Tony,
A few tentative thoughts in reply...
> > Yes, but is that coin the result of the racism and
> > nationalist fervour being whipped up by Straw, Widdecombe
> > et al and those who echo those sentiments in the media. Or
> > the result of the way (white) working class men are
> > socialised in this society (as you seem to be suggesting)?
>
> I think they both feed off each other don't they. The socialising of white
> working (and middle) class men in this country, clearly is important in
> creating a culture in which alcoholism and violence are commonplace.
Yes, the two factors do feed off each other but at the same
time it's not a straight forward correlation either. To
move away from the issue of racism/nationalism for a moment
and to think about alcohol consumption and violence,
clearly other social factors (include site-specific
ones) come into play. Think about the (vast) quantities of
alcohol consumed most evenings in gay bars up and down the
country and the low levels of violence in them. I am not,
incidentally, suggesting here that gay men are less capable
of violence - a couple of the most effective anti-fascist
streetfighters that I knew in the early 90s were gay skins
- nor that alcohol does not play a significant role in
domestic violence within gay relationships violence, but
that in such a situation what it means to be a 'man' is
perhaps understood differently, the definition of a 'good
night out' is different and (as you say in relation to the
situation in Europe) there is a different attitude towards
alcohol too. Put a tanked up gay football supporter in
Charleroi tonight, though, and the story might be very
different....
[Hope that makes some sense - I'm in the middle of an RAE
dry-run and my brain is a bit addled].
Gavin
----------------------
Gavin Brown
RAE Co-ordinator
Senior Assistant College Secretary's Office
Guy's, King's and St Thomas' School of Medicine
The Weston Education Centre
Cutcombe Road
London SE5 9PJ
Tel.: 020 7848 5624
Fax.: 020 7848 5621
[log in to unmask]
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|