Saturday 30 May 2015

Odd one out

I always embraced other cultures and tried to learn about them.

So when presented with the option of sharing a house with foreigners I didn't think there would be any problems.

However I didn't take account of dealing with conflicting prejudices and social expectations.

Things I did that I found completely normal were sometimes frowned upon, leaving me occasionally fighting to be myself.

I didn't expect to struggle with acceptance that made me feel culturally alone.

This isn't an experience that I faced before.

When I look back on these difficulties now what I was struggling with wasn't about where they were from as it was about the fact that our attitudes weren't well aligned.

Had I been living with David Cameron my problem would have been similar.

The person that I am was in opposition to the people that they were and with those of them that was less the case for I found the relationship easier.

This is saddening because I imagine neither of us wants to change ourselves to live in harmony, so how do you build harmony when fundamental things about you conflict?

Does a certain level of conflict then become healthy or dangerous?

Friday 29 May 2015

Unpure driving

In the same moment as the British Library has managed to get Spare Rib up online there is a Rabi in North London that is making driving a purity issue.

Really?

I currently don't drive, because I have been unwell and didn't trust myself in a bad condition behind a wheel.

Responsible female attitude to road safety right there.

What?!

However, all sorts of nonsense seems to now be coming out of the wood work.

There is a man on the radio saying that women don't need to drive for work and are just unnecessary polluters.

I'm sorry...

Yes, we should keep our car journeys to a minimum and use public transport whenever possible.

However, sometimes everyone needs to drive, anyone who attaches driving with lack of modesty or purity or anything of the sort needs their head examined.

Are British men suddenly going mad, drunk on a ridiculous Clarksonesque rush of power.

Hush, or some woman might run you over.

Wednesday 27 May 2015

Good news for the Rainbow flag

I have a headache, some parts of YouTube are getting to look like Satan with all the aggression and prescriptive love advice.

Gay marriage now exists in Ireland.

Wish I'd been at that party, I suspect it was more liberating.

We are certainly living in interesting times.

All you're getting out of me today, the last thing I tried to write was too depressing.

Tuesday 26 May 2015

Feminism exists

A woman I spoke to recently was talking about supervising young girls.

She was pointing to the fact that they can be horrible to each other and in the same breath dispelled the notion that feminism even existed.

Given the kind of woman that she is I suspect that it wasn't meant as too serious a comment.

However, it got me thinking.

We need to stand together

I would be a fool if I didn't recognise that women often attack and undermine each other.

However, this does not mean feminism doesn't or shouldn't exist.

After all feminism does not require all women to think the same, it requires enough education and economic power to make them meaningful contributors to the debate.

Bitching is a trap

If I stoop to the level of judging a woman purely by her looks or similar superficial aspects I invalidate my own position.

This does not mean that you can't appreciate the effort someone has made with their appearance, but don't focus overly on this if she is making a speech on politics, singing or dancing.

Ultimately if you focus on what women can be you put them on a more equal footing with men in public discourse immediately, by the same token this allows you to focus on the fact that one woman might be being overly mean or controlling.

Thursday 21 May 2015

The struggling local press

I was searching for an outlet for an article that I am trying to write on a local issue.

Only to be confronted with precious few outlets for such articles and a writing team on some of these papers that clearly consists of about three people.

Now, I know what that feels like to a degree having worked for a student news team of three, but that was only producing a paper about once every four weeks - my memory of these facts is now hazy.

It was an intimate experience and one which served to make me some friends who I admire to this day large numbers of who work in the media and publishing in some capacity.

It wasn't the best way of serving a community though really.

Journalism is best when you can get out to see people and that isn't always going to be possible if there aren't many of you and you rarely take on freelancers.

If this isn't a pitch for a job I don't know what is, but I'm actually trying to draw your attention to a wider problem hard working journalists with integrity who are being asked to do more and more for less, something worth remembering when Andy Coulson's name is being splashed all over the place.

It's unsurprising one of the unions for those media workers was out on strike recently.

Tuesday 19 May 2015

Privatisation battle in Waterloo

A fight has broken out over the building of the Garden Bridge in Waterloo, a meeting was held last night to discuss the matter further.

The Coin Street builders are looking to redevelop the land at Queen's Walk.

The local Waterloo community have put in an objection to the plans, which they say is not a transport project, but an aggressive money making venture undertaken with public money.

They argue that not only is the project not needed, but it will lead to overcrowding and fear it will damage the character and peace of the area.

The community have managed to secure a judicial review to take place in the near future.

A number of political representatives were present at the meeting, but Kate Howey the long standing sitting MP was noticeably absent.

Friday 15 May 2015

Chuka's bowing out

For those watching the UK election fall out Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg have stepped down as leaders of their respective parties.

Chuka Umunna was tipped for the leadership of the Labour Party and had thrown his hat into the ring.

Yet today news was out that he had already pulled out blaming aggressive press attacks on his family and girlfriend.

It is hard in these situations to be sure what is going on, but it may not be the best news for an opposition Labour Party that was increasingly aware he was feared by the Conservatives.

Some could argue that was why the press were going for his neck.

No news seems to be coming from the Liberal Democrat camp, I imagine their party will be reeling more than most having been clearly rejected at the polls.

The UK political landscape certainly presents an original picture at present.

Tuesday 12 May 2015

Post election alarm

I ran away to Greece for the recent election, I think given the result it was the best place for me.

The result reduced me to tears, coming unexpectedly late since on results day I was insulated from the shock on an idyllic Greek island.

My initial hopes that the SNP might align with left wing parties were destroyed fairly fast with Sturgeon wading in with further devolution demands, change the record missy you don't sound much better than the BNP (not linking to them) that way.

Painful realisation

Now that the initial bitter jokes in my mind are wearing off the reality of what straight Conservative government is beginning to hit.

The stories coming through are making me jumpy to say the least.

So the woman touted for equalities is anti Gay marriage, something Cameron at least had claimed that he was behind.

Human's don't need rights

They're throwing around ideas of abandoning the human rights act, something that protects all of us from the worst excesses of human cruelty.

Seriously, there is nothing controversial about protecting people with the law and from degrading treatment and the right to marry if they wish.

I thought they were nasty, I didn't realise they were quite that nasty: are they aiming on a police state?