25/06/2019
Have you heard of a “broflake”? It’s a phrase that was coined by left wing activists to counter the accusation from the political right wing that they are all “snowflakes”. A Broflake refers to the fact that many of the current new wave of right wing activists are white, straight males and the “flake” bit reflects the fact that, for all the faults of the political left, they are just as liable to run to the authorities when criticised. This week, Nigel Farage, the leader of the single issue Brexit Party, and who has defended the apparently genocidal ideas of Anne Widdecome, was accused of being a “broflake”. The furore erupted last weekend when feminist comic Jo Brand, whose acerbic and self deprecating wit has seen her a long time hit with women and LGBT people, remarked that Brexiteers would be better off if people threw acid at them. This was a reference to the fact that people have protested Mr Farage by throwing milkshakes in recent months. Many people online and in the letters pages of daily free paper The Metro said that the type of populist politician that is embodied by the new right wing, were always griping about “political correctness” but were quick to cry foul when they were subject to the kind of attacks they daily make on immigrants, LGBT people and others.