Eddi Reader

Last night was great. My wife and I had not been to the Apex before and we loved the place. Watching music from the upper balcony was great. Both Eddi Reader and her support act were amazing. I love listening to live music, but the only downside was the ban on standing on the upper floors. We would love to listen to both in a live event again, and we may be returning to The Apex in the future as well!

Vaccinating

I have had an exhausting day at work today. I spent it vaccinating loads against COVID-19 and influenza. I worked with a fellow Arsenal fan and in the few moments that we had a break, we had a chat about Arsenal. 

I did not know that the goal celebration of Saka last weekend was the result of banter with his international teammate, James Maddison. But considering what I had been doing all day today, I thought it was an appropriate picture to post!  I had discussed the game and I predicted an Arsenal win, but I thought that Eddie Nketiah would score a hat trick, he being a good squad player to use in games like this. But it was not to be, however we did win anyway and I will hopefully watch the match tomorrow. My wife and I are to travel to Bury St Edmunds tonight to watch Eddi Reader. 

I have had the odd discussion about COVID on Twitter (or rather X) where I was wrong about someone who compared COVID to influenza. COVID19 can be compared to the Spanish Flu outbreak after The Great War. We saw lessons there about how social distancing and restrictions on movement saved lives and flattened the curve. Back then there was no immunisation campaign. Hopefully this will flatten the curve of hospital admissions this winter.

Workplace bullying

Do not worry, this is a joke title. 

Yesterday, at work, there was an urgent message left for me. I opened the envelope it was in to find a brochure. What had been done, with a jewellery brochure that had been sent to me in the post (probably because I have presents for my wife delivered there), is that some of the ladies I work with, had gone through it, put post-it notes on the pages they liked something and wrote what they wanted! I was not surprised at one of those who did it, but one of the others involved is normally very quiet and would never do anything like that! Of course I reported this to the manager who just laughed at me! 

A minister for men

This issue has come up after the recent misogyny that has made headlines.  First of all, the update.  Dan Wootton has been sacked by MailOnline, and Laurence Fox has (finally) apologised for his comments.  The failure of Dan Wootton to say Maaate to Laurence Fox is one of the reasons why we should consider having a minister for men.   

There is a lot of pressure on men to be toxic.  We see those like Andrew Tate venerated by other men, but we also see people like Russell Brand being defended by women.  When it comes to toxic behaviour in men being tolerated, it is the 'right type' of man who is able to get away with this.  While it is not with every woman, there are enough women who are attracted to bad boys which makes men see such behaviour as the right thing to do. 

As noted in the video, men have higher suicide rates, not just because men are more successful when it comes to trying to kill themselves, but it is seen as a failure for men to talk about their feelings.  Men are less likely to seek help when it comes to other health issues as well.  

There are so many things that we can do to help society become better, but that includes addressing the issues that men face, not just to their own health, but how they affect others.  Examples of this include teaching men who to act in relationships to reduce rates of domestic violence, ensuring that women do not have to fear being killed by men (or boys) due to an actual or perceived slight. And of course, reducing the numbers carrying knives full stop.

A Minister of Men would have spoken out when it came conversation on GB news about Ava Evans, though I suspect Wootton and Fox would consider the values that such a minister would promote to be too woke.  

 

#Maaate and toxic masculinity

Too many times, men have not challenged other men who have been misogynistic. We had it when Donald Trump talked in 2005, about how he would sexually assault women (the recording was released in 2016 a month before the election). We have had another blast of misogyny this week. Dan Wootton and Laurence Fox engaged in a bit of misogynistic banter, live on TV. Fox discussed the views of a female journalist, and his way of dismissing her was to say that no one, other than an incel, would shag her. Wootton, when he had the chance to say Maaate, and challenge this outburst of misogyny, laughed. 

Later, when suspended, he admitted what he did was wrong. However Fox threw him under the bus by tweeting the conversation that they had on X (the App formerly known as Twitter). 

What Wootton should have done, is to follow the advice of Sadiq Khan. He should have said Maaate, and then challenged his friend and given him the chance to apologise for what he said.

As a man, if I see sexism like that, I should speak out, if I was in the situation Wootton was in. Banter is one thing, misogyny is another. Boys are taught Toxic Masculinity as teenagers. Such teaching can be unlearned, and that requires it to be challenged.

Shoot to kill

Sadly, the police, at times, have to kill.  A decision has to be made in a split second as to if someone poses a threat to life, or if they do not.  This post is made over the death of Chris Kaba and the decision to charge the police officer who killed him with murder.  I am making it based on information which is in the public arena and this may change after any investigation and/or trial. 

I do not like the way people have defended the killing of an unarmed man based on his past.  The police officer who made the decision to shoot to kill was probably not aware of his past.  What the police officer was asked to do was to make a decision to act in a situation when other police officers were at risk. Unarmed men have been shot before by the police.  Examples include Mark Duggan, Jermaine Baker, Jean Charles de Menezes and Usman Khan.  Some of these are considered my many to be justified, others may disagree.

Mark Duggan was transporting a firearm that had been used in crime.  He was unarmed when he was stopped, and from what I understand of the events, was shot when he was probably trying to get rid of the gun.  The police officer who made the decision to kill him, had to make it before any other officers were taken down.  If he had not been stopped, that gun would probably have been used in other crimes.

Jermaine Baker had an imitation firearm.  The police officer who shot him had not been told that it was not a real gun and when the decision was made to kill him, it was based on the threat that he was felt to pose.  Failures here rest with not telling the officer that there was no threat, not with the officer who killed him.

Jean Charles de Menezes is a much more complicated case. London was braced for another terror attack after the July 7th attacks which murdered so many.  The police had to cover lots of suspects and he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Some attempted to justify his killing, saying that he should not have run but the officer who shot him was under the assumption that he was a terrorist and was to repeat the attacks earlier that month.  The fault is not with the officer who killed an innocent man, but with the whole system leading up to his death.  

Last of all, Usman Khan.  When he was killed, he was unarmed.  He had murdered by then and was wearing a fake suicide vest.  The police officer who killed him again did what was felt to be appropriate at the time, though in hindsight, with full knowledge of the facts which were not known at the time, he could have been captured instead.  

Many have spoken out against the deaths of unarmed black men.  I think that the deaths of the men I have included here were justified in the moment of the decision to kill them, though in hindsight, with knowledge of the facts which where not known to the officer at the time, the wrong decision had been made.  It is ironic, though also appalling, that a woman who spoke out against the deaths of unarmed black men is herself the victim of gun crime.

I am not going to defend the deaths of people like Joy Gardener because that was not a split second decision.  That was a stupid and fatal decision which should not have happened, and once made, could have been reversed before the horrific consequences occurred.      

I am not going to defend the way that Black people are disproportionally searched when white people, who are eight times less likely to be searched, are more likely to be carrying drugs.  

What we need to do is accept that individuals are entrusted by us to make literal life and death decisions to protect us.  Too many police officers have been killed.  I do not want more to die.    

   

I did not have to hide today

Yesterday was the Arsenal game. I was concerned before it, Spurs have won lots of games and even if they had not, it is the North London Derby. It looked close at first, though I would say we had the upper hand until the second equaliser, which I know sounds strange, but we were the better team, but only just. Once Spurs got their second goal, we did not play as well. Passes were overhit and we did not take advantage of the number of Spurs players who were on yellow cards. Ultimately, I would say that overall, Spurs were the better team after our drop in performance.

They played with discipline and I have to be honest, I do not think that we will be celebrating St Totteringhams day this year. At least with a draw, I do not have to hide from the Spurs fans at work!