It’s time for us to say ‘enough’ Joanna Blythman
on material greed IT BROUGHT a tear to my eye, really it did, listening to Heather Mills's impassioned plea for financial justice on behalf of poor little Beatrice. Five years old, and already at the workhouse door because she only has a hopelessly inadequate £35,000-a-year to live on. Just imagine the terrible hardship, not to mention psychological trauma that will be inflicted on the poor little mite. There's Daddy, riding up front in first class, nibbling on canapés and sipping champagne, and then there's Beatrice, roughing it back in refugee class, queueing for the lavatory, ankle-deep in a sea of discarded Pringles and UHT orange juice cartons.
Mills's belligerent advocacy on her daughter's behalf was a bravura performance, if brash, staggeringly unaware, insensitive and most definitely, self-wounding. Just like Marie Antoinette before her, Mills is a one-woman walking PR disaster whose limited skills of anticipation and skewed view of how she comes across to others have led her to misjudge her audience in a monumental way. You wonder if Paul McCartney actually needed the services of his excellent lawyer, Fiona Shackleton. With an ex-wife like Mills, you only need to wind her up and let her mouth off, and every judge on the planet is automatically on your side.
Greedy? Thick? Mad? Theories abound as to what, exactly, makes Mills tick. It's easy to dismiss her as a grasping Walter Mitty-style fantasist, but in her aspirations, is she really so radically different from lots of us? True, playing the poverty card was heavy-handed, a characteristic miscalculation of epic scale. But if you got Mills in a quiet room and asked her why, oh why she expected us to empathise with her, she might just say that she was only expressing sentiments shared by our increasingly affluent society. Haven't we all got the right to be rich? Don't we all yearn to buy our way out of that "B-class life"?
Mills's remarks certainly lacked a sense of proportion, but they are more in tune with contemporary aspirations than we like to think. Aren't we all a bit stuck on a ladder that leads to ever more material attainment, one that has disappointment and fear of failure build into it? Disappointment, because we are never happy with what we've got. Like children at Christmas, we are bored with our presents. No sooner have we ripped off the wrappers than we are striving for bigger and better ones. Fear, because we fret that not having all the outward trappings of wealth consigns us to a miserable existence as a member of some pariah class.
Nowadays, it's not good enough to just have a nice holiday, it has to be the holiday of a lifetime. Jeans won't do any longer, we need "designer" jeans. No wedding is worth contemplating unless it costs upwards of £10,000. Anything that is cheap, serviceable and durable is unglamorous. Phones, TVs, stereo players, Walkmen our homes are scrapyards of gizmos and redundant technology that has been surpassed by newer and better "must-haves" that feed our feeling of self worth.
Mills could do with reading the new book by John Naish called Enough. Naish believes that we are locked into a cycle of infinite consumption in a culture that has one overriding message - we do not yet have all we need to be satisfied. "The answer, we are told, is to have, see, be and do more. Always more", he writes. But this ever-expanding world of new wants is bearing strange fruit: stress, depression and burnout are all rising fast, even though we live amid unprecedented abundance. His solution to this conundrum? All of us, not just the former Mrs McCartney, need to start practising "enoughness" - the tipping point beyond which getting any more of anything makes life worse, not better.
Enoughness philosophy extends to our almost pathological pursuit of personal happiness. Endless "New You" makeover shows, self-help books and "I want it all and I want it now" consumerism is leaving us miserable, tetchy, anxious and a little bit unhinged. Instead we need to be more resigned to being merely content, or even, not actively unhappy, something that is hard to do when we are constantly exposed to images of the world's most beautiful women and wealthy men that make us feel inadequate by comparison. As it turns out, we're barking up the wrong tree aping the rich and famous anyway. The London School of Economics' World Happiness Survey rates Bangladesh as the most contented nation on the planet, while Britain ranks 32nd and the US 46th.
As I write, a call centre rings on behalf of my garage. My car is all of four years old. Am I thinking of replacing it? For a few seconds I experience mild anxiety. Is the car depreciating hopelessly? If I don't spend money that I haven't got to upgrade it now, will I rue it later? Then I think, to hell with that, the car's fine. And anyway, the mortgage is shooting up next month. I'm in a "post-more" phase and I'm practising "enough". And you know what, it makes me feel oddly centred, this satisfaction of saying no. Not outrageously happy, perhaps, but contented enough.
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Posted by: Bruce on 10:22pm Sat 22 Mar 08
how true, my car is 37 years old and better than any modern plastic car and it has free road tax
how true, my car is 37 years old and better than any modern plastic car and it has free road tax
Posted by: Observer on 10:35pm Sat 22 Mar 08
You make the assumption that we have all bought in to the materialistic culture which surrounds us which is incorrect. Heather Mills is bonkers I feel sorry for her child and money isn't everything.
