'Watch The Wall My Darling, While The Gentlemen Go By'

 

‘WATCH THE WALL MY DARLING, WHILE THE GENTLEMEN GO BY’

These days we are used to hearing about the darker side of nursery rhymes. We know that ‘Ring a Ring o’Roses’ is all about the plague, and that ‘Little Miss Muffet’ probably refers to a certain Dr Muffet who crushed up spiders and used them as medicine for his patients (including his daughter).

But it’s sometimes a bit unnerving to read a poem that probably seemed quite charming in its original context, but then takes on a darker meaning in the 21st Century.

‘Smugglers’ Song’ by Rudyard Kipling (1865-1930) is a rhythmic and mysterious poem, where a child is told by a parent to face the wall and to ask no questions if she hears horses' hooves at midnight:

Five and twenty ponies,

Trotting through the dark —

Brandy for the Parson,

'Baccy for the Clerk;

Them that asks no questions isn't told a lie —

Watch the wall, my darling, 

While the Gentlemen go by

Kipling’s smugglers are ‘gentlemen’, romantic figures bringing brandy, tobacco and lace to the village. But they must never be mentioned. And then suddenly, with a jolt, we think of smugglers in 2023. Facing the wall, avoiding truth, asking no questions. Do smugglers of people, traffickers, modern slavery practitioners, operate in the same way, relying on silence? Are they the ‘Gentlemen’ of the 21st century? Are we complicit in some way, by not speaking out, by not asking the right questions about cigarettes, recreational drugs, cheap clothes, illegal gambling, cash-only nail bars, and the multitudes of different money-laundering fronts that can be found in every town?

Of course, there are many other ‘Gentlemen’ who are riding by in plain sight, doing damage and relying on silence, either because of collusion and complicity, or (and probably more often), because of fear, intimidation and hopelessness. 

Look to the East 

The Gentlemen of Iran are having a high old time at the moment, promoting their policy of uniting with ideologies opposed to liberalism (ie China and Russia).

One year on from the death of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for not wearing the hijab correctly, the Iranian government has now imposed a new set of draconian rules about how women should dress. There are more than 70 articles in the bill, with incremental punishments starting with very high fines and culminating in a 10-year prison sentence. As well as the infamous ‘morality police’, there are also multiple new security agencies licensed to impose punishments. Much protest has been driven off the streets, but women and young people are, amazingly, still resisting. There is significant outdoor activism at night, and information about indoor protests is widely shared. But how is the world reacting in the face of this inconceivable harshness? Iranian women are no longer front-page news – there have been a few nods to the anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death but the Iranian authorities, with their mantra of ‘Look to the East’, ride on regardless.

In Afghanistan, education, employment, free movement and free speech for women and girls are still harshly restricted. There was a ripple of outrage when one British MP felt that he could praise the good work that the Taliban were doing but that seems to have died down. Meanwhile, charities and organisations like Women for International Women, Amnesty and Human Rights Watch continue to highlight these awful situations through campaigning and lobbying. But, like the Iranian authorities, the Taliban ‘Gentleman’ don’t seem too bothered.

Home Grown Misogyny

So now, at the end of September 2023, in comes prancing our own home-grown ‘Gentleman’, a so-called comedian, not worthy of naming, full of preening arrogance as he is accused of sexually abusive behaviour. Producers and media executives have seemingly chosen to ignore misogyny on the comedy circuit, turning their faces to the wall even though women comedians have been alerting and warning one another about it for years.

And there are so many other examples of walls of silence, of abuse hiding in plain sight, of the fear of speaking out.

What, for example has happened about the 56 MPs who were being investigated last May for abusive behaviour? Have you heard anything?.

And why is the rape charging rate in England and Wales sitting at 2% of all cases? Jess Phillips MP notes that women probably feel safer if they keep quiet when criticism of victims is so rife:

…if five women came forward to the police, the chances are that just 10% of one woman would see their case progress to a charge – not a conviction, just a charge. And yet they ask why a woman with so little chance of justice wouldn’t come forward to endure a minimum two-year-long ordeal against someone far richer and more powerful than them.

And then of course there’s the police……..the list goes on and on.

Time to Act

Actually, the more often you read Kipling’s poem, the creepier it feels. The child is told:

If You do as you've been told, 'likely there's a chance,

You'll be give a dainty doll, all the way from France,

With a cap of Valenciennes, and a velvet hood -

A present from the Gentlemen, along 'o being good!

The wall has to come down, whether we are turning our faces to it out of fear, or because some of these ‘Gentlemen’ and their supporters find it expedient and profitable. And it’s probably time now to remove the ‘gentle’ part of the word and just focus on changing the behaviour and attitudes of the misogynistic men who otherwise will carry on riding by. 

November 25th is White Ribbon Day. It focuses on ending violence against women and girls and is followed by 16 days of action. The next blog will give more information on how you can contribute and get involved.