Today this article on the BBC website tells us about a man who died in Essex when his dog pulled him out suddenly onto a road causing a collision with a car. The driver was more concerned it appears to get the mans details after his pet's lead caused damage to her vehicle. The man, in his 60s, went home but began feeling unwell and died later in hospital from a head injury.
Separately Bill Bryson is bringing out his new book about UK life called the Road to Little Dribbling. This is 20 years after his last book on the UK, Notes from a Small Island. In a recent interview Bryson said;
''The UK had become a greedier and sometimes less polite place - a more ''screw you Jack'' society. If you went into a bar 20 years ago everyone would know who was next to be served. No one would dream of being served before the guy next to you if he was first. Now, it's very much every man for himself ''.
Here on HOL we have a new discussion about a homeless person where the person posting said, I am a compassionate person (or at least I'd like to think so) but I do not want to have to encounter this supposedly homeless petson's little encampment on my journey to and from work every day.
Is the UK a more selfish society in general than say 20 years ago? If so what has caused this change?
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Ha! .... You've been over here a fair time from OZ Osbawn. Have you noticed a change since you landed in these parts and made it your home, as Bryson says?
No, immigration (internal/external), it's not down to that Osbawn. It's probably more to do with there being less of the community in existence across many parts of the country & that includes outside of the big cities that you mention. Harringay however is a pretty good example of a community in my experience (if one chooses to tap into it), especially within an international city like London.
People are commuting longer distances and working less within their local area. Generations of families increasingly live away from each other due to careers & other reasons. One of the fastest growing types of household is the 'single' household across a number of adult age categories. Community, looking out for people around you does matter. Being irritated by someone sleeping on the street within ones own area isn't community minded.
What Bryson says maybe true to a certain extent (using his pub example) but it won't of course be very popular.
1979, continued 1997 . Today, if we look at the reaction to Corbyn's conference speech in the comments section the selfish bile coming out of there is quite incredible. A nation divided?
lol John D .. your loyalty to the Thatcher dictatorship does make me laugh.. Have you forgotten all those wets in her government..? All those men afraid to tell her the truth..?
The main point of her dictatorship was to shaft the working classes for the benefit of people who think like you.
I think we've moved back to the Victorian concept of deserving & undeserving 'poor'. If we can label as many people in poverty as possible as 'undeserving' addicts, 'professional beggars', economic migrants etc. etc. Then we can assure ourselves that they are the architects of their own misery & absolve ourselves of the need to help - in fact further than that we can work ourselves up into righteous indignation that they're cluttering up our lovely streets & disturbing our view.
We seem to have lost the imagination (or ability to listen) to be able to empathise with how someone may have ended up as an alcoholic begging outside a bank on Green Lanes. It is important that people take personal responsibility for their lives but we seem to have lost the empathy & humanity as a society to see people as fellow human beings who might just need a bit of help & support to get their lives back on track & become tax paying, flat white buying, internet commenting, parts of our community.
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