I was a teenager in the 1970s and I reckon that was a golden era with proper football (including terrace battles), real politics (Enoch Powell and Michael Foot/ NF and anti Nazi League ), incredible music with Punk rock (loved the Pistols) and real working class communities that took care of it's own. Yes, there was a lot of racism and homophobia. In fact, round my way in Norf Lundon it did not pay to be different unless you wanted a kicking. I reckon that the rot set in with joining the EEC (which I campaigned to get out of in 1975) and then Thatcher. The real end for this country came with the Blair Creature and it has gone downhill at a rapid pace since then. Happy days.
Yes mate. There are quite a few people I can think of. Perhaps you can explore this with Toby on the Weekly Sceptic. "10 people who deserve a good kicking?"
Great piece. Is there a defining moment that divides the before time and the after time? Looking back at the pre-2008 world it was weirdly optimistic. Not in a Blairite ‘things can only get better’ way but generally we were rubbing along well. The Berlin Wall had come down, we were more open and tolerant and just getting on with life. Obama’s election in 2008 was quite an OK moment. And then it all went downhill. 2008 made us more precarious financially, the asset owning classes became wealthier and the smartphone reprogrammed the first generation to become addicted to its charms.
Thanks Martin. Not sure of the exact moment. Seems to be the gradual onset of woke. Many claim 2013, but I saw it creeping in to comedy as early as 2011. This combined with Twitter and the ability to rapidly spread terrible, simplistic ideas.
It was weird how things changed so abruptly after 9/11.
Just the year before there was a bomb threat at Newcastle Central Station by the Real IRA. Not only was the Metro system affected, the whole of the East Coast mainline was at a standstill until around 10pm - complete news blackout, if you weren't directly caught up in it there was no way of finding out what had occurred. Who knows what other threats were also embargoed, to prevent the goal of eliciting the feeling of terror.
Then 9/11 happened and suddenly keeping the nation in constant terror seemed to be the primary goal.
Hi Nick,
I was a teenager in the 1970s and I reckon that was a golden era with proper football (including terrace battles), real politics (Enoch Powell and Michael Foot/ NF and anti Nazi League ), incredible music with Punk rock (loved the Pistols) and real working class communities that took care of it's own. Yes, there was a lot of racism and homophobia. In fact, round my way in Norf Lundon it did not pay to be different unless you wanted a kicking. I reckon that the rot set in with joining the EEC (which I campaigned to get out of in 1975) and then Thatcher. The real end for this country came with the Blair Creature and it has gone downhill at a rapid pace since then. Happy days.
Hi Richard, very interesting to hear your experience. Now the problem is we don't give enough people a kicking.
Yes mate. There are quite a few people I can think of. Perhaps you can explore this with Toby on the Weekly Sceptic. "10 people who deserve a good kicking?"
Great piece. Is there a defining moment that divides the before time and the after time? Looking back at the pre-2008 world it was weirdly optimistic. Not in a Blairite ‘things can only get better’ way but generally we were rubbing along well. The Berlin Wall had come down, we were more open and tolerant and just getting on with life. Obama’s election in 2008 was quite an OK moment. And then it all went downhill. 2008 made us more precarious financially, the asset owning classes became wealthier and the smartphone reprogrammed the first generation to become addicted to its charms.
Thanks Martin. Not sure of the exact moment. Seems to be the gradual onset of woke. Many claim 2013, but I saw it creeping in to comedy as early as 2011. This combined with Twitter and the ability to rapidly spread terrible, simplistic ideas.
It was weird how things changed so abruptly after 9/11.
Just the year before there was a bomb threat at Newcastle Central Station by the Real IRA. Not only was the Metro system affected, the whole of the East Coast mainline was at a standstill until around 10pm - complete news blackout, if you weren't directly caught up in it there was no way of finding out what had occurred. Who knows what other threats were also embargoed, to prevent the goal of eliciting the feeling of terror.
Then 9/11 happened and suddenly keeping the nation in constant terror seemed to be the primary goal.
That's weird I was probably living in Newcastle at that time. I was living in Newcastle on 9/11 but was on holiday on the day.