The following will be a long blog entry unfortunately, but I need to go to town on this one.
For people with visual impairment, I will convert this text into AI audio later.
SPOILER ALERT! This “Ringo Vision” is a fncking GRIFTER! He’s raising money, wanting £50K, has raised 7K + to travel the world. He’s using homeless people to raise funds! Please scroll to the bottom of this page.
I came across a video on YouTube that was uploaded last night. I was searching for something from the 1990s and 2000s about Brixton and pretty quick saw a video of a guy who went to Brixton to Investigate (for lack of a better word) why there are so many homeless people, and his mission to change things.
Please FIRST watch the video before you read my comment. I know, it’s 45 minutes long, but without context my below comment to him doesn’t make sense.
Direct link to my comments, I added some screenshots below the video in case he hides/deletes my comments.
Just click play. In case he deletes his video or makes it unavailable for embedding, follow this link.
Even just the clickbait title of Brixton being the “most dangerous” area after dark and in the thumbnail of the video, “Over 20 years as a crack head”.
Crack head! Using a degrading slur instead of “drug addicted” …
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As I watched this I got more and more infuriated which I explain below, even to the point of tears. After my comment and P.S. comment, I add some more thoughts I have here, but don’t want to add to my already long YT comment nor doing a new comment. I will link this blog entry to Ringo Vision’s video (update, I did add this blog post, but YouTube didn’t accept links from small accounts). I add a few screenshots of my comment here, in case he deletes it.
I managed to screenshot my added link before it got hidden:
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Hopefully you watch the video FIRST before reading my comment. Sorry it’s 45 minutes, but you need context to understand my comments.
Start of my comment, quote:
Wow, your video has made me angry beyond words!
First of all, I hope you keep my comment up and accept free speech as well as my very harsh feedback!
I know Brixton very well, walk there all the time from / to concerts and other places, even at night, even though I am female. Brixton at night is NOT “the most dangerous” place! That’s a clickbait title you chose. It’s not more or less dangerous than any place in London or the world!
Secondly, the way you speak to the people is appalling! You say you don’t judge, but you’re judging left, right and centre. Not ONE time did you ask any of the homeless people WHAT happened to them that they ended up on the streets and/or addicted. Not one time! You know NOTHING about them, their past, their traumas, what they tried before, how they might have been failed by family and/or systems etc. You just interrogate them on what they do to get help, then you decide for them that they can help themselves etc. etc.
Especially with Kevin at the end, you make him say things that YOU want to hear and then make him listen to his own “committent” and say that he needs to help himself! You have no effing idea how hard it is to help oneself, even more so when drink and drugs are involved. And we need to stop calling it alcohol “abuse”, it’s an addiction that starts out of despair after traumas happen. WITHOUT outside long-term support, they cannot help themselves. And it’s not simply job centre or addiction centre, if one doesn’t have family who have ones back, you are effing lost!
You never even asked if any of them has family left. I myself lost my family one by one, was bullied at Pret A Manger during bereavement, and it is a miracle that I’m not on the street! But from OWN experience, I know how hard it is to get better without help.
Even mental health services treat me like a criminal for being traumatised.
The other thing, you spoke with one man asking him to calculate half of an amount you give, then you shame him for not being able to do maths while you yourself can’t read, because you say to another guy that you are dyslexic! What hypocrisy, arrogance and self righteousness. You are dyslexic, no one would shame you for it, yet you shame a homeless man for not doing maths right. WTF!?
Before mental health services, DWP* and even homeless charities acknowledge and understand TRAUMA which many experienced over and over and over again, even from childhood on, don’t even dare blame these people for not being able to “help themselves”.
Mental health issues like depression, hopelessness and many other conditions are powerful to hold people down where they cannot escape without long-term outside help.
They need PROPER help. People like the ones you met have given up on themselves and society. And from my own experience I know that no matter how much you keep the rules, get up every morning at 3am to work a 12 hour shift in extreme stress, in this multi-national globalist corporate climate, it’s never good enough. And it breaks people.
And “what’s smashing up the economy”?? You think homeless people and poor people are “smashing up” the economy?? Not the multi millionaires who press down wages, buy out small businesses, own many houses, don’t pay taxes …. aren’t “smashing up the economy”?
Please don’t go back to Brixton with this attitude. You mention “love and care”, but that starts with HOW to speak to people. I am infuriated and in tears by your entitled, judgmental way to talk to homeless people like that! You showed neither dignity nor respect! And no, I don’t give money either, and I know it needs more than just some money and food. But the way you spoke with them has me up the walls!
And I understand that filming in public is lawful and not wrong, but you don’t even show respect to the homeless people by asking them if they want to appear in your video. You just hold your camera in their faces, ask their names and put them out in the world! Yes, it’s not illegal to film in public, but out of simple respect and dignity, you don’t even ask their permission.
