Tom Usher
@tomusher.bsky.social
Tangible Vibe Shift, coming soon
Pinned
Fated to pretend
What the Maccabi Tel Aviv furore shows us all about pretending
open.substack.com
Hi guys, I've decided as everyone else has to start a substack. Here's my first article, on how the Maccabi Tel Aviv fan furore lays bare the pretence at the heart of British politics. Feel free to subscribe, I'm going to try write at least 2 articles a month.
open.substack.com/pub/tomusher...
open.substack.com/pub/tomusher...
Reposted by Tom Usher
Reposted by Tom Usher
Hi guys, I've decided as everyone else has to start a substack. Here's my first article, on how the Maccabi Tel Aviv fan furore lays bare the pretence at the heart of British politics. Feel free to subscribe, I'm going to try write at least 2 articles a month.
open.substack.com/pub/tomusher...
open.substack.com/pub/tomusher...
Fated to pretend
What the Maccabi Tel Aviv furore shows us all about pretending
open.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Hi guys, I've decided as everyone else has to start a substack. Here's my first article, on how the Maccabi Tel Aviv fan furore lays bare the pretence at the heart of British politics. Feel free to subscribe, I'm going to try write at least 2 articles a month.
open.substack.com/pub/tomusher...
open.substack.com/pub/tomusher...
Reposted by Tom Usher
Sure, though for the past 3 decades (?) the idea of a national culture has p much been undermined by successive governments : cuts to arts funding, walling off access to creative industries to the richest in society, making the UK incredibly difficult to be a creative worker etc.
I reckon a shared national popular culture is just as important (if not more important) than a fact based, impartial news service for liberal democracy to work.
November 10, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Sure, though for the past 3 decades (?) the idea of a national culture has p much been undermined by successive governments : cuts to arts funding, walling off access to creative industries to the richest in society, making the UK incredibly difficult to be a creative worker etc.
Everything Is Wrestling
The Maccabi Tel Aviv event embodies what I call ‘Kayfabe politics’. Key to Kayfabe is not simply those performing in the ring pretending something false is real (here politicians) but how spectators (media +) also ‘keep Kayfabe’, playing along as fans-who-believe to sustain the spectacle they enjoy.
Hi guys, I've decided as everyone else has to start a substack. Here's my first article, on how the Maccabi Tel Aviv fan furore lays bare the pretence at the heart of British politics. Feel free to subscribe, I'm going to try write at least 2 articles a month.
open.substack.com/pub/tomusher...
open.substack.com/pub/tomusher...
November 10, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Everything Is Wrestling
Reposted by Tom Usher
The Maccabi Tel Aviv event embodies what I call ‘Kayfabe politics’. Key to Kayfabe is not simply those performing in the ring pretending something false is real (here politicians) but how spectators (media +) also ‘keep Kayfabe’, playing along as fans-who-believe to sustain the spectacle they enjoy.
Hi guys, I've decided as everyone else has to start a substack. Here's my first article, on how the Maccabi Tel Aviv fan furore lays bare the pretence at the heart of British politics. Feel free to subscribe, I'm going to try write at least 2 articles a month.
open.substack.com/pub/tomusher...
open.substack.com/pub/tomusher...
Fated to pretend
What the Maccabi Tel Aviv furore shows us all about pretending
open.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 9:35 PM
The Maccabi Tel Aviv event embodies what I call ‘Kayfabe politics’. Key to Kayfabe is not simply those performing in the ring pretending something false is real (here politicians) but how spectators (media +) also ‘keep Kayfabe’, playing along as fans-who-believe to sustain the spectacle they enjoy.
Reposted by Tom Usher
V good - as Tom points out, much of living in the UK today is built around either believing, or tolerating, being lied to directly to your face. Pointing out the lie will get you yelled at, castigated and publicly shamed, and underneath it all, a fear of what happens once the lie unravels
Hi guys, I've decided as everyone else has to start a substack. Here's my first article, on how the Maccabi Tel Aviv fan furore lays bare the pretence at the heart of British politics. Feel free to subscribe, I'm going to try write at least 2 articles a month.
open.substack.com/pub/tomusher...
open.substack.com/pub/tomusher...
Fated to pretend
What the Maccabi Tel Aviv furore shows us all about pretending
open.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 9:28 PM
V good - as Tom points out, much of living in the UK today is built around either believing, or tolerating, being lied to directly to your face. Pointing out the lie will get you yelled at, castigated and publicly shamed, and underneath it all, a fear of what happens once the lie unravels
Reposted by Tom Usher
Are we getting close to noticing yet
Maybe Keir should demand the heads of major US news networks any time they imply Britain is on the brink of civil war or that we live under sharia law. Or does it not work both ways?
November 10, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Are we getting close to noticing yet
Reposted by Tom Usher
The rememberbus
November 10, 2025 at 3:08 PM
The rememberbus
Reposted by Tom Usher
Remember-bus is coming and everyone's salutin'
Brighton up to Aber-deen
Respecting is the main theme
Brighton up to Aber-deen
Respecting is the main theme
We like to poppy
We like, we like to poppy
We like, we like to poppy
November 10, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Remember-bus is coming and everyone's salutin'
Brighton up to Aber-deen
Respecting is the main theme
Brighton up to Aber-deen
Respecting is the main theme
Reposted by Tom Usher
We like to poppy
We like, we like to poppy
We like, we like to poppy
November 10, 2025 at 1:14 PM
We like to poppy
We like, we like to poppy
We like, we like to poppy
Reposted by Tom Usher
It was so insulting to be accused of antisemitism for not wanting violent hooligans to come trash a city centre.
A whole class of politicians and journalists utterly afraid of saying even the blatant truth.
