The abandonment of distinctions between the unfortunate and the merely verminous is a phenomenon we’ve seen before. As when the Guardian‘s Zoe Williams wanted us to believe that the problem with ‘problem families’ is simply that they’re poor, and nothing whatsoever to do with how they choose to abuse their equally poor neighbours. And so attempts to deal with people who repeatedly play loud music at 3am or throw pets from top floor windows are framed as a “demonization of the poor” and “trying to shunt people out of society for not being rich enough.” According to Zoe, we should be “unstigmatising,” which is to say, non-judgmental. A result of which is that empathy, or feigned empathy, is shifted from the working class victim of crime and antisocial behaviour to the working class perpetrator of crime and antisocial behaviour, on grounds that the thug or criminal is in some way being oppressed and, unlike their neighbours, being made to misbehave.
wasps are so guilty
Peter Sellers with the undeserving poor in movie Heavens Above: http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/362838/Heavens-Above…
Interesting how suberban lefty neurosis over the “ghetto” has changed since the 50s – Lefty’s angst over the economically deprived has gone from actively joining social welfare groups working in the ghetto communities to simply paying lip service and using the underclass as an excuse to put commie agitprop in the street, but not the ghetto – too dangerous there for a indulged white campus commie.
One of my fondest memories of the Ferguson riots was seeing a couple of pasty-faced suburban comrades with “Che” shirts on getting thumped by the local hoodies. Makes you feel like there’s hope when even the hood rats can see the hypocrisy in bourgeoisie “white bread” communism.
The obvious question being: what part of London does Zoe Williams live in?
“One of my fondest memories of the Ferguson riots was seeing a couple of pasty-faced suburban comrades with “Che” shirts on getting thumped by the local hoodies. Makes you feel like there’s hope when even the hood rats can see the hypocrisy in bourgeoisie “white bread” communism.”
I agree, it is a beautiful sight. Couldn’t happen to a more deserving bunch.
However, it is sad to see the extent to which the black family life has been degraded by leftist policies during the last half century.
How do you expect a significant portion of our population to make a living if they cannot interpret such things to whoever will listen? This issue goes far beyond the ‘poor’.
The bleeting coming out of BC because the ‘Truth & Reconciliation Commission’ being de-commissioned has more to do with the loss of nice cushy jobs by government workers and natives. It is like the treaty process will never accomplish anything because those at the table are making $300/day + expenses.
Has anyone listened to our own NPD?
“We must hand over largess to the poor or they will take it by force.”
Typical kleptocrats making apologizes for their fellow travellers.
Fools and bandits have two political parties of their own here in Trudeutophia.
Now that we are bankrupt from almost 100 years of idiotic spending(income tax 1917), maybe just maybe it is time to abolish federal command of social engineering.
Welfare can only be honest when it is personal and local.
Unemployment insurance needs to be just that,. Insurance, like where is my “no claims bonus dude?”
We have seen how efficient and compassionate big government is and will be, that is why we have the “Best Healthcare” one can hope to perpetually wait in line for.
Thanks to lying stealing persons of the political stripe, cops can not protect society, stripping these mostly forthright supporters of civilization of their goals and motivation, induces deviant behaviour to the ranks.
As the fish rots from the head, so our police forces.
Commanded by corrupt individuals they have become enemies of the people.The very people they must have the willing support of to function as police. Without community wholesale buy in there is no way to serve and protect.
Hence the federal impositions of “standards” has deliberately destroyed community policing.
Of course the USA examples are also fascinating, from a safe distance,funny how where the democrats and social engineering do-gooders have held power for generations, the distance between the people and “their police” is almost unbridgeable.
A design feature in my analysis of the progressive’s hatred for poor brown persons.
For actions speak louder than words.
We have seen thousands of rich white liberals ,elected to power, all insisting they are the best hope for the poor, dependent and useless, for decades.
Brings to mind a new kind of slavery, reaping the riches of the public purse, while riding on the backs of the most impoverished and gullible.
The results?
Kinda speak for themselves.
the Acorn does not fall far from the statist tree
“…on grounds that the thug or criminal is in some way being oppressed and, unlike their neighbours, being made to misbehave.”
This is a key belief among liberals, and there’s nothing you can say that will shake their confidence that poor people’s bad behavior is CAUSED by the middle class.
This belief of causation by “oppression” is not something they believe because it is true, its something they believe because it is convenient. It is convenient for Leftists to say poverty causes crime, because then obviously they can tax the rich and give to the poor.
Then when the crime only gets worse they can say you didn’t give enough, the disparity is too great. Only when Warren Buffet is living in a second floor walk-up in the same building as Yolanda Washington and her five different kids by six different fathers, only then will it all be “fair” and only then will the crime finally stop.
Also all Black misbehavior is -caused- by racism. Middle class Whitey hates them, and that hate MAKES them do bad stuff.
Lets not forget my all-time favorite, guns cause crime. Their mere existence creates the urge to kill in otherwise perfectly peaceful human beings. People who would never hurt a fly are made to do murder by guns.
Note that liberals do not arrange their lives as if all of the above was actually the case. They just say it in public forums and make government policy based on it.
“Only when Warren Buffet is living in a second floor walk-up in the same building as Yolanda Washington and her five different kids by six different fathers, only then will it all be “fair” and only then will the crime finally stop.”
They tried that in Russia. Other than the ruling apparatchik class and their NKVD bodyguards, the rest of the people lived in squalor you mention. Crime did not go down and in fact increased tremendously as no one owned anything and they thought since the government owned everything it was fair game to be stolen. No doubt next time they will get it right.
Give till it hurts, Ken. Then give more.
Or else.
No problem, the intelligentsia are safe and undisturbed in their gated communities. Trying to convince them their nonsense makes no sense would require the introduction of a concept totally alien to them, something they’ve never experienced or been trained for, so for which they have no response other than shrill screams for censorship &/or charges:
Common sense
As opposed to social justice on the fly with logic maimed to suit any desire and of course, bigger government, er “oversight” by our betters.
William Gairdner summed up the entitlement mentality neatly in his book “The Trouble With Canada:”
“Wants become needs become rights become claims against the state.”
The statist (the folks who brought you “you didn’t build that,” & “we are all a part of government”) is all too willing to provide anything they think others think they need, provided they agree, with the taxpayer, I mean the rich underwriting the largesse along with perpetuating victimhood and propping up their phony baloney jobs (I don’t mean the real thing, like medical, fire and police).