Laurie Penny

Pop culture and radical politics with a feminist twist

Blaming the victim

The one per cent punish us for wanting what they say we can't have.

By Laurie Penny Published 11 December 2011 12:17

There's such a thing as riot ennui. Having spent over a year watching youtube videos of police on various continents violently assaulting peaceful protesters, I thought I'd lost not interest, but perhaps a certain capacity to be shocked by raw footage of tear gas, teenagers with blood running into their eyes, young men being pulled out of wheelchairs, police horses being driven into crowds of unarmed protesters with nowhere to go. This is the new normal. People taking to the streets, because conscience or desperation lead them unavoidably to those streets to stand against austerity, and being beaten back and beaten down by armed state heavies, time after time after time, in developed and developing countries. This is what democracy looks like.

For those of us who give a goddamn about a fair and sustainable future, these images have become routine. Do anything at all to make your feelings about financial feudalism known other than shuffle slowly and silently from one state-sanctioned march point to another and you can expect to be punished, hurt and arrested. It's worth taking a moment to sit back and think about what that means. Quotidian as they may have become, Miami-model policing and intolerance of political dissent of any kind are not inevitable. They are deliberate political choices made by world governments who have run out of counter-arguments to anti-austerity protests that don't come at the end of a police baton.

Ritual humiliation

It's been a year now - exactly a year this weekend, in fact, since the Parliament Square kettle. But there are still moments when the routine becomes unfamiliar - when you understand with renewed rage that these images must never be allowed to become part of our psychic furniture. Watching this youtube clip of a young woman in Melbourne being stripped to her underwear and thrown to the ground by police, you feel your breath catch in your throat. There have been far viler, bloodier videos this year. But there's something in the grim, determined way that the officers, male and female, pull the girl out of her costume and shove her to the ground as she cries out "don't take my clothes off" that makes the hairs on the back of your arms stand on end.

It's the sense of ritual humiliation that's truly chilling. It's the pointlessly brutal demonstration of who is weak and who is strong in this game, and the grim, sour humourlessness of it all. It started with a joke: three anti-capitalist protesters at Occupy Melbourne, forbidden from having tents, dressed up in enormous tent-shaped costumes and made at least twelve police officers chase them around a park in the city-centre. "Come on, it's all in good fun," says a disembodied voice behind the camera as the officers finally march, disgruntled, out of the park. Later, the police return, and proceed to strip the young woman of her costume, refusing absolutely to see the funny side of this harmless piece of protest theatre.

That's not the most unsettling thing, however. The most unsettling thing about the video is the comments underneath, which are as usual the run-off channel for all the slurry of human vindictiveness that is somehow supposed to matter less online. One of them reads: "Got wot she deserved!!! Do as you are told and the police wont 'harrass' you!!! [sic] Get a job."

Courage and desire

There it is. Right there. For anyone who ever doubted, for those who continue to doubt that women's liberation and the fight for socio-economic justice are part of the same struggle against complicity and complacency. Dare to speak your mind? Dare to make trouble? Dare to wear a short skirt, a hoodie, a bandana, a placard, an ingenious costume in the shape of a tent? Well then, you deserve to be hurt and humiliated. You deserve to be frightened and bullied and beaten. Sit down, shut up. Get a job and work till you drop like the rest of us, and if you can't get a job then get on your belly and beg like the rest of us. You deserve it. You asked for it, by daring to make your desires known, by showing your anger, showing your heart, showing your skin. Be quiet and do as you are fucking told. Bitch. Scrounger. Benefit scum. Hippy. Whore.

The most dangerous thing in the world for the one per cent is desire. Unsanctioned desire, desire for things that we can't be made to buy, things like power and sex and and social justice, is always dangerous when it can't be controlled. The only possible solution is to punish the desire and blame the victims for inviting that punishment.

Women and Occupy

It's not that the Occupy Movement has always been a haven for female power, sexual and otherwise. The axes of oppression rarely run perfectly parallel. Consider, for example, the second image down on the Hot Chicks of Occupy Wall Street tumblr - a site claiming that rank objectification of young female activists is a celebration of the movement, deservedly torn to dialectical tatters by feminist bloggers when it first emerged - which suggests that images of the violent arrests of young women by faceless police officers should be considered sexually arousing. Because nothing gets a young manarchist hot and heavy and ready to smash the state like a crying girl in handcuffs.

