A lot has been said recently about whether our society is broken and how we are going to fix it. So is it really broken? Too bloody right it is!
I'd like to illustrate this point by talking about some experiences I've had over the last couple of years:
I live in a house in Prescotville - you know, one of those nice new housing developments that has been tacked on to a town somewhere near you where, thanks to the edicts of our erstwhile Deputy Prime Minister, the houses are packed in so tight that you can't fart without upsetting a neighbour.
My neighbours tend to fall into two categories. Firstly, there are the grey contingent made up of retired or semiretired people who like to live in a town because it gives him easy access to all the facilities. These people tend to keep themselves to themselves. Unfortunately, they keep themselves so much to themselves that they exclude any sense of community.
The exception to this, of course, is the clique of clubs and societies that they all belong to so that they only mix with people of like opinions. Examples of this are local town society (known locally as the town national front) who think they know better than everyone who lives in our town what is best. They represent everyone regardless. Needless to say, they never ask anyone other than themselves what they think about what's going on!
Like many small to medium-sized towns in rural locations, there is a large church community. This means that if you want to know what's going on and you don't go to the church and you're out of luck. Also if you belong to the wrong church or no church at all you are excluded.
On top of this are associations like, for example, the U3A. I have been associated with more than one U3As over the years. Where I live now, they are extremely elitist and authoritarian. The minute you join you are press-ganged into going onto the committee -- and frankly I admit I would rather push redhot needles through my eyeballs -- and if you refuse for any reason that you are socially excluded.
Recently, my wife and I went on an expensive cruise around the Caribbean. I was asked to give a talk about this to my local U3A travel group. Amazingly, once some of the petty minded snobs (not everyone, I must add, falls into this category but there too many who do) realised that I wasn't actually pond life and might have a few quid in the bank, people who had prevously totally ignored me suddenly became very friendly and chatty. Well tough luck, pal! You're too late. I've already seen your true colours and I'm not impressed.
The second type of residents on our development are the younger generation. To these people, anyone with grey hair is either invisible or a bloody nuisance. My experience of these people is they are extremely self-centred hence the well worn expression of "me generation". They also don't seem to be particularly bright.
To give you an example of this, one of my neighbours who has a 120% mortgage recently complained to me that he was worried that if his house price fell during the credit crunch he would end up with negative equity! Yeah, right...
Alongside my house, are some parking spaces. These are privately owned by me and my immediate neighbours. When a couple moved into the house over the road, they decided that it was okay to use these private parking spaces to park their car. When I pointed out -- politely I might add -- that these spaces were in fact privately owned, my neighbour called me a "stupid old bastard", turned his back and walked away. He hasn't spoken to me since. This is a classic example of a person who is not intelligent enough to read the contract for his new house before signing it and who takes a very common attitude to someone pointing out that he is in error. Naturally, it is my fault not his!
Our road is close to town, and is frequently used by people who go shopping and by people who park their cars all day, five days a week, while they go to work. On the lampposts signs are clearly displayed which say "residents parking only". These are ignored, so a group of us local residents -- needless to say mainly, but not exclusively, the grey old farts -- decided to put very polite notes on windscreens pointing out the signposts and asking drivers to use the car park 50 yards away in future.
Unfortunately, my house is directly opposite the main problem area, so even if it is not me that puts the notice on the car I get the blame. I have now been threatened with physical violence on no less than five occasions. One man banged violently on my door and window and proceeded to tell me "If you touch my fucking car again, I'll kick your fucking head in!" Err, excuse me but you are the fault not me. Except of course, in the me generation, it's always someone else's fault. If you want evidence of that, look at the number of ambulance chasing insurance companies that have sprung up in recent years.
But if you really want to see an example of a broken society, come round my house in the early hours on Saturday or Sunday morning. The younger generation, having pre-fuelled -- a most dreadful expression -- have been out for a night on the piss. Having parked their cars down our road where, you will remember, they are not allowed to park in the first place, off they go to a night on the town.
I have no problem with people going out for a night on the town. I have no problem with them enjoying themselves. What I do have a problem with is when they roll back down the road, pissed out of their brains, making a god almighty row, disturbing my sleep, trampling on my front garden, pissing in the gutter or through my letterbox and then jumping into their hot hatches and wheeling off up the road at 90 miles an hour.
And of course, you can guess what the reaction is if you lean out of your window and ask them to keep it down. Yes, you guessed it "Fuck off grandad or we'll kick your fucking head in"
Broken society? Yes, I would say so...
