[Bloobell]

Nizzy, on Jul 13 2008, 17:06, said:

A.A Gill is a man. And I don't find it condescending in the slightest. I think it paints a very accurate picture of the area he's describing.

AA Gill is from Edinburgh so he knows best

[wearealldoomed]

Bloobell, on Jul 13 2008, 17:03, said:

To be fair he does highlight that it was Shettleston and I'd be amazed if he was trying to say that everyone in Glasgow East was like that

That said his thrust is about how the people there as a whole are so entrenched that they will once again blindly vote for a party which has badly let them down

What point is he trying to make then? Everyuone knows what certain areas of Glasgow are like.

I don't see what purpose this article serves, as it only take account of the social conditions and voting patterns of one area of a large and diverse constituency.

[seamus]

An arrogant article.
The east end of Glasgow has a lot of good points its not like Bellend to generalise against a full community that he knows feck all about .
I think labour might struggle against the SNP.

[wearealldoomed]

Lyn-Marie, on Jul 13 2008, 17:11, said:

I have to disagree with you. I don't think it does at all. It paints a highly exaggerated picture of the area, making it sound far worse than it is.

I have no idea how people will vote, I've never asked and I've no intention of doing so, but the description of the area itself, well let's just say, if it hadn't mentioned Shettleston by name, I wouldn't have recognised it.

I agree to some extent, having looked at a load of houses in and around Shettleston last year, but even if he hadn't mentioned the name, I could have figured that he was referring to Shettleston Road near the polis station.

The guy clearly has had pre-conceived ideas of what he expected to find in Glasgow East and has went out of his way to do so.

This post has been edited by wearealldoomed: 13 July 2008 - 16:20

[Supras]

Nizzy, on Jul 13 2008, 17:06, said:

A.A Gill is a man. And I don't find it condescending in the slightest. I think it paints a very accurate picture of the area he's describing.

He's in touch with his feminine side.

In all honesty the article is rubbish, it's just him saying look at these people I'm better than them and so are you, let's all laugh at their obvious misfortune.

You can bet he feels really smug while writing it, arsehole.

[Mrs M]

wearealldoomed, on Jul 13 2008, 17:19, said:

I agree to some extent, having looked at a load of houses in and around Shettleston last year, but even if he hadn't mentioned the name, I could have figured that he was referring to Shettleston Road near the polis station.

The guy clearly has had pre-conceived ideas of what he expected to find in Glasgow East and has went out of his way to do so.

The exact (give or take a couple of hundred yards) area that I live. I still didn't think it was that accurate.

[Nizzy]

Supras, on Jul 13 2008, 17:21, said:

In all honesty the article is rubbish, it's just him saying look at these people I'm better than them and so are you, let's all laugh at their obvious misfortune.

I don't agree with that in the slightest.

[Stainrod's Fedora]

Bloobell, on Jul 13 2008, 17:11, said:

My point is that I wasn't making a point - are you so thick you can't read my words?

I linked an article which I found to be both incisive and humorous, but that's my own view and I didn't share it until now

Now go and have a lie down and stop seeing things which don't exist

Don't be a pedantic p***k when you clearly lack the mental capacity to pull it off. The sub-title of the thread is enough to expose your true feelings on a very serious matter.

[seamus]

Supras, on Jul 13 2008, 17:21, said:

He's in touch with his feminine side.

In all honesty the article is rubbish, it's just him saying look at these people I'm better than them and so are you, let's all laugh at their obvious misfortune.

You can bet he feels really smug while writing it, arsehole.

I bet he was wearing a cravat when writing it as Bellend was when he started the thread.

[Supras]

Nizzy, on Jul 13 2008, 17:26, said:

I don't agree with that in the slightest.

Is this just for comic effect?

Quote

The people do not look good here. Often it is difficult to tell men from women, old men from older men. The mean parades of shops are dotted with tanning parlours. Yet the locals have the blotchy pallor of cave-dwelling consumptives; only their first two fingers are stained brown.

Sweeping generalisation that the people do not look good and even compared them to cave dwellers.

[Bloobell]

Stainrod's Fedora, on Jul 13 2008, 17:27, said:

Don't be a pedantic p***k when you clearly lack the mental capacity to pull it off. The sub-title of the thread is enough to expose your true feelings on a very serious matter.

No, it was rhetorical at best but I wouldn't expect someone so clearly stunted to see that.

Do you think I was seriously asking if these people should get a vote?

Don't answer that as it too is rhetorical - look it up if you're struggling

[Nizzy]

Lyn-Marie, on Jul 13 2008, 17:11, said:

I have to disagree with you. I don't think it does at all. It paints a highly exaggerated picture of the area, making it sound far worse than it is.

I have no idea how people will vote, I've never asked and I've no intention of doing so, but the description of the area itself, well let's just say, if it hadn't mentioned Shettleston by name, I wouldn't have recognised it.

You'll call me a hypocrite because I've made reference to people 'scratching the surface' earlier in this thread, but if you were to take a walk or a drive through Shettleston then these are exactly the kind of images that would greet you. I'm sure you may come away from the area with a different opinion if you lived among the populace, but I think his article is designed to give a snapshot of the area, and, as such, I think it's a pretty accurate one.

wearealldoomed, you say: "The guy clearly has had pre-conceived ideas of what he expected to find in Glasgow East and has went out of his way to do so."

Sure, Gill probably had pre-conceived ideas about the east end, but do you really think he had to go 'out of his way' to have these vindicated? The fact you say you could have figured out he was talking about Shettleston Road without him naming it suggests not.

[wearealldoomed]

Lyn-Marie, on Jul 13 2008, 17:24, said:

The exact (give or take a couple of hundred yards) area that I live. I still didn't think it was that accurate.

Fair enough.

