Tag: scary

#oneaday Day 569: It’s All Kicking Off

“It’s all kicking off.” A phrase which now represents the recent riots that have been taking place around the UK.

I’m not going to use this as a means of making some sort of political comment on the whole thing, because as a normal human being and a law-abiding citizen, frankly I don’t care on the political aspect of it — if there even is one. What I do care about is that people in this country have the capacity to go completely batshit mental and smash the shit out of absolutely everything, then set fire to it just to make sure it’s good and properly destroyed.

A piece on the BBC earlier summed up pretty much what I think about the whole thing — a growing culture of consumerism, materialism and a sense of misplaced entitlement among young people is highly likely to blame. Evidence of it is everywhere, and as an ex-teacher I frequently came face to face with the kind of behaviour which, left unchecked, could (and did) escalate into something altogether more sinister.

Parents do need to take more responsibility for their children and be able to tell them “no” rather than pandering to their whims. In the first school I taught in, the most unpleasant child in the class would never turn up to his detentions because, I quote, “Mum says I don’t have to do detentions”. In the face of such defiance from not only the child but the parents too, what exactly is the educational system expected to do in order to instil a sense of “good citizenship” in these little scruttocks?

It’s not all kids, of course, but any time an event like this comes along — particularly one of this magnitude — it’s easy to quickly decry all children and teenagers as “feral” and start advocating increasingly Draconian societal measures. That’s possibly not the answer, as it would likely lead to even greater social unrest — unrest which the previously “nice” kids might feel compelled to join in on.

What is a problem is the gang culture that is growing and spreading in our towns. When I worked in retail in Southampton, we used to have an almost constant gang presence in the store thanks to the fact that we offered, in effect, free Internet access. Hordes of youths in hoodies, ill-fitting trousers tucked into socks and several tons of cheap “gold” jewellery frequently spent the best part of a day in the store, intimidating staff and customers alike, until we got to a stage where enough was enough and we had to start taking tougher action.

The presence of these individuals was enough to be intimidating, but then you looked at what they were doing online. Most of them made use of the social networking site “Bebo” at the time, and most of them were on there “repping” whatever gang they happened to come from around the city. In some ways, it was sort of hilariously pathetic, as these kids boasted about how hard they were, how excellent their rapping was (spoiler: it wasn’t very excellent) and how badly they were going to “murk” their rivals from the next postcode over. But on the other hand, the obsession with guns, violence and materialism coupled with severely short tempers was somewhat sinister — and it made running across these individuals outside a disturbing, unpleasant experience. And they knew it.

The scariest thing about these riots is seeing that the people that I fear are capable of scary shit. Having your fears justified only makes them more scary.

At the time of writing, at least, things do seem to be calming down a bit. I hope this momentary madness passes and the devastated communities affected by the chaos can regroup, rebuild and move on. And that the scumbags responsible are brought to swift and humiliating justice.

#oneaday, Day 243: Fun Things To Do in the Dark

I like the darkness. It lends further credence to my own theory that I am, in fact, a vampire. I can happily stay awake all night if necessary, find the night-time inherently appealing and drink blood. Actually, I don’t drink blood. Forget that last bit. DOMINATE! There. You’ve forgotten all that vampire talk now, right? Good.

But the darkness is good. It’s an eternal mystery, what lies out there. Even in a room you’re intimately familiar with, sitting there in the dark can put a whole new spin on things. Reach out to where you thought the wall was and grasp nothingness because it’s slightly further away than where you thought it was. Look at the tiny strip of light coming in through the gap in the curtains and wonder where it’s coming from.

And sit and think. This is not always a good thing, as the total absence of other stimuli often causes your brain to start thinking about all the things you’ve been avoiding thinking about. But it’s also an opportunity to sit and dwell on pleasant thoughts, too, assuming negative thoughts aren’t clouding your mind too much.

And if they are, you can always do one of the following things.

Torchlight

I’ve found torches and small lights fascinating since I was a young kid. When Silent Hill 2 came out, by far my favourite thing about it was the way that shadows got cast in the world as you walked around with that tiny flashlight. I’ve often sat and just shone a light around, casting shadows from different angles and looking at the way they move as the light moves around. It’s oddly hypnotic.

Shadow Puppetry

The socially acceptable alternative to the above, which looks a bit weird if you start doing it when other people are present, is shadow puppetry. Shine a light and use various bodily appendages to produce the shapes of all sorts of things. Then, inevitably, make them fight, shag and/or eat each other.

Find Your Way

In the dark? Hungry? Then live life on the edge. See if you can make your way to the fridge without turning on any lights and/or breaking your neck on the stairs. This domestic obstacle course is the ultimate test of how well you know your own house. And you’re rewarded at the other end not only by food, but by light, too. Assuming the light in your fridge works.

Scary Movies and Games

Everyone knows scary things are more scary in the dark. So flip on the TV, shut the curtains, switch off the lights, turn the speakers up loud and whack in a scary DVD or game. If you have a special someone whom you are able to either cling onto, or allow them to cling onto you, now is the time to go get them and enjoy some clingage.

Sit and Stare

Your eyes do weird things in the dark. Even though there’s nothing to look at, the way your eyes work make it feel like you can see things sometimes. Was that a real shadow over there, or are your eyes playing tricks? See how long you can stare into the darkness and see what happens. Particularly good for those who are feeling depressed, as the effort of concentrating hard on literally nothing at all will distract you from those unpleasant thoughts.

All right, those are all a bit lame. But I still like the dark. And I have done all of the above. Recently.