The Policy Blender

Not really much amiss, unless you want to start adding memorials to the masses people who slogged for twenty hours a time in work houses, or the press-ganged sailors who manned the Merchant and Imperial fleets of the Monarchs of the time, perhaps even the conscripted soldiers, surfs or peasants? All played an important role in the economic dominance of the British Empire in days less liberal than now, and all can feel duly 'oppressed'. Where would we stop I wonder?

I suspect the programme that you watched may be symptomatic of the victim culture that is endemic within modern society. People are now encouraged, with help from myriad grief-mongering special-case groups eager to cash in by associating with any potential victimhood, to cast themselves as victims of society, rather than contributors towards it.

Everybody loved the Jews after the Holocaust. There is enormous political capital to be gained by being a victim in the modern world. Nobody likes the Jews now they have decided that they're not going to be bullied by terrorism and everybody feels sorry for the Palestinians because they do such a good job of painting themselves as victims.

Yes, slavery is a regrettable aspect of our past. But what is more regrettable now is that we have developed a culture where people are increasingly more celebrated for saying 'poor me' than they are for getting off their arses and doing something for themselves and improving their lot. We've become addicted to grief. The Diana phenomenon oozed its way into the mainstream in the late nineties and culminated in an orgasm of self-indulgent grief as value-void drones publicly masturbated their victimhood following her death. Now we're all those sad tossers, standing tearfully outside a house we're never been in, wailing about some tart we've never met.
It's as if we're all to bare the emotional weight of the whole world on each of our shoulders whist simultaneously being encouraged to wallow in our own self-pity so that others can care about us too. We're to care for every single injustice and wail about our own lot at the same time. It's as if the natural human instinct to do well and take care of those around us has collapsed under its own weight, now a tepid jellified pile of guilt and pity occupies our psyche where before would have been a tower of strength and motivation from which we could hold firm for ourselves and for our fellow man.

I'm not opposed to lamenting the past. Nor am I advocating selfishness. But I am opposed to the people who seek to gain victim status, and the political capital that is associated with it, by linking themselves to events that are beyond their, or indeed anyone else's, control. And I am advocating that people should be encouraged to help themselves. If more people actually got off their arses and helped themselves then those that really need help can be more readily assisted by those in a position to do so.

I remember thinking the same thing about the time we were talking about the NHS, or pensions or disability allowance or something. That is, that I'd (if it were my choice) love to provide services and support for those that need them, but invariably they would be claimed by people that didn't.

He did say an apology would be nice though. Especially considering how the Pope said sorry recently (JPII, not Ben) and how the Queen apologised a few years ago for messing with the Maoris, 150 years ago. A lot of business people said the best way to show your regret is to live a good life from then on, it didn't satisfy your man in the photo.

You're right, an apology wouldn't go amiss. The reason none is forthcoming is because it would be taken as a legal admission of liability - e.g. if you are involved in a car accident, you should never apologise to the other driver as they could take that as an admission of guilt and your insurance might not pay out.

I'm all for getting on with it.

It's probably very profitable.

There's another money-making idea for us...

"The Child Blender"

...blend me a child slave...

Yep.

I'm quite serious; it's a potential goldmine, well, child-mine.

I think we'd get a premium for kids from Japan and Singapore, since they are regarded by pedagogists to be the best educated in the world.

They are also generally smaller, so we could get more to a crate during shipping.

I think we should tag them, like cabbage patch kids.

I can see the marketing now:

"Need to nip to the shops?... Send the little Nip"

"Too nippy out to wash the car?.. That's a job for your little nip"

We'll be rich, rich I say!

I'm working on an order form.

busted.

I have an idea. Let's make an attention-seeking-blender!