What a State!

Nobody can have missed the recent coverage of the G20 meetings in London and the death of a worker returning home from his job as he passed by police officers and was pushed violently to the ground or the reactions of a police officer as he struck a female protester in the midst of the demonstrations and followed it up with a strike with his baton.

The way that the public know about this is because it was, of course, all reported in the media.
Now the facts of these events will come to light in due course, following full investigations and the wider public will find out the details one way or another, it will reach the public domain - it always does. Eventually.

But what should not be forgotten in all the debate, blame, investigation, recriminations, suspensions and everything else that kicks off when events like this take place is that it is the media, there at the time, experiencing the same risks as everyone else, only more so - They risk flying bottles from protesters on one side and they risk flying batons from the police on the other - that takes it from an incident that would pass by without a second thought to one that brings these events to public awareness.

So am I saying that all members of the media are crusading superhero types battling for the greater good of society, who bravely forge ahead with the relentless conflict against the tyranny of the institution and the 'big brother' mind set of the database generation, the politically incorrect, 'there is no hidden agenda' government spokesman?

Is this what I mean?

Is it bollocks!

Of course they're not, they are regular people trying to do their job. Okay some may have an agenda, either their own or their employers but for the most part, many of the ones I have met, especially the photographers, are just going about their job and trying to do it well. To supply images for their newspapers and publications.

But because of how close we now are to living in a full on nanny state where our every move is known, where what we eat is wrong, where what we drive is frowned upon and where we go is monitored, where most of what we choose to do is treated as suspect by those who must know better as they are government ministers and politicians and as such they must know better, we are, after all, but simple folk, who, due to our obvious and basic stupidity would descend into a lemming like panic if not for the comforting support of our government angels watching over us all from their granite towers in Westminster.

The media is not entirely blameless of course, some of the scare mongering pushed to us all is by design, some of it is simply to sell papers and magazines some of it is because they are in the dubious position of having to put out to the public the Government lines that they need to feed us to keep us in check, to keep us in line, to maintain their control.

The climate is changing, the world as we know it is changing at an ever increasing rate, terrorism will get you, it will strike you down at anytime and any place, there is no escape. Soldiers come back in flag draped coffins from shitty places overseas and their stories are overshadowed by the higher and, of course, far more important story of Jane fucking Goody! Who gives a shit about her?

We are fed, by some areas of the press, but more by government press releases, a diet of mediocre bullshit, of mundane, celebrity orientated crap with the occasional statement of regret from a politicians' spokesperson about their unfortunate and regretful failings that keeps us all distracted whilst the real work of fucking up the country takes place.

You know how it goes...

"......It is of course with deep regret that I messed up my expense accounts, I didn't know, honestly, it is a rather confusing system, and you should also know that I thought that I was downloading educational pdf files and never for one minute thought it was porn, oh, but I have just bought a new electric car to help save the planet and as such have implemented a new bill to see 10, 000 new electric cars released onto the streets of the capital that will guarantee a reduction in carbon emissions by 3% by the year 2050 and on this subject I can categorically state that any talk by the opposition party of a 70% increase in carbon emissions in order to produce the electricity for the cars in the first place is false because we have some scientists and some experts and stuff checking it out, BUT if you let us put you on our DNA database you will be safe from everyone including terrorist cells from Pakistan and Manchester, deranged power crazy, ill-disciplined riot police, environmentalists at Stanstead, paedophiles and Catholic priests, climate change, cancer and the Jehovah's fucking witnesses, but please remember to vote for us and not them because at least we won't mess things up as much as they will. The war in Afghanistan is of course going well, exactly as planned, pretty much, it is of course with deep regret that we have lost so many but as our 'cut and pasted' words of concern say we will never forget the sacrifice of Corporal er, what's his name and of course America remains our closest friend as does anyone else with strong business links between us but unlike the opposition we will never simply pretend that we give a shit about those third world types, we of course really, really do. Really we do, so anyway thanks for coming to the press conference, unfortunately I cannot take any questions because they might prove difficult and you journo types will change my real meaning anyway."

Don't forget to vote!


What a State!