Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
You could make a day of it. Have a lie-in, take a leisurely brunch, stand under the open air for a few minutes. Take the bus; pretend the windows are big high-definition screens if it'll make you feel better. Or walk, and watch the dim throbbing heart of this city slowly choke itself to extinction. But you're far too eager to safely bury yourself in a big ugly building with people you despise, so you can waste your day finding out what kind of pug BuzzFeed thinks you are, or hammering your frankly worthless opinions into the comment boxes below VICE articles.You need to waste time in an office, rather than at home, or else you're no better than a scrounger. You hate the strikers because they terrify you; they're a nauseating reminder that it's still possible to have some freedom in your life, that there are things you could fight for. So you go on Twitter to say that they should all be sacked (or, preferably, shot), because you'd rather hide in a cubicle than look yourself squarely in the eye.During the last round of industrial action on the Underground in 2014, there were some proposals for a "fare strike" to build public sympathy for the unions. The idea was that the Tube would go on running as normal, but all gates would be left open—management would lose their profits, and nobody would have to be late for work. The fare strike didn't take place, but it's obvious what would've happened. You would have tapped your Oyster card anyway, and pranced through the ticket gate with a smug little smile, because you're a good citizen. There's a kind of measly, pathetic ingratitude to all this that's absolutely unique to the British. In any other country they'd at least recognize that the inconvenience is worthwhile. Not here. The Tube strikers are trying to help you, and you spit in their faces. You don't deserve this strike.Follow Sam on Twitter.Over on VICE Sports: What England Can Learn from the US's World Cup Win