I'd like to illustrate this point by talking about some experiences I've had over the last couple of years:
I live in a house in Prescotville - you know, one of those nice new housing developments that has been tacked on to a town somewhere near you where, thanks to the edicts of our erstwhile Deputy Prime Minister, the houses are packed in so tight that you can't fart without upsetting a neighbour.
My neighbours tend to fall into two categories. Firstly, there are the grey contingent made up of retired or semiretired people who like to live in a town because it gives him easy access to all the facilities. These people tend to keep themselves to themselves. Unfortunately, they keep themselves so much to themselves that they exclude any sense of community.
The exception to this, of course, is the clique of clubs and societies that they all belong to so that they only mix with people of like opinions. Examples of this are local town society (known locally as the town national front) who think they know better than everyone who lives in our town what is best. They represent everyone regardless. Needless to say, they never ask anyone other than themselves what they think about what's going on!
Like many small to medium-sized towns in rural locations, there is a large church community. This means that if you want to know what's going on and you don't go to the church and you're out of luck. Also if you belong to the wrong church or no church at all you are excluded.
On top of this are associations like, for example, the U3A. I have been associated with more than one U3As over the years. Where I live now, they are extremely elitist and authoritarian. The minute you join you are press-ganged into going onto the committee -- and frankly I admit I would rather push redhot needles through my eyeballs -- and if you refuse for any reason that you are socially excluded.
Recently, my wife and I went on an expensive cruise around the Caribbean. I was asked to give a talk about this to my local U3A travel group. Amazingly, once some of the petty minded snobs (not everyone, I must add, falls into this category but there too many who do) realised that I wasn't actually pond life and might have a few quid in the bank, people who had prevously totally ignored me suddenly became very friendly and chatty. Well tough luck, pal! You're too late. I've already seen your true colours and I'm not impressed.
The second type of residents on our development are the younger generation. To these people, anyone with grey hair is either invisible or a bloody nuisance. My experience of these people is they are extremely self-centred hence the well worn expression of "me generation". They also don't seem to be particularly bright.
To give you an example of this, one of my neighbours who has a 120% mortgage recently complained to me that he was worried that if his house price fell during the credit crunch he would end up with negative equity! Yeah, right...
Alongside my house, are some parking spaces. These are privately owned by me and my immediate neighbours. When a couple moved into the house over the road, they decided that it was okay to use these private parking spaces to park their car. When I pointed out -- politely I might add -- that these spaces were in fact privately owned, my neighbour called me a "stupid old bastard", turned his back and walked away. He hasn't spoken to me since. This is a classic example of a person who is not intelligent enough to read the contract for his new house before signing it and who takes a very common attitude to someone pointing out that he is in error. Naturally, it is my fault not his!
Our road is close to town, and is frequently used by people who go shopping and by people who park their cars all day, five days a week, while they go to work. On the lampposts signs are clearly displayed which say "residents parking only". These are ignored, so a group of us local residents -- needless to say mainly, but not exclusively, the grey old farts -- decided to put very polite notes on windscreens pointing out the signposts and asking drivers to use the car park 50 yards away in future.
Unfortunately, my house is directly opposite the main problem area, so even if it is not me that puts the notice on the car I get the blame. I have now been threatened with physical violence on no less than five occasions. One man banged violently on my door and window and proceeded to tell me "If you touch my fucking car again, I'll kick your fucking head in!" Err, excuse me but you are the fault not me. Except of course, in the me generation, it's always someone else's fault. If you want evidence of that, look at the number of ambulance chasing insurance companies that have sprung up in recent years.
But if you really want to see an example of a broken society, come round my house in the early hours on Saturday or Sunday morning. The younger generation, having pre-fuelled -- a most dreadful expression -- have been out for a night on the piss. Having parked their cars down our road where, you will remember, they are not allowed to park in the first place, off they go to a night on the town.
I have no problem with people going out for a night on the town. I have no problem with them enjoying themselves. What I do have a problem with is when they roll back down the road, pissed out of their brains, making a god almighty row, disturbing my sleep, trampling on my front garden, pissing in the gutter or through my letterbox and then jumping into their hot hatches and wheeling off up the road at 90 miles an hour.
And of course, you can guess what the reaction is if you lean out of your window and ask them to keep it down. Yes, you guessed it "Fuck off grandad or we'll kick your fucking head in"
Broken society? Yes, I would say so...
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