The British Culture of Spying Upon Everyone Else

I am lately of the opinion that we are living in troubled times. Take, for example, this article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_west/7025671.stm. It is indeed "interesting" times when someone can be fined £260 pounds (comprised of actual fines, administrative fees and something about a £15 surcharge to fund services of victims of crime, although I am yet to work out who the victim exactly is here) for smoking inside a lorry cab due to the bizarre and banal legislation which turns them into places of work which, as we all know, it is now illegal to smoke in - regardless of whether or not you are on your own.

But no; someone saw someone smoking inside a cab, and decided they're going to turn them in. And then it just dawned upon me why the smoking ban is actually going to work so well in Britain, and that's because it appeals directly to peoples Britishness. The age old syndrome of spying on people from behind net curtains and complaining about other peoples actions. Give them a number to phone anonymously to report what they see, and the recipe is complete. We've lost our sense of community. It would seem that rather than asking someone to please put out their cigarette, something which used to be much more common place, it seems we would now rather bring the full force of the law down upon them whilst we stand back and watch from a safe distance. This is the sort of stuff upon which British people today seemingly thrive. As I mentioned before, the image of people poking their head out from behind net curtains and spying on their neighbours is an age old stereotype of Britain, but with the advent and prevalence of the mass media our society is now being moulded into this; the cult of celebrity, the constant need to know the gossip and what other people are doing. People are more eager than ever to concern themselves with the affairs of everyone else.

To make my point clear, this is not just about people being able to smoke or not. It is about the fact that we are constantly under watch, from neighbours, friends, passers-by and everyone else we may come into contact with during our daily lives. Society is becoming slowly more accustomed to the notion of intruding into other peoples affairs. It fosters a natural state of distrust and anxiety. The populace is kept continually on edge, and that is rarely safe place to stay. People become more lenient towards measures and legislation which will infringe our freedoms, and then what? Troubled times, indeed.