What It’s Like

I try to not look too deeply into politics because of the level of anger it normally creates in me - but the last couple of weeks has really become too much. It is clear to me that we are led by a bunch of narcissistic, lying and immoral “people” who care only for themselves and certain groups. Now - I am not looking for a political argument - I don’t know if there are better options out there and I do not know what the answers are - but what I do know is that there is a lot wrong right now.

At the moment there is no hiding from any of what is going on. The situation between Russia and Ukraine gets sourer by the hour, the on-going conflicts in other parts of the world that don’t even get reported for whatever reasons, the cost of living that is out of control and the fact our government broke their own laws, lied to our faces and now just think a grovelling apology is okay - it is so hard to process it all. Especially when it all feels too big to change - like where do we start?

For me - I look at it this way. I try to take all the bullshit away. I don’t listen to the media - I don’t trust any of them. For me the newspapers and news stations are as culpable as most of the politicians for a lot of what has happened in recent years. Knowing what to believe has become incredibly tough - that in itself is despicable - we should be able to turn to trusted sources for information but that seems impossible now. I also avoid conflict. What I mean by that is that it seems really hard to have a discussion anymore without it turning into an aggressive argument and someone being right or wrong. You only have to look at twitter to see what that is like. So I steer clear of that. What I try to do is look at the human factor. I try and imagine what it is like to be going through what other people are. I will give a couple of examples to try and make it relatable.

But first, I will introduce the song that this blog is written after - because I feel like it is a good time to do that and it will also allow me to collect my thoughts.

For me, this is such a beautiful song. It has lifted me up - and it has made me cry. It carries such an incredibly deep message for us all and it is put across in stunning fashion. It is one of those songs where you almost hear the lyrics more than the music. It is the message though. It is a message that everyone should listen to and live by.

“God forbid you ever had to walk a mile in his shoes
'Cause then you really might know what it's like to sing the blues
Then you really might know what it's like
Then you really might know what it's like”

Just think about that for one minute. What if we all considered what other people were going through? What if we all put ourselves in the positions other people were in and showed some empathy and care. What if that was our default reaction. Because it doesn’t seem to be the case. It seems the default is to sneer and drag them down further. Now - I am not innocent here. I know I have made judgements that I regret and I will make further mistakes but I also feel I am highly accountable and right those wrongs. Which doesn’t make it okay by the way. I am not suggesting we become perfect beings - I am suggesting that we just try to apply more empathetic filters than we perhaps do right now. It is also worth noting that, in my opinion, the media (by this I mean social media, newspapers and rolling news) make it harder to apply filters yourself - they are almost trying to force them on you. It is so tough to break away from that - because these are sources we should be able to trust. Here is a perfect example.

33 years ago tomorrow (15/4/89) I went to a football match as a 12 year old with my dad. Instead of watching a great game of football, we ended up witnesses to the worst tragedy ever seen at a football match. We watched people die in front of us. We saw it unfold. We saw people trying to escape - but we saw the police push them back into the pens they were dying in. It was an utter tragedy. I see the images in my head even today - crystal clear. I have had years of guilt for being there and seeing that. Helpless - watching on as kids my age died. Watching football. Sickening. What happened next was gut wrenching. Several newspapers - especially one - I won’t name it because for me it is disgusting how it can even still operate - blamed the fans. “They were all drunk”, “They were stealing wallets from the dead people”, “They were causing trouble outside the ground”. All of this was total an utter bullshit. And you know what. I know. Because I was fucking there. I was outside the ground beforehand. At the end where the Liverpool fans were. There was no trouble. None. There was big match excitement. I didn’t see anyone drunk - and trust me - I have been going to football for 37 years and I have seen plenty of drunks. They made it all up. Because someone needed to be blamed. Because no-one wanted to be accountable. And that’s the problem right there. Too many people do not want to be held to account. Do I think anyone wanted a tragedy to happen. Of course not. It happened due to a perfect storm of issues on the day in a ground that wasn’t up to code and policed by a police force that didn’t handle it properly. That is just my opinion. Based on what I saw. No one wanted that. No one wanted anything like that to happen. But it did. And then people started to blame the victims. To the point where their families are still fighting today. What the actual fuck?! These are the filters that are applied to us sometimes. There are people that tell me now that it was the fault of the Liverpool fans. People who weren’t there. People who have never been to a football ground and have no interest in the game. Because it is easy. It is easier to trust what you read or watch. It should be the truth after all. But it isn’t. We are being manipulated and we need to wise up to that. If you haven’t seen it and want to learn more than watch the documentary below - it is harrowing but important.

The next example relates to what is happening now. A nurse working for the NHS - working 50-60 hours a week on a fairly low salary. Skipping meals because she cannot afford to eat - making sure her kids eat and eating their leftovers - because she doesn’t have the money to go around. She has to pay rent, gas, electric, parking at the hospital where she works (I mean that is so fucked up) food and all the other expenses that come with general life. The reactions to that. Utterly staggering. People in power - MP’s - telling her that she should budget better - that she can feed a family of 4 for £2.50 using dried pasta and tomato paste. Now - I am fully aware of 2 things here.

1. I read this so is it true - I don’t know but it seems to be. I also know that there are more kids going to school without breakfast than ever before.

2. I know there are people in this world that cannot even do that. So yes - we are lucky.

The point here is - take a step back and wonder what that must be like. Instead of judging. Instead of offering advice on how she can feed her kids for £2.50 - shouldn’t we have leaders that are looking at that and thinking - this cannot be right - something needs to change. But that is what large swathes of society have become. It is deeply uncaring and I don’t like where any of it is going. I worry everyday about my kids and what the world is going to be like for them. And it breaks my heart.

So what am I going to do. Honestly right now I don’t know. What I do know is that I am going to do something. I do not want my kids growing up in a world like this. I am going to take action. I am acutely aware of my faults and behaviours. I am trying to improve as in individual every day - so that is the first step. But after that? I want to set up a charity that is dedicated to helping people. But I don’t know how realistic that is. Maybe I am better tying to advocate empathy as a strength and the good that it can do - instead of it being seen as a weakness. Change needs to occur. I have started with myself and I won’t stop there. I would like to set up a group to drive change and would like people to join me. I don’t know what it looks like, or what we will do - but I have had enough and I want to make something happen. So if any of this hits home with anyone on any level - then please let me know and we can figure something out.

Let’s drive change and create a better world.

Thanks for reading and apologies for this ramble .

JT

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