Towering Indifference!

"Preparing to avoid conflagration, it is more the offcuts than the bespoke suits with which we need be concerned."

This, or something very like it, has no doubt oft been muttered in the upper echelons of 'our' society. It's the sort of thing that Jacob Rees Mogg might have tossed into the arena, before sitting back and looking rather pleased with himself. But clearly it's also the sort of utterance that has been repeatedly ignored, in the ever downward drive to prepare 'our' future society for the 'better' times yet to come. 

More truthfully, 'it'- the presumed utterance- has been selectively ignored, selectively actioned. I think 'it' was ignored, in the sense that the working peoples, to whom it was of greatest concern, were proven repeatedly not to matter. 'It' was acted upon in the wider sense, that all manner of precautions were put into place to ensure that each and every dissenting voice was to be nullified. In an oppressive machine such as our state it is an academic exercise of epic proportion simply attempting to establish quite which is 'dissenting voice' and which 'silencer.' 

That'll do!

When, in one of the wealthiest boroughs upon the planet, Grenfell Tower lit up the Kensington skyline, the consequent sound of shuffling was momentarily so very prevalent that it almost drowned out the words of the BBC et al, reporting the latest disaster to befall the nation. The 'shuffling' was, of course, society's 'top cards' manoeuvring to be as far as possible away from the  accusing finger which was already hungrily searching out blame, far enough from the dying embers that they might not themselves combust. 

The peculiar shuffling sound, was entirely like that to be heard when the late and hated Jimmy Savile was found to be the nation's most prevalent sexual predator. I write "found'" but what I really mean is , 'when this information was released to the wider public.' Because, it was already known to so much of 'our' 'upper,' and lower, society. Right to the very top, we can safely surmise! In the flavour of this reporting we have almost the very essence of our problem. We might refer to it as a form of assimilation. 

As the cooling flakes of Reynobond plastic 'fuel' were still settling into the dust, so the panic had already set in, perhaps even upsetting more than one or two rather extravagant dinners along the way. We have long since surpassed the point where targeted austerity had created far more offcuts than was humanly acceptable. Yet, in a climate of continued and targeted slashing the theme is still being far too eagerly embraced.

Whether it is because the likes of Mr Murdoch and Mr Dacre, Messrs Rothermere, Desmond, Hall and the well-appointed Barclay Brothers have decreed that it shall be so, whether it is simply the Brexiters hoping to shore up the self-inflicted damage, whether it is born out of hatred for the public establishment, or perhaps it is just lazy habit, we can only speculate.

Lily Allen spoke well upon the issue. She spoke of the Conservative-Liberal Coalition's decision to slash away at the fire and rescue services, lopping off a massive 30% of the nation's means to guard against just such an eventuality as has just happened. Three fire stations in the region of Grenfell Tower were duly closed. Nationally, one in six firefighters have 'disappeared! Boris Johnson was later recorded, telling Andrew Dinsmore, a Labour Assembly member to "Get stuffed!," for daring to question the decision. 

That'll do!

Specifically about the fire and the tragic death toll, Lily Allen said that the government were, "micromanaging people's grieving." Lord alone knows that they have enough clout with the Main Stream Media to do so. Lily went on to accuse the media of misreporting the incident, the "death toll has been downplayed by the media!" she insisted. 

"I feel like the government are trying to micromanage people's grieving here... I've never in my entire life seen an event like this , where the death count has been downplayed by the mainstream media. 17? I'm sorry, but I'm hearing from people that the figure is much closer to 150, and that many of those people are children," were her angry words. 

In consequence her scheduled appearance upon Newsnight was duly cut. A BBC spokesperson 'clarified' that the two were unrelated. The bod went on to fabricate that, this was in order to allow Kirsty Wark to conduct a thorough accountability interview. Another, or quite possibly the same bod 'explained' that "With live news programmes like Newsnight final decisions on guests are often made late in the day, which can mean that the lineup changes at short notice."

The statement was, quite naturally, entirely unnecessary, as the nation- that thinking part of it, anyway- had already deduced the BBC's truer reasoning. Effectively, there are now two fires from which we should draw our conclusions. One has been doused, its numerous casualties yet to be unearthed and identified, some perhaps never to be afforded even this final dignity. The other, and second conflagration, is currently still raging in the 'important' corridors of our 'betters' and 'our' decision-makers. And, as Lily has made clear, the establishment are attempting to micromanage the crisis until the flames (of anger) have considerably died down. 

