EU Referendum

...actually, before I trot off with Mrs Carpsio for a weekend of poorly-deserved debauchery, I meant to add my twopennorth to something The Devil picked up at EU Referendum in which the esteemed Mr. North (whose views I entirely share) laid something of a glove on some of us lesser mortals of the blogosphere:

"Often the humour and analysis is about the level one would expect of the 4th form of a second-rate boys boarding school and I have heard more intelligent comment from college students in fifth and sixth forms in the lectures I have been given to schools recently."

and

"That does, as I say, leave the bloggers. You – collectively – can continue to play your little games. Or you can show up the media and the politicians and make the running. Which is it to be?"

Ouch!

There is a point here in that many, many blogs are more piss and vinegar than august journals of record. But, here is the rub, Richard. We are all real people, writing about stuff we care about to varying degrees. Not all of us have either the time, information or rigour to do the job that you do. Given that you do things like deliver lectures, this suggests you've got more opportunity than the rest of us, who snatch ten minutes during the working day to fire off a bunch of swearing and stuff.

The question is really - why do you care? If you're doing that job then great - and long may you continue... I've been a long time reader. But this is a democratic medium, and the second you start pulling the elitist card out of your pocket you sound more like one of the enemy than one of us. Not everyone wants to read a superbly argued factual dissection of the latest piece of EU legislation. Not everyone even can. Some people just want swearing. And why the fuck not? There's a broad swathe of rough and ready concensus out here, but people express it in different ways. That's people. If I can persuade one more person that the EU are a bunch of cunts, just by calling them a bunch of cunts rather than elegantly putting them to the verbal sword, then what do you care?

Your Qana piece was, I think, the most important piece of British political blogging there has yet been. The fact that it has amounted to nothing in terms of MSM penetration highlights perfectly the shortcomings of blogging's profile in the UK. What it doesn't show is that everyone should be just like you.

Enough factionalism for one day - we'll end up sounding like the cunting Labour party. I agree entirely with your sentiments, I just choose to express them in a different way. So sue me.