I hadn't intended to make any further comments about the state of the Internet after my last post but I feel I must in the wake of a small (non-) news report yesterday and the subsequent comments about it.
The report was concerning the parking ticket received by a UK 'chauffeur' driving a six-door, black (and immaculate) limousine, which was illegally parked in a residential parking space (the Brits are paranoid about their parking spaces) for about eight minutes. (HERE)
Now, the thrust of the story was about how unfair such a ticket was (with its attendant £50-60 fine), given that the 'limousine' (as far as I can make out, a private hire car) was intended to ferry mourners to a funeral; the car was parked a little way down from the funeral director's in a private space but as far as I could determine from the article, it wasn't one of the best pieces of journalism that I have ever come across, it was not owned by the funeral director.
Parking Wardens in Britland get a somewhat raw deal from the average motorist. They are seen as the archetypal 'Jobsworths'; it's more than my job's worth not to issue a ticket. However, it is badly paid, target-driven by the local council and invariably subject to the most Draconian of practices (again enforced by the local council too keen to maintain a maximisation of the revenue stream); it doesn't help that many wardens in major cities are Eastern European or African migrants, eager to obtain gainful employment. Already pissed-off motorists are only too willing, almost avid, to extend their ire over wardens to demonstrations of rampant xenophobia; it is, I must confess, a recipe for ill-informed comment of the highest order. Sad, it is true, but that is state of most of the western democracies. How the ancient Greeks and the Enlightenment philosophers must be turning, spinning uncontrollably, in their graves.
The average Parking Warden is given a very small amount of 'delegated authority' but this is sorely limited but, no doubt, many still exercise a little restraint on compassionate grounds. However, in the case in question, there was little indication, from the journalism, that the vehicle, parked illegally, was involved in a funeral; the 'chauffeur' was not present at all between the time car parked and the issue of the ticket. Therefore the warden could not have been cognisant of that fact that the car was intended for mourners. The warden, however, allowed a 'grace period' of around eight minutes before issuing the ticket; perhaps less, maybe more.
What is the warden to do? If he or she allows someone to park illegally without issuing a ticket, he or she is not doing his or her job, for which, don't forget, he or she is being paid by the local tax-payer; however abysmally. Should the warden run around, knocking on every door, to perhaps elicit extenuating circumstances from somebody or other? Should the warden assume that someone would park in a residential space for no good reason? An emergency? On balance, it is not the most likely scenario; how many able-bodied park in places reserved, quite explicitly, for the disabled? Would that any of us should have the time to go and spend half-an-hour in a, possibly, fruitless search?
So what did the so-called intelligent Brits do? (In some cases without reading, or even basally understanding, the text of the article.) They called for the warden's dismissal. They called on the council to not only dismiss him or her but to waive, without due process, the fine! And there thus ensued a less than polite dialogue (running to 216 comments over a 20 hour or so period) about the pros and cons of the argument but containing little of substance. Most 'cons' were of the belief that the bereaved were entitled to anything; whether it broke the law or not. Most 'pros' were of the belief that it was the responsibility of the Funeral Director to acquire adequate parking space, which would comply with local bye-laws. ( And which he would no doubt add to his bill.) There was no common ground between the two. And yet, each was culpably guilty of, what the late Bernard Levin called, single-issue fanaticism; the total inability of one side to accept that another contrary view might have some, however minor, merit.
Me? I am amazed that it was possible to get 'worked up' over such an issue when people are subject to the most awful deprivation and conflict. North Africa is seemingly in tumult due to a widespread endemic war between fundamentalists and moderates and migrants are flooding into Europe at an alarming rate (although some may be economic); Afghanistan (or Iraq) is still not resolved; Russia appears to 'be at war' with almost all of its neighbours; China is almost in social meltdown; famine in Africa does not even seem to make more that a half-inch or two in the papers; Donald Trump appears to be leading the Republican nominations race (God forbid!). And the Brits argue over a parking ticket!
Of course (I can hear the protestations from here), the Brit media encourage this kind of mindless, senseless, no-thought activity by feeding a constant stream of worthless garbage to the masses via 'the Sun', the 'Star', the 'Daily Mail', 'BT.com' etc etc etc. This used to be the land of conquest, of innovation, of success; at one time Britland 'ruled' half of the globe, whether politically or economically. Whatever happened to the population? Perhaps it has always been so; mired in ignorance!
As a antidote to this despair that I feel about humans in general, and mourning humans in particular, MG tells a faintly amusing story about the funeral of his father. It was a modest affair; there were few left alive to mourn him. The hearse, carrying the coffin, turns up with a large 'limousine' to carry his mother and the grandchildren; everybody else had their own car. They open the gate to the communal driveway, all set to move off at a snail's pace, as is customary; the chief mourner leading the cars at a slow, walking pace to allow those on the street time to gather to pay their last respects. Five yards; the hearse breaks down! It took twenty minutes and a phone call to a mechanic to fix the problem; they were of course late for the service! MG pissed himself! His 'gaffer' was undoubtedly having a laugh!
Did he sue for the delay? Of course not! Did he try to extract some 'discount' for the interruption? Of course not. Shit happens, even in the most traumatic events in our lives. Humour is a veritable gift from the gods; use it!
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