I was going to say something along the lines of...
'Around a third of those people out there striking over these f'in pensions possibly wont live to see much of the bastard anyway'... but I decided that may be a bit harsh.. and possibly incorrect... so I wont
There is a serious point to that display of what's oddly known as black humour and it's this...
Life is what happens when you're busy making plans....
Live in the now..
Strike 2
I suspect a large number of people on strike today arn't actually doing as badly as they may think..
Many will have jobs (that goes without saying given the nature of the strike I guess)... own at least 1 home.. own at least one car.. and holiday every year... sometimes... thrice..
Compare that to those without jobs.. struggling to pay their bills.. heat their homes.. buy food... can't afford a pension... struggling to keep a roof over their heads...buy clothes
In that light... things must look rather different right?...
So whilst some may say that today was one of the the largest displays of worker solidarity seen in the UK for some time..
One could also argue it was in fact one of the largest displays of utter selfishness...
What's that I hear some folk say.. cut welfare.. just don't cut my pension..
Strike 3 aka .. how to spend a strike day...
Option 1 - a.m - Get up early, get washed and dressed..go out..stand around in the cold, shout a bit, buy a coffee..march a bit... and go home
or...
Option 2 - a.m - Stay in bed... watch TV... eat cheese and cracker's whilst enjoying a glass of red..
in the warmth...
Hmmmm... wonder what the majority did..
Just so you know.. I'm not anti strike...absolutely not..
I'm not sure but perhaps there's something about this particular that's grating on me.. ( just a tiny bit.. I'm yet to fully comprehend what it is..)
Don't get it twisted... I get the argument.. I really do.. and yeah yeah. the bankers the corp's the govt.. yes...but... still, there's a human story running parallel to this.. that is just as important...if not more so..
Happy days..Happy coalition days..
Did I strike?...
Anyway.. hoping for a Uturn.. who wants to work in their old age eh?.. 'You give your more to receive your less' as Marley would say...
I have a feeling that some people have become accustomed to it.. still I know.. it doesn't make it right
Feel free to tell me off:)
Up the workers?..
D it's all relative as you rightly pointed out. still ... a job vs no job? Stay in bed vs protesting on the streets? Working till I'm 65+? I know what camp I'm in already. See deep down this is not solely about pensions but an expression, an assertion of rights, rights that are being eroded by the elected state in the name of "reducing the deficit". Why must poor souls bear the pain not of their own making? OK I get sacrifice for the greater good but whose? and for how long this pain? and to what guarantees? will they re-instate the services cut post these "austerity drives"? hmmm, and you can't even vote on or get a referendum on these cuts. very democratic
ReplyDeleteWorking people are very angry and are starting to ask these pertinent questions. The protest is to protect and exert control over the very little they have - for how much longer I don't know, given the historical record of the Tories. Class war afoot but a worthy fight that must be fought. The social contract is being rewritten right under our very feet by the neo-libralist, a dangerous state of affairs indeed
I agree with you so much I can't tell you ... but how did we get to this?
ReplyDelete'our rights' have been eroding away for a very long time... ( for some more than others!!) yet it's not until it directly impacts on the wallets of 'the masses' or the retirement dream ( perhaps) that some people wannna talk solidarity... pah!!
How many of those folk would do a jot to save the underclasses??... I'm a bit narked because it seems like that old .. not in my backyard syndrome..
I know thinking like that wouldn't solve anything perhaps , but I klinda needed to get that off my chest...
How about the inequalities that occur in workplaces up and down the country.. same folk sitting side by side allowing 'stuff' to occur suddenly are united??
Neoliberalism is okay once it's works for you.. perhaps..
Who these people kidding... most people don't think like you Chrome..
Okay.. rant over...
But you're right Chrome.. very right
Youths getting skanked of a real education ... a racist criminal justice system..
ReplyDeleteGrown men and women can't get jobs for love nor money... demonised by the masses and dubbed scroungers ferrel or the 'underclass
I'm tempted to say f*** the masses... they a big part of the problem.. with thier 'partial sightedness'
But I wont...
true that and I share your sentiments, the problem is indeed bigger than just pensions. that's why, as confused as it can sometimes look, I rate the occupy protests, they recognise these connects clearly. Hopefully these rounds of protest will galvanise the working and under classes before they loose everything.
ReplyDelete:) unfortunately Neoliberalism works very well for those prepared to eff the next man for the bottom line - open your markets to "global competition" (sic). I recommend Naomi Klein's "The Shock Doctrine" - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shock_Doctrine - excellent bedtime reading on the innards of this cold form of economics. When I heard the European leaders calling for IMF help I shuddered visibly
Sounds interesting.. . I’ll check it out.. .thanks for the link..
ReplyDeleteHmmm not normally the type of thing I like to indulge in before bed - but always worth a go I guess.. I have a rule ( kinda)... never to take politics to bed... politicians perhaps but never politics lol..
Final rant... most of these c*** sucking neoliberals wouldn’t lose a days sleep over anything unconnected with them much less a days pay... ( black- custody-in men –police – everything okay there?)..
Invisible minorities becoming visible when numbers are needed on the street?
I aint walking out with these f****** and I aint marchin’ with these f****** ... not right now...
( hmmm ..unless I’m compensated for my heals... hey now there’s a thought:))
Baaa... stinks of green eggs and yam...stale cabbage and a urine soaked sheet... on the boil ( with marmite)
Maybe the day will come when I have a change of heart... yeah... pretty sure it will
I got enough love for most
But that day is not today
I love everyone really... folk just p me off sometimes...
Good job I’m a f****** lady huh... good job:))
*Dawna be nice*..*okay*