Following the recent riots in the UK, many posh people have been talking over the reasons behind the looting. It appears that nothing can happen without an underlying cause. Nobody likes to admit that modern cultures and bad parenting combined with poverty may cause people to become scumbags.
Throughout the debate, a historian called David Starkey, tried to give his opinion on one of the causes during what was meant to be an intelligent debate on a UK news programme. His opinion caused a massive backlash from politicians and popularity-seekers everywhere. Suddenly, the country shuddered as everyone got on to their high horses to blast the poor man about his opinion, once again proving that we are not yet evolved enough to have an intelligent discussion on race and the crimes associated with various subcultures within racial groups.
Curiously, I wonder what the opinion of the general public would've been if it was a coloured person who expressed David Starkey's views?
So, what is my opinion you may ask?
I'm white. Therefore I am incapable of having an intelligent debate about race and crime because if I did, that would make me a racist.
I yearn for the day that adults can have a discussion and address the problems that come hand in hand with having a multicultural society. I am happy to share my country with so many different people of different cultures and creeds, but I'm disappointed that we cannot fix the few problems that arise as a result.
One day, lives will be saved when people are intelligent enough to discuss these issues without screaming 'racist' to bolster their own popularity.
Showing posts with label black humour. Show all posts
Showing posts with label black humour. Show all posts
Monday, 15 August 2011
Tuesday, 19 April 2011
Immigration... Talk About it and You're a Racist.
I need to get something straight. At this current moment in time, I'm not the biggest fan of our Prime Minister, David Cameron. He's a toff who's trying to relate to 'the average joe' whilst taxing us, making cuts in all the wrong places and protecting his banker buddies. But, that aside, he has got some good ideas, I just wish he wasn't being a massive dick about things.
One of his most recent speeches saw him addressing the issue of immigration. He mentioned that it takes time to build up a community and people who move into that community with little wish to 'integrate' and know little or no English cause "discomfort and disjointedness in some neighbourhoods." I was actually refreshed to hear someone speak intelligently about immigration and I suspect within the next few days people will be branding him a racist. I hope this is not the case, he's a bigot, but there's no evidence to say he's a racist. What he has indeed bought up, is that which has many politicians sweating and something which is rarely bought up. I no way endorce the BNP and their very extreme views on foreigners in Britain, but the fact that they were able to become such a well-recognised political party is down to the overly sensitive way we view discussions on immigration.
The simple fact of the matter is that immigration can be a bad thing. Especially when it is not moderated. Illegal immigration is a bad thing and it's not racist to say that. There are serious problems with having unknown persons walking around a foreign land with no grasp of the language or culture.
The ways in which immigration causes problems in the UK is that these people are often taken advantage of and this in turn has a knock-on effect to the rest of us. Companies get cheap labour, we get screwed out of jobs. Thankfully, this is not rife in the UK as we have a bad habit of moving jobs abroad rather than moving people in to work, however it is one of the many problems caused by unmoderated immigration policies.
The part of immigration which I am most exhasperated by -- and the one I am most familiar with -- is the portion which sees people uneducated in the laws of this country; walking the streets doing as they wish. There is no particular race or creed that is more likely to commit crime, however there is noticable effects of having people who are not educated in British laws in the country. Some unfortunate cultural characteristics can sometimes be carried into Britain as a result of incorrect integration into the public. For example, women in some cultures are very much 'seen and not heard' whereas the ladies in this country enjoy the same freedoms as the men. When I was in the police, there was a large amount of negativity towards the females I served with and domestic violence towards women was widely overlooked by the communities in which it took place. Why? I actually heard someone once say 'it's part of the culture', which is an incredibly racist thing to say... apparently. I certainly wouldn't be brave enough to say what culture this person referred to.
I also recall during my times with police, many occasions where someone would not have tax or insurance on their vehicle, or would have no regard for traffic signals and markings. Not through any disregard of the rules, but because there was a large portion of people who came into this country not knowing that these things were required to drive. Unfortunately, traffic crime was probably one of the least negative things to come out of a lack of integration... Murderers were protected by people and violence was often condoned or straight out encouraged by the leaders of a community. An eye for an eye seemed to be something that was inbuilt into some cultures and the thought of bringing the police into a matter that was seen as 'easily resolved' never occurred. If someone stole your wife, you go out and you stab them. They learn their lesson and you get your revenge (I use this as an example, because this actually happened and was a recommendation of a community elder). I'm not attacking a culture for these barbaric methods of dealing with problems, I'm attacking our government which for so long has simply overlooked the fact that people need to be properly integrated.
