The death of manners

It constantly surprises me how little people say please and thank you today. At the bookshop I work at, I’m constantly serving children accompanied by parents who like to throw their books at me, followed by their money, with no response when I offer a smile and a “hello”. Obviously this isn’t the fault of the child, it’s a lot to do with upbringing and the fact that their parents stood next to them don’t correct their behaviour and that’s where the root of all problems begin. Never mind the kids, fully-grown adults don’t even offer a grunt when I offer my hellos, would you like a bag, or goodbyes.

I don’t have a problem with society. Honestly, as much as I complain about things on here, I don’t think our country is all that bad as most of our issues are superficial. But it is increasingly annoying when I spend most of my Sunday afternoons following children around the children’s book section picking up board books and hungry caterpillars while their parents browse the travel section upstairs.

Like I said, my issue isn’t just kids. Adults have a lot to answer for in the manners department too. Just a few months ago, Christian Bale was recorded on tape swearing repeatedly at the director of photography on set of his new film Terminator Salvation for getting in the way of an “emotional” scene he was filming.

Since when was it ok to shout at someone for a good ten minutes using every expletive imaginable in the first place? I heard the audio, and it was nasty. This was a grown man treating another grown man with no respect whatsoever. As with most celebrities, people immediately came to Bale’s defence. “He is very intensely involved in his character. He didn't walk around like that all day long. It was just a moment and it passed,” said the assistant director of Terminator.

It appears that most of Celebritydom has forgotten what it’s like to be just a normal human being. If it’s not Kanye rudely interrupting Justice and Simian’s acceptance speech, it’s Christian Bale going berserk at someone on set. Then of course there is the now saintly Jade Goody whose racism in the past seems to have been conveniently forgotten along with her bullying Shilpa Shetty inside the Big Brother house.

People need to stop looking towards role models such as celebrities and take responsibility for their own actions. It’s no longer enough to covet the things the rich and famous have, now people are trying to act like them. Perhaps we need to remember just to be ourselves sometimes, and mind our p’s and q’s.

At the risk of sounding like a groupie...

I just went to a lecture taken by Jon Snow, and for the life of me I cannot concentrate on this assignment I have due in tomorrow! I was ashamedly starstruck by his (rather tall, and not just by my standards) presence! For his die hard fans out there, he was wearing a pink dotty, but not polka dot, tie today - with pink socks which he happily displayed to us.

All this talk of hope, and truth being the first casualty, and how impartiality shall never really exist in journalism... really is instilling me with a particularly fervent ambition!

Let us hope that technology is really the saviour of this generations journalists, and not our crutch.

Back to my stack of books then...

Fashionably conscious - or is that conscience with a bit of fashion?

If you have lived an awfully privileged life, you will never know the value of anything because you have never needed to. That goes without saying. But if you have lived a moderately privileged lifestyle, nowadays, you can still never understand the value of anything.

By anything, I mean materialistically. A friend said to me upon returning from a trip from Kenya, "I could live there. You get so used to not having material possessions, it's like you never had them in the first place." I replied, "I would never be able to live without material possessions... I think I'm too indulgent for that."

I really couldn't. I've never gone a day without basic material things. The roughest I have ever slept was at a music festival in Spain in constant 33 degree heat sharing a tent, with on camp showering facilities, albeit only cold water. I have never been in need of anything.

As a student the first time around, I was rich. I had a loan, my mother, and a job. I was lucky but at the time I thought I was broke. I remember how deprived I felt every time I wandered into Eldon Square shopping centre in between classes and couldn't afford to buy yet another dress. Recalling those moments is like trying to swallow salty water when you have a sore throat - you know it's good for you but yet you still grit your teeth trying to filter out the taste.

The bad taste lingers now that I know I really am on a budget. For the past month I have been (quite successfully) living off £20 a week. The idea appalled me at first but I had no choice. In the midst of a financial crisis that hangs over everyone's head, I consoled myself with the fact that I was probably not alone.

I'm not of course. Give someone without a job an extra £20 a week and they would be thrilled. I don't have a family to support, I haven't got huge bills to pay... well I do have credit cards to pay off, but I'm managing on my budget. I just had to make big changes to my lifestyle in the process.

First to go was spontaneous "nights out". I was never much of a partyer before, so I thought this would be easiest. Then I realised how many times I just "went for a quick drink" after a long day in class with some friends. It took me by surprise how much I spent doing this, and I really miss it. In the long run however, it feels like it may mean I can go for "proper" nights out with said friends. Once my debts are settled.

Second should really be joint first on my list of sacrifices; food. Admittedly, this is where most, if not all, of my money has always been spent. I was brought up never to substitute good food for a poor version. This was before I realised I could get a whole chicken and fresh veg in the market for a lot cheaper than in supermarkets. I love food shopping, maybe because I love any shopping, but cheaper does not always mean cheaper in some cases. I love that I'm helping out local farmers and I know where my food is coming from. Guilt-free and yummy food.

Third to go, (and this is a very close third) was clothes. On my budget, I have worked out that I could probably afford a cheap Primark dress at £12.50 every month. But then that clashes with another side of my material conscience - ethical clothing. I realised that if I sacrificed three horribly cheap dresses made exploiting by the working rights of human beings, I could afford a single, ethically made and beautifully fitting piece of clothing. Enter the gorgeous new discovery my housemate and I made about a month ago - Miss Matilda's Boutique.

