The Race Debate...

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.

Why I Pray for the Zombie Apocalypse...

It's August the 9th, 2011 and Britain has seen a spate of rioting and looting on a par with that which took parts of the country back in the 80's. People are burning things, stealing, mugging and generally being total dicks. This is an extreme underline to the reasons why, quite often, I wish the zombie apocalypse upon humanity.

Like many, many people across the world I am fascinated by the idea of being suddenly thrown into a situation where society has broken down and everyone, regardless of background, culture, creed or wealth is square. The slate wiped clean. Of course, fighting zombies and acting without consequence is one of main reasons anyone fantasises about something which, in all honesty, would be quite a horrible experience. The fact that this is such an entertaining and appealing topic should really have people questioning the state of current society.

Our world is dominated and run by greedy individuals. It is also influenced by greedy corporations (I hate sounding like a hippy, but this is what I believe). In turn, they service greedy classes who want nothing more than to have one over on their neighbour. Those who experience poverty also have a greedy state of mind, many turning to a life of crime to get what they want or abuse the system in order to get something for nothing. This may seem like a scathing and unfair view of modern culture but to me, it is the truth. We live in a capitalist society so there is always going to be an element of greed involved as corporations attempt to make as much profit as possible but, like environmental issues, greed is something that should be sustainable.

If you read any sci-fi novel you see a future dominated by an elite few corporations. Whilst this is science fiction, is has basis upon predictions in science fact. Unsustainable greed -- what I see as continued revenue increase without anything being given 'back' -- is what causes this often bleak view of the future where it is not governments that dictate the way we live but corporations.

We are a long way from any such corporate-controlled future but the riots across Britain are highlighting something which is an underlying problem not just in British society but all across the globe. Any reason, however small, gives people an excuse to become disorderly and commit crime. If this is not stamped out quickly and people are seen to be 'getting away' with their crimes then this escalates. Many modern people have weak morals. Not all, but many. Use this as an example and ask yourself what you would do: You walk past the scene of recent looting and see a shop with its windows smashed. On the floor in front of you lie two unopened iPads. There is nobody around. Do you take these, thus becoming one of those looters you claim to hate or do you walk away?

This is the essence of greed. Getting something for nothing. Because of the society we live in where you are not rewarded for good actions nor punished for the bad, greed is allowed to flourish. Those individuals who are walking out of burning electronics stores with new TV's and iPads are opportunistic scavengers who are simply taking advantage of a system which doesn't know how to handle the gravity of their crimes.

More CCTV (properly monitored) and harsher approach to criminal behaviour is something that I believe would help. This is a grim view of the immediate future but may help to create brighter prospects in the long term. In addition to this, those that take (large companies included) should be asked to give a little back. With fuel and energy prices rocketing (without acceptable cause), bankers bonuses rising and spending cuts that affect the poor (but have little impact on the rich) we should expect feelings of anger to boil. These exacerbate a situation which should not be as contagious as it is.

I can't see there being an easy or quick solution to all of the problems faced by this country or even the world. But, in my mind, when I envision a perfect future it is one where corporations support the communities around them by providing jobs and invest in new, smaller companies that are starting up with shared interests. In my future, energy companies seek new forms of fuel and invest in companies developing vehicles that run on their goods. In my future, bankers don't hoard the wealth they gain and give ridiculous bonuses to those that run their company, they invest in innovative ways to help people save or just give a portion of their profits to charitable causes. In my future the compensation culture is gone and people don't get something for nothing but instead get rewarded for hard work and leading a good, honest life.

It's either that, or an apocalypse. History and prehistory have shown that humankind can only progress and can only shine in periods where it is utterly threatened. Nothing unites the world like a zombie apocalypse.

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.

Why Look Forward When We Can Look Back?

How bad is it that we now have to look back to the past to enjoy the present? Recently, advertisers and companies have realised just how crap the present is and are beginning a revival of their past commercialt to try and usher in new profits without having to spend any effort thinking up new ways of grabbing our attention.

But there's a problem with this, because in our nanny culture present time many past adverts may be seen as a little too 'misleading' or 'cruel' to have on our modern boxes. A good example is the recent revival of the old Milky Way commercial which involves two cartoon cars racing each other. To the untrained eye, the new version of the commercial looks exactly the same... but it's not.

