She's one of those!

Whenever I travel through the underground I see lots of diversity and I think diversity is beautiful, something we should embrace, rather than target and treat as something negative.  I’m sure most of you have seen ‘My Tram Experience’ on YouTube, the questionably drunk lady shouting abuse at people on the Tram because of their skin was absolutely shocking. The video to me highlights that racism still exists, yes we are now in 2012 and racism.. still.. exists..

I’m not necessarily talking about open racism – as people have learnt how unacceptable that is (to discriminate based on colour). Instead it seems as though ‘contemporary racism’ has emerged where it has become coupled with culture, it is subtle but it is still there.  Colour is associated with culture, negative attributes are paired with certain skin colours and often people are judged as ‘one of them’ or as an outsider.

We all go through different experiences and everyone is different.. We are just all human, the same limbs, internal organs and all of that! So why does racism still exist?

I am aware of incidences of discrimination occurring to those close to me. For example, a dear friend of mine wears a hijab, she moved to this country a couple of years ago and has since been the victim of discrimination, she has been spat on and shouted at in the street. However, If you got to know this girl you would soon realise she is one of the most well read people you will come across, someone who has been through a lot and still maintains an effortless smile.  There is a lot more to a person than just the colour of their skin.

I too have experienced various forms of prejudice and discrimination. Let me expand... I have been called a Paki at the bus stop, been told to ‘go back home’ by a random man in the park when all I was trying to do was soak up the sun and eat ice cream! I have been pointed at and told ‘You look like Slum Dog Millionaire’ by a drunken fool and have been told to hurry up ‘popadom’ by a strange man on the bus...

But more recently there seems to have been a surge in the popularity of shows on Islam and Extremism. For example, Proud and Prejudice and Stacey Dooley on Luton.  Coupled with this I started watching ‘Make  Bradford British’ on channel 4... It led me to think about the topic of prejudice and indeed the P word.

The word Paki to me, is something that brings along with it lots of negative connotations. I cannot understand how people that I know very well think it is an acceptable term that can be used to refer to someone with brown skin or to refer to the corner shop as the ‘Paki shop.’ It means more than just a shortened abbreviation of the word Pakistan, it has become an umbrella term of which to group those from the asian ethic minority.

Often I have found that I have been in a group of people who have out rightly said something quite racist, something that would apply to me or my family had I not be their friends but I always get ‘oh it’s okay because you’re different.’ Well what do you mean I’m different? Are you saying that because I dress in a westernised manner or talk in a specific way and go to certain places? Would I be thought of differently if I decided to dress in a more traditional sense?

I’ve also heard... ‘I’m not racist, I’ve got a black friend.’ Erm..  I hate to break it to you but... that little token of a friendship does not mean you are exempt..

Colour should not be something that enters our mind straight away. We are all the same fundamentally! Just different cultures beliefs and views which are all internal. So think twice before you judge someone based on the colour of their skin, there is often more to a person than you may think. We all need to adjust our mind set and slowly but surely (perhaps rather idealistically) this concept of racism will disappear... 

We should all bring back a little bit of Jamiroquai into our lives... 

With thanks to the one with the chickens x 

Another side to the story…

Far from making this a competition between the drinkers and the non, I would merely like to add another view point to the alcohol debate: the view point of a Drinka!

I think if moderately consumed, alcohol can be okay. More than okay actually. It’s quite nice. Sadly in order to drink it in moderation, most have to test the waters before they find their limits, usually resulting in some rather embarrassing moments! Rav will, I’m sure, remember the night I dropped my chicken nuggets all over the floor and got in a strop or the time I missed my own surprise birthday because I was lying in a toilet covered in sick.

 

For every glass of alcohol, you should have one of water to follow

 (or so 'tipsforahangover' on twitter tells me)

Drinking from the bottle is NOT okay. It will only lead to this...

I only show you this hideous photo to highlight the

 embarrassment that comes with getting too drunk...

 Not to mention the hangover!

But in terms of alcohol abuse I have to agree with Rav. I think getting smashed is most peoples answer to the fact they don’t have enough confidence to go out and have fun in their own skin. And this pre-drinking culture! What is that? Stocking up on cheap, dirty booze to the point of borderline or just plain, vomiting and heading out, not remembering the night anyway! I blame the fact you can buy alcohol so readily in the supermarket. Get too drunk in a pub and the landlord won’t serve you anymore. Britain’s pub culture is unique and wonderful! It’s a shame so many are closing these days. Simply increasing the tax on alcohol is NOT the answer Mr. Politician, to todays ‘binge-drinking culture’.