The boutique is situated just off the high street on a road called rather sweetly, Winkley Street on Winkley Square. Here a mad, cramped, noisy and long stretch of road running right through the city centre transforms into a fashion fairytale. The moment you turn down Winkley Street, it is like you have just walked onto the set of the film Notting Hill. You almost want to rub your eyes in delight, because the architecture, the sounds and even the smells are all different from just a second ago.

So it was that Miss Matilda's Boutique saved my fashion conscience. The clothes are reasonably priced and from an assortment of small labels which usually use organic cotton (I say usually because I haven't looked at the label of every piece of clothing in there). I have a beautiful nautical jumper waiting for me there this very moment, and come pay day I will know I've earned it.

It's not just about understanding the value of things. I believe it is crucial to know what you are buying, whatever it is. Where it came from; who planted or sourced the material; how it was made or grown; when it was made or harvested; every stitch and fibre. As an undergrad student living off a lot more money than I have now, these thoughts would never have occurred to me. It is now I have less to value, that I value more.

I think that's what it takes for most people. I still have a long way to go before I'll feel like living in Africa, but I'm happy to say I've made a start to the possibility.

"Mainstream" politics give rise to the BNP, but are the BNP making more people leftists?

The far-right British National party have been gearing up for the European elections amid accusations of manipulating the recent strikes in England. The party have been targeting strikers at the Lindsey oil refinery in Lincolnshire, seizing the opportunity when Brown used the slogan “British jobs for British workers” after the workers’ strike to exploit the situation.

In the E.U. one million French workers also went on strike a few days before the strikes in England, in response to President Sarkozy’s handling of the financial crisis. Spain has been worst hit with the largest number of people in unemployment leaving over three million people jobless.

Union leaders are trying to distance themselves from the far-right after the BNP showed up in Lindsey. “The unofficial action taking place across the UK is not about race or immigration,” Derek Simpson, joint leader of Unite speaking to the Financial Times said, “It’s about class. It’s about employers who exploit workers regardless of their race or nationality.”

BNP Press Officer Clive Jefferson said that this month the BNP have been campaigning vigorously around Cumbria in a bid to win the Castle and Belah wards in the city of Carlisle. “Our main objective is to top up the profile of the party in Cumbria, to train our newer people and to up the overall percentage vote for the European elections.”

The BNP recently won their first local election in South London, but do not believe this triumph is due to the recession - “We’d much rather there wasn’t a recession. I wouldn’t put it in terms of helping the BNP, I’d put it in terms that the mainstream parties have brought us to this crossroads by their policies.”

Disgust over the perceived racist policies has brought together groups all over England in an effort to combat the resurgence of the far-right that has been bubbling under the surface of the current economic crisis.

The group Carlisle Against Racism, originally formed by local trade unionists, has been campaigning to take positive action against fascism and “to promote Carlisle as a city that welcomes people from all cultures”.

Daniel Thorburn, 25, secretary of CAR believes that the recession has had a direct impact on the trust people have in the government. “I definitely think that popular dissatisfaction with mainstream politics has caused people to look for alternatives.” Furthermore, he believes that the far-right BNP are “trying to position themselves as a populist alternative”.

A member of the Lindsey strike committee also contacted the group to emphasise that their campaign was not about race. Thorburn quoted a CAR flyer, “When workers caught the BNP in the car park, ready to peddle their racist filth dividing and weakening the workers’ cause, they told them to leave.”

The actions of the BNP have also led to more controversial measures. Underground group, Antifa, self-proclaimed “militant anti-fascists” believe that one of the ways to fight fascism, is to “counter that violence”. It is unknown how many members of Antifa there are throughout the UK. Their aim is to “halt the advance of the far-right in the UK in order to protect the unity of our multi-cultural society and of our class.”

In a statement issued through a member who wished to remain anonymous, Antifa stated that “many a candidate has withdrawn from the BNP and many a BNP leaflet has not been posted because of people taking a militant stand.” They also stress that violence is not the only stand they take.

Antifa see the recession as a reason for the re-emergence of far-right politics. “The fascists use ethnic minorities as scapegoats for the problems caused by capitalism.” They agree with CAR that the government have not responded accordingly throughout the recession.

“In times of crisis the liberal façade of mainstream politics slips and we see more racist propaganda in newspapers, and from our elected leaders,” a member said, referring to the “British jobs for British workers” slogan.

Labour MPs have also urged their government to address the issue. They have voiced their concerns over ministers’ inability to address the white working class and the fear that the void left by the government has created a vacuum for the far-right to fill.

The “wildcat” strikes in the UK were condemned by Britain’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown, but raised issues over foreign staff working in the country. Shortly after home secretary, Jacqui Smith signalled a “tightening” of immigration laws as the government faced a growing pressure to act under the continual rise of unemployment.

Speaking to the FT, Jon Cruddas, the unofficial leader of left Labour warned, “Trite comments about protectionism and xenophobia do not address the whole question of equality [for British workers] before the law. If the Labour party can’t grasp this and articulate that, then other forces will.”

With the impending European elections in June, fears of the BNP gaining its first seat in European Parliament were raised by both CAR and Antifa. “We are worried about any factors which undermine working class solidarity and which push mainstream politics further to the right,” said the anonymous member of Antifa. “Nick Griffin’s election to the EP would be an indicator of growing BNP support in Britain, and this we are greatly concerned with.”