Thrashing Out The Issues
Time for an open thread, I think. But first,
Yes, let’s squeeze in another visit to the Guardian‘s Dining Across the Divide series, in which “strangers from across the divide” – albeit strangers with, very often, eerily similar opinions and a common choice of newspaper – “discuss the divisive issues of our time” and attempt to “bridge their political differences.” Should any significant differences actually materialise.
Yes, a series in which the entire breadth of conceivable political thought – as imagined by the Guardian‘s intellectual powerhouse Zoe Williams – is given an airing. And where left-leaning teachers, left-leaning writers and left-leaning university administrators discuss just how awful and stupid those non-leftwing people are, and whether Net Zero is super-imperative or just really, really important.
A series in which totally random Guardian readers – sorry, totally random members of the public – encounter “the opposite point of view,” while chewing on kale and butternut squash. Except that they both vote Green and are named Tamsin and Matilda.
This week, the clashing titans are BJ, a vegan and Lib Dem-voting writer, and Toby, a Labour-voting student now enthused by the Greens.
As you’d imagine, there’s much laughter and gaiety:
“I don’t see there’s any debate,” says Toby.
It’s all going terribly well, this debate thing.
Sadly, details of any clashing are for the most part left to the imagination. Filthy details are few and far between. Though BJ is slightly more concerned by exactness of terminology, and by antisemitism, of which both disapprove.
Says BJ,
I know. It’s just one blow after another.
To which, Toby replies,
At which point, I could just leave this here.
And this.
And this.
And this.
And this.
And this.
And this.
And this.
And…
Well, we’ll be here all day. And we must push on.
And so, during dessert:
Again, it’s all clash, clash, clash. Whether either participant is married or in some way entangled is, alas, not divulged.
And in a final, shocking twist:
Do take a moment to recover from all that spirited thrusting.
Previously in this bare-knuckle arena of Guardian debate:
Or, in effect, to themselves.
As commenter Rafi quipped following the above,
‘I think Trump is Hitler but in a slightly different way.’
THE DIVIDE!
Well, indeed. On poking through the series, of the three Conservative voters I could find, two were very soft Conservative, in the sense of actually voting for Labour, and the token Reform voter was oddly steeped in the Guardian tongue, showing great enthusiasm for “wealth taxes,” and disliking Mrs Thatcher.
This seems to be a common pattern – lefties and, well, almost lefties bonding over their dislike of Reform or Mr Trump. There’s very little substance to be had. It’s chiefly leftist boilerplate with some occasional and oddly flaccid pushback. Hardly representative of rebuttals one might offer. And not exactly capturing the tensions of our time.
Update, via the comments:
EmC quotes this,
And adds, not unfairly,
Quite.
Among the many miracles conjured into being by the Green Party in Brighton were numerous, long strikes interrupting basic services; residents having to wade through mountains of uncollected garbage for weeks on end; subsequent invasions by rats; plans to abolish car use in the city; and – despite the party’s ecological mania – the lowest recycling rates in the country.
Not to mention the endless manufactured congestion and astronomical parking fees, due to the council’s hostility to car ownership; the loss of tourism revenue as a direct result of these policies; countless failures to maintain simple infrastructure; and pavements overgrown with weeds to a degree that endangered the elderly and called to mind some dystopian science fiction.
For those unfamiliar with the farce in question, long-time Brighton resident Julie Burchill conveyed something of its scope and flavour:
And what every voter wants is a city councillor laughing at their frustration when trying to do formerly simple things. A frustration entirely the fault of said councillor’s own party and their bizarre policies. In this case, a policy based on a belief that when people go to the local dump – sorry, recycling centre – they do so by bicycle.
Readers are welcome to picture Brighton residents making three-mile journeys by pedal bike with old fridges and unwanted microwaves strapped to their backs.
Oh yes, I almost forgot. Open thread. Share ye links and bicker, baby.
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Schlieren photography, 1864
In a suburb of Boston that I am aware of, it is almost impossible to dispose of anything that will not fit in your single allowed trash can or single recycle can. Have a broke child’s bike? ahahahha too bad, you are stuck with it. So progressive.
How short sighted. Get the family in the car, drive out to the countryside, have lunch, fly a kite, go for a hike, then toss the bike off some backwater bridge in the middle of nowhere. Think of the economic stimulus!
No municipal recycling centers at all? And are there no commercial trash hauler services? Around here there are companies you can call to take away pretty much anything. And there are (mostly Mexican) guys who cruise the alleys in pickups looking for appliances and other things they can take to junk yards.
And there are (mostly Mexican) guys who cruise the alleys in pickups looking for appliances and other things they can take to junk yards.
Can attest. I once lived down closer to the border, in a duplex, in a neighborhood of duplexes, all rented by Mexican families or collections of Mexican men. I was the lone gringa on my street – it was an interesting place. When I lost my job and had to move, I put out at the curb things I could not fit into the moving cubes – old exercise machine, chairs, my lawnmower, etc – even though there would be no city large refuse pickup for months. My stuff didn’t even make it to the next morning – it was like ants at a picnic – old truck pulls up, people get out, stuff disappears into the truck. I was happy – saved me a littering ticket from the city.