Did you watch the film, Riding a C90 Through Iran, where everyone seemed happy and friendly. The young English biker did not need to buy any food while he was there as the Iranians just gave him food for nothing. Then at one point he pulled up at a place to buy petrol and they invited him in for lunch and gave him a nice meal. They couldn't speak any English but they loved his company, and after the meal they offered him a choice of cigarettes. When it was time for the English biker to leave they gave him the petrol for free. Everyone he met in Iran helped each other and were very friendly. It was like they were innocent, fun loving children untainted by cold, ruthless business values.
The video reminded me of when I was a young boy where my friends and I had no money, but no one cared, we just shared everything. I had a deep bonding with my mates and loyalty was paramount. Looking back, I can see how much we loved each other. Everyday we looked forward with utter enthusiasm to meeting each other again. My best mates!
Now look at the UK, it is totally competitive and children are constantly graded all through school, and unless you are in the the top 30%, you are going nowhere. And everyone is on the make, no comradeship, just libertarianism where your only worth is financial, or what you can earn. No wonder so many kids are unhappy. Neoliberalism has created a horrible society. Kevin Vincent.
More than 100,000 children aged 14 in the UK are self-harming, with one in four girls of this age having deliberately hurt themselves, according to a new report.
In figures that show the scale of the mental health crisis affecting young people, the Children’s Survey analysed a survey of 11,000 14-year-olds which found that a quarter of girls and nearly one in 10 boys had self-harmed in a year.
The charity estimated that 110,000 children aged 14 may be self-harming, including 76,000 girls and 33,000 boys.
Experts have put the behaviour down to a combination of pressure from school, austerity and gender expectations.
“It is deeply worrying that so many children are unhappy to the extent that they are self-harming. Worries about how they look are a big issue, especially for girls,” said Matthew Reed, the chief executive of the Children’s Society.
The charity analysed figures from the millennium cohort survey, carried out by researchers from University College London, which follows children born in the UK in 2000-01.
The report also included a survey of children aged 10-17 and their parents across 2,000 households, which found that the issues of most concern to children were school and their appearance.
Nearly a quarter (24%) said they heard jokes or comments about other people’s bodies or looks all the time, while more than a fifth (22%) of those in secondary school said jokes or comments were often made about people’s sexual activity. Both made girls feel much worse about their appearance and less happy with their life as a whole, but this pattern did not apply to boys.
Neoliberalism has created a horrible society. kv
ReplyDeleteNeo-liberalism certainly includes the use of what is, in essence because of government privileges for the banks, the public's credit but for private gain. Hence the problem of unjust wealth distribution.
So where are the MMT proposals to eliminate those privileges? I've seen none. Warren Mosler would, in fact, greatly increase those privileges.
So how does one solve a problem by making it worse?
“Just say no” to self harming....
ReplyDeleteObviously kids are depressed these days, and they are becoming more so. That said, this article smells of identity politics in its depiction of girls as somehow more “oppressed” than boys.
ReplyDeleteHere’s the deal…
If 99 percent of males disappeared, the remaining 1% could quickly repopulate the species. Males are essentially sperm cells -- i.e. they are disposable. Male expendability causes sexual frustration in most young males. Alpha males get sex, while all other males are discarded by nature and by society.
Females have no grasp of this male expendability factor. For females, all boys are “privileged,” while all girls are “victims.”
Sexual frustration in young males becomes worse each year. This may be why more and more males become homosexuals and “trans-genders.” Unable to get close to women, they become “women.” Or they become gay. However their sexual frustration remains, and it combines with gender dysphoria to create neurosis, which in turn causes hostility to themselves and others. (Suicide rates among trans-sexuals are higher than average.)
All of this serves neoliberals and their toadies, since anxiety, depression, and divisiveness keep the peasants from uniting against their owners.
Alpha males get sex, while all other males are discarded by nature and by society.
ReplyDeleteMonogamy is a correction for natural distribution which favors the alphas but creates social problems in civilized society, where violence is controlled institutionally, e.g., the state has a monopoly on use of violence.
The is the major issue with the non-aggression principle. It is not natural and requires enforcement. Equal enforcement under the rule of law is the basis of modern society and that function is performed by the modern state.
The issue is not getting rid of government but changing the nature of governance to preclude state capture by a group (class), .e.g. the alphas.
“This may be why more and more males become homosexuals and “trans-genders.”
ReplyDeleteNow you sound like Mike Pence...