I wasn’t. It had disaster written all over it, pandemic or not.
I’ll be honest I’m really struggling to understand why the large percentage of the population is afraid of the left side of politics, particularly when it is in their best interest. Honestly baffled by it.
Forty years of dumbing down and being brainwashed by the right wing media.
I guess so and utterly unbelievable that they can constantly pull it off.
Surely there comes a point when people actually question what’s going on?
Honestly, as a Singaporean, I am the least qualified to comment but my worthless opinion, is that I never understood why people would put themselves as left or right in the western world. Because to me, the left or right alot of times put themselves to the extreme left or right. It seems nobody bothered with balancing both ends or even see its possible. Its like the right wants to eliminate progress as humans as much as the left wants to ignore the traditions of humans. It might be generalization but like magnets, the more the polarization, the further it is going to push each side away from each other. It might be idealist, but to me, somewhere in the middle of left and right is the ideal state, but that is too much to ask of the current political climate, isnt it.
That’s an interesting perspective GB, but somewhat at odds with my experience as someone who has lived all my life in ‘the western world’. The vast majority of people are moderates who are neither extremely left or right wing. Most people want security and a roof over their heads. They want the opportunity to earn a living and support their families, just like in any other part of the world. Where I live, the whole system is about balancing the needs and wishes of as much of the population as possible. It doesn’t always work, of course, and sometimes there are protests or other problems, but on the whole we all live peacefully side by side and get along. You have to remember that this is not newsworthy. No news source is going to run a story about everyone living in harmony. What you see on the news are the controversial moments, the strikes and riots etc, because that’s what grabs the attention.
There has been a polarisation worldwide, again fuelled by the need for controversy in the media, and it is not a good trend, but it doesn’t mean that everyone is suddenly an extremist.
As was I as there are ameoba in our bird bath with more political nouse than JC. Seemingly it’s just a Labour trait that holding this horrific government to task is far more difficult than the “throwing bricks at the floor exercise” that we all see it as.
Just on primary schools going back for one day after Christmas. Just that should have been sufficient to pull the whole house of cards down. But no, just a lost event in the catalogue.
Media’s fault though, no question….
I think that is why my opinion is in a way worthless because I am pretty much fed by the media on both sides and both sides of the media regarding the western world and unfortunately is not going to be very balanced, so I guess you are right. I was telling my friends in the USA during the elections, I cannot understand why most of the politicians are fighting for their party instead of the country and people? And some of them do tell me its pretty frustrating in a way because some of them do see good in both parties and side and wish there would be more politicians who can bring the good of both sides in a more balanced world. So I can agree with you that you are probably right, people do just want peace, a way to make a living, access to good healthcare etc and that is probably what we wish for all people in this world, whether you are right, left or middle.
I certainly don’t mean that your opinion is worthless! We all base our views on the sources that are available to us.
I had two experiences recently that focused my thinking on the (very wearing) notion that “most people are moderate and just want to get on and along”.
The first experience. One evening, about a week ago, I was at a local pub, working on a couple of things, after I’d fed the wife and kids. A older lady was on the table opposite and we occasionally chat some niceties and she caught me as I was about to leave. This time however, she clearly had a bee in her bonnet. She let me have it in spits and spurts over about 15 painful minutes. She said, she had recently confronted a black man (in an aggressive manner) while on her way to work and then posted it on an internal work blog. This has now resulted in her now facing a disciplinary hearing. Within and around that central subject was everything from, ALL lives matter, its not our fault that slavery was just a thing that people did back then, that it happens now and it isn’t white people doing it and we don’t hear anything about that and that why does she have to take a diversity course or the unconscious bias course and of course the crowing outcry of where is the group standing up for simple white folk?.. I stood there, listened politely and left. As a person of colour I found it quite uncomfortable and worrying in equal measure.
