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Aug 3, 2021Liked by Geary Johansen

Thanks for sharing this well written article Mister.

A few weeks ago I watched the four minute video where Chris McGlade spoke word perfectly throughout. It was prophetic stuff. A working class prophet no less. Noticeably it took a writer from Norfolk in East Anglia; the South East of England to inform me that Mr. McGlade does in fact come from and reside in Middlesbrough, a working class impoverished town only 5.5 miles away from my own home. Yet, I’d ignorantly never absorbed his name before. I mentioned this to a friend in Middlesbrough who informed me that everybody knows who he is and that he himself had mentioned him to me.

I made a mental note to follow this guy at the time and I’ve checked out getting some tickets to his show. Had I known of him earlier I’d of caught a show in Billingham which is only a stones throw away. So why hadn’t I heard of him before? More importantly it seems I probably had and dismissed my working class friends appraisal with typical middle class hierarchy. But we do this don’t we? We seek our advice, guidance and attainment values from those deemed fit to serve us best and we dismiss, ignore and underscore the utility of those seen to be below our class, be that monetary class or what I’d consider real class; that of eloquence and sophistication. I realised in just this that I too was guilty of privileged ignorance, that I’d become somewhat disconnected to those of a lower societal rank. In doing so I am also guilty of falsely flattering my own eloquence. A sobering thought.

I festered and pondered over this realisation and what I did the following Monday morning was to take my two employed labourers to one side and with specific instruction to tell nobody else, raised their pay ten pounds a day. It wasn’t a big deal for me, but it sure was for them. In fact I retain an element of capitalist entitlement in the fact they remain worthy of further pay hikes. It was the effect that came over them that was so remarkable. I really must have lost some capacity to gauge the plight of others, these two guys were overjoyed; like a pair of kids unwrapping a fantastic Christmas gift. They kept eyeing me surreptitiously for the rest of that day. In truth it probably improved my day more than theirs. I made a mental note to request their input in front of the others. I truly like myself better for this decision and it doesn’t hurt one little bit.

So what had I learned from four minutes of Chris McGlade? Well that what he’d spoken about was class struggle from his lived experience. That many many millions share his voice and truly aren’t being listened to. But why? So I thought about my own pier group, status, hierarchy and the restraints imposed on limitations. I looked at the issues that cheese me off.

The injustice of progressivism, the ruination of conservatism, woke indoctrination and how my voice isn’t heard, even if I can afford fancy cars, nice clothes, fancy restaurants and exotic holidays. Why when I hear upper-middle class privileged tv reporters, singers, actors, politicians, journalists sprouting off about injustice that I want to puke. Yet my argument is the same as the disenfranchised poor labourer who I have more in common with than those we aspire the lifestyles of.

Without the correct upbringing and value system placed upon me from my family I would too very much lack the skills that created my own upward mobility. Make me penniless tomorrow and I’d simply dig myself back up and out; simply because I know how to, like many of my own pier group. So why can’t Chris McGlade be catapulted to superstardom? He’s a talented actor and comedian. Is it that he represents the the voice of the unwashed deplorables…Is that why he’s only worthy of being cancelled?

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Aug 3, 2021Liked by Geary Johansen

“Let’s not pretend that any of this is anything to do with anything other than those lucky enough to be in the top 10% of society by income, espousing supposedly Left-leaning and inclusive values, whilst simultaneously hoarding all of societies opportunities for their only slightly brighter than average ungrateful brats.”

That.

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Aug 3, 2021Liked by Geary Johansen

"for some time the West has been overproducing graduates in every field other than a few in which we desperately need them: scientific research, computing, engineering and a few others."

This is the natural result when the pricing mechanism is ignored due to central planning. Few would sensibly pay $100 to spend time and effort to learn and then work and gain $90. But when everyone is told to go to school, to not worry about the costs, to borrow without understanding repayment plus interest measured against likely incomes, to beg parents to borrow in the later lives, and then many to never even graduate, such a problem is sure to be the result. One size does not fit all. Not all are geared toward academic life. Education at any price isn't good. Too much money with too many students only leads to higher prices and causes universities to compete for those dollars (that the students don't actually have!) and upgrade lifestyles without regard to upgrading educational value.

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Aug 5, 2021Liked by Geary Johansen

Just so darned glad to hear I'm not the only one with these concerns - thanks to all and to you Geary. I don't have the knack to put my thoughts into words - you do. Again, thanks so much. I'm beyond words.

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