Predator Shaykhs

A video aimed at starting debate about something that happens in our community but which is hushed up because of those that are involved.

You can read more about this issue at the following website: http://marriagebandits.wordpress.com/

Flame on

I think I secretly like to complain.

But then I guess that’s just the inevitable consequence of finding so many things that people do in life infuriating.

I fine-tuned my complaining skills in the days when I worked for the London Underground particularly because the travelling public are often [to understate it] displeased with many aspects of the “service” provided. Consequently I would spend large portions of my working days being shouted at and/or complained to.

I did get my own opportunities there to complain and gained a degree of notoriety for a number of complaints that I initiated. One of the more successful ones sprung from a train driver upsetting me one night by obstinately quoting a particular procedure out of context and without recourse to rationality or reason.

I then spent the subsequent months wading through a multiple volume operations manual the size of a small refrigerator in order to extract supporting quotes that I could use in my campaign to have the rule that he’d quoted re-written; which it eventually was, wa-l-hamdu lillāh.

In terms of my interaction with companies, official bodies and retailers then I have been known to voice objections to various things that have irked me in the past. This Postman rant that I wrote a couple of years back might give you an insight into just how much something can bug me.

Anyway today I’ve just fired off part four of my current email campaign against a particular UK retailer that has rattled my (very rattle-able) cage, with these closing remarks:

I don’t think I’m accurately able to articulate how wronged I feel by [edit] but hope you can appreciate the doubtless aversion I’ll have to shopping with your company for the duration of my remaining life.

I got to thinking afterwards about how “the complaint” seems to be deeply embedded in the British psyche. To express outrage and indignation at the trivial seems to be both an individual and collective duty.

It’s probably also why I’ve slipped so easily into blogging, it being the “natural” environment for complainers to vent within.

So, any other complainers out there?

Any successful complaints you want to share?

How has complaining served you?

Akismet eats comments!

Ok I’ve just noticed that in addition to “protecting” me from spam, Akismet also kindly eats people’s comments for me.

I just found a genuine comment in there and then questioned the authenticity of the statement it proudly makes in the Dashboard “Akismet has protected your site from 6 spam comments.”

This is still a relatively new blog and so I doubt that the spammers have caught up with me yet. So on the basis of having spotted a real comment in there today I’m inclined to believe that Akismet has “kindly” axed six comments from (which I’m unable to retrieve) “real” people.

So if anyone is upset with me for having “moderated” a comment that they made, then the chances are that I didn’t actually see it because I was being “protected” by Mr [overzealous] Akismet.

Anyway, apologies to you if you were affected by this.