dontfeartheringo wrote:I have to say, there’s an element of authoritarianism to life in London these days. I just have to put that out there. Random stop-and-harrass questionings are kind of a bad precedent for personal freedom. Couple this with the thousands and thousands of closed circuit television cameras in the UK, and there’s a disturbing anti-privacy trend at work here. Discuss.

London is a weird one. On the one hand, there seems to be countless great new little things popping all the time (bars, buildings, sculptures, art, strange little fountains) which makes living in the city a delight if you have the inclination (and, importantly, the money). And the high proportion of immigrants and visitors by and large makes for excitement, new knowledge, broad-mindedness and conversation: I love this.

However, your comments on authoritarianism ring completely true. I was discussing this with a Polish friend the other day, whose friends from Warsaw came to visit. They were genuinely shocked by frequency, variety and sternness of public diktats posted all over public areas (especially the Tube). "If you commit benefit fraud/put your feet on the seats/drop litter... you will be consigned to the most painful fires of hell!"



This stuff is everywhere. And there is a virulent nature to the anti-terror ones: watch your neighbours!



(Although yesterday I found my favourite example of this Big Dad crap in Oxford: the Chewing Gum Action Group.)

The stop-and-search powers are an effective way of further alienating ethnic minorities in the country; a lot of police officers seem to be a conservative, Daily Mail reading types. "They should be happy that we let them in our country!"

And, to be honest, British subjects or visitors of African or Caribbean have had it worse for a lot longer, particularly in parts of London such Brixton. The police have historically treated black men on London streets as potential or actual criminals. My friend's ex-boyfriend has been stopped and searched more times than he can remember. Now, imagine how much anger, resentment and paranoia this creates in a community? Particularly if the police have gotten away with murder...

[/rant]

Thanks for the blog link - I enjoyed it! I have no blog; my internet wittering is confined to this forum.

sparky wrote:However, your comments on authoritarianism ring completely true. I was discussing this with a Polish friend the other day, whose friends from Warsaw came to visit. They were genuinely shocked by frequency, variety and sternness of public diktats posted all over public areas (especially the Tube). "If you commit benefit fraud/put your feet on the seats/drop litter... you will be consigned to the most painful fires of hell!"

I think that in Poland, they just make you feel incredibly guilty for doing anything construed as "bad"/illegal. They don't have the need to advertise punishments, as shame, humiliation, and self-loathing are the most powerful punishments of all.

christmas eve hangover with all my shopping not done.

Mandroid2.0 wrote:I think that in Poland, they just make you feel incredibly guilty for doing anything construed as "bad"/illegal. They don't have the need to advertise punishments, as shame, humiliation, and self-loathing are the most powerful punishments of all.

I have the feeling that you're talking from personal experience, so with that in mind I should say upfront that I have never been to Poland (though I plan to soon), and my conversations with Polish people have been mainly with my friend and her friends. I have not got that impression of Poland from them, but this is perhaps a generational difference; Marysia and her friends all seem quite tough, funny, idealistic, bohemian and open. I have not detected this guilt in them...

However, the recent rise and part-rout of the twins seems to point to a generational difference. The way they and their supporters have been described to me indicates a lot of embedded anger, loss, conservatism, fear and perhaps Catholic guilt in a large part of the Polish population. This section seems to be predominantly the older one, hence the success and notoriety of the text message campaign in the recent parliamentary elections:

“Steal your grandmother’s ID.”

The country really has been fucked over in the past 70 years, but the younger adults (at least, the tiny number who I've met) look to be canny and moving on.

EDIT: I'm derailing yet another thread. I am sorry. My little detail for the day: I have the task of finding a Che Guevara poster for my brother as a final Christmas present. Why he would want this I don't know; I might as well substitute this with the Bob Marley/spliff smoke poster, the Pulp Fiction poster, the Trainspotting poster, or any of the other once-ubiquitous student posters. I'd better get moving. It is exceptionally cold here in Banbury today.

Whilst in London earlier this year, I noticed that the police seemed much more...eager to stop people than they do in New York. That didn't make me feel any safer.

However, here I get stopped all the time. In London? The only second glance I got was when I met up with Rimbaud in one of the tube stations.

I can sort of relate, but the cops here don't give you a nice note saying they detained you. That might be nice.

Just finished eating a dinner comprising of one roast Guinea Fowl, one roast Pheasant and Potatoes roasted in Goosefat. We had an Apple and Calvados sauce with both the birds along with some petit pois and brussel sprouts on the side.

I'm now about to open the 3rd bottle of Champagne of the night.

I couldn't be happier.

After tanning (that's Scots for "consuming gleefully") a bottle of Laphroaig with my Dad, I now realise that my previous assertion of "couldn't be happier" was somewhat off the mark.

I am, right now, as happy as can be.

I suspect you'll be back to gloat some more in another hour or so.

Happy Christmas, Nico.

(And all the rest of you. I think my folks are getting me a pair of these.

I am pretty pleased about this.)

I had one of slips/falls that tend to happen on ice.
Sadly, it was one of those "you can see yourself doing it as it happens and knowing it's gonna suck balls" events.
Anyway, I think I tore a muscle in my left elbow.