It’s a pressing issue right now, and the tip of the iceberg for the decimation that seems to be in play. But lots of people seem to miss the point of how important pubs are and have been, especially in helping to shape our notorious ‘island mentality’. They have a rich, colourful history and have played an important role. But they are also social places, where if you put the consumption of alcohol to one side, has many benefits to the wider community. Of course, they have played their own part in nefarious activities in the past, and been haunts of all sorts of types, but on the whole they have been known as a place for the normal folk to enjoy each other’s company, food, a drink and a laugh. And information, and solace, and respite, and so much more.
But times they are a changin’. And what of the pub and the old ways that are on their way out by force, some people say they are outdated and there’s no need for them anymore anyway. People drink too much, it’s too expensive and doesn’t pose any continued social benefit. That it is clinging on to a bygone era and just because we always have, doesn’t mean we always should. And I agree with that, but not entirely on this one. Of course, it’s ridiculous that energy companies can be allowed to just hike their prices by 400%, and it shouldn’t be so, that people are forced out and the forced death of an industry, jobs, communities and more. Because it won’t just stop at pubs, it’s shops, bakeries, gyms, restaurants, care homes, hospitals etc. It’s crippling what they are doing and very real lives and livelihoods are going to be lost and under threat while they play their ‘virtual green game’. Because they do not do as they say, in fact the complete opposite. So, while you are meant to cut back, spend every penny of savings you have (and get in debt if you haven’t got any), sit in the dark and think of better times. They are not cutting back though, are spending others money like it is water and are lighting their own homes and lives at our expense. I suspect it makes others feel nauseous too just thinking about and seeing what they are doing.
But that is where we are being rendered mute, and helpless. Like you are in a big tub, and it keeps being filled up with water by someone. You say you’re going to drown, they just keep putting more in and shrugging at you. They are slowly pulling up the ladder at the same time, expecting you to just tread water until you run out of energy, then drown. It’s a set up, and one you aren’t meant to navigate successfully or survive intact. That is the point. Once you realise that, their choices and decisions make more sense, and you realised they need to be ignored, like the inane rantings of a madman should be.
Give thought to what jobs and industries there will be once the highstreet, towns and communities are changed even further beyond recognition. While they take away normal hardworking jobs, they are stealthily replacing them with tech jobs, monitoring jobs, enforcer jobs, security jobs etc. That’s how you split society further, by offering ‘new jobs’ to replace, and survival instinct works in different ways for different people. There will be plenty who decide those jobs are worth it so they can feed themselves and their family. Because most of the time, that’s the starting point for people, food, shelter, clothing. If you can get people at that stage, make them insecure and worried, you’ve mostly got them. Further in, thinking is not as malleable.
So, it may seem like just a pub, or just a bakery, or a library, or a gym, or a cafe, but they aren’t. They are a lifeline and part of the community at large and necessary. But when they are stripped back, minimised and corporatized, something quite soulless seems to creep in and is trying to take over that last pocket of freedom and trade. All of it.
