Prejudice

A clip on Twitter offered the sight of an elderly middle class woman making a point about migrants.  She did not want any.  And when asked re those who flee war she stated that there was too much emphasis on war, giving the impression she did not believe them, or was just heartless. 

In truth, she was just indicating what she had learned from the likes of Farage, the 'Daily Mail,' and other right wing liars.  It is likely she had not investigated whether things printed were true or not, and this was a truth she wished to accept.  The woman is just another who cannot accept the world she grew up in is changing.

There is no doubt life is difficult for us all when we see our world change and change out of our control. Poor and deliberate bad journalism will not help, facts on all sides are misused to suit the opinion sought.  And when our world changes it can be difficult.  Whether the villages she claimed were 'scared' because of all the incomers we cannot tell, she was not asked to name such villages, though they may exist.  They may also be just another report from a housewife's gathering of course.

I notice changes in this small town also.  There are quite a number of single young men appearing, mostly of middle eastern/Turkish appearance.  Where do they come from?  Where do they stay?  Why are they alone?  Alone apart from those they accompany, and who are they?  Are they trapped in some modern slavery trap, though I doubt they would be running on the streets.  Did they come across on a boat?

There is no doubt it takes some getting used to when many foreign types arrive.  During the war such was inevitable, US airmen black and white, spent 3 years in the town, usually finding a warm welcome.  In the same way Italians built a POW camp outside the town, the wall erected to keep people out, not keep them in!  Germans took over that camp later.

The town survived, though these men, and they were all men, could have caused trouble.  A war situation may have opened hearts a bit, however, war and conflicts everywhere ought to open our hearts also.  Certainly it is easier to accept women refugees than men, they usually have children also, but questions must be asked re so many single men arriving.

The Farage's of this world will not stop lying, that is what he is paid for, and truth is not published by the daily press, so how are we to know the facts of immigration and 'the boats?'  Facts of course do not always change minds, our opinion does not always like facts.

  

Rush Hour Cars, Brexit and Forums.

Now I am all for warm weather. Where I come from it is always good to see it, we saw it so rarely up there.  Down here in this xenophobic nation it is more common, this county is supposed to have the least rainfall of all, so why do they grow all the crops here?  Anyway, when the sun shines we enjoy it and I am happy if the temp reaches 70.F and stays there.  

However, there are drawbacks.  

Today we have rain showers in between sunny spells, this gives all those driving their big open topped cars in those sunny spells the opportunity to bless us with all the pleasure of hearing the loud and indeed bad music they listen to!  Open windows, open top cars, occasional idiot with loud transistor, remember them? either will do, but we have to hear their poor choice of bad noise.  

Add to this the eejit who thinks we need to hear his loud phone calls, business sounds good where he is, and pleasure is abundant for all around, well maybe not for the man in the following white van who clearly has his own opinion on this.

No, I am not jealous.  I have no wish to join the 'rush hour' and sit in a car moving at two miles an hour in a queue so long you cannot see the beginning of it.  I have long lost the need to own a pretentious large expensive vehicle to impress those around me.  Indeed, I have not got the money to do so, and I would not do this, unless the Good Lord does present me with the maroon coloured Landrover I have been asking for these past few years.  

I do however, have a bus pass...

Bah!

It was good to get out of here today to return the empty beer bottles vinegar bottles and mayonnaise jars to the recycling bins.  I have been spending far too much time on Twitter and newspaper forums. The 'Daily Express' one in particular.  The Brexiteer is one with a closed mind, closed so tightly no fact can change it.  One grumbled 10,000 migrants have clambered into this country, I indicated 60,000 EU lorry drivers have been banned by Brexit, can these migrants not drive?  This did not go down well. 

The EU is at fault for everything, but free England, never the UK, has got them beat.  For a start the 'Express' extols our deal with the Far East, countries like Thailand, Laos and Vietnam.  These replace Germany, France and Spain!  For the Brexiteer this is a success?  A deal with Australia has enabled us to make £400,000 a year from exports, the Aussies make £1.5 Billion from the deal!  

This is another Brexit success?  The 'Express' reader, not counting 'Bots' or the '77th Brigade' doing Boris's work, does not like facts, he is blind to anything but Brexit, his life depends on this.