You make the assumption that we have all bought in to the materialistic culture which surrounds us which is incorrect. Heather Mills is bonkers I feel sorry for her child and money isn't everything.
Posted by: Strathturret, Montrose on 12:35am Sun 23 Mar 08
I was unaware of Heather Mills before this week.
She does seem to be a particularly nasty piece of work. Paul Macartny is well rid of her.
I was unaware of Heather Mills before this week.
She does seem to be a particularly nasty piece of work. Paul Macartny is well rid of her.
Posted by: jomellon, Lodève, France on 9:01am Sun 23 Mar 08
Actually, here is western Europe we are living in paradise if we have even modest means:
medical care, no war, enough (too much!) food, good accomodation, entertainment...
What actually makes us happy once we have the material basics are the quality of our human contacts, not material things.
Actually, here is western Europe we are living in paradise if we have even modest means:
medical care, no war, enough (too much!) food, good accomodation, entertainment...
What actually makes us happy once we have the material basics are the quality of our human contacts, not material things.
Posted by: mt on 9:15am Sun 23 Mar 08
The washing machine was a necessity in our house with the weans and working clothes but it spun its last just before Christmas. The new one came in a cardboard box. Santa should have bothered coming to our house that year because his gifts were ignored. Doors and windows were carefully cut and fastened with coloured wool. A small hole was cut in the top and a torch inserted. A notice was attached to the door that only small people were allowed in (only small people could get in). No one could move in the living room due to Christmas tree and cardboard house. After the house was inadvertently demolished, it became a garage and a phone box. There are still precious bits in the loft which have been drawn on, Picasso standard.
We were the envy of the neighbourhood.
The washing machine was a necessity in our house with the weans and working clothes but it spun its last just before Christmas. The new one came in a cardboard box. Santa should have bothered coming to our house that year because his gifts were ignored. Doors and windows were carefully cut and fastened with coloured wool. A small hole was cut in the top and a torch inserted. A notice was attached to the door that only small people were allowed in (only small people could get in). No one could move in the living room due to Christmas tree and cardboard house. After the house was inadvertently demolished, it became a garage and a phone box. There are still precious bits in the loft which have been drawn on, Picasso standard.
We were the envy of the neighbourhood.
Posted by: The Wise One, Glasgow on 9:29am Sun 23 Mar 08
Re poor little Beatrice, don't forget that the child benefit has been raised from April to £20, giving another £1000 per annum for the poor lass. And all tax free!
I am sure there are millions of families worldwide who would sell there souls to get £36000 per annum.
JB for once has written an article which the readers can associate with. There are two perceived types of happiness:
One is being wealthy and never having to worry about payung bills, being able to buy expensive things,
The other is the happiness which comes from relationships, loving others and being loved.
The latter brings contentment, sadly the first often brings misery.
Re poor little Beatrice, don't forget that the child benefit has been raised from April to £20, giving another £1000 per annum for the poor lass. And all tax free!
I am sure there are millions of families worldwide who would sell there souls to get £36000 per annum.
JB for once has written an article which the readers can associate with. There are two perceived types of happiness:
One is being wealthy and never having to worry about payung bills, being able to buy expensive things,
The other is the happiness which comes from relationships, loving others and being loved.
The latter brings contentment, sadly the first often brings misery.
Posted by: FPG, lothian on 9:55am Sun 23 Mar 08
Speak for yourself, Joanna. I'm with Oberver on this one.
I live in a crappy flat in a crappy area and I drive a crappy car. I earn a decent enough living that I could easily move to a much better area and drive something far more stylish. But I would then be enslaving myself to a bank and my employers, and endlessly worrying about paying bills and what would happen if I lost my job. I refused to play their capitalist game and right now, I am so glad that I did.
Speak for yourself, Joanna. I'm with Oberver on this one.
I live in a crappy flat in a crappy area and I drive a crappy car. I earn a decent enough living that I could easily move to a much better area and drive something far more stylish. But I would then be enslaving myself to a bank and my employers, and endlessly worrying about paying bills and what would happen if I lost my job. I refused to play their capitalist game and right now, I am so glad that I did.
Posted by: Charles McGrory, Glasgow on 10:14am Sun 23 Mar 08
Unfortunately for Heather Mills, she is a classic malfunctioning product of New-Brit Culture which too often produces get rich quickitis… on credit cards, rip off the other person, who wants to be a millionaire, the weakest link, big brother shows, reality mediocrity-celebrity
, addiction to cheap booze, street yobbery… and on….
