Notes from a small town...

The recession is biting, and many people from this neck of the woods are starting to feel the pinch. Three-day weeks, reduced hours, and frozen pay cheques are now run of the mill. The worry and anguish is almost palpable.

And predictably, it seems as though people need little excuse for their inner right-wing extremist pixies to rear their ugly heads. Sure enough the prospect of economic turmoil turfs up the usual “Daily Hate” shrieks of xenophobic outrage, shock and annoyance.

Depressingly, those of us with more rational thought processes are in the minority. Reactionary reactions rule in Oswaldtwistle, and it’s becoming more depressing by the day.

Take this example. I was talking to a regular in my local pub, and the following conversation took place (honestly, I’m not making this up):

Regular: “My son is a genius, the stuff he comes out with. Honestly, he really challenges you…” (shakes head).
Me: “Really?”
Regular: “Oh aye. Listen to this. He was in here t’other night, and he said to everyone, right, that Hitler was a genius. Honestly, he had everyone floored.”
Me: “Hitler was a genius?”
Regular: “Aye. He was a bit of a bastard, but you have to give it to him. The man was a genius.”
Me: “Right. Why?”
Regular: “Why what?”
Me: “Was he a genius?”
Regular: “Hitler?”
Me: “Yep. What did Hitler give to humanity that put him up there with Einstein and Mozart?”
Regular: “Rocket science.”
Me: “Rocket science?”
Regular: “Aye. We wouldn’t have rocket science if it weren’t for Hitler.”
Me: “Hitler wasn’t a rocket scientist. ”
Regular: “Granted, no. But the Third Reich was.”
Me: “So the Third Reich was a genius?”
Regular: “Aye, it was.”
Me: “You don’t actually know what you’re talking about, do you?”

Okay, so this was an extreme example, but the insidious comments that are crawling out of the woodwork are becoming more pervasive.

It’s worrying because nowadays people are becoming more vocal about their opinions, which are at best ludicrous and, more often than not, really offensive. And at what point does this spill out into actions opposed to words? The BNP must be having a field day.

Why is the bulk of society so quick to scapegoat minority groups? Surely they should be shaking their fists towards the sky, in a Daily Mail Stylee, at the real issues. Or are they too lazy/ignorant to figure out where their real gripes lie?