More than that though I think alcohol abuse hides the aspects of real life you don’t want to acknowledge-whether that be the fact you’re living on the street or have a mental illness. It’s so sad. I’ve also had the unfortunate experience of witnessing the grim effects of alcoholism on a close family member. Blimey, that person could put away a bottle of red wine plus 8 cans of (strong) larger or more a night! It was honestly horrible seeing them change from the responsible adult they were, into an irrational screaming, raving nightmare of a person. I now know the reason for this substance abuse was to ease the effects of depression they were suffering from.

Unlike Rav though I believe in relishing in all the world has to offer! Be it alcohol or drugs, bungee jumping or toe licking… don’t knock it till you’ve tried it I say! Reiterating the point in my earlier post: ‘everything in moderation’. If you can handle it, and most importantly are sensible with it, alcohol can be a very enjoyable tipple! Plus nothing beats a cool, crisp pint of cider on a summers day!

Besides Alcohol is o’so natural… like magic mushrooms: Mother Nature wouldn’t have put them there if she didn’t want us to have a go! I heard a story the other day about a moose in Sweden that ate too many fermenting apples and got ‘drunk’! What’s more natural than that! [Note: the moose actually became stuck in a tree! A prime example of the effects of too much booze, if there was one! I heard she was a lightweight anyway!]

Disclaimer: At no point in this post am I promoting the use of illegal substances. Magic mushrooms are a class A drug and are illegal to possess and supply in the UK.

Sources:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/08/drunk-moose-cut-loose-sweden

http://www.talktofrank.com/?&gclid=CIfh0bzRwa4CFcIntAodllr7yw

http://www.rethink.org/

http://www.fairpint.org.uk/

Everything in Moderation

An article in the latest issue of the green party’s official magazine ‘Green World’ sparked the theme for my first blog post… it read:

“Feeding people has always been important. It will be even more so with the billions of extra mouths to feed in the coming years. The truth is, however, that we’re already doing a pretty bad job of it. A billion people are hungry and another billion are malnourished. At the same time, a billion people are obese: overweight to the point it is damaging their health.”

Shocking, isn’t it? The articles main point was about how factory farming was cruel and actually rearing animals as food, is really inefficient (Did you know, if the grain that was used to feed animals was grown in a single field, it would be the size if the EU? That’s a lot of extra food we could be harvesting.. just saying… ). But what I took from the feature, was how crazy it is that we have so many people living in the extremes of poor health. Divide the food up a bit more evenly and everyone can be happy right in the middle of the normal distribution, bell shaped curve! No extremes necessary!

There is so much wealth on this planet: why can’t we spread it out a bit, then everyone would be happy! Now this is sounding a bit like some Marxism theory and big up for communism, and I’m not going to go down that road. But what I would like to say is that it is very important to be aware of the inequality that surrounds us, otherwise we can just become complacent. Just look at the amount of people that walk past the homeless without giving them a second thought. Inequality is probably more visually shocking in the shanty Towns of somewhere like Brazil...

It’s not a new concept. One of my dad’s old sayings drilled into my head is ‘everything in moderation my dear!’ (He frequently uses this as a response to my complaints about being hung-over!) It’s true though: too much alcohol makes you sick, whereas a glass or too can give an evening a little lift. Too many burgers make you fat, being too sensible makes you boring, doing too many weights makes you look like Jodie Marsh, and now I think I’ve got too many examples to waffle on with…

But anyhow… if you ever get that feeling I sometimes get, when you see a solo person driving a massive 4x4, wearing an overpriced Pandora bracelet, chomping on a McDonalds and throwing their rubbish out the window, and you think “look at you, you outrageously rich person” and you just want to run over, drag them out the car, shout at them “you are being so immoderate! Think of all the starving people out there who have to walk miles just to get some food” and then you place them nicely into an eco-friendly hybrid Honda and send them on their way, now with some of their ridiculously high income being donated to the poor, to make things a little bit more equal … then don’t be afraid, because these feelings are normal.

Sources:

Greenworld GW75 Winter 2012

http://matthewpike.wordpress.com/2011/10/02/unlimited-growth-increases-the-divide/

You don't drink!? .. Then why do you always look drunk in your pictures?...

Okay maybe here I look drunk

A slightly drunk Jen on the left.. 

The title was something said to me by my neighbours, it was their reaction to finding out that yes I am a. At University and b. Do not drink. Crazy combination ey?


Spurred by the recent topic of alcohol and the current society on the Big Questions this Sunday coupled with Panorama I have decided to explore the topic of alcohol and give you my take on it... I don't drink whereas Jenny does so i'm hoping she can also give another perspective on this topic. 


My reasons for not drinking are varied, -Not religious. I like to be in control, I have a lot of fun without it and more importantly I've witnessed first hand the detrimental effect that alcohol can have upon a person. It's crazy that this liquid can cause such harm when taken out of hand and that something so small can have such a hold upon a person. Alcohol often becomes a driving force in some people's lives, it can dictate their social life and change their behaviour. I understand the mechanisms behind addiction and can understand how this substance can cause people to act in a different way.