For me, I still can’t get used to walking in the street where folk seem blind to my presence and try to walk right through me.
New-Britland is no longer a team or community –it has more resemblance to a colony of seagulls, all squawking and screeching on a whitening rock.
In Glasgow the other day, I saw an ad on a bus shelter… it displayed this group of very young women looking ecstatic, oh so deliriously happy… the caption, “Let the shopping begin!”
With the oncoming collapse of the Greed-Bubble Economy, led by our most clever bankers and the Great Helmsman Broon, these poor young souls are headed for a real spiritual crisis-depression.
Imagine millions of ‘Heather Mills’ …. without money…
Joanne puts her figure squarely on the problem – spirituality vs. materialism.
Just in case you all feel I am being patronising or holier than thou… some several years ago, having good real estate holdings, cars, yacht, even a small private plane and still not happy… by instinct, I went away up into the Canadian bush & lake country – sort of a spiritual retreat without God
An old farmer told me on my way in,
“You will either come back out whole and stronger or come out in pieces…”
I came back out and it was all very clear and simple - I did not need all that Stuff… I simplified, I have one 10 year old car here in Alba and another 20 year old car back in the bush with half a million miles on it. My life style is much less obvious – some old ‘friends’ think I failed or just went nuts.
Me? I am OK.
PS. I got rid of my Heather Mills!
Unfortunately for Heather Mills, she is a classic malfunctioning product of New-Brit Culture which too often produces get rich quickitis… on credit cards, rip off the other person, who wants to be a millionaire, the weakest link, big brother shows, reality mediocrity-celebrity
, addiction to cheap booze, street yobbery… and on….
For me, I still can’t get used to walking in the street where folk seem blind to my presence and try to walk right through me.
New-Britland is no longer a team or community –it has more resemblance to a colony of seagulls, all squawking and screeching on a whitening rock.
In Glasgow the other day, I saw an ad on a bus shelter… it displayed this group of very young women looking ecstatic, oh so deliriously happy… the caption, “Let the shopping begin!”
With the oncoming collapse of the Greed-Bubble Economy, led by our most clever bankers and the Great Helmsman Broon, these poor young souls are headed for a real spiritual crisis-depression.
Imagine millions of ‘Heather Mills’ …. without money…
Joanne puts her figure squarely on the problem – spirituality vs. materialism.
Just in case you all feel I am being patronising or holier than thou… some several years ago, having good real estate holdings, cars, yacht, even a small private plane and still not happy… by instinct, I went away up into the Canadian bush & lake country – sort of a spiritual retreat without God
An old farmer told me on my way in,
“You will either come back out whole and stronger or come out in pieces…”
I came back out and it was all very clear and simple - I did not need all that Stuff… I simplified, I have one 10 year old car here in Alba and another 20 year old car back in the bush with half a million miles on it. My life style is much less obvious – some old ‘friends’ think I failed or just went nuts.
Me? I am OK.
PS. I got rid of my Heather Mills!
Posted by: Bruce, Ayrshire on 10:32am Sun 23 Mar 08
Charles wrote: "For me, I still can’t get used to walking in the street where folk seem blind to my presence and try to walk right through me. "
Charles, I thought I was the only one to notice this phenomenon! For the past four or five years I have seen this rise increasingly, to the point where I really have to stop myself from blasting out at the culprits "AM I SO EFFING INVISIBLE?". I notice it more from young people, but older ones do it to. It seems folks are so wrapped up on their way to the Hight Street that mere human beings in front of them are simply a hindrance to their destination, or is it ignorance is on the rise? I was brought up to anticipate, especially in a narrow space, the actions of someone coming in the opposite direction and move to the right, with the full expectation they would do the same. Now? I find myself almost apologetically cowering to any side of the oncoming juggernaut of ignorance that seems oblivious to my rights as a fellow being - indeed, I feel subjugated by their superiority and self-centred vision of their walkway/path/pavemen
t/space.
All very depressing. It seems we are truly heading for a society of selfishness, ignorance and downright boorishness. It may not be aggressive in nature, and may seem a little thing to most people, but this type of selfishness speaks volumes for the self-centred values that people are beginning to accept as the norm.
Very depressing. Happy easter all...
