I was never aware of the class divide ...
... until I went to Cambridge University.

I wondered why I never 'clicked' with anyone in my halls, until I discovered that I was the only one who needed a student loan. Having slaved in a newsagents all summer long for spending money, that kind of hurt. Right now in this QOTW, I can fully believe all the stories about students who have never ridden a bus before.

If nothing, my university experience has taught me what the class divide is all about. The higher your class, the more your life becomes about purpose. I was raised to believe that life was about making ends meet and paying the bills, and sure enough, four years after graduation that's what I find myself doing.

I refuse to develop a poisonous attitude about class, though. We Britons are terrible for this. Jeremy Clarkson put it best. "An American sees a guy in a Rolls Royce, he thinks: I'll have one of those one day. A Briton sees a guy in a Rolls Royce, he thinks: You bastard, I'll have you out of that one day."

Incidentally, I heard a stat about the Forbes 400 (American version of Sunday Times Rich List) that said something like 57% of the people on the list were born millionaires. Old money vs new money? No comparison really ...
(CerberaSpeedTwelve, Thu 16 Oct 2008, 14:19, 34 replies)

Jeremy Clarkson
Christ. I hope he gets rusty blunt cancer of the Aids. Soon.
( Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Thu 16 Oct 2008, 14:30, closed)

He will do
after I'm done with him.
(Bazongaloid, Thu 16 Oct 2008, 14:31, closed)

Why?
What's so wrong with Dr Clarkson?
( uberdeity Wondered why Owen Lars knew of the term "hell" on, Thu 16 Oct 2008, 14:34, closed)

He's a cunt
and should be shot.
(Bazongaloid, Thu 16 Oct 2008, 14:37, closed)

In what way's he a cunt?
I mean apart from being (probably) better off than you?

Unless you're a rover driving, caravan towing Frenchman militant envrionmentalist in which case I can see why you'd think like that.

*full disclosure: I'm pleased with Clarkson since he described my shiny new car as looking "good enough to snap knicker elastic at 50ft".
( uberdeity Wondered why Owen Lars knew of the term "hell" on, Thu 16 Oct 2008, 14:41, closed)

"Unless you're a rover driving, caravan towing Frenchman militant envrionmentalist..."
Or any other nationality except English, or female, or gay, or liberal-thinking.
(Binary Solo loves a bit of algebra, Thu 16 Oct 2008, 14:47, closed)

Not just liberal thinking
but thinking of any kind. Top Gear is occasionally funny, but it's generally funnier because those three old blokes who are gradually getting fatter and balder, think they are realyl cutting edge and able to judge what is and isn't cool.

Clarkson is a nasty bigot who thinks he's gods gift because he can shout louder and knows about cars.

There's nothing wrong with being enthusiastic about cars, but they are not the be all and end all of the world, they are a way of getting rapidly from A to B.
(Bazongaloid, Thu 16 Oct 2008, 14:49, closed)

Most of Clarkson's 'contentious' claims
are a reaction to PC absolutists.

Before it became a popular hot topic, Clark son was spouting off about the madness of driving 4x4's in town, ridiculous full consumption and the like.

Soon as fuckers talk about banning them, he instantly moves to the other camp.
( Ring Of Fire A petty, drooling belming butthurt retard., Thu 16 Oct 2008, 15:22, closed)

That
doesn't paint him in any better light for me though. Just implies he's doing it to try and annoy people, which is funny when it's a five year old, it's pretty tragic for an old man.
(Bazongaloid, Thu 16 Oct 2008, 15:26, closed)

Yeah,
I'm not one way or the other on the man. He certainly isn't the badger raping monster that many think.

I suspect he dislikes fevered people who want to ban things more than people whose fuel consumption is 30% higher than average.
( Ring Of Fire A petty, drooling belming butthurt retard., Thu 16 Oct 2008, 15:36, closed)

That is a little ignorant...
...to say the least.

He has the utmost respect for a lot of other nationalities and the way the deal with certain issues.

Out of interest how did all the Clarkson haters form their opinions of him, have you ever read any of his books or articles?
(Avalanche - Purveyor of sexual deviancy since 1976, Thu 16 Oct 2008, 14:51, closed)

Yes, thanks
I have seen plenty of his vile, ignorant, bigoted right-wing spewings in his Sun column
(Binary Solo loves a bit of algebra, Thu 16 Oct 2008, 14:54, closed)

and I know it's only Wiki, but
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Clarkson#Controversy

Ergh.
(Binary Solo loves a bit of algebra, Thu 16 Oct 2008, 15:01, closed)

hear hear...
If you ever read his books, you'll see that he hates the En-ger-land bunch of yobboes, applauds the continental ability to go out for a nice evening and not get hammered and have a fight and spends most of his time mocking himself in a self-deprecating manner.

