Voting at 16

I've blogged on this before, but as it's come back into public focus, i'll cover it again.

First, why do parties want younger voters? The easy answer is a 16 year old voter will not remember the policies of the previous party when voting. With governments limited to a 5-year term in power, a 16-year old voter would be 11 when the previous government were in power. How many 11-year-olds are politically aware? Not many I'd guess.

So for example, Labour could have bankrupted the country, could have been an absolute disaster 5 years ago during the previous government and the 16 year old voter would be none the wiser.

Of course the party could promise the earth 5 years later and the gullible 16 year old will fall for it.

Just as 16 year olds aparrently fall for cigarette adverts and colourful cigarette wrappers, WHICH IS WHY THEY ARE BANNED and 16 year olds are banned from buying cigarettes.

Talk about double standards.

Labour want to ensnare a gullible class of (let's not suger-coat it) exploitable children.

It's a bit of a dirty political trick if you ask me, exploting children. It's up there with human trafficking, slavery and prostitution.

Is that the depths that UK politics has stooped to? Yeah, looks like it to me....

New Puritanism Working Against Feminism

The latest #metoo puritannical female hysteria seems to be set dead against the normal feminist agenda.

Instead of promoting the strong woman as an equal to men i.e.feminine equaility, what #metoo is doing is promoting the idea of females as victims.

Seems to me that the whole thing is counter-productive.

If a bloke assaults you, kick him in the nuts, grab his arse back or whatever: don't be a victim. All the hashtags and memes, concerts and the like will not teach women to stand up for themselves. It is not empowering. It is promoting the idea of females as victims and the idea that all men are bogeymen no matter how innocent their intentions.

I mean, even men who have chatted up women are getting smeared by this movement. How nonsensical is that?

Taking it to it's logical conclusion, all the #metoo women should wear more black in support. Maybe a Burka? That's the Muslim solution to predatory men. Why not adopt it in the west?

Of course it's the same mindset: to protect female victims from all men who without exception are predators.

W. T.F.

I'm bemused about fallout from the Presidents Club Dinner.

As far as I'm aware, it was a dinner arranged where men would be the diners and female waitresses were employed to wear skimpy cosutumes while serving.

Each side knew beforehand the sort of occasion that would be taking place. The waitreses were entitled to walk away and not to serve at that dinner if they felt at all intimidated by it. In days gone by women with a backbone would have attended and have given as good as they got. All taken in fun and with no fallout. Not the new puritans and the jelly-spined young women of today it seems.

So I'm staggered that some men are being castigated for being men and touching a couple of lady bottoms. I've seen Hen Parties do exactly the same at  mainly female parties. It's just what people of either gender get up to when the booze starts to flow freely. Lads and Ladettes are just as bad as each other, there is no inequality at all when it comes to the weekend.

I've even more staggered that men who attended the dinner and didn't touch any lady parts are tarred with the same brush and forced to resign/give up fees/whatever the new puritannical social media mob demands. I mean, you wouldn't convict a person of murder of someone else at the party shot someone would you?

What the fuck is going on?

Are men not allowed to act like men these days?

And I'm not talking about rape, predation or abuse of power before anyone gets on their high horse.

I'm talking about the honest banter and high-jinks that happens between sexes when the drink flows freely. It happens on both sides. If we're now saying that it's become a taboo subject, then God help the human race. If the between sexes social banter that goes on in pubs, clubs and cafes across the world is now taboo, then people will never find partners.

I feel sorry for the new puritans that think this is a bad thing. I feel sorry for them that they are so socially crippled that they fear such intercourse. I feel sorry that they will never experience flirtation, or if they do that they find it dangerous or are fearful of it.

They are in a minority and should stop trying to impose their social ineptitude on the rest of society.

I am a man, I am proud of it. I don't have one iota of shame from being born male. Nor do I feel superior because of it, I believe in equality. I'm a bit socially awkward, but I don't crow about it and demand the rest of the world changes to suit me.

In my younger days I've been flirted with quite seriously but missed the cues (just part of growing up), I've had my bum felt by ladies (probably because I missed all the other cues) and I didn't immediately demand they resign or issue a public apology. I took it as a compliment that I had a decent bum at the time. It's now sadly older and less desirable and married (as is the rest of me). My wife seems to fixate in my nipples every time she goes near me but I don't demand a divorce or a public apology because of it (although it is bloody annoying).

I think we need to get this back to an even keel and stop with the hysteria. Yes, rape, abuse of power, predation, under-age-sex and all those things are bad. Flirtation, high-jinks and between the sexes banter are not and should not be criminal offences and people should not be hauled over the coals for what after all is just human nature.

And can feminists start acting like adult women please and not like spoiled children?