Over at Comment Is Free, two impeccably bourgeois graduates of the grammar and public school systems and of Oxford University debate whether the total collapse of civilisation would be, on the whole, you know, a good thing. A commenter called “questionnaire” gets to the nub of its amusement value:
I love the way George [Monbiot] and Paul [Kingsnorth] are putting ‘best wishes’ and ‘all the best’ at the end of each doom scenario.
Dear Mr Key
I greatly enjoy your Hooting Yard. It may interest you to know that I followed your link to the Great Debate mentioned in this post, linked to it myself, and received a commendably vigorous response from state school-educated, non-posh Paul Kingsnorth. I hope it entertains you.
It entertained me indeed, as well as making me feel faintly nauseous. I added my ha’porth, in a no doubt foolhardy manner.
Well I’ll warrant your comment bringsforth Kingsnorth to utter some lunacy or other. Otherwise I will be very disappointed.
Will you rise to Kingsnorth’s Challenge, Mr Key? I’ll warrant you can come up with 28 or 34 brilliant romantic and reactionary ideas before breakfast…
Brit : I don’t think Kingsnorth should be encouraged. At least your bete noir engages with your blog. Hooting Yard is to date beneath the notice of that Fry person, The Most Intelligent Being In The Known Universe.
does he not even follow you on Twitter?
Brit : Weirdly, no. I expect he’s far too busy being ubiquitous.