I have always been the sober one on a night out and didn't give it much thought until I got to University and realised the importance that most of my friends place on alcohol. Seeing people getting absolutely off their faces with alcohol used to make me laugh whereas now it just makes me feel horrible. How do people do it? Spend an hour intensely drinking poisonous tasting vodka then submitting themselves to cheap tasting but pricey drinks on a night out? I just don't get it.


Out of most of my friends, many of them say that they could not go on a night out without drinking. Probably because it's the only way they know how to have fun. Alcohol gives people this false feeling of confidence it's almost a veil that hides ones inner self. I think people need to put it into perspective. Alcohol is nothing but a mere substance, why should ones happiness be dependent on a substance? 


I think it can come down to the issue of confidence... Why can't you be confident enough to enjoy yourself, meet new people without being under the guise of alcohol? Give it a go, you can often get away with acting like an idiot pretty much because all of your drunk friends will be too drunk to notice. I would love to hear from any of you who choose to try it!?


It is not my intention that the world should ban alcohol as I do like the odd Baileys ice cream and enjoy a bit of white wine in my risotto. I just think that people need to calm the fxxx down and chill out, it's really not that great and it doesn't do any wonders for that waistline!


(And yes, I will donate my clean liver to someone when I die)

Who wants dinner?

Charity Box Givers

"Look I've just been given a sticker from xxxx, put a whole quid in that box. Well that's my bit done for a while."


So, you have satisfied your bi monthly need to put £1 into a charity box to make yourself feel good, but is that really enough? 
Now i'm not at all suggesting that you should stop doing this and that charities don't need your help, because without the goodwill of the people things would be a lot different!
I'm simply arguing that we all need to do more than simply putting 20pence into a charity box every so often, things that don't necessarily even involve money. 
The world is a crazy place and the only way it can ever change is through you.. Yes you. Each and every one of you. This doesn't mean that we should all give up our 9-5 jobs to go and work in Africa but we need to start practicing selflessness, alturism. 
It should not be the case that good deeds are a rarity, an exception to the rule. Something that you go home and tell all of your friends about because it is something so out of the ordinary. Instead they should be the norm.


It is rather upsetting if you think about the way a stranger looks at you in shock when you offer them help, it just shows how much of a rarity helpfulness is in general! 
I have pretty much gotten used to lugging my heavy suitcase to and from Southampton on the train and through the underground without assistance (i'm 5ft 1 and my suitcase is more than half the size of me!) but when I am offered help it makes my day! 
I saw an old lady dragging a huge tin of vegetable oil down the high street and rushed over to help. I ended up walking 30 minutes down the road in the opposite direction of my house with that oil. Although my hands turned red blue and purple I did feel good knowing that her hands were in a better state than mine! (Plus it gave me a good excuse for not going to my lecture)


Where did all the good people go?

It's the little things that really make a difference and slowly but surely small good deeds will lead to a change within your circle and spread to others. 
You may feel disheartened or think some people are just selfish and may feel your deeds are wasted and believe me I have felt this way! However, don't let others actions change your mentality. Just do you, and you'll be fine and I promise, your goodness will be recognised by more people than you think! 


If everyone were to act in the same way because of one person's actions then nothing will change, it's better to be unique than ordinary right? Making someone happy through a small act of kindness not only makes them feel good but will make you feel good. 


A list of some charity websites that you can involve yourselves in if you feel inspired!:


E.g Marie Curie Daffodil selling, Marie Curie Tea Party: http://www.mariecurie.org.uk/?gclid=CKvJheGJm64CFUcTfAodvx5aJw

Be part of the Anthony Nolan team for the London Marathon: http://www.anthonynolan.org/


There are always events featured on the ACLT website: http://www.aclt.org/

A little Intro

Recently, my worry for the world as we know it has increased. I find myself having frequent concerning thoughts about the way society is becoming and it has been a topic of conversation between myself and my friend Jenny for a while now.
Yesterday, whilst travelling from Southampton back to London and sitting on the underground I decided I wanted to start up a blog. To blog about my First World Ramblings in the hope that I can spread some form of a message. Coupled with the similar views of my geography loving friend Jenny we hope to update as frequently as possible our views about life in general. To find out exactly what we are talking about please keep reading and let us know what you think!

A little note to add: Each week we will be writing about a specific topic, where we may each add our own spin on it. 
Jenny: Aiming to explore environmental issues along with important life topics!
Rav: Aiming to open up opinions and widely held views in society, hoping to show an alternative perspective to life.

In general this is a LIGHT HEARTED diss at the world but don't forget to read between the lines bitches cos' this shiit is serious!