In Englands green and pleasant land.

I am on a train. Free wifi is an absolute winner. When shooting through Englands rolling hills its easy to forget the hideous riots that swept over the country in the past couple of weeks. It looks too peaceful to ever be a land of discontent but discontent it is.
There is a growing concern amoungst sane, civil people that the country is going to, quite frankly, the shitter and it is the lowest eons of society that are causing all the problems. I agree to a point, these people who apparently feel so angry at our society they have to smash up their own backyard are a disgrace. I will never ever doubt that. The riots brought out my conservative side (I wasn't aware I had one before this, corporal punishment no, gay marriage yes, I am as liberal as they come so I thought) but when I saw the joy that was coming out of the people smashing up my own fair city my temper rose to a volcanic level and I was ashamed. My shame didn't last long though, one of my good friends showed me that the real scouse of the city were not the ones looting and burning cars but those who went out with brushes the next morning and cleaned it all up again. I saw a very funny comment regarding the fact that we may riot but we, in the very British way, clean it all up again the next morning without complaint, with spirit. These riots did not divide our communities but united them through mop, bucket and brushes.
I am getting extremely fed up of the people who are describing these rioters only as 'the youth'. It was not just young people gleefully breaking societies rules but older generations too. It would be wrong surely to let them off the hook and focus just on the 11 year olds who are the media's main focus. Yes it is vile that these children, because at 11 yes you are still a child, are out vandalising and stealing. Yes there needs to be something done about the fact that SOME young people are so carefree in their abandonment of societies norms but to let the adults off who should know a whole lot better is wrong. They should be the ones with their faces splashed across the front of the paper, they should be shamed, humiliated and punished for their lack of respect, lack of morality. There is still a chance with these young people to give them to tools to become responsible members of society and to change what could be a very destructive path in their lives. It would be incredibly easy to give them up as a bad lot without doing anything about it but for once not taking the easy way out would be profitable and beneficial for all in society. It's what needs to be done rather than just what should be done. This government, as much as I dislike it, here has the chance to step up to the mark and make a difference, whether they do remains to be seen.

Dear Mr Potter

My boyfriend is a muggle, not the Mr Dursley type muggle that hates the idea of magic but the kind that just doesn't believe that magic exists, he doesn't understant the strange and wonderful world of Hermione, Ron and Harry Potter.
I have tried to explain on so many occasions what Harry Potter means to me, why the boy who lived both inspires and moves me to tears. I don't think I'll ever be able to truly convey to him how much Harry Potter has gotten me through some of the hard times, allowed me to escape into a different world where magic is real and Hogwarts welcomes people with open arms ready to show them everything they are able to achieve.
From Hermiones intelligence to Nevilles bravery (proving that the sorting hat really does know its stuff) it was not just the magic that inspired me, JK Rowlings ability to allow readers to identify with characters really amazed me. Some authors present such one dimensional views of their characters but JK never, she showed us the worst of Harry and the best of Severus Snape. Liam once told me that he didn't like the books because they were so black and white, there was someone good and someone bad, personally I believe this couldn't be further from the truth. No one can say that they didn't feel ever so slightly sorry for Tom Riddle when his mother abandoned him to an orphanage too heart broken to live even for her child or feel shocked and a little disappointed in a young niave Dumbledore, so ambitious and awe struck by Grindlewald that his master plan so similar to Voldemort's seems logical, for the greater good. The characters are complicated, no one is always good and no one always bad (apart from maybe Umbridge, god I hate that woman).
I listen to Harry Potter most nights, I've heard them all a million and two times and I still cry when Fred dies, get annoyed at Ron when he storms out, smile from ear to ear when the Weasley twins say their fairwell to Hogwarts amoungst fireworks and cheers and I still love hearing how Luna Lovegood has painted the faces of Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville and Ginny on her ceiling. The friendships, loyalties and strength that shines through this book makes it special, makes it something to treasure. I have no doubt that in 10 years I will still be listening to Harry and whenever the time comes I will pass those books onto my children, I will hope that they will find the same as I did, a magical world that allows the reader to really feel part of something. The communities that have sprung up from what originally were just childrens books are amazing, there is no other word, for so many people to come together to share a passion, a love, for books through music to video blogs to message boards and meet ups is an incredible testament to what JK Rowling has created.
As for JK Rowling, I don't think I could ever explain how much she has done for me, she has given me something that's going to last a lifetime, something I can share with people, with my future children and something that I love. She has encouraged people to read again, so many young people prefered video games over literature and she single handedly opened up a new world, a new generation of readers excited about books again. She showed us that intelligence is nothing to be ashamed of, being brave isn't about being showy, its about believing in yourself and what you believe is right, that the little guy can be just as strong as any great power (Dobby, I will always always love you) and that love, from our friends, our parents, our other half, love can get you through everything.
I'm getting a lump in my throat so I should probably end this here because I feel silly, no doubt to some people it's a book and that's it, to us and there is an us when it comes to Harry Potter fans, it's another world, a part of us that won't end with the release of the last film, where Hogwarts feels like home.

My name's Stacey and I'm a feminist.

Whilst flipping through grazia I came across an article on whether feminism still exists, I happily read away, this is a topic I have seen discussed numerous times and the content was the usual argument until I came across a comment from someone in the street, after reading it I put the magazine down and felt the need to write. The 23 year old woman said she's not a feminist because she didn't have feminist parents and her mum never spoke about this kind of thing which is fine, that's quite OK not every parent is engaged in the politics of this world, some parents just don't have the time, others simply aren't interested and there's nothing wrong with that but what this women said next both shocked and left me exasperated. This 23 year old woman then went on to say that 'Sexism is part of every day life;we should learn to deal with it'. Let's just wait a second for this to sink in as I'm still trying to get my head around it.

Ok second over. What this woman is saying is that it's really it's a females problem that sexism exists and we really should just shut up about it and let men carry on degrading women and carry on working for free from November 2nd (this is when the pay gap comes into account). This statement is not only ridiculous but it is disrespectful to every women who has fought to bring equality in the work place and in the home. There are still countries who have it much worse than we do in blighty, places were women are second class citizens, that can get raped and beaten with nothing done but it is up to us to set the bar and represent real feminism. Strong, empowered women who have the ability to make their own choices in life. Want to be concentrate on your career? That's fine. Want to stay at home and be a Mum? That's fine too. Don't want kids, do want kids, want to spend your money on a pair of Monolo's or save it for a rainy day? All fine. Feminism isn't about burning your bra or hating men but it is about standing up for yourself and other women. It's about not accepting sexism and holding people accountable for their actions.

I wonder if that woman would be as willing to make the same statement about racism. Negative discrimination is never right and just because it exsists doesn't mean it's right and not something we should just deal with.