That's to say nothing of the alleged rapes that have occurred in the Occupy encampments, leading to the formation of women's working groups and systems like the Safer Spaces area, set up to provide a safe sleeping space for female occupiers worried about sexual assault. Whether or not it is the case that the world outside the encampments is vastly more threatening to women, the role and status of female-identified people within the Occupy movement is not just a PR issue to be dealt with, potential ammunition for hostile tabloids. What would really ruin not only the reputation but the ethical fortitude of Occupy would be any suggestion that allegations of rape, sexual abuse and structural sexism within the movement are not being taken seriously.

This movement needs women, just like the world needs women. Women know what it is to swallow desire, to be dishonest about the lives we want to lead and the power we want to challenge. A new world will not be won until women and the underprivileged have the courage to express their desires without fear, and until their notional allies have the courage to listen.

What remains

Things change. In just under a year since the university occupations in London of which I was a part were evicted, I have seen UK Uncut and the student movement change and expand, descending at times into weary bickering, elevating at times into moments of powerful clarity that the intensity and adrenaline of full-time occupation dosometimes not allow. This is what remains, after the clouds of smoke and pepper spray have cleared: a scar over your friend's right eye. A tendency to twinkle your fingers upwards like a goon when you agree with a given statement. And the idea of solidarity - to paraphrase Tom Geogohan's words in "Which Side Are You On", one of the few remaining loves that dare not speak its name - as a value that can be lived in practice.

Now, after months of escalation, publicity and counter-attack, the first stage of the Occupy movement is over. Most of the major encampments in America and across the world have been evicted - the latest, Occupy Boston, was cleared by police just this morning - and the challenge now facing Occupy is to decide which scars will not be allowed to close, which gestures will remain ingrained, and which realities will not be permitted to pass into memory.

The hunger for justice is catching. No wonder the police and local city authorities have been so keen to describe these protests as smelly, filth-ridden, contagioun, walking into evicted campsites in Los Angeles and elsewhere in Hazmat suits for the benefit of those tame members of the press only too happy to smear around the 'unsanitary hippies' stereotype. Desire, and the courage to express it until power has no choice but to listen, is a terrifying prospect to anyone with vested interests in the status quo. Of course they call you dirty. Of course they call you sick. The idea of democracy has always been infectious, and right now it is spreading like a virus around the developed world, with Occupy as its main vector.

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Tags: Protest

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468 comments

Wed, 2012-05-02 14:42 — stedsfloult (not verified)

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Tue, 2011-12-13 20:00 — Andrew (not verified)

I don't think i've seen an article that has expressed the anger I felt when I think about the way the protests have been treated better than this one.

Fri, 2011-12-16 00:24 — Mr. Divine (not verified)

And Laurie sent me a personal video after I told her we couldn't carry on like we were doing. I just had to break it off. Of course she cried like thunder and all her eye liner flooded down her face and made her look like she had grown a goatie. Now and then I look at the video and think about the goatie.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifAtvI48R_0

Thu, 2011-12-22 17:12 — Ian5

Okay, read then and well see no need to change them, in fact you have proved your malignancy for me. To accuse a Dutchman of being Nazi in any form is just disgusting, to then accuse him of being a paedophile , well that takes the biscuit. He's beat you hands down.

Oh so your discomfort threat was irony, having realised that jankaas is not bothered by loud foul mouthed moronic imbeciles like yourself. oh I get it. Your basically saying your not only a malignant twat, your an impotent one as well.

Oh and I was so looking forward to this display of godly power.

Irony, for me irony would be you having one of jankaas's tunes in your collection. Yes, now that would be ironic.

Mon, 2011-12-12 22:14 — jankaas (not verified)

@Spud

"Unless you're signalling some kind of meta-irony while acknowledging defeat."

sorry to disappoint, the truth is more straightforward. Buckskin is one of many many many dreary 'comedians' who think it hilarious to change my username to 'jackass' when they don't agree with what i write. i just return their comedy with interest. i never start name calling. fact. but when presented with such an open goal as 'Buckskins', well....what's a man to do?

