Shame of the north
Some northerners really do nothing to quash their region's reputation of being uncivilised, alcoholic, working-class, violent, and generally oxygen-robbing scum.
For today, a 17-year old and a 15-year old boy were jailed for the manslaughter (although to me it sounds more like murder with a bit of GBH, assault, abuse, public nuisance, and quite possibly false imprisonment, thrown in for good measure) of 40-year old David Atherton who was suffering from alcoholism and had learning difficulties. Although part of a gang which inflicted regular beatings upon Mr Atherton, it was Craig Dodd and Ryan Palin who eventually killed him; after a particularly brutal beating, they picked Atherton up and literally threw him into the River Mersey.
Mr Atherton, originally from Wigan, Greater Manchester, was forced into letting the gang use his flat to drink and smoke cannabis.
The teenagers subjected him to regular abuse and humiliation, which they called "terroring".
This included pouring drinks and food on to him, daubing his face with ink and make-up, burning his hair, urinating on him and vandalising his flat. It also included regular beatings.
How this kind of behaviour can be acceptable in any corner of of a supposedly civilised society is beyond me. And is it my imagination, or are incidents of this kind increasing in regularity? I'm fairly sure that similar things have happened since time imemorial, but both the savageness and the regularity seems to be growing.
If anyone has any thoughts on that, or any ideas on why the whole of society seems to be going down the drain at the moment, do feel free to leave a comment.
posted by Aaron at 10:14 PM
3 Comments:
I don't know where the 'Northerners are uncivilised, alcoholic, working-class, violent, and generally oxygen-robbing scum' angle comes from apart from your own personal bigotry...
The people in the article are surely scumbags of the highest order and should be locked away for life but the part of the country they live in is not really all that relevant, is it? Speaking as a Southerner I find Northerners to be much friendlier than most of the people I encounter in places like London where rudeness, public drunkenness, aggression and general lack of consideration for anybody seems to be the main mode of behaviour.
Oh yeah, I forgot to say "Calm down!"
Can you blog about your lovely girlfriend next time? I do love a happy post.
7/4/07 8:44 PM
Comment? You had me at "uncivilised, alcoholic, working-class, violent, and generally oxygen-robbing scum"
I feel I'm reading the daily mail, taking a shocking news story and using it to have a pointless go at a group of people.
Northeners are no different from Southerners or Midlanders, sure they like Gravy on chips, but uncivilised, alcoholic, working-class, violent, and generally oxygen-robbing scum? You've lost me there.
I'd like happy posts too please!
7/4/07 9:28 PM
No no, Gentlemen, you miss the point entirely. The argument (well, it was only a passing comment rather than argument, but anyway) is that some people really do nothing to help themselves, and indeed prove to be an embarrassment for those around them.
A bit like certain Muslim communities then. Insisting they have nothing to hide and complaining that people are suspicious of them, and yet they refuse to talk to the police.
Controversial? Maybe. Do I care? No.
7/4/07 9:52 PM
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