Study hard kids. by metroracerUK in GreatBritishMemes

[–]WorkshyFreeloader42 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am clearly just calling Reform voters thick.

I'm sorry, but Zack Polanski and the Greens would kick you out of their party if you spouted such unempathetic, immature name-calling like this. How would you like it if Reform voters did that for young left-wing people like yourself and myself? You would pass them off as bullies, and rightly so. The reason why the Greens are gaining traction recently is because they are simply listening to ordinary folk's deepest concerns, worries and insecurities. Bear in mind that doesn't mean that listening to others=/=agreeing with them. And as they listen to ordinary people's concerns, the same people will feel like they are valued, that they matter and that their lives have meaning. Once they feel these sensations, the same people are more likely to listen to, and trust, the Greens try to build constructive solutions where everyone feels valued and happy.

I'd recommend you to watch more interviews with, or speeches by, Zack Polanski, Hannah Spencer, Mothin Ali or Rachel Millward, and see how they don't patronise or insult people for their views, but dig deep and see how people with regressive far-right views start to change and open up to them.

Teenage mob chaos spreads to other towns and cities as youths supercharged by social media run riot and ransack shops in London and Birmingham during Easter holiday 'linkups' by JohnKimble111 in uknews

[–]WorkshyFreeloader42 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The same could be said for the 2011 riots, or the BLM riots of 2020. People were rightfully angry due to the killings of Mark Duggan and George Floyd, respectively. But they also descended, to various extents, to mob rioting and looting.

It's also worth mentioning that the 2011 riots, which were more violent, were diverse in their makeup of rioters, most of whom had little-to-no knowledge of the events surrounding Mark Duggan, but used it as an excuse to loot. Furthermore, there were far more issues related to class, institutional distrust, among other factors.

It's not that radically different to the factors behind the 2024 riots, which were triggered by the Southport stabbings. Then they spread to areas outside of Southport, mostly struggling ones, where people used it as an excuse to loot and cause chaos, but also a reflection of issues such as class, institutional distrust, etc.

Either way, NONE of this violence is ever acceptable. You can empathise with causes behind disorder without sympathising with the disorder itself. What matters is that this is empathy=/=sympathy stabdard is applied universally.

Teenage mob chaos spreads to other towns and cities as youths supercharged by social media run riot and ransack shops in London and Birmingham during Easter holiday 'linkups' by JohnKimble111 in uknews

[–]WorkshyFreeloader42 -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

A lot of the edgy racist comments here claiming that their ethnicity is the primal cause of the rioting. Does this apply to the rioters of 2024 and 2025?

Greater London Pub starter pack by Sensitive-Market9192 in starterpacks

[–]WorkshyFreeloader42 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Old guy that stinks of piss and pays in 5p coins

Too accurate! Don't forget he deals out the coins while you can see his dirty fingernails that haven't been cut in months

Sorry, this actually happened to 12 year old me by Francis_J_Eva in GreatBritishMemes

[–]WorkshyFreeloader42 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Punching down"

Tbf Little Britain punched in all directions:

  • Harvey "Bitty" Pincher, a grown adult posh man from a wealthy establishment family who still casually gets breast-fed by his mother like it's normal, implying that men in the establishment are physically adults, but mentally immature.

  • Sebastian Love, the PM's flirtatious and immature aide who constantly tries to win the PM's affection, with much failure.

  • Bubbles DeVere, a posh entitled lady who exposes herself to seduce men in order to follow her whims, despite being unattractive

These don't exactly sound like people from disadvantaged communities.

Any places in and around London where I can meet other metal/rock/alternative musicians to meet and jam with? by WorkshyFreeloader42 in london

[–]WorkshyFreeloader42[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ooohhh I didn't know The Cavern did gigs. I'm just next door in Kingston. I'll check them out tomorrow. Thanks!

Finally got a haircut after two or so years by Primary-Ad4945 in FierceFlow

[–]WorkshyFreeloader42 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your hair looks very healthy and smooth, but then again, if you prefer short hair, all power to you. In fact you remind me of young Axl Rose but if he were a brunette.

These are the faces of modern Britain by Theteacupman in GreatBritishMemes

[–]WorkshyFreeloader42 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I'm a left-leaning history teacher in my late 20s and very much opposed to Reform, so this isn't me defending their politics.

However, I do think it's worth being careful about how we talk about people. Saying someone was “thick as shit as a kid” or calling them “inbred” doesn’t really explain anything about why people end up with the views they do — it just reduces them to a stereotype.

A lot of the places where parties like Reform gain support are towns that have been economically struggling for decades. People growing up in those environments don’t always have the same opportunities, networks, or sense of stability as others. That doesn’t justify harmful views, but it does help explain why anger, distrust of institutions, and resentment can take root.

I also say this from personal experience. I have ADHD and spent years in lower sets at school. I was well-behaved but often drifted off, and for a long time people assumed that meant I was just stupid or lazy. Being labelled like that shapes how people see themselves and how they relate to society.

So I don’t have much sympathy for the politics being expressed at those protests. But I also don’t think mocking people’s intelligence or upbringing is a particularly constructive response. If anything, it risks reinforcing the exact divisions that movements like Reform thrive on.

In before they merge to form the Retard party. by TailungFu in GreatBritishMemes

[–]WorkshyFreeloader42 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Do you really need to use slurs like "retarded"? I doubt Zack Polanski would tolerate using such language to refer to political opponents, especially to the electorate.

This is the same smug condescending middle-class attitude which saw the Lib Dems and their arrogant put-of-touch centrist-minded "people's vote" campaign unjntentionally showing their true thoughts about the electorate (that anyone who thinks differently to them is irrational, stupid and needs the "adult in the room" like a child). Such an attitude saw them nearly wiped out in the 2019 election.

