Irregular Customers

Like most other students who had the misfortune to graduate into the recession (thanks Gordon), rather than obtain a fantastic graduate opportunity I'm working two different jobs both of which I'm fairly overqualified for. Not that I can complain - many of my friends are in worse situations. I can count myself lucky that I have found one job, let alone two.



My first job is a barmaid in a local pub; this has provided me with many opportunities to get to know the, ahem, colourful regulars. For instance, the woman who claims incapacity benefits but still manages to dance away on Friday nights and has to have two half pint glasses, from a certain tap, with no head. And then MUST keep the same glasses ALL night. Lovely.
Or the pub quiz obsessed alcoholic who spends his entire time reading question books. One chap chooses to spout the Dail Fail at me on a regular basis, providing me with some real gems such as:



"All the immigrants, they swim across the channel to get here."



"I'm pretty sure they don't Geoff. It's quite hard to swim across the channel."



"No, no. How else can they get here from Afghanistan?"



And



"Only 40% of people voted in the last election, and they were all black."



While these comments provide an element of black comedy during a long and tiresome shift, it is also scary. These people are a reflection of society, a society labour would rather not amit exists - the benefits cheat, the lonely alcoholic and the potential BNP voter.

I'm hoping that WHEN we get voted into power next year the Tories follow through on their promise to overhaul the benfits system; and while drinking is a terrible burden on the public sector there does seem to be some progress towards at least attmepting to change attitudes.

The last example is trickier, and shows perfectly why Nick Griffin had to appear on question time. He managed to show himself up completely, but I do feel that had he been hounded less the effect of disgusting the nation would've been stronger. Not only did he come out with some horrdendous homophobic comments (best rebuff - "the revulsion is mutual") he failed to demonstrate any from of charisma or intelligence. Watching him was like watching my sixth form debating society, on a bad day...

But - HORROR - according to polls a whacking great 30% of British voters now consider the BNP to be a viable political party. Were they not watching the same program as myself and others?

I'm not sure how lightly to take this statistic though, as even The Fail took a strong anti-Griffin stance. Unfortunateley they are political players; however idiotic they may be, they still managed to produce results in the last election. And that is why we need to give the BNP as much coverage as possible, because there is only so many TV appearences that can go by before the public realises what cretins this 'political party' are made up of.

I know I'm a bit behind the times, but I wrote about 90% of this last Friday and it seemed a shame to waste it...