Originally posted by charlesr
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Europe IV: The Final Hour
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As this has kinda become the Election thread, got to say... The reaction to the McStrike news is really disheartening.
So many people who seem to take glee in saying that those jobs are worthless and those people should feel fortunate to have them at all.
I don't know what's wrong with this country. What happened to any sense of empathy?
I bet those jobs have plenty worth the next time those people find themselves on a cross-channel ferry at 5am and really want a McMuffin.
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Angela Rayner claims Farage is secretly working with Johnson and Trump
Health service in England would get £5.5bn more a year by 2023-24 than the £20.5bn promised by Conservatives
Labour has pledged to outspend the Tories on the NHS
A former Tory MP has asked the public not to vote for the Conservatives saying what this version of the party plans to do if they get a majority must be avoided
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The prime minister delivers the first big set-piece speech of the campaign as Labour pledges £26bn extra per year for NHS
The Lib Dems are in hot water in Canterbury after their candidate stood down in the elections to help the local Labour candidate and reduce the significant risk of their Tory rival getting the win. The locals have kicked off after the Lib Dems them confirmed plans to replace the candidate and thereby undo the effort and aid the Tory push.
The prime minister delivers the first big set-piece speech of the campaign as Labour pledges £26bn extra per year for NHS
And Labour says 95% of people won't pay more to fund their spending plans. Not really true as the top 5% who will no doubt control much of big business will simply jack up prices to absorb the cost.
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Originally posted by Neon Ignition View PostAnd Labour says 95% of people won't pay more to fund their spending plans. Not really true as the top 5% who will no doubt control much of big business will simply jack up prices to absorb the cost.
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Originally posted by Asura View PostAs this has kinda become the Election thread, got to say... The reaction to the McStrike news is really disheartening.
So many people who seem to take glee in saying that those jobs are worthless and those people should feel fortunate to have them at all.
I don't know what's wrong with this country. What happened to any sense of empathy?
I bet those jobs have plenty worth the next time those people find themselves on a cross-channel ferry at 5am and really want a McMuffin.
I think the main thing they don't appreciate is that if you're in a job on minimum wage (or close) you don't get to work less hard. You actually have to work harder, if anything, because the demand for these jobs is high.
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Originally posted by Neon Ignition View PostThe Lib Dems are in hot water in Canterbury after their candidate stood down in the elections to help the local Labour candidate and reduce the significant risk of their Tory rival getting the win. The locals have kicked off after the Lib Dems them confirmed plans to replace the candidate and thereby undo the effort and aid the Tory push.
The point where parties are brazenly gaming the system is surely the point where this bull**** has gone far enough?
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Originally posted by Asura View PostSurely this is the point where we riot until we have electoral reform?
The point where parties are brazenly gaming the system is surely the point where this bull**** has gone far enough?
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Originally posted by Hirst View PostI work in a big council office and there's a bit of a caste system, it really annoys me. A lot of the office staff completely ignore the security/cleaning staff. You often hear things like "they're only a (salary) grade 2". There's a real lack of respect.
I think the main thing they don't appreciate is that if you're in a job on minimum wage (or close) you don't get to work less hard. You actually have to work harder, if anything, because the demand for these jobs is high.
When I said this to that student, way back in 2007, I really meant it, too. I mean I was never the sort of person who was a prick to minimum wage workers (I've always hated those people) but at the same time, I always knew that I didn't want to end up doing that.
After the class, the Japanese teacher in the group pulled me aside, and said that they didn't understand what I was trying to tell the student. This led to a weird conversation where, eventually, we worked out that the crux of their misunderstanding was when I was saying "you might end up working at McDonald's", they were thinking "well what's so bad about that?"
They explained, from their perspective:
"McDonald's workers are the front face of a global successful business, and people need food. It might not be the best-paid job, but those in that job are at least working, and not a drain on society. Preparing food for people, cleaning toilets for people, making it possible for them to quickly get on with their day - you don't see this as a fine profession?"
When asked to clarify, we did straighten up that even in their eyes, it is preferable to own one's own restaurant, or work in a family business in which one can take personal pride a bit more seriously, but they were very clear - in Japan, in that society, to them at least, it was improper for a teacher to suggest to a student that those people are somehow "failures".
You have to imagine that this was delivered with the typical Japanese politeness, despite being as subtle as a brick to the face. I was being reprimanded.
But carrying on from this, it caused me to notice when I saw people deal with minimum-wage workers, like waiters, people at fast food places, cleaners... And while people in Japan are as varied as anywhere (in Tokyo, I often saw drunk people be dicks to servers just like anywhere else) as a broad generalisation, people treated those workers with respect.
Part of me wondered whether or not this has to do with how, in school, all students clean their own school toilets, classrooms and grounds, with the schools only having a "deep clean" a few times a year by professionals. I'm not sure. I'm not a social scientist.
However, despite the fact that Britain and Japan are often compared as hierarchical societies, they couldn't be any more different in this respect. At a busy lunch in a British McDonald's, if I'm in a queue, I always see one person treat the staff in a manner where I don't know how they resist the urge to vault the counter and punch them in the face.
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Originally posted by MartyG View PostPeople voted against voting reform.
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