Very true. The Brits don’t make the best of friends, somehow. I don’t know how it is… Perhaps, it’s the island social awkwardness and reservedness, that is quite typical — as I found a lot of that in Japan too, if exaggerrated.

My favourite part of living in England was also the underground squatting communities — people living completely out of the box. Refusing to pay for bus ticket into ticketman’s face — “We don’t believe in money!” — and getting away with it. Different world, different bubble.

Squatting as a form of riot, I always thought, made a lot of sense given the specifics of the culture. They rioted against iconic buildings being turned into hotels, against austerity, against Council selling off its council estates to luxury property developers — just occupied buildings, lived in them peacefully, and wouldn’t allow owners or builders anywhere near it. It was fun, how society around would freak out over those occurences, and how the authorities had to be extremely polite and media-wary while doing anything about it.

Back home, nobody would even consider claiming a building — Russians and private property… we’re just not “polite” about these things, neither are we known to be physical-violence-averse. Nobody would get a chance there.

But in Britain, that is the rich people’s biggest nightmare — that their investment assets might actually start getting used outside of their landlordian schemes. And because they are not used to dealing with other social classes — they are very afraid and at a loss of what to do, when such a contact is forced on them.

I do think we don’t need the rich. I also do believe a lot of them would genuinely benefit as human beings from having their excesses taken away and being left to struggle like the rest of us. Chances are, they wouldn’t do very well. But could at least escape with their soul, thanking the experience.

Unfortunately, in reality most people in the system aspire to be them, giving them admiration and status they don’t deserve. And then they turn into a Trump, and when faced with real challenges, can’t even look o own behaviour for an answer.

That drive you took in your car one day… I might just do that, and quite soon. Change is nothing to be afraid of.