Today at work
we are being extorted into wearing red and white for St Georges Day.

we have to pay £1 for the privilege of wearing it. £1.10 if we choose not to. Money goes to the office charity account which is normally fed by profit from the chocolate box.

I fucking hate being forced to give to charity. I give to who I want, when I want. People don't understand this though.

What stuff do you do or not do that other people would regard as cunty, but really isn't when you use your brain?
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 23 Apr 2009, 8:39, 24 replies, latest was 16 years ago)

Just as you do.
I refuse to be co-erced into office charriddy. When they winge I ask how much they donate each month to the charity of their choice. Seems to shut them up sharpish when I explain the joys of covenanted regular donation direct from the bank. Twunts.
(porkylips looks better as the sun goes down., Thu 23 Apr 2009, 8:49, Reply)

I know people think I'm a cunt for not voting
I have never voted in my life and I'm 36 in September.

I realise this makes me awful for not engaging in the running of our society but for me the problem there is that I think 'society' is full of utter, utter cunts and the people who are arrogant enough to think they know how best to run it are the biggest cunts of all. The fucking lot of them.

Perhaps my only saving grace is that, unlike the majority of people, at least I know I'm a cunt who doesn't have the answers.

I've just realised this makes me a kind of sweary Socrates.
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Thu 23 Apr 2009, 8:58, Reply)

I've not seen the "donate if you do, donate more if you don't" thing before
That would piss me off enormously.
( The Light in Chains don't touch the Pope's boner, Thu 23 Apr 2009, 8:59, Reply)

I'd refuse
and refuse to pay the money.

That's only because I'm a Scotsman and he's not my patron saint!
(Herr Doktor Lemminge Is bored, so cheer me up!, Thu 23 Apr 2009, 9:02, Reply)

Fuck Saint George.
Mythological Syrian man cuts head of mythological animal.

Only the English could get excited about that.
( Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Thu 23 Apr 2009, 9:05, Reply)

Democracy
I'm sure you can guess the sorts of reactions I've received when I tell people I'd rather we had something other than a democracy (Well, constitutional monarchy but saying that would often lead to me explaining what it is so I don't bother).

Most people react without even thinking, just assume I'd rather we were communist or had a fascist dictator and will immediately start ranting.

The more intelligent people I converse with, generally those I consider friends, will bother to ask what I'd prefer. My answer? "Not really sure. Meritocracies seem interesting but I don't know enough about how they work in practice (Singapore is the only one I know of). Ultimately though I think it'd be something that couldn't be described by a single existing word."

But why don't you like democracy?

"I think governing by popularity is retarded when you consider that most people fail to even remotely understand most things and are expected to vote somebody in (who also wont understand most things all that well...) to act on their behalf when they probably know very little of relevance about the person they are voting for, don't understand our political systems and often don't have any consideration of what might happen if the things they "want" come to pass. Then we have party politics..."

/rant over

:edit: You're going a bit far Monty. Significant numbers of people have lots of good ideas for how to do things better but that's because they have expertise in whatever it is they are commenting on. If we put those same people in power things wouldn't be much better because suddenly they have to make decisions about other things.

Mind you from what I can tell the large majority of politicians are cunts but I think it's only because of they're trying to keep people that can't/won't think happy to get their votes. If they didn't need to do that the same people might not act in such a cuntish way although that's probably wishful thinking.
( Captain V, Thu 23 Apr 2009, 9:08, Reply)

Charities/Door to door sales/opinion polls/.
I have given up being polite to these people as if you show any signs of manners they try to break you down by 'overcoming your objections' in a most ridiculous and text-book way.

It is easier to just close the door and say 'Don't EVER come back, OK?' and if they say anything else just shout 'fuck off!'
(Tugnut Ex of this parish, Thu 23 Apr 2009, 9:09, Reply)

Monty
I don't blame you for that. I've not voted in the past and got a lot of shit for it.

other times I've voted because I happened to be out of the house picking up more baccy...

Enzyme: very well put (as usual). I might spread that around the office later.
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 23 Apr 2009, 9:09, Reply)

Also with the non voting
I'm not registered to vote and wont register to vote unless we are given the option to abstain on voting papers. It's always bothered me that there is no distinction between people that don't bother to vote and people who don't want to vote for any of the candidates.

I want to get involved [by voting] but how can I when I'm not given the chance to express my views at the ballot?
( Captain V, Thu 23 Apr 2009, 9:19, Reply)

Hmmm... Jesus-people.
At the weekend I was having a quiet wander through Bristol, in the sunshine, with my girlfriend.
Excellent.

Then we stumbled across a herd of Jesus People.
Who had a megaphone.
And were singing.

Bit annoying, they're clogging up the whole street. And if I wanted to sing in the street through a megaphone about my magic imaginary friend, I'd likely get arrested.

So... I bit my lip and carried on.

Then one of 'em shoves a Jesus-flyer into my hand. Didn't ask or offer, he grabbed my damn wrist and put it in my hand.
I gave him it back, kinda firmly, saying "No thanks."