Twas the reference to shitloads of tanning salons that made me think Shettleston Road.

I live above a tanning salon as it happens. There are some seriously unpretty sights to be seen.

[Nizzy]

Supras, on Jul 13 2008, 17:29, said:

Is this just for comic effect?

Sweeping generalisation that the people do not look good and even compared them to cave dwellers.

Are you suggesting I'm trying to be funny?

Question for you - have you ever been to Shettleston? You may think it's a sweeping generalisation, but, in general, the people there do not look good. It comes with the territory - people from one of Britain's most deprived areas are hardly going to be a picture of health, are they?

[wearealldoomed]

Nizzy, on Jul 13 2008, 17:31, said:

wearealldoomed, you say: "The guy clearly has had pre-conceived ideas of what he expected to find in Glasgow East and has went out of his way to do so."

Sure, Gill probably had pre-conceived ideas about the east end, but do you really think he had to go 'out of his way' to have these vindicated? The fact you say you could have figured out he was talking about Shettleston Road without him naming it suggests not.

If you're looking for skanky pubs, tanning salons and shell-suited urchins, you'll not have to look far in the East End, I agree.

Going out of his way was probably the wrong choice of phrase, but I doubt that Gill wandered into the more attractive pubs and shops of Shettleston Road whilst looking for interviewees.

This post has been edited by wearealldoomed: 13 July 2008 - 16:38

[Supras]

Nizzy, on Jul 13 2008, 17:35, said:

Are you suggesting I'm trying to be funny?

Question for you - have you ever been to Shettleston? You may think it's a sweeping generalisation, but, in general, the people there do not look good. It comes with the territory - people from one of Britain's most deprived areas are hardly going to be a picture of health, are they?

No, and neither is the writer he is just being spiteful.

I have been to Shettleston, it isn't the nicest place but I don't think that a respected national newspaper should be printing a spiteful pointless article.


What do you think the writer is trying to achieve calling the people "cave dwellers"?

This post has been edited by Supras: 13 July 2008 - 16:39

[Nizzy]

wearealldoomed, on Jul 13 2008, 17:37, said:

Going out of his way was probably the wrong choice of phrase, but I doubt that Gill wandered into the more attractive pubs and shops of Shettleston Road whilst looking for interviewees.

That's a fair point. I was born in Glasgow and live up the road in Cumbernauld, but the places Gill visits and the people he encounters are exactly the kind of places and people my eyes are drawn to while passing through the area. What we can say is that he doesn't paint an accurate picture of the whole of the east end - as you've noted, he doesn't take Mount Vernon, Tollcross, etc. into consideration - but he does describe those he has decided to focus on in perfect detail.

This post has been edited by Nizzy: 13 July 2008 - 17:01

[The Old Northerner]

Supras, on Jul 13 2008, 17:39, said:

What do you think the writer is trying to achieve calling the people "cave dwellers"?

I thought the article *compared* them to cave dwellers.

[Bloobell]

Supras, on Jul 13 2008, 17:39, said:

No, and neither is the writer he is just being spiteful.

I have been to Shettleston, it isn't the nicest place but I don't think that a respected national newspaper should be printing a spiteful pointless article.


What do you think the writer is trying to achieve calling the people "cave dwellers"?

AA Gill is a renowned food critic and is EXPECTED to be spiteful, to the point of it almost being satirical

Good article and the fact it's struck a raw nerve with the natives says he's probably got it about right to me

[Nizzy]

Supras, on Jul 13 2008, 17:39, said:

What do you think the writer is trying to achieve calling the people "cave dwellers"?

I think he's trying to visualize the area for his readers and, as someone who passes through Shettleston on a regular basis, I think he does a pretty good job of it. C'mon, put political correctness to one side for a minute. You say you've visited Shettleston, so you must have recognised the kind of characters he was describing when you were reading the article.

[Bloobell]

Nizzy, on Jul 13 2008, 17:41, said:

That's a fair point. I was born in Glasgow and live up the road in Cumbernauld, but the places Gill visits and the people he encounters are exactly the kind of places and people my eyes are drawn to while passing through the area. What we can say is that he doesn't paint an accurate picture of the whole of the east end - as you've noted, he doesn't take Mount Vernon of Tollcross into consideration - but he does describe those he has decided to focus on in perfect detail.

I'm involved in a project in North Carbrain just now and they're not far behind

[Supras]

Bloobell, on Jul 13 2008, 17:42, said:

AA Gill is a renowned food critic and is EXPECTED to be spiteful, to the point of it almost being satirical

Good article and the fact it's struck a raw nerve with the natives says he's probably got it about right to me

I don't, and never have lived in Glasgow

I wouldn't be bothered if AA Gill was criticising a restaurant, but instead he is insulting people who have done nothing to deserve such abuse, and have been unfortunate enough to grow up in one of the most deprived areas in the UK.

[Nizzy]

Millfield Marksman, on Jul 13 2008, 17:42, said:

I thought the article *compared* them to cave dwellers.

It compared their complexion to that of cave dwellers. At no point, as Supras has suggested, does he call them cave dwellers.

[Stainrod's Fedora]

Bloobell, on Jul 13 2008, 17:29, said:

No, it was rhetorical at best but I wouldn't expect someone so clearly stunted to see that.

Do you think I was seriously asking if these people should get a vote?

Don't answer that as it too is rhetorical - look it up if you're struggling

I will answer the question because I think that you were. But by 'sub-title' I wasn't referring to the link. You started the thread and in the topic description box wrote the word 'hilarious'. I don't think I'm alone in thinking that was in bad taste.

I'm going for that lie down now.

[seamus]

So many people on here have such an educated view of the East End without living there, they drive through it and they can feel the poverty

It reminds me of Tim Westwood getting down with the hommies.