May 15, 2007
Insult to insult
Fresh from being called rude and unhospitable when compared with their Muslim neighbors by David Cameron, Brits are now being called "lazy" by Mayor of London, Ken Livingston. "They have grown up their entire life in a house where nobody gets up before midday. We have got to tackle this, otherwise a generation is going to be left behind," he said.
Ok, getting up early, check. That's important and apparently lazy-ass British people are letting foreigners take their jobs with their tardiness to work. I'm not entirely sure what he's trying to say with this, though:
He also urged careers advisers to do more to help school-leavers, adding: 'Our early studies show a backward thinking of people in careers advice. They see a young girl coming through the door and think caring, teaching, nursing. This is ridiculous.'
What's his point? Is it that women are being corraled into being caretakers, teachers or nurses? What would he prefer women become?
He said that during his time in office he had been served coffee by a 'born-and-bred Londoner' only once.'Everybody else has come from abroad' he added.
Oh yeah, serving coffee to self-important Socialist is so much better than being a teacher or a nurse.
Posted by Karol at May 15, 2007 03:28 AM | TrackBackTechnorati Tags: Ken+Livingston
"They have grown up their entire life in a house where nobody gets up before midday. We have got to tackle this, otherwise a generation is going to be left behind," he said.
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Ken Livingstone is a socialist who is complaining about his constituents...behaving like socialists !
That's classic.
Posted by: BadBoyInASuit at May 15, 2007 04:52 AMHe appears having a go at people who would rather stay on benefits than take work that they believe to be beneath them (work that is increasingly taken by Poles with a superior work ethic).
Although, I can't really tell from your randomly selected and unlinked quotes.
Offhand, I would say he thinks women are being stereotyped for certain jobs. That when women come in the door, they are assumed to be a caretaker, not possibly say an engineer or an attorney. They are pushed into certain jobs instead of others where they may prosper.
Posted by: StB at May 15, 2007 08:54 AMKarol--
Not quite sure what to make of this, but it could be significant that Red Ken is concerned about the decline of the British populace. It's one thing when Theodore Dalrymple lambastes the effect of the welfare state on the English underclass over at City Journal; if Red Ken is concerned, it's the British equivalent of Ted Kennedy saying that tax rates are too high.
Posted by: Hubbard at May 15, 2007 11:09 AM"They have grown up their entire life in a house where nobody gets up before midday. We have got to tackle this, otherwise a generation is going to be left behind"
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London Mayor Ken Livingstone, a socialist, is criticizing his constituents for behaving like....socialists !
That's classic.
You can't even make this stuff up.
Not really.
He's just using this as a means of attacking the British, which is his favorite past-time.
It's not a call for yobs to develop a work ethic.
Posted by: Gerard at May 15, 2007 12:58 PMSorry, Urbane, posted it late and forgot the link. It's linked now.
Posted by: Karol at May 15, 2007 01:52 PMI don't think Red Ken says taxes are too high; he would seem to be implying that perhaps we should have a taxation and benefits system which is more fair. A tax system which promotes divorce and unemployment can not be good for anyone.
Posted by: Monjo at May 20, 2007 12:24 PM
