We Are the Normal Ones - And the Outside World are the Fruit-Loops

That's a problem with the trope, 'dangerous loner.' When I moved to social housing, my specialist wrote to the housing association telling them not to worry if I stayed at home with no or few visitors. It's as if journalists feel they must give readers a reason for 'things that happen' when the reality is, 'things' have happened in communities for hundreds of centuries.

Yeh hey it scares me. Don't want to leave the house incase some person jumps on a train or just randomly like decided to hurt me for no reason. Because everyone is on some kinda weird crazy nonsense. I still go out anyway I am human I have done bad things I have also done really good things. I am a good man. Humanity is cooked!! Stuff is so crazy nowadays haha. By the way autism is great. It's legit the best thing that ever happened to me. Sending all my wishes to the victims. Stop this crazy *** because I am getting fed up with it people. 

I agree, the alternatives are worse, we could get lucky and have some kind of benign dictatorship, but then every person who lives to have power over others would hate it and try and overthrow the benign dicator.

I do think politics has become harder to enter, it seems that there are far fewer ordinary people in politics and the situation of women in politics is particularly toxic. All the keyboard warriors making rape and death threats is bad enough, but there are far to many "credible threats".

Hairyloon said:

'Cater to the Greater'

So true.

Desmond1979 said:

Seeing the failures of Democracy, and the inability of society to adapt to changing demographics, made me realise that 'Cater to the Greater' won't maintain peaceful coexistence.

Where have you observed democracy to suggest that it has failed?

Desmond1979 said:

Politics is a closed shop

That is largely true—politics is brutal.

Democracy might be less attractive for some, but the alternatives are worse.

Alas, Politics is a closed shop. Much like other Industries here. It isn't what you know, but who you know. Look how Blair got into the Labour Party. Creating State Capitalism, as opposed to a Free Market; or even a Socialist Society. A halfway house.

I view myself as Post-Political. Seeing the failures of Democracy, and the inability of society to adapt to changing demographics, made me realise that 'Cater to the Greater' won't maintain peaceful coexistence. We should govern ourselves.

I haven’t grasped exactly what you are saying. 

Desmond1979 said:

The Developing World now view China and Russia with Rose-Tinted Glasses

I think countries have been playing a balancing act with Chinese/Russian relationships for many years before the Russian/Ukraine War and before BRIC was a thing. Unfortunately, we rely on China for much of our technology, and politicians seem obliged to say nice things about people they rely on, even if they don’t think nice sentiments at all. 

I don’t like the political developments since Trump’s first presidency, but I don’t know how the UK can change things quickly, given its reliance on the US. However, I would like politicians and representatives of all countries involved to stop making personalised insults and untruthful statements. 

Desmond1979 said:

The Developing World now view China and Russia with Rose-Tinted Glasses. While Christians in those countries face an onslaught of persecution

The largest religious tradition in Russia is that of the Russian Orthodox Church. It is estimated that around 65-70% of people are professed Christians.

According to some sources, China has persecuted many Christians and the Catholic Church is strictly controlled. China generally has a poor human rights record and people of all faiths and none can be subject to persecution and tight controls.

Desmond1979 said:

Third World Countries are now turning towards the BRICS Alliance, for Economic Development, as they associate us Western Nations with Invasions and Bombs

Some may think that, but some developing countries have had little choice but to turn to other countries for support as Trump stopped foreign aid without any warning. It was an inhumane and cruel thing to do, given that foreign aid was less than 1% of the federal budget - a small fraction of the overall economy of such a rich country.

Desmond1979 said:

You can't hate our Political Class enough.

What is our Political Class? I don’t understand who you mean by “our” or who you refer to as the “Political Class”. 

Third World Countries are now turning towards the BRICS Alliance, for Economic Development, as they associate us Western Nations with Invasions and Bombs.

In a way, that makes things even worse for us. The Developing World now view China and Russia with Rose-Tinted Glasses. While Christians in those countries face an onslaught of persecution, our cause isn't helped by Western Indifference.

You can't hate our Political Class enough.