There are whole areas in certain towns and cities where one race or creed is prevalent over every other and this should not be the case. This is not integration. In the past, the governement has failed to address the fact that some of these communities are poorer and as a result they often have higher crime rates than surrounding areas. Addressing this is not racist, it's intelligent. Crime and poverty shouldn't have anything to do with culture or race, but because of the way our government houses immigrants it often does.
Right about now some people would assume I'm racist because I've dared to bring up the issue of immigration. Immigration can be a very good thing for a country; indeed much of this country was at some point in history immigrants. Only some Welsh and Scottish families can actually claim to be 'true' Britons as the rest of us came across with the Normans or the Saxons. The case is even worse in America and Australia where pretty much everyone is an immigrant.
Immigration is something which is needed and should be managed properly. David Cameron has had a lot of bad ideas and seems to have somewhat of a jaded view of the public but this is one area where he's actually correct and seems to be going in the right direction. Integration is better than simply grouping up a race of people in a single area and a tougher stance on asylum should certainly take place. Afterall, the rules of asylum state that an asylum seeker should request asylum in the first safe country they get to. As Britain is an island, that should rarely be us. Also, if someone commits a serious crime in the UK, I don't see why we should be so aversed to sending them back to their country of origin if they've come into this country seeking asylum.
It is worth mentioning that there are many, many 'non-white' Britons, people who have lived and worked in this country and contribute more to the country than many of the true racists who only want a 'white Britain'. It is only because of the lack of action the government has taken on the people (white or otherwise) who have entered this country illegally that groups like the EDL and BNP have been able to flourish in towns where conflicts between races are common.
It's fantastic that we live in a multi-cultural nation, but it's a shame that these nations are so seperate from each other in some areas.
One of his most recent speeches saw him addressing the issue of immigration. He mentioned that it takes time to build up a community and people who move into that community with little wish to 'integrate' and know little or no English cause "discomfort and disjointedness in some neighbourhoods." I was actually refreshed to hear someone speak intelligently about immigration and I suspect within the next few days people will be branding him a racist. I hope this is not the case, he's a bigot, but there's no evidence to say he's a racist. What he has indeed bought up, is that which has many politicians sweating and something which is rarely bought up. I no way endorce the BNP and their very extreme views on foreigners in Britain, but the fact that they were able to become such a well-recognised political party is down to the overly sensitive way we view discussions on immigration.
The simple fact of the matter is that immigration can be a bad thing. Especially when it is not moderated. Illegal immigration is a bad thing and it's not racist to say that. There are serious problems with having unknown persons walking around a foreign land with no grasp of the language or culture.
The ways in which immigration causes problems in the UK is that these people are often taken advantage of and this in turn has a knock-on effect to the rest of us. Companies get cheap labour, we get screwed out of jobs. Thankfully, this is not rife in the UK as we have a bad habit of moving jobs abroad rather than moving people in to work, however it is one of the many problems caused by unmoderated immigration policies.
The part of immigration which I am most exhasperated by -- and the one I am most familiar with -- is the portion which sees people uneducated in the laws of this country; walking the streets doing as they wish. There is no particular race or creed that is more likely to commit crime, however there is noticable effects of having people who are not educated in British laws in the country. Some unfortunate cultural characteristics can sometimes be carried into Britain as a result of incorrect integration into the public. For example, women in some cultures are very much 'seen and not heard' whereas the ladies in this country enjoy the same freedoms as the men. When I was in the police, there was a large amount of negativity towards the females I served with and domestic violence towards women was widely overlooked by the communities in which it took place. Why? I actually heard someone once say 'it's part of the culture', which is an incredibly racist thing to say... apparently. I certainly wouldn't be brave enough to say what culture this person referred to.
I also recall during my times with police, many occasions where someone would not have tax or insurance on their vehicle, or would have no regard for traffic signals and markings. Not through any disregard of the rules, but because there was a large portion of people who came into this country not knowing that these things were required to drive. Unfortunately, traffic crime was probably one of the least negative things to come out of a lack of integration... Murderers were protected by people and violence was often condoned or straight out encouraged by the leaders of a community. An eye for an eye seemed to be something that was inbuilt into some cultures and the thought of bringing the police into a matter that was seen as 'easily resolved' never occurred. If someone stole your wife, you go out and you stab them. They learn their lesson and you get your revenge (I use this as an example, because this actually happened and was a recommendation of a community elder). I'm not attacking a culture for these barbaric methods of dealing with problems, I'm attacking our government which for so long has simply overlooked the fact that people need to be properly integrated.
There are whole areas in certain towns and cities where one race or creed is prevalent over every other and this should not be the case. This is not integration. In the past, the governement has failed to address the fact that some of these communities are poorer and as a result they often have higher crime rates than surrounding areas. Addressing this is not racist, it's intelligent. Crime and poverty shouldn't have anything to do with culture or race, but because of the way our government houses immigrants it often does.
