A Tangled Web

Thou Doth Protest Too Much!



I'm all for the power of protest. However, I would only join a protest against something that is worthwhile. Yesterday, for example, I intervened when a small group of young teenagers was verbally abusing an 80+ year old woman at a bus stop. I politely suggested they desist from their activities, otherwise I would have to resort to more drastic measures such as removing their knee-caps from the middle of their legs (I'm sure you can imagine the scene).



The episode set me thinking on how bad Britain's elderly population is treated by the rest of society. When they are not being physically or verbally abused by young urchins who, let's face it, owe their very freedom to the wartime actions of their victims, they are the subjects of disgusting State parsimony in the shape of a meagre pension. In short, the elderly of Britain are only appreciated by the powers-that-be every Remembrance Sunday, when politicians strain themselves to lavish sentences of insincere praise on the veterans marching down Whitehall.



When have we ever seen nationwide protests about that? When do we ever see protests about our congested roads, our third-world health service, our lack of sexual or matrimonial morals, the spread of STD's, spiralling crime rates, our ramshackle transport system, the 'rip-off' prices in our shops and supermarkets or the piles of litter on the streets? I'll tell you - never!! The only time the more emotionally idiotic members of this once great nation can ever get off their adiposal backsides is when 'the poor foreigners' are being allegedly ill-treated. Hence, the protests taking place today at various asylum centres around the UK.



Do the people involved in these ridiculous exercises not realise the level of provision this country affords those who, not only have paid absolutely nothing into the system, but more often than not are here under false pretences? Those of you who are more familiar with my background will know that I provide counselling to people afflicted by drug and alcohol addiction. I have just found out that, in certain parts of the country, people in need of psychiatric services are being forced to wait longer periods than originally envisaged because the Government has decreed that asylum seekers should be prioritised for psychiatric care due to the experiences they suffered in their countries of origin. You really couldn't write the script, could you!! I think I'll set up a one-man protest against this, though I'm sure I will protest alone as my concerns only relate to the 'natives'.