You are on a mission to find solutions to homelessness? Start with changing your approach in how you speak to homeless people or anyone who struggles in whatever way. Your “sermon” about humanity and love comes across insincere.
I hope you accept my harsh feedback without hiding or deleting it.
Sincerely,
expret.org
End of comment.
* For American readers and readers in other countries, DWP is the Department for Works and Pension where people apply for benefits if they lose jobs or can’t work for whatever reason. And many people even claim benefits who ARE working crazy hours but can’t make ends meet, for whatever reason is not my business to judge.
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I want to add a few things here, because at the start of his video he made some outrageous comments that I forgot to add as I was cooking while listening to his words, not always ready to take notes.
He starts by saying things like, “… what I want to highlight is why individuals have to be outside shops asking for money …” (“have to be”! He’s p!ssed off that beggars sit outside shops, and yes, I don’t like that either, but it needs reform and in-depth help). And in-between he throws in nice sounding cliché slogans like “one love” … “good vibes” etc.
He does mention people suffering from trauma and ending up in the street, but then swings into ambivalence OR his REAL message saying things like,
“… Millions £, and when I say millions, it’s not an exaggeration, but it’s an actual fact. … Millions have been given away to the system, to those who are in need. A lot of individuals that are out on the street, sleeping rough. There a MILLIONS (he emphasises ‘millions’) that are given away through beneficial values (he’s sugar-coating “benefits” to cushion his dislike for people needing benefits) for those who actually need it …”
And then he’s showing his REAL message at the 6 minute mark:
“And what I’m actually trying to say here, yeah, there are individuals out here, and they actually, they’re actually SQUEZEING, squeezing every last drop what they can take from the system. … And they’re doing this … because these individuals have no intention [then he cuts the video and continues] … Some of these individuals will never get up and will do an honest day’s work ever …” … while walking towards a person sitting with a jacket or sleeping bag over their knees outside a shop. Ringo Vision doesn’t even know if any of the people he sees and meets worked before, maybe had a business, family, children … He just assumes and judges. And EVEN IF some never did an “honest day of work” in their lives, again, he’s not enquiring what happened.
Yes, I believe there are people who “squeeze” the system, but my grief with Ringo here is that he decides who those people are who squeeze the system while filming beggars, homeless people and/or addicted people. He makes the judgement and decision who these people are whom he films, calling some “crack heads”.
I don’t want to take all his words apart any further, only one thing where he has the audacity to make comparisons. He talks about his mother who worked several jobs while having 3 children and that she never gave up. Kudos to your mum Ringo, should you read this. But don’t you fncking dare to compare one person to the next. Every person has THEIR story how they survived or how they couldn’t survive. And comparing anyone with others is short-sighted, cowardliness, unfair and lacks understanding and empathy!
Ringo here pays no attention how occurrences like the 2008/09 financial crash has SQUEEZED the system of several countries. My taxes, our taxes were STOLEN by the government to bail out PRIVATE banks and multi-billion pound corporations who GAMBLED investments away and then got bailed out by tax payers! And I mean BILLIONS! £37 BILLIONS bail-out to be precise, and further BILLIONS in loans from tax payers!
BILLIONS, and I mean BILLIONS were SQUEEZED out of our taxes to bail out banks and bankers!
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Ringo here doesn’t pay attention how the Tories have SQUEEZED BILLIONS, and I mean BILLIONS in tax payers’ money for PPE during the pandemic and these PPE and other things they supposedly bought never materialized. BILLIONS of tax payers money are still missing as they awarded friends and family of Tory politicians with dodgy contracts! I repeat, BILLIONS!
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Ringo here doesn’t pay attention how rich families and corporations have offshore firms to hide taxes and wash their billions clean, not paying taxes in this (or their base) country.
Ringo here doesn’t seem to know or has forgotten how 14 years of Tory cuts to public services, law changes to workers’ rights, to the detriment of employees, crushing unions, lowering wages etc. etc. etc. putting many people into poverty and worse.
Not to mention how the rich aren’t taxed properly while every penny the lowest paid worker labours for is scrutinized if to tax that also. Not to mention wage theft by corporations including Pret.
Ringo here doesn’t seem to remember how the Royal Family drain tax payers’ money to live in pomp and use the vulnerable to feed their luxary, step on the poor, but find new ways to justif it.
Etc. etc. etc. etc.
Do your own research in how many BILLIONS the richest of the rich steal from tax payers while you blame the lowest of the low. And that’s exactly what these filthy rich and parties like the Tory party enjoy seeing, the poor or middle class blaming the poor.
It’s the beggar outside the shop and the homeless person who “squeeze” the system, huh? Dear Ringo, should you read this, with all of my heart, SHAME ON YOU!
