As I approach 60 I now understand what I did not 20 years ago. I used to wonder at conversations where people talked about living in isolated places, no tv and staying away from people they felt uncomfortable with. Digital technology was a no no to them.
Like I said, I now have an understanding of their position. I do a search on the internet to find information, all of a sudden my social media is flooded with associated adverts and suggestions. Unsolicited email and phone calls are now a daily occurrence. On checking the numbers calling they are either totally made up or are imitating local numbers.
I used to wonder how stupid people were by being caught up in spoof communications and losing so much money. At this time of year I am usually up to my eyes in deadlines to meet while dealing with very inclement weather. Today I was nearly caught out by telephone calls allegedly from paypal. Luckily I twigged they were at it and told them where they could go.
Another reason I am ratty is all the lies, mistruths and down right blatant photoshopping etc that is going on during these Westminster elections. Social media is so full of lies that no wonder people have some weird perceptions of who will look after them best in government. There is absolutely nowhere safe to go to find out the truth. Our traditional media (for those of us in the 55+ bracket). Fair to say it has never totally told the truth but when the main reporters are being outed as lying, how can we believe anything they broadcast? So called fact checks are biased in the leaning of the team doing the fact checks.
Social media and blogging allow the people behind the pages to be anonymous. Anyone who has one of these pages has an axe to grind. They have strong views and wish to share them with people who may be like minded. It becomes all too easy for some of these people to become embroiled in differences with each other and to try to influence the others following subscribers. Inevitably this results in much nastiness and perhaps even going to court. What are these pages serving, apart from their own egos? Many people following some of these pages should step back, ask a few questions the main one being is this person helping me decide how I should be voting.
To be slightly fair, the politicians have asked for this. If they had been honest enough to simply stick to what their manifestos were, promote the future they wanted, the various medias would have had nowhere to go. The clambering of the main parties to see how far right they could go to outdo each other caused all this havoc. Let Farage in and all the chaos his followers caused. Name calling and shouted abuse started to become the norm. Main media went along with it and almost gleefully reported it.
I feel society as portrayed through the media has become a very nasty place. Luckily I still get out and about and meet some nice people. Having said that, two new members to the craft group I go to shouted out during a political discussion “we are tories and hate the SNP”. Was there any need to say they hated the SNP? Once upon a time declaring you were tory was enough. Why do people feel the need to add on words like hate, despise or any other nasty or negative saying?
Great Britain has become a place where people can do and say what they like, behave in whatever manner allows them to accrue money, position, influence. Decency and democracy are dying. Watching the nonsense being played out in Westminster in the last year has been a disgrace. Perhaps the old boys were right, the chamber should never have been televised. The behaviour from this chamber has led the ordinary person to believe they can behave like that with no comeback. The last few weeks in that place before it closed for the election showed there was nothing 20th century about it. Women treated despicably, as were MPs from countries out with England. These MPs were all equally elected to that parliament but some obviously think they are more equal than others.
I shall knock doors to see our vote gets out. I shall probably watch the results coming in (for some time anyway) but thanks to the bias, the lies, skulldugery that has gone on during this election I fear for what the outcome may be. For the first time in my life I am truly thinking of emigrating. I hope it doesn’t come to that but that is how disgusted I am at the way people are treating each other. If you have a vision for your people you should be promoting it with pride and joy. Not telling downright lies and hiding the truth.