"Your argument also seems to rely on a recent trope, much favoured by Ms Penny, that things were easier in the 'old days'."

ok. but what if that is not exactly the point i am making (can't speak for this woman you dislike so much). my argument, which was focussed solely on the US and Buckskins, relies on the notion that in those old days there were more opportunities for those willing to work hard. the US economy was expanding at a rate of knots, novel technology were owned & exploited by US companies, foreign and domestic sales were huge, new financial products were being fluffed into existence. confidence was at its peak. so it's not about things being 'easy', rather, it's 'opportunity' that was abundant.

a brilliant time to be in the US. unlike now.

Wed, 2011-12-14 17:11 — Buckskins (not verified)

Mr D. You are talking about Australia. I agree income and location can have a direct effect on relative affluence. I get it. My inquiry was regards the UK.
BTW. Australians get preferential treatment for immigration visas to the US. We know who our friends are.

Fri, 2011-12-16 23:28 — Mr. Divine (not verified)

Lots of things seem to get lost in translation. Sometimes though there is a red alert and one of the Dixie' chicks gets her knickers in a twist. The whole system breaks down and all because of tangled knickers. Still we can't have our dirty laundry paraded in public. That's all I ask ... no dirty undies in public. Ha ha ha h ha.

Sun, 2011-12-18 11:13 — jankaas (not verified)

"So..you were in the states for 25 years entertaining us."

good grief. again you've been Googling like a loonatic, rather than just post 2 answers. you are just insane, and congenitally dense.

perhaps you never thought that whatever period you found might just be the maximum? no? seems a rather obvious question for a "full partner in a consultancy firm". you must be known as the dumbest "full partner" in that company, no?

seriously Buckskins, i just Googled for myself, took exactly 1 minute to find the answer. and on the top hit it says the following about how long the visa can last;

http://faq.visapro.com/P1-Visa-FAQ2.asp

from there point 5. "You may be allowed to stay in the U.S. for up to five years with extensions not to exceed a total stay of ten years."

more factual data for you; of those 5 Visas in my passport, the shortest allowed me 1 month, the longest 1 whole year. that is how it works in reality, you explain what you need the visa for, for how long, and they either give you one or they don't.

"YOUR BUSTED..................AGAIN."

listen you dumb git, there's nothing to 'bust'. perhaps you are convinced that because you are a big fat stupid liar, everyone else on these boards is also.

i'm done explaining, you know what it will take to continue. take it or leave it.

Mon, 2011-12-12 22:18 — Mr. Divine (not verified)

After a bit of RR by the river and lake it would be time to head on out to the heart of the land. I travelled extensively but this is the best place I've ever been to. This is what you call a real romantic destination, a place one step beyond.
http://us.sydney.com/Mungo_National_Park_p629.aspx

Wed, 2011-12-14 17:13 — Ian5

Oh bucksins, you really are a vile despicable and now racist piece of excrement. Your supposed European parents were just as likely to eat herrings as any other. Is perhaps your consultancy on halitosis or perhaps you advise of gall bladders , you sure do seem full of bile.

Fri, 2011-12-16 23:34 — Mr. Divine (not verified)

If Ian came here I could find him a place to stay .. not necessarily at my place. I have a mate who lives with his two kids and he is always taking in people. He lives walking distance from me , also on five acres and very trustworthy. An arrangement could easily be sorted. A bit of baby sitting and the place is free.

Thu, 2011-12-22 17:35 — Buckskins (not verified)

Spud, I have this mental image of Ian on New Years eve. He is sitting in his sh1thole public housing in his overstuffed chair with half the contents spilling out due to his lard ass. He's puffing on a stinking cigar butt that he rescued from a public urinal. (He gets them free at work) He's nekit except for his soaking wet diaper that stinks of pee. Nevertheless he cuts quite the Rubenesque figure in his mind.

Mon, 2011-12-12 22:22 — Mr. Divine (not verified)

Now the best place to be jankaas is Australia. it's booming.

Fri, 2011-12-16 23:37 — Buckskins (not verified)

Hey Pinocchio, here's a solution to your heating problem.

