Posts Tagged ‘culture’
Ultimately, the driving force of consumerism is not identity-creation, it is the need for agency. People engage with corporations because when they buy shit they are doing something in a culture devoid of opportunities for meaningful activity.
One of my favourite things about America is the way that, just when I think it can’t possibly be more ludicrous, news like this comes along: The Republican-dominated Ohio Senate passed a bill 25-7 Wednesday to allow concealed carry permit holders to carry weapons into bars, restaurants, and open-air sports stadiums serving alcohol. Don’t worry [...]
Posted by Irresponsiblity John Harris writes “the popularity of cocaine [in Britain] speaks volumes, embodying the spirit of our times while also feeding it”. He’s right. It’s no mere chemical coincidence that Britain has Europe’s biggest coke habit. Harris rightly notes that cocaine “is not a drug to plug you into the collective consciousness… it [...]
Posted by Irresponsibility Some chumpnut Bible-basher is having a Bring Your Gun to Church day because, says Ken Pagano, the MENSA candidate minister behind the idea: “God and guns were part of the foundation of this country”. Everyone knows all the ideas they had back then, like keeping slaves and counting them as three-fifths of [...]
Posted by Irresponsibility It goes without say the whole notion of ‘International Women’s Day’ makes me want to vomit. Women make up roughly half the population of the globe, do two-thirds of the world’s work (plus virtually all the unpaid labour), we take all the risk of pregnancy and child-bearing and do the vast majority [...]
Posted by Irresponsibility Hate to say ‘I told you so’ but damn, I told you so. If you missed my post on Feminist Basics: The Beauty Myth and Credit Crunch Economics give it a once-over. Then marvel at the breathless audacity of the Guardian fashion piece headlined: Women of Britain – your designers need you! [...]
Anyone (especially any woman) who says that getting hassled and cat-called on the street is “not a big deal” and that other women should “just deal with it” (i.e. that us humourless feminists should lighten up and learn to take a ‘compliment’) should try being a medium-tall white girl in Mexico for a few weeks.
Strip clubs aren’t about sex at all; they’re about power. Men who frequent them aren’t getting off on the hot naked sex-ayness, they’re getting off on domination. And men who equate dominance with sexual pleasure are dangerous.
Posted by Irresponsibility It isn’t often the NME website yanks at my heartstrings, but its latest Britney Spears news is the most poignant thing I’ve read in a long time. Excerpted from the pop princess’s forthcoming ‘For The Record’ documentary (1 December, Sky One) Britney sounds desperate – and desperately sad. She says, of her [...]
Posted by irresponsibility ‘Gold is not the real measure of a nation,’ is a trenchantly argued piece in the Guardian about the real cost of Olympic medal counts. “Some argue that the gold tally is evidence of an improved investment in sport, healthcare and social security, but this is an outrageous claim. More accurate indicators [...]
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