I don’t normally talk about anything even remotely resembling politics but a thought struck me today.
I remember a time I was on JSA (unemployment benefit aka ‘the dole’ for any non UK visitors) this is going way back to ’95 when I first moved up to Manchester from that craphole known as Daventry. But back then – it was embarrassing to go into a job centre in order to sign on, part of being unemployed was the desperate search to not be so you could avoid the social stigma it created.

These days the job centre or dole office is the place to hang out if you happen to be a chav aged 18-30.
I swear! Gone are the days of head down, scurry in and scan the boards avoiding eye contact with everyone else in there before getting out as soon as possible hoping no one you know saw you anywhere near the place.
They may as well start selling coffee (or white lightning) because these days the entrances are clogged with guys meeting up and having a chat about which of them has the flashest phone/ bike/ trainers (you know, stuff they couldn’t possibly have bought without a little benefit ‘subsidisation’ *nudge nudge wink wink*)
Makes me wonder about the whole ‘unemployment figures down‘ claims being bandied about, though this statement made me laugh:

At 4.7%, the UK still has one of the lowest jobless rates in the world.

Um… Are we not also the smallest country in the world? Or near as dammit.
Gotta love statistics man.

Anyhow, just thought I’d share the observation as it then prompted another one.
(I know, 2 thoughts in one day – must be the weather)

In Manchester, where ever you go there are always gangs of lads knocking around, they can vary in size from 4-5 lads to the larger groups of about 8-12 lads – as a lass walking past a crowd like that it can be very unnerving, even for me.
When I used to live in Longsight I had to run the gauntlet every night because for some reason all the Asian lads used to hang about at the end of the street and attempt to ‘walk me home’ a couple of times I had to forcibly push a guy aside so I could get into my house.
Now this isn’t intended as a racial ‘get at’ though it may sound like one, this is an observation based on my own personal experiences, both working on the doors and just getting about in my day to day life.
If it’s a crowd of black guys – I’m not worried in the slightest, you can generally even have a bit of banter with them as you walk past and they’ll laugh along, just keep it impersonal or amusingly insulting as you single the lead speaker out.
White lads… That’s the unpredictable one, it’s all down to football and drink with them generally. If they start the whistling and cat calling and heaven forbid you should show any interest at that point – NEVER EVER retaliate unless you happen to be close to escape or know one of ‘em.
Chinese guys… Well, as a rule the Chinese people over here really do keep to themselves, usually polite and rarely any trouble – even in the clubs, well, on the odd occasion you see them in the clubs, they go more for casinos.
Asian guys though… They never stop harassing you – its like they have the biggest egos/ chips on their shoulders ever.
The male half of the Asian society really do themselves no favours over here at all, if they’re not trying to ‘show off’ in some way then they’re persistently forcing unwanted attentions on some poor lass. I’ve seen it a million times in the clubs and been the victim of it a fair few times on the street.
Now don’t get me wrong – I dated an Asian guy briefly, he turned out to be a brazen liar and took me for quite a ride, but that’s my own fault – I allowed myself to give far more leeway than I ever would’ve to a white guy because he kept pulling the race card on me.
And I let him.
This is the problem between the Asian society and the white society as I see it, we (the white folks) are so concerned with being racially correct that we bend over backwards to ensure they (the strange and alien brown peoples) get a ‘fair’ helping. Now I don’t understand their society at all, I think few, if any, non-Asian people do. But there must be something in it about always pushing the limits. Because it really is give an inch take a mile. When discussing anything to do with race, the general agreement is that whites are thick, Asians are arrogant and blacks are no longer a real topic for discussion, the Chinese never even make the conversation because they seem to have the ability to fit into any society while still retaining their racial identities.

You know what I say?
People are shit whatever their colour or creed. Find the few good ones you can and hold onto them as long as they’ll let you.
F*** everyone else.
(Now bring on the hate mail – address is at the top of the page *grin*)