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catman
Joined: 18 Jul 2004
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 Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2009 8:37 pm Post subject: Britain's worst hour? |
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Something is rotten in Britain. Young men are stabbing each other to death at an unprecedented rate, the centres of many towns are no-go areas on weekends as drunks spill out of bars and terrorize passersby, and Britons are obsessed with celebrities such as Jade Goody, whose funeral last weekend led to scenes reminiscent of the death of Princess Diana.
In a recent article, British talk show host Michael Parkinson heaped scathing criticism on Ms. Goody, calling her "all that's paltry and wretched about Britain."
Brought up by drug-addicted parents in a poor neighbourhood of London, she was transformed by the glare of reality television into a multi-million-dollar product whom the public was urged to celebrate, especially after being diagnosed with cervical cancer, Mr. Parkinson noted.
"Jade Goody has her own place in the history of television and, while it's significant, it's nothing to be proud of," he wrote in the Radio Times.
"When we clear the media smokescreen from around her death what we're left with is a woman who came to represent all that's paltry and wretched about Britain today. She was ... barely educated, ignorant and puerile. Then she was projected to celebrity by Big Brother and from that point on became a media chattel to be manipulated and exploited till the day she died."
What made Ms. Goody stand out in her reality-TV appearances was her shocking ignorance of her country's geography, her naked and drunken exploits and her racist bullying of an Indian housemate.
But she is not the only sign something has gone awry.
Over the past 25 years, an incredible decline in unity has become evident in everything, from rioting at soccer games to the "alien nation" characterized by high numbers of immigrants in some areas, said Ninian Mellamphy, professor emeritus of English at the University of Western Ontario.
"It looks as if the whole nation has, to a greater sense, kind of lost its moral focus," he added, noting this may reflect resentment at a loss of status resulting from the dissolution of the British Empire.
"[It took away] a kind of self-respect that had to do with British power and perhaps British arrogance, and so you have an arrogance now that has no relationship with power."
Last year, Ray Winstone, an actor known for tough-guy roles, threatened to leave, saying Britain had "gone to the dogs" and citing increasingly lawless behaviour among youths. "We're a mess. And do I really want to live in this mess any more? I feel bad saying it, but I'm just not sure."
In Mr. Mellamphy's eyes, the spiritual malaise gripping modern Britain has created something of a "moral vacuum" that feeds off itself.
Last week, two brothers, aged 10 and 11, were accused of attempting to murder two other boys, who claimed they were robbed and beaten in a wooded area in northern England. The accused, who had recently been placed in foster care, became some of the youngest people ever charged with such a serious crime in Britain.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown's office called the crime a "disturbing but singular event" that should not be used to draw conclusions about the state of society.
Yet signs of cultural decline have also become evident in the familial sphere, an area the opposition Conservative party has identified as a priority, touting a goal to make Britain the most "family-friendly" country in the world.
It seems they have far to go. In February, Alfie Patten, 13, was reported to have fathered his 15-year-old girlfriend's baby. Though The Daily Telegraph dubbed him "the exploited face of broken Britain," it soon appeared he was only one of several teens claiming paternity. DNA tests later confirmed he was not the father.
Other young people, increasingly girls, are getting drunk at an alarming rate. A Daily Mirror series on the "epidemic" said more than 5,000 teenage girls landed in hospital last year because of binge drinking. Those same teens - loaded up with cheap alcohol - have been fuelling soaring crime rates.
"Last year violent crimes by teenage girls reached a shocking 23,000, many of them alcohol-related," the Mirror said, going on to note that British teenagers "now drink more than almost anywhere in Europe."
But it's not making them any happier. A recent report by the New Economics Foundation found Britons aged 16 to 24 experienced some of the lowest levels of trust and belonging - key elements of social well-being - in Europe. Only Bulgaria and Estonia reported lower rates.
Part of the problem seems to be the number of people leaving school without any qualifications as the dropout rate remains stubbornly high.
