated accent. The message is:

"You filthy guttersnipe, Have you any idea who it is I pretend to be?"

Though I can see through this sham, I know that for the most part, the English public don't. So the reality is, the working classes will lose out in terms of jobs and opportunity, simply for not having the right background. But I would point the finger at the lower classes for letting the upper crusties get away with it! I don't feel oppressed by British Aristos. It is the awestruck "peasants" who fall for the pomp and feathers who seem to do their dirty work for them. After all, they are the majority. Yet they perpetuate and contribute to the system which deprives them. Any foreigner trying to steer them otherwise is slapped down in favor of loyalty to their own.

Like the wizard behind the curtain in the Emerald City, the rich in this country rule largely through illusion. The illusion is that somehow their schools are better, their women "classier" and their lifestyles more "refined". But all it takes to turn any English person of any class into an American is a couple of pints of lager or "Pimms" as the case may be. At pub closing time, every Britain is an American. We are all the same underneath.

No one seems to realise that being born working class can give you an edge. There is a saying that wealth only lasts 3 generations. It takes only 3 generations for the children of the rich to become pampered, vain and soft. They are then usurped by the lean, mean and hungry new kids on the block. But mysteriously, this hasn't really happened in Britain for reasons I can't quite fathom. I suspect that the flow of alcohol and benefits along with the iconic imagery of the Royal Family as a brainwashing tool may have something to do with it.

In Britain today, there is a new energy and excitiment emerging in the form of immigrants from Eastern Block countires who are skilled, educated, motivated and hungry. The danger here is that the English working classes may miss out and get skipped over entirely in this new climate of social transformation.

The group Class War seems to be made of young, healthy people living in one of the wealthiest countries in the world. In the eyes of someone living in real poverty, what would they think of the Class War? I would imagine they are perplexed at why these privileged people who have so much potential power are so busy slaying imaginary dragons. Rather than to point fingers, surely it would make more sense to promote a change of attitude rather than promote active violence against the rich?

The idea that there would need to be a violent class war by force is to me, a bit ridiculous. Posh people are pampered, vain and soft. Why not just walk in calmly and take it?