Hello, Boris, part deux.
Annie Mole was right. As she notes on her wonderful blog, Boris' first move as mayor will be to ban drinking on the Tube as a crime prevention tool. For those who haven't ridden on the Tube, it's not uncommon, particularly on the weekend and particularly on lines going to and from football matches, to see riders knocking back a lager on board the Tube. I've never done it, but it's nice to know you can.
I can think of a really good reason to ban drinking on the Tube, but crime isn't it. (Cleanliness is--but then we'd have to ban dogs too, and you'd better believe that would be a non-starter.) I've never witnessed a crime on the Tube, nor does it seem to be a frequently reported problem. So, what Boris has done is a conservative political stunt that would make Karl Rove sit up and notice--frighten voters about a non-existent problem and then identify a way to eliminate the non-existent problem by taking away a civil liberty. Bravo, Boris. It's gonna be a long four years.
Updated: Look! It's here already!
I can think of a really good reason to ban drinking on the Tube, but crime isn't it. (Cleanliness is--but then we'd have to ban dogs too, and you'd better believe that would be a non-starter.) I've never witnessed a crime on the Tube, nor does it seem to be a frequently reported problem. So, what Boris has done is a conservative political stunt that would make Karl Rove sit up and notice--frighten voters about a non-existent problem and then identify a way to eliminate the non-existent problem by taking away a civil liberty. Bravo, Boris. It's gonna be a long four years.
Updated: Look! It's here already!
Labels: British life, current events, London life, politics, the Tube
posted by Smitty Werbenmanjensen at 8:28 AM
2 Comments:
It's a pity. I always pointed to London as a place that was sane about alcohol. I hate to see American puritanism equating merely drinking with sin exported to the UK.
It annoys me to no end that it's illegal to have a beer on the beach here. It's already illegal to be drunkenly obnoxious in public, and it should be. There's no need to make outlaws out of people who enjoy quietly sipping a beer (gasp) in a state park.
Actually, it's technically illegal already to drink on the Tube. And people do it anyway.
The thing which is particularly silly is that this ban is virtually unenforceable (which is why it's ignored). Who's going to police it? Are we going to have a BTP officer in each carriage?
It's silly, and frankly I don't think it's a battle he can win.
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