You see, the old commercial featured the same race to the same track however it was a slightly longer advert. In addition to the advert being slightly longer, the lyrics were different to how they are presented on the 2009 commercial. But we aren't meant to think about that... The old advert featured a hungry car that scoffed everything in his way as he raced from 'Lunchtown' across a desert. His rival was a car with more self control who instead chose to eat only a Milky Way before they ended their race in the aptly named 'Dinnertown'. Unfortunately, the hungry car eats so much during his race that he ballons in size and when the duo are met with a broken bridge, the poor car falls as his lighter companion rushes to victory as a sign flashes: Milky Way: The Sweet You Can Eat Between Meals Without Ruining Your Appetite.

The new advert is pretty much the same concept but it makes less sense. They race for an unknown reason from a place called 'Playville' across the same desert to a place called 'Light Town' and as the blue crosses the line, the sign now flashes Milky Way: Lighten Up and Play. In addition to this, the lyrics of the song have been changed to accomodate the new advertising rules. Instead of the blue car choosing the Milky Way because it 'won't spoil his appetite' he now chooses it because 'its something that tastes just right'.  And it seems his intelligence has dropped and he's no longer 'smart old blue', he's just 'good old blue'.

The red car and blue car race in the old Milky Way commercial.

So what does this teach us? It teaches us that in the twenty years since the advert was first aired, we're now fickle enough to believe that eating a chocolate bar before a meal won't spoil your dinner and now have to be protected from this claim. It also teaches us that in the last twenty years we have become stupider... This is true, at least.

Some of the best adverts of the past ten or twenty years are now no longer allowed to be broadcast. Take the fantastic Tango commercial which involved an orange man walking around with a huge rubber glove on his hand slapping people whilst the voiceover stated 'You know when you've been Tango'd'. This admittedly was copied by a lot of school kids, but did removing this advert actually make people less violent? No. In fact, since that advert was aired, gun and knife crime is up. If the people who make the advertising rules were to look at those statistics in the usual oversensitive way they look at everything else then it would be correct to say that instead of going around slapping each other kids now go around stabbing each other. You know when you've been shanked.

The Tango advert that featured the man that slapped people for fun.

So companies have realsied that there is a certain public fondness for 'blasts from the past' and in just about every industry you can see things from past years bought into the public eye. We have remixes of old songs, remakes of old movies and even some old programmes being bought back onto our TV screens. The only problem is, these things usually have to be edited for our stupider, more politically correct audience and it means that there no longer seems to be as much investment in new things that make us smile. It may seem cruel to say that we're stupider but it really does seem to be the case. Take kids TV, for example.

When I was younger I was watching programmes like Thundercats and MASK along with the hugely popular fantasy gameshow Knightmare. These programmes dealt with good and evil, where the bad guys were genunielly bad and the good guys were representing everything good with the world. When the bad guys had the shit kicked out of them, they wouldn't learn a lesson, they would just want revenge... like real life. I also remember that kids TV would opt for the more extravagent ways of describing something rather than choosing childish, easy to understand words and statements. And as for the gameshows? I watched a repeat episode of Knightmare a while back and there were questions on there that I would've been completely unable to answer when I was in the age group of the kids on the show. These kids, with barely a moments hesitation, shouted the answers out as though it was common knowledge. We really are far stupider and for some reason in modern kids shows there are never any real losers.

So, I guess the point I'm trying to make with this long rant about our past is that whilst we should be proud of the programmes we watched as children and the adverts we remember so much, we shouldn't just edit them and return them to our screens we should try to better them and forget about the stupidity and sensitiveness of our modern audiences.

As final proof of public stupidity, the recent 'Manuelgate' scandal that resulted from prank calls made by Jonathan Ross and Russel Brand on a primetime BBC radio show received only a handful of complaints when it was aired. Nobody cared about what happened, but as soon as it was on the news and in the papers, thousands of people complained even though they'd not seen the show. Why go to the trouble? Idiots.

Let's all look to a bright future of entertainment and make our own judgement calls, take risks and create new material without having to constantly revert back to the 'good old days' for things to market.