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The 2010s: How would you define it?

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AlterEgo

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Personally though, I think that the 2020s will look up in terms of positivity, as we continue to leave recession. Hopefully by the mid twenties, the current state of austerity will be a thing of the past.

"Continue to leave" recession? We haven't been in a recession for ten years!
 

Terry Tait

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Rubbish music
Rubbish TV
Food Banks
Plastic Gangsters
Knife Crime
Drugs
More Aggressive Society
No Manners
Political correctness
Rubbish Jobs
Rubbish Wages
Uncomfortable Trains
Terrorism
2010s in a nutshell.
 

GrimShady

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The decade of Offence by Proxy...where grown adults have the mindset of children.

The myth of "privilege" and the rise of the anti male legalised institution. Positive Discrimination.

Identity politics where your "race" or gender are the key aspects regardless of individual competency or intelligence. Racism by another name basically :rolleyes:


Oh.....and utter garbage trains!
 
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scotrail158713

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The decade of Offence by Proxy...where grown adults have the mindset of children.

The myth of "privilege" and the rise of the anti male legalised institution. Positive Discrimination.

Identity politics where your "race" or gender are the key aspects regardless of individual competency or intelligence. Racism by another name basically :rolleyes:


Oh.....and utter garbage trains!
I'd agree. However apparently it's not right to believe such things.

(385s are ok though :D)
 

GrimShady

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I'd agree. However apparently it's not right to believe such things.

(385s are ok though :D)

Yes I quite forgot. Free to think as long as it's the way we want you too. At least they haven't got to you yet. :D

385s are just ok and that's it. They could have been great however, but that's the time's we live in mediocre at best.
 

Cowley

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The decade that our kids started off as little children but will finish as young adults, and I’m incredibly proud of who they’ve all become.
There’s some bad stuff happening in the world though (much of it already mentioned), and an unpleasant air of impending doom at the moment which isn’t great.
 

Tetchytyke

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"Continue to leave" recession? We haven't been in a recession for ten years!

Economic growth has stagnated for 12 years now, and real-terms wages are lower than in 2007.

The 2010s are the decade of inequality. The rich have done IMMENSELY well out of ten years of austerity. Their wealth has grown by half a trillion quid. My real terms wages are lower now than when I got my first job in 2005!

The myth of "privilege"

As all of us here know, the UK is completely equal and a true meritocracy. Truly the best people get the top jobs.

By happy coincidence, the best people for the top jobs are always wealthy white men from wealthy white backgrounds.

More Aggressive Society

Eee by 'eck, you wouldn't get thousands of kids kicking seven shades of sh!te out of each other on Brighton Beach in my day.
 

Tetchytyke

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I really have not noticed this.

You're lucky.

I have- both in the wages I get for the work I do, and in the relentless misery that my job involves (trying) to fix.

Still, 12 years of real-terms wage cuts whilst the hyper-rich gain half a trillion quid makes me know my place.
 

Ianno87

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The world has become increasingly globalised and gentrified....but left quite a few people behind along the way.

A decade where history horribly risks starting to repeat itself...
 

radamfi

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Our news outlets would rather give us the ins and outs of election coverage thousands of miles across the Atlantic when I'd rather hear about what's going on a couple of hundred miles across the North Sea.

Euronews exists for coverage of what is happening in our continent. It is more accessible since they started their live YouTube stream and they also now have in- vision English language presenters and reporters.
 

NoMorePacers

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You're lucky.

I have- both in the wages I get for the work I do, and in the relentless misery that my job involves (trying) to fix.

Still, 12 years of real-terms wage cuts whilst the hyper-rich gain half a trillion quid makes me know my place.
My mother does the same job she did 11 years ago (probably now a more important one actually, since it’s now safety critical) and earns less than 3 quarters of what she did back then in numerical terms, let alone in real cost-of-living terms. But of course the rich toffs who are in a much more privileged position than the pair of us work much harder and we should pipe down of course!

So I treat the concept of wages rising with inflation with just a little skepticism shall we say.
 

Tetchytyke

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So I treat the concept of wages rising with inflation with just a little skepticism shall we say.

The numbers are gamed by comparing people not positions. So when you earn yourself a promotion, or get a better job, the government will claim that for themselves as a "wage rise" that they achieved for you.

I did this job for Shelter in 2008 and earned £23,000. I now work for another charity and earn...£23,000. But I now have to supervise and audit a team of ten's work for that wage. So in real terms it's a cut and in monetary terms it's no change, but in terms of work I have a lot more responsibility for the same money.

I can't imagine I'm alone.
 

Howardh

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A decade in public transport; cold, soulless buses (oh for the ones we had in the 70's; nice warm superbly furnished Atlantians +a bus service run for the people by the council) and pacer trains propping up a collapsing railway system for the whole of the decade when they were supposed to be extinct by now! Also airline prices so cheap they are rammed full with piss-heads on their way to San Antonio, Magaluf etc and airports are nothing more than soulless shopping malls who seem to think that telling you your gate is a privilege kept to those in the executive lounges.

