Today I share my views on the term 'society'. Especially when used in an all too flippant sense of 'We need to fix today's broken society' or 'Society is responsible for this heinous crime'.
For me, as the train of sensationalist journalism (i.e tabloids) departed from the station of 'moral righteousness', the word 'society' seemed to earn itself that lauded honour, the linguistic Victoria Cross if you will, which all impressionable and eager generalisations strive to achieve; the capital letter, society became Society. In itself it became an institution, rather than a word to describe a group of individuals - stigma was attached to it. In literary terms it exploited itself, explicitly across all national papers, where once upon a time it was once hidden, tucked away in the recesses of editorials and regular letters sent in by Mr Churchill at No. 42. It even from time to time convinced the word-pimps sat behind their desks, to allow it into the headlines reaching the orgasmic heights of full capitalisation: SOCIETY, unashamedly shedding it's modest tittle for full-frontal naked exposure.
And for what? What was it's sex-appeal? Why had it entered the vernacular orgy? Well that is simple, like religion, which can be argued existed to explain those things which science couldn't or still can't, or to give some purpose to those who struggle to believe the theory that the human race is just a freak trillion-to-one stroke of luck, 'society' came into existence as a scapegoat. It was used by those who couldn't comprehend that in a rich, civilised western nation such as ours, two boys could snatch a toddler from a mundane shopping block, torture him and trick 38 people that he was safe as they marched him to his hypothetical iron-tracked gallows, or that over more than 200 miles away in the countrie's capital, a plethora of gang wars is consuming the lives of its urban youth or that back in the North a mother would plot with a man convicted of possessing child-pornography and his uncle, a plan to kidnap her own daughter, hide her under a divan bed and reap the financial benefits drawn from the generous donations of a worried nation.
It has been used both as an explanation and an excuse to stop us from facing and confronting the humane problems with our country head-on. When we see a drug-riddled beggar clutching onto his kerb stone corner, it is easier to forget him if we pass him off as a product of a broken society. It is easier to excuse, not the villains, but the hideous crimes which they committed on being a result of an unfair and unjust society. And on a less violent scale, the nostalgic amongst us can blame the decline of neighbourhood communities, where the local street-matriarch would be firmly cemented on her doorstep - door wide open behind her - with a cup of tea, tattling to the younger, fresher housewives, on the lack of society values held by the modern dysfunctional family.
The term society is even starting to produce offspring; during the aforementioned Shannon Mathews fiasco, the less affluent end of Dewsbury was termed as a subculture. Just pause for a second and think about the meanings and connotations of the term subculture - a culture which is half-baked, more primitive than our own and one in which we can chose to ignore by blaming it on society. This word is extremely effective, in just three syllables it manages to alienate a whole population, one which our bourgeoisie thoughts can continuously pity, until we are burgled, or our Audi A4 is nicked, resulting in us sat at six person mahogany dining tables with a forkful of risotto in one hand and a £15 bottle of chardonnay in the other, debating the subculture of modern society.
As a person who has grown up for 18 years in Bradford, admittedly in one of the more comfortable suburbs, attending it's private grammar school, it pains me to see this term actually used in professional journalistic articles. If a small population of the aristocratic echelon's clustered together would that be a subculture? Is Beverly Hills in LA a subculture? Of course not, because as the ruling middle class, we strive to reach those levels of monetary frivolity. We do not need to alienate ourselves away from this type of person and we like to think we could fit in to this way of living if we ever got the chance.
Similarly there is not a division between the middle class and this so deemed subculture in places like Bradford. Although we may not fraternise or even communicate with each other due mainly to our prejudices, we use the same facilities and amenities, we go shopping in the same supermarkets, use the same parks and occasionally even go to the same pubs. It seems obvious to me, that the journalists who reported on the Matthews case may of been shocked; to them, coming from there non post-industrial cities, 'Chavs' (the stalwart of this subculture) are a joke but up in Dewsbury it's a way of life. Thus, as they are not used to the large number of chavs (and I write 'chav' devoid of any of the derogatory stereotypes associated with them but as a collective term) they believe that the middle class could and would definitely not live beside them.
I digress
Back to my original point; when we use society, it is an excuse. For what is society but a collection of individuals? In a culture where we are encouraged so much to express our individualities, why do we find ourselves herded into societies? Each man and each women is an individual, they make individual decisions and are individually responsible for their actions. I may of started taking drugs because of the peer pressure from my friends, but it was I who individually chose to hang out with those friends, it was I who ultimately individually chose to inhale those narcotic substances, and it was I who after becoming addicted, individually chose to rob that shop, steal that car or break into that house. I am not a product of a broken society because at any point I could of also chosen, as an individual to get help and break this cycle. In the same way that as a member of the middle class with too much time on my hands, I individually chose to use society as an excuse for all my and the world's problems and in doing so single-handily turn my back on those in society who need my help
I implore us all to relegate the use of 'Society' to meaning 'a collection of individuals', free it from it's current derogatory connotations and never, ever use it as an excuse for our problems and inaction
