Why does the world go round and round?

L

Lingua

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If somebody can answer the following questions which continue to haunt me, then I will never complain again as long as i live:
1. Why are Irish people so obsessed with trends and designer labels?
Why is tradition so despised?
2. Why, on the radio ads for the regulatory commission, do the people
sound so stressed? I feel so sorry for them.
Or are they hiding something?
 
(sigh) I Know...I know.

If you will indulge me for a moment, the criminally underrated XTC summed up the aspirational, hypocritical materialism that you (sort of) refer to in their track 'Respectable street'. Early 80s, so some of the references are dated but the sentiments are still valid.

BTW, the composer turned out to be bipolar if that's any comfort...:rolleyes:

ahem

It's in the order of their hedgerows
it's in the way their curtains open and close
it's in the look they give you down their nose
all part of decency's jigsaw I suppose

Heard the neighbour slam his car door
don't he realise this is respectable street
What d'you think he bought that car for
'cos he realise this is respectable street

Now they talk about abortion
in cosmopolitan proportions to their daughters
as they speak of contraception
And immaculate receptions on their portable
Sony entertainment centres.

Now she speaks about diseases
and which sex position pleases best her old man
Avon lady fills the creases
when she manages to squeeze in past the caravans
that never move from their front gardens.

Sunday church and they look fetching
Saturday night saw him retching over our fence
bang the wall for me to turn down
I can see them with their stern frown
as they dispense the kind of look that says
they're perfect.

Now, do you feel better or worse? ;)
 
Lingua said:
1. Why are Irish people so obsessed with trends and designer labels?
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Womens brains are hard wired to be impressed by men who have money/intelligence/social status/good looks or who have the appearance of social status and all that. Hence men work their asses off to wear this kind of crap because it signals something positive about themselves.
Similarly men are attracted to a woman who is well groomed and takes care of herself among other things. My guess is its all down to competition and evolution has hardwired this behaviour into most of us.
I hate dressing up and am happiest in jeans and a tee shirt but sacrifices must be made and from observing others in bars and clubs elsewhere etc it appears that some kind of uniform is important even if its pretending not to be a uniform.. which is kind of a confusing statement....but the underlying behaviour is uniformity.

If youre interested in human behaviour you could do worse than read a book by Desmond Morris called 'manwatching'.




Lingua said:
Why is tradition so despised?
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I dont get the meaning of the question. Can someone elaborate on this for me? What traditions are despised?
 
Lingua said:
1. Why are Irish people so obsessed with trends and designer labels?
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Some Irish people surely?
Why is tradition so despised?
Click to expand...
As above - don't understand the question but bear in mind that what might be considered tradition varies a lot between people so don't make too many assumptions here...
2. Why, on the radio ads for the regulatory commission, do the people
sound so stressed? I feel so sorry for them.
Click to expand...
I think those ads are gas - even funnier than the YouTube copies. The pained, cracking voice of Mr "I don't know what a tracker mortgage is" is hilarious. Maybe I watch too much of the likes of Extras, Peep Show and Curb Your Enthusiasm and, as as result, find other people's pain funny? :)
Or are they hiding something?
Click to expand...
You do know that those people are actors now, don't you?
 
1. Why are Irish people so obsessed with trends and designer labels?
Why is tradition so despised?
2. Why, on the radio ads for the regulatory commission, do the people
sound so stressed? I feel so sorry for them.
Or are they hiding something?
Click to expand...

OBVIOUS ANSWERS!
1. Cause we didn't have them in ireland for thousands of years.
2. Because tradition in ireland is usually associated with the catholic church.
3. People on ads for regoralatory commission, have to talk real fast cause they only have a short time slot.
 
Lingua said:
why was i denied access to this until now?
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You must have 50+ posts to post in The Depths. (You originally posted in miscellaneous questions and it was moved)

Can't answer your other questions though apart from disagreeing that Irish people are obsessed with designer goods. It is a global trend rather than particularly Irish. Why I don't know - apart from guessing that people who can afford them use them to show their social status (sometimes if newly acquired) and people who can't afford them (whether by begging, borrowing or stealing) use them to show they are equal.

Depends what area you mean in relation to despising tradition. People travel more than they did and experience different cultures and traditions. I wouldn't have thought many people despise what they see?

Regarding your third question it seems the advertising campaign is working :)
 
My point was this: Trends and labels do not a culture make. Irish people in particular have a very strong cultural image worldwide and it is a pity that many (not all) need to hide behind labels.
Just because we were in the dark for yonks doesnt mean we have to pull out the fairy lights now.
 
I can only think of one cultural image of the Irish around the world, and its not a flattering one.
 
Clubman, I find it hard to believe you need a definition.



If you can get beyond the bog ignorant drunken yob image - which is usually held by those who have never actually known an irish speciman - the underlying charm is there to behold like a pearl at the bottom of the ocean.
When I returned here after many years abroad I discovered:
- the most polite drivers i ever encountered anywhere in the world
- teenagers i didnt know actually greeted me in the street
- a ready wit and a gentleness which i had long since dismissed as folklore.
These were the good bits. The nasty surprises are another story.
 
So you mean stuff that you personally came across on returning to Ireland as opposed to "a very strong cultural image worldwide"?
 
Lingua said:
...
When I returned here after many years abroad I discovered:
- the most polite drivers i ever encountered anywhere in the world
- teenagers i didnt know actually greeted me in the street
- a ready wit and a gentleness which i had long since dismissed as folklore...
Click to expand...

Lingua, What are you talking about? Where is this magical place?
 
Deirdra said:
Lingua, What are you talking about? Where is this magical place?
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:D

My voice is hoarse from saying hi to everyone as I walk down Grafton St. Sorry I couldn't resist :) In fairness some of Lingua's points still apply in local areas.
 
As opposed to remote areas? Oddly enough anywhere I've lived has always been local.
 
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