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catmandoo

catmandoo

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Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has
been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how
old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red
tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as knowing
when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird
gets the worm, life isn't always fair, and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more
than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults,
not children, are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when
well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set
in place.

Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a
classmate; teens suspended from school for using
mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly
student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job
they failed to do in disciplining their unruly children

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent
to administer Panadol, sun lotion or a sticky plaster
to a student; but, could not inform the parents when a student became
pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became
contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received
better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a
burglar
in your own home and the burglar can sue you for
assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to
realise that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled
a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his
wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his
son, Reason. He is survived by three stepbrothers; I Know My Rights,
Someone
Else is to Blame, and I'm A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realised he was gone.

If you still remember him pass this on, if not join the majority and do
nothing
 
Oh dear, one of the "it was better when I was young" viewpoints. A lot of the examples are myths, or where the legal action taken quite rightly failed, and people have always taken out daft lawsuits.

Common sense got better when:
We got rid of dog licences (if only we could do the same for VHF)

Allowed skilled and cheap young Eastern Europeans in to work

We stopped cutting the tonsils out of little kids, just in case

Started looking into what actually happened inside some childrens homes and old people's homes, instead of assuming victims were mad or bad

Emptied out the old mental institutions

Realised that continuous insults based on race weren't very nice

Built marinas to turn boating into a mass sport, not an elite one

Voted out a tired old government

Trained people to sail, but didn't insist on licencing them

Celebrated the dumping of the EU constitution becuase it didn't even make sense to anyone, even the French and Europhiles like me

I'd far rather be around now than in the 60s or 80s, but then I don't always believe what I read. Most "political correctness" is actually about common sense and courtesy, and learning from mistakes. You can always find a few looney examples but they rarely actually stack up when you look at them in detail.

Oh, and think back to school - if you took mouthwash (or sucked a mint) at lunchtime then you'd either been drinking or smoking, no?
 
[ QUOTE ]

Common sense got better when:

Allowed skilled and cheap young Eastern Europeans in to work
<font color="red">(cheap as in below the minimum wage or cheap as in we've got plenty of young disefranchised kids of our own to train and get into work) </font>

Emptied out the old mental institutions
<font color="red">(onto the streets) </font>

Voted out a tired old government
<font color="red">(and got New Labour instead) </font>


[/ QUOTE ] Not everything that's new is better.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Common sense tells me that this is one for the lounge!

[/ QUOTE ]


Do you mean that there are not similar issues affecting the boating world ?

I would have thought the post woud have sparked some comment is this direction .
Any way Lounge is for registered users only so Common sense directs one to Scuttlebut etc etc /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
 
I agree it's a Lounge one, but as it's here:

Quote:

Common sense got better when:

Allowed skilled and cheap young Eastern Europeans in to work
(cheap as in below the minimum wage or cheap as in we've got plenty of young disefranchised kids of our own to train and get into work)
- our kids won't become apprentices and the job markets healthy enough for them to get other jobs instead. The real losers are the crap builders, plumbers and chippies who've ridden the coat tails of the decent ones.

Emptied out the old mental institutions
(onto the streets)
- too true, and we've spent the last few years dealing with the problems that stare us in the face, instead of hiding them away. Not ideal, but support has got a lot better since ...New Labour came in and started funding and reforming with a bit of intelligence. Still much to do and money on Mental Health keeps getting diverted
 
Again, it depends on your viewpoint - it's only by embracing the best of anything new that you get to be part of making it better. Blind optimists are in charge of most big changes, and one-eyed ones even more.

Rule-wise - I think the "jobsworth" type (with their rigid and daft interpretations of rules) exists far less now that they used to. They're now exist now and again in the telecentres and public sectors instead of across unions, industry, transport etc etc.

Ok, now I'm turning into Pollyanna - time to find something to whinge about.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Any way Lounge is for registered users only so Common sense directs one to Scuttlebut etc etc /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

[/ QUOTE ]Duh? You are registered if you have a "screen name" e.g. "catmandoo". If you can post here you can post there. While these forums can be read by unregistered lurkers, the lounge cannot unless you are a registered user of the forums in general
----------
hammer.thumb.gif
"Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity"
 
[While these forums can be read by unregistered lurkers, the lounge cannot unless you are a registered user of the forums in general
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Exactly . restricts reading to a limited few. Some of these lurkers might be inclined to register . I was a few years ago
 
I am sorry . I may be becoming an old fart but I have had a practical upbringing and like many others of my age have had to make practical decisions and carry the can for them .

It seems to me that today we are getting drowned in red tape to cover every arse and people are frightened to make decisions in case some one sues them or fires them .

The Scottish parliament is a prime example . I read in the paper today that one SMP wanted to replace a spare desk in her office with a filing cabinet and it involved
form filling
a committee meeting
visual assessment by civil servants
input by IT , health and safety
review by the Holyrood parliament's change request board (4 senior officials )
and over 4 weeks long wait

The same person got into further difficulties when she told officials she had a sore neck because her computer was at the wrong height . She was told to fill in a form and asked if she wanted a doctor or nurse to examine her

As a tax payer I deplore the cost but as a human being I despair .

Will the UK grind to a halt ? What will we do when the hordes continue to invade . Ask them to fill out forms ? And as long as the form is filled up let them in

.
 
RupertW, how many killings have been carried out by people who all the psychiatrists knew should be in secure accommodation, yet they were unable to carry out their wishes? Maybe you don't go far enough back to the times when people were expected to work for a living, when it was safe to walk the streets day and night and when the majority of the workers never locked their back doors. There was a time when teachers were able to teach without expending most of their energy trying to make there voices heard. I remember foreign students here being staggered to find a box on the platforms of the buses for 'uncollected fares' - we would be these days!
 
Ah, now I understand where you're coming from . The Scottish parliament has to spend its time doing something as it isn't really running a country. If they ever had any real decisions to take then they'd be a bit more focused.

The whole devolution experiment must be the most expensive (but most effective) way yet for Londoners to avoid ever hearing about Scotland anymore, which is a bit of a break after so many years of listening to moaning about rule from Westminster.
 
Spot on reginaldon. I was an ambulanceman a few years ago. We used to take people to mental hospitals (Non PC description nowadays). There were day patients and there were residential patients and there were patients that (at that time) were would not or could not manage outside of an institution.

I also used to (only 25 years ago) leave my doors unlocked, and I'm not an old fart.
 
Would this be the time that landlords said, "No Blacks or Irish", or the time that teachers were allowed to cane small kids, or the time that police wouldn't interfere with the right of a man to beat up his wife in their own home. Perhaps it's the time that popstars had links with the Krays or the Mafia, instead of Live8 and poverty relief.

No I wasn't around, I'm glad to say, although I'd probably have enjoyed that time too and not harked back to the good old days of the depression and the workhouse.
 
You've got to deal with what you know about. So your outlook of the era is a bit bleak as you didn't experience the highs, only know of the lows.

I'm the first to admit we have made enormous strides in equality, but there has been an appalling decline in community spirit, civic responsibility and respect.

Just look at the horrors that Tone and the gang are presiding over, wringing their hands, and doing sod all.
 
" and we've spent the last few years dealing with the problems that stare us in the face,"

I suspect the "we" rather gives the game away

nice try

No cigar
 
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