And so, despite the social media ire, despite the mainstream media lampooning and, frankly, showing Farage and his mob up at every opportunity, UKIP did quite well in the most recent local and European elections. Not the earthquake, not the triumph that it's being spun as, for different reasons on both sides, but, in truth, they've done pretty well.
I shouldn't need to qualify my blog to those that know me and my politics but, for those that don't, I find UKIP to be nasty, anachronistic, parochial, racist, sexist, illiberal and small-minded.
However, do I think that the majority of people who voted for UKIP are bigots and racists? No I don't.
Ever since I can remember, the story of the public's mistrust of Westminster and its disenfranchisement with politics as a whole has been bandied about, trotted out by the media and the notion of tackling that mistrust has been paid lip-service to by politicians of all stripes.
However, the main three political parties have been content with that disconnect because it means less accountability for them and the fat kids are left to run the sweet shop. Here's the thing though, it's not only their fault, it's our fault, too.
We are complicit, we are lazy, we're comfortable bemoaning our lack of power and that our voice makes not a jot of difference. We're happy to retweet, re-blog, share, put together a biting and pithy one-hundred-and-forty-character protest and mainline the misapprehension that we're actually engaging.
Well, let me tell you this, in my humble opinion; grand. Crack on with your social media picketing but without it being married to real action, it's very little more than vainglorious posturing.
For the last week or so, I've watched post after post on social media saying, basically, if you vote UKIP then you're either racist or an idiot. Both may apply to some but, I suspect neither apply to many.
No-one that I know has admitted to me personally that they would vote UKIP (probably because they couldn't abide the ear-bashing) but we have sensible, respectable people out there in the world voting for UKIP. Are we not interested in why?
As far as I can tell, the main reason is that because we feel divorced from politics, we feel that those in Parliament are untouchable and inaccessible. It's mainly run by, white men from elite backgrounds, that came through elite schools and universities, and they couldn't care less about the price of milk or the real grass-roots issues that present today.
I think those in charge are pretty happy with the status quo. The power of the working (wo)man has suffered a long and drawn out death. Local constituency parties meet every week around us, they offer a real chance to affect change. Should we not take our parties back? Where are the candidates from less affluent backgrounds? Well, why isn't it you?
You don't have to, I just rather think that it should be considered that there IS a chance to get involved should you choose to take it, the next time you're tweeting about the fall of democracy in the x-factor commercial break.
What I'm trying to get across is that the rump of UKIP voters have voted not for the three main parties because they're scunnered by their nonsense, but calling voters bigots and racists lets the LabConDems off the hook because no-one is scrutinising these broken parties' lacklustre appeal.
The middle of the political spectrum is clogged with the same pallid and self-serving rich men. I have friends from the dark days of the eighties who tell me that radicalism and high minded ideology is what threw my Labour party to the wolves of opposition for four long terms.
I say, people need to be captivated by politics again, like north of the border, people are really talking, mobilising, they are properly engaged. Sadly, they are, currently, only moved by a single issue and hopefully their hunger for engagement will live on past the Referendum. In truth, regardless of my own thoughts on the Scotland's future it truly is a joy to see my country alive with activism.
That activism will only happen in the UK with a departure from the shoddy conventional wisdom that Centrism is the answer. It most certainly is not.
Centrism brought about the crash of the world's finances, Centrism gave us a Labour party that didn't have the courage to challenge the political narrative that it was overspending that broke the UK economy and only austerity is the answer.
Centrism gave us private utility providers and rail companies that fleece the customer, pushing more and more families to the breadline, and Centrism gave us a Labour party that demonises welfare claimants, and will not fight for working families.
Centrism gave us three fat parties, scared to put the positive case for immigration. Three parties that will not talk about the fact that in thirty years time, the UK will be the biggest and oldest population in the EU, and without young, immigrant workers, we won't be able to afford pensions.
Centrism gave us three parties that will not speak up for the diversity and multiculturalism that makes me the UK.
These are not reasons to switch off from politics, these are the very reasons to switch back on and turn up the volume. Politics is yours for the taking. Don't call people idiots or worse for voting UKIP. Ask them why, engage, challenge them, educate.
This is a time for change and it's not going to come from those in power. It ought to come from me and you, it ought to be about our holding the grey men to account. Social media is only a tiny part of the solution. What else are you going to do?