Schools are being told that it may be illegal to enforce the wearing of skirts by girls on the grounds that it may discriminate against transexuals. Do the people that make these decisions believe that transexuals are not going to be discriminated against for other reasons? We are all subject to discrimination and have to learn to live with it. People are people and all have their prejudices. I confess to being prejudiced against those with extreme right wing views and those at the other end of the spectrum. I am prejudiced against those who worship stupidity and see it as a badge of honour, and those who put religions in front of their regard for fellow human beings.
I am discriminated against all of the time, on the basis of my age, my gender and probably the way that I dress and the opinions that I hold. It is all part of living in a society, or in my case on the fringe of society.
I was wondering how far t his PC madness can go, perhaps the following could become illegal in the future
Taking driving licences away from blind people or alcoholics.
Locking prisoners in their cells without a bedtime story.
Giving kids homework
Not giving unemployment benefit to those in work.
Speeding fines
Maths tests
The list is endless - unless we wake up and realise that all of this is just a terrible dream!
Wednesday 24 February 2010
Monday 22 February 2010
Contrasts
This weekend, for reasons that I will not go into, I saw The Brits Awards and also the BAFTAs. I am not a fan of either show, though I do believe in praising achievement, as long as that achievement has been the result of effort rather than circumstance.
We seem to have evolved a culture where the concept of praising achievement has been taken to silly extremes. I some schools children may be rewarded for just turning up, and others for managing to behave in a civilised way. Others who do this as a matter of course, receive nothing other than confusing messages.
Anyhow, the two "ceremonies" were fascinating in the sheer contrast that they demonstrated. On one hand we had a slick, well presented and civilised display of talent, with intelligent people being given well deserved accolades for, in some cases, years of work, honing their craft to the highest of levels. And then there were the Brit awards.
Ok I know that I am a grumpy old git, as my son likes to remind me, but there was a time when Britain produced a plethora of talented young people who could outshine the rest of the world when it came to pop music. There was little of that talent on display this year. The most memorable talent was an American and the rest, bland, ordinary and unoriginal.
All that we can seem to offer is surface. We have pretty boy bands who sing reasonably but are utterly dull unless you happen to be a twelve year old girl, sexy girl bands who appeal to most men until they start to sing, and the rest seems to be Hiphop, a brand of sound that seems to me incomprehensible and of no worth whatever. Britpop is in a sorry state, and like all aspects of modern culture becoming dominated by women. It is a shame as there are many talented bands out there, producing new and original stuff, but alas they do not fit the moulds that the likes of Simon Cowell produce. The only saving grace is that the average act these days has the life expectancy of a mayfly.
We seem to have evolved a culture where the concept of praising achievement has been taken to silly extremes. I some schools children may be rewarded for just turning up, and others for managing to behave in a civilised way. Others who do this as a matter of course, receive nothing other than confusing messages.
Anyhow, the two "ceremonies" were fascinating in the sheer contrast that they demonstrated. On one hand we had a slick, well presented and civilised display of talent, with intelligent people being given well deserved accolades for, in some cases, years of work, honing their craft to the highest of levels. And then there were the Brit awards.
Ok I know that I am a grumpy old git, as my son likes to remind me, but there was a time when Britain produced a plethora of talented young people who could outshine the rest of the world when it came to pop music. There was little of that talent on display this year. The most memorable talent was an American and the rest, bland, ordinary and unoriginal.
All that we can seem to offer is surface. We have pretty boy bands who sing reasonably but are utterly dull unless you happen to be a twelve year old girl, sexy girl bands who appeal to most men until they start to sing, and the rest seems to be Hiphop, a brand of sound that seems to me incomprehensible and of no worth whatever. Britpop is in a sorry state, and like all aspects of modern culture becoming dominated by women. It is a shame as there are many talented bands out there, producing new and original stuff, but alas they do not fit the moulds that the likes of Simon Cowell produce. The only saving grace is that the average act these days has the life expectancy of a mayfly.
Monday 15 February 2010
An unpleasant experience
I have an old lady friend who I visit from time to time. We drink tea and laugh a lot, she talks about her childhood and some of her happier times, and if necessary I do odd jobs for her. Like many older people she gets into a state of panic very easily and I have told her over and over again to call if she needs help. She is reluctant to do so and so yesterday afternoon as I was settling down to a post lunch doze, she called, and I knew that she was panicking.
