Boris Johnson calls David Cameron 'girly swot' in leaked note

[LeftishBrit]

10. I'm as bothered by the sneering at academic effort ('swot') as the sexism

Last edited Fri Sep 6, 2019, 05:41 PM - Edit history (1)

Boris has the attitude, not uncommon among some of the English (and I do mean English; it's not nearly as notable in other parts of the UK) that intellectual interests and the pursuit of knowledge are suspect and make you boring and unattractive. Spontaneous brilliance may be OK, but actually *making an effort* to study and learn is not! I think it is probably linked to a traditional class system whereby the upper classes don't need to study. and the lower classes shouldn't be aping their betters by studying. The availability of education has changed considerably, as has pressure for good marks, but some of the attitudes have remained the same. In the case of a leader, this is worrying, because it means that learning the facts before you act, attending to detail, doing your research before jumping into some nuttery such as no-deal Brexit; are rejected in favour of impulsive 'leaps of faith'. There is probably also an element of Johnson's rivalries with Cameron from schooldays onwards, and in particular of his never quite forgiving Cameron for getting a better degree at university than he did!