I really thought I’d heard all the stupidity and ignorance going, over the last few days but, after watching Question Time, it seems I was wrong. Jesus, was I ever…
An e petition to stop benefits and, inevitably, chuck those convicted of rioting onto the streets? Are you people real? Can’t you, just for once, actually pause for a moment and think? Just take some time out to stop drooling and, instead, actually consider the implications of this lunacy and where it might lead? No? OK, I’ll do it for you…
For starters, anyone thinking it’s a good idea, in the immediate aftermath of the emotive events of the last few days, to have a government, never mind a vicious, anti-working class one like this shower of spivs, shysters, liars and crooks, making serious policy decisions on the hoof, with nothing more than the ranting and raving of the more ignorant members of the electorate providing the impetus, is a danger to themselves, me, you and to democracy.
I mean, what next? The Condem front bench appearing on a game show-style TV program asking for votes on the most painful method of torture for lawless working class scum? Christ on a bike, X Factor politics or what? Why don’t we just go the whole hog and bring back populist Roman-style gaming? Dirty proles versus man-eating lions, anyone? I can hear Melanie Phillips climaxing from here…
Seriously though, this really is madness, isn’t it? And this isn’t being declared from a bleeding-heart-do-gooder-liberal perspective, either.
Think about it: So we stop benefits for convicted rioters. Fine. We can all feel lofty, self-righteous and vindicated. The scum have been punished, praise Jesus! What next, though? Have any of you ninety odd thousand morons who signed this petition actually thought about that bit? Well, logically, no more benefits means no more house as the means to pay for it has been removed. Result? Entire families with children on the streets.
Let’s not even dwell on the morality of such a process, instead let’s wonder how much of an incentive, and how effective a deterrent, such steps would be in these people not rioting or engaging in criminal activities in the future.
Well, let’s see; broke, homeless with kids to feed, no job, no means of support at all. Hmmm…so tell me, class, can anyone guess what might happen next?
“Ah, they should have thought about that before they broke the law!” you say. Yep, true. But now we’ve got to deal with homeless bands of starving outlaws, with even less to lose and even less reason to give a shit about society’s rules, regs and laws. Any ideas for dealing with that mess, have you? Oops, of course; just shoot ‘em all or pack ‘em off to a gas chamber, right? Silly me…
And what about the rest of the law abiding populace who just feel aggrieved at government policy? Well, they’ll pop along to a demo, exercising their legal right to peaceful protest, the Met wades in, shit goes down and next thing you know, a fifty year-old, recently redundant council worker is fitted up and convicted of rioting, his benefits are stopped and an entire nation thinks, “Woah, I’m steering well clear of demos now!” The government smirk and carry on fucking us over as yet another democratic channel for peaceful dissent is shut down. Next stop? Welcome to your shiny, new Police State. Can I see your papers please?
But I’m just being stupid, obviously. Like that could ever happen…
The knee jerk reaction of chameleon politics has begun, someone was saying ‘ send them to fight in Afghanistan’ which basically means the death sentence for nicking a DVD player from currys! Thatcher would be so proud of you!! People need to calm down & get some actual understanding on the situation as you have stated
Right! Things are moving in a worrying direction. Things like the riots are a very good base camp for the reactions and the subsequent measures that could effect us all. It almost feels like the riots were tailor made for purpose. It is almost like they whole thing was stage managed with this in mind. Riots in one place after another. Where are the ring leaders? It appears the pawns were sacrificed and not the bigger pieces in the game.
Whatever we feel about the causes. Those who got involved have now marked their own destiny and have with out realization, stuffed it for the rest of us who could quite easily, as you say be vilified for legitimate protest action. That is what they have done besides every other selfish thing. They have played into the hands of the right wing and anti-socialists: the type of people who would quite happily persecute folk who struggle against a capitalist culture that refuses to censor it’s own form of ant-social behaviour.
They have given this elite ruling class the reason they have been looking for along with all the other wrong they have done. A job well done- Thank You Very Much!