The random witterings of Jonathan Morris, writer.

Friday 27 November 2009

Attitude

Scum.

Was in the pub the other night. A couple were asking for their money back because they weren’t happy with the food; the landlord gave them their money back, but they weren’t satisfied, and the next thing, the landlord had the bloke in a headlock and a window’s been smashed. All very EastEnders.

Another couple I saw the other night, the woman was smoking in a non-smoking area. Heavily. She looked like the ‘before’ in one of those ‘twenty years younger’ shows. Like a cross between Pat Butcher and Mother Theresa. Anyway, a young couple came up to them and politely pointed out that smoking in a non-smoking area was at least unsociable and at worse illegal. So Pat’s husband stood up and theatened violence. The young couple backed away and Mr and Mrs Theresa had a laugh at how clever they had been to get their own way.

Three thoughts. Firstly, I hate these people. The sort of people you find on the Jeremy Kyle show. People who breathe through their mouths. The people you encounter on trains who you just know, if you catch their eye, they’ll stab you. The people who, in cinemas, talk, make phone calls and knee the backs of seats. People who have taken school bullying into the real world.

Secondly. One of the reasons I get annoyed with soaps is that, in stressful situations, people take their cue from soaps as how to behave. This an observable phenomenon. They stand up and shout in courtrooms, because they’ve seen it on telly.

And thirdly; it’s a result of people thinking they have ‘rights’ without responsiblities. Millions fought and died for our liberities and some people think that means it’s okay for them to act as though the world owes them an apology.