Proving the point about sour grapes, he's not from a rich family, he worked his way up to where he is and I think this country needs a good dose of the common sense that he and the others on Top Gear promote - why do we need road signs to tell us there is no road sign in use? Or speed cameras on every piece of road when they don't stop bad driving/untaxed or uninsured drivers/drunks/people who pull out without indicating, etc?

Most of the twat-mobiles (Audi, BMW, Porsche Cayennes) are at the bottom end of the "Cool Wall" and the small city cars are at the top (because Kristen Scott Thomas would like it...). Oh and anyone who is stupid enough to believe that a Prius is good for the planet should be drowned in their own hummus - they do less MPG than a VW Golf diesel and producing and disposing of the power cells causes untold environmental damage.

In fact, he and his TG team have openly accepted information and opinions from all spectrums (hell, they even were nice to Steven Ladyman), yet it's the PC brigade who can't take any criticism at all. They have no sense of humour and brand anyone who doesn't fall in line with their opinions either a) fascist, b) sexist, c) misogynist or d) anti-environmental.

You're more likely to be run down by a smug cyclist who thinks red lights don't apply to them in london than you are by a motorist, that's for sure.
(Chad, Thu 16 Oct 2008, 15:03, closed)

I don't know if it's just me,
But I find that anyone who uses the term "PC brigade" tends to be a bit of a cunt.
( Cawl, Thu 16 Oct 2008, 15:26, closed)

I didn't want to
get into personal attacks, so I declined from posting something similar myself.
(Bazongaloid, Thu 16 Oct 2008, 15:29, closed)

Well, it's not a personal attack...
It's more of a statement of fact.
( Cawl, Thu 16 Oct 2008, 15:32, closed)

ok...
It might be a poor choice of words, but I stand by the adage "I might disagree with what you're saying, but I'll fight to the death to protect your right to say it". Unfortunately we now live in a society where, if you dare speak your mind, you'll be persecuted, where the rights of the few outweight the rights of the many and where everyone has to walk on eggshells for fear of being branded politically incorrect, or as you so politely put it, a "cunt".

Yes, Clarkson can be a loudmouth, but so what? He's usually right about the car he's driving and what the viewer wants to see - after all, Top Gear without him died on it's ass - we might all only be able to afford a hyundai, but we don't want to tune in to watch a show about fuel economy, insurance groups and small practical hatchbacks - we want to see fast cars going fast, in a cloud of smoke and screaming tyres, somethign blowing up and preferrably have a laugh at the same time - which is why Top Gear is about the biggest TV show the BBC has and is exported globally.

Taking the act on TV as an example of what he might be like as a person (if he was that much of a prick he wouldn't have stayed married, for a start) is like saying that David Tenant is a cock because he doesn't use his time-travelling box to solve world hunger. It's entertainment and if he was so hated, the show wouldn't get the ratings it does.
(Chad, Thu 16 Oct 2008, 15:46, closed)

The PC brigade.
I went out on the piss with an old mate from, bloody hell, 25 years ago. He came out as gay a few years ago, fair shout. He came out as a tranny, last year, again fair shout. The problem was me not wanting to walk into town with him dressed as a girlie; I didn't mind drinking with him in the gay village, as that's cool, but I was concerned with walking down the street with him wearing a frock and high heels.
Does this make me a bigot? I've kicked and screamed about bigoted fuckers my whole life, but I felt a total twat saying sorry to him. Anyway, we had a good night, and got rather pissed. Yay.
(Bear Pookie The Frankly Challenged. Halloween is coming to town., Thu 16 Oct 2008, 15:49, closed)

Clarkson may be a twat
but in that quote in the original post, he has a valid point.
( K2k6 has a proper job these days, Thu 16 Oct 2008, 15:30, closed)

Question
you say there is no comparison between old and new money and yet of these 400 people on the rich list, only slightly more than half were born millionaires.

Which means almost half achieved their money through hard work.

