Flag day & The Kersh Paradox (political snake-oil)

Have you seen the flags?

My brother sent me a WhatsApp of two sheep daubed with red crosses last night.

He followed ironically with, ‘the second crusade.’

It began, I understand, in Birmingham. UK.

Not Birmingham, Alabama, the site of other historical tensions.

I tend to read the news superficially these days, principally because I don’t pay for any newspapers therefore most of what I consume is summary articles on either the BBC, Apple or Google News.

It gives me enough of an idea of what is happening for me to draw my own conclusions.

That isn’t completely true – I pay to read The Times of Israel, mainly because they episodically publish my blogs and the news they publish tends to be IMHO balanced. I augment this with podcasts that are Centre Right (Dan Senor), Centre (ToI, Hartman, Unholy, Israel Policy Pod) and Left (Ha’aretz).

The flags.

I gather there were flags being flown in Birmingham UK that caused offence or concern to the council (the same council that until recently had a problem with domestic bins following a long dispute with the unions, suggesting they are not flush with cash) (you, see, I never read that anywhere, it was an inference.)

The cash-strapped council decided to remove lots of George Cross and Union Jack flags from Birmingham. Some were attached to lampposts. The council claimed the flags on lampposts were a health and safety hazard.

As to who initiated the flags I don’t know although I suspect there was a Nationalist undercurrent driven by what I imagine are significant cultural tensions in the city.

A separate news article showed the council’s reluctance to remove a Palestinian flag. I don’t know if that is true; I assumed it was fake news although it is possible; again, the size, position and location of the flag is relevant (c.f. a lamppost on the high-street).

A week or two later, George Crosses and Union Jacks started appearing in towns and cities across the UK. Last Saturday they appeared in Doncaster, on Wednesday I noticed some flat roundabouts with red crosses. This has been labelled ‘Operation Raise the Colours.’

I don’t know what a George Cross means to others.

Yes, you see them flown from castles in England and at rugby matches and other sporting events.

I remember working in Northern Ireland in the early 90’s which was my first introduction to widespread flag expression, mostly the Union Jack or the Ulster Cross.

Throughout initially the Judicial Coup then the Hostage protests in Israel, the blue and white flag has been used; the interpretation being that instead of it acting as a divisively national symbol, in Israel it is one of unity.

When I visited Israel in March this year, I noticed all the flags. I commented to my friend Oded, ‘I see all the flags, it’s great that they aren’t being cynically manipulated by the Right.’

‘What flags?’ Replied Oded who lives in Ashkelon.

I had seen the proliferation of flags across Ra’anana where my brother lives and following a visit to Israel.

Indeed, the flags are far less prominent in Tel Aviv, Haifa and coastal cities than for example Jerusalem which tends to be more closely affiliated with Religious Zionism than other parts of the country.

Flags bring us together whilst simultaneously separating us.

What does this mean?

At the last council elections in Doncaster, Labour, the previously dominant political force, were routed. My friend Sarah lost her seat. Now ‘Reform’ the Right-Wing Farage-led party (‘get rid of all the immigrants and England will be great again’) took over, with 37 of 55 seats.

Farage (a plastic rubbish bin on my dog walk route has a sticker ‘Mind the Farage’) was at the helm of Brexit, the recent act of national social and financial self-destruction/sabotage. Despite this failure, he is leading in polls. Like Trump, Netanyahu and Orban he is a demagogue, a lover of doublespeak.

I compare him to a dodgy doctor, ‘Here, take this pill, it will stop your dizziness.’

‘Doctor, the pill hasn’t helped, I am still dizzy.’

‘Double the dose.’

‘Still dizzy.’

‘Take this one as well, you have a severe case of vertigo.’

‘Still dizzy and now I keep falling over.’

‘Give it time.’

‘Doctor?’

I’ll explain this anecdote shortly. It is what I call the ‘Kersh paradox’.

Where next with the flags?

Last summer when Palestinian flag flying was at its height (now focused principally on music concerts and protests), every time I saw the flag I felt anxious, upset, worried and fearful. Not because I have a problem with a Two-State Solution or the Palestinian People or their flag (which has incidentally cool colours), more, in the days following October 7 I was reeling with the trauma.

October 7 was a day of massacre, horror, rape, torture, and inhumanity.

October 8, people started calling for the destruction of Israel.

I won’t go into the narrative, I just wanted to point out that flags are not just pieces of cotton or polyester, they carry messages that can be hurtful.

I also believe that although there has been a huge spike in Antisemitism in the UK and globally since October 7, there has been and continues to be more racism directed towards people of colour and those from Eastern Europe living in the UK.

What does seeing the George Cross mean to an asylum seeker barricaded in a hotel in the UK?

Last summer there was a riot beside my lake, where Right-wingers attacked the local Holiday Inn in a demonstration of racism and nationalism directed against refugees.

The Manvers Riot  took place 2 minutes from my beautiful lake

Let’s face it, life is tough for some people, no matter how good things are, there will always be those with less.

And those with less, even if, materially they don’t have ‘less’ but perceive themselves as having less risk being radicalized by the Right.

This is happening in the UK today.

No one knows where it will end.

Will the next election see Farage as Prime Minister?

No one thought Trump would happen and he did.

I just asked my AI who would win the next national election in the UK:

I want to cry

What next?

I’ve depressed myself too much.

Interested in the ‘Kersh Paradox’?

x

The Kersh Paradox – ‘Misdiagnosis in primary and secondary care.’

Dizziness is common in older people.

There are many causes of dizziness, indeed dizziness is ill defined, ranging from light-headedness to vertigo to states of near collapse.

I described above a common interaction that happens in Primary Care in the UK.

A patient presents with dizziness, the doctor either does or doesn’t examine them, they diagnose vertigo and offer treatment, with a ‘vestibular sedative’; that is, a medicine that damps down the activity of the balance centre in the ear, a frequent cause of dizziness.

The tablet, e.g. Betahistine, doesn’t help at low dose 8mg three times a day and the GP increases to 16mg three times a day. That still doesn’t work. The GP adds-in Cinnarizine. This doesn’t help. By this time the patient gets fed-up, or they feel so bad with the medicines that they give up.

What was going on?

The doctor was providing the right treatment for the wrong condition.

The Kersh Paradox is when a doctor diagnoses vertigo when a patient has a different condition – postural hypotension. This being a failure of the body to adapt to changes in posture – often, sitting or lying to standing.

In health, when changing posture, blood vessels in the peripheries, mostly the legs constrict, helping to raise blood pressure and ensure an adequate flow of blood to the brain.

In older people and often those with diabetes or Parkinson’s disease this system fails resulting in a drop of blood pressure and an inadequate supply to the brain, often described as dizziness.

The only way to diagnose this condition is by taking a detailed history and measuring the patient’s blood pressure with them lying down then standing up.

It can often be easily treated by getting the person to stop their blood pressure lowering medicines or to drink more water.

If you don’t check the blood pressure (which is a faff and can slow down a consultation) you don’t reach the diagnosis instead your mental heuristics take you to ‘vertigo’ and the wrong treatment for the wrong condition (which paradoxically in older people can make them more unsteady and increase their chance of falling).

Is this a paradox?

I don’t know.

When I see diagnose it, I feel very clever and very good as being able to help a patient.

I’ve given it my name, as I haven’t ever seen the whole thing described anywhere else.

Perhaps it is a thing, and I am being a little big-headed.

If so, apologies.

Have a great day.