Burney – do you not think the propensity for rudeness in society *can* be laid

[The Jorge]

Well I confine the worst excesses of my rudeness to the online world and to areas of it unlikely to get me into too much trouble (give or take the odd 5-a-side match with morbidly obese, foul-breathed residents of Hendon). In this respect, Awimb is my safe space

Careful, you'll get a ruddy good nose fisting

[Fast Eddie]

Careful, you'll get a ruddy good nose fisting

Nose headbutts my fist says my t-shirt

[Fast Eddie]

having designated 'court jesters' who are permitted to be rude about those in power and to whom you have to go to get your dose of offence is a perfectly sensible release valve. The difference lies in the improved dissemination of such material and the interpretation of that dissemination as effective permission for all of society to be rude to all other parts of society.

Essentially, sensible and healthy scepticism and disrespect for power have devolved into a culture of selfishness, rudeness, unkindness and just plain nastiness.

tl/dr

.....

[Dr Headgear - Wannabe viking]

I think you may have it at least partly right, at least in terms of some of the mechanics. It's true that satire has been democratised, though the traditional targets of satire - institutions of power and wealth - have been broadened hugely to include anyone or any group of people you fancy taking the piss out of at any particular time.

Often it's still dressed up in some form of "talking truth to power", though usually through a deeply flawed analysis of where power actually resides. I'm still not sure how on earth the entire world has seemingly bought into the idea that "PC" is the dominant ideology of the time, and thus needs challenging. You can barely move on the internet for people complaining "the PC police say you're not allowed to say that any more" while going ahead and saying it. And all this while neoliberalism is busy capturing the market....

BTW, as Jorge is apparently absent, I'll have to stand in for him and remind you of Thatcher's "there is no society". Obviously, I'll add in the legitimisation of greed and selfishness as fundamental to understanding the collapse of civilised values in society.

[redgunamo]

And no government can do anything except through people, and people must look after themselves first. It is our duty to look after ourselves and then, also, to look after our neighbours."

Quite right, I reckon. For one reason or another though, blokes dropped the ball, so to speak, and essentially recused themselves from their responsibilities regarding this important clause.

Maybe we can blame Vietnam.

I think you may have it at least partly right, at least in terms of some of the mechanics. It's true that satire has been democratised, though the traditional targets of satire - institutions of power and wealth - have been broadened hugely to include anyone or any group of people you fancy taking the piss out of at any particular time.

Often it's still dressed up in some form of "talking truth to power", though usually through a deeply flawed analysis of where power actually resides. I'm still not sure how on earth the entire world has seemingly bought into the idea that "PC" is the dominant ideology of the time, and thus needs challenging. You can barely move on the internet for people complaining "the PC police say you're not allowed to say that any more" while going ahead and saying it. And all this while neoliberalism is busy capturing the market....

BTW, as Jorge is apparently absent, I'll have to stand in for him and remind you of Thatcher's "there is no society". Obviously, I'll add in the legitimisation of greed and selfishness as fundamental to understanding the collapse of civilised values in society.