David Betz, a professor of war studies at King's College, was a guest on Triggernometry. He was clearly uncomfortable to be there and not a polished speaker. His message is one that he is reluctant to deliver: the United Kingdom is on the brink of civil war. What? As one who has studied such things throughout his academic career, he sees all the signs of civil war. The cratering of faith in the institutions of government. The people no longer believe that the government can solve problems through the normal processes. The troubles have grown worse despite multiple votes to address them. He notably brought up Brexit, which was supposed to address the uncontrolled migration. It arguably got worse in the wake of Brexit. Then there is the admitted failure of multiculturalism. This itself has created a crack in the country. Where those who have grown up in the UK have a natural affinity and loyalty to the existing norms, the immigrants do not. That several members of parliament - of foreign descent - voted to build an airport in Pakistan was a demonstration of factionalism. These members were interested not in doing that which would benefit the UK as a whole, but their faction. Where the hosts were optimistic that Nigel Farage might reverse course, Betz was much less so. He views Farage as a pressure release valve that may lower the heat for a time but not actually fix anything, essentially a Brexit 2.0. The kindling for a fire has stacked up over 20 to 30 years and, sooner or later, there will be a spark that ignites it. Rather than Royalist Cavaliers vs. Parliamentarian Roundheads, this conflict is between the 'We Want Out Country Back' faction and the 'Shut the F--- Up!' faction. Betz proposes that the civil war will begin - if it hasn't already - when an anonymous native group targets a judge, influencer, or such.
Betz noted that the cities were in one camp while rural areas in the other. Cities are notably weak, as they depend on the produce of the rural areas to survive. Disruption of power, gas, and food will cause the cities to explode in civil strife and the police will be powerless to quell it.
Dark days ahead.