Lily also recounted the earlier instance of Seventy-two Tory Landlords in The Commons, voting down a law requiring landlords to make their homes fit for human habitation. 

Elsewhere upon the continent, the terrifying forest fires raging in Pedrogao Grande in Portugal are yet another scream into the smug face of (the likes of) Boris Johnson, that one cannot safely allocate safety and rescue services in line with the proposed corner-cutting balances of the wilfully indifferent.   

When we are searching for a presence at which to point the accusing finger of blame, we will need quite a sizeable hand, perhaps a wave of hands? Or a stab of forefingers? I think there is not yet a suitably accusatory collective noun. 

That'll do!

It transpires, and relatively quickly it has done so, that the cladding, as supplied by Harley Facades- boss, Rob Bailey- was already banned in the U.S. and worse, that there was a more fire-resistant alternative, but that this was a slightly more expensive variant, at £2 per square metre. The decision as to which to use was, we can be in no doubt, taken entirely upon 'efficiency' grounds.

It transpires that the gas pipes, running up the central stairwells and common areas were not even boxed in with fire-retardant cladding. More 'efficiency?

It transpires that there had been no fitting of sprinkler units to the interior of the building. Efficiency?

It transpires that even if there were supposed to be working fire alarms that these had not been tested and were effectively, and in the panic, almost silent. Efficiency!

It transpires that time to be devoted to an effective escape strategy was still being bumped ever further into the never-distance. Efficiency!

Now, we should be in no doubt that somebody signed off on all of this, several somebodies have repeatedly signed off on this! There are, even as we contemplate the scale of this and the next disaster to befall the nation, people preparing themselves to sign off on similar undercutting in almost identical buildings. In order to counter this we are going to need, perhaps, a great many fingers of blame and accusation. How far up the tree will they be able to prod? How far back in time will the fingers be prepared to travel? Is it just me, or does this not seem to be an easy route to plot? 

Mrs May slinked to the scene and away, under armed guard, before angry residents were even aware of of the proximity of her toxic insincerity. Jeremy Corbyn was able to walk freely amongst the gathered crowds. It is to be hoped that he and his cabinet will be able to glean some small comfort and clarity for the affected families. Mrs May, we know, already 'knew' the scene, although not perhaps the immediate devastation, because she and her type have been driving this divided nation agenda for decades. Of course she had nothing to say to the bereaved, what could she possibly have to say, "You are the unfortunate yet acceptable consequence of my government's and of successive government's deliberately implemented policies."? 

As, every time that we tune in to the news, we see the burned out tomb that is Grenfell Tower, I wonder if perhaps this charred monument to failing British values might not somehow be preserved- carefully relocated to haunt the culpable- as a constant reminder of the contempt in which ordinary people were held in 2017? Can we not incorporate Grenfell Tower into the refurbishments currently underway at Westminster?  

Meanwhile, what about those who made it out of the tower, before it was consumed? Where will they reside? Can we not requisition those investment properties in the borough that have lain empty for the past year? How is Westminster Palace geared up for emergency accommodation? 

I have been reading in the Guardian, "Why does it take a tragedy for ministers to put lives above money?" Andrew Rawnsley, fighting for the light of publicity, wrote, "Grenfell Tower's residents were failed long before fire broke out." And, it makes me weep! 

In answer to the former, I would have to respond that the question is based upon a false premise; beyond this it does not even warrant an answer. The same sort of empty platitudes had been offered after Savile, after Hillsborough, after all manner of past tragedies and will be again after all manner of future tragedies. The question is an insult to the residents, many of whom know- in a sense already knew- that money is still held in far higher esteem than all of the deceased, all deceased in all such instances. Of the plans that are already in place, we can be certain that, in this regard, they are set for 'no change!' My response to the second article amounted to something approximating, "Pah! Well thanks, Andrew." Are 'we' here driving a call for change? Or are 'we' already, and so seamlessly, so very deep in the process of assimilation? I think and I fear more of the latter. Should we be at leisure to revisit this tragedy, in say a year's time, I am certain that these thoughts will have been vindicated. 

Lessons will not be learned! And, finger pointing is not rude, it is absolutely essential, but it desperately needs to be accompanied by some very serious high-calibre clout! 

Martin Moore-Bick has been refused the appropriate arms license and will be conducting his public 'inquiry' equipped with only blanks. Is the speed of the assimilation not absolutely breathtaking?