Friday 18 March 2022

Places I've Been Banned From ~ An Odyssey

                                              

As the dust slowly settles on my Twitter ban, I am thinking about all the places I am or was not persona grata over the past 71 years. There are quite few. I am shocked.


1. The American Embassy 1966 : I only found out about this in retrospect. It came about as a result of an anti-Vietnam War demo a few of us organised on Welwyn Garden City Campus (that hotbed of revolution and radicalism). We were all banned for 10 years from entering the US. 'Paranoia strikes deep in the heartland' (Paul Simon.)


2. O Level Geography Class : Quote from Miss Walker: "I'm not having you in my class, you're disruptive." I have NO IDEA what she meant, other than I did get sent out of her class a couple of times, and used to hang from the window frame above the door, wiggling my fingers. She clearly didn't appreciate this impromptu gesture. But this is why, dear reader, I am unable to read a map without turning it round the way I am going, and I lose my car in multi-story carparks. All attributable to Miss Walker.


3. My family: It's what happens to Jews who 'marry out', especially if they didn't get on with their parents to begin with. This momentous event happened when I was 26. Apparently a rabbi was brought in, at the instigation of my Orthodox brother, and prayers were said over the dead. As in me. Their loss ~  my 'ex-parents' never got to meet my wonderful daughter.


4. Bits of the Parliamentary Estate: Post Brexit, the Met Police don't like us standing too close to the House of Commons etc. Or shouting. Whilst not technically a 'ban', I have been told off for chalking on the pavement outside the Cabinet Office too.


5. Harpenden Parents' Network Facebook Page: for daring to criticise posts by my Tory MP. Many of these 'local' pages are run by party loyalists, I gather. Luckily, St Albans still hosts me, so when we had a flood recently, I was able to access help.


6. Twitter: the latest ban. For being rude and hateful to a certain Home Sekertry. Come and say Hi to me on my new Instagram https://www.instagram.com/caroljhedges/ (or should that be Instagran?). I may be working my way back to Twitter, as I miss people, but it will be in another guise ...


7. The UK: Not happened yet ~ but if the Nationality and Borders Bill passes into law with Clause 9 re-inserted, the aforementioned Home Sekertry can take my citizenship away, without telling me or giving me the right of appeal. This is because 1: My parents came here as Jewish refugees, and like Windrush people, were naturalised, so not 'properly' British. 2. As a Jew, I could claim citizenship in Israel.


So there you are. Or in my case, there I'm not. It's pretty disgraceful and I am prepared to bet you can't equal it. Not that you'd want to, would you?



13 comments:

  1. Carol you're an inspiration! I'm not on Insta but pop over there often so will see you there. Love how you write 'Home Sekertry by the way! Alexei Sayle says of her that she's the kind of woman who'd turn off your life support system to light her cigarette.

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    1. She is! Hope to get back to see my Twitter friends at some point

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  2. My first thought when I read this now: the "criminals" in your cases are all those who banished you and not you, as the banished! Stay recalcitrant! :-)
    I hope to read from you again soon on Twitter. Instagram is not so much my world, unfortunately.

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  3. Oh Carol. Only you, I can't help thinking. That's quite an impressive list of bans. I never knew you'd been an activist for so long, and even in Geography too! Well done you. I didn't know you'd been banned from Twitter. I'm horrified. You were there just a few days ago, I know. I'm not on Instagram so can't find you there. Let us know if you get back to Twitter again. In the meantime, keep blogging, won't you?

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  4. You deserve medals for your life.

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  5. So glad to have found this Carol. So sad for all the bans in your life. Family disowning you sucks as the young say. Makes us more determined in the life we create for ourselves. Looking forward to you getting back on twitter as I cannot get my head round instagram.

    Said Home secretary blocked me long before she was home secretary - not sure why? but I asume I said something about being a first generation Brit like me.

    keep on fighting the b******s

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  6. Followed link from your Twitter to here and enjoyed the post. I too have been banned in a number of places. My "free speech activities" have caused me to get stopped and thoroughly checked out at every foreign airport and upon every return to the US. Glad you're back on twitter.

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    1. Thanks ..so am I th9ught struggling with iPhone

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  7. Dear Carol, I regularly send this tweet to Twitter: "Please @TwitterSupport you've made your point. Time to restore the account of Carol Hedges" Am I wasting my time? X David

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