When I got there, she was indeed at her wits end. Something had got into her fireplace and was making a great deal of noise. Now this is an old large Edwardian fireplace that has been fitted with a gas fire of considerable vintage. It is sealed in with a sheet metal screen that is screwed into the fabric of the fireplace and the fire itself sealed in with gaffer tape. The whole thing was moving and it sounded as if some large beast was fighting to get out. The sheet metal bulged outwards and bits and pieces were clearly cascading down the chimney.
I ushered Liz very slowly out of the room, not wanting her to be there when whatever it was was released, made her a cup of tea and proceeded to dismantle the arrangement that had lain their untouched for decades. Of course the screws were corroded in and could not be budged and so I eased the fire away from the chimney, disengaging it from its flue and from the heavy duty tape that held it in place. While this was going on the occupant of the dark space behind had fallen silent. Beneath the fire was a hole that led into the cellars below. What on Earth could have come up? However that thought was dispelled when I realised that there was no connection between that hole and whatever lay beyond. Unable to free the sheet metal barrier I could only thrust my hand through the flue to investigate what had been making the noise and that hole wasn't very big. Tentatively I groped around in the dark, half expecting to be bitten or dragged screaming into oblivion - I watch too many bad movies! Nothing! Whatever it was had moved out of reach.
I found a walking stick near to the front door and returned - thrust said stick up aforementioned chimney and waggled it around. Mayhem in the chimney resumed as the trapped beast sprang back into action and I caught my first glimpse. A large and very scared Wood Pigeon was struggling to get back up the sooty passage that it had come in by and was hopelessly failing. Almost as scared as it was, I resumed my attempts at grabbing it, grasping it's tail firmly I endeavoured to release it from its prison. I succeeded with the tail but alas it had become detached from the poor bird in the struggle and i was left with a large handful of warm feathers. There was now less of the bird to struggle and the poor thing flapped and floundered while i tried to grab it by something else. I found a wing and eased it from the hole, most of the wing feathers came out in my hand an the now dismembered bird escaped into the room in a cloud of feathers. On all fours I chase it around the room, under chairs and around furniture, under curtains and over sofas until the petrified beast ran out of will to live and I grasped it with both hands. I could feel its heart pounding in my grip and see the fear its eyes. I couldn't bring myself to wring its neck and so released it outside the back door. To my amazement it flew away. I still don't know how it managed that with no tail and one and a half wings. No aircraft could have achieved that I am sure.
I returned to the room of carnage, picked up the feathers and reassembled the fire, feeling quite shaken by the plucking of a live bird and feeling very bad about the pain that I must have inflicted.
The consolation of course was that Liz was back in posession of her peace of mind and that should the pigeon meet a swift end in the jaws of a fox, it will be preferable to a long death in a fireplace.
When I got there, she was indeed at her wits end. Something had got into her fireplace and was making a great deal of noise. Now this is an old large Edwardian fireplace that has been fitted with a gas fire of considerable vintage. It is sealed in with a sheet metal screen that is screwed into the fabric of the fireplace and the fire itself sealed in with gaffer tape. The whole thing was moving and it sounded as if some large beast was fighting to get out. The sheet metal bulged outwards and bits and pieces were clearly cascading down the chimney.
I ushered Liz very slowly out of the room, not wanting her to be there when whatever it was was released, made her a cup of tea and proceeded to dismantle the arrangement that had lain their untouched for decades. Of course the screws were corroded in and could not be budged and so I eased the fire away from the chimney, disengaging it from its flue and from the heavy duty tape that held it in place. While this was going on the occupant of the dark space behind had fallen silent. Beneath the fire was a hole that led into the cellars below. What on Earth could have come up? However that thought was dispelled when I realised that there was no connection between that hole and whatever lay beyond. Unable to free the sheet metal barrier I could only thrust my hand through the flue to investigate what had been making the noise and that hole wasn't very big. Tentatively I groped around in the dark, half expecting to be bitten or dragged screaming into oblivion - I watch too many bad movies! Nothing! Whatever it was had moved out of reach.
I found a walking stick near to the front door and returned - thrust said stick up aforementioned chimney and waggled it around. Mayhem in the chimney resumed as the trapped beast sprang back into action and I caught my first glimpse. A large and very scared Wood Pigeon was struggling to get back up the sooty passage that it had come in by and was hopelessly failing. Almost as scared as it was, I resumed my attempts at grabbing it, grasping it's tail firmly I endeavoured to release it from its prison. I succeeded with the tail but alas it had become detached from the poor bird in the struggle and i was left with a large handful of warm feathers. There was now less of the bird to struggle and the poor thing flapped and floundered while i tried to grab it by something else. I found a wing and eased it from the hole, most of the wing feathers came out in my hand an the now dismembered bird escaped into the room in a cloud of feathers. On all fours I chase it around the room, under chairs and around furniture, under curtains and over sofas until the petrified beast ran out of will to live and I grasped it with both hands. I could feel its heart pounding in my grip and see the fear its eyes. I couldn't bring myself to wring its neck and so released it outside the back door. To my amazement it flew away. I still don't know how it managed that with no tail and one and a half wings. No aircraft could have achieved that I am sure.
