Good And Bad In Everyone

Week Fifteen: Sunday 7 – Saturday 13 January

I caught a headline in a ‘broadsheet’ newspaper the other day about the rise of racism in Europe. I checked out the subheading and then drifted over the first few paragraphs. I got the jist of the article: I didn’t need, or want, to read any further.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s important to know about these sorts of things; but is it really ‘new’s? Is it a rise in racism, or is it just an age-old problem raising its ugly head again because it is expedient or politic to do so at this particular time?

I don’t have much time for ‘news’papers these days anyway, whether they are tabloids or broadsheets; they’re all pretty much full of slanted, jaundiced, agendaised spin and spiel. If you don’t believe me, buy a copy of Private Eye some time and check out what doesn’t get into the papers on a regular basis. If you’re still not convinced, read Noam Chomsky’s ‘Manufacturing Consent’.

Sure, you get the odd good article, the odd good feature and the odd good opinion piece in both tabloid and broadsheet newspapers; there’s a fair amount of decent writing too. But, over the piece, they’re really only good for passing a wet, cold Sunday, checking the football results, or, not that this happens anymore in today’s polystyrene world, wrapping fish and chips up in.

However, although I didn’t read the article in any depth, and the racism thing is nothing new, in the world never mind just in Europe, I did ponder the issue and find it popping up in my head throughout that day. Especially as my lovely wife is a mixed race African, with a touch of Jewish blood, and my daughter is a right old bag of liquorice allsorts.

What is it with human beings and, well, other human beings? Why is so much time, energy, effort and money spent on the pursuit of hating other people? On a macro level it’s because they are from a different race, or country, or have a different colour of skin or language of way of life; on a micro level it is because they support a different football team, go to a different school, have different colour hair or big, small, fat, thin, whatever.

Is it all not just a complete waste of all that time, energy, effort and money? I don’t think anyone or anything could convince me otherwise. Who cares so much about all this shit? Who are these sad, deluded individuals walking planet earth spewing out all this hatred, bigotry and suspicion all in the name of ignorance and insecurity?

I need to know what purpose any of it, one tiny iota of it, serves? Nothing constructive or meaningful: nothing purposeful or creative; nothing worthwhile or positive. So why? Beats the shit out of me.

No doubt various groups have a whole list of rhetoric to support it. No doubt various, so called, educated, academic, intellectual groups have a whole list of scientific and sociological reasons to explain it. To me, it’s all bullshit: these people ALL need to look within, not without, and take one huge f*cking reality check. Life’s too short, too precious, and too good to waste.

No matter what creed, colour, religion, sex, nationality, et cetera that there is out there, none are perfect and none are pure. There is good and bad in everyone. Best to rejoice in the good and work to eradicate, or at least control, the bad.