Right about now some people would assume I'm racist because I've dared to bring up the issue of immigration. Immigration can be a very good thing for a country; indeed much of this country was at some point in history immigrants. Only some Welsh and Scottish families can actually claim to be 'true' Britons as the rest of us came across with the Normans or the Saxons. The case is even worse in America and Australia where pretty much everyone is an immigrant.
Immigration is something which is needed and should be managed properly. David Cameron has had a lot of bad ideas and seems to have somewhat of a jaded view of the public but this is one area where he's actually correct and seems to be going in the right direction. Integration is better than simply grouping up a race of people in a single area and a tougher stance on asylum should certainly take place. Afterall, the rules of asylum state that an asylum seeker should request asylum in the first safe country they get to. As Britain is an island, that should rarely be us. Also, if someone commits a serious crime in the UK, I don't see why we should be so aversed to sending them back to their country of origin if they've come into this country seeking asylum.
It is worth mentioning that there are many, many 'non-white' Britons, people who have lived and worked in this country and contribute more to the country than many of the true racists who only want a 'white Britain'. It is only because of the lack of action the government has taken on the people (white or otherwise) who have entered this country illegally that groups like the EDL and BNP have been able to flourish in towns where conflicts between races are common.
It's fantastic that we live in a multi-cultural nation, but it's a shame that these nations are so seperate from each other in some areas.
Tuesday, 22 March 2011
Making Light of a Bad Situation...
It's a human trait and something which inspired the naming of this blog. Over this month, we've seen a crisis in Libya, with pro-Gaddafi and rebel forces clashing and a huge tsunami has swept a stretch of Japanese coastline off the maps. Immediately following this, nuclear disaster loomed at one of the Japanese power plants. For many people around the globe its a time to reflect on the fragile nature of life.
For some of us that means mourning but for others, it means it's time to find the 'sickest' joke we can and share it between our friends.
Black humour has long been a passion of the English: more so in recent times with comedians like Frankie Boyle and Jimmy Carr providing some of the most disturbingly wonderful jokes around within a short period of a particularly 'bad' thing being bought to light. But is this a bad thing? There are obviously a lot of complaints about black humour, especially when the jokes are heard by people who are affected by the disaster but there is obviously a culture surrounding the telling of these jokes because they become so popular so quickly.
So, does this make us all a nation of sickos?
No.
People deal with horrible things in various ways. Some people break down and cry, some become reclusive, some people remember and others laugh. It's human nature that we all deal with problems in different ways. Not every person is going to show compassion about a bad event as not everyone is comfortable showing their emotions to other people. If anything, ignoring something, not making comment, not bringing it up, is worse than making fun of it. At least making fun of an event shows that it is on their minds; that people are thinking about it and how it is impacting those unfortunate enough to be affected by it. Humour is also a way of distancing yourself from something and making it seem like it's not quite as real.
When I was in the police I heard various stories of the bereavement officers (the guys who had to tell a member of the public that their loved ones have died) walking up to the front door of a family of the deceased and burst out with laughter just before they knocked on to give the bad news. Bad things do unusual things to people.
Using the police as another example, I recall a time when I entered a house where a man had committed suicide; hanging himself from the rafters in the loft. His family was downstairs and rightly distraught at the news of their sons demise and me and my trainer at that time walked up to see the body. It obviously had the potential to be a fairly upsetting moment and seeing this, my trainer said something unusual, and hilarious.
When we entered the loft, SOCO (scenes of crime officers) were already up there taking photos and getting evidence from where the body had been cut down. We just stood, looking at the body and then did a quick circuit of the room in silence. My trainer then said.
"You know why he killed himself don't you?"
"No," I replied.
He sighed before saying, "Just look at the wallpaper."
The wallpaper in the loft was a horrendous 1970's design which was peeling off parts of the walls. I had to try to stop myself from laughing, lest the family in the room below hear me. Was I laughing out of disrespect? No. Was I laughing at the body? No. I was laughing because it made the situation less awkward, less real. It's the way people deal with these things.
Obviously, following the tsunami in Japan, people are already coming up with jokes and websites such as Sickipedia are bursting with classics such as: "I don't know why we're giving so much aid to Japan. I've just seen a news report and there was a man with two boats in his front lawn. He must be wealthy." That joke was something I received from a close friend in the same day as the tsunami. That's how quick humour travels.
I hate feeling like I have to openly show remorse for an event. I hear it all the time in supermarkets when an elderly couple discuss such things with a tone of complete indifference.
"Oh, isn't is terrible what's happened in Japan, isn't it?"