I returned to the room of carnage, picked up the feathers and reassembled the fire, feeling quite shaken by the plucking of a live bird and feeling very bad about the pain that I must have inflicted.
The consolation of course was that Liz was back in posession of her peace of mind and that should the pigeon meet a swift end in the jaws of a fox, it will be preferable to a long death in a fireplace.
Sunday 14 February 2010
Pie in the sky
I am well aware that what I think may well be completely wrong, and that others hold completely opposite viewpoints that probably have the same validity or otherwise. It would be a duller world if we all thought the same.
We are running towards a general election and the two contending parties are squaring up to each other and beginning to show traces of their true colours, though I don't suppose what they say between now and whenever the election happens, will make much difference to the outcome.
We as a nation are in a financial mess, and have been put there by mistakes made by a greed that is inherent within our society. Everyone seems to want something for nothing, and the banking world took things into their own hands, attempted to make a few too many fast bucks and now we all have to pay for what they have done. The bankers however continue to recieve their huge bonuses, and will receive unending support from the conservatives on both sides of the house. Budgets are being designed and ways of clawing back the bankers losses from the rest of us are being proposed on one hand and rejected by the other. The current government want to increase taxes, especially on the wealthy, while their opponents prefer to rob the poor and keep them in their places, forcing the elderly to sell their homes in order to fund their care in later life. This will of course remove the last incentive to invest one's earnings in property as those without houses to sell will be looked after anyhow, and those recipients of big bonuses will have cash to spare.
Voting at the next election will make little difference to most of us however. Only the wealthy can gain from a new Tory government and almost no-one can gain from maintaining the status quo. Surely we should consider the end of party politics, and strive to elect a government that represents the interests of us all.
We are running towards a general election and the two contending parties are squaring up to each other and beginning to show traces of their true colours, though I don't suppose what they say between now and whenever the election happens, will make much difference to the outcome.
We as a nation are in a financial mess, and have been put there by mistakes made by a greed that is inherent within our society. Everyone seems to want something for nothing, and the banking world took things into their own hands, attempted to make a few too many fast bucks and now we all have to pay for what they have done. The bankers however continue to recieve their huge bonuses, and will receive unending support from the conservatives on both sides of the house. Budgets are being designed and ways of clawing back the bankers losses from the rest of us are being proposed on one hand and rejected by the other. The current government want to increase taxes, especially on the wealthy, while their opponents prefer to rob the poor and keep them in their places, forcing the elderly to sell their homes in order to fund their care in later life. This will of course remove the last incentive to invest one's earnings in property as those without houses to sell will be looked after anyhow, and those recipients of big bonuses will have cash to spare.
Voting at the next election will make little difference to most of us however. Only the wealthy can gain from a new Tory government and almost no-one can gain from maintaining the status quo. Surely we should consider the end of party politics, and strive to elect a government that represents the interests of us all.
Wednesday 10 February 2010
Coming and going
People come into and leave our lives all of the time. I have been lucky enough to have met a large number of wonderful people, most of whom have sat before me in classrooms. Of course not all of them were in any way close and our relationship was both fleeting and professional, but nevertheless our lives did brush for an instant in time and we may have learned a little from each other.
As we grow from infant to child and from child to adult it is probable that more come into our lives than leave; I can still remember becoming aware of the finite nature of existence when just a boy, and being told of the demise of an elderly neighbour who i was quite fond of. The memory is crystal clear and the profound nature of that realisation represented a real turning point in my consciousness. He had gone. Forever. The end. Even then I had no belief in afterlives; those concepts are there to comfort those who fear death and cannot handle not being here. A hundred years ago, none of us were here. We did not exist by any definition of the word and in another hundred years we will be in the same state and the world will have moved on.
I am at the stage when few people come into my life, and those that do are often not welcome. Many people that I have cared about have gone; some have died and others simply gone along different pathways. Just a select few remain and those I value beyond material things.
I am not easy company, and do not make friends at all well anymore. I share my mind with very few and my feelings with less, and guess that makes me at best self centred. I rue some of my past and some of the friends that I have lost and have learned much about trust, and feel that on days like today, that I have changed little over the years. I am self contained to a great extent and realise that I will probably never feel fulfilled, but that is true of most people so there is no cause for complaint.
