Fight or flight

You can’t have failed to notice the plethora of articles about innocent men, women and children who’ve been attacked (and in some cases killed) on the streets of Britain recently.

I was at a course the other day and the instructor said to us:

It’s like when you’re on the tube and someone has their music on really loud. How many of you would just love to go over there and tell them to turn it down?

There were nods of agreement. Murmurs. And I sat there, thinking. 

If I’d been asked the same question a couple of years ago, I would have laughed. A couple of years ago, I wouldn’t have thought twice about speaking up.

Ask me now and I pause.

Has the media hysteria got to me too? Am I scared of doing what I know is right, just because I might get stabbed? Is it just me? Does everyone feel this way? 

Generally speaking, I think yes. I think there is a general reluctance amongst the population to get involved with anyone else’s business – no matter how much it goes against our own personal feelings about manners, ethics, social norms.

You could attribute reluctance to the fight or flight syndrome. Those who are weaker, instinctly run. It’s a means of self preservation. Isn’t it? And there they stand, the stronger ones, the leaders of the pack, forging forward because they can. Because they know they will win.

You could attribute reluctance to a general breakdown of awareness. Are people so insulated in their little life bubbles that they don’t see what’s going on around them? Russell Brand has recently been in the news for helping out a damsel in distress. He was the only person who stopped to help a woman who seemed to have fallen over. 10 people walked on by. What kind of society have we become where people are scared of helping those in need? Scared that if they speak up and say or do something different, we will be punished?

You could attribute reluctance to apathy. People just don’t care anymore. As long as they are able to continue to live their life in the way they want, then why rock the boat? Why bother speaking up? Why bother having a say? It’s not like anyone listens anyway. Is it?

It annoys me that it’s got to this. It annoys me that I feel a hundred years old for thinking like this. That I’ve somehow become that smelly old fart in the corner of the pub whom no-one really likes because he mutters on about “the good old days”. It annoys me that I sound more and more like a Daily Mail reader every day.

But really (and I won’t press the point here) it shouldn’t be like this, should it? Us, the ones who don’t break the law, who aren’t so angry inside. We’re not the ones who should feel like we’re in the wrong. We’re not the weak ones. We should have to go into some prehistoric flight mode. We should be the survivors.

So what can be done to solve the problem? I don’t pretend to be a guru. Or even right. But, for what it’s worth, here’s my tup’pence.

Education:

Everyone harps on about it. The whole time. It’s all about education. Well, as much as I hate to admit it, Tony Blair did get something right. It is about the education. As we grow up, we take so much information in. We’re like sponges, looking at the world around us and how it works. Watching how other people act. Watching how our parents act. We need to make sure that what we’re taking in is not only useful but socially sound.

To do that, we need teachers and good schools. For that, we need money. Money comes from the Government and from our taxes. Surely, surely I’m not mad in thinking that funding needs to be found? It needs to be found and not spent on form-filling and risk assessments, not spent on making up new nursery rhymes?

Teachers should get on with teaching. Reading, writing, maths, the sciences, the arts. In the UK, a staggering fifth of children start secondary school not being able to read. Over 5 million adults have a reading age of 12 or less. Can you imagine what it would be like not to be able to read? How many doors would be closed to you? How easy would it be to give up on life?

It’s clear (to me at least) that making sure children get a sound education is key. It’s not about everyone going to University. No. Not everyone needs to go to University. For some people it’s the wrong decision. It’s money badly spent with no gain. Some people get on better in the workplace. Some people are vocational in nature. In order for the next generation to have aspiration and goals, we need to make sure that their skills are being catered for. We need to make sure that if they want to become a plumber or a nurse or a teacher or a rocket scientist – that they have the opportunity. No matter where they’re from. How much money they have. Those who have the skill, can. Those who don’t should be helped to achieve it. It’s all about putting a meritocratic society in place and ensuring that everyone gets the opportunity to better themselves.

Role models:

It’s very clear to everyone who reads this blog that football is not my favourite sport. On the whole, I don’t think people should be paid so much money for doing so little. However, there is a vitally important role that these sportsmen in the spotlight can play. By being viable, believable role models for children, they might just be able to make a difference.

Rap stars, singers. No, bad role models. Guns, drugs, hedonistic lifestyles (yes, yes, I’m generalising but I’m allowed to, it’s my blog). Athletes, sportsmen. Good role models. What could be better than getting out of the house, away from the television and playing a team sport? Exercise, friendship, rules and laws to abide to, competition, a chance to excel, aspiration. Yes, sport is good.

It’s unrealistic to think that because someone is a role model that they can no longer have any form of life. However, it is realistic to think that what goes on in their private life should stay private. Don’t get me wrong, I read News of the Screws. And yes, I enjoy it. But should this schadenfreude get in the way of what’s good for society? I’m not by any means suggesting that there should be a censor on the press. No. What I’m saying is that sometimes these stories aren’t stories. They’re not news and therefore have no place in a newspaper. Some woman’s attempt at revenge because she was jilted is not fitting of the title news.

Backup:

If people are going to make a stand and try and help, then they have to know that someone is there to go with them.

Change can be started by one person, but it cannot be sustained alone.

If things are going to change then there needs to be people to want to make that change and ,more importantly, believe that change can happen and that the world needs to be changed.