The Cremation of Sam McGee
by Robert W. Service

There are strange things done in the midnight sun
By the men who toil for gold;
The Arctic trails have their secret tales
That would make your blood run cold;
The Northern Lights have seen queer sights,
But the queerest they ever did see
Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge
I cremated Sam McGee

Now Sam McGee was from Tennessee,
where the cotton blooms and blows
Why he left his home in the South to roam
'round the Pole, God only knows.
He was always cold but the land of gold
seemed to hold him like a spell;
Though he'd often say in his homely way
that he'd sooner live in Hell.

On a Christmas Day we were mushing our way
over the Dawson trail.
Talk of your cold! through the parka's fold
it stabbed like a driven nail.
If our eyes we'd close, then the lashes froze
till sometimes we couldn't see,
It wasn't much fun, but the only one
to whimper was Sam McGee.

And that very night, as we lay packed tight
in our robes beneath the snow,
And the dogs were fed, and the stars o'erhead
were dancing heel and toe,
He turned to me, and "Cap", says he,
"I'll cash in this trip, I guess;
And if I do, I'm asking that you
won't refuse my last request."

Well, he seemed so low that I couldn't say no;
then he says with a sort of moan,
"It's the cursed cold, and it's got right hold
till I'm chilled clean through to the bone
Yet 'taint being dead-it's my awful dread
of the icy grave that pains;
So I want you to swear that, foul or fair,
you'll cremate my last remains.

A pal's last need is a thing to heed,
so I swore I would not fail;
And we started on at the streak of dawn
but God! he looked ghastly pale.
He crouched on the sleigh, and he raved all day
of his home in Tennessee;
And before nightfall a corpse was all
that was left of Sam McGee.

There wasn't a breath in that land of death,
and I hurried, horror-driven
With a corpse half hid that I couldn't get rid,
because of a promise given;
It was lashed to the sleigh, and it seemed to say.
"You may tax your brawn and brains,
But you promised true, and it's up to you
to cremate these last remains".

Now a promise made is a debt unpaid,
and the trail has its own stern code,
In the days to come, though my lips were dumb
in my heart how I cursed that load!
In the long, long night, by the lone firelight,
while the huskies, round in a ring,
Howled out their woes to the homeless snows--
Oh God, how I loathed the thing!

And every day that quiet clay
seemed to heavy and heavier grow;
And on I went, though the dogs were spent
and the grub was getting low.
The trail was bad, and I felt half mad,
but I swore I would not give in;
And I'd often sing to the hateful thing,
and it hearkened with a grin.

Till I came to the barge of Lake Lebarge,
and a derelict there lay;
It was jammed in the ice, but I saw in a trice
it was called the Alice May,
And I looked at it, and I thought a bit,
and I looked at my frozen chum;
Then "Here", said I, with a sudden cry, "is my
cre-ma-tor-eum"!

Some planks I tore from the cabin floor
and I lit the boiler fire;
Some coal I found that was lying around,
and I heaped the fuel higher;
The flames just soared, and the furnace roared
such a blaze you seldom see,
And I burrowed a hole in the glowing coal,
and I stuffed in Sam McGee.

Then I made a hike, for I didn't like
to hear him sizzle so;
And the heavens scowled, and the huskies howled,
and the wind began to blow,
It was icy cold, but the hot sweat rolled
down my cheeks, and I don't know why;
And the greasy smoke in an inky cloak
went streaking down the sky.

I do not know how long in the snow
I wrestled with grisly fear;
But the stars came out and they danced about
ere again I ventured near;
I was sick with dread, but I bravely said,
"I'll just take a peep inside.
I guess he's cooked, and it's time I looked".
Then the door I opened wide.

And there sat Sam, looking cool and calm,
in the heart of the furnace roar;
And he wore a smile you could see a mile,
and he said, "Please close that door.
It's fine in here, but I greatly fear
you'll let in the cold and storm--
Since I left Plumtree, down in Tennessee,
it's the first time I've been warm".

Sun, 2011-12-18 11:16 — jankaas (not verified)

"Need some answers before I proceed."

i strongly advise you don't hold your breath.

Mon, 2012-03-05 08:39 — Taggart

You keep spouting that your parents came from where I'm from.. I'm in England, born here. did that go over your head? What did they do, sneek out of Europe when the war started. http://www.chancermusic.com/

Mon, 2011-12-12 22:23 — jankaas (not verified)

"Jackass"

yes Suckshits...?

