Lennie Pennie

Usually when we hear about the generational divide, it’s being highlighted in order to pit us against each other. Recently I’ve been hearing more and more from older people, apologising for causing problems in society, and expressing gratitude that younger generations are going to fix those problems. While I appreciate the sentiment, it’s not entirely accurate, and it's not really fair.

Autobiographical work is more popular than ever, whether it's entirely fact-based documentaries and memoirs, fictionalised retellings, or artistic interpretations. This combined with a societal fascination for true crime and emotional catharsis means there is a real appetite for art borne of trauma. More and more personal art traversing topics which might once have been considered taboo or niche spring forth, opening our eyes to the many varied ways that human beings can experience and articulate pain.

In the latest tactic to obfuscate and create division just in time for the election, this month it’s teachers being pitted against parents over classes teaching heath, relationships and sex education.

There’s a quote that’s often attributed to Josef Stalin, but is actually thought to have originated in an essay by the German pacifist and satirist Kurt Tucholsky. It states “the death of one man: this is a catastrophe. Hundreds of thousands of deaths: that is a statistic!

How often have you heard an interview with a politician where, despite repeatedly being presented with a straightforward line of questioning, they manage to avoid giving a single relevant answer?

I recently came across a video promoting the new adaptation of Roald Dahl’s book, The Twits. It featured Greg James and Chris Smith discussing how they might go about creating the most “revolting” character. The illustrator asks them if they'd like a glass eye to be included, to which James and Smith respond, “A glass eye! She needs a glass eye. That's it. What a disgusting pair of twits!”.

As someone with food intolerances, I have quite a strict routine when ordering from restaurants. Regardless of whether it’s sitting in or taking away, I always have to phone beforehand so I can check if they can accommodate me. If not, no worries, plenty more fish (suppers) in the sea.

I recently took part in a BBC Disclosure documentary detailing my experiences as a survivor of domestic abuse and stalking. The documentary featured the stories of seven women, all from different parts of Scotland, as we navigate life after leaving abuse.

If the concept of a public library were proposed today, there is no doubt in my mind that it would be rejected by a great number of people as some kind of socialist utopian pipe dream.

It often seems that with every technological breakthrough humanity makes, there soon exists a way for it to be used to hurt people.