 

 

There is however, worse.

On Twitter I got involved with an American, so you can imagine the lack of knowledge, who boasted he had not been vaccinated even though all his workmates had been.  

Now the media today is full of such people bemoaning not getting vaccinated because they were considered physically strong, believed the lies on social media, and then catching Covid and sadly passing away regretting their foolishness. How sad then to see someone boasting not being vaccinated, made worse by claiming that he was following Christ Jesus and trusting him for health.  Indeed he ought to do this, but Jesus, like the vast majority of Christians, would say 'Get the jab!'  Several US pastors have caught the virus, some have died, all say 'Get the jab!'  We get vaccinated against measles, chickenpox, shingles, polio, smallpox and other things, yet we are supposed to consider this one 'evil?'  Some still believe the pandemic was caused by Pharma companies, some by the 'New world order' and others believe still that Bill Gates has inserted a bug into them to follow them around or tell them what to do.  In the UK most people call that bug 'Google' or 'Facebook.'  

I have been amazed at the opinions found on such forums.  I expect them from closed minded Rangers and Celtic fans, but the depth of belief on strange theories amazes me.  The blindness and unwillingness to listen by the Brexiteer leaves me considering this a 'cult.'  Is there an answer?  

Q. 'Why did the chicken cross the road?'

A. 'To avoid meeting Nicola Sturgeon.'

Tuesday Trivia

Having spent yet another full day at the museum sorting through boxes of envelopes I come home to find the news is boring.  Yes indeed the 'Brexit' fills the air yet again and still not one word concerning the facts thereof.  As always much in the way of propaganda, many insults from one Conservative gentleman to another and back again, loud sneering/shouting/debate yet little in the way of facts.  I blame the USA I suspect these folks have been watching Trump and his gang too much.  The vote is in June and we have months of this to go through yet.

So few people at work today, another called off because of aged parent trouble, another off for a month for sickness, two left, one off on holiday again and only two of us left to man the fort.  The staff likewise are one down and one was out elsewhere today.  Naturally when I arrived all was chaos.  Still we survived.  However I am in need of a Swedish massage and a quiet night.  
Last night was frightful!   
There was no football on TV!
I went through the motions and did this and that but there was an enormous gap where the football should be.  I was seeing spiders by ten o'clock! 
Tonight I see relief inn the form of several games arranged just for my mental health I suspect.

The other main subject is of course migrants.  
Do you have an answer?  I don't.  The political games being played help few and thousands suffer.  Would you stay in a war zone?  Can we believe half the scare stories the press offer us?  I try to find a simple straight forward response and fail.  Care for refugees I say, help those in need indeed but how to manage such a crowd.  The nations, often unused to dealing with people from outside their area Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and the like are keen on EU money and their people freely moving around Europe but they are less keen on accepting Syrians or Afghans.  The UK stands back - with a Tory government who have just pushed through a bill cutting benefits to the disabled (but not taxing their friends) - as always doing as little as it can.  Certainly we have many immigrants here, the violent ones we cannot deport for goodness sake, and we could do more but the long term answer escapes me.

As Zebedee said, "It's time for bed."

p.s. Today is 'International Women's Day,'  Do you think I care?  Pah!

Fun Friday, Bah!

This rain grubby window sums up today.  
The tired feeling arrived last week and has hung around, the past two days have been a pain.  Add to that the journey to fix the bike, and after finally fixing it I have just found the new tyre stinking the place with rubber aroma has once again gone down.  Ogh I am so happy!
I had bought two new inner tubes and both were the wrong type, they were for mountain bikes, not road ones.  The tyre fits mind and now I am staring through the grubby window forgetting all about it till next week.

