One thing the political ballerinas that frequent those Westminster Houses of Hypocrisy and Corruption, seem to forget, is that old people have memories, the older, the more memories. As I approach my 90th birthday, I was born in a room and kitchen, 294 Charles street in 1934, in the slum then known as Garngad, or "the good and the bad". I don't remember much about the Garngad, I left when I was 5 and we were moved to what was know as the "slum clearances". However I remember my mother's stories of those days in the 30s. How the word would go round the district the the "Means Test" men were in the area. As soon as she heard that, if she had a loaf of bread she would half it and hide half and some other bits of food, or she could be questioned as to how she could have a loaf of bread mid week, was she as poor as she was claiming. Her brother, my uncle Willie, long term unemployed, would visit her for a chat and a cup of tea. As soon as it was know the "Means Test" men were in the area, she would usher him out the door, wash his cup and put it away. Otherwise the questioning would be, "was he paying as a lodger" if she could feed him, was she as poor as she was claiming and her benefit could be cut. The deprivation and injustice of the 30s are well documented.
One of my earliest memories from our new home top flat in a tenement in Avonspark Street, is from the early 40s, I remember looking out our "living room" window, which over looked the large estate called Barronhill, it was run as a poorshouse for men. I would watch as individuals in their conspicuous grey parish suit, yes we used to give the homeless men a suit, a rough course material not meant for comfort or style, but to last, and that was during WW2. as they walked aimlessly round the path which surrounded a large green, never in pairs, always individually. They moved slowly, never moved their arms, they just hung by their sides or in their pocket, the head was usually dropped forward. Perhaps trying to remember, or trying to forget. I felt it a very sad sight.
Image courtesy of Guardian.
They closed the poorhouses but they didn't get rid of the poor. they abandoned them to charities. Charities are always a sign that society has failed. I would ask any of those hypocritical political ballerinas to state a year when we had no rough sleepers, no homelessness, no child poverty, no families blow the poverty line, and they would need to lie or admit there were no such years. I know that the Braveman faction of the fascist wing of the Tory party, refer to rough sleeping as a life choice, with their usual callous indifference to other people's suffering.
Image courtesy of Guardian. Here we are in 2023, and child poverty is rising, homelessness is rising, rough sleeping is rising, families living in poverty is rising. Anyone with a grain if rationalism, or even a shred of humanity, must come to the conclusion that the present system of economics has been an abysmal failure to see to the needs of the ordinary people.
Image courtesy of Digg. Further proof of this disregard for the ordinary people, if it was needed, would be the so called "Autumn Statement", Where the political charlatans spoke of growing the economy to make us all well-off. So they plundered the public purse of billions of our tax payers money and handed it to big businesses, to "grow the economy". The only growth we will see is in shareholders bonuses, CEO bonuses and salaries and business profits, it may create a few more jobs. Of course luxury yacht makers and makers of large limousines will also do very well. That was a political choice, they could have chosen to put those billions of tax payers money into social service, NHS and education, in this insane economic illusion, that according to the right wing political ballerinas would have been creating a nanny state, much better it give our money to their cronies in big business, of course don't expect anything different from the so called Labour side of this con-trick. Why do we tolerate this continual shafting of the ordinary people by a small minority for the benefit of the very rich and powerful few. Perhaps we should remember that we the ordinary people create every nut and bolt, every piece of wealth on the planet, and we have the power to change this economic insanity to a fair and just system that see to the needs of all our people. But when? Rebel, resist, think anarchism.
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