Tuesday 31 December 2013

Because You Are Only Allowed To 'Shock Revellers' For Certain Things...

It's new year's eve, and out come the usual warning posters, such as the ones that crop up, every year, on the Tube. Makes sense, surely? I mean, it's dangerous to get so drunk that you lose all inhibitions and put yourself in a dangerous situation.

Who could argue with that?

Well, step forward Karen Ingala Smith, of the anti-violence charity Nia:
‘The only ones being helped by the anti-getting-blotto Tube campaign poster are Tube drivers and the only ones who can stop Tube accidents are Tube drivers,’ she insisted.
‘There is no other crime in which victims are made to take responsibility. We know that the vast majority of Tube accidents are not reported to the police and women are less likely to report Tube accidents if they are made to feel that they are responsible.
‘This campaign reinforces the excuses made by Tube drivers as they attempt to discredit the women they run over and to justify their crime.’
Sound bonkers? Well, yes. That's because she is...
Alisdair Calder McGregor, a local Liberal Democrat politician, said the council had engaged in ‘shameful neo-puritan victim blaming’.
/facepalm
The binge drinking posters are part of Calderdale’s ‘Don’t let your night out become a nightmare’ campaign that deals with drink-driving, personal safety and alcohol-related violence. Other images include a dishevelled man holding a bottle with the words ‘Invasion of the Mindless Drunk’.
Strangely, no men's groups could be reached for comment on that one...

6 comments:

Curmudgeon said...

**boggle**

I wouldn't have thought a tube (or train) driver really had any control over whether he runs over people or not...

Longrider said...

Clearly this stupid, stupid cow has never driven a train, nor given the matter any thought. You can't steer a train. If someone falls or is pushed into its path all the driver can do is brake and hope. That's it. And live with the memory. I know drivers on the mainline who have had to give up their jobs because they had one too many jumpers and couldn't live with it any more - and this sick cow is trying to blame them? FFS!

Longrider said...

Okay, scrub that comment - I went to press reading your interpretation... The sentiment still applies, but you really shouldn't do this to me so early in the morning.... ;)

GalaPie said...

I assume she leaves her house unlocked and windows open and focuses on educating burglars rather than making their crime harder? Protests against police posters telling us to keep valuables out of sight, especially where car thieves are known to operate, because only burglars can stop burglary? Travels on public transport with her bag wide open or her phone in a shallow pocket, ignoring advice to the contrary because, gosh darnit, we should educate pick pockets to not pick pockets? And never, ever thinks of a victim of fraud something along the lines of "what idiot would fall for THAT tired old scam?".

Anonymous said...

But her knowledge of physics is in the great tradition of Emily Davison, who imagined that 1200 pounds of racehorse at full gallop could stop dead in a couple of feet.

JuliaM said...

"Okay, scrub that comment - I went to press reading your interpretation..."

*grins*

In my defence, it's a trick I've used before... ;)

"Protests against police posters telling us to keep valuables out of sight..."

Those really bug me - it's like saying 'It's YOUR fault for having nice things!'...