I don't think there is a way to express "woke" values so that a right wing thinker can hear them. Yes, there are some groups of people I distrust. Millionaires. Billionaires. I might learn to trust them, but my first response to them is that they are not trustworthy. I don't hate them, but I often hate their values.
Prolonged austerity, which the west has been living under for decades now, brings out the worst in people. I've been worried about rising fascism long before it raised its ugly head.
How do we bring out our better natures and get active during these tremendously difficult and challenging times? We need to if we're going to survive.
Shukran as always sweet Diana. I wish we could stop being selfish, stupid and sadistic. So we can focus on healing Falastin to the state she always deserved to be.
Absolutely. I'm just fed up with them saying them hating whoever is a matter of opinion🙄 They don't see POC, women, children, LGBTQ people as human beings.
This is a great piece Diana - I agree we need to remove those sunglasses and look at the systems around us and how they operate. Once you see that - it is amazing, like you say, everywhere they are present. I also like how you write about the old systems clinging on. That helps me answer a a few of my own questions at the moment, about toxic dynamics and why they might seem so strong, even at times when we know they don't work and in people who you think would know better.
Aw thanks for checking out my latest piece Diana - so glad you enjoyed that. Yes I agree - I am enjoying using this space to work out some of the big questions during these crazy times. Writing does help connect and pull together our different ideas.
"We need to refuse hate, and choose love over fear."
Hear, hear! I believe as you do that we do have the power to take on this moment in history and makes things better. But we need to stop our bickering and our tendencies to break our unity into tiny splinter groups. We need to be better organized to turn things around. Power to the people!
Good piece again Diane, I like the way you use your Muscles, particularly the Community one, which I see as the heart of truth and strength. Peace, Maurice
We are up against one major obstacle: human nature. Our worst attributes are selfishness, greed, arrogance and indifference to the suffering of others. A prevailing mantra: I'm OK, therefore everyone and everything else is OK. Gaza is the ultimate test of humanity, and humanity is failing miserably. Which is not to say that humans cannot but change has to happen on an individula level and from the bottom up. These wise words from C.G. Jung: "As any change must begin somewhere, it is the single individual who will undergo it and carry it through. The change must begin with one individual; it might be any one of us. Nobody can afford to look around and to wait for somebody else to do what he is loath to do himself. As nobody knows what he could do, he might be bold enough to ask himself whether by any chance his unconscious might know something helpful, when there is no satisfactory conscious answer anywhere in sight. Man today is painfully aware of the fact that neither his great religions nor his various philosophies seem to provide him with those powerful ideas that would give him the certainty and security he needs in face of the present condition of the world." And this was written, I believe, in the 1950s.
Prolonged austerity, which the west has been living under for decades now, brings out the worst in people. I've been worried about rising fascism long before it raised its ugly head.
How do we bring out our better natures and get active during these tremendously difficult and challenging times? We need to if we're going to survive.
I don't think there is a way to express "woke" values so that a right wing thinker can hear them. Yes, there are some groups of people I distrust. Millionaires. Billionaires. I might learn to trust them, but my first response to them is that they are not trustworthy. I don't hate them, but I often hate their values.
The narrative is so tight, isn't it? I don't trust that group either, Susan.
This comment is intended as a reply to Diane's comment below. I was having technical difficulties posting it, so am posting it here.
Diane, I question this view of human nature.
Not that these traits aren't part of it, but I think they're nurtured by our culture to the point where we are convinced that this is who we are.
When I was in high school, we had to read 'Lord of the Flies' which really drives the point you make home. I was surprised to learn about an actual experience similar to that described in the novel, and how it went. The six boys, who were stranded for an extended period of time, co-operated to make the best of things and became lifelong friends. You can read about it here: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/may/09/the-real-lord-of-the-flies-what-happened-when-six-boys-were-shipwrecked-for-15-months
Prolonged austerity, which the west has been living under for decades now, brings out the worst in people. I've been worried about rising fascism long before it raised its ugly head.
How do we bring out our better natures and get active during these tremendously difficult and challenging times? We need to if we're going to survive.
Shukran as always sweet Diana. I wish we could stop being selfish, stupid and sadistic. So we can focus on healing Falastin to the state she always deserved to be.
