Tuesday, January 25, 2005
I went to this last night. I know that the title is going to attract a certain crowd, but still… seems like I’m out of step. Most of the speakers were rubbish, of course.
Respect: I’d like to add a meaningless crowd-pleasing soundbite, if I may, but first I’ll obfuscate over what we actually do believe in and support. Oh, and Blair? B-liar, more like. B-liar!
Man from Spiked: I’m not voting at all. Why should I?
(Crowd silence.)
Liberal Democrat: Vote Liberal Democrat.
Johann Hari: Reasonable enough point, and although you might not agree with it, a falsifiable argument. Stuff about the war. Again.
The crowd was full of idiots too. Still, it was fun. It reminded me a lot of being at university and the student union meetings I used to go to. The standing, the drinking of a beer, the interminable speeches and complete poverty of intellectual rigour. Oh! To be young again! As usual, the "questions" were nothing of the sort, just an opportunity to take a Lefter-than-thou stance and impress chicks*.
Also, and I know this is tiresomely predictable, I find that my support for New Labour increases with each self-regarding nincompoop who jumps ship.
* Of course, as a right-thinking individual, I condemn sexism. Also, as luck would have it, I condemn homophobia and racism too. I think that they are bad things. It's ok, there's no need to congratulate me on my radicalism - with enough reading, you could get there too. So, I would never enforce patriarchy and sexualise and infantilise women by calling them "chicks". I am reclaiming the word and making it gender neutral. In this, and all future cases, "chicks" means "potential sexual (or not) partner of any gender or orientation". I know. I'm amazing.
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Respect: I’d like to add a meaningless crowd-pleasing soundbite, if I may, but first I’ll obfuscate over what we actually do believe in and support. Oh, and Blair? B-liar, more like. B-liar!
Man from Spiked: I’m not voting at all. Why should I?
(Crowd silence.)
Liberal Democrat: Vote Liberal Democrat.
Johann Hari: Reasonable enough point, and although you might not agree with it, a falsifiable argument. Stuff about the war. Again.
The crowd was full of idiots too. Still, it was fun. It reminded me a lot of being at university and the student union meetings I used to go to. The standing, the drinking of a beer, the interminable speeches and complete poverty of intellectual rigour. Oh! To be young again! As usual, the "questions" were nothing of the sort, just an opportunity to take a Lefter-than-thou stance and impress chicks*.
Also, and I know this is tiresomely predictable, I find that my support for New Labour increases with each self-regarding nincompoop who jumps ship.
* Of course, as a right-thinking individual, I condemn sexism. Also, as luck would have it, I condemn homophobia and racism too. I think that they are bad things. It's ok, there's no need to congratulate me on my radicalism - with enough reading, you could get there too. So, I would never enforce patriarchy and sexualise and infantilise women by calling them "chicks". I am reclaiming the word and making it gender neutral. In this, and all future cases, "chicks" means "potential sexual (or not) partner of any gender or orientation". I know. I'm amazing.
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