Hairyloon said:

it is wrong to compare ourselves to other nations:

I remember years ago, a staff member who suggested the school I was teaching in was like something out of a third world country (It was a complaint about a general lack of pupil and staff resources). A staff member who was originally from Somalia suggested that the person could take a look at the reality of living in some of the least developed countries in the world. Hearing the school compared to a third world country made me feel bad because the issue of limited resources had been exaggerated out of all proportion, and they didn’t reflect reality. Also, it was undermining the experience of the person from Somalia.

Iain said:

I'm guessing you haven't been to any third world countries to see their down-at-heel neighbourhoods.

I'm sure they were speaking figuratively, but in any case, it is wrong to compare ourselves to other nations: we should compare ourselves to what we are capable of... although be careful doing that, when I do it for myself I find I fall so short that I start getting depressed about it.

Desmond1979 said:

Some Inner-City areas, in our country, would make the Third World Squirm.

I'm guessing you haven't been to any third world countries to see their down-at-heel neighbourhoods.

It will put your concerns into context and realise that it is still pretty civilised if you can see beyond the scaremongering and ragebaiting of the tabloid press or social media.

I've seen stuff in Indonesia and Morrocco that make the slums of Birmingham or South London look like Chelsea.

There is a lot to be improved certainly but we are not nearly as bad as the press would have us believe.

People on Twatter will probably say anything, its one of things I really dislike about those sorts of social media platforms and why I don't use them.

TheCatWoman said:

I'm not aware of anythng being released about the guys mental state or if he's ND?

People on Twitter said the police had said he's schizophrenic, but I've not seen it said by the police...

I'm not aware of anythng being released about the guys mental state or if he's ND? If he's got mental health problems then I think this just highlights how poor mental health services are in general and how underfunded they are.

I saw on the News just now about the Southport enquiry and the evidence from the brother of the murderer, he said that nobody could control his brother. It did come out at the time that  services were inadaquate and had been unable to help him. Personally I would like to see more long term beds for people who suffer severely with mental health, it seems a revolving door of emergency call outs admissions and then dischareges. That's not good for anyone, I'd hate for us to go back to the days of people being locked up forever on flimsey evidence, but there must be many cases where people need locking up fo rthier own safet and everyone elses.

A Constitutional Republic, as opposed to a Democratic Republic.

That was America's original aim. Then it got skewed, in a myriad of war and espionage.

TheCatWoman said:

Prince Andrew, isn't he the scandal that keeps on giving!

His proper title now is "The Andrew formerly known as Prince".
Apparently they're threatening to take away his campaign medals from the Falklands, which seems to me a step too far: he did serve, even if they did make certain that his service didn't put him in danger (which they may or may not have done).

Prince Andrew, isn't he the scandal that keeps on giving!

Perhaps we should bring back the idea that all members of a common gr grandfather should be eligable for the throne, and hopefully the best is picked by the family. This seems to have been a common system in mediaeval Ireland and probably much further back than that, the Witan in Anglo-Saxon England seems to have worked in much the same way.

Primogeniture seems about the worst way to pick a leader and wasn't established firmly in this country until quite late on in the Mediaeval period.

I think most of the aristocracy had affairs, its because of arranged and dynastic marriage, marriage was a business arrangement, allying families and vested interests with the "right blood". Even for women once you'd produced an heir and a spare, you were quite often free to follow your own romantic interests.

"The one thing all have in common is an opinion that it was better in the good old days, whatever that may mean."

No. Some things have got worse, some have got better. No such thing as the good old days, just the old days.

Iain said:

so long as we are careful to stay within the bounds of good manners.

Sometimes there is nothing nastier than a perfectly polite put down...

Iain said:

I would be careful around subjects such as trans rights.

I really don't understand the argument. People are people, just treat them as people, but there are <derogatory term of choice> in all walks of life: if a trans person is a DToC then treat them as a DToC.
Most of the cases cited as examples of why trans people should have no rights appear to be instances of transexual DToCs.
Being transexual doesn't entitle you to be obnoxious any more than being Jewish entitles you to be a genocidal maniac. 

Iain said:

Some other posters have a very black and white way of thinking

I think that most things resolve to black and white if you dig down far enough into the detail.  You may be only able to resolve small details as black and white, but from there you can begin to build a bigger picture.