Being horrible to each other (with carefully chosen words) is a British pastime… just banter or not

Most will perceive it as bullying and it often is or turns into exactly that. But we tend not to take each other too seriously in the UK and you throw as much as you catch. But the present generation, perhaps with social media, which can amplify and intensify banter to a point where it clearly crosses the line from just words, to very harmful words with horrid endings (there’s been a recent spate of suicides etc.) has soured this British pastime

I recall during university days up in the north of England, how our generation – unlike the present generation – savaged each other with banter, with everyone giving as good as they got, and there were few lines. Everything was up for grabs: race, gender, the whole lot. And in reality, have we actually made any true progress with all the present hash-tags and toppling of statues?

Self-deprecating words were always popular; you hit yourself hard so others are left with very little to hit you with. It is the British way. But today’s society has taken all that away. Anything you say can cause offence with one group or the other. And that is quite understandable that all utterances have consequences, if in poor taste. But it has all been taken too far and largely way out of context. People have not improved. It would seem shootings and stabbings have simply taken over from what used to be frank exchanges of words…