Charles wrote: "For me, I still can’t get used to walking in the street where folk seem blind to my presence and try to walk right through me. "
Charles, I thought I was the only one to notice this phenomenon! For the past four or five years I have seen this rise increasingly, to the point where I really have to stop myself from blasting out at the culprits "AM I SO EFFING INVISIBLE?". I notice it more from young people, but older ones do it to. It seems folks are so wrapped up on their way to the Hight Street that mere human beings in front of them are simply a hindrance to their destination, or is it ignorance is on the rise? I was brought up to anticipate, especially in a narrow space, the actions of someone coming in the opposite direction and move to the right, with the full expectation they would do the same. Now? I find myself almost apologetically cowering to any side of the oncoming juggernaut of ignorance that seems oblivious to my rights as a fellow being - indeed, I feel subjugated by their superiority and self-centred vision of their walkway/path/pavemen
t/space.
All very depressing. It seems we are truly heading for a society of selfishness, ignorance and downright boorishness. It may not be aggressive in nature, and may seem a little thing to most people, but this type of selfishness speaks volumes for the self-centred values that people are beginning to accept as the norm.
Very depressing. Happy easter all...
Posted by: Bruce, Ayrshire on 10:34am Sun 23 Mar 08
I forgot to add that the ignorant actions I refer to barely diminished when I was crippled with a back problem and had to walk with the aid of sticks. I felt like a fly getting swatted sometimes.
I forgot to add that the ignorant actions I refer to barely diminished when I was crippled with a back problem and had to walk with the aid of sticks. I felt like a fly getting swatted sometimes.
Posted by: Noddie, Cumbernauld on 10:46am Sun 23 Mar 08
Some of us, I suspect many of us, said 'enough' a long time ago.
So, I'm not 'a bit stuck on a ladder of material attainment'. I'm not planning the 'holiday of a lifetime'. I dont wear anything 'designer'. My home (and it is, for the most part mine, not the banks) isn't full of last years must have tat. Nor btw do I need to read a book or catch, like a cold, the latest zeitgeist to be this way.
Fact is I'm happy with my lot and allways have been. I used to feel sorry for people who believed they had to buy their way to contentment. Now, I've come to loath them and quite frankly I'm relishing the prospect of them having a large bucket of cold, hard reality thrown into their stupid, grasping faces.
Some of us, I suspect many of us, said 'enough' a long time ago.
So, I'm not 'a bit stuck on a ladder of material attainment'. I'm not planning the 'holiday of a lifetime'. I dont wear anything 'designer'. My home (and it is, for the most part mine, not the banks) isn't full of last years must have tat. Nor btw do I need to read a book or catch, like a cold, the latest zeitgeist to be this way.
Fact is I'm happy with my lot and allways have been. I used to feel sorry for people who believed they had to buy their way to contentment. Now, I've come to loath them and quite frankly I'm relishing the prospect of them having a large bucket of cold, hard reality thrown into their stupid, grasping faces.
Posted by: me too, glasgow on 10:46am Sun 23 Mar 08
charles and bruce..
yeah, it's a strange, but it does appear to be a glasgow thing.
careful FPG, your crap binge must end sometime!
the only way to avoid materialism in todays society would be to live down a hole in the middle of nowhere.
however even a hole might be seen as materialistic by some..
charles and bruce..
yeah, it's a strange, but it does appear to be a glasgow thing.
careful FPG, your crap binge must end sometime!
the only way to avoid materialism in todays society would be to live down a hole in the middle of nowhere.
however even a hole might be seen as materialistic by some..
Posted by: Ken Marshall, Lower Greenwich, Canada on 10:53am Sun 23 Mar 08
The last paragraph of the article says it all.
If the american administration EVERY reads their Bibles ( I know that they HAVE never read one sentence ) they would know about greed and rich men going through... ( sorry thru ) the eye of a needle.
The last paragraph of the article says it all.
If the american administration EVERY reads their Bibles ( I know that they HAVE never read one sentence ) they would know about greed and rich men going through... ( sorry thru ) the eye of a needle.
Posted by: RonnieS, Glasgow on 11:01am Sun 23 Mar 08
With Charles McG on the "Because Glasgow loves shopping" ads for the malls featuring mall rats.. they always induce a faint nausea
but money does have its comforts.... I am always slightly amazed when I order a hardback book and don't have to think about it... :-)
With Charles McG on the "Because Glasgow loves shopping" ads for the malls featuring mall rats.. they always induce a faint nausea
but money does have its comforts.... I am always slightly amazed when I order a hardback book and don't have to think about it... :-)
Posted by: Charles McGrory, Glasgow on 11:14am Sun 23 Mar 08
Glad to hear I am not alone on being walked through.
I have a two new techniques.
First: I pretend they are not there and wait for the last differential moment and we collide, kind of like the dodgems! Very stressful.. for me. I'd rather be with the bears and the wolves.