"You know nothing about my parents other than what I have told you"

correct; they were hard working immigrants from, was it Bulgaria or Czechoslovakia? anyway, they settled in the US, raised you providing ample opportunity and nurture to ensure you would be able to make a success of yourself. maybe even loaned.gave you some money when you needed it. about right? thought so. which is why the point i keep trying to make is valid. i.e. take away those advantages, and you would likely not get anywhere.

"An alien can't work in this country unless as a student."

but a foreigner like me is allowed to work in the US if he is.......? go on smarty pants, what other criteria would have allowed me to live and work in the US?

if you ask nicely i might even tell you.

Thu, 2011-12-22 17:45 — Buckskins (not verified)

I guess you're right again Jackass. I would have to be an Internationally Recognized Entertainer like yourself. That was issued a P1 visa renewed 5 times even although they are good for 5 years.

You're the worst liar I ever came across. I take that back. Ian has that title, unless you are also Ian.

BTW. A P1 for a real entertainer is for a single event.

Mon, 2011-12-12 22:24 — Dickie1

@ Spud

"One word sentences? WTF's a one word sentence?"

Interjections and exclamations are capable of being one-word sentences e.g.

"Bollocks!" or "Quiet!" are whole ideas expressed by one word.

Wed, 2011-12-14 17:22 — Buckskins (not verified)

Give it up Ian. You are a proven liar and making an ass of yourself. Talk about the adventures of Guy Fawkes and Pavarotti. You pair make them look like frauds.

This would be Jackass no doubt.

Visas: Internationally Recognized Entertainers.

PMSL

Fri, 2011-12-16 23:47 — Mr. Divine (not verified)

I like that poem Buckskins. I have 'waves' of poetry but then they go. in fact I'm out of step with lots of things at the moment. I just have to wait till my system readjusts ... its always hard at first.

Sun, 2011-12-18 11:29 — Mr. Divine (not verified)

I'll proceed then. Can't block me from other blogs. Tomorrow morning pictures of me on Medhi's blog or somone elses'. Answers in email ...why can't you?

What does it matter ... what a boring conversation.

Mon, 2011-12-12 22:27 — jankaas (not verified)

"Now the best place to be jankaas is Australia. it's booming."

yep always did want to go there. i am a passionate windsurfer and some of the best wind & water is over there.....

Tue, 2011-12-13 20:22 — jankaas (not verified)

"You're busted Ian."

back at you Buckskins. you just have no idea about your own country's immigration/visa/work permit rules. remember what you claimed?

no? it was this;

"An alien can't work in this country unless as a student."

my old passport says you have no idea. i have lived and worked in the US for over 2 years with your government's permission, but not as a student.

Fri, 2011-12-16 23:49 — Mr. Divine (not verified)

Sometimes a subliminal flash is more effective than a long gander.

But for you more shall come. Only for you.

Sun, 2011-12-18 11:34 — Mr. Divine (not verified)

bye

Buckskins: said he would answer questions. That was the deal.

Wed, 2011-12-14 17:25 — Buckskins (not verified)

"you really are a vile despicable and now racist piece of excrement"

Awe c'mon Ian. Tell me how you really feel.

Your busted, now deal with it.

Thu, 2011-12-22 18:32 — Ian5

oh poor sad tiko, having a couple of ass-wipes for parents must have been such a disappointment to you. Perhaps if you learn to read, you might get some solace. I'll bet your yet another gross clinically obese lipitor swallower.

If you could read, and by some quirk of fate also become able to comprehend what you had read, you know your rants were pointless. now go back and read the real P1 requirements , before you have to get back to flipping burgers.

Sun, 2011-12-18 11:45 — Mr. Divine (not verified)

Remember that Hari guy. plenty of work in New York aint there .. no need for those Guardian gigs all your life.

Sat, 2011-12-17 00:07 — Buckskins (not verified)

"i still can't work out what you two are arguing about! And I'm supposed to be the judge of who is right or wrong .. but what is it all about?"

I told Jackass if he gave up his stage name I would give him my area of consulting expertise, my age, and would quit calling him Jackass. In other words everything he asked for and then some. He had no outs.

You could have decided if in fact he was a world famous entertainer as his 5 visas required. If you cared to. Hope you don't mind my friend.