He looked like he'd just walked in on me fucking his dead mother, and said "But it's JESUS..."

I frowned and replied "Yep... That's the problem."
Then we walked off.
Stupid Jesus-People.

Er... That wasn't meant to turn into a full-blown story, sorry.
( Cawl, Thu 23 Apr 2009, 9:31, Reply)

I vote lib-dem
because
1) They haven't had a go in ages.
2) They don't sound mental.
3) They were against the Iraq War (part of #2 really)
4) They've said they want higher taxes for the very rich for ages, which is a total no-brainer since all that trickle-down bullshit was shown to be just that.
5) They're not going to get in anyway and this way I can say I voted.
( The Light in Chains don't touch the Pope's boner, Thu 23 Apr 2009, 9:38, Reply)

Kaol
If only you'd had your sword...
( Captain V, Thu 23 Apr 2009, 9:42, Reply)

Nah,
I'm not taking the risk, they might go to heaven or something.

I was on good behaviour, anyway.

If one of 'em touches me again though, I'll snap off whatever comes into contact, burn it and mix the ashes into their fuckin' communion wine.
( Cawl, Thu 23 Apr 2009, 9:48, Reply)

I assume
by red and white it's implied "casual" clothes?

That's how it was in the last office I worked - last Friday every month - casual day - 1 quid to wear, no cost if you didn't. If so (for next year obviously) - white shirt, red tie?
(bamboozled Can hear you getting fatter, Thu 23 Apr 2009, 9:48, Reply)

As an aside,
The only red item of clothing is a red shirt with a crap-load of fake blood splats on it.
Not really office-wear.
( Cawl, Thu 23 Apr 2009, 9:51, Reply)

Kaol
I take it you missed the Jesus people singing outside Waverly station at the Edinbash then?

Full blown guitars, keyboards, drums and amps.

Oh, and flyers. Can't forget the flyers.
( Davros' Granddad a voice of calm reason in a world of spastics., Thu 23 Apr 2009, 9:51, Reply)

No, I didn't miss them...
They were hilarious because they sucked so much.
One of their actual lyrics being: "Jesus, Jesus, Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesus, yeah!"

Made me laugh :D
( Cawl, Thu 23 Apr 2009, 9:55, Reply)

They were
pretty funny. And lame.
( Davros' Granddad a voice of calm reason in a world of spastics., Thu 23 Apr 2009, 9:59, Reply)

Yeah!
They amused me for all of... Three minutes, while we were waiting for the bus.

Throw in some lions and you'd've had yourself a real show!
( Cawl, Thu 23 Apr 2009, 10:01, Reply)

I'd have paid somebody
With the £40 you found to see Lion it Bible bashers.

:edit: What the cunting fuck was that sentance? *sigh*
( Captain V, Thu 23 Apr 2009, 10:12, Reply)

An old favourite
A young lion was talking to and older lion just before they were to be let into the Roman Forum for the final showdown with the Christians.

"This is the first time for me, I'm not sure what I should do," said the younger lion.

The older lion says, "it's easy: you run up to the Christians and roar as load as you can and take a swipe at them with your paw, just before you eat them!"

"Why all the theatrics?" asks the younger lion. "Shouldn't we just eat them?"

The older lion shakes his head, "NO, it's better to scare the shit out of them first...they taste better that way!"
(porkylips looks better as the sun goes down., Thu 23 Apr 2009, 10:13, Reply)

it's not even casual clothes
which is stupid. well, most people haven't gone casual apart from my mate who is wearing a football shirt.

for my part, it made the decision of what shirt to wear, and I happened to have a red tie to hand.

I don't usually wear a tie though. it's open collared shirt and flares for me!
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 23 Apr 2009, 11:17, Reply)

St George's Day
As Enzyme rightly points out, the idea of getting excited about a clearly-mythological dragon-slaying Syrian chap is quite silly. However, for me, making a thing of St George's Day is really just about the principle. (And, being typically anally retentive like a true Englishman)

I'm not a very patriotic person. I don't stand up when I hear our dreary national anthem. And I'm atheist, and so the religious significance of a patron saint is lost on me.

But I'm not Irish. It seems the whole world "remembers" it had Irish roots on St Paddy's Day (particularly the fucking yanks*) which strikes me as silly. I'm not Irish, I'm English. If you want to celebrate the day of your country's patron saint, that's fine by me, and I'll do the same. But I won't go the pub on St Patrick's Day. I'll go on St George's Day. (Just as soon as I can finish up in the lab.)

*_{Just a thought, but given the proximity your average merkin has to an Irish ancestor these days, compared with my few Welsh relatives a couple of generations back, I've probably got more cause to celebrate St David's day than they have St Patrick's...}
(LongJohnBaldry, Thu 23 Apr 2009, 11:25, Reply)

Sod this Syrian johnny-come-lately
All hail Saint Edmund, patron saint of England until the Norman Conquest.
( The Light in Chains don't touch the Pope's boner, Thu 23 Apr 2009, 12:17, Reply)