2016
February 3
What was I thinking
I expected, when I began these grumpy moanings, that I would be moaning most about the young generation, people to whom I could have been a grandfather. However, as time has gone on, I have realised that the real problem in the world today is the generation before that, the one that, in theory, I could have begat. And, worse than that, it is some from my generation of whom I moan.
Why do I say these things? Well, this week we have seen three examples of how stupid those two generations are.
Firstly, in the grand ole United States of America, I watched a blustering egocentric announce that he was hono(u)red to come second in an election. Can you please explain where there is any hono(u)r in that? He is of my generation and I am frightened that he might actually eventually lead that country. Could that happen?
Secondly, an election in the grand ole United States of America is decided on the toss of a coin. Not just in one caucus but in six. How come that large democratic country could next be led by whoever is the best tosser. Maybe that answers my last question and my fear becomes very real.
And then, back home in the UK, our leader is either a complete pillock in believing he has actually got what he wanted from the EU or is a complete pillock in believing the voters will think he has got what he wanted. The choice is yours.
Whether we stay in Europe or whether we leave is immaterial in all this. Rest assured though that whatever my learned friend may tell you, there is no change in who will make decisions about many aspects of UK life.
Yes you can have a red card, as long as 55% agree with you. We don’t rule, we rely on others.
Yes you can cease paying in-work benefits if we agree there is a strain on your benefits system and only for as long as we say so (details to be fudged, sorry worked, out). We won’t make decisions, they will.
I honestly despair that our 40 something leader can honestly believe that he has achieved anything in his dealings with Mr Tusk. I suppose, however, that Mr Cameron may now feel honoured to have come second. Perhaps next time he wants change he should talk, fail to agree and then ask to toss a coin to see who gets what he wanted. I’m sure he’d be a good tosser too.
February 10
Internet Safety
Yesterday was safe internet day. I’m slightly worried that the other 365 this year are not viewed as such but one is better than none.
From what I can gather we (the older generation), have three main concerns. Firstly we worry about bullying on the net, especially to young people. Secondly we have concerns about very young children viewing material that is totally unsuitable for them and finally we have very serious concerns about children and young adults being groomed via the net by people who are, without doubt, the lowest and most disgusting section of humanity.
This then got me thinking as to why the internet was to blame and, as blaming a piece of technology seems pretty stupid, who really was to blame. Let’s look at each of these individually.
Bullying has been around since time immemorial. It happens to adults, it happens to children. Even in my day and at my school I can recall remarks being made in the playground. It’s not nice but, to a degree, one has to learn to deal with it. There are two big differences with internet bullying and social media. Firstly, a chance word or two in the playground does not go global. Only those friends in earshot actually hear it. If remarks are put on the net, everyone can see it. The embarrassment, the feeling of humiliation, is far greater. By the way I believe that many of the modern so-called entertainment programmes now on our televisions greatly contribute to this. People watch them, in many cases, to see someone humiliated or actually bullied. Secondly those playground remarks are not really lasting. Yes, they may play on your mind but once said they are essentially gone. With the net, that too is not true.
However, there is another side to this which, to me, shows that there are some real idiots in society today. If someone said a derogatory remark to me in the playground it was pretty hard to prove, should I have made a complaint. With the net, your post, your words, are there forever and pretty easy to prove where they came from. I can’t help but think that only the really dumb, providing our law enforcers have time and are capable, would post anything at all.
Don’t get me wrong, bullying must be eradicated as it can cause distress and even loss of life to those who suffer. The internet does have some blame and stronger laws and harsher penalties coupled with better investigations might, though, be a deterrent
The second point, of viewing inappropriate material, also has a comparison in pre-internet days. If a person under 18 buys alcohol from a shop, who is to blame? Is it the child for doing what they know to be wrong? Is it the shopkeeper for failing to make adequate checks even though it is possible to be fooled? In fact I know, because I was shown examples, that in one country I visited, fake ID’s were on sale to minors. It’s a bit harsh to blame the shopkeeper or club owner. Or is it you, the parent, the guardian, who did not know what your child was doing.
I’m not going to answer this but I believe people should be asking the question. If you leave an 11 year old with a laptop, tablet or whatever and an internet connection with no control, then they may find something inappropriate. In the same way as one can’t blame the brewers who make the alcohol for it getting into the wrong hands, one cannot blame the makers of porn either.
