Letting some steam off

ANGER

I felt angrier than usual last week. Is this a bad thing or a positive attribute? I ask myself the question with no real answer for, as is nearly always the case in looking at one's reactions to the world, there are pros and cons which balance each other out.

In the main the source of my annoyance has centred on the result of a court case, and the subsequent reactions to it in the media, amongst politicians and in the public (via the mediums of Twitter and Facebook). As I was preparing to sit down and type this piece I watched a video on a totally unrelated subject (albeit one I have blogged about previously) and felt a fresh wave of fury and frustration rise within me. This time it was the uncaring stupidity of views expressed by someone who I thought ought to know better.

So is anger a reasonable, even worthwhile, reaction to these provocations? They aren't going to lead me to do anything practical other than retweet some comments and links I've come across and post the same on Facebook. In the hope that maybe I can change the mind of at least one person who has formed their views based on the vast tsunami of misinformation currently washing over the UK. Hearts and minds matter, opinions based on misunderstanding can be reversed - except that we all have our own prejudices and are more likely to listen to the pronouncements that match our inner voices than we are to reasoned argument which goes against our preconceived views. Myself included of course.

Anger can be a very negative force, resulting in frustration, self loathing and misery. It can even bring on physical side effects if taken to extremes, as well as being a high-risk emotional state if interacting with others or carrying out operations such as driving a car.

But anger is also an essential primary emotion and an outlet for passions raised by external circumstances. Feeling anger can be good if it demonstrates empathy with the world around you and makes you recognise your own humanity in responding to the baser aspects of human society. I want to think it's this type of anger I'm emoting. But how can you tell?

The primary temper tempter of last week concerned the verdict and sentencing of Mick Philpott. He, along with his wife and a friend, burned down his own house and six of his children died in the fire. His intent had been to rush in and save them, making himself into the hero of the hour, but the blaze went out of control quicker than he had expected. This resulted in him being tried for manslaughter, rather than murder, as the deaths were unintended. He received the maximum sentence, life, with a minimum tariff for parole of fifteen years. It seems highly likely that he will die in prison or he will be an elderly man when released (he is 56 now).

There have two main threads to the media-guided public reaction to this story. The first is to attack the state welfare entitlement system (a term I think more appropriate than the misnomer, 'benefits'). Headed by that famed bastion of fairness and reason, the Daily Fail, which splashed on its front page a picture of the killer, with his kids, and the headline "Vile Product of Welfare UK". The implication being that in some way the safety net system, that proud construction of the great Attlee government, was at fault for allowing this to happen. That this should be the line taken by a right wing rag is perhaps no surprise. But then for this to be effectively endorsed by a senior cabinet minister is beneath contempt. George Osborne, already something of a laughing stock for his economic incompetence, has now stopped so low as to be past any point of forgiveness.

This was making political and ideological capital out of the deaths of six children. Philpott was, is, a violent and controlling psychopath with a long history of misogyny and domestic abuse. If there is a welfare state failure involved in this case it isn't to be found in his so-called 'benefits fuelled lifestyle', but in the inability of underfunded social services to prevent such a tragedy. Simplistic attempts to link this evil man to cuts in welfare spending is one truly vile aspect of these events. Did the media suggest that Harold Shipman was evidence that being a GP made you more likely to be a murderer? Has anyone made the link between Stephen Seddon murdering his parents and the incentive to violence provided by our inheritance laws? (That's one I would like to see....but that's for another day.)

Worse still, this hijacking of the reality hides the true concerns that need to be investigated further. How can a man who treats women like that be allowed to get away with it? How many others are suffering similar treatment because there is inadequate support for their plights? I haven't seen any politicians speaking out show any understanding of the heart of the problem.

Meanwhile there are sections of the public complaining that the sentence is too light. Plus the usual kneejerk calls to 'bring back hanging'. Too light? The judge awarded the maximum possible term for the offence. Yet people see the words 'fifteen years' and think that's what will happen? Where is the media when you want them to explain how sentencing actually works....?

Before I finish off, I'll return to the video which angered me before I sat down to write. It was a short interview with Jeremy Irons in which he was asked about his views on the prospects for same-sex marriage becoming law. He said he wasn't that bothered either way, but.... The 'but' is always ominous, and usually signals a potential foot chewing moment. Ans so it proved. He suggested there might be a risk of fathers marrying their sons to avoid inheritance tax. The interviewer pointed out that there were incest laws to cover this sort of situation, but Mr I didn't look convinced. Maybe he deserves points awarded for providing such an original route into bigotry?

I'll allow the keyboard to cool down now. Unsurprisingly I could feel the anger rise within me as I typed. These are emotive subjects and trying times. But it's a good anger, an anger I'm proud to feel and happy to vent. Sometimes if you don't get angry it means you just don't get it at all.

PS My first draft of this post was written a couple of days ago. With the news of Thatcher's death today I did consider pushing it back and posting my thoughts on the legacy of the 80s government. But I think I need a couple of days to let the angry memories subside a little....