Self employment had led me in to some dodgy political beliefs; I had strayed from the path of righteousness. For example, the Sun ran an article in its' sunday launch issue showing a benefit claimant on a fair ground ride. A disablist. This led me to think about people I had met whilst mentally ill. One man I knew who suffered from depression was an easy touch. I knew I had seen him smiling so launched in to a performance of jokes to see if I could make him laugh. Unfortunately, a neighbour who reads the Sun saw the 'depressed' man laughing and reported him to the benefits office who took away his incapacity benefit. I thought this was bad. Before I had been self employed I never felt ripped off by depressed people. Now, talking to workers I had begun to see the disabled as scroungers. Making depressed people laugh is no real test of madness. Mad people often laugh. Everyone knows that. Look at the Joker, indeed any megalomaniac super criminal, they all laugh. But does this mean they deserve benefits?
Due to my illness I could no longer work in the way I had. I needed to find an ethical window of opportunity. A way of not working without feeling guilty. All people I knew appeared to think that so long as you worked for it, you deserved all the money you got.
Something was wrong. Carlos Tevez earns much more than anyone I have ever met yet is a self serving toad of a man. No, I had got it wrong. I thought ruefully back to times I had questioned how people without jobs had achieved homes, families etc. where as through all my years of self employment I found myself still childless and homeless. This was wrong but karma is as none existent a force as the force, (from star wars). There is no to little play between your morality and your income.
Green politics are a bit passe in these days of economic meltdown. It was all very fashionable when everyone was really rich under Gordon Brown, till we learnt we had bought everything on tick. Now no one gives much thought to the environment anymore. Eco thoughts lie in the gutter along with Spice Girls merchandise, rotting away in to fly tip slurry. Wind farms are now being pushed so far out to see, so Jeremy Clarkson and Roger Scruton can't see them. Its over. The Green revolution was always a popular middle class idea routed around the Bath, Frome , Glastonbury area, spreading out through summer festival experiences to the suburbs of even northern cities. In Leeds it was always more Headingley than Morley, in Brum more Moseley than Sparkbrook. Still, I'm always up for out of fashion fashions. Note my organising of Glamfest 2010. A festival that would have seen a massive glam rock revival with Gary Glitter exonerated, Slade reinstated as the greatest rock band of the '70s and Bolan disintered; well perhaps not the first and last but certainly Slade back. Sadly the project never got off the ground. The site was arranged yet after contacting all glam rock survivors possible I found out that only a partial Glitter Band and Chicory Tip, of the major league glamsters were still in business. Sweet were split; Andy Scott was ill, Steve Priests Sweet were in the States. Noddy ruled out a Slade reunion, Dave and Don Powell were up for it but Jim Lea said no.
So Glamfest 2010 was a none festival. It ought to be done before we lose the chance. Sadly it would have been just me and Chicory Tip, in a muddy field behind the workshop.
But green politics has got me fired up. It matters not in these times whether you work or not. It is how much you burn. How much you cost the planet. Whether your existence is detremental to the future. Mine is ok. I can live with it. Sadly, going green means I cannot fulfill many of my working commitments. How can I justify making more flash furniture for those who already have loads? I can't find an ethical answer to this.
Consequently my search is now no longer a journey in to understanding the contemporary object and its' meaning but a search for truth.
No comments:
Post a Comment