Cathy Dobbs on thick skin, impartiality and climate activism
It feels like every profound statement being made at the moment needs to come with a get-out clause. Recently we’ve heard ‘My Body, My Choice’, however this does not apply to anyone at the end of their life that wants to die with dignity. There’s ‘Equal rights for women’ - except when a section of society believes that men are superior to women. There is also ‘Mental Health Matters, Be Kind’ but this is not applicable when talking about Boris Johnson.
Talking of politicians, what does it take to become an MP? Intelligence, integrity, diligence? Actually, the job advert for Boris should just have one requirement – thick skin. I’d say around 99 per cent of us couldn’t cope with the scrutiny or criticism that comes from being a politician. Judging by recent events it is like swimming in a river infested with hungry piranhas.
A reader sent a fictional story to me this week about a young girl who nearly falls into a lion’s cage at the zoo. She is rescued by a biker who punches the lion on the nose - a BBC reporter happens to be at the zoo and sees everything unfold. When the reporter questions the biker about his brave actions he tells her: “I’m a British Army veteran, a Conservative and I voted for Brexit.” The BBC headline the next day is ‘Right wing UK veteran assaults African immigrant and steals his lunch.’ The hard work the BBC has to put into achieving true impartiality makes the job of prime minister look like a walk in the park.
One thing we are all battling with at the moment is spiralling costs – and so it doesn’t help when families are faced with ridiculously expensive school trips. My neighbour’s teenage son is going to Borneo with his school and the total cost of the trip including transport, injections and kit is £4,000. They’ve had to sacrifice the family holiday so he can go on the educational trip that is supposed to broaden his horizons. Now, can you guess how much the teachers that actually chose the trip are having to pay to spend two weeks trekking through the Borneo rainforest and seeing orangutans and leopards? Yep, you guessed it - nothing! It looks like it’s the teachers that are receiving the free education, along with a holiday of a lifetime, thanks to the hard-working parents. And what’s wrong with a coach trip to northern France, like we had back in the 90s?
The climate activists are nowhere to be seen when it comes to school trips that fly teenagers thousands of miles for the ‘experience of a lifetime’? Maybe all that glue they’ve used to stick themselves to paintings has addled their brain? They seem to have forgotten the holidays they’ve booked, cars they drive, the make-up they wear and their phones, which used to be the only thing you would expect to see glued to their hands.