Once again I believe we should strengthen the laws here. Some porn, any porn that involves unnatural behaviour or where any participant is not performing voluntary, should be banned and the producers and performers fined, jailed and listed. That is not beyond the possibilities in our modern world. And again I am sure there is a way that access to porn can be regulated both by the purveyors, be they producers or internet providers, and by the guardians of young people. I am slightly against the idea that you should choose to allow porn rather than choose to ban it as I feel this to be an infringement of an individual’s privacy. But I am sure there is a way.
The last problem, that of grooming, quite simply revolts me. There was a case today of a teacher who had spent 10 hours grooming a 13 year old and then sent her naked pictures of himself. He got a three and a bit year prison sentence, which will probably end up as half that. That is neither a just punishment nor a deterrent. Twenty years would not, in my view, be enough and twenty years meaning twenty years. The defence counsel in court said that the accused was “struggling to explain his behaviour. It was totally out of character – it came out without any warning whatsoever.
Am I alone in believing that as an adult in society we need to be in control of our behaviour AT ALL TIMES and if we are not then it’s best if we remove ourselves from society before we do even more harm?
So, where are we with internet safety. To be honest I don’t see a solution. I see things that have always happened (bullying) being exacerbated by the internet but the chance of finding the perpetrators being greater. I see inappropriate material being more readily available but with proper controls, both by the internet companies and parents, the risk is reduced. And I see, too often for my liking, those perverts of society having easier access to carry out their disgusting crimes and too lenient sentences when they are, inevitably, caught.
Society wants, or at least grabs with open arms, the benefits of modern technology. With that you have to deal with the downside. Yes, you. Don’t blame anyone else. It will take some of your precious time but you can regulate and check what your child can access. Check their texts, check their internet history and take action if necessary. They are minors; you are responsible for their future and their safety. It is not an invasion of privacy to check what they are doing. You might save their life.
February 24
To remain or to leave (Part 2)
Sorry I didn’t blog, or moan, last week but I was actually out at Heston airport in West London waiting for the Prime Minister to come back, waving a piece of paper and guaranteeing us a special relationship with European countries, all 28 of them.
Sadly he came back some other way but he did say that this accord, it’s not actually a treaty, signalled a new start for our relationship within the European Union. The Prime Minister later appeared in Downing Street to announce a referendum to be held on June 23rd.
OK, so I got a bit confused but I wouldn’t want anyone voting in this referendum to imagine, in any way, that the agreement Mr Cameron has negotiated is any more than “just a piece of paper”, whatever else you may be told.
When you vote, or indeed if you vote, you need to know that you are not voting based on what has been fudged together by a disparate group of leaders, who know, only too well, that the only way they could agree was if the accord was so loosely worded that they could all claim to have what they want and that they all knew they could get out of any parts if they really wished.
You are voting for this country to remain in the European Union for the foreseeable future under whatever terms and conditions happen to apply during that time.
Now, for those youngsters among you who are too young to have voted in 1975, the last time we had a referendum on staying or leaving, let me tell you a little story, the reading of which may bring on a strange feeling of deja-vu. This is all about the 1975 situation, honestly.
The cabinet was split as to whether to stay or leave. Seven cabinet members supported the leave camp. The leader of the Trade Union Council said that “the most important decisions about our future can only be taken here in Britain.” The manifesto of the government at the last election committed the party to allow people the opportunity to decide whether Britain should stay in the Common Market on renegotiated terms, or leave it entirely. The opposition party wholeheartedly supported the decision to remain in Europe.
The government actually held a one-day conference to debate the matter and voted by almost 2-1 to leave. The referendum was to held in June. The Prime Minister said that “My judgement is that it is now best for the future of Britain, best for the Commonwealth, best for the developing world, best for the wider world, that we remain in the Community.”
Right, that was 1975 and in the end the “yes” to remain vote won.
Sounds scarily familiar doesn’t it? Presumably, as we are all making a decision of our lifetime (this is evidently my second lifetime) if we get it wrong it will be about 2057 before we can have another re-think. The only unfamiliar part about the repeat of 1975 was that then we were voting to stay in the European Economic Community, mainly a trading organisation, and now we are part of a Union that can set our laws, control our boundaries and, despite young David’s assurances, interfere big time in how we run our country. So, be warned, what you now vote to be a part of may not be what you are a part of some forty years later.
Oh well, plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose, except Michael Foot and Tony Benn have become Michael Gove and Boris Johnson. Let’s hope they have more success and that out there, somewhere, there is a leader who can inspire us all if we become isolated from the rest of Europe and end up standing alone, having realised the piece of paper was just that. Can young David control the gathering storm or will he become a new addition to the guilty men and has Boris got a boiler suit?