A whole class of politicians and journalists utterly afraid of saying even the blatant truth.
November 10, 2025 at 5:30 PM
It was so insulting to be accused of antisemitism for not wanting violent hooligans to come trash a city centre.
A whole class of politicians and journalists utterly afraid of saying even the blatant truth.
A whole class of politicians and journalists utterly afraid of saying even the blatant truth.
Reposted by Tom Usher
This is great, it’s a difficult phenomenon to describe articulately (I certainly can’t) but I hope more people start talking about it like this.
November 10, 2025 at 5:43 PM
This is great, it’s a difficult phenomenon to describe articulately (I certainly can’t) but I hope more people start talking about it like this.
Reposted by Tom Usher
"Is it different from any given government pretending privatisation works, or that nationalisation simply cannot?"
Not really different, no. When Thatcher said "there is no alternative" the purpose was to stop us thinking about alternatives.
Not really different, no. When Thatcher said "there is no alternative" the purpose was to stop us thinking about alternatives.
November 10, 2025 at 5:46 PM
"Is it different from any given government pretending privatisation works, or that nationalisation simply cannot?"
Not really different, no. When Thatcher said "there is no alternative" the purpose was to stop us thinking about alternatives.
Not really different, no. When Thatcher said "there is no alternative" the purpose was to stop us thinking about alternatives.
Hi guys, I've decided as everyone else has to start a substack. Here's my first article, on how the Maccabi Tel Aviv fan furore lays bare the pretence at the heart of British politics. Feel free to subscribe, I'm going to try write at least 2 articles a month.
open.substack.com/pub/tomusher...
open.substack.com/pub/tomusher...
Fated to pretend
What the Maccabi Tel Aviv furore shows us all about pretending
open.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Hi guys, I've decided as everyone else has to start a substack. Here's my first article, on how the Maccabi Tel Aviv fan furore lays bare the pretence at the heart of British politics. Feel free to subscribe, I'm going to try write at least 2 articles a month.
open.substack.com/pub/tomusher...
open.substack.com/pub/tomusher...
Reposted by Tom Usher
This term is so social media-brained. Coined by people who can't imagine themselves without an audience, or that anyone could genuinely want to pass time in any other form than Stare at Phone
November 10, 2025 at 11:34 AM
This term is so social media-brained. Coined by people who can't imagine themselves without an audience, or that anyone could genuinely want to pass time in any other form than Stare at Phone
Reposted by Tom Usher
Barney has had to apologise over on X for libelling Frankie Boyle, claiming he played in Dubai in April 2025 when it was actually in the late 90s. The 'lineup' he used as a 'source' had Sean Hughes on it, who has been dead nearly a decade. I note he's happy to leave this shit up unaddressed on here
November 9, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Barney has had to apologise over on X for libelling Frankie Boyle, claiming he played in Dubai in April 2025 when it was actually in the late 90s. The 'lineup' he used as a 'source' had Sean Hughes on it, who has been dead nearly a decade. I note he's happy to leave this shit up unaddressed on here
Reposted by Tom Usher
Let me explain what’s happening here: Lewis knows very well this entire incident was a disgusting, wildly irresponsible fraud against the public by people trying to distract from their complicity in genocide. Nandy - a truly abysmal piece of shit - will deny this and keep lying about it, forever.
November 9, 2025 at 12:14 PM
Let me explain what’s happening here: Lewis knows very well this entire incident was a disgusting, wildly irresponsible fraud against the public by people trying to distract from their complicity in genocide. Nandy - a truly abysmal piece of shit - will deny this and keep lying about it, forever.
Reposted by Tom Usher
Awfully pathetic of me this, I know, but will say it anyway. Alexander Isak holds the British record transfer fee and is fully fit, sitting on the bench and not been mentioned in the first half or at half-time. 2-0 down to a title rival and still nothing. Begs the question, should Gyokeres do more?
November 9, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Awfully pathetic of me this, I know, but will say it anyway. Alexander Isak holds the British record transfer fee and is fully fit, sitting on the bench and not been mentioned in the first half or at half-time. 2-0 down to a title rival and still nothing. Begs the question, should Gyokeres do more?
Reposted by Tom Usher
There's a good boy
November 9, 2025 at 3:25 PM
There's a good boy
Reposted by Tom Usher
Correction incoming... astonishing, failed and completely unnecessary attempt to bring Frankie Boyle into this argument
November 9, 2025 at 12:20 PM
Correction incoming... astonishing, failed and completely unnecessary attempt to bring Frankie Boyle into this argument
Reposted by Tom Usher
River, frog, scorpion, et cetera.
November 9, 2025 at 10:36 AM
River, frog, scorpion, et cetera.
Reposted by Tom Usher
Absolutely right that people should (and most likely will) start protesting against the UAE in Manchester, as they already have in London. The fact that City fans aren't doing it is a result of sportswashing. To try and compare that to Israel, a far more publicised genocide, seems disingenuous
November 9, 2025 at 10:57 AM
Absolutely right that people should (and most likely will) start protesting against the UAE in Manchester, as they already have in London. The fact that City fans aren't doing it is a result of sportswashing. To try and compare that to Israel, a far more publicised genocide, seems disingenuous
Hi single guys and gals (but mainly guys because there's loads of gals already interested), if you're in south London at the end of the month and fancy a fun night to meet new people I'm hosting an event at the Staffordshire. Tickets on sale now:
www.tickettailor.com/events/staff...
www.tickettailor.com/events/staff...
November 6, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Hi single guys and gals (but mainly guys because there's loads of gals already interested), if you're in south London at the end of the month and fancy a fun night to meet new people I'm hosting an event at the Staffordshire. Tickets on sale now:
www.tickettailor.com/events/staff...
www.tickettailor.com/events/staff...