I rarely watch a YouTube video with angry burning tears falling down my face! You succeeded, and I will not sugar-coat my words. The homeless people that you disrespected and patronised last night unfortunately are used to being treated like the dung of the earth. But I will not cushion my words to you. You should be ashamed of yourself!
Yes, from reading the heartless comments under Ringo’s video, I understand that homeless people as well as addicted people lie, I would lie too if all I had was the street or a meagre place to live and trying to get by. We all would lie!
And don’t get me started on how Pret A Manger and all the other big corporations lie, steal, including from tax-payers, lying to and taking from not only customers, but their low-wage workers.
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And having worked at Pret with our “regular” beggars outside our stores, we got to know many pretty well over time. I have at times declined food or drink to some people whom I knew are not homeless and knew how much food, coffees, gift cards, cash, chats etc. they get daily from customers and staff. Some people also re-sold Pret food in the streets.
One guy had 4 gift cards with over £100 between them as he asked me to check how much is on them, yet he didn’t want to pay for his latte and had an entitled attitude as if we had to give him everything for free everyday by default. I treat every person, homeless or not individually. I don’t give a blanket response to everyone but take issues “case by case” as best as I can judge the situation at the time without using one brush over everybody.
But to blame homeless or poor people for “smashing the economy” while it is the RICH who drain the system makes me fume beyond a furnace!!! And to finish off his video with cliché slogans like “love, togetherness and unity is what is missing here ” rolls my toe-nails to a curl. Yeah Ringo Vision, love, togetherness and unity was majorly missing in your Brixton “mission” here!
I’m not gonna write further as I would never stop! Please just watch the whole video yourself if you want to do that to yourself. Alternatively, visit Brixton or any other hot spot where poverty is especially present, and start a proper conversation with homeless or addicted people. Start by AKSING if they want a chat, and introduce yourself, and ask about their stories. And if you want to video them, even though in public it is allowed, still ASK them for permission! Have some fncking respect!
And then ASK again if it’s ok to put their story on YouTube or whatever platform. And THEN buy them a meal, coffee, gift card, give them money or whatever else they might need! But don’t you dare use their faces, names, stories without permission for your social media clicks!
There are many ideas, and it needs a holistic approach. EVERY homeless person has a different story, just like not every rich person is greedy.
Years ago I came across a small coffee chain from Scotland named Social Bite, who also have a branch in London. They have built a “village” for homeless people and employ some of them. Yes, the houses are small and wooden, but it’s a start and whatever charities or people can do, it’s worth it. And yes, Pret opened a “house for the homeless” but that was straight after the 2 customer deaths and multiple allergy injuries became public, so Pret tried to divert from their appealing neglect of food safety. And this house either doesn’t exist anymore, and Pret became very quiet about it shortly after, or it runs on high costs.
Someone on social media told me that Pret charge a high rent, and from experience I know how little Pret pay and how much they exploit staff.
But there are many good people and charities who work tirelessly to tackle homelessness. But it takes a strong arm of the government to build housing, have NON-judgmental mental health services in place, and make companies pay a living wage, have unions and basic work rights in place that the Tories have cut all over the place.
UPDATE:
Some account named ravencraft…. SHOUTED at my comment about the self-righteousness of Ringo Vision, I responded, but my comment is invisible. It’s only visible straight after I posted it and then quickly screenshot, but once I leave the page, it’s gone.
Here is my HIDDEN response to ravencraft / Ringo Vision:
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GRIFTER, fundraising to travel the world, using homeless people while sh!tting on them claiming they “squeeze” the system. He looked in the mirror, didn’t he?!
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I worked at Pret A Manger and survived systemic workplace bullying during bereavement that involved HR, the top leadership, HQ and even the now “retired” former CEO Clive Schlee. Schlee has been appointed CEO of itsu in 2024 by Julian Metcalfe who gave him the CEO spot at Pret many years ago.
I declined 4 settlement offers if I am silent about my ordeal. But I rather speak out to help others. For an overview of important blog entries of my experience with Pret, please visit “My Ordeal with Pret A Manger”. The little arrow to the right next to each heading will lead directly to the post.
An incomplete list on what other Pret staff say about Pret’s bullying environment: Caught in the Act Bullying at Pret and What shop MANAGERS & HQ staff say about Pret incl. CEO Pano Christou.
I tell my story for the first time verbally in below audio player interview on a podcast by The Adam Paradox, and wrote two articles in the Scottish Left Review as well as mentioned by the BBC.
Please also see the MEDIA page for more on my work with the press.
NEW LinkTree
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Thank you for reading/listening.
©2017 – Present: expret.org
Interview:
(Please be aware that the player shows 0:00 but just press play)
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Bullied during bereavement in Pret A Manger 
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