I actually agree with you for the most part
And yours was pretty much word for word the argument I raised when all the 99% bollocks was going on.

however, (and theres always a however),

saying "you should be grateful you don't live in x" is always a ridiculous comeback argument if the person you are aiming it at has absolutely no experience of living anywhere other than where they live, and in the society they live in.

I have never been to Syria, or Ethiopia. I have no idea what living there would be like, so why would I be grateful not to live there? It's beyond my frame of reference. As an argument meant to elicit a sudden feeling of "wow, you're right" it fails horribly. I'm guessing you're basing that point on the news footage and charity adverts you've seen on TV, as opposed to any first hand experience of going there. the only opinion you can realistically form without any sort of experience of that kind of life is "it must be shit to live there".

You might as well say "yes, but, be grateful that you're not suddenly transported to the moon where you will freeze and choke to death in seconds".

You can only comment on what you know and I was born, raised and currently still live in England. It's all I know. I see the city I live in a negative light, because I have first hand experience of it. Getting beaten up for having long hair. Rioters smashing my city up, for the sake of £100's worth of designer goods. I got on the bus the other day, and three people sat behind us were pretending to shoot my girlfriend because she had a metal band t-shirt on. Granted, we're not actually being shot at in the streets, but are you saying in the face of people acting like that towards me and the people I care about, I should just go "well, it could be worse, I could live n Syria"?. Bollocks. You'd be just as pissed off as I am, you wouldn't suddenly count your blessings.

Also, not that it really matters, but I live on the edge of Gorton, one of the most crime-ridden and disgusting estates in Manchester. Granted it's no Ethiopia, but it's about a poor as it's possible to get living in a first world country. It's the kind of place where people spend their child benefit money on scratchcards and cheap alcohol instead of feeding their families. I would not go into the streets past 9 o'clock at night. If you're not familiar with Gorton, you may be more familiar with Shameless, the TV series they filmed on location there because of how fucking grim it is. Until they had to move the production elsewhere because the crew were getting death threats just for being there, and too much equipment was going missing.

Basically, imagine Shameless, without any of the humour. That's where I live. And that's what I base my opinions on, something I at least have first hand knowledge of. Call it pseudo-psychology if you want. I call it trying to have some kind of understanding of why, in one of the richest countries in the world, where I live is so completely, unrelentingly shit.
( PMGT -Bacon., Wed 11 Apr 2012, 13:55, 3 replies)

Gorton is a proper shithole though

( Major Turd for tonight only, Wed 11 Apr 2012, 15:30, closed)

I travel through it sometimes.
At high speed.
(The Luggage is haunted..., Wed 11 Apr 2012, 15:34, closed)

Yes. Yes it is.

( PMGT -Bacon., Wed 11 Apr 2012, 16:18, closed)

If its such a shit place
and you hate it so much, why live there? You seem like a smart person, move.
(technocore, Thu 12 Apr 2012, 2:07, closed)

The first chance I get to leave Manchester
and maintain gainful employment, I will.

I'm a freelance film-maker and college tutor, and the only place I can get work (at this point) is in Manchester. So I stay.

If I get a job I can do entirely from home, or the BBC/ITV/CH4 wants to pay me to make a TV series or something (which I very much hope they will do and am currently working towards that goal) and I don't need to be here every day of the week, then I'm moving to Windermere, by the lake. I'd like to live somewhere where, when I wake, the first thing I see isn't a council estate.
( PMGT -Bacon., Thu 12 Apr 2012, 2:43, closed)

Have you ever thought of taking your head out your arse and actually doing something about the things you hate about Gorton? Or would that be too much effort, compared to just whining about it? If moving to the countryside is a far-off prospect, why not move to another part of Manchester? There are plenty of places where the things you dislike about Gorton are much less prevalent. But again, perhaps you're too apathetic to do that.
Gorton has it's problems but nothing compared to some parts of the States. Gorton has got a massive cinema, easy travel into the city centre, a couple of nice parks, some great community groups, an amazing old monastery building, and some really interesting people.
Obviously if your main interests are fixating on the negative and sneering about people, none of that will appeal to you.
(tomegranate, Thu 12 Apr 2012, 12:46, closed)

Good plan.
Maybe I'll don my batman costume and go and fight crime single-handedly. Perhaps meet some of those "interesting people" you were talking about.

As for living in other parts of Manchester, have you tried to buy a house in Manchester recently? Do you have any idea how much it costs? I live here because it's the only place I can afford to live. I'd would very happily move to Didsbury or Chorlton, if I could afford the £250,000+ it costs to buy a house there.

And again, why would I give a singular flying fuck about parts of the states? I don't live in the states, I live in Manchester. And I live in a part of Manchester where I am verbally abused on a daily basis, and occasionally physically attacked, for doing nothing more than looking different to the people I live around. I think I'm within my rights to moan about people that want to kick the shit out of me based on nothing more than my having long hair. I've been put in hospital before now because of it. I had to give mouth to mouth resuscitation to my best friend to stop him from fucking dying. Before you judge, you might want to consider that perhaps other people's experiences of living somewhere aren't necessarily as rosy as your own.
( PMGT -Bacon., Thu 12 Apr 2012, 13:29, closed)