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Sorry @JWestland, I didn't mean to imply you were calling me (or anyone else) names.
Yes, we are all in the shit :-( Lots of shitty views but I'd probably blame a lot more on social rather than traditional media - the stories (I'd like to call them "truths") coming out this week about facebook and twitter have "hidden" right wing agendas encoded in their algorithms are very very scary even if completely expected. Edward Snowden's autobiography Permanent Record is a pretty interesting read on the topic (I highly recommend it as it's a pretty good read in any case), as is Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff (but that's a lot more dense and harder to read).
Still, we're not going to be able to tackle rising food prices, transport difficulties, rising energy prices (and consequent loss of heating etc) unless we get together and try to do something about it as a group. Divided we fall - and that just feeds the uber-capitalists who are sucking us dry and makes them stronger. The "me, me, me" individualism culture that we're breeding in the UK (and elsewhere, of course) is designed to create inequality, to pit us against each other. Unless we can overcome that, we've not a hope in a million.
And inequality is devastating (including for the rich actually - they have shorter life spans, worse health outcomes and less happiness when they live in unequal societies. Plus worse outcomes on many other indicators too). There's lots of research to show this is true. The following article has some explanation:
The UK has one of the highest levels of inequality in Europe:
Even the UK government says there is marked inequality in the country - of course they don't say it quite like that: they say, "The areas where people have the highest income are not always those that contribute the most to the economy."
I'm sure you know most of that stuff anyway, but I hope that the links and ideas might be useful for others too.
I also agree that the NI protocol is turning into another cliffhanger - just another way of keeping us all divided.
PS, final point, I don't think that Labour are (necessarily) the answer. I think the issues are bigger than party politics, what we really need to do is to build grass roots alliances. As I said before, I dream ;-)
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d0cA
I have never called anybody names etc. I think a lot of stereotyping is also not helpful.
Sure, for many Brexit was a hope of a better life and they weren't seeing the issues.
I've talked to people who believed the NHS slogan and one felt sorry for me.
I just think it can't just come from one side all the time. There is little acknowledgement of the hurt.
That's just me though, others are trying to befriend brexiters.
Others will not even talk to them due to the hurt.
A lot of it is the old saying that you can't reason people out if things they didn't reason themselves into.
But now we are all in the shit and I'm not patient or forgiving enough to go bridge building right now. Too many shitty views that I know come from the papers but not there yet.
It's my life that's screwed with not theirs. (Though it seems that now the project fear is truly starting, can't say I'm pleased to see rising food prices with so much poverty...)
I hope you can see your family again soon. The pandemic sucks.