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http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=1486034
Just listened to a report the otherday on CBC radio about the increase of alcohol poisoning among young women. Interesting sociological problem taking place. |
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sharkey
Joined: 12 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2009 10:44 pm Post subject: |
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| i was talking to a brit a couple weeks ago and he made britian seem like the biggest toilet on the planet... i always had hte jolly old england image on UK, but i guess its not a nice place after all? |
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PeteJB
Joined: 06 Jul 2007
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Kimbop
Joined: 31 Mar 2008
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| Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2009 10:55 pm Post subject: |
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| Liberalism is destroying Britain. |
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ED209
Joined: 17 Oct 2006
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| Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2009 11:10 pm Post subject: |
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| sharkey wrote: |
| i always had hte jolly old england image on UK, but i guess its not a nice place after all? |
It hasn't changed that much
Beer Street and Gin Lane |
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harlowethrombey
Joined: 17 Mar 2009
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2009 11:22 pm Post subject: |
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| the british are ruining britain. |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2009 11:51 pm Post subject: |
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| in the familial sphere, an area the opposition Conservative party has identified as a priority, touting a goal to make Britain the most "family-friendly" country in the world |
While I can sympathize with the motivation, I don't see there is much a governing party can do about the problem. |
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BS.Dos.
Joined: 29 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 12:34 am Post subject: |
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I love the UK, but it has gone to shit. Go to any town or city on a Friday or Saturday night and there's a palpable feeling that things could get very aggressive and ugly and kick-off without notice at any given moment.
The prevalence of the chavy, 'let's 'ave it!' culture is endemic and is no longer confined to the under 25, working-class demographic; you're just as likely to see young middle-class professionals behaving appallingly as well. |
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blaseblasphemener
Joined: 01 Jun 2006
Location: There's a voice, keeps on calling me, down the road, that's where I'll always be
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| Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 1:30 am Post subject: |
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| Just watch a regular football match on TV and watch the reaction of the idiots in the stands after a goal. You'd think they just won a million dollars. What a bunch of wankers. |
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bundangbabo
Joined: 01 Jun 2008
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| Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 3:00 am Post subject: |
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I'm never going back.
If I had to live my days out here or back in the UK - I would pick here.
I have never ever felt unsafe here - back home it is always touch and go when you go out at night - and I am a big bloke and a former amateur boxer.
None of that counts for a damn thing - I have seen good fighters and big men kicked to pieces by gangs of kids back home.
The place has gone to shit - whose fault is it?  |
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Leslie Cheswyck
Joined: 31 May 2003
Location: University of Western Chile
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| Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 4:24 am Post subject: |
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| Jade Goody? Wasn't she that lady who lived with the chimps? |
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bundangbabo
Joined: 01 Jun 2008
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| Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 4:56 am Post subject: |
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| Leslie Cheswyck wrote: |
| Jade Goody? Wasn't she that lady who lived with the chimps? |
She was a chimp!  |
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Xuanzang
Joined: 10 Apr 2007
Location: Sadang
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| Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 5:14 am Post subject: |
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/apr/10/celtic-gordon-strachan-scottish-premier-league
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| "Britain tops the league on yob culture", insists football's ills should not be treated in isolation. "We have a problem in general in society," he said. I was listening to Radio Five the other morning, about our schools and teachers and they were saying that one-in-four teachers get attacked now. So that is the society we are in." |
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Protonoto
Joined: 17 Dec 2008
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| Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 6:22 am Post subject: |
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Unfortunately this article is true. The government is SO soft and politically correct now that it's beyond a joke. Whenever I go out now, especially into the city centre of Coventry I always expect some kind of verbal abuse from a group of yobs even though it doesn't happen that much it used to be an everyday occurence when I had longer hair.
Weekend nights are the worst. I was set upon by a gang of youths at about 11pm for no reason at all. I was simply walking past them. This was in a well lit busy area of town outside our city bus station. Can't wait to move. |
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bassexpander
Joined: 13 Sep 2007
Location: Someplace you'd rather be.
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| Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 6:52 am Post subject: Re: Britain's worst hour? |
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[quote="catman"]
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"[It took away] a kind of self-respect that had to do with British power and perhaps British arrogance, and so you have an arrogance now that has no relationship with power." |
Ouch. That one had to hurt someone.
Britain will be ruled by Muslims within 100 years.
In the USA, my friends tell me that the current graduating generation is being called, "The Generation of the Entitled." |
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