The second experience was yesterday, I was walking to the same said establishment, again to have a quiet pint and finish off a few bits and bobs workwise when I noticed a couple of young boys ahead of me. They cannot have been more than 12 or so. One had a can of something (that I later discovered was dog food) that he had opened and was emptying the contents across the street and also occasionally kicking the can about the floor. To my surprise the boy came across to the side of the street I was walking on to put the can into the recycling bin of a house. As I went by he produced another can and asked, “Do you want a can of dog food?”, I politely replied, No thank-you", to which he quipped, “Are you sure you don’t want the dog food boy’ie, you look like you could eat it”. I just walked on but now contemplating whether I’d enjoy my pint as much as I thought I was going to…
What I find quite concerning is that here you have two completely different demographics, feeling emboldened to confront me in quite an obviously unsocial and antisocial manner and it feels like I should expect it - I almost wanted to apologise to the older lady for having to do all those courses and refusing to take the dog food… I cannot help but think that this is to some extent the fruits of the current administration’s policy of being ambiguous with all inequality issues and thus fomenting discord. These were two “regular” members of society. This may not have been in your face racism but did their need to divulge their grievance and unburden themselves of dogfood, respectively, to me, be partly based on the fact that I is the only brown person in the village? There were plenty of others about that could have borne the brunt of the lady’s ire or profited by the gift of a can of dog food…
On a more broad setting, even when a senior conservative came out in support of the kneeling by footballers, he still seemed to introduce enough of a grain of grey that left open the interpretation the though the footballers suffer discrimination and want to spread awareness of that, broadly it might not be a problem and systemically everything is fine.
I have not mentioned this before, and will not do so again, but I have two kids. One looks white and the other looks brown. It is quite dispiriting that I have spent many a night (and the occasional day) worrying disproportionally more about the onward trajectory of one of my children purely due to their hue…
I would say it’s very much ‘in your face racism’. I commend your restraint, because if that had been me, I’m afraid those boys would’ve been the ones eating the dog food.
I’d find a different boozer mate! Where about’s is this if you don’t mind me asking?
excuse my ignorance but why is the dog food one a racial taunt?
i dont mean any offense but its a bit lost on me
There is a lot of tribalism that occurs with politics, rather than pragmatism.
Most people in reality agree with polices A,B,C when it comes to the party on the left, but also agree with policies X,Y, Z when it comes to the party on the right. Sadly its not really the policies that really shift the pendulum.
Large proportion of people will vote labour because they are seen as the socialist party, a large proportion of people will vote conservative as they are seen as the ones fiscally responsible. Neither of those things is really true. But its the reputation/perception.
The other big group vote for personality. Trump and Johnson are TV personalities not politicians. No one votes for them because of their values. Their values is what ever will win them votes. They turn race into a shit smearing competition, win be instigating fear and division.
One with that is stark is just how divisional the like of Johnson are.
Yougov Polls of
Over 65s, over the last year have consistently had him with a popularity of >65%. (84% last April 2020).
Of conservatives 74% think he is doing a good job (97% April 2020)
Compare that with
25 to 40 year olds this populairty drops to 25%-40%. Just 10% that voted labour, 20% of Lib dems think he is doing a good job. Similar to remain voters. Just 22% of remainers think he is doing a good job.
Its remarkable and astonishing the the UK given the austerity, scandals, poor handling of pandemic and issues with Brexit (after more than a decade in power). They are still the most popular party.
No worries, know you don’t mean that. I meant it was worthless in the sense that the opinions on the ground would probably be more real rather than a distant commentary like mine.
Which actually brings me to the question that I asked my American friends as follow up, why then are there not more parties who position themselves as balanced centrists or if there are, why aren’t they getting more preferences from the common people? Is it because money is not there to push such parties to the limelight or politicians see no money to be made as centrists. Afterall, chaos on the other side can lead to profits for their own side?
I agree and I put myself more towards the centre with a left lean. With regards to my thoughts the vast majority of people in the UK will want
A) a strong NHS that delivers
B) strong education system that provides opportunities for all
C) Adequate policing
D) housing
E) increasingly action on the environment
Note I haven’t mentioned economy. Most people don’t give 2 jots about it provided they aren’t in financial stress.
And yet pretty much all of the above have consistently been downgraded over the last decade, 15 years at least. And we continue to vote in people that will move us further from those ideals.
Cameron government should been a shot in the arm. Austerity to cure a debt that didn’t actually reduce at all. So we vote in a government that spends like crazy on people they met in the pub.
I see our Government has once again given us the middle finger…
One rule for us, one rule for them. Cunts.
That was short lived.
Was it just a coincidence that the opening up date is 3 days before Parliament closes for summer?
I know it was originaally 21st June but it went from thst to definitely 19th regardless of what happens with cases.
Near the south coast of England, not too far away from from where London empties out on on weekends like this. There are only 3 pubs, the nearest of which I occasionally frequent and it also happens to be the only one that shows footie.