Racism and an East Sussex, English Pub: “A few bullet holes in the boats…”

Violent racism is explicitly stated within rural East Sussex pubs as Reform prepares to take to the political stage.

Before Rishi Sunak called the 2024 election, people echoed sentiments similar to those of the recent Reform Party candidate, a political group known for its conservative and anti-immigration stance. They seem more evident and aired in smaller secluded areas of East Sussex.

“We look after our own”, “It’s their time to die”, “Take away the tents of the homeless”, “I just don’t think about it from their point of view”, “A few bullet holes in the boats and a couple of dead children will soon stop them coming”. These were shocking statements I was not expecting to hear after settling down for a pint of ale in the East Sussex countryside.

Eastbourne Beach, on the south coast of the UK (photo by author).

It’s roughly 7.30 in the evening, February, and I’m sitting in a pub in East Sussex with one of my oldest mates.

Out of nowhere, a man starts moaning about migrants and homeless people, loudly stating the above violent views. The words were so filled with hatred that we were both in disbelief. His voice, even more pronounced when uttering those words, seemed to be intentionally provoking a reaction.

The Eastbourne Reform Candidate (photo by author).

What myths fuel these statements?

In two previous articles, I suggested that right-wing discourse has its roots in people who are genetically less open-minded, imagined ‘dirt-pure’ binaries, myths of cultural evolution and economic downturn. Yet, it might also echo the Darwinian survival of the fittest mantra that seems to be emerging through the discourse of liberal individualism that runs through UK society.

This discourse is evident in some Conservative government responses to the COVID-19 national health crisis and homelessness. For example, Boris Johnson’s early COVID-19 statement of “It’s their time to die” and Suella Braverman’s statement about making it illegal to have a tent if you are homeless.

In living memory

The threat of the distant ‘other’ discussed by the right-wing is highly similar to the imagined threat discussed before WW2. Given events of WW2 were fueled by racism, prejudice and totalitarianism and are still in living memory for some, one would think that these statements, like the man’s above should be considered a threat to society, not the migrant population that they put down.