Today I got a book with the title The Stupidity Paradox by two academics, Mats Alvesson and André Spicer which promises to be an unfortunately entertaining read. Glancing at the preface I read this: “By avoiding careful thinking, people are simply able to get on with their job. Asking too many questions is likely to upset others – and to distract yourself. Not thinking frees you up to fit in and get along. Sometimes it makes sense to be stupid. Perhaps we live in an age where a certain type of stupidity has triumphed.”
It’s a coincidence that this book should have arrived today, since Chris Grayling, our hapless Transport Minister was on the Today programme this morning, following a highly critical report from the Transport Select Committee about this year’s appalling chaos on the railways. It wasn’t shy of criticising the dunce who sits at the apex of responsibility. If I were offered a gift horse from Grayling I wouldn’t bother counting its teeth, I’d start with the legs. I imagine if any commuters listening to him this morning on their headphones heard his bumbling, insincere apologies they will have been tempted to pull the emergency cord – if their train was moving that is. God knows how this man keeps his job. I can only surmise it is to help make the Prime Minister look good. But it is surely not just his own incompetence that has contributed to the mess. The huge cuts to the Transport Department’s day-to-day expenditure (in 2015 alone, Chancellor George Osborne announced cuts of 37%) must have taken a toll on its ability to function, even when – ironically – it was increasing capital expenditure (e.g. Crossrail, HS2). Whilst most discussion about austerity has reasonably focused on its damaging impact on the disadvantaged and public services, the impact of austerity on the ability of government to govern seems less appreciated. No wonder Grayling is promoting driverless vehicles. His own department is driverless. For him, stupidity appears to make sense.
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It seems there’s a bit of trouble brewing at the League Against Cruel Sports (LACS), an organisation I’ve been a member of for over 40 years. The latest bother arises after an employee was dismissed and who is now claiming redress through an employment tribunal – arguing that he was discriminated against because he is a vegan. This in his view is equivalent to e.g. being dismissed on the grounds of religious belief. The League strongly refutes the entirety of his allegations, and cites several vegan employees who are happy working for LACS. This argy-bargy follows other recent personnel changes, including the resignation of board member Chris Williamson MP, so there may be a subtext here I’m not aware of.
The interesting question is whether veganism could be grounds for dismissal. Whether it was in this particular case true that the employee was unfairly sacked for this reason, which LACS denies, does not diminish an interesting question of principle – should veganism be recognised as akin to religion? Since more people are becoming vegans, and major food chains are catering for the rising demand for vegan food it was probably only a matter of time before a case of this sort arose, since the seriousness with which a form of belief is taken often, inevitably, hinges on whether it is seen as mainstream or fringe. As regards who now is considered vegan I have to wonder whether media pundits are fully aware that being vegan means giving up all animal sourced products of whatever kind, not just food. You have to go the whole hog, so to speak. That being so, given the commitment it takes to be a vegan, and the implications for one’s lifestyle, I would say that veganism should be given the same due regard as religious belief when it comes to protection under the law. At least veganism is based on a straightforward ethical principle – that using another sentient being for one’s own purposes is wrong. This actually makes a lot more sense than choosing not to eat certain kinds of meat, or killing animals in a certain way, or sacrificing an animal instead of one’s own son merely to suck up to a deity. |
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