Second: this technique is more fun. They come at me, blind to my being there; I wait till say 3 feet apart and I stop dead in my tracks, neither left nor right nor back do I move. Suddenly the blind being sees me, genuine consternation shows on the robot face, it stops too! Then it has to move to the left or right. A small win for me.. Until one of them punches me? Always a possibility...
Yes a wee bit money helps. I recently bought War and Peace - paperback - very cost-effective!
Glad to hear I am not alone on being walked through.
I have a two new techniques.
First: I pretend they are not there and wait for the last differential moment and we collide, kind of like the dodgems! Very stressful.. for me. I'd rather be with the bears and the wolves.
Second: this technique is more fun. They come at me, blind to my being there; I wait till say 3 feet apart and I stop dead in my tracks, neither left nor right nor back do I move. Suddenly the blind being sees me, genuine consternation shows on the robot face, it stops too! Then it has to move to the left or right. A small win for me.. Until one of them punches me? Always a possibility...
Yes a wee bit money helps. I recently bought War and Peace - paperback - very cost-effective!
Posted by: Ishmael on 12:26pm Sun 23 Mar 08
I'm sick of journalists who say "we" are this, "we" are that, as if their own traits are somehow ones that everyone shares. No "we" are not all consumed by material greed, in the same way "we" are not obsessed with celebrities and fashion. Maybe these are obsessions within the media, but for most of the people I meet, our only obsessions are keeping up with the rising price of fuel and getting rid of this poxy government.
I'm sick of journalists who say "we" are this, "we" are that, as if their own traits are somehow ones that everyone shares. No "we" are not all consumed by material greed, in the same way "we" are not obsessed with celebrities and fashion. Maybe these are obsessions within the media, but for most of the people I meet, our only obsessions are keeping up with the rising price of fuel and getting rid of this poxy government.
Posted by: Adam on 12:59pm Sun 23 Mar 08
Here Here Ishmael!
This article is a load of pious pish, the fact that it starts with that idiotic Mills woman shows how lacking in reality the notion is.
Joanna Blythman may well "experience mild anxiety" when someone phones her up suggesting she replace her car, but frankly that is her problem, why is she bothering the rest of us with her adolescent hang ups? We are not all a bunch of halfwits.
Here Here Ishmael!
This article is a load of pious pish, the fact that it starts with that idiotic Mills woman shows how lacking in reality the notion is.
Joanna Blythman may well "experience mild anxiety" when someone phones her up suggesting she replace her car, but frankly that is her problem, why is she bothering the rest of us with her adolescent hang ups? We are not all a bunch of halfwits.
Posted by: James McMuppet, Scotland on 1:59pm Sun 23 Mar 08
[quote][bold]Adam[/bold] wrote:
Here Here Ishmael!
This article is a load of pious pish, the fact that it starts with that idiotic Mills woman shows how lacking in reality the notion is.
Joanna Blythman may well "experience mild anxiety" when someone phones her up suggesting she replace her car, but frankly that is her problem, why is she bothering the rest of us with her adolescent hang ups? We are not all a bunch of halfwits.[/quote] Adam, Ishmael, I suggest you get out the house, walk around the city and smell the coffee.
Participating in your own life for 99% of the time doesn't count. Of course she's not speaking for EVERYONE. Its not possible to do so. It's a newspaper column speaking about a collective social flu and whether you like it or not, your part of. Something tells me that your dignity being validated at steps of a newspaper in this
'me me culture' is more important that looking over the fence and seeing the world at work.
In actual fact, you and people like you are a parody of the problem. Mi, moi, me.
Yours
James McMuppet
Adam wrote:
Here Here Ishmael!
This article is a load of pious pish, the fact that it starts with that idiotic Mills woman shows how lacking in reality the notion is.
Joanna Blythman may well "experience mild anxiety" when someone phones her up suggesting she replace her car, but frankly that is her problem, why is she bothering the rest of us with her adolescent hang ups? We are not all a bunch of halfwits.
Adam, Ishmael, I suggest you get out the house, walk around the city and smell the coffee.
Participating in your own life for 99% of the time doesn't count. Of course she's not speaking for EVERYONE. Its not possible to do so. It's a newspaper column speaking about a collective social flu and whether you like it or not, your part of. Something tells me that your dignity being validated at steps of a newspaper in this
'me me culture' is more important that looking over the fence and seeing the world at work.
In actual fact, you and people like you are a parody of the problem. Mi, moi, me.
Yours
James McMuppet
Posted by: Alberto on 2:11pm Sun 23 Mar 08
The disease of 'Pure Greed' is obviously rife in the Country - and there are no finer exponents of this than our Political leaders - the only expertise they seem to possess!
