Forum Topic

Broken Society ???

I wanted to share with forum members a reader's letter in a newspaper, it gives one food for thought.The police won't protect us, the NHS might not look after us, boys can be girls, girls can be boys, foreign murderers, rapists and known terrorists can live here with impunity, subsidised by taxpayers, people can't say this or that without upsetting someone, minority groups rule, speeding and parking cameras are there to fleece us. The country is going to hell in a handcart.

Jean F Fernandez ● 3065d15 Comments

There is no simple answer to the dissatisfaction and certainly just dismissing concerns as xxxphobic/racist etc won't help as Trump/brexit et al prove. It just creates an attrition that helps bad leaders to emerge. Eventually people get fed up with being told how ignorant/backward/stupid they are in comparison with experts who also get things wrong very often but with no consequences for them personally. Eg Diesel cars/referendums/the recession/interventions in the Middle East.I agree with some of the points, the problem with criminals from other EU countries or elsewhere is a serious one - it is expensive in all respects and in my opinion anyone who offends within 2 years of arriving should be sent back to their country of origin to serve their sentence just to save on money! However, I notice that UK drug dealers, fraudsters, gangsters and paedophiles have to be dealt with by foreign governments who are often poorer than ours so maybe we will have to have them back as well. Some of the tabloids seem delighted to report on the sufferings of UK paedophiles in Thai jails. I also agree that parking charges are often profiteering - many controlled zones do not have a problem with overcrowding. Over time all councils and governments will contain a great many corrupt individuals because they contain many huge egos and very thick skinned types. We all need to make our local governments/governments more accountable but this is not easy because all parties contain a number of arrogant ego maniacs with vested interested and often regular citizens just give up after a while. Global corporations are even harder to penetrate as can be see in the Heathrow debate and they are often intricately tied up in a country's economy and even governance.So sadly it is very hard to be rational and discuss what is broken and find solutions.

M Powes ● 3035d

This comment from a letter in a newspaper reflects a general dissatisfaction. The Question is who can tap into that. Trump did it successfully  in the states but included in that rhetoric were a lot of lies. But people do see their opportunities diminishing and that the NHS and Police are becoming less available. Tie that in with the feeling that foreigners are getting a better deal and you have a perfect scenario for authoritarian leaders to gain control. We saw this in the brexit Vote. The liberal elite sit in their comfortable houses pontificating and thinking that the unthinkable wont happen, but it does. Our newspapers have some made up stories but also there are cases of convicts from abroad coming here to murder. we know that, but also many decent people arrive and make a contribution. but of course in the Daily Express that would not be printed. Yes in Ealing we see the parking gestapo and we also have an authoritarian regime who are not interested in democracy. But this is the way of the world these days. So we should discuss what is broken and are there any solutions?

Peter Chadburn ● 3055d

I read the papers, whether they are false facts or not from either the left or right side.More importantly I see for myself & experience situations first hand.Likewise noone will shut me up for being non pc along with a silent majority, wrongly & continuously labelled

Peter Yale ● 3056d

Totally agree with Simons comments. False “facts” are often spouted on here and willingly pushed by some in pursuit of their own narrow minded agendas. I couldn’t careless whether they say I’m politically correct , they won’t shut me up

Gary Sinclair ● 3056d

Hi Peter,at last a sinsible reply and fully understanding as well,i think some of the others on the forum would be well advised to follow you very understanding views,regards John,Seasons Greetings.

Dr John Stolworthy D.Sc ● 3058d

Not at all hate filled, simple facts. As usual anyone expressing an opinion is instantly labelled & dismissed.Facts need to be faced up to

Peter Yale ● 3058d

As you say, this is supposed to be a free society - and an important part of that is having the freedom to take people to task when they choose to spread hate-filled content. The letter Jean shared was transphobic, racist and generally scaremongering. So no, there will be no apology forthcoming here - she has expressed her opinions, and I (and others) have expressed mine.

Simon Deakin ● 3059d

Andy,Thank you for your comments,poor Jean has been taken to task badly over this and i feel an apology from some of the forum would not go amiss,Jean hass te right to make observations and opinions like asnyone else,in what i=s supposed to be a free society,regards John.

