Wetherspoons & Snobbery
I was recently in a Wetherspoons pub in Bolton town centre waiting to meet someone to discuss my mayoral campaign. I was early as I always am, so went straight to the bar to order a drink and then play on my phone.
I ordered a pint of larger. I picked the one with the lowest alcohol strength because I was driving otherwise it would have been a pint of Stella. I was shocked when asked to pay – the price was £2.34. This is not a misprint or a mistake. £2.34 for a pint of decent larger in a British pub. I walked away from the bar smiling. I usually pay £5.75 at my local pub.
I played on my phone while I waited, so decided to tweet my good fortune in Bolton that early evening. This was when it started – the online hate mob want to have their say on Wetherspoons.
I can understand why some people would not like this successful chain of pubs. They are not fancy, not quiet, not romantic, and not upmarket. But they are value for money in terms of the drink and food on offer. They are also lively, usually busy and filled with down-to-earth types - the sort of people I grew up with.
The main abuse was directed at the owner, Tim Martin. He started Wetherspoons in 1979 which now has 826 pubs with over 43,000 staff. The name Wetherspoons was the name of one of his teachers who told him he would never amount to anything. Was this the spark he needed to be successful?
He is personally known for being a big Brexit supporter during the referendum campaign. For this crime, they have not forgiven him and accuse him of being part of the nationwide con that tricked a nation into voting to leave. They blame him for destroying the country, reducing access to cheap nannies, and increasing queueing times at EU passport control. He sounds like a terrible man to me!
It's been seven years since the Brexit referendum and still, the Remoaners will not let it go and embrace our new freedom. Sadly, they need to continue the fight of a lost battle and apportion blame for the wrong outcome of a democratic vote.
The next series of attacks came for the food and beverages on offer. The beer was accused of being watered down, the food was microwaved and a poor selection of real ales. What a load of rubbish - no evidence offered to support any accusation. You can get a pint for under £2. This is amazing value for money. The food is also excellent value as can be seen by how many people are dining. Wetherspoons has enabled a whole section of the population who have never been able to afford to eat out to do so. This is called levelling up and sharing the good things in life.
Everything you say about the food and drink in Wetherspoons you can say about MacDonalds, yet people do not. No one accuses their customers of being idiots and undesirables for you risk being called a racist. Wetherspoons is predominantly a white working-class pub – so it is seen as fair game for the anti-British self-haters to attack.
Once this round of attacks died down, a new one began that crept in slowly to test the water. If the owner was a Nazi and the pub serves crap, then what about the people who frequent such venues? This is where the comments took a dive and entered the realm of snobbery and disgust of the everyday working-class man and woman.
People implied that customers were stupid, racist, uneducated, ignorant and uncivilised for visiting an affordable local pub. Unbelievable arrogance and snobbery.
We see this type of behaviour all the time from people with #BeKind in their social media bios. Compassion is the cloak they use to hide their narcissistic and psychopathic tendencies towards their fellow man. These same people also think that the earth is overpopulated and that some of us need not exist – they would like to decide which of us disappear.
They tend to support everything negative and harmful, and rally against anything positive and wholesome. Mutilating teenagers' bodies is celebrated for it sets us all free to be who we want to be. But stopping mothers from killing their unborn babies is tyranny for foetuses are not human until after birth.
I do not like all Wetherspoon pubs. The one in Piccadilly Gardens is awful and you could not pay me to drink in there. But to be fair, this is a location problem, not a venue problem. Most businesses next to the gardens are not venues I would want to visit due to the drug dealing, violence and antisocial behaviour.
Some venues are fantastic - my favourite is the Waterhouse opposite Manchester town hall. I have spent many hours here enjoying myself with family and friends.
The answer to Wetherspoon critics is simply: Do Not Be A Customer. But please stop moaning about a venue you do not like and do not intend to visit. Let the people who frequent this chain do so without being insulted online for they enjoy their visits.
If you do not like the type of patrons it attracts then be grateful that they do not follow you to your favourite watering hole. I am pretty certain that these complainants do not have a local for their behaviour is antisocial and intolerant, this is a hindrance when mixing with strangers in a social setting.
They are exactly what they say they stand against. They are bigoted. They are intolerant. They judge people based on who they think they are, as opposed to who they really are. Pre-judging. Prejudice.
They feel superior for they think they have superior views and this is why they openly speak out - so you can know it too.
Let me get back to my original point. £2.34 for a pint of larger is a bargain. It put a smile on my face for we all like a good deal. This is why we need to support businesses to do what they do best and that is to compete for customers. We do this by getting the government out of its way and removing much of the red tape that only stifles new businesses.
If we leave businesses alone we will get cheaper products and services, higher standards, better customer service and amazing innovations to improve all our lives.
Don't believe me? Visit your nearest Wetherspoons and order a pint. Point proven.
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