A Conservative MP regrets that ‘killing enemies’ has become ‘worryingly unpopular’

Conservative MP Johnny Mercer has posted a troubling tweet lamenting the current unpopularity of state violence.
The Plymouth Moor View MP is an ex-army captain and Afghanistan veteran who wrote the 2017 book We Were Warriors. And on 26 November, he tweeted:
The application of violence to defeat the enemies of the nation has become worryingly unpopular. Nothing wrong with fighting (yes killing) for values/what you believe in. The oppressed/bullied/tormented/voiceless deserve it. Join the fight; best thing you’ll ever do. https://t.co/pkKHy32Sgi
— Johnny Mercer MP (@JohnnyMercerUK) November 26, 2018
A worryingly amoral argument
Mercer’s advocacy of violence raises a number of disturbing questions – whether this killing targets “enemies of the nation” or not. Because any civilised society should celebrate its population’s dislike for violence rather than lamenting it.
Read on...
Yet Mercer’s views are hardly surprising. He recently described the White Poppy peace initiative, for example, as “attention seeking rubbish”. And earlier in the year, he called for Britain to “blitz” Syria with bombing raids.
Clearly a man of peace…
The recent record of British violence should give Mercer pause for thought
One would also hope that – considering the death toll inflicted by, and on, the British military contemporarily and historically – Mercer would pause before glorifying violence.
For example, 179 British servicemen and women died after the 2003 invasion of Iraq. And as of October 2015, 456 further servicemen in Afghanistan since 2001.
This, of course, is dwarfed by civilian deaths, at hundreds of thousands in Iraq and tens of thousands in Afghanistan.
Considering these body counts and the level of violence and mayhem, one must seriously question Mercer’s moral judgement. Because the public’s hostility to more killing is a healthy reaction to history, not a cause for concern.
When glorifying violence is acceptable
Mercer’s comments highlight the ease with which supporters of state violence can express their views without condemnation – something Twitter‘s guidelines on ‘glorifying violence’ actually enshrine by expressly excluding “acts of war”, “military attacks”, or “state-sanctioned executions”.
His argument could also be very dangerous. For example, his assertion that there’s “nothing wrong with fighting (yes killing) for values/what you believe in” could be a rallying cry for all political violence, terrorism, and human rights violations throughout human history. And although Mercer qualifies that he’s discussing violence in the name of “the oppressed/bullied/tormented/voiceless”, the fact is that many people pursuing political violence could claim to be helping the same groups.
Would this extend to Brexiteers potentially rising up against the government ? For many they see the proposed Withdrawal Agreement as a complete betrayal of the nation. In ignoring the referendum result the government have made them oppressed/bullied/tormented and voiceless.
— David Dring #StandUp4Brexit#BrugesGroup (@WilsonDring) November 26, 2018
The myth of moral British violence
Mercer’s argument also seems to assume that British state violence – or that which Britain’s allies perpetrate – is moral. Yet a quick glance at historian Mark Curtis’s book Web of Deceit shows that the “oppressed/bullied/tormented/voiceless” have frequently been the last concern of the British state. Indeed, in most cases British forces have been the oppressors, tormentors and bullies.
But after all, this is the same Johnny Mercer who in October 2016 voted against a motion to suspend government support for Saudi Arabia as they murdered and bullied Yemen’s civilians. And a quick search on Twitter shows a conspicuous absence of tweets about Saudi Arabia‘s devastating bombing campaign against Yemen. In fact, here he is showing the Saudi armed forces his support:
Great visit this morning. Speaking to some of the lads in the Air Operations Cell in Riyadh watching Syria and Yemen pic.twitter.com/YWqG49Xtc2
— Johnny Mercer MP (@JohnnyMercerUK) February 22, 2016
In short, it seems Mercer’s belief in state violence to help tormented civilians ceases when British strategic interests or those of arms dealers are at risk.
An army recruitment drive?
Lastly, and perhaps most chillingly, he concludes his tweet with:
Join the fight; best thing you’ll ever do.
This is all the more concerning as it comes within a tweet endorsing the “application of violence”. This makes the pursuit of righteous violence seem like a hook to attract recruits. And Mercer’s tweet has all the hallmarks of naked military recruitment propaganda.
People like Mercer are the ones we should really worry about
Nobody should ever be enthusiastic about violence, whether by the state or otherwise. And the normal disposition of any civilised peace-loving nation should be to find violence an unpopular idea.
All in all, Mercer’s disappointment at the public’s dislike of violence reveals more about his own moral failings than those of the public themselves.
Featured images by The U.S Army and YouTube
We need your help to keep speaking the truth
Every story that you have come to us with; each injustice you have asked us to investigate; every campaign we have fought; each of your unheard voices we amplified; we do this for you. We are making a difference on your behalf.
Our fight is your fight. You’ve supported our collective struggle every time you gave us a like; and every time you shared our work across social media. Now we need you to support us with a monthly donation.
We have published nearly 2,000 articles and over 50 films in 2021. And we want to do this and more in 2022 but we don’t have enough money to go on at this pace. So, if you value our work and want us to continue then please join us and be part of The Canary family.
In return, you get:
* Advert free reading experience
* Quarterly group video call with the Editor-in-Chief
* Behind the scenes monthly e-newsletter
* 20% discount in our shop
Almost all of our spending goes to the people who make The Canary’s content. So your contribution directly supports our writers and enables us to continue to do what we do: speaking truth, powered by you. We have weathered many attempts to shut us down and silence our vital opposition to an increasingly fascist government and right-wing mainstream media.
With your help we can continue:
* Holding political and state power to account
* Advocating for the people the system marginalises
* Being a media outlet that upholds the highest standards
* Campaigning on the issues others won’t
* Putting your lives central to everything we do
We are a drop of truth in an ocean of deceit. But we can’t do this without your support. So please, can you help us continue the fight?
-
Show Comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to leave a comment.Join the conversationPlease read our comment moderation policy here.
Ah another ex grunt glorifying war — ‘The oppressed/bullied/tormented/voiceless deserve it.’ — yet he supports a government that is causing untold suffering and multiple deaths in the disabled community — he supports a government that is facilitating the worst famine in modern times through support for the brutal Saudi regime — over 85,000 under 5’s have died of starvation in the last few years — typical hypocrisy from Johnny Mercer MP – standard practice from a Tory.
Psychopaths like Mercer who are “fine” with the slaughter of their fellow man should take care. He might give some citizens the idea that adopting the same attitude towards the political killers (like himself) who initiate, direct and finance the kind of wars most of us hate and do not want to be involved in. as in …
… Quote: “The application of violence to defeat the enemies of the nation (to some of us, the likes of Mercer) has become worryingly unpopular. Nothing wrong with fighting (yes killing) for values/what you believe in.
I’m not the type to be so tempted but there will be some who might. Take care Mr Mercer. Karma is as pitiless as is it inevitable in this life or the next.
He was in Afghanistan killing “ragheads” to quote Prince Harry who seemed happy enough to do the same. I don’t imagine that Harry’s mother would have been happy with him killing.