It's kicking off in London...

[JohnH]

Tell you what John, you speak for yourself and I will speak for myself.

...says the guy who takes it upon himself to correct other people's "misunderstandings"... :roll:

...your unsupported and irrational suggestion that there are no longer significant detrimental effects of poverty in this country...

I didn't say any such thing! What I said was that Socialism was created at a time when working class people really were poor, and when there was no real way to get out of that situation. Those guys really were victims of circumstance.

Today, every child is taught to read, write and be numerate. In 2010, there are public lending libraries, job centres, apprenticeships, small business start-up courses, public access PCs connected to the internet, subsidised evening classes.... in other words a whole buttload of free or very cheap resources available for those people who want to improve their career and increase their income.

The old Socialist mantra of "Look at me, I'm a victim, I'm being oppressed!" is laughable in a world when the opportunities are there for the taking. But nonetheless, this victim mentality (and the 'entitlement' culture that closely follows) has taken over the whole country.

The simple truth is that if you want to better a situation, then you get off your arse and do something about it.

• Anita Roddick didn't respond to animal testing by marching up and down shouting slogans -- she went into her kitchen and began to invent cosmetics that were made with natural ingredients until she could sell them in the very first branch of "The Body Shop".
• John Bird didn't express his disgust for homelessness by throwing placards at police officers (or standing in the way of their cameras) -- he started a magazine called "The Big Issue" that allowed the homeless to earn money for themselves.
• Duncan Bannatyne didn't show his disapproval for the way that nursing homes treated old people by trashing the Conservative party HQ -- he borrowed a few million quid and built a nursing home that gave every resident their own bedroom and instituted a high standard of care that included varied and nourishing meals cooked by a chef on the premises. That set a standard which is now followed by all modern nursing homes

N.B. It's worth noting that none of those people graduated from university.

Back on topic:
Earlier in this thread, I said that working class kids who wanted to escape poverty could sign up for a maths/science/engineering course where they wouldn't have to pay the top-up tuition fees.

The option is there. If youngsters don't want to take it, then they'll have to pay for their own "Feminist Studies" course.

 

[highlandsflyer]

Great post.

Apart from the 'misunderstanding' about Socialists.

I guess you are talking about the so called rather than the genuine though.

 

[JohnH]

I guess you are talking about the so called rather than the genuine though.

Of course.

 

[marin man]

I have said the same as you in "laymans terms" on page 18 johnh,but well done,if we keep saying it we may drum it in yet

 

[FMJ]

if we keep saying it we may drum it in yet (emoticons removed)

The probability of a man in a red suit squeezing his fat arse down my chimney some time in the next few weeks is statistically greater.

 

[marin man]

Thanks for removing the emoticons....I have a medical condition which means I find it hard not to use them....wonder if I could claim a benefit for that.......

I made a post without using them....I am cured......yipeee

 

[Tad]

Anita Roddick didn't respond to animal testing by marching up and down shouting slogans -- she went into her kitchen and began to invent cosmetics that were made with natural ingredients until she could sell them in the very first branch of "The Body Shop".

She then sold out to L'Oreal who have somewhat differing views on animal testing to her own. Parallels the Lib Dems and their stance on tuition fees so congratulations for finding an incredibly poigniant comparison.

 

[silverclaws]

Everybody sells out in the end, all it takes is money and then ideals just fly out the window.

Probably why trust is such a rare commodity these days.

 

[sgw]

A consensus for banality, even I can't be bothered to argue against that.

I will leave you in peace to go back to pictures of breasts (because there aren't enough of them on the net!) and brrr snow, cold innit posts.

"proper socialist" Revisionist more like.

Back to the barricades for me.

 

[Tad]

"War is declared" Is it? Really?

I congratulate you and your kind on your measured response, I presume you shall hold fast to the terms of the Geneva convention or will you be taking a no prisoners approach?

Should we evacuate the children of London to the countryside? Will stations be yet again filled with kids with brown luggage tags tied to them?

EDIT: The reason most of us chat about gibberish like "brrr it's cold outside" is that this is a forum dedicated to old bicycles. It's nothing heavy or serious. The majority of us come in and post on here to relax. If you want to get in to the minutiae of dialectical materialism then perhaps you'd be better off posting on retromarxist.com there's bound to be somewhere like that for you to loiter about in. If you get bored of all agreeing with each other about what a better place the world would be if everyone behaved how you wanted them to then just sign up to some Tory forum and pick a cyber skirmish with them there.



So brave comrade, onward, march to war! "We'll keep the red flag flying..."