Cameron, Cocaine and a Pig Carcass

You would have had to have been living under a rock to not have heard of pig-gate over the last couple of days. Oh, and that David Cameron has hosted what the media have called “cocaine parties.”

And as a nation we are shocked - disgusted that the Prime Minister of our country once had wild days where he put his “private part” into a pig carcass and snorted a few lines of cocaine. Or are we?

Those of us who have been to University will know all about initiations of some description. Granted, I have never sexually assaulted a dead pig, but I’ve done some pretty silly things in the name of trying to prove myself in similar situations. In those situations, you want to show your new pals how fun you are, how much of a party animal you are and that you're not a bore and if that means doing what David Cameron did – then many would say, so be it.

Bloody hell – I know members of sports teams that have done things of equal craziness; this story, although a great conversation starter, isn’t really THAT shocking coming from the nature of what he was expected to do.

So the question is, why do we hold public figures to such high standards?! Why are they expected to never have any skeletons in their closet? If you ask me, anyone with a bit of character has made some questionable decisions in their life and why would you want a leader without that type of character? David Cameron probably didn't think - "one day I'll be Prime Minister and I will be held to higher standards than another normal human. So I'd best not do what you tell me to do, I'd rather be known as the disobedient fresher and have to do forfeits during my whole University course."

Chances are, Mr Cameron didn't want to disrespect a pig in such a way (it's disgusting), so why did he do it? And why am I not shocked?

Some of you are probably thinking, "well if he's strong willed enough he would just say no and would never do anything horrible that he didn't want to do." But anyone who has been involved in initiations will tell you that, that just isn't how it works. As a fresher, you look to all of your seniors and you know that they have all been through the same things. In a sick sort of way, it makes you closer as a team or group of friends. Again, pretty twisted, but if you prove that you will do whatever it takes to gain their respect, a reciprocal respect grows and you both know what you will do for each other. Which is something that I imagine is really hard to grasp unless it's something you have experienced.

But it’s not just politicians, it’s influential people in the media. For example when Hunger Games actress Jennifer Lawrence’s nudes got leaked (by some awful, awful person who obviously has nothing better to do), she had the best response that I have ever seen. She wrote – 

"I started to write an apology, but I don't have anything to say sorry for. I was in a loving, healthy, great relationship for four years. It was long distance, and either your boyfriend is going to look at porn or he is going to look at you."

It is and was always her body, it was up to her who she decided to share these pictures with, whereas now she has been exploited and her personal images (that she has every right to take and share them with whomever she pleases) are now out there for everyone to see.

I know for a fact that if I got famous the internet would have a field day. I’ve made comments on facebook, sent texts and done things that wouldn’t necessarily be seen as “angelic” but who cares? I should not have to answer to anyone and right now, I don’t need to, but what if one day I am wrongly expected to? I would argue that there are very few people that haven't at least put one bad thing on social media, sent one mean text or done something that they wish they hadn't because if they were ever in the public eye, they would get slaughtered.

When I was younger, I had vile facebook arguments, I declared that I followed the BNP and I did things that now, I would never ever do and that are so not like me. We underestimate how much people change over the years and the choices they make and their points of view. (Cameron probably (probably) wouldn't violate a pig now).

I suppose this argument is completely irrelevant if do you believe that public figures should be held to higher standards, but I personally, do not. Of course they have done things in their life that are a bit (or a lot) nuts, but they probably didn't expect anyone else to hold them to judgement for it in the future! I think it's sad that we have to stop and think "what would others think?" to such an extent before making decisions for ourselves. The public doth protest too much, methinks.

The thing we forget about these people is that (believe it or not) they are people. They’ve done stupid things, they’ve made mistakes, they’ve sexually assaulted a dead pig at uni and we need to get the bloody hell over it.

I read the Bell Jar not so long ago and something that was quite memorable for me was that a character said - before you do something, imagine how you would feel if it was printed on the front page of a newspaper. I disagree with this from this perspective because it's not the person that is perpetrating the act that is in the wrong, it's the person that is holding them to account and furthermore, those who criticise. So I've changed the perspective of the idea and made it this: Before you criticise anyone else for the decisions they’ve made, imagine if all the mistakes you’d ever made were on the front page of a newspaper.