Wed, 2011-12-14 17:39 — Buckskins (not verified)

What actually happened? Was the forklift a transportation requirement to get you around? Did ya fall off? Get that cigar outta yer ass and take the sparkler outta yer mouth. You have them you have them in the incorrect orifices.

Your right Ian. They ate kippers. The brekky of champs. I had some myself.

Tue, 2011-12-13 20:40 — Mr. Divine (not verified)

@Spud Middleton 'a bit later I have a chat and share a bit of light repartee with a delusional Australian.'

You should become more delusional Spud like me as it'll enable you to write more sense.

Sat, 2011-12-17 00:09 — Buckskins (not verified)

GTG, supper time.

Cheers, Matt.

Wed, 2011-12-14 17:40 — Buckskins (not verified)

Are you sobbing Ian ?

Mon, 2011-12-12 22:47 — Mr. Divine (not verified)

I reckon the best wind is exactly where you are ... haven't you got a load of windmills?

Sat, 2011-12-17 00:23 — Mr. Divine (not verified)

Buckskins: I keep on telling you, I don't care about fame. I've been famous in an area of Japan. It doesn't interest me. And I can't answer your questions about US visas. I know Australia has working holiday visas for a year open to British people 18 to 30/35.

Do you really think Ian expects me to send money to him for his airfare? Maybe he could work off his airfare once he got here .. I've got a lot of wood to chop.

Mon, 2011-12-12 22:48 — Aintree iron (not verified)

You asked for that!

Thu, 2011-12-22 20:51 — jankaas (not verified)

"Any discomfort yet jankaas."

well Ian, it is beginning to smart some. remember the Python Inquisition sketch? a bit like that. pure hell...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tym0MObFpTI

Thu, 2011-12-15 14:35 — Spud Middleton (not verified)

I'm an internationally recognised blog contributor. I get feedback from fans from all over the world. I'm very big in Australia so I've heard.

DisEmbodied Voice at Occupy Melbourne's picture

Fri, 2011-12-16 04:17 — DisEmbodied Voice at Occupy Melbourne (not verified)

I believe I am the disembodied voice you speak of, and I am speaking as an individual.

You can hear me more clearly here in the wide angle shot of the event.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4NEKtYYYk0

Of course the brutal scene the next day of the protester being disrobed we have all seen.
And yes the police did use a knife (police language 'a tool') in the process, it's in some footage and it will likely be seen by the federal court here in

Melbourne.

The following day this protester was shoved onto the road. The courage of this protester is beyond measure.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeX-F6XXSuo

Who did that?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=Li-LboLVFcU

That should make it clear.

The fact the protester was wearing small backpack, prevented more serious injury, though a hospital visit was required soon after the incident.

However at occupy Melbourne we have a spirit of non-violence, and to underscore the stupidity of tent theft by Melbourne city council we decided to make this

into a sport.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrJQSNmgNEg

Because everything happens so fast at occupy Melbourne someone else mistakenly thought it was their tent and claimed ownership of it. It was actually my

tent. I only bought the tent that afternoon.

Yes the police and council workers did run through a ribbon, though it is not visible in this footage.

The police are starting to see Occupy Melbourne in a different light.

We have shown our selves to be smart, resourceful, organized, non-violent and at times entertaining.

It's also worth noting that because of the 24 hour police presence, the police realize we are an almost endless source of easy over time.

Being the reason a police man or police woman is getting paid over time ( about $60 per hour ) for relaxing in a park, chatting to colleagues/protesters or

watching 'educational' films like 'Apocalypse Now - Directors cut' in the police van, really does buy some gratitude.

We do have some sympathy for the position the police have been placed in. But at the same time, some police are acting like bullies and thugs.

Just another example of the rot in the system.

*In terms of buying power, an Australian dollar will buy you about the same as a British pound in their respective economies. So yeah, it's a gravy train.

To find out more:

occupymelbourne.org
#OMEL

Thu, 2011-12-22 21:06 — jankaas (not verified)

"jankass"

yes DudSmellythong.....?

"backing up any of your claims then?"

how thick are you? it's the interwebs where you either accept what others post, or, you froth and flail about like a loon because you just can't believe it. by all means assume that i would need to lie. if it makes you feel better about yourself, that's all that matters no? poor you.

