By Kieron JH
Let’s Get This Straight
I don’t roll out of bed each morning plotting how to wind up people in power (it comes naturally). But if you want to change the system, you’ll do exactly that, whether you like it or not. If your main goal is to be liked by everyone, you might as well stick to local politics – at least then you get a pension for all that fence-sitting.
I’m not delusional. I’m not Malcolm X, I’m not Mohammed Ali. I’m a bloke from Tyneside who barely leaves the house unless it’s for the gym, the shops, or when my girlfriend insists. I don’t chase confrontation for the sake of it. But every time I see an institution spinning, stalling, and dodging basic accountability, I can’t just sit and clap along. Maybe that’s a flaw. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s exactly what’s needed.
I’ve Always Been Like This
It’s not a phase and it’s not for effect. I’ve always struggled to follow rules that make no sense. That doesn’t make me a thug. I’m not out breaking the law for the thrill, but I will criticise it, question it, and drag its failings into the open.
The warning signs were always there. School was a practice run for forced conformity. There’d be uproar if you didn’t join in at assembly – why? Because standing out isn’t encouraged. In P.E. they tried to make us breakdance. Breakdance. I remember thinking, “How is this even a thing?” I’d have much rather done a logic puzzle or something genuinely challenging, but that was never on offer. State education isn’t about creating thinkers, it’s about turning you into someone who sits down, shuts up, and blends in, ready for your decades on the treadmill.
And then what? If you’re lucky, you retire before your body gives out, then spend your “golden years” just killing time. The only plan the system has for you is to be productive and then quietly disappear.
Divisive Isn’t a Dirty Word
History doesn’t remember the ones who stuck to the script. Change never comes from consensus or working quietly within the process. It’s always pushed by people who get called difficult, obsessive, a “nuisance,” or my favourite, “vexatious.” If you’re not pissing someone off, you’re just furniture – and furniture gets sat on.
Being divisive isn’t about picking fights for fun. It’s about refusing to nod along with nonsense, even when it comes at a cost. That’s what draws the line. If you don’t, you end up disposable. Replaceable. Forgotten.
The Price of Making Enemies
Let’s be honest – making powerful enemies isn’t something I set out for, it’s just a natural side effect if you’re doing the work properly. If you want to expose failures, hypocrisy, or cover-ups, don’t expect to make friends along the way. The moment you stop playing by their rules, you’re “difficult.” Good. The alternative is being disposable, the sort of person they ignore, discard, or talk over whenever they feel like it.
Some people think being disliked is the worst thing that could happen. I reckon being irrelevant is worse. When you see organisations tying themselves in knots just to avoid having a real conversation, you know you’ve hit a nerve.
Respectability Is a Trap
Loads of people will tell you, “You catch more flies with honey.” I’m not here to catch flies. I’m here to clear out the rot. All respectability does is keep critics in line. You water yourself down, play nice, and you get ignored – right up until someone needs a scapegoat.
Being “respectable” never stopped anyone getting shafted by the system. It just means when you do finally lose your rag, they act shocked. I’d rather be called abrasive than invisible.
The Cost and the Payoff
I won’t pretend it’s a breeze. You lose sleep. Sometimes you lose people. Sometimes you lose your own sense of peace. But if you do it right, you gain something that actually matters – self-respect, receipts, and a legacy that can’t be wiped just because it made the wrong people uncomfortable.
You don’t bring about change by asking nicely. The world doesn’t work like that. You have to make enough noise that they can’t ignore you, even if it gets you a nickname in some HR WhatsApp group.
To the Next Trouble-Maker
If you’re reading this and thinking, “I’d do something, but I don’t want to be that person,” ask yourself: what’s the real price of staying quiet? I’d rather be divisive and right than disposable and forgotten.
If you actually want to make a difference, don’t be afraid of friction. Be ready to be remembered as “that guy,” “that woman,” “that pain in the arse.” The world only moves forward when someone’s finally had enough of playing along.
“You can be comfortable, or you can be consequential. Not often both.”
Divisive? Maybe. Disposable? Not a chance.
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