Prank

Prank

I've been reflecting on the series of events surrounding two Australian DJ's making a prank call to the hospital treating Kate Middleton and the subsequent tragedy of the nurse who took the call  taking her own life.  

I've never been a fan of prank calls.  Playing on other peoples gullibility (or vulnerability depending on how you see it) has never amused me.  Along with prank calls I place aspects of TV shows like X-Factor where there is a need to show people who have little or no talent or ability in a way that's just pure ridicule.  I've long said that at some point someone would react badly to the ridicule and suicide would be the end result.  As it turns out I have the right outcome from the wrong activity, its a prank call that brings this bit of soothsaying by me to a truth.

For my mind it comes down to the issue of responsibility for ones actions.  The DJ's clearly did not intend to humiliate someone into suicide but that is the actual outcome of their prank call. Intended or not, they are responsible.  If we dispense them from that responsibility then where do we draw the line?  Its a dangerous notion that we would remove someone from the consequences of their actions.

Personally I think they should be charged.  It would send the right message to those who would engage in this kind of infantile kind of stunt.  Playing with peoples emotions, pounding their dreams, making them look ridiculous should all be on the cards if the consequences are accepted.

For the nurses family I feel dreadfully sorry, at the end of the day they are the only victims of this.

High Street Decay

High Street Decay

There is a train of thought about the decay of the traditional high street that I think is misleading.  Most local councils charged with the upkeep of the local high street launch into the "regeneration" of their environment with gusto.  They pedestrianise, they reconfigure, they strip. This can often lead to sterile environments that end up as boarded up ghost towns.  This "regeneration" is often quoted as the root cause of the decay of the high street but I'm not sure it is ... I think its Supermarkets.

When I was a kid, a supermarket (like the co-op) just sold food.  I remember going with my parents maybe once a week at most and we got a small selection of foods that were not carried in the smaller shops locally.  It was more of a special occurrence and not something that   anyone considered doing on a regular basis.

The birth of the modern supermarket, the one that sold clothes, electricals,  insurance and now health products and mortgages is a modern phenomena.  The goods and services that existed on the high street in the 70's and 80's are no longer the purview of the small retailer you would have found on the high street.  The supermarket with its insane purchasing power and its ability to scale up to any height required is what has truly killed the high street in my opinion.

Small boutique shops and the medium sized retainer that inhabited the high street no longer really exists.  The mantra for any new entrant to the retail space is to "get big quick" - and the sell out.  If we could turn back the clock knowing what we know now then curbing the growth of supermarkets would surely be high on the list of changes.