Happ Hazzard Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 What I don't understand is your avatar. Did you not get that programme at all? Or is it intended as a tribute to the system that keeps Bubbles in the gutter selling t-shirts for a couple of dollars? I did "get" the programme. In the UK, bubbles would have never got clean. He'd have been kept subsidised on various benefits, and never would have hit rock bottom, which in the show was what caused him to get clean and end the last episode running up the stairs to join his sister and nephew for dinner. Â Wow. Just wow. The Wire is a critique of capitalism. But then David Simon could come here and point out that you didn't get it and it would make no difference. You're right. Authors can't control how people read their work. Â The TV series "the Wire" is a product of capitalism. It relies on people watching TV and buying DVDs in order to exist in the first place. Â Where would Baltimore be without Capitalism? It's a port town. It relies on capitalism for the work that made people move there in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbins Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 What I don't understand is your avatar. Did you not get that programme at all? Or is it intended as a tribute to the system that keeps Bubbles in the gutter selling t-shirts for a couple of dollars? I did "get" the programme. In the UK, bubbles would have never got clean. He'd have been kept subsidised on various benefits, and never would have hit rock bottom, which in the show was what caused him to get clean and end the last episode running up the stairs to join his sister and nephew for dinner. Â What incentive is there for addicts to get clean in this country? In many cases they'd be financially penalised for it. Â I assume anyone who "gets" the Wire knows to treat official crime statistics with the contempt they deserve? Greatest post in the history of the internet right here. Amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happ Hazzard Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 What I don't understand is your avatar. Did you not get that programme at all? Or is it intended as a tribute to the system that keeps Bubbles in the gutter selling t-shirts for a couple of dollars? I did "get" the programme. In the UK, bubbles would have never got clean. He'd have been kept subsidised on various benefits, and never would have hit rock bottom, which in the show was what caused him to get clean and end the last episode running up the stairs to join his sister and nephew for dinner. Â What incentive is there for addicts to get clean in this country? In many cases they'd be financially penalised for it. Â I assume anyone who "gets" the Wire knows to treat official crime statistics with the contempt they deserve? Greatest post in the history of the internet right here. Amazing. I'd be very interested to hear exactly why you think my post is wrong. Â The Wire (to me at least) offered a stunning indictment of why official crime statistics are meaningless. Â Why would Bubbles have reformed when he was recieving the same amount of benefits each week as people who genuinely wanted to be a part of society? He stated himself (unless I have a very bad memory) that junkies had to hit rock bottom until they reformed). The UK benefits system insists that people who do not work, no matter how incapacitiated they are through self abuse, are entitled to feel that they are part of mainstream society. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiffy Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 I love the idea that a quid in benefits will stop a heroin addict from hitting rock bottom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happ Hazzard Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 I love the idea that a quid in benefits will stop a heroin addict from hitting rock bottom. What benefit payment is a quid? Â If recieving benefits is rock bottom, what exactly is not recieving benefits? Rock bottom is the bottom. There can't be any lower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiffy Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Sorry, that was meant to be a few quid. I'd say, from addicts I've met, stealing from parents, getting sent to prison, sucking cock for a few quid for a fix, things like that - that's rock bottom. Losing benifits really doesn't come into it, they're such a small percentage of the money one needs for a decent habit it's untrue. But, of course, in your mind, I imagine one could live quite comfortably with a large scale heroin habit on esa, dla and housing benefit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happ Hazzard Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Comfortably? No. But would you be hitting rock bottom? No. Rock bottom is rock bottom. As long as there is some kind of benefit there, you're getting justification to live how you are living. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiffy Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Hmm, well if losing benefits fits your definition better than sucking cock and stealing from friends and family to get a fix, then I guess we have very different definitions of rock bottom. One moral and spiritual, one monetary. Not entirely surprising. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happ Hazzard Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Hmm, well if losing benefits fits your definition better than sucking cock and stealing from friends and family to get a fix, then I guess we have very different definitions of rock bottom. One moral and spiritual, one monetary. Not entirely surprising. I don't think the two are any different. Someone that is recieving benefits is less likely to resort to sucking cock and stealing, and thus less likely to have their moment of clarity that addicts must have in order to want to rehabilitate themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Chris B Posted April 7, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted April 7, 2011 Oh, I thought that 'rock bottom' meant different things to different people. I also thought that some people, when they hit their personal rock bottom, kill themselves. Â But, no! Apparently, they all must have exactly the same rock bottom in order to get a moment of clarity and sort themselves out. Every time. Because it's always the same. Because you saw it on 'The Wire'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happ Hazzard Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Oh, I thought that 'rock bottom' meant different things to different people. I also thought that some people, when they hit their personal rock bottom, kill themselves. But, no! Apparently, they all must have exactly the same rock bottom in order to get a moment of clarity and sort themselves out. Every time. Because it's always the same. Because you saw it on 'The Wire'. I don't class the Wire as some kind of universal truth. It's just a TV series, primarily entertainment.  As far as what some kinds of people's "rock bottom" is, that's not for the government to legislate towards. That's their own business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbins Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 Imagining Happ watching The Wire and misunderstanding the point of every single scene, interpreting the entire thing as a paean to naked self-interest, accepting it (along with everything else) as proof that he's right about the world is just incredible. The wilful ignorance is astounding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 Only someone as pathologically averse to reality as Happ would interpret The Wire in this way. I guess Omar represents the market power of the motivated small business owner, showing the benefits of building up a loyal customer base? McNulty is the epitome of the decent, hardworking policeman. Sure, sometimes he cheats on his wife and fakes murders, but if you're not 100% behind the police, then you must want them all dead, remember? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happ Hazzard Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 (edited) Imagining Happ watching The Wire and misunderstanding the point of every single scene, interpreting the entire thing as a paean to naked self-interest, accepting it (along with everything else) as proof that he's right about the world is just incredible. The wilful ignorance is astounding. Imagine bobbins watching the Wire and interpreting the entire thing as proof that HE'S right about the world. Â It's a TV programme. How it is interpreted is up to the person watching it. I find it hard to see how it could be read as a vindication of leftist ideas, however. Baltimore's been run by the Democrats since time immemorial. Clay Davis is a democrat. Â I guess Omar represents the market power of the motivated small business owner, showing the benefits of building up a loyal customer base? This doesn't make sense. Did you mean another character? Edited April 8, 2011 by Happ Hazzard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happ Hazzard Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 (edited) Teachers at a school in Lancashire have had enough and are going on strike over the managements refusal to back them up when dealing with unruly pupils. I hope to see this repeated in schools all over the country, the state education system in Britain is an utter joke, and it is not surprising that so many parents break the bank to go private. Edited April 8, 2011 by Happ Hazzard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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