Well, at least we got around to this sensible post from the purism. Tbh Ming I’d been surprised that up until then you hadn’t been castigated for not knowing how a Liberal Party eugenicist had been responsible for the plan that helped create the NHS, thus invalidating any good that came of it and making all users fascists by their support of such a system. But then, to be fair, Serge weighed in with a bit of sense.
Which is right. Although of course we’d also had to cope with Squirrels arguments which say the Labour Party had nothing at all to do with the creation of the NHS, it all being down to the working class. Obviously it being the working class, not Bevan, who got doctors on side through hard negotiation and not a little compromise, doctors being, as they were, extremely reluctant to join in the fun.
But then we had the ideological pure Dotty weighing in with what sounds like sense, good working class sense that can’t possibly be questioned because Dotty said it right?
Do you know how much that sounds like total disrespectful bollocks to your average working class person, Not to mention to the working class within the NHS, while of course claiming to be ideologically pure non-bollocks of the highest order? To someone like me, who has now had two £20000 cancer operations that aren’t even covered by medical insurance in any other country in the world, let alone affordable to anyone on my sort of wage. Crumbs? Some fucking crumbs mate. It’s the greatest example I can think of of ‘according to need’ to which I’ve contributed (significantly less) from my ability to do so.
But no. Let’s hit Dotty’s comment with likes, because he’s a veteran on here and he speaks pure, ideological, surely unarguable, truths. In the real world. That real people understand and can get behind with their experience. And god forbid anyone who should think further than hitting ‘like’ on such bollocks. God forbid anyone who’s experience doesn’t match the ideological purity of Urban 75.
Like fuck. It’s just another example, as was some of the ranting against Ming instead of cooling correcting what he said that was wrong, of the ‘better than thou’, ‘ooh look, Ming doesn’t even know Beveridge was a Liberal’ ‘I’m so smarter than those I profess to want to help’ bollocks of what this forum is like sometimes. The bit that has no idea whatsoever how to connect with the working class because it’s too far up its own arse trying to be ideologically sound.
I've been following this thread from a distance. Because I was, to quote
wayward bob on this, assigned middle class at birth, I often don't feel able to contribute to urban threads about class without feeling like a massive imposter (I suspect I am one of the people being talked about when the middle classes are referred to disparagingly - even though I don't currently have a pot to piss in and now that my mum has passed away don't have unconditional family support, I still get some benefits of being the son of a middle class family, like my dad taking me on holidays where he pays for pretty much everything). Not asking for sympathy for my accident of birth and minor associated privileges, just saying why I rarely comment on threads like this, even though I have a wide range of thoughts, beliefs and opinions- I'm not part of the club and not sure if I ever can be.
That said, I've hit like on various conflicting posts on this thread because- guess what? - I liked what the poster was saying. I liked your 30+ like post because you seemed to be talking sense and made an impassioned plea in a convincing and erudite manner. But then I liked the post that pretty much destroyed what you said by pointing out that TR/SYL got less than 2% vote share and lost his deposit, and is therefore less of a threat than this thread, the left and me have been assuming for some time (still, 2% too much and any form/amount of fash support should never be dismissed out of hand).
I've liked posts slagging off The Labour Party, even though I've soradically (and currently) been a member since Corbyn got in. This hypocrisy I justify to myself because my level of radicalism has changed over the years but I'm still sympathetic to my previous views.
I liked DCs post because I enjoyed the bitter sarcasm that was dripping from every word. It was a legit funny and well crafted post, and made a point worthy of consideration also. Of course we live in a comparatively pampered and over privileged top 5 economy sized country in the world, but we are still all mugged off by the super rich and powerful, by corporations, institutions and politicians on a daily basis, and however much we might have in comparison to poorer nations, we still have nothing in comparison to the wealthy of our own country, and we need to remember that it's not a race to the bottom, that we will never win by being satisfied with what they give us, that we should always be pushing for more.
There was plenty in that post that was worth keeping in mind. I don't think DC is considered any kind of urban royalty, as your post implied (I rarely see him post these days, as it happens), and we are all free to like what post we like. The meanings behind a like shouldn't imply unthought complete agreement - see that thread about what a like means to see the multitude of possible meanings each time a poster hits that button. It's by no means black and white and can be quite nuanced.
I feel a bit put out at having to explain all this. After all, I liked your post what you did earlier a!!!!
Imagine the contemporary technology that would be required to transport & erect lumps like that!
