As I read this Motoring forum I come to the inescapable conclusion that John Osborne?s Angry Young Men of the 1950s have become the angry ?Silver Surfers? of the 21st Century.
Thread after thread is hijacked as a vehicle to attack the fabric of this country ? Police, Politicians, Judiciary the Monarchy and the military are all seen as targets. This Government, elected twice with the largest majority in modern times, has been slated unmercifully for ? well everything. The very mention of the European Community brings forth an ill informed emotive outpouring akin to those of extreme Moslem Mullahs.
Nothing seems off limits. There were posts implying the USA had some responsibility for the events of 11 September and today the (arguably irrelevant) thread on the Brown baby was defaced by an attack on the Government policy toward the NHS and accusations that the Chancellor was getting special treatment.
A forum that can attract contributors of the calibre of Mark(Brazil) is damaged by such invective and deserves better.
Lastly why do I think the main culprits are Silver Surfers? Well you are aren?t you? And if you are not - you sound like you are!
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Well, thank you.
As for the garbage, even some of that is amusing, although usually pointless.
Thing is, one of the things that makes this site so well worthwhile is that there is an enourmous amount of knowledge and experience amongst the contributors who write in a relaxed, free way in a virtually unpoliced site.
Not actually unpoliced of course, but Martyn rarely gets heavy.
If the site was restricted sufficientlyto prevent the pointless, then it would lose much of its appeal and value elsewhere.
Typically its better ignored. Not easily ignored, mind you, but better ignored.
Reacting to it is frequently providing exactly the response that was wanted.
M.
p.s. you don't drive a Freelander do you ? (just checking, I don't think we have a Freelander owner in here at the moment, but its better to be sure)
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Mark (Brazil) wrote:
> Thing is, one of the things that makes this site so well
> worthwhile is that there is an enourmous amount of knowledge
> and experience amongst the contributors who write in a
> relaxed, free way in a virtually unpoliced site.
>
> Not actually unpoliced of course, but Martyn rarely gets heavy.
Mark is right of course, as usual. The trick is to know when to stand back, and it's a matter of judgement really. I'd far rather things found their own level than wade in and try to adjust things artificially. But there are times when that's necessary ... did I see reference above to The Browns' bereavement?
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Again, don't blame me; I have voted in every election I was eligible for, and always for the right lot (however unpopular that may be up here).
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Well, I'm all for the Monarchy and the military, and more bald than silver; and I love nice cars, and using them properly, which is more what this site is about. Does that let me out?
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Johnny
Guilty as charged. However, a lot of what comes out here is a sign of frustration with a political system over which the general public have ever-decreasing control.
I think that you will find that what comes over is that we want more police, better politicians, better infrastructure, more accountability, less spin, more action and fewer words from our leaders.
You mention the European Community, which was sold to the public as a free-trade area. Thirty years later we now find that it is a political union with the declared aim of preventing France and Germany from declaring war on each other.
OK. so the parliamentary majority is large, which itself leads to unaccountability, but that was achieved on a historically low turnout whic seems to indicate that Joe Public has ceased to engage with politics because his wishes and aspirations no longer count.
The vast majority of the forum content is motoring-related, but on some other issues I believe that it provides an outlet for frustrations of a general malais which feeds through into motoring in various guises.
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Angry Old Men?
So true.
"Thread after thread is hijacked as a vehicle to attack................"
"This Government, elected twice with the largest majority in modern times........"
But what about fora hijacked to support....................
A Government elected by the smallest "majority" of the electorate and biggest advertising campaign in history ;-(
PS That was just a wild stab in the dark: don't come back with statistics to the third decimal place ;-)
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Mark,
The phrase which leaps to mind from last year's election is
"The lowest turnout since the first world war" ... and this after petrol shortages, foot and mouth, NHS crisis etc etc etc.
Voter apathy or what?
Still, the sun is shining here, and I'm off to the beach in a [borrowed] Mustang ragtop!
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ian (cape town) wrote:
> Still, the sun is shining here, and I'm off to the beach in a
> [borrowed] Mustang ragtop!
I think that's more than enough detail, Ian!
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The irony is that the political system we have now was created by the generation that you call the "silver surfers". They created the cynicism that mucked it up. Generation X has to fix it. Unfortunately, we're more likely to just enjoy the irony of watching them fume and splutter.
Chris
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ChrisR wrote:
>
> The irony is that the political system we have now was
> created by the generation that you call the "silver surfers".
> They created the cynicism that mucked it up. Generation X has
> to fix it. Unfortunately, we're more likely to just enjoy the
> irony of watching them fume and splutter.
Actually, Chris, that is something I don't especially enjoy, nor do I think we can afford the space (or the effort) here in The Back Room.
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