They have no fear of 'illegality' and prosecution is almost unknown for their sins, even when admitted, and with supporting evidence to their guilt!
Their pockets must be exceedingly deep - and full, especially considering the number of 'officials with appropriate authority 'that must be kept in there for when needed, and as required, and are able to leap out at the drop of a hat to perform their marvellous 'juggling acts' with the Legal system' that seems - no matter what, and can blatantly come out with such statements as 'It's within the rules' - or other such lies as simple as 'It's not in the Public interest' - yet we are never consulted!
Become a Politician NOW - includes a one way ticket to a permanent place in Paradise - and possibly on a BOGOF basis, with the added 'Perk'- you don't have to buy anything at all!
The disease of 'Pure Greed' is obviously rife in the Country - and there are no finer exponents of this than our Political leaders - the only expertise they seem to possess!
They have no fear of 'illegality' and prosecution is almost unknown for their sins, even when admitted, and with supporting evidence to their guilt!
Their pockets must be exceedingly deep - and full, especially considering the number of 'officials with appropriate authority 'that must be kept in there for when needed, and as required, and are able to leap out at the drop of a hat to perform their marvellous 'juggling acts' with the Legal system' that seems - no matter what, and can blatantly come out with such statements as 'It's within the rules' - or other such lies as simple as 'It's not in the Public interest' - yet we are never consulted!
Become a Politician NOW - includes a one way ticket to a permanent place in Paradise - and possibly on a BOGOF basis, with the added 'Perk'- you don't have to buy anything at all!
Posted by: Disgusted Dorothy, Glasgow on 2:18pm Sun 23 Mar 08
It won't be covered in the press,but I've just been watching the great egg bike ride.
Thousands of bikers heading for Yorkhill Hospital, just like to say well done lads and lassies!
Eggselent turnout!
OK they might get a few lines, but certainly not what they deserve!
It won't be covered in the press,but I've just been watching the great egg bike ride.
Thousands of bikers heading for Yorkhill Hospital, just like to say well done lads and lassies!
Eggselent turnout!
OK they might get a few lines, but certainly not what they deserve!
Posted by: Adam on 2:46pm Sun 23 Mar 08
[quote]Of course she's not speaking for EVERYONE. Its not possible to do so. It's a newspaper column speaking about a collective social flu and whether you like it or not, your part of.[/quote]
Actually Mr McMuppet the point I was making is that no such 'social flu' exists, it is merely people like yourself and Ms Blythman that - for your own reasons - like to prentend that it does.
Don't flatter yourself that you possess some superior insight and the rest of us must "get out the house, walk around the city and smell the coffee", it is advice you need to take not give.
Of course she's not speaking for EVERYONE. Its not possible to do so. It's a newspaper column speaking about a collective social flu and whether you like it or not, your part of.
Actually Mr McMuppet the point I was making is that no such 'social flu' exists, it is merely people like yourself and Ms Blythman that - for your own reasons - like to prentend that it does.
Don't flatter yourself that you possess some superior insight and the rest of us must "get out the house, walk around the city and smell the coffee", it is advice you need to take not give.
Posted by: James McMuppet, Scotland on 3:06pm Sun 23 Mar 08
[quote][bold]Adam[/bold] wrote:
[quote]Of course she\'s not speaking for EVERYONE. Its not possible to do so. It\'s a newspaper column speaking about a collective social flu and whether you like it or not, your part of.[/quote]
Actually Mr McMuppet the point I was making is that no such \'social flu\' exists, it is merely people like yourself and Ms Blythman that - for your own reasons - like to prentend that it does.
Don\'t flatter yourself that you possess some superior insight and the rest of us must \"get out the house, walk around the city and smell the coffee\", it is advice you need to take not give. [/quote] Yes. All of the writings of history and of social context do not exist. The repeating nature of humans and their remarkable ability to not see past their own yard.
Where would we be, without people who say the world is just fine, because everything is rosy in [bold]their[/bold] garden.
Is there no social context Adam? Do these things affect us? If I am doing this for my own reason and am being subjective (an would be essentially giving a parody of you), then what is our social context in these days? Tell me this.
You can repeat enough times that it's all rosy, and no social flu exists and that journalists and me and are all spouting nonsense, if that makes your life that little bit more familiar and comfortable, so when thing do come crashing down, you were in no way part of the problem right?
Yours
James McMuppet
Adam wrote:
Of course she\'s not speaking for EVERYONE. Its not possible to do so. It\'s a newspaper column speaking about a collective social flu and whether you like it or not, your part of.
Actually Mr McMuppet the point I was making is that no such \'social flu\' exists, it is merely people like yourself and Ms Blythman that - for your own reasons - like to prentend that it does.
