Well there's me saying that my daughter and grandson need their heads screwed on, when I do too!! It wasn't Ryan who left all that prescriptivist stuff here but my daughter, Kim! A senior moment, I think that's what the PC brigade call it. I personally don't mind the term, it's a bit of a laugh really, but Mary hates it, says we need to stand up for ourselves. Not sure I can be bothered, I'll admit I don't like being patronised, but where do you draw the line? It was Ryan who was talking about representation in the media, I think Kim did something similar last year. Coronation Street had a wonderful character, Blanche she was called, not afraid to speak her mind, but put her great-grandson in front of her and the battle-axe disappeared, shame the actress died, I liked Blanche. We don't see enough people of my age group on tv and when we do they are all battleaxes or Victor Meldrew types harping on about 'how they (the young) have never had it so good', bah, it's cobblers. Frost was good, but I like dectective programmes I like to try and guess who did it, keeps my mind working I suppose and we are constantly being told that by the doctors and our children.
It was in the paper a while ago that there are more people over the age of 60 in this country than under the age of 16, yet it is the kids who get the attention of the press and the government. More youth centres to keep them off the streets and more education, well what about us? Closing village halls and social groups because there is not enough funding. You don't see older people on street corners at night drinking and swearing though do you? Perhaps we should, perhaps we need to behave more anti-socially to get the attention we deserve, but I suppose they would just cart us off to the old folks home and leave us to dribble into our Horlicks. It's not right, just because I am getting on a bit doesn't mean I want to do less. I have a good circle of friends and I use a mobile phone, do my Tesco's shopping online, oh yes I am a silver surfer. Ryan wants me to join Facebook. I told him that I am a bit past all that, but I use MSN or Skype to chat with relatives in Australia and Canada, and why not it is free after all, and I am all for value for money. Thinking about it Mary is right I should stand up for myself, just because I am older doesn't mean I have lost the ability to voice my opinion.
Kim goes a bit to far though, she is all for equality and anti-racism, wrote stuff praising Islam last year, why would she want to do such a thing? Well I asked her and actually maybe she had a point, but I don't trust women wearing those burkha things, it's not right in our country, they came here and should abide by our laws. Kim said we can't think like that anymore. Globalisation she says, people move around the world more. If my Jack was here he would tell them to 'bugger off back to where they came from' and tell Kim that she was talking rubbish, but I can see her point of view. Everyone has the right to live how they choose I suppose. Can't think all Muslims are bombers and terrorists any more than all teenagers are drug-taking binge-drinking no hopers. Both Kim and Ryan say that the media gives us stereotypes and because that is what we are told most of us think it is true. I know the Daily Mail is a bit harsh on certain groups so I think that my family might be right. We all need to be a bit more open-minded and a bit less judgemental, well that's my opinion. It's the same with Ryan, a lovely boy, but he scared Betty out of her wits, he dresses as a Goth, I think that's right, dyes his hair has all these piercings, even his tongue, frightened the life out of her. He must look intimidating I guess to people who don't know him, but like I say he's a lovely boy really.
Along with the prescriptivist stuff I found a book 'The Myth of Mars and Venus' by Deborah Cameron, that was an interesting read to say the least. Apparently there are linguists, I'm getting good with these terms now, that think men and women use different languages. Nonsense, I read the book just out of curiosity, didn't understand some of it, but I have to agree with Deborah Cameron that this Mars and Venus stuff is just a load of tosh! Women talk more than men, ha, they should come down the Bingo on Thursday nights, then they would see who talks more! Yes men and women are different, that is staringly obvious, as I found out on my wedding night, but that we speak differently, no I don't accept that. Never had any problems 'communicating' with Jack, he probably thought I nagged a bit, but he would walk mud all over the kitchen right after I'd mopped the floor. One of these researchers said we should think of men and women as 'different but equal', hmm I'd agree with that, but not in everything. As Deborah Cameron states "difference of class, race, ethnicity and culture make a difference to what is seen as 'normal' behaviour for women or men" she is right. I would not expect to see some upper class woman working as a cleaner, or someone like me working in the city, there are these expectations that everyone is used to, it's like stereotypes I suppose, we feel more comfortable putting people into boxes to deal with them, rather than seeing them as a person in their own right. Blimey, it's all rubbing off on me this stuff, my opinions might be changing a bit, perhaps what I really need is some clarity.
Kim says determinism does that, it's part of political correctness. Apparently determinism is the idea that you can change how people think by changing how they talk. That's why we say 'a person of colour' now and not just black or brown. 'Wop', 'wog' and 'paki', my Jack would have said, looking back I suppose he was quite racist, but that was just his way. You can get into trouble for saying things like that these days. Doesn't stop that Gordon Ramsay though, perhaps the PC crowd should have a word with him about the language he uses. 'F-Word' is right, I can't watch it, and I don't really think much of him as a chef, I prefer that lovely Rick Stien. There is reflectionism too, it is kind of the opposite to determinism. Reflectionists say that the way that you speak is just a relfection of how you think, so I suppose my Jack was a reflectionist, think he might have been proud of that, he always said you should call a spade a spade. These terms were thought up by Sapir and Whorf, they did a study on it, might look it up on the web later. Right now though I need to go and peel some spuds, oh no maybe that is politically incorrect, so I had better go and de-robe the potatoes, after all they do wear jackets.
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