The face of Britain
Jul. 23rd, 2010 10:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
davidnIt's somewhat ironic that at about the time I was handling lead-firing projectile weapons for the first time, getting a feel for their responsible use and causing a great deal of distress to leftover food packaging somewhere in the woods in Virginia, a new rampage was flaring up in sleepy old Britain and bringing the debate about owning guns (which we don't really have) up once again.
To quickly summarize the situation, Raoul Moat, who apparently had 200% more head than face, was released from prison and shot three people (then may or may not have robbed a fish and chip shop). After a week-long search involving what would seem to be the majority of the British police force, he finally did himself in during a standoff after hearing that Paul Gascoigne was on his way to the scene. Despite the fairly obvious conclusion that this person was fairly undesirable, a Facebook page was set up after his death under the title "RIP Raoul Moat You Legend!", and a man from the radio got in contact with its creator to find out... why.
Witness the stupidity here
If you can stand to get through more than a couple of minutes of that, then I think you'll agree that even if you're normally perfectly liberal, it's enough to get you to instantly want to drop all government benefit and make it illegal to be from Burnsley.
To quickly summarize the situation, Raoul Moat, who apparently had 200% more head than face, was released from prison and shot three people (then may or may not have robbed a fish and chip shop). After a week-long search involving what would seem to be the majority of the British police force, he finally did himself in during a standoff after hearing that Paul Gascoigne was on his way to the scene. Despite the fairly obvious conclusion that this person was fairly undesirable, a Facebook page was set up after his death under the title "RIP Raoul Moat You Legend!", and a man from the radio got in contact with its creator to find out... why.
Witness the stupidity here
If you can stand to get through more than a couple of minutes of that, then I think you'll agree that even if you're normally perfectly liberal, it's enough to get you to instantly want to drop all government benefit and make it illegal to be from Burnsley.
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Date: 2010-07-27 11:25 pm (UTC)I can appreciate some things socialism does - helping people through benefits systems and so on, so we don't have to worry about people starving just because they lose their job (or whatever). I figure everyone has the right to life, which means they have to have a right to the means of life as well, which socialism seems to provide for a lot better than, say, pure laissez-faire capitalism. Personally, I think it's gone too far (in Britain, anyway), in that New Labour made a lot of laws that end up controlling too many aspects of people's lives for my liking - "this is en vogue now, therefore you'll all do it like this, because we're going to make it The Law!". Again, it's the distinction between a group behaving similarly through genuine agreement and a group behaving similarly because such behaviour is forced upon them. On the other hand, that assumes that New Labour were and are actually socialist anymore; I'm reminded of the joke that went around after the '97 elections, that you could rearrange the letters of TONY BLAIR PM and spell out I'M TORY PLAN B. :P
Thanks for putting your thoughts and points out here, though - I very rarely get the chance to engage in interesting, thoughtful and respectful political debate, much less over the internet, and it's much appreciated!
D.F.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-28 11:29 am (UTC)Examples of ways more socialised policies would benefit the UK: privatising the rail services has been a nightmare as the multiple parts of track maintainance, stock maintainance, etc. However, the East Coast group, which was National Express East Coast until entering administration and being nationalised to keep it going, is now working excellently as a state-run line. And infrastructure should be state-run, because one of the key points of the social contract should be that your government is doing thigns for you. Like making sure you can get decently priced electricity, or public transport, or mail, or schools, or libraries. Also, ideally not deregulating banks as seems to be in vogue around here, even at present, making sure big business can not do whatever it likes to you.
Clement Atlee, in founding the NHS, established the cradle to grave welfare state, where the government would look after you if you fulfill your end of the social contract, throughout life. That's what the state should do.
Yes, being on the dole shouldn't give you more than working, but that just means you should make sure companies offer living wages!
This is the key point of leftism, and how it should work.
The state should provide. I've had a couple of nice examples of this lately: while waiting for some ridiculously long times through stupid beaureaucracy to see some NHS mental people. The doctor gave a nice explanation: "there are some holes, but you need to try and work your way around it and exploit the system as much as possible". [And we're just as unfond of the police as you are, by the way.]
Indeed, it's a pleasure. Oh, and I'd recommend trying to download and listen to the radio comedy show "Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation". If nothing else, it explains ideas of the left more, but also, it's very very funny.