My previous post revealed that the teenage nephew is currently refusing to wear underpants as he perceives the wearing of underwear to be a capitalist action. This provoked a fair few comments, namely of the rather bemused, 'Eerm, why?' type. So in fairness to my readers, I felt compelled to question him further.
I collared Mr. C whilst he was doing the washing up and am happy to share the following statement.
"Its like so materialistic. People just like, have all this stuff and wear all this stuff. That they like don't need. And the planet is dying."
So there you have it. Personally, I think it is a load of bollocks (no pun intended) and he has also gone vegetarian and wants to save the whales - enough said. Still I suppose its good for his sperm count - if not my washing pile. I didn't mention this as Mr. C was already looking uncomfortable with the subject so I left him to finish the washing up.
My theory is that he's doing the classic teenage thing of rejecting his upbringing which he considers 'bourgeois'. Class war rules dontcha know! I'm sure if M&S brought out a range of 'Urban Warfare Boxers in Three Shades of Cammo complete with picture of Che Guevara' on the front, he'd be first in line for a multi pack.
Until now he's lived in an environment where his dirty laundry has been collected from his bedroom floor or his en-suite bathroom, washed, ironed and returned complete with a fresh pack of Calvin Klein Y fronts. So easy to reject what you've always had...Now he's living with us in the people's republic of Bordenave (our house which is, quite frankly, a hovel), the environment is more 'up-market squat' - graffiti on the walls, limited hot water and one loo. Unlike a proper squat however, the loo is clean and three meals a day arrive on the table, as if by magic. In other words, teenage heaven. Add to this, the fact that I hail from a long line of placard waving lefties and Mr. C is now firmly convinced that he is living in an anarchist commune.
I don't have the heart to shatter his illusions and tell him that I cannot wait for the house to be finished, would love to be rich and secretly yearn for shag pile carpets, electric curtains and a TV that rises up from the end of the bed.......
Poor wee soul....I hope he doesn't propose to read PPE when he gets to (capitalist) university as he might find his essay marks pretty low on the reasoning as so far displayed.
ReplyDeleteNever mind, he'll probably be a scientist who just have to tick boxes ...
Now I'm intrigued about your underpant debate....?
ReplyDeleteWe had brother in law here and, all being self appointed experts in political theory, were trying to construct the argument for no underpants in the context of Marxism.
ReplyDeletePity we didn't have a tape recorder running or we could have had the demo for a new sitcom!
Finally we decided that whatever ism it was, it was clearly not the socialism of Tressell's Ragged Trousered Philanthropists!
That must have been so funny. Wish I had been a fly on the wall. Or better still, there in person!
ReplyDeleteI remember going through such a rebellion myself, having been brought up in a Conservative household in conservative Tunbridge Wells. I refused to wear shoes for a year in sympathy with my shoeless Russian brethren and would only wear clothes from jumble sales. Didn't go down too well in my Grammar School! Plus ca change and all the rest!
ReplyDeleteGoing shoeless for a year is pretty hardcore! I'm impressed.....
ReplyDelete