Tue, 2011-12-13 20:54 — Mr. Divine (not verified)

@ Buckskins: 'Is $50K per year really considered affluence? Especially with the high costs in say London?'

It depends on who defines affluence. A beggar in India would see 50K pa as super rich even with the high cost of rent. According to the table up above in one of the comments, $50K pa would put you in the top 1%. Laurie is probably in the top 1%.

You need to go to the Third World to understand why every person in the West are rich and 'affluent'.

There are many things in the West that people take for granted ... housing, clean water, hot water, constant electricity, sewerage, uncrowded public transport (I mean uncrowded), free medical care, social security etc. All these things don't exist in many countries.

Thu, 2011-12-22 21:17 — jankaas (not verified)

"I guess you're right again Jackass."

and that would be because i don't have to make shit up Sucksdicks. and just how you cocked up that last post so totally, is just beyond funny.

" a P1 visa renewed 5 times"

no you idiot. i had to be issued with a new one each time, do keep up.

"A P1 for a real entertainer is for a single event."

lol. ok, so a single event, that lasts 5 years.... seriously, where are you getting these rubbish convoluted fantasies from?

Mon, 2011-12-12 23:02 — Ian5

Jankaas, just checked my old passport..L1B , I'll guess you are probably the same.

Sat, 2011-12-17 00:59 — Dickie1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJbukK7n7x4&feature=related

Fri, 2011-12-30 22:45 — Buckskins (not verified)

Jackass, show me my promised threat to you. You can't do it because we both know I never made one. I think you may be ill. To you reality is unacceptable, fantasy is embraced. What a fuked up mess you are. You get hold of a notion and spout it as fact. To you perhaps it is. At least you are original. Your sidekick can only copy what others say and present one of his green monster posts. The odd couple. Are you gay? you can tell me, it's no big deal. When you were an international star did you wear make up?

Mon, 2011-12-12 13:37 — Jeremy (not verified)

Good article.. I still cant believe I saw a group of police strip down a woman in public and the people of today do not seem to think its wrong.. Someones daughter somones sister.. Its a sad day for the police.. this is not protecting the people

Thu, 2011-12-22 22:26 — Buckskins (not verified)

Jackass, so now you're saying a P1 is not good for 5 years. Keep digging and you will be shaking hands with Mr.D. in Australia. Oh let me guess. You are also a world famous athlete. My word you're so accomplished.

Dude you are the most BUSTED clown I have ever come across.

http://faq.visapro.com/P1-Visa-FAQ2.asp

Read it and weep.

Fri, 2011-12-30 22:57 — Buckskins (not verified)

New Year's Eve by Rod Nichol.

I'll saddle the roan then ride out alone neath a clear moon with frost on the ground, to a high ridge I know. Through the dark pines and snow far away from the dim lights of town.

In a short space of time a hillside I'll climb to the top with my face to the wind,and there I'll just wait as the hour grows late
and a new year once more will begin.

I'll take a look then on where I have been and the changes the old year has brought,the good times and bad some happy some sad as the faces of time fill my thoughts.

In the silence of night from that small patch of white I'll say "Adios" to lost friends,
with a small prayer at last
for the present and past
then I'll ride down that hill once again.

Rod Nichol

Happy New Year, Laurie, Julia, Helen, Mr.Divine, Spud, Stuart, and to all the other blog readers that are to shy to post anything.

Mon, 2011-12-12 23:11 — SpudMiddleton (not verified)

"Interjections and exclamations are capable of being one-word sentences"

Not in my book.

...fully replenished, and armed with the splendid new knowledge that the state capital of California is Sacramento, I think I'm in a position to definitively declare that pub quizzes are even worse than they sound. I'd always suspected this but I've always avoided them like the plague. But I'm off on a voyage of new discovery...possibly some kind of mid-life crisis...who knows?...and I'm trying out new experiences.

So on Thursday I'm trying darts. Not just that...I'm trying to talk the missus into changing sides in bed for a night. It's a fuckin rollercoaster...sometimes it's scary...but I'll keep you all fully informed.

I was just trying to see what I'd sound like if I got a column in a colour supplement with a brief to make the ephemera of my life seem textured and profound, with a subtle hint of self deprecation.

I'd fuckin read it.

Spud M...News at 10...two boiled eggs.