Something is comforting in these post-pandemic, possibly pre-recession times in watching low-stakes arguments play out
crisis requires cutbacks with the things that bring us joy first on the chopping block. If you are wavering between which streaming service to cancel but you enjoy quality drama. Don’t worry. There’s another way. Some of the most gripping drama ever performed is locally produced and it’s completely free. It’s called “getting involved in your neighbourhood community group”.
There’s something delicious and guilt-free about enjoying these kinds of conflicts. It’s not as brain congealing as most TV, it’s not a vapid Kardashian’s episode on which dress to wear to the Met Ball. Or as obvious as a BBC crime drama where residents of a picturesque British town get picked off one by one every week but hang around for a retired detective/mystery novel writer to solve the murders instead of just moving somewhere safer.
But one South Dublin suburb would disagree with that. Last week at a meeting of minds, one man claimed Dalkey residents “feel like Palestianians trapped in Gaza” because “we can’t drive our cars”. People at the meeting pointed out how insensitive and out of touch the remarks were, comparing one of Ireland’s poshest postcodes to one of the most oppressed and under-siege places on Earth. Then because the good people Ireland have the internet, the savage slagging started piling on the artist formerly known as Twitter.
Who could forget when a swimming pool-sized sinkhole suddenly opened up in a well-heeled Sydney suburb and one resident’s main concern was “My personal trainer has come, my electricity is off and now I don’t know what to do,” Oh the humanity. But it does make for some gripping entertainment. I was once asked to remove myself from a local meeting as a young reporter during a debate over whether a new neon art installation would just encourage more “young people to take ecstasy tablets.” I couldn’t stop giggling.