"Then I thought of myself as Nowhere Man -- sitting in his nowhere land." John Lennon
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold" W.B. Yeats
:-) Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner - that I moved to Nice.
So how about fine, have it your way with the use of the word Ideology and let's say that what you have discussed is your perspective and your interpretation of the issues and how they are dealt with via public policy and so on? Is that a more acceptable way of phrasing it for you? It more or less amounts to what I mean when I use the word ideology in these discussions. Were I to write an essay specifically discussing formal political ideologies then I would frame it formally and define it, but here, I refer to my own perspective when I talk of my ideology.
And my perspective is based on real life too, informed by many different things. But my life experiences and the life experiences of the majority of people who I have come into contact with, are not necessarily going to be the same as yours. So what you consider to be pragmatic and based on real life and common sense in your bit of the world and how it operates, is not the same as mine.
Can you take on board the thought that there are many sections of the community that you know little of? Perhaps too little of to make a judgement?
You stated before that you aren't that interested in disability issues, having not known anyone well who has a disability. Now, you are free to have an opinion on things relating to disability and how you view it but should you and others who have no experience of or depth of understanding of disability and the many issues related to it, have to the power to make decisions on policies that affect my life and that of other disabled people, without consulting representative organisations and without having disabled people fully involved with the decision making and policy design and implementation? Because that is broadly what happens, and that is why activist organisations campaign for better rights and try to influence policy decisions. Can you see that that is valid? Ad astra per aspera
This seems to me a very strange and individualistic reason not to be interested in a topic (I'm also baffled by the phenomenal unlihelihood of anyone not knowing anyone with a disability well).
I have not known anyone (well or not) who starved, had AIDS or sclerosis, lost his home to repossession or to a storm... That will not make me uninterested in their respective issues. Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed. Gandhi
I have not known anyone (well or not) who starved, had AIDS or sclerosis, lost his home to repossession or to a storm...
Well, I'm not saying it won't happen, ever. I'm still fairly young. But I don't think that repossessions are frequent -nor are tropical storms or tsunamis of course. As for starving, should I know anyone who did, he no longer would. And I DID cherry-pick my diseases. My aunt is in a wheelchair (as is a more recent friend), my mother in law almost deaf, I helped blind people in at school, have friends with cancer... And I have probably known people who had AIDS without being aware of it, of course. Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed. Gandhi
While I pray that Paris remain blessedly free of these afflictions, I doubt that she is and I certainly doubt that she will so remain over the next year. This will certainly be the case for Britain and the USA. It is my experience and observation that we live our lives surrounded by suffering but that most of us avoid recognizing most of that suffering, especially that which does not happen to ourselves or those close to us. As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
I'm not saying that it doesn't exist in Paris. Of course lots of people have AIDS in Paris. Apparently none of the people who know me well enough to tell me suffer from AIDS, that's all.
As for hunger, well, it exists I'm sure but -Paris is a rich enclave -Remember we are socialist buggers.
"Soupes populaires" are quite common -and indeed there's one near my place. So getting one meal a day is quite straightforward if you need it. In fact, my brother serves weekly at "La Chorba", an NGO that delivers meals that don't annoy any religion (they started purely for muslims as the name indicates but now it applies to all), and I wouldn't hesitate to suggest going there to anyone. It's decent food. I also give quite a lot to "food banks", when it is directed to people I don't know. Do you think that if someone I KNEW starved I wouldn't start there? Anyway, our safety nets make it less likely to suffer some of those poverty afflictions than in USA (repossessions are EXTREMELY rare). And you can get cheap food at open air markets.
"especially that which does not happen to ourselves or those close to us"
I must admit that I haven't propped up all the homeless I see in the metro. Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed. Gandhi
I apologize if my post implied any criticism of your compassion. That was not my intent. On reflection, perhaps it is partly difference in our ages that account for your not knowing people with AIDS. We knew the couple I referred to to as neighbors in the late '80s when there still was no generally available treatment for aids, and I lived in Los Angeles where there was and is a large gay community, many of whom we knew. Your comment brought memories flooding back. Fortunately, AIDS is no longer a death sentence, and, with medical care, those with AIDS can remain symptom free indefinitely. And I certainly do not intend to criticize you for not living where there are tornadoes, earthquakes, wildfires, etc. But BTW, you do know someone who at least temporarily lost their home due to fire---Jerome and family!
I was struck by the fact that I had experienced most of the things you listed, and I think I got carried away with that without reflecting on how it would sound to others. I too try to help those less fortunate than I, but these days that is likely to a considerably lesser extent than you do. I am chagrined that I have thoughtlessly posted something that might be seen as a slur on your character. As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
You have experienced those things, and I other ones: as I said I cherry picked what I had NOT experienced. Thankfully my gay friends have been spared by AIDS. Maybe Europe was better in its adoption of condoms.
And in fact, I don't think I do that much. When I look at myself and at my brother I often feel embarassed. Let's say that I will always do something when I see a need but don't make great efforts to find the people in need (and, yes, I do know people who lost their homes to a fire, and offered Jérôme to stay with us -it was impractical and it didn't happen). Actually that's a typical example: I would be willing to do things but it often does not happen.
In that respect I have a painful memory that I have difficulties forgiving myself for. There was a fire in the building across a courtyard from mine. The window of my room opens on a roof. One night I heard someone shouting from his window to call the firemen. I went but by the time I got to my phone heard a neighbour shouting that they had been called. I returned to my room and he had jumped (or slided on a pipe) on the roof -his window had been just one floor above it. First guilt there: I closed my window, and went back to watching from the kitchen to see if the firemen were coming. He kept shouting "call the firemen". After a while, with the fire having spread to the other room (the one with the window above the roof in question), I saw an arm. And THEN he said "there's my mother". By that time there was no realistic access to the window. But if I had asked whether there was someone else in the flat from the start, I reckon I could have taken my bed's mattress with his help through the window and maybe his mother would have jumped on it (the two of us could not have safely caught her in our arms -this would have been on the very edge of a roof). I could never know for sure but I have every reason to believe that she died in that fire. Maybe she WOULD have died jumping. But I didn't try anything.
I don't think I was quite the bastard that night, but I certainly was not the man I want to be.
And so we go, wishing we were doing more to help people but in fact living most of our lives amongst each other. We still think that when we have a bigger house we will volunteer to host people, like children temporarily coming to France for health reasons, or yougsters having been thrown out by their families (often for being a free mind and not willing to be forced to adopt a religion they don't believe in), or something. Yes we'll give money to some organisations sometimes, but I think that's not satisfactory. It's time and involvement that must be given. Hopefully those "we'll do it one day" will really happen. But my main wish is for society as a whole to become more altruistic. That's where the difference would truly be made. Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed. Gandhi
I agree that pragmatic can differ by experience, but I'm ready to discuss that and be convinced otherwise. That is a pragmatic approach in itself. I don't hold my conclusions as axiomatic. So my judgements are based on arguments. If I am contradicted, I think about it and reply, or change.
I already said I believe civil associations are justified, there's no question about it, and they should be involved in the decision process, at least consulted. Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last! (Martin Luther King)