What's the no comparison in that statistic?
(Bazongaloid, Thu 16 Oct 2008, 14:33, closed)

I was thinking that.
Considering one's going to have hundreds of millions, if not billions, to get on the list and nearly half did it themselves!
( Ring Of Fire A petty, drooling belming butthurt retard., Thu 16 Oct 2008, 15:29, closed)

A Binary Solo sees a Jeremy Clarkson in a Rolls Royce, she thinks:
"I hope you drive it into the sea and get arse raped by sharks"
(Binary Solo loves a bit of algebra, Thu 16 Oct 2008, 14:38, closed)

This...
Is fantastic.
That is all.
( Cawl, Thu 16 Oct 2008, 15:28, closed)

bang on the money...
Yes, if you start out life rich, you have to go a long way to die poor, it's true, but the fact is that there is a streak of resentment in the UK under New Labour that you have to laugh at, otherwise you'd want to go on a killing spree.

If you drive a nice car, people won't do as they used to and think "ooh that's nice", or smile at seeing something out of the ordinary burble past. No, they'll do their best to scratch it, spit on it, break it or ruin it in some way - if they can't have it, why should you? After all, they only bunked off school to get their teenage girlfriend pregnant, whilst you worked your ass off to get a raise.

I remember a time when if you had a decent car and someone damaged it, witnesses would contact you and, very often, the person who did it would leave a note with their details. Nowadays, they fuck off as soon as they can, and the witnesses laugh at the thought of someone having to pay thousands of pounds to repair something they didn't do.

If you work hard, educate your kids and provide for them, you're spoilt, or a cunt. If you steal, swear, sign on and act like a pikey, you're an urban bloody hero.

There are times when I truly hate this country...
(Chad, Thu 16 Oct 2008, 15:09, closed)

Bloody hell
you have a massive chip on your shoulder. I thought your earlier post got a bit of unnecessary flak but I'm definitely losing sympathy now.
(Bazongaloid, Thu 16 Oct 2008, 15:20, closed)

not really..
I used to own an american car (cheaper than it looked) when I lived in Leeds - the local estate kids (who you would assume might have destroyed it), used to love seeing it, smiling and waving and asking questions about it. I lived in a rough area and not a scratch was made - in fact the kids used to make sure no-one went near it. So, this biterness and resentment towards someone who has done ok is not based on geography or social background - no, it's a peculiarly post-Blair phenomenon.

I grew up in the 1980s and, even during that age of conspicuous greed, if you saw a Ferrari or Bentley roll past, it made you smile - you didn't think "wait until that fucker's parked and I'll have the wing mirrors off of it"...or maybe you did and I'm the odd one out...?
(Chad, Thu 16 Oct 2008, 15:35, closed)

No I don't
and neither do most people. You are sliding down the slippery Daily Mail slope where fear of everything rules your life.

I drive a shit car and someone stole the trim and the aerial off it one night. I could have lived in the constant fear that everyone round my flat was nicking bits of cars, but they weren't I was just unlucky. I replaced everything and it didn't happen again.

You are harking back to halcyon days that didn't exist. Things are not sliding into chaos, Britain is not "broken" but if you don't like it, please feel free to fuck off.
(Bazongaloid, Thu 16 Oct 2008, 15:39, closed)

they're ok
I meet lots of Cambridge students every year, some with money some without, but so far they've all been quite nice (bar one who left last year and is definitely not missed).
(cmouse is pondering about life in other jobs, Thu 16 Oct 2008, 15:15, closed)

Whoa!
So much hostility!
(ice9, Thu 16 Oct 2008, 15:31, closed)

Fuck off
you cunt.




only kidding.
(Bazongaloid, Thu 16 Oct 2008, 15:33, closed)

Oi!
Fuck you.
And fuck your mum.
You cunt.
( Cawl, Thu 16 Oct 2008, 15:39, closed)

I tried
but she got angry and punch my winky.

It bled a bit.
(Bazongaloid, Thu 16 Oct 2008, 15:42, closed)

Hmmm..
..I went to Cambridge and didn't see this so much. Maybe it depends on the college. I chose a more progressive one (not for any political reasons - because it had a more balnced male:female ratio..)and had a lot of friends and acquaintances who had student loans and went to state school. A lot of the public school lot didn't have a lot of money either; granted there were a few double-barrelled surnames who wouldn't hesitate to bray about their cash and connections and treated the world like they owned it. However, for the most part, being flash and ignorant was very very uncool. I arrived a very sheltered public school student with a modest but comfortable allowance (it was £250 a month and I didn't struggle or feel the need for a loan)then left a nervous wreck the next year for feeling I wasn't cool and savvy enough. I was sectioned following a protracted psychotic episode that was kicked off by "friends" turning on me for being posh and a bit clueless or something. I don't think I was a nasty guy though and I wasn't flash or boastful. Moral of the story: Cambridge is full of nasty, arrogant twats of all social classes.
(lost, Thu 16 Oct 2008, 15:51, closed)