Don\'t flatter yourself that you possess some superior insight and the rest of us must \"get out the house, walk around the city and smell the coffee\", it is advice you need to take not give.
Yes. All of the writings of history and of social context do not exist. The repeating nature of humans and their remarkable ability to not see past their own yard.
Where would we be, without people who say the world is just fine, because everything is rosy in
their garden.
Is there no social context Adam? Do these things affect us? If I am doing this for my own reason and am being subjective (an would be essentially giving a parody of you), then what is our social context in these days? Tell me this.
You can repeat enough times that it's all rosy, and no social flu exists and that journalists and me and are all spouting nonsense, if that makes your life that little bit more familiar and comfortable, so when thing do come crashing down, you were in no way part of the problem right?
Yours
James McMuppet
Posted by: Alberto on 3:52pm Sun 23 Mar 08
I wonder if Heather Mills, whilst rejoicing her winnings has ever stopped to think about what the future may hold, and perhaps what her future losses may be!
Money may mean a lot to some, and everythng to some , but, fortunately its not the only thing in life that matters to many - there's more to life than 'It!' - as she may well find out, and soon!
I am sure that now, any man of financial substance would certainly not be interested in life with her - and anyone with 'Nowt' well, maybe, if only for 'experience' and possible financial gain at the end - if he dares!!!
I wonder if Heather Mills, whilst rejoicing her winnings has ever stopped to think about what the future may hold, and perhaps what her future losses may be!
Money may mean a lot to some, and everythng to some , but, fortunately its not the only thing in life that matters to many - there's more to life than 'It!' - as she may well find out, and soon!
I am sure that now, any man of financial substance would certainly not be interested in life with her - and anyone with 'Nowt' well, maybe, if only for 'experience' and possible financial gain at the end - if he dares!!!
Posted by: Adam on 3:54pm Sun 23 Mar 08
[quote]Yes. All of the writings of history and of social context do not exist. The repeating nature of humans and their remarkable ability to not see past their own yard.[/quote]
Oh dear - James, you are truly your fathers son.
Yes. All of the writings of history and of social context do not exist. The repeating nature of humans and their remarkable ability to not see past their own yard.
Oh dear - James, you are truly your fathers son.
Posted by: Myrmillo, Batavadorum on 5:59pm Sun 23 Mar 08
No more expensive restaurants, then....?
No more expensive restaurants, then....?
Posted by: James McMuppet, Scotland on 8:11pm Sun 23 Mar 08
[quote][bold]Adam[/bold] wrote:
[quote]Yes. All of the writings of history and of social context do not exist. The repeating nature of humans and their remarkable ability to not see past their own yard.[/quote]
Oh dear - James, you are truly your fathers son.[/quote] Your wit won't save you Adam.
And your lack of argument to my points speak volumes.
Yours
James McMuppet
Adam wrote:
Yes. All of the writings of history and of social context do not exist. The repeating nature of humans and their remarkable ability to not see past their own yard.
Oh dear - James, you are truly your fathers son.
Your wit won't save you Adam.
And your lack of argument to my points speak volumes.
Yours
James McMuppet
Posted by: subrosa on 11:36pm Sun 23 Mar 08
What's that Beatles song again..."......money can't buy you love'?
What's that Beatles song again..."......money can't buy you love'?
Posted by: Adam on 11:29am Mon 24 Mar 08
[quote]Your wit won't save you Adam.
And your lack of argument to my points speak volumes.[/quote]
That is the problem James you [bold]DON'T[/bold] have an argument.
You merely prattle about "collective social flu and whether you like it or not, your part of", but that is all it is James, prattle.
The onus is not on me to prove it doesn't exist but for yourself and Ms Blythman to give reasonable argument that it does.
What argument does Joanna Blythman give? She spends the first three paparagraphs on the Mills-McCartney divorce case. Mills has previous on this sort of thing, she is a well known fantasist as the newspapers at the time of her marriage to old man McCartney were gleefully letting the reading public know. Blythman then goes on to say “is she really so radically different from lots of us?” Well yes, she quite obviously is!
From these shaky foundations she goes on to make unsubstantiated claims and ends her dreadful article with a personal anecdote.
It is pish James, and you haven't done any better, at least her writing is logical in form (if not her supposition) and coherent!
Your wit won't save you Adam.
And your lack of argument to my points speak volumes.
That is the problem James you
DON'T have an argument.
You merely prattle about "collective social flu and whether you like it or not, your part of", but that is all it is James, prattle.
The onus is not on me to prove it doesn't exist but for yourself and Ms Blythman to give reasonable argument that it does.
