Mechanisms of control!

Co-leader of the Green Party, MP Caroline Lucas was writing in today’s paper about the need to reverse Brexit before it’s too late. I feel the same way but that’s not what I want to go on about at the moment. In her article she wrote this:

“More than 70% of voters aged 18 to 24 voted for Britain to remain in the EU, as did 62% of those aged between 25 and 34 and 52% of 35 to 44 year-olds. Those who will live the longest with the country’s decision were – just – outnumbered by an older generation who have enjoyed the benefits of EU membership for many years.”

How does Caroline Lucas know this? I’m pretty sure the figures are correct but I want to know how they work it out. I was under the impression that we all vote anonymously. So do they take exit polls and surveys and extrapolate figures from there? Personally, I am a little fed up of being blamed for Brexit. Some of us “who have enjoyed the benefits of EU membership for many years” actually wanted to continue doing so.

I don’t like all the watching and spying and reporting that seems to be around in the country at present.

There’s a Tory MP, Chris Heaton-Harris, a staunch Eurosceptic, who wrote to vice-chancellors of universities asking for details of who is teaching about Brexit, asking for a copy of the syllabus and access to any online lectures on Brexit. It doesn’t matter what his opinion is about Brexit, he doesn’t have a say in how and what is taught in universities here. Surely we can trust academics in the universities to give a balanced view and encourage a proper discussion. Big Brother is already watching us closely enough!

There’s the Guido Fawkes website going around unearthing facts from people’s fairly dim and distant facts. This has led to Jared O’Mara resigning from the women and equalities select committee because of homophobic and sexist remarks he posted on a forum fifteen years ago. Some people wanted him suspended from the Labour Party but this move has so far been resisted. Last night on the television news I heard two young women writers going on about how he should not be forgiven. Had he been 14 at the time of making the remarks, they said, he might be forgiven, but once you are in your twenties you are an adult and you should know better. I have known some very irresponsible 20-somethings in my time.

Later last night I delayed going to bed because my attention was caught by Chris Packham, nature expert and environmentalist, talking about his life and how it has been affected by Asperger’s. Here, I hope, is a link to a review of the documentary, 

When he was growing up, Asperger’s was not much talked about. In fact, he had no diagnosis until much later in his life. He was just aware of being an oddly obsessive, but very bright kid, who was bullied for being a geek and went through secondary school and university not relating much tomother humans simply concentrating on studying what he enjoyed: animals and nature. Almost accidentally, he ended up on children’s television, talking about what he loved and so he was able to live as he chose.

The documentary followed him to the USA where he observed centres which try to “treat” and “cure” autism. Visibly disturbed by the methods he saw, he expressed his view to the camera that you should not try to change what a person is. Yes, he recognised that some of the children he saw were much more severely affected than he is. But he does not want to be “cured”.

He also visited Silicon Valley, where they employ a whole lot of “geeks” on the autistic spectrum, responsible for many developmental in IT. Chris Packham reckons that they, like him, are what they are, doing the work they do because of Asperger’s not despite it.

And I wondered about depression. If some of the great artists, poets, writers that we now recognise as great had had their depression “cured”, many of their works might never have been completed.

We need more understanding and less control in the world!