Tommy Collison

This is probably my first ever politics/current affairs post, but then again, I’m a happy-go-lucky teenager, so it’s not like I spend every waking moment thinking about the R word. Nah, that’s better spent thinking about happy stuff, like kittens, or drum kits, or people I like.

Having said that, it’s a common topic of conversation, even among the family.

Dad, John and I moseyed into town this morning because John needed more copybooks. I peeked into CompuB too, the apple store in town. Down O’Connel’s street, we bumped into a friend of dad’s and we went for a cup of coffee.

What’d we talk about?

The R-word of course!

I did more listening than talking, but I did take notes about what we talked about, because I thought I could make an interesting blog post out of it when I got home.

One of the main points we talked about was how the definition of ‘poverty’ and specifically what defines ‘being poor’ in today’s society. Of course, like nearly everything, a lot has changed.

Those who are school-going in my audience, reflect a moment. What’d your friends at school say if you turned up for school, say, in bare feet? I’d say it’s a safe bet that you’d be mocked, ridiculed and possibly bullied. It would be totally unusual and you’d probably have teachers come up to you in private and ask in that motherly voice they all possess:

“Is everything alright at home?”

Nowadays, people will probably call you ‘poor’ if you don’t have latest popular ‘gadget’ or whatever.

“You don’t have a PS3? God, you must be poor”

Gee, thanks Celtic Tiger.

Now, don’t take that the wrong way, I’m glad the Tiger happened.. or am I?

Should we be thankful for the thing that got us into this mess?

With the CT, we found a surplus of money. Did we follow Joseph from the bible and stockpile some of this for a rainy day? Hah, no. Suggest that during the boom and you’d have been chased away.

We thought what we were doing was right, because we were doing it. We weren’t too long after gaining our independence from the UK and we were full of the ‘we can do anything’ spirit.

Now, I don’t blame Ireland. It’s not like we have a fantastic government being a beacon of hope for us in these troubling times.

When Brian Cowen was elected chief, we needed a Táiniste. No worries! We’ll choose someone else. So, Cowen turned around and he picked one, after making sure he’d ticked all the boxes of his check list.

Requirements
1. Must be Fianna Fail.
2. Must be a woman, because we’re all for gender equality, even if she’s not the best candidate.
3. Of course, they (she, right?) must be 100%, unfalteringly loyal to Cowan

Oh how I wish there’d been a 4th requirement, of being able to tell your arse from your elbow..