Dr John Stolworthy D.Sc ● 3062d

My opinion is obtained by daily stories in the tabloids & if you dare to read Ealing Gazette the stories there will shock you.All this P.C nonsense causes resentment, for example the "woman" who  complained when a surgeon wrote thet the husband had manfully stepped up. Worse of all the hospital disciplined the doctor!!!!Ealing Gazette, the immigrant brother rapists, we have no clue who or whats in this country.Jihadis to be given houses etc etc.We need border controls, a tough stance & if it causes upset tough

Peter Yale ● 3063d

'The simple answer to being afraid of giving offence is to NOT GIVE OFFENCE.' No the way the law is now the only answer is to say nothing. By way of example I refer you to past comments on my smiles.

Graham Weeks ● 3064d

I didn't actually say *you* don't like foreigners, Graham - that is, assuming you didn't write the original letter. There is nothing nonsensical about transgenderism, and it's always interesting how 'political correctness' is always shouted by the people who aren't.Speech is still free, but free speech works both ways - you can shout your ignorance to the rooftops, but you'd better expect that people will challenge you on it. That's their free speech. You can't have one without the other. The simple answer to being afraid of giving offence is to NOT GIVE OFFENCE.

Simon Deakin ● 3064d

OK I'll start at the end with the blatant lie. Where did I write, "I don't like foreigners". As part of a local church with people from around 35 countries I have plenty of witnesses to the contrary.   In the rest I am defending what someone else wrote but here goes. Only this week we are told of the closure of more police stations. Protection is reduced as the police spend more time on form filling than on the beat.  I am happy with my care from the NHS.  Trangenderism is the latest nonsense from political correctness. Biology is destiny. If you have the chromosomes that is what you are.  Foreign murderers living here. I refer you to the case of the Lithuanian criminal who killed the girl in Hanwell.  There is only one place where speech is now still free, Speakers Corner. I would never answer a question on homosexuality in a public space. University snowflakes are afraid of exposure to dissident opinion.  I do not think minorities rule but there is a general fear of giving offence. Seasons greetings not Merry Christmas all too often. And BTW the Tesco seasonal advert did not bother me.  Many speed restrictions lack rationality and are both unenforced and unenforceable. Parking fines are a growth industry and no I have never deliberately offended.  I do not think, "The country is going to hell in a handcart". We have survived folly before. Merry Christmas! I wish you a happy new year free from name calling.

Graham Weeks ● 3064d

Okay then Graham, let's break it down, shall we?"The police won't protect us, the NHS might not look after us" - Patently untrue. Both groups are in desperate need of extra funding, but they are filled with hard-working people working above and beyond to try and make sure we're protected and healthy. And frankly, I see and hear enough police sirens in Ealing that they've all got to be headed somewhere..."boys can be girls, girls can be boys" - a distortion of the truth, as trans people are born believing they are a different gender to the one assigned to them biologically, but let's humour you for a moment - what exactly is the problem with that? Is it harming you or anyone else in any way?"foreign murderers, rapists and known terrorists can live here with impunity, subsidised by taxpayers" - do you have examples of this? If people have served their time, they deserve to be a part of society again, but presumably you're not talking about that... This is scaremongering, plain and simple."people can't say this or that without upsetting someone" - this or that. There, I said it. Is anyone upset? Yes, there are some things you can't say without upsetting someone, and I for one am sorry that your presumed fondness for being sexist, racist, homophobic etc is finally being challenged."minority groups rule" - do they? I've got Prime Minister's Questions on right now, and I'm pretty sure that if I threw a pin the chances of it hitting someone from a minority would be incredibly slim."speeding and parking cameras are there to fleece us" - no, they're there to stop people from speeding and parking where we shouldn't. If you speed, you are a danger to society and there should be consequences for that. "The country is going to hell in a handcart" - Bigots feeling emboldened by Brexit and the orange man overseas, the country about to plunge off a cliff into economic chaos because of people who were too ignorant to look at the facts and vote for reasons other than "I don't like foreigners"? Yes, I think this is the first thing you've said that I agree with.

Simon Deakin ● 3064d

Jean I second your ' ill-informed nonsense, bigotry and unpatriotic denigration of this great country'. What is really pathetic is when those who disagree do not have any recourse to rational logic, only recitation of perjorative prejudices.

Graham Weeks ● 3065d

Jean, thank you for sharing this example of ill-informed nonsense, bigotry and unpatriotic denigration of this great country. Food for thought indeed that an editor of a newspaper would have ever believed it worth publishing.

Andy Jones ● 3065d