The other day I went to see Cloudbusting, a Kate Bush tribute band. They were really good – the singer and the musicians were well worth a listen.

I’m not a Kate Bush fan particularly, although there’s a lot about her work to admire. The songs have a kind of purity, an intelligence and a naïveté. I particularly like that aspect of Army Dreamers and This Woman’s Work.

It started me thinking about song lyrics from when I was a kid. Of course, there was the usual romantic stuff, but many lyrics that promoted thought and discussion. Clever lyrics. Poetic lyrics. Lyrics that made you reflect. Or learn something new. Or feel outraged.

I loved the punk rock era, when there was a level of fury against injustice. Bands like Crass. The Clash. The Dead Kennedys. Rage Against the Machine.

 Oh, and The Fall. They were incredible.

At that time I wrote punk lyrics for a band. I was prolific, as you can imagine. It would take a couple of glasses of wine to get me to share any of them with you now. But there was a lot of outrage against prejudice and cruelty. And the flip side of that was to ask for lot of kindness.

Which makes me wonder if logic, kindness and outrage go hand in hand. By outrage, I don’t mean the quick knee jerk reaction that comes when people read incendiary tabloid headlines. I’m talking about thinking things out, discussing and researching first.

Then realising that some things aren’t fair. They aren’t right.

I’m outraged by a few things that have happened recently. And in all cases, logic and kindness and empathy were completely absent from these events.

Firstly, two Jewish men were attacked in Golders Green last month. The rise of antisemitism leaves me feeling shocked. How can ridiculous prejudice still be a thing?

I find myself saying that a lot.

Recently UEFA appointed an ethics and disciplinary inspector to investigate allegations of a racist ‌slur directed at Vini Junior of Real Madrid. The player who apparently racially abused him had his hand over his mouth to cover his words. But, he claimed, it wasn’t a racially abusive comment, it was homophobia.

So that makes it better, does it? One kind of abuse trumps another?

In a world where difference should be celebrated and people admired for their individual merits, it’s outrageous that some people can be so unkind. It doesn’t have to be that way.

There are a lot of high profile people setting bad examples. Politicians. Media celebrities. People who should know better. People who seem to have got away with privilege and bad behaviour for a long time.

Then the tabloids throw it all out there and people respond with the usual tirade of momentary anger and judgement, then everything goes back to how it was.

Things need to change. We need to think and listen and discuss more. We need to consider others more. We need to call out abuse and unfairness and stand together to change it.

Then we need to be fair and tolerant and kind. It’s about empathy.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said that an attack on the Jewish community is “an attack on all of us”. It isn’t though. It’s a racist attack on a targeted group of people who are living in fear.

I think what Keir Starmer means is that it could be any of us and we should stand together in an act of solidarity. It wasn’t any of us though, was it?

You all know the famous poem by Martin Niemöller. I’ll post it here to remind you.

First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me

It’s a good thought. That we should ‘speak out’ for each other. Not for selfish reasons. For reasons of humanity.

I’d ask questions. Firstly – who are they in this poem? Why did they come? And what did it look like, when they ‘came’? What form does it take now?

And let’s go back to the first group at the beginning of the poem, whoever ‘they’ are. They’re communists, here. Why were they identified and ‘come for’ first? What reasons might have been given? And who might that group be, if the poem was written today?

 And of course, what does ‘speaking out’ look like now?

I’m going to consider all of this.

 I feel outraged by prejudice, whatever form it takes. I try to promote tolerance and empathy and kindness when I can, in my writing, in my interactions with others, in my life, each day.

Maybe I need to do it more. Maybe it needs to be an even bigger priority.

As the great Bob Marley sang, when I was a kid. ‘One love, one heart, Let’s get together and feel alright.’

Simple lyrics. Naïve, of course.

But it’s a good thought in these dark times.