Challenging power, the media, establishment (and authority) in general..

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Marb

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I'd be interested what our collective experiences, or maybe just viewpoints of how to do this are?

I've been against the often unnecessary exercising of strategic authority all my life.

From challenging teachers at school that I thought were incompetent, to challenging medical practitioners that I thought were incompetent and covering their own tracks.

Bar the odd exception, If I don't think authority is right about something, I'll be the first to challenge it.

With regards to power, I'm always happy to speak (or type!) against it, including the establishment, but I haven't actually protested or anything like that, which makes me too accepting of the status quo I guess :)

As for the media, I've known it as being owned by vested Corporate interests, yes.

When done correctly, (a rare occurrence), it can play a small part in challenging authority.

Nowadays, it seems only left-wing papers like The Mirror, Guardian, or the odd-piece elsewhere, want to execute hatchet jobs on the Establishment, (which includes The Royal family).

The right wing print press, are too busy licking the arse crack of lame-duck Prime Ministers. :)

Overall.... a needed function of our somewhat weak democracy I suppose, even though 95 per cent of the print press is absolutely non-readable to me.

This is a thread to share experiences, where you've stood up for what you believe in, (cyber-keyboarding doesn't really count for these purposes, although this doesn't detract from the power of social media and internet :)).

This could be anything from a debate in a public arena, lecture theatre, to a full-on rebellion outside parliament.

This doesn't have to be an objective documentation of what you did, as this type of behaviour is positively biased towards the individuals viewpoints and so a lot more subjective.

I'm sure there's Corbynesque characters lurking on here?!!!

Share if you can please.
 
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I once insisted to the wife, that I get the Empire Biscuit with the orange 'nipple'.

You may not think this counts, but I know who the real power/authority is.
 
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I spent a great deal of time and effort trying to stop my local council ignoring widespread complaints about night time noise from a nearby coal mine. The ignoring was largely tied in to "community payments" which were administered in a fundamentally corrupt manner by the same local council. I was not alone in fighting the council on the matters in question.

The councils reaction was to ignore complaints, falsify noise readings, prepare the mine when noise readings were to be taken, ignore their own readings when they were showing the matter as being outside legal levels and eventually, in my case, refuse to respond to any complaints that I had, full stop.

I will admit to cheering when Scottish Coal went bust and taking photographs of the prime movers leaving the site for the last time.

The Public Services Ombudsman was worse than useless, advising me that there were no circumstances where they are allowed to disagree with a council decision. The only time they are allowed to act is where the council has acted outside their own rules (so the council decides which rules it follows).
 
That's interesting. Taking on a Council is some mission. They're a law unto themselves.
 
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Marble said:
That's interesting. Taking on a Council is some mission. They're a law unto themselves.
Click to expand...

They are indeed - particularly so when you consider that some of the local councillors agreed with us but were unable to do anything because the matter was being dealt with by unelected, paid individuals who were, in the case of the noise measurements officer - also working for Scottish Coal (nothing corrupt about that at all!!)

We should have elections for the Chief Executive of local councils - they are currently being paid 6 figure sums with zero accountability.
 
In fact, I've just remembered a cracking example of the zero accountability.

In East Ayrshire the man responsible for failing to ensure sufficient money was put aside to restore former mines was sacked.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-28344273

In my local council, South Lanarkshire, the man who failed to ensure sufficient money was put aside to restore former mines was promoted to Chief Executive of the council!!!

John Cougar's Authority Song springs to mind - "I fight authority, authority always wins"
 
'Beware the expert' seems an adequate summary of your words Marble, or more accurately 'beware those who think they're experts'

Marble said:
Nowadays, it seems only left-wing papers like The Mirror, Guardian, or the odd-piece elsewhere, want to execute hatchet jobs on the Establishment, (which includes The Royal family).

The right wing print press, are too busy licking the arse crack of lame-duck Prime Ministers. :)
Click to expand...

If memory serves it was that mouthpiece for the squires of the shires, the Telegraph, that exposed and pursued the Expenses Scandal; but in general you're probably correct
 
True about The Telegraph, Drone. I guess the simple answer to my own question might be, that we have a centre-right (+) government, so it makes sense for their friends in the press to go easy on them.

What's really refreshing is that people, especially the young, don't buy into malicious personal character assassinations, like that level led at Jeremy Corbyn before June 8th re-I.R.A.
 
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