Life imitating art or just media sensationalism? (The Wire content)

[Ian Price]

Just reading this and I haven't seen any dodgy goings on in my 'hood recently. Also, does Chris Grayling think he is Mayor Carcetti? I think he does with a little speech like that!


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8219482.stm

[Plexi Ken]

He said: "When The Wire comes to Britain's streets, it is the poor who suffer most. It is the poor who are the ones who have borne the brunt of the surge in violence under this government. "It is they who struggle to live their lives against a constant fear of crime.

How would he know? He went to the Royal Grammar School in High Wycombe and did a degree in History at Sidney Sussex College in Cambridge. Followed by a successfully carer at the BBC, Channel 4 and other media companies. What does he know about the life's of 'the poor' or their daily experience  :roll:


From Wikipedia...

Betwwen 2001 and 2009,[1] Grayling claimed for a flat in Pimlico, close to the House of Commons, despite having a constituency home less than 17 miles away[2] and owning two buy to let properties in Wimbledon.[3] Grayling claimed over £100,000 for the flat between 2001 and 2007.[4] The Mirror reported that Grayling would benefit from the increase in the price of the flat, at least £100,000.[4] Grayling says he uses the flat when "working very late" because he needs to "work very erratic and late hours most days when the House of Commons is sitting."[5]

During the Parliamentary expenses scandal, The Telegraph reported that Grayling refitted and redecorated the flat in 2005 at a cost of thousands of pounds. The newspaper alleged Grayling "spread the cost over two years" by submitting receipts in both 2005-06 and 2006-07, avoiding the upper limit for expense claims.[2] Grayling said that both the water and electrical systems failed "leaving the place needing a major overhaul"

He's obviously missed all the episodes of The Wire about political corruption 


For me the lesson of The Wire, was that no matter who you are (drug dealer, assassin, teacher, politician, police, media reporter, etc.) you will encounter the whole spectrum of human failings, from the power-crazed Machiavelli to those with 'high' principles who are forced (or reluctantly choose) to compromise. But most folks are just trying to make it though the day,

[MrBump]

A Tory MP trying to be "hip".

Nothing more tragic...

[mecca777]

Just another politician, playing to the prejudices of the uninformed. This soundbite has nothing to do with the experience of the poorest members of society, and everything to do with scaring Daily Mail readers so that they'll associate "Conservative" with "law and order" when they come to tick that box next year.

Still, it was noble of Grayling to step up to the plate and provide the next distraction so that the furore over those Tory MPs and MEPs who've been slagging the NHS off on American TV can die down...

(Cynic? Me?)

[Dmoney]

any surge of violence is down to the tories.
also, having been to those parts of baltimore, and from speaking to people from a bunch of US and candian cities (philadelphia, vancouver) i think we still have a fair way to go before things get that bad here/

[Philly Q]

any surge of violence is down to the tories.

Eh?  They haven't been in power for 12 years.  :?

[Dmoney]

whatever,
i think actions of governments take a while to take full effect. its not like labour got in and all of a sudden it was all rosie.
beside that, saying its down to one party is splitting hairs. I dont see a huge difference in mainstream political parties. labour are just as bad as the tories. they all need a smack in the face.
and yes, saying the UK is like the wire is pure sensationalism.
its not got to the point where council estates are police no go areas patrolled by gangsters on horse back yet.

EDIT: also, its not like the election of labour suddenly reversed a lot of what the tories did in their time in power. As is the Tories care if the UK is like the wire. they have moats to keep people away from their houses. I think if you want to be a member of a political party there is something wrong with you.

rightly or wrongly, i think a brick needs to go through every window on the house of parliment, and in the face of every cop who gets in the way.

[Philly Q]

So..... it isn't actually down to the Tories....  or Labour. 

I agree that there's very little difference between the main political parties, and that they're doing precious little to make our society any better. 

I don't agree about bricks or smacks in faces though.  Can't see that helping much.  :|

[Dmoney]

no worries.

I just get frustrated because i don't understand how to make a difference.
and if 'not voting' as a form of protest, peaceful protest or whatever is ignored, then i don't know what you have left. do you know what i mean?

unfortunetly I don't think violent protest can be totally disregarded. thats just what i think.

[Philly Q]

I just get frustrated because i don't understand how to make a difference.
and if 'not voting' as a form of protest, peaceful protest or whatever is ignored, then i don't know what you have left. do you know what i mean?

I do know what you mean.  I've always believed in voting, simply because we have the right to do so, but I do find it increasingly difficult to know who to vote for since it seems to make so little difference.  

I worry that not voting perhaps "lets in" more extremist parties - on the (questionable) assumption that their supporters are more likely to always vote.  Or it may be that a 30% turnout votes in exactly the same proportions as a 60% turnout - but I don't find any consolation in being one of the 70-odd percent who can say "well I didn't vote for 'em".

Violent protest is all very well as a "statement", but what does it achieve?  Who gets hurt?  Innocent people.  Policemen doing their jobs.  Even if you have a full-scale revolution (which let's face it, ain't gonna happen), someone has to pick up the pieces, someone has to get things done.  And they all end up being corrupted.

I think perhaps the only real way to make a difference is to play the game and enter politics, maybe as an independent.  The problem there is that independents tend to stand on single, local, issues rather than actually having a broad range of policies.  But maybe if enough strong-minded people stood on an "anti traditional party politics" platform we'd at least end up with serious debate in parliament and coalitions based on genuine good intentions.  It'd be a tortuous process though.   Not something I'd want to do!

[38thBeatle]

I had this crazy idea that I haven't thought through yet but it goes something like: We replace the House of Lords (or a portion of it-some of the guys in the Lords are actually worth having around though I don't put Mandy or Kinnock into that category) with a chamber filled with people who are picked in a similar way to jury service-so that you get a cross section of the public and their job would be to debate policies from the point of view of we poor sods who are on the receiving end of the legislation and hopefully influence Government policy in some way. Or at least act as a debating/amending chamber. Like I say I haven't thought it through but I do feel tha the career politicians are out of touch and that party politics and "isms" are a thing of the past. Loads of flaws in what I have said I do realise but I think we do need to completely review the way we do things and to get to the principle of having a Government that serves the public and acts in the public interest. Flame away good fellows.

[HTH AMPS]

I think that renationalisation of anything that is considered essential and also public services should be the first thing.

After that, an overhaul of the whole system is clearly needed.  The Tories have multiple millionaires on the front bench - wtf?

[38thBeatle]

Yeah but there are quite a few Nu Labour cabinet politicians who are hardly destitute.

[Will]

Traditionally, politics was occupied by those who could afford to do an unpaid job. Some of that kind of people are still in parliament. Before they got extensive expenses paid and salaries.
And then those people are often there just to line their own pockets

The White house seems to have quite a strong family heritage IIRC, my old politics teacher explained a lot, but (ofcourse) the only one I can think of is the Kennedy's.

[Philly Q]

The White house seems to have quite a strong family heritage IIRC, my old politics teacher explained a lot, but (ofcourse) the only one I can think of is the Kennedy's.

And the Bushes! 

The Roosevelts were related too, but only distant cousins I think.