The Tepid Take

     Most Brits recognise that Donald Trump is a dangerous figurehead of a dangerous movement, one that’s stoked the fires of bigotry in ways we never thought possible, since its inception last year. He is widely recognised as being an incompetent buffoon – he is no longer allowed access to his own Twitter, for example – and yet, his support continues to be large. His rise is unprecedented; if he won, he would be only the fourth President of the United States not to have previously held political office. Why does he garner so much support from the average American if he stands for hurt and bigotry? It seems obvious, but the fact of the matter is that the underlying motivations of making America great again are not rooted in hatred, but hope.      Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, is a bastion of the establishment. People support her for a variety of reasons, but one of the greatest is the sheer horror provoked by the idea of a Trump presidency. Hillary is knowable, partially owing to her po

     I went to Leeds Festival this year. This wasn’t because I felt like I ought to try the whole festival experience (though I did), nor because a lot of my favourite bands were going to be there (though they were). No, I went because, if I went with Oxfam, I got to go for the outstanding price of 0, in whichever currency you’d like. Zip. Nada. Free. More pressingly, I didn’t have to find anyone to go with me, as is oft the struggle when all your university friends are strewn across the kingdom and your girlfriend is somewhere up a pike near Windermere. Oxfam provided the entertainment, the food, the electricity, the lodging (assuming you’d brought a tent), and the company. All we had to do was work a six hour shift each day and assist with opening and closing; the rest of the day was free for us to do as we wished. The one thing they didn’t provide us with, unfortunately, was the weather.      It rained like a Leeds summer. Which is epistemologically what it was. It should hav