"Yeah, all those poor people"
"Yeah... terrible... Grab the Corn Flakes, it's buy one get one free. Have you heard Noreen is getting a new hip?"
Is that really a better way to remember a bad event? To mention it with fake remorse and then pretend it never happened? I actually loathe when people do this, almost as much as I loathe people who claim that something 'offends' them when really they couldn't give two shits.
Someone once said to me a particular album I owned had an 'offensive' cover. It wasn't anything bad, like a child being molested by the Jolly Green Giant, it was just a series of painted figures that morphed into each other and looked like something from John Carpenter's The Thing. It wasn't exactly beautiful, but it wasn't 'offensive'. Indeed, if this was the most offensive thing that person had ever seen then he must have led a very sheltered existence.
Obviously what happened in Japan is bad, obviously the deaths in Libya are terrible. Do we need to force ourselves to feel remorse just because we are expected to? I say no. I say we remember the events in our own way, even if it's with laughter.
So far, this years tsunami has already claimed thousands of lives.
For some of us that means mourning but for others, it means it's time to find the 'sickest' joke we can and share it between our friends.
Black humour has long been a passion of the English: more so in recent times with comedians like Frankie Boyle and Jimmy Carr providing some of the most disturbingly wonderful jokes around within a short period of a particularly 'bad' thing being bought to light. But is this a bad thing? There are obviously a lot of complaints about black humour, especially when the jokes are heard by people who are affected by the disaster but there is obviously a culture surrounding the telling of these jokes because they become so popular so quickly.
So, does this make us all a nation of sickos?
No.
People deal with horrible things in various ways. Some people break down and cry, some become reclusive, some people remember and others laugh. It's human nature that we all deal with problems in different ways. Not every person is going to show compassion about a bad event as not everyone is comfortable showing their emotions to other people. If anything, ignoring something, not making comment, not bringing it up, is worse than making fun of it. At least making fun of an event shows that it is on their minds; that people are thinking about it and how it is impacting those unfortunate enough to be affected by it. Humour is also a way of distancing yourself from something and making it seem like it's not quite as real.
When I was in the police I heard various stories of the bereavement officers (the guys who had to tell a member of the public that their loved ones have died) walking up to the front door of a family of the deceased and burst out with laughter just before they knocked on to give the bad news. Bad things do unusual things to people.
Using the police as another example, I recall a time when I entered a house where a man had committed suicide; hanging himself from the rafters in the loft. His family was downstairs and rightly distraught at the news of their sons demise and me and my trainer at that time walked up to see the body. It obviously had the potential to be a fairly upsetting moment and seeing this, my trainer said something unusual, and hilarious.
When we entered the loft, SOCO (scenes of crime officers) were already up there taking photos and getting evidence from where the body had been cut down. We just stood, looking at the body and then did a quick circuit of the room in silence. My trainer then said.
"You know why he killed himself don't you?"
"No," I replied.
He sighed before saying, "Just look at the wallpaper."
The wallpaper in the loft was a horrendous 1970's design which was peeling off parts of the walls. I had to try to stop myself from laughing, lest the family in the room below hear me. Was I laughing out of disrespect? No. Was I laughing at the body? No. I was laughing because it made the situation less awkward, less real. It's the way people deal with these things.
Obviously, following the tsunami in Japan, people are already coming up with jokes and websites such as Sickipedia are bursting with classics such as: "I don't know why we're giving so much aid to Japan. I've just seen a news report and there was a man with two boats in his front lawn. He must be wealthy." That joke was something I received from a close friend in the same day as the tsunami. That's how quick humour travels.
I hate feeling like I have to openly show remorse for an event. I hear it all the time in supermarkets when an elderly couple discuss such things with a tone of complete indifference.
"Oh, isn't is terrible what's happened in Japan, isn't it?"
"Yeah, all those poor people"
"Yeah... terrible... Grab the Corn Flakes, it's buy one get one free. Have you heard Noreen is getting a new hip?"
Corn Flakes solve all of life's problems...
Is that really a better way to remember a bad event? To mention it with fake remorse and then pretend it never happened? I actually loathe when people do this, almost as much as I loathe people who claim that something 'offends' them when really they couldn't give two shits.
Someone once said to me a particular album I owned had an 'offensive' cover. It wasn't anything bad, like a child being molested by the Jolly Green Giant, it was just a series of painted figures that morphed into each other and looked like something from John Carpenter's The Thing. It wasn't exactly beautiful, but it wasn't 'offensive'. Indeed, if this was the most offensive thing that person had ever seen then he must have led a very sheltered existence.
Obviously what happened in Japan is bad, obviously the deaths in Libya are terrible. Do we need to force ourselves to feel remorse just because we are expected to? I say no. I say we remember the events in our own way, even if it's with laughter.
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