There has of course been a lot of talk recently re migrants/refugees depending on your stance in the news recently.  I have avoided most of the reports.  The sight of a child lying drowned on a beach was too much to look at and the confusing loud voices telling everyone what to do helps no-one.  
Here we find Europe overflowing with people attempting to enter one or other of the nations.  Many come from war zones such as Iraq and Syria, others from despotic nations like Eritrea, still others just wish to enter Europe to find a better life.
In amongst all the noise I find myself with no easy answer to all this.
Many simple answers have been heard this week, one says let them all come, the other send them all back, neither are correct.  It is right to help refugees, Europe however expects them to be somewhere far away like the Middle East or Africa rather than at their doorstep.  Should we keep the refugees and return the migrants who want a better life and how do you tell one from another?
The laws of various states, let alone European law does not help here especially when so many nations ignore the law while struggling to cope with thousands who arrive daily.  
The UK government has been awfully quiet and rightly so.  For years the Conservative Party have had their lackeys in the media offering propaganda which stresses the danger of 'swarms of migrants' coming into England (note, not UK but England as that is where the 'British' Tory vote lies) and people, even those of keen brain, have swallowed this propaganda and believe we are being replaced by a new nation of foreigners.  Such lies keep the Tories in power, no wonder they say little about this problem.
Nothing was said for a while and now David Cameron who, believe it or not, is actually Prime Minister, did mutter something about taking some refugees (not migrants) and other lying words.  No numbers were given.  Germany is taking considerably more than we but that matters not as the lie also claims the UK is awash with Eastern Europeans taking all our jobs, living on the dole, begging on the streets, so we must not take even more from elsewhere.  Hmmm, many from Poland stay a year or two and return home money in wallet, the beggars tend to be from south east Europe, Romanians mostly and for them this it must be said, is a way of life.
So what to do?
One answer would be to deal with the terrors back home.  Encourage Saudia Arabia and Quatar to stop paying for the fighters in Syria and Isis in Iraq.  This could be troublesome as they have oil and money both of which are important to this country, especially this government.  Eritrea has a despot, he could easily be overthrown, why not?  Because he has no oil, in fact they have no nothing as far as I can see so the west cares not yet thousands from there come to Europe.  Nothing will be done to upset those paying for Middle Eats fights, Eritrea will be ignored like Darfur now is, remember that?  Afghans and others strive to come here, those who worked as translators wish to enter the UK but this government refuses them permission even though many friends of our army have been shot!  Other madmen have been allowed to remain according to their 'human rights' even if they were murderers or rapists, why not interpreters?
This is a confusing situation, no country wishes to make decisions, nobody really has a clue what to do, yet all around the cry is keep them or send them back and all the while people die or live rough.
What a situation.

During Victorian times when the police force was just beginning there was no established police station in the town.  Pubs in the Braintree centre were numerous, as were 'beer shops,' not pubs but places to buy beer, several such were found in this town.  With long hours of work, cold houses, possibly colder wives, many made their way to such establishments for food and drink.  Down New Street, imaginatively named after it was  created, stood four pubs that we know off.  There was the 'Three Tuns,' 'The George' and the 'Green man.'  These were known as 'Little Hell,' 'Big Hell' and 'Perdition' by the folks of the town!  This indicates problems at closing time, and indeed all other times, with the gentlemen and ladies who inhabited these places.  The fourth pub did not have such a nickname and I have forgotten its name, 'The Angel' perhaps?  
As a result of the problems with drunks the 'cage' was erected in 1840 to cater for those whose indiscretions merited a place to sleep it off.  Each parish council required to have such a 'cage' which explains so many 'Cage Streets' etc to be found in villages and towns.  This one has two cells, about six feet long, each with a bed of sorts along one side, the cell may have been designed for one but I suspect had more on Saturday nights.  No doubt most who entered pubs, like today, behaved themselves reasonably well (does any drunk behave reasonably?) and bigger families with many working could rent better housing and avoid the need to dwell late in such pubs.  These places at least were warm, offered company, entertainment often ( Music Hall grew out of these) and cleaned the throats of men working in local foundries where dust in the air was part of the job.
The cage was still used until 1875 even though a decent police station then stood in the town.  Now demolished and replaced by a 'Peel Crescent!'  The police developed over the years and now their hulking great station sits behind my head, all too often we hear their sirens at just the wrong moment, and I wonder if they actually have less officers on the beat now than then!   They all use cars today, George Osborne's 'austerity' has taken beat officers of the beat and allowed many crimes to flourish.  
The 'Cage' has been used by the militia once the drunks were removed, to store weapons and ammunition, and has lain empty for many years preserved by the local Civic Society.  Most do not even know of its existence, yet many had a relative who could tell them what the inside looked like before 1875!