DECIMATION
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Everyone knows the meaning of the word but not many know its origins. Notice the first three letters – D E C. That’s Latin for 10.
Why 10?
At about the same time as the Spartacus Slave Uprising was happening, the Roman authorities had discovered a brutal – and successful – method of browbeating the population, and in particular reluctant Roman legionaries, into fighting for an empire many of them had no belief in or love for. This method they named DECIMATION.
It worked like this.
If a group of legionaries or slaves refused to toe the line, they would be decimated. But this didn’t mean completely destroyed as it does today – the Romans were much too clever for that. No. They had a much more cunning method to browbeat troublemakers into submission and enforce loyalty.
The unit was divided into groups of 10. The groups would then draw lots. The one with the shortest straw would then be beaten or stoned to death by the (very relieved) remaining 9. If any group of 10 refused to obey, they would in turn be slaughtered by the other groups. This meant, in effect, no-one could refuse and by enlisting a majority – 90% – to do their dirty work for them, the authorities succeeded in forcing them to be willing participants in attacks on their own kind – the unfortunate minority 10%.
In other words, Divide and Conquer of the most insidious- and effective – kind.
This method of dealing with unruly citizens worked so well and was so successful, often the groups which had endured ‘decimation’ would subsequently become some of the most loyal, keen servants to their Roman masters.
Today we are seeing a modern day version of Roman decimation by our government. As in ancient Rome, a majority of us are being enlisted to turn on a minority – and relieved it’s not happening to us, many of us are willing participants – by accepting government attacks on some of the most vulnerable members of our society – the sick, the disabled, the unemployed, the very young and the very old.
But as with Spartacus in ancient Rome, today we are seeing some of those people fighting back.
A report published today, entirely researched, written, funded and supported by disabled people, rips apart the government’s lies about its planned reforms of key disability benefits and in a well-coordinated campaign starting today in newspapers, on television, on radio and on the internet involving celebrities, charities, activists and ordinary people, is aiming to derail the government’s attempts to divide and rule the population by demonising and persecuting minorities.
See here for information about how they are fighting back – and how you can help them beat the government:
http://diaryofabenefitscrounger.blogspot.com/
Please support this modern-day uprising by retweeting (please use the hashtag #spartacusreport), sharing on facebook etc, contacting your MP, and doing everything you can to publicise it today and make sure the government doesn’t succeed in its plans to decimate the most vulnerable members of our society.
Support the Spartacus Report today.
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Here are some more articles by Tom Pride on the government’s attempts to demonise and persecute the sick and the disabled:
Government Responds To Banking Crisis By Cutting Benefits For Disabled Kids
Government – Light-Touch Regulation Of The Disabled To Blame For Economic Crisis
The government has finally done something so outrageous even I can’t be bothered to satirise it
Department of Work & Pensions – Death No Reason Not To Be Classified As ‘Fit For Work’
Cameron suffering from ‘Tory’ Syndrome – symptoms include knee-jerk reactions and offensive outbursts
Tory MP Or Moron? Take This One Question IQ Test And Find Out!
The Sun Claims Success In Uncovering Benefit Cheating TV Bear
Money for child victims of medical negligence to go to Goldman Sachs executives instead
Norman ‘Lefty’ Tebbit Attacks Cameron For Being Too Right-Wing
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Please feel free to comment – you don’t need to register and I’m extremely minimal with the moderating – so fire away.
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Nick Gall said:
Bravo Tom, I have been disgusted by the ‘divide and rule tactics’ employed by the coaltion. Moreso though by the apparently willing acquiesence of the electorate to turn on eaxh other.
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j said:
Pedantic classicist’s footnote – decimation was pretty rare in all likelihood and was only used in the army when a military division had done badly.
Would hate the analogy to undermine the original point 🙂
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David V Humphreys (@davidh7426) said:
If the ‘Peoples Government’ chooses NOT to listen to the will of the people, in fact seems to be trying to fragment, marginalise and even demonise, whole groups of the people then surely, that Government has ‘LOST’ all legitimacy to govern in the name of people.
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Tom Pride said:
I’m not sure the coalition has a mandate anyway. I don’t remember selling off the NHS and taking away benefits from disabled and sick people being in either the LibDems or the Tories’ manifestos. Maybe I missed it.
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Spasticus said:
Spasticus supports the Sparticus report. For more information about how the cuts are affecting disabled Londoners, look at Spasticus’s Inclusive London? website http://www.inclusive-london.com
NB: Paste this URL into your address bar to avoid getting the official, misleading (as exposed on the BBC’s One Show) inclusivelondon.com website by default.
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Tom Pride said:
Great website: http://www.inclusive-london.com/
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RED DAVE said:
We must all fightback against the unjust and inhumane government of thatcherite , corrupt , venal, parasitic ,verminous scum. Were it within my power , I would construct a series of gallows outside the Cesspits of Wasteminster , drag out all the mewling and puking cheating , lying , self-serving MP scum , and lynch them alongside the corrupt MEPs , corrupt lords , corrupt local councillors , and corrupt Banker-criminals .ONWARD TO VICTORY , AND A FREE SOCIETY .
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Mo Stewart said:
The Spartacus Report was an oustanding research portfolio that challenged this gvt’s bogus and false claims about the sick and disabled UK population. Other major research was conducted at the same time to identify why it’s all happening, as planned by Thatcher since 1992. All detailed research evidence, as conducted by a disabled female veteran and retired healthcare professional, is available at my website:www.whywaitforever.com/dwpatosveterans.html
Many congrats to all involved with the Spartacus Report that the DWP subsequently dismissed. The DWP will dismiss all evidence against the reforms, with the exception of the annual report by Prof Harrington, as this UK welfare destruction has been agreed with American corporate insurance giant UNUM Insurance since 1994.
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Tom Pride said:
Thanks. Here’s the live link again:
http://www.whywaitforever.com/dwpatosveterans.html
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