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Is it a year already? Blimey!
More happiness, more love, more fun, more peace, together.
Hugs and kisses to both of yer!
I read some Famous Five books, can’t for the life of me remember any of them. The only character I remember was George, even then someone who challenged gender stereotypes was attractive.
Or was I just messed up?
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
I’m guessing that Ferdinand has played often enough to know the difference between ‘just football’ and abuse.
I know women who are proud of being women but are at least mildly affronted if a statement is addressed even pleasantly to them as ‘woman’, e.g “Please put the kettle on while you’re in there, woman”. I think Ferdinand’s pride in being black (sharing a perspective on history with a group of people, not his actual skin shade) is probably part of the reason he was affronted: if a specifier is attached to an insult it becomes part of the insult, insulted by it so to speak.
The history of racism is overwhelmingly that black people have been portrayed as inherently inferior, but inferiority tends to be addressed as a subset of white rather than as a generic flaw. Similar to the way the term ‘woman driver’ is almost always meant negatively where as the term ‘man driver’ is rare.
Although lighter skinned people have used the law against racial abuse, if most cases involve darker skinned victims, does that mean that black people are more sensitive? That there are more actual instances of black people being racially abused? That it’s somehow different for black people than for white people? I hope that minds are open enough to find out rather than to simply let doubts carry the day.
I agree with f_pol that part of the problem is that offensive language is left unchallenged and that John Terry used other offensive words. That the swear word regarded as worst by many is a reference to a key female organ is something my inner conspiracy theorist can’t resist. However I don’t think abuse should always be taken on the chin. I don’t think it will stop if it’s not challenged.
The ‘card playing’ accusation seems to suggest that there is a get out of jail card for minorities. If criminal justice stats are anything to go by, it’s the worst card ever. And certainly the victims of racial, sexual and other abuse take the risks of boat-rockers everywhere of losing friends and goodwill. If someone is racially insulted, are they always playing a card when they say so?
Does using the system make Ferdinand a coward or low life scum? On the contrary civilisation depends on people doing just that, rather than turn to personal vengeance and vendetta. Ferdinand, as a public figure would have known that by making the complaint he risked public opprobrium. The CPS seems to think a case is there to be answered, I wonder what the answer will be . . . . .
@mrs_teapot wrote:
I went to see David Hockney’s iPad Art yesterday… I spoke to one of his young proteges who convinced me that computers are just another medium for art… and if some of the greats like Picasso and Monet were alive today they would snap up an iPad :D
It can save on a lot of paper or canvas and means you can get rid of mistakes or first drafts. Plus you can get Apple to sponsor you if you get in there first . . . . . .
Same here Kenty, get well soon lovely xxx
@mrs_teapot wrote:
This reminds me of the fuss when Lady Chatterley’s Lover was published in paperback… as a little girl I remember my mum made a brown paper sleeve for her copy so no-one could see she was reading it…. how times have changed :D
It seems people read it on their kindles now . . . . . .
Does Claire even read the boards?
Does she contribute?
If so what nickname does she use?
If not is there any point in threatening her with retribution here and not in the chatroom?@desmondy wrote:
In principle it sounds like a good idea to me, even if it doesn’t work in practice.
Do we agree that the welfare system is bloated and needs to be cut down to size, in the interests of the continued solvency of the country?
And yet;
Vouchers instead of benefits? Uproar!
Cuts to housing benefit? Outrage!
Streamline child benefit? Oh my God!!!
A thankless task for any politician indeed.All I can say is how galling it is when you see the jobless go off on holiday to Turkey for 2 weeks. How angry it makes you feel when you see them roll up with an outrageously big flatscreen TV and home cinema system.
Jealousy on my part? Oh yes.Fair society for the genuinely needy? Absolutely. But also fairness for those to do graft bloody hard for a living for very little reward.
Lynch me now….
I remember when I was young my mum, working or not, always had a catalogue, The prices were always significantly more than in the shops, but you could pay for stuff over 20 or 38 weeks. Amongst her generation of West Indians there was also a system called ‘pardner’ where a group of people would each put a small but significant amount – a fiver or tenner in those days – into a pot and each week one in turn would have the whole pot to spend on something major, settle a debt or whatever.
High interest loans, and high street shops offering easy credit at high interest target people on low incomes and benefits who will pay a portion of that so that they don’t look like total failures to others around them. The true rate of interest – sometimes well over 1000% apr. These days many people feel that they, or their kids are judged by possessions.
My dad always told me never to envy anyone what they have, because you don’t know where they got it from. Having been in my own credit hole, I now know what he means.
My parents did their best never to owe more than they could manage. Credit was harder to get in those days but it’s a very hard thing to resist.My northern friends used to swear that northern chips were better because they were fried in lard.
@irish_lucy wrote:
Its all down to honesty, some are on benifits cause they need to them, the others are on them either as they are too lazy to work or are working and screwing the system at same time.
It would depend on what benifits your talking about but for child stuff ie nappies and baby food giving them the actual stuff insted of vouchers or money would be a good idea as you know the child is looked after somewhat and no money for the parents to go out drinking, well it worked in america and also seen a drop in teenage pregnancies.
Of course teenage mothers are a small proportion of benefit users per se. How much did vouchers contribute to the drop in teen pregnancies? Education and raised aspirations are reckoned to be the biggest factor in reduced teen pregnancies, but depending on who you ask, improved contraceptive education and use of contraception, social support and education, employment prospects or fear of punishment/reprimand are all cited as significant factors. The US is so huge, so varied from rich to poor and with so many vested interests claiming credit that you can find almost any example from it. It still has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the developed world.
