Wednesday 12 June 2013

Britain is a country where old men who are baby boomers are rightfully chastised by an old Bishop of London for absorbing too much tax payer's money in this time of austerity


When I read that the 65 year old Bishop of London, the Right Reverend Richard Chartres had criticised his own Baby Boomer generation because they are now " absorbing more than their fair share of taxpayers’ money",  I was reminded of the scene in Lyndsay Anderson's 1968 film, 'If'. Set in a boys' public school, 16 year old sixth form pupil, Mick, played by Malcolm McDowell and two of his companions are beaten by another boy, the Head of House, 18 year old Rowntree, for their 'general attitude'. Rowntree had not been elected by the pupils in the house but chosen by the house master.

Rowntree : "Good evening. I imagine you know why you're here ?"
Mick : "No."
Rowntree : "For being a nuisance. A general nuisance in the house."
Mick : "What do you mean, 'being an nuisance' ? What have we done ?"
Rowntree : "Done ? It's your general attitude. You know exactly what I mean."
Mick : "Attitude?."
Rowntree : "We've decided to beat you for it."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqoGcC4S5jk

The beating, which takes place in the gym involved Rowntree running at Mick and caning him on the backside and repeating this ten times. At the end of the punishment, Mick, smarting with tears shakes the hand of his punisher and says : "Thank you Rowntree". 

So, up before the 'head of house', the 65 year old Bishop, chosen by a convoluted process involving the other lords of the Church and not elected by his London parishioners in the Church of England, how might the conversation between the Bishop and the errant 65+ boomers go ?

Boomers : "What have we boomers done ?"
Bishop : "Done ? You are  'fortunate generation' because you  have enjoyed huge improvements in standards of living during your lifetimes."
Boomers : "And ?"
Bishop : "Well, there are ‘severe questions’ about the share of government spending allocated to you as a group. I've made my comments about you in a lecture organised by religious broadcaster and publisher, 'Premier Christian Media' and hope that I've added fuel to the debate over 'whether the elderly can be protected from further austerity cuts'."
Boomers : "But why pick on us ?"
Bishop : "Because public spending has rocketed from £260 billion in 1997 to £695 billion last year. Much is this has been absorbed by you ways which raise questions of intergenerational equity. Questions of distributive justice continue to be of vital concern for our political leaders and so they should be for Christian citizens,"
Boomers : "Thank you Bishop, for putting us straight and using your position to highlight the burden we are selfishly placing on the shoulders of our fellow citizens."
 

1 comment:

  1. I think that the Bishop needed to be reminded of all the money that we baby boomers paid in from our wages plus that which some gave voluntary to keep mouthy bishops in white collars alive !

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