On the plus side the apps telling you where your bus/train/plane is, buy tickets and show them on your phone etc is more than a compensation for all of the above.

Politically, if in 2009 someone had said we would be the only country in the world to willingly vote away our freedom they'd have been sent to a padded room. Well it's not gonna happen in this decade...by the skin of it's teeth.

By 2029, will we be a state of the USA? Or will we just be in a state??

In the past - 60's = liberty, 70's = strikes, 80's loadsamoney, 90's = dance music. 00's = computers at home, 10's = Loony Tunes.
 

DynamicSpirit

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Gosh what a bunch of cynics most of you lot are. :D

I can think of a lot of good and bad things over the last 10 years. This is a list of things that come to mind that have changed since 1 January 2010.

The good:
  • Greta Thunberg, and environmentalism becoming more mainstream.
  • Movement towards democracy in Tunisia, Sudan
  • Gay marriage going from a controversial idea to almost universally accepted in the UK, and gay rights much more accepted across most of the western world.
  • #metoo leading to much more awareness of women's rights across many countries
  • Unnoticed by many in the UK, a lot of progress in reducing absolute poverty in many developing countries
  • Windows Vista is now ancient history almost everywhere
  • Greece seems to have emerged from its financial crisis

The bad:
  • Politics in the UK becoming more polarised.
  • Donald Trump
  • Resurgence in nationalism and some pretty unpleasant right wing authoritarian politics in many countries
  • Lack of progress on reducing CO2 emissions
  • Rise in fake news
  • Brexit (obviously some people will disagree about this)
  • Growth in poverty in the UK
  • Civil war in Syria, Libya and Yemen

Other stuff
  • Smartphones go from niche to almost universal
  • Social media gone completely mainstream

And by the way, closer to home and seeing as this is a rail forum: First decade for a long time that saw significant improvements in infrastructure and capacity across most of the country. Reading rebuilt. Thameslink and the new London Bridge open. Oxford to Marylebone. The Bathgate line. The Tweedbank line. Halton Curve services. Lots of electrification on GWR and around Liverpool, Manchester and Blackpool. New trains across much of the country. More frequent services in loads of places. Marred mainly by high increases in fares.
 
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Cowley

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Gosh what a bunch of cynics most of you lot are. :D

I can think of a lot of good and bad things over the last 10 years. This is a list of things that come to mind that have changed since 1 January 2010.

The good:
  • Greta Thunberg, and environmentalism becoming more mainstream.
  • Movement towards democracy in Tunisia, Sudan
  • Gay marriage going from a controversial idea to almost universally accepted in the UK, and gay rights much more accepted across most of the western world.
  • #metoo leading to much more awareness of women's rights across many countries
  • Unnoticed by many in the UK, a lot of progress in reducing absolute poverty in many developing countries
  • Windows Vista is now ancient history almost everywhere
  • Greece seems to have emerged from its financial crisis

The bad:
  • Politics in the UK becoming more polarised.
  • Donald Trump
  • Resurgence in nationalism and some pretty unpleasant right wing authoritarian politics in many countries
  • Lack of progress on reducing CO2 emissions
  • Rise in fake news
  • Brexit (obviously some people will disagree about this)
  • Growth in poverty in the UK
  • Civil war in Syria, Libya and Yemen

Other stuff
  • Smartphones go from niche to almost universal
  • Social media gone completely mainstream

And by the way, closer to home and seeing as this is a rail forum: First decade for a long time that saw significant improvements in infrastructure and capacity across most of the country. Reading rebuilt. Thameslink and the new London Bridge open. Oxford to Marylebone. The Bathgate line. The Tweedbank line. Halton Curve services. Lots of electrification on GWR and around Liverpool, Manchester and Blackpool. New trains across much of the country. More frequent services in loads of places. Marred mainly by high increases in fares.
I must say that I considered putting something in about railways in my earlier post.
Watching what’s happening around Exeter at the moment is very positive. For the first time in a long time I’m seeing the railway expanding rather than contracting which is a very good thing.
 

Ianno87

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Reflecting on this some more, the refresh of "Choose Life" from Trainspotting 2 sums the 2010s up quite nicely (in a very, very cynical way)
 

DynamicSpirit

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Watching what’s happening around Exeter at the moment is very positive. For the first time in a long time I’m seeing the railway expanding rather than contracting which is a very good thing.

Out of interest, what is happening around Exeter? I have to admit that's one place where I wasn't aware of any current expansions in services?
 

Cowley

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Out of interest, what is happening around Exeter? I have to admit that's one place where I wasn't aware of any current expansions in services?
Well we’ve got the new maintenance depot rapidly taking shape behind the station plus lots of new IETs and the decent HST short sets, then there’s also the future Okehampton services starting and potentially a more frequent service to Axminster (Devon Metro stuff).
I suppose what I meant was that it’s all improving generally down here bit by bit, well it like it anyway...
 
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