In just over a month my daughter is expecting her first child and I am looking forward to meeting someone new. I hope that this new life will be one filled with good things, but mainly that he or she will, when she gets to my age feel a sense of accomplishment and that their life has been well lived. Good luck little one, you will need it.
As we grow from infant to child and from child to adult it is probable that more come into our lives than leave; I can still remember becoming aware of the finite nature of existence when just a boy, and being told of the demise of an elderly neighbour who i was quite fond of. The memory is crystal clear and the profound nature of that realisation represented a real turning point in my consciousness. He had gone. Forever. The end. Even then I had no belief in afterlives; those concepts are there to comfort those who fear death and cannot handle not being here. A hundred years ago, none of us were here. We did not exist by any definition of the word and in another hundred years we will be in the same state and the world will have moved on.
I am at the stage when few people come into my life, and those that do are often not welcome. Many people that I have cared about have gone; some have died and others simply gone along different pathways. Just a select few remain and those I value beyond material things.
I am not easy company, and do not make friends at all well anymore. I share my mind with very few and my feelings with less, and guess that makes me at best self centred. I rue some of my past and some of the friends that I have lost and have learned much about trust, and feel that on days like today, that I have changed little over the years. I am self contained to a great extent and realise that I will probably never feel fulfilled, but that is true of most people so there is no cause for complaint.
In just over a month my daughter is expecting her first child and I am looking forward to meeting someone new. I hope that this new life will be one filled with good things, but mainly that he or she will, when she gets to my age feel a sense of accomplishment and that their life has been well lived. Good luck little one, you will need it.
Monday 8 February 2010
a short rant
So our first Asian Judge has proclaimed that Sikh children should be allowed to wear their ceremonial daggers to school. The claim that no Sikh child has been involved in knife crime strikes me as being rather irrelevant, and surely it is time that such ludicrous claims should be dealt with unsympathetically. It seems that as long as you can tie in a behaviour or a habit to a religion then every one else is scared witless to challenge it. Sikhs have no more right to carry knives in public than anyone else and they should be stopped from doing so, because it is the law of the land. We are not a Sikh society; sick perhaps, but thankfully we are not yet ruled by any religious sect.
In the same day's news we hear of a sixteen year old girl, buried alive by her father for talking to boys. Where were her rights? Once again we see that religion is not about peace and goodwill to one's fellow man; it is about bowing to the will of an idea or to another human being who expounds upon that idea. When oh when will people wake up to the true source of evil in this world?
In the same day's news we hear of a sixteen year old girl, buried alive by her father for talking to boys. Where were her rights? Once again we see that religion is not about peace and goodwill to one's fellow man; it is about bowing to the will of an idea or to another human being who expounds upon that idea. When oh when will people wake up to the true source of evil in this world?
Thursday 4 February 2010
Waxing lyrical?
I like to think that I have an eclectic taste in music; I do listen to a lot of it and generally tune in to radio 3 for mornings and listen to my collected stuff in the afternoons and evenings. As i write I am listening to Beth Gibbons and Rustic man, a band I know nothing of but the noise that they make is very pleasing.
I do try to listen to whatever comes my way and try to understand what musicians are trying to do. There was a time when they were more about making music than making money, but I am afraid that those days are long gone. I am sure that there are plenty out there for whom the music is far more important than the paychecks but everyone has to live.
What we listen to and enjoy is a very personal thing and there are genres of music which to me have no impact or meaning and i am sure that is so for everyone. I cannot relate in any way to Rap or Hip hop, and at the same time cannot comprehend the music of many modern classical composers. I don't particularly like Johan Strauss of Franz Lehar, and most traditional scottish music irks me.
I can understand then that many people can not relate to what I listen to. The leap from britpop or indiepap to Mozart or PinkFloyd is a huge one and therin lies a chasm which some will never cross in either direction.
Pop music is about youth culture and history shows us that the quality and type of music is an audible commentary on the times, or at least it has been since the forties and fifties. Good times and bad times have a way of producing music with impact and meaning for those to whom the music is aimed.
Good music has power to move people, either thought the overall sound, rhythm, melody or lyrics, and no one has yet managed to have a universal appeal. Even the Beatles at their best never achieved that, and they probably reached more ears than Beethoven ever did. And so when I hear what seems bland, banal and tediously plastic song releases, I must remember that someone out there actually relates to this and that makes it valid.
I do try to listen to whatever comes my way and try to understand what musicians are trying to do. There was a time when they were more about making music than making money, but I am afraid that those days are long gone. I am sure that there are plenty out there for whom the music is far more important than the paychecks but everyone has to live.
