Jeremy Corbyn aged 70-years-old, the current leader of the labour party, and "a horrible man".
Horrible. An adjective many would use to describe him. He's been labeled a racist, an anti-semite, a communist, the list seems to be never-ending.
Does he really hold all these qualities- or is he just a victim of media bias?
Let's take a little look at Corbyn's life before he was the labour leader.
An even brighter idea, let's start from the beginning.
Corbyn was born in Chippenham. Raised in Wiltshire. He joined the labour party at the age of 16 and joined Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament at the age of 17.
At the age of 19, he spent two years working as a volunteer for the charity Voluntary Service Overseas (VOS). VOS is a non-profit organisation with an aim to create "a world without poverty" and to "bring people together to fight poverty and marginalisation". Corbyn volunteered as a VOS youth worker and geography teacher in Jamaica, until 1969. From 1969-1970 Corbyn traveled through Latin America, visiting Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile. Whilst visiting Brazil he participated in a student demonstration in São Paulo against the Brazillian Military Government. The Brazilian Military Government was said to be a military dictatorship that ruled Brazil.
Now before I continue, just pause for a second. Think back to when you were 19. Would you have given up a year of your life to go and teach children in Jamaica about Geography? What were you doing at the age of 19? What was Theresa May doing at the age of 19? What was Trump doing at the age of 19? Corbyn was educating the youth of Jamaica, for charity. I don't know many 19-year-olds who aspire to do that nowadays.
What will you be doing, or what did you do from the age of 20-21? Do or did dictatorships in other countries cross your mind? And if they do or did, do you think you would have the courage and selflessness to go a country who is a victim of a dictatorship and stand with the youth of that country and demonstrate for change? Corbyn had the balls to do that.
Now, let's take a look at some of his political activities over the years:
Corbyn returned to the UK in 1971, 22 years of age. He worked for the National Union of Tailors and Garment Workers, then he worked as a trade union organiser for the National Union of Public Employees and Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union. Not to mention he was also appointed leader a member of a district health authority.
At the age of 24, he was elected to Haringey Council in South Hornsey. From he was re-elected as a councilor in Harringay and held that position from 1978-1983. In 1978 Corbyn moved a motion stating dentists should be employed by the NHS, so dental is free for everyone and is not a privilege for the few but a right for all.
Fast forward to 1983, and Corbyn campaigned for the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. Because whether people agree with their sexual preferences or not, the LGBTQ+ community are still human beings before their sexual preferences and deserve rights. Humans deserve rights regardless of their sexual preference or gender.
Corbyn campaigned against the apartheid in South Africa (a system of unjust racial segregation), serving on the National Executive of the Anti-Apartheid Movement. He was arrested for protesting against the apartheid, protesting for the rights of black people in South Africa, outside of the South Africa House in London.
During 1984-1985 Corbyn supported the miners' strike, and invited striking miners into House of Commons gallery. These miners were expelled for shouting: "Coal not dole."
In 1985 Corbyn was appointed the national secretary of "Anti-Fascist Action." Now, the name of that movement is pretty self-explanatory, this movement was against fascism and racism.
Now... This is where it gets interesting, and dare I say it, controversial.
Corbyn and Ireland.
Many people accuse Corbyn of conspiring and being apart of the IRA terrorist organisation.
Corbyn has never intentionally met with members of the IRA, and he has committed no act of terror for him to be a terrorist.
Dianne Abbott, Shadow Home Secretary, clarified he had met with members of the IRA, but at the time he met them they were just activists and not terrorists. They became terrorists later.
Imagine you met someone, who was a murderer. But at the time you met them they hadn't committed a murder and you had no idea they were going to murder someone. But years later, a photo is released with you and the murderer. Does that make you a murderer? Does that mean you supported the murderer's crime?
Corbyn and Terrorism
Another thing people accuse Corbyn of supporting modern day terrorist groups such as Hamas.
He used the term: "Friends of ______"
But rather than automatically accusing him of being a terrorist supporter, why don't we listen to his side of the argument?
So, is Corbyn a horrible man?
He spent his final year as a teenager, educating the youth of Jamaica, as a charity volunteer. He spent two years after that traveling Latin America and protesting against a dictatorship. He was a colossal part of workers' unions. He fought for the rights of people who weren't even the same as him, the LGBTQ+ community, black people in South Africa. He got arrested because he was protesting for justice for black people in South Africa. Because to him before they were black, or before they were LGBTQ+, they were people. And people deserve rights.
Did the mainstream media tell you any of this?
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