RantAboutStuff

So,

everyone's heard the news, it's all they're on about. MPs are claiming absurd amounts of money for country mansions, tvs, dog food and a Kit-Kat. No wonder we're all up in arms!

     The question is, how could they do this to us? Why did we vote these terrible people? Surely they must have a very poor sense of morals to steal money off the tax-payer???

     So what do we do? Call them names, sack them, and humiliate them on the news.

     But these MPs are still people. Just because they're MPs doesn't make them any different to us. Take one particular MP. This person will be frowned upon for the rest of their life; I know it's dramatic but it's true. Now imagine this person is you. Would you do the same? How can you draw exact boundaries between what is acceptable and what isn't? When can you decide that your 'business' trip to London was or wasn't completely necessary for your job?

     The answer is: you can't. As I've probably mentioned before, life isn't always black and white. There are lots of little grey in-betweens.

     Onto another point, there are probably thousands of people, maybe more, in this country, who would do exactly the same. It's easy to say that they're terrible people and should lose their jobs, but I'm sure they didn't mean for this to happen, they just got a bit carried away.

Of course, stealing money from the State is terrible and shocking, but we have to understand the cause of people's actions before judging them.

So whatever you think, please discuss on the forum:

http://rantaboutstuff.webs.com/apps/forums/topics/show/784601-mps-claiming-money

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/news/cheap-cheerful-and-ethical-primark-says-it-can-be-done-1639764.html

You may have heard the news that Primark has recently employed its first 'Ethical Trading Director' in a desperate attempt to retain customers after they discovered their favourite shop was using sweatshop labour. Primark was associated with child labour - made goods, and in 2005 was said to be the least ethical of popular clothing shops in the UK. Were people really that stupid to believe that they could get a pair of jeans for under £5, no strings attached? Or could it be said that the larger percentage of Primark lovers really couldn't care less?

     This leads onto the topic of disposable clothes. Fashions are changing so quickly that a fashionable top could barely last one week before going out of date. People are buying poor quality, cheap clothes, and throwing them away after wearing them once or twice. And what is the point of fashion anyway?

     I remember a book I read as a young child: The Sneetches by Dr Seuss. At the time it seemed an absolutely bizarre story, about these creatures, some with stars on their bellies, some without. The ones with 'stars upon thars' thought they were superior, and isolated the others. So along came a monkey called Sylvester McMonkey McBean with a machine giving them stars so they could all be the same. Then when the original star-bellied sneetches found out, they used his machine to get rid of their stars, but the others followed until they all ended mixed up, and McBean drove away with a load of their cash.

     Now this strange fable does actually have a message. Everybody tries to copy the popular fashion, spending their salaries on clothes, make-up and accessories. Most of us can admit to enjoying a bit of shopping now and then, but sometimes it can get a bit OTT, and ultimately, the only people who benefit are McBean-type businessmen who happily rake in the money, thanks to idiotic 'fashionistas' and underpaid third-world workers.

     But Primark was the worst shop for human rights in 2005, so how about now? Well, it's about in the middle, so what about the other shops? Yes, it's not just Primark, but other retailers too. Retailers who will charge £100 for the same pair of jeans as Primark, call it designer, and get away with it.

   So who can we trust???

You know what I really can't stand? Those huge four-by-fours. And it's not only the huge damages to the environment, it's the mentality of the people in them. In our school we have a lot of show-offs who've happened to have inherited a lot of money, or married someone who's got lucky in their job .The mothers drive round in  huge gas-guzzling 4x4s with pictures of rhinos on the back to pick up their children, and walk out in a pair of Jimmy Choo heels and immaculate hair and make-up. Fair enough to those who do live on farms, but the larger percentage have colossal town houses with a concrete back garden.

     It’s the silver BMW dads that annoy me too. They think they’re sooo important and above everyone else just because they have more money. Yes, they might have worked hard for it, but that doesn’t make them gods. They seem to think they have the right to beep and overtake other people, just because they have a flashy car and a pair of Ray-Bans, or whatever.

     So, please, if you have anything to say about this, write on http://rantaboutstuff.webs.com/apps/forums/show/829701-the-gas-guzzler