Saturday 16 May 2009

It's Celebrity Media Penance Time!

Celebrities really, really think we are all stupid, don't they?
The Manchester United manager, 67, has vowed to raise awareness on child car safety after it was revealed that Charlie, 10, was not in a booster seat. Nor was he wearing his seatbelt properly when he was injured.
Gosh, thanks awfully, Sir Alex, for that little pearl of wisdom to us wretched proles, but do you think maybe you could start with that 'awareness raising' by having a word with the dumb cow who was driving him?

You know, his mother...?

Because I have no rugrats, I don't even care much for rugrats, and even I know that. And wouldn't accept one into my car without it, because the driver is responsible.

Mmm, 'responsible'. Note that word. It won't crop up in any utterance from the mouths of these people, you can take that to the bank:
Now Charlie’s injured mother Nadine – the ex-wife of Sir Alex’s son Darren Ferguson – has broken her silence about the accident.

Nadine, 30, said from her hospital bed: “What happened to us is every parent’s worst nightmare. When I’m well enough, I plan to start a campaign to raise awareness and encourage all parents to be vigilant.

“I’m confident I will have Sir Alex’s support and I hope that with help from friends, we will be able to prevent other children suffering serious injury.”
You don't think it's possible that every other parent knows this already? And is reading this and thinking 'Glad I'm not that stupid'?

Well, no, of course not. It's the modern thing to do when you've screwed up catastrophically, isn't it? Get some publicity by telling everyone else what they probably already know.
Sir Alex revealed that Charlie was in the front seat but had pulled the “uncomfortable” seatbelt down under his arm and across his waist instead of across his shoulder. The manager said: “You never think about these things until it happens to your family.

Now I am telling everyone to make sure their children are wearing seatbelts properly.

Something should be done about safer seatbelts for children."
'Something Should Be Done!'

Ahh, the cry of the person who doesn't want to accept that he or someone close to him has screwed up in spite of all the safeguards. No, it's got to be because we just aren't told enough!

'Something' is done, Sir Alex. There are publicity campaigns, and information websites, and car/seatbelt instruction manuals, and word of mouth, and the inclusion of 'isshoos' in tv drama, and you know what? None of it will work if people feel that the rules of the road or the laws of physics don't apply to them.

Can't think where she might have got that idea from, by the way. Oooh, number three on that list rings a bell, doesn't he, Nadine?

But this was the bit that really made me see red:
The children don’t want to put them over their shoulder; they want it on their lap.”
Argh! Of course they do, but it won't work that way, idiot!

Kids don't want to eat their vegetables, wear cycling helmets, put on suncream, and a host of other things. That's why they don't get to make the decisions. Adults do.

Pity they are in such short supply....

9 comments:

Stan said...

"pulled the “uncomfortable” seatbelt down under his arm and across his waist instead of across his shoulder."

Actually, I know and see plenty of adult women who wear their seatbelts that way too.

North Northwester said...

Oh, this is spooky! I'm doing the same theme over at my place.

It must be National Get Away With Being A Cretin And Find Yourself Miraculously Absolved From The Guilt Of Extreme Numptihood By Making It All Impersonal Day.

Have you seen that tireless - or should that be tyreless - Lord Ahmed is now a road safety campainger?
Text your support or email him on to DeadSlovak@houseoflords.gov.uk?

This is the shape of things to come: do something bad and campaign against it and your celebrity status and mysteriously high income will bet returned to you.

What will be next? Peter Sutcliffe working for Relate? Gordon Brown working in a thrift shop? Jeffrey Archer teaching a creative writing workshop to the underprivileged?

JuliaM said...

"Actually, I know and see plenty of adult women who wear their seatbelts that way too."

It does get uncomfortable at times (especially if it's summer and you have a lot of skin on display) but it's there to stop you going through the windscreen, after all. I'll take that 'comfort' every time!

"...Lord Ahmed is now a road safety campainger?"

Gah! The barefaced cheek of it...!

TDK said...

I don't object to private citizens giving advice. What is annoying about "Something must be done" is that they imagine that the government can and should be the agent of change.

In this case the woman has already broken the law requiring children to be in a booster seat. I suggest that her public campaign is more about avoiding potential penalties than about actually raising awareness. Brownie points to show the beak (if it comes to that).

JuliaM said...

"I suggest that her public campaign is more about avoiding potential penalties than about actually raising awareness. Brownie points to show the beak (if it comes to that)."

I'm betting it won't. In fact, I think Lucifer will be strapping on ice skates before the CPS proceed with a prosecution.

Helps to have a famous in law.

SteveShark said...

Just another example of the total abdication of personal responsibility.
Someone does a stupid thing, regrets it and then seems to think that everything will be all right if they then tell other people to stop doing that stupid thing too - even though most people agree that said thing is stupid and won't do it anyway.
I suppose you could be kind and see it as making up for screwing up, but it's still annoying all the same.

SteveShark said...

@North Northwester
What will be next? Peter Sutcliffe working for Relate? Gordon Brown working in a thrift shop? Jeffrey Archer teaching a creative writing workshop to the underprivileged?

What about this from Malik? Same sort of ingratiation...

"...he pledged to donate the £1,050 he claimed for the TV to worthy local causes in his constituency.
He told Sky News: "I will not be giving it to the authorities in parliament because it is legitimately mine.
"But as a gesture I am giving that to good causes in my constituency, and I think it will be appreciated by those who receive it."

North Northwester said...

SteveShark

What about this from Malik? Same sort of ingratiation...

"...he pledged to donate the £1,050 he claimed for the TV to worthy local causes in his constituency.
He told Sky News: "I will not be giving it to the authorities in parliament because it is legitimately mine.
"But as a gesture I am giving that to good causes in my constituency, and I think it will be appreciated by those who receive it."

Ah, yes, that would be the old 'I'm right, even though it looks like you caught me out doing wrong, so I'll make a gesture anyway but not pay the taxpayers back, so fuck you and the law of the land' gambit.

It never fails.

JuliaM said...

""But as a gesture I am giving that to good causes in my constituency, and I think it will be appreciated by those who receive it.""

The cheeky little thief! 'Sorry I got caught with my hand in the till, but in a futile attempt to evade punishment, I'm going to use the spoils to enrich some of my pet projects'.