Inshallah that day arrives soon.
Viva la 🇵🇸
Me too, Najwan. I hope that day arrives soon too.
🇵🇸♥️🙏
Shukran from me too... with big hugs
♥️♥️
Thanks for the double heart Najwan, Shukran, Maurice
Racists and bigots need to fuck all the way off. Those things aren't a matter of opinion.
They're part of the colonialist thinking that has to go, Jasmine. They degrade everyone.
Absolutely. I'm just fed up with them saying them hating whoever is a matter of opinion🙄 They don't see POC, women, children, LGBTQ people as human beings.
Eff off to kingdom come, inshallah.
And #PalestineWillBeFree, we won’t rest until she is.
Hope all else is well with you Jasmine x
🇵🇸♥️🙏
And then some😤🤣
Absomotherfuckinglutely! 🇵🇸✊💕
It be😊 Hoping all is well with you too🤗
This is a great piece Diana - I agree we need to remove those sunglasses and look at the systems around us and how they operate. Once you see that - it is amazing, like you say, everywhere they are present. I also like how you write about the old systems clinging on. That helps me answer a a few of my own questions at the moment, about toxic dynamics and why they might seem so strong, even at times when we know they don't work and in people who you think would know better.
Hi Catriona,
I'm so glad you found this piece of writing relatable. I just read your wonderful piece on the handless maiden, and subscribed.
Writing is so therapeutic during these times, isn't it? I'd go crazy without it.
Aw thanks for checking out my latest piece Diana - so glad you enjoyed that. Yes I agree - I am enjoying using this space to work out some of the big questions during these crazy times. Writing does help connect and pull together our different ideas.
"We need to refuse hate, and choose love over fear."
Hear, hear! I believe as you do that we do have the power to take on this moment in history and makes things better. But we need to stop our bickering and our tendencies to break our unity into tiny splinter groups. We need to be better organized to turn things around. Power to the people!
Good point! I agree. We need solidarity.
Good piece again Diane, I like the way you use your Muscles, particularly the Community one, which I see as the heart of truth and strength. Peace, Maurice
Thanks, Maurice!
Excellent article , I resonate with what you write here…we do need strengthen our muscles, including our ability to witness and not despair ❤️🩹
Thanks, Susan. I'm glad it spoke to you.
We are up against one major obstacle: human nature. Our worst attributes are selfishness, greed, arrogance and indifference to the suffering of others. A prevailing mantra: I'm OK, therefore everyone and everything else is OK. Gaza is the ultimate test of humanity, and humanity is failing miserably. Which is not to say that humans cannot but change has to happen on an individula level and from the bottom up. These wise words from C.G. Jung: "As any change must begin somewhere, it is the single individual who will undergo it and carry it through. The change must begin with one individual; it might be any one of us. Nobody can afford to look around and to wait for somebody else to do what he is loath to do himself. As nobody knows what he could do, he might be bold enough to ask himself whether by any chance his unconscious might know something helpful, when there is no satisfactory conscious answer anywhere in sight. Man today is painfully aware of the fact that neither his great religions nor his various philosophies seem to provide him with those powerful ideas that would give him the certainty and security he needs in face of the present condition of the world." And this was written, I believe, in the 1950s.
The link for radical conversations, didn’t work..could you send me another link as my search could not find it. Thanks
Due to technical difficulties, I am posting this for Diana. This is her reply to my comment below.
Diane, I question this view of human nature.
Not that these traits aren't part of it, but I think they're nurtured by our culture to the point where we are convinced that this is who we are.
When I was in high school, we had to read 'Lord of the Flies' which really drives the point you make home. I was surprised to learn about an actual experience similar to that described in the novel, and how it went. The six boys, who were stranded for an extended period of time, co-operated to make the best of things and became lifelong friends. You can read about it here: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/may/09/the-real-lord-of-the-flies-what-happened-when-six-boys-were-shipwrecked-for-15-months
Prolonged austerity, which the west has been living under for decades now, brings out the worst in people. I've been worried about rising fascism long before it raised its ugly head.
How do we bring out our better natures and get active during these tremendously difficult and challenging times? We need to if we're going to survive.