What argument does Joanna Blythman give? She spends the first three paparagraphs on the Mills-McCartney divorce case. Mills has previous on this sort of thing, she is a well known fantasist as the newspapers at the time of her marriage to old man McCartney were gleefully letting the reading public know. Blythman then goes on to say “is she really so radically different from lots of us?” Well yes, she quite obviously is!
From these shaky foundations she goes on to make unsubstantiated claims and ends her dreadful article with a personal anecdote.
It is pish James, and you haven't done any better, at least her writing is logical in form (if not her supposition) and coherent!
Posted by: speculatrix on 4:38pm Mon 24 Mar 08
To Joanna- speak for yourself.
And to everyone else, you all say you are content with what 'little' you have after listing your cars, homes etc. I do strive to have money, I am unhappy without it and I am not ashamed of that. This is not to say I do not value all the things which 'money can't buy' - relationships and interaction. I think it is naive to suggest that these things can exist without money in our current social situation. I live in Glasgow as it is the only place I got into university. All my friends live in Edinburgh and my family are scattered around the country due to their financial situations. I need to be able to buy shoes to keep my feet dry, to have clothes respectable enough to enable me to get a job (or even make friends) to be able to pay my rent and, above all, to be able to afford to travel to visit my friends and family in the first place. Are you forgetting how much it costs to buy a warm winter coat? Money has become a neccessity and the bare minimum is ever increasing. I am not shallow or immersed in consumer culture but I cannot deny that I need money. What a person living in Britain 'needs' is much more than merely shelter, warmth, food and water but the needs are no less real in this context.
To Joanna- speak for yourself.
And to everyone else, you all say you are content with what 'little' you have after listing your cars, homes etc. I do strive to have money, I am unhappy without it and I am not ashamed of that. This is not to say I do not value all the things which 'money can't buy' - relationships and interaction. I think it is naive to suggest that these things can exist without money in our current social situation. I live in Glasgow as it is the only place I got into university. All my friends live in Edinburgh and my family are scattered around the country due to their financial situations. I need to be able to buy shoes to keep my feet dry, to have clothes respectable enough to enable me to get a job (or even make friends) to be able to pay my rent and, above all, to be able to afford to travel to visit my friends and family in the first place. Are you forgetting how much it costs to buy a warm winter coat? Money has become a neccessity and the bare minimum is ever increasing. I am not shallow or immersed in consumer culture but I cannot deny that I need money. What a person living in Britain 'needs' is much more than merely shelter, warmth, food and water but the needs are no less real in this context.
Posted by: Donna, US on 11:10pm Mon 24 Mar 08
[quote][bold]Ken Marshall[/bold] wrote:
The last paragraph of the article says it all. If the american administration EVERY reads their Bibles ( I know that they HAVE never read one sentence ) they would know about greed and rich men going through... ( sorry thru ) the eye of a needle.[/quote] Mr. Marshall-don't make a sweeping indictment of the entire American administration. There have been documented instances where people in this nation have disagreed with the administration. We've a history of being a generous nation helping out those less fortunate.
This article however is @ a greedy,fantasist woman who netted 3,000 dollars per hour of marriage. And wanted more.I think you'll find in EVERY civilized nation, greed comes in every and all forms. Noveaux riche' greed-which Mills has-is worst of all. The paper trail proved her undoing. Making outrageous claims i.e., giving 80% to charity, not having a single shred of evidence to back it up: Paul has to give her money for HER CHARITIES. It's real easy to be The Great and Generous Lady-especially when it's someone elses' hard earned money.
Ken Marshall wrote:
The last paragraph of the article says it all. If the american administration EVERY reads their Bibles ( I know that they HAVE never read one sentence ) they would know about greed and rich men going through... ( sorry thru ) the eye of a needle.
Mr. Marshall-don't make a sweeping indictment of the entire American administration. There have been documented instances where people in this nation have disagreed with the administration. We've a history of being a generous nation helping out those less fortunate.
This article however is @ a greedy,fantasist woman who netted 3,000 dollars per hour of marriage. And wanted more.I think you'll find in EVERY civilized nation, greed comes in every and all forms. Noveaux riche' greed-which Mills has-is worst of all. The paper trail proved her undoing. Making outrageous claims i.e., giving 80% to charity, not having a single shred of evidence to back it up: Paul has to give her money for HER CHARITIES. It's real easy to be The Great and Generous Lady-especially when it's someone elses' hard earned money.
Posted by: Twoflumps, Dunblane on 8:41pm Tue 25 Mar 08
I wish I was free from desire too...doh!
I wish I was free from desire too...doh!
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