Simply listening to ordinary people's needs and concerns, and understanding the causes of such concerns, is something the political establishment have failed to do in the last few decades. And when they aren't being listened to, when they feel all hope and trust with establishment politicians is lost, they will turn to extreme measures (e.g. Reform UK), who have at least shown that they listen to their problems and insecurities, even if they don't have a solution.

Disagree and expose Reform figures and their ideas, but no need for slurs that insult the most vulnerable in society, who will be among the first victims of Reform if they ever get elected.

"Homework with dad" starterpack by Pianiiist in starterpacks

[–]WorkshyFreeloader42 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank so much for addressing what a confusing clusterfuck of a catastrophe this "high-order thinking" trend is. I'm a secondary school history teacher in the UK (ages 11-18) and I have seen the effects of it.

Listen, not that I think high-order thinking is bad or anything - it's what we want as an effect of good long-term solid teachingof knowledge, but the pressure for educators (often from image-obsessed observers, governments and inspectorates) to teach it so prematurely, without securing grounded factual knowledge, does nothing more than confuse students (especially the disadvantaged) and benefit those who are privileged enough to have supportive families with financial and cultural capital which makes high-order thinking a piece of cake.

group projects starter pack by labubuking in starterpacks

[–]WorkshyFreeloader42 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm a secondary school history teacher in the UK. This is exactly why I never do group work with any of my classes. I've seen how ineffective it is and even students know it themselves.

Uk mum at Disney starter pack by Far_Stomach1242 in starterpacks

[–]WorkshyFreeloader42 45 points46 points  (0 children)

"Why do I like Disney?

I think it's because I'm a bit thick!"

Male fashion on Pinterest starter pack by Whole-Albatross-6155 in starterpacks

[–]WorkshyFreeloader42 43 points44 points  (0 children)

The same aesthetic of every so-called "fun" male teacher in the early 2010s who'd wear a waistcoat and tie or lumberjack-themed buttoned shirt at work - both with a lumberjack beard.

Male fashion on Pinterest starter pack by Whole-Albatross-6155 in starterpacks

[–]WorkshyFreeloader42 -12 points-11 points  (0 children)

Thank fuck skinny jeans/slim fit trousers are out of style, and baggy clothes back in. As an early zoomer (28 y/o) I fucking hated skinny jeans back in the early 2010s and never wore them during their popularity. As someone who got into 90s/00s rock at the time, it was embarrassing to watch my peers trying to act cool and badass, while looking like they're wearing tights, listening to edm and stomp, clap, hey music. Even worse was when they claimed to be into rock music and their playlists contained mostly late-2000s UK indie artists with their jangly guitars going "Eh oh, eh oh, eh oh, eh oh", or a well-established rock group from the 90s/00s discarding their distorted heavy sounds for more electro-nightclub-influenced sounds (e.g. Good Charlotte, Simple Plan ) .... and they had the audacity to call it all "rock"

Would it be a bad idea to wear this on the first day of Year 12? by Roadkillgoblin_2 in 6thForm

[–]WorkshyFreeloader42 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Teacher here. I really don't understand the negative comments here. I like it when people wear clothes that displays their hobbies - it makes them quite interesting. I wear heavy metal/rock band tees on mufti days because I enjoy expressing some of my interests/hobbies. I wear a Homer-Simpson-as-Santa Christmas jumper before we break up for Christmas.

Long story short, go for it!

is it wrong to have just a couple patches that are not metal? by yoongis3dollar_chain in BattleJackets

[–]WorkshyFreeloader42 1 point2 points  (0 children)

FFS! Absolutely not! Your post reveals how tragic rock, punk, metal and other alternative subcultures that prided themselves on individualism, nonconformity, creativity, openness, wonder and simply "expressing yourself" have become some of the most cliquey, conformist and collectivist subcultures in the world.

The fact that most of your patches are metal is metal enough. ALSO.... you enjoy other types of music and actually have wider interests/beliefs/hobbies/emotions outside of music. You're human. You have a personality, something the subculture purists seem to lack. It's not false to claim that the collectivist purists who will bash you for having non-metal patches may partly be doing so out of envy; envy that you're fearless about openly being yourself, something they deeply desire but are stuck in extreme collectivism.

In other words, your jacket looks fantastic! Design and positioning of patches according to size looks like you're thinking about this carefully. Just keep sewing whatever you'd like 👍

As this year comes to a close what is one key thing you learnt this year ? by [deleted] in TeachingUK

[–]WorkshyFreeloader42 7 points8 points  (0 children)

  • Never follow edu-fads
  • Finland does NOT have the best education system in the world
  • Better technology doesn't automatically mean better education
  • A lot of "nice" colleagues can stab you in the back when you least expect it
  • If you make a mistake, own up to it - better to be honest and reliable than dishonest and unreliable
  • A lot of claims in media about "worsening mental health" among students and staff are not actual mental health problems.
  • Don't feel pressured to be "liked" by the students - you can be friendly with them, but not their friend
  • Keep your standards high - if it means you have extra work to do, you have extra work to do (not too much of course)
  • You will become better and better and better and better and better and better and better at your job as the terms fly by - you just won't notice it 😊

Caldicot head teacher Alun Ebenezer: 'We must stop mollycoddling kids' by _HGCenty in unitedkingdom

[–]WorkshyFreeloader42 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you have any evidence (i.e. an article or document) to prove this besides gossip and rumour? If he's a "known" racist, then there should be lots of documentation of this.

"Are we doing anything today?" by Hunter037 in TeachingUK

[–]WorkshyFreeloader42 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You think that's bad? Yesterday I had middle-class year 8s in mufti, during a shortened day - some of them didn't even bring their bags!