What we listen to and enjoy is a very personal thing and there are genres of music which to me have no impact or meaning and i am sure that is so for everyone. I cannot relate in any way to Rap or Hip hop, and at the same time cannot comprehend the music of many modern classical composers. I don't particularly like Johan Strauss of Franz Lehar, and most traditional scottish music irks me.
I can understand then that many people can not relate to what I listen to. The leap from britpop or indiepap to Mozart or PinkFloyd is a huge one and therin lies a chasm which some will never cross in either direction.
Pop music is about youth culture and history shows us that the quality and type of music is an audible commentary on the times, or at least it has been since the forties and fifties. Good times and bad times have a way of producing music with impact and meaning for those to whom the music is aimed.
Good music has power to move people, either thought the overall sound, rhythm, melody or lyrics, and no one has yet managed to have a universal appeal. Even the Beatles at their best never achieved that, and they probably reached more ears than Beethoven ever did. And so when I hear what seems bland, banal and tediously plastic song releases, I must remember that someone out there actually relates to this and that makes it valid.
Tuesday 2 February 2010
Bring it on!
Well the struggle for equality continues with the government attempting to change the ground rules and remove glass ceilings allowing freedom of opportunity for all. Now I do agree that we should all have access to the same opportunities, but we should also be realistic.
Well the ex-Nazi leader of the most powerful religion in the world seems to be planning a visit to England because he fears that the new legislation will give free access to positions in his church to homosexuals of all things. How terrible that would be? No longer would they be able to discriminate on the basis of sexuality - or anything else for that matter. Within decades they could be taken over by men in dresses, waving handbags in strange ceremonies.
This is an organisation that preaches tolerance, and yet displays very little of that to anyone who lives outside of their faith. It values poverty as a virtue as long as they don't have to endure it, and like all big companies has vested interests in it's own power and survival.
In my opinion an influx of homosexual bishops could only do them good! A lot of choirboys would be far safer than they are now.
Well the ex-Nazi leader of the most powerful religion in the world seems to be planning a visit to England because he fears that the new legislation will give free access to positions in his church to homosexuals of all things. How terrible that would be? No longer would they be able to discriminate on the basis of sexuality - or anything else for that matter. Within decades they could be taken over by men in dresses, waving handbags in strange ceremonies.
This is an organisation that preaches tolerance, and yet displays very little of that to anyone who lives outside of their faith. It values poverty as a virtue as long as they don't have to endure it, and like all big companies has vested interests in it's own power and survival.
In my opinion an influx of homosexual bishops could only do them good! A lot of choirboys would be far safer than they are now.
Monday 1 February 2010
Just how stupid can we get?
Surely we have reached rock bottom in the stagnant pool of political correctness, when it is not permitted to advertise a job for a reliable worker on the basis that it discriminated against those who are unreliable. Does this mean that to demand a qualified or experienced worker is unfair on those unqualified or inexperienced? There has to be a point beyond which we cannot go without losing touch with both common sense and the world of reality.
Some people clearly still believe in equality, and yet this has never been realistic. Our society only works because of inequality, it always has, and as long as there are people it always will. All animal populations are made up of individuals that are different. Some are stronger, fitter, prettier or more able to breed than others. Some are better fighters and some are better at finding food. It is this fundamental inequality that drives the process of evolution, and although those with religious faith would have us believe otherwise, the principles of evolution still apply to humans. Apart from biological inequalities we are also subject to inequalities of geographical and cultural bases and so although laudable in principle we do not even come close to equality of opportunity.
I hope that when I travel by air, that the pilot is far more able than I am in handling an aircraft. I hope that the surgeon to whom I entrust my life has not been given the job because someone thought that he deserved a chance, and I hope that the car that I drive has been designed and assembled by some sort of intelligence.
Some people clearly still believe in equality, and yet this has never been realistic. Our society only works because of inequality, it always has, and as long as there are people it always will. All animal populations are made up of individuals that are different. Some are stronger, fitter, prettier or more able to breed than others. Some are better fighters and some are better at finding food. It is this fundamental inequality that drives the process of evolution, and although those with religious faith would have us believe otherwise, the principles of evolution still apply to humans. Apart from biological inequalities we are also subject to inequalities of geographical and cultural bases and so although laudable in principle we do not even come close to equality of opportunity.
I hope that when I travel by air, that the pilot is far more able than I am in handling an aircraft. I hope that the surgeon to whom I entrust my life has not been given the job because someone thought that he deserved a chance, and I hope that the car that I drive has been designed and assembled by some sort of intelligence.
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