Privilege and Fractures

Carol at Wanderings of an Elusive Mind has done a great job of explaining the problems facing The United States of America…and it starts with the haves, afraid they will lose something, vs. the have nots, who are struggling with the long-held belief that upward mobility is possible. This applies equally to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Interesting to note that UNITED appears in both country titles, but fails to appear in everyday living!
Thanks to Margo at https://margosviews.wordpress.com for her initial re blog of this post.

Wanderings of an Elusive Mind

Privilege is defined as “a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group”.

As a white-skinned man, you have always been granted the privilege to “sit at the counter”, drink from a water fountain, live in the better neighborhoods, be given credit for some degree of intelligence, admitted to the school of your choice, enter in the business of your choice, ride in the front of the bus, vote for the candidate of your choice. Women have had to fight hard for these privileges. People of color have had to fight harder for these privileges.

Even today, when equality is purportedly granted to all, some experience much more privilege than others.

As a wealthy white man, you have always had more privileges than those of a lower “class” or income group. As a wealthy man, you have always had the privilege of being…

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Wednesday weirdness — National Library Week edition — bluebird of bitterness

Something no serious reader should be without.

via Wednesday weirdness — National Library Week edition — bluebird of bitterness

On the will of the people; or, the right to change one’s mind — Living in the future present

For anyone wondering what all this fuss is about BREXIT, John, over at Living in the future present, has done an excellent job of describing the utter chaos we are now living in, in the UK.

A banner above a crowd of two million at the People’s Vote demonstration in Westminster on Saturday 23 March 2019 This post is written mainly for friends abroad who ask what is happening to the UK, but the idea of “the will of the people” affects us all. Theresa May, Prime Minister (for the moment) […]

via On the will of the people; or, the right to change one’s mind — Living in the future present

#WeRemember

There are still lessons to be learned, as hatred and bigotry are still widespread in all countries. It was reported today that 1 in 10 in the UK do not believe the Holocaust happened. Thank you to Kelly for the reminder.

Kelly With A Why

Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, and marks the 74^th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. I thought it was a fitting time to recount my visit to the Sydney Jewish Museum back in November.

The museum was established in 1992 by the generation of Holocaust Survivors who settled in Australia. This very special place continues to give a voice to the victims of the Holocaust, so their individual and collective stories can spark dialogues and inspire change. As well as preserving and documenting this important historical period, the museum also beautifully illustrates the richness of Jewish life in Australian society. The ground floor displays teach many aspects of Jewish faith and traditions. This Gentile found it fascinating.

The Holocaust exhibition stretches across three levels of the building, and details the persecution and murder of European Jewry from 1933-1945. The events of Hitler’s WWII are described in chronological order…

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What to worry about or not… — Lori Greer in Portland

Still as valid today as it was in 1933

Here is a list that Jazz Age novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald sent his 11-year old daughter Scottie in 1933 of things to and not to worry about. She was the only child of Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.

via What to worry about or not… — Lori Greer in Portland

Pinpricks of light amid the darkness — bluebird of bitterness

Quokkas twice in a day has to be some sort of record.

Apart from that, this is really lovely, and well worth a look at the original too. There are some nice people around, and you don’t have to look far to find them!

 

Recently Sunny Skyz posted a collection of the most wholesome tweets of 2018. I’m recycling a few of my favorites here. See them all here.

via Pinpricks of light amid the darkness — bluebird of bitterness

Song Lyric Sunday Theme for 06/01/2019

SLS is being hosted by Jim Adams, over at newepicauthor as Helen is taking a much needed break.

Helen has done a magnificent job, over the past few weeks, keeping this great challenge  active and growing, even though she was feeling far from 100%. Thank you Helen. We hope you soon recover your full strength.

Jim has set us the theme of doctor / health / medicine and all entries can be found here.

I’ve gone with a link to the name of the group, rather than the song title. Perhaps a group that you’ve never heard of. You may recognise the lead guitarist though, especially if you are a fan of Game of Thrones. He played a mute executioner!

The group is Dr. Feelgood,  the guitarist is Wilko Johnson, and, for your delight, I offer:

Dr. Feelgood – Roxette Lyrics

(Wilko Johnson)

I saw you out the other night
I saw somebody hold you tight
Roxette, I wonder who it could be
It was so dark I couldn’t see
But I know it wasn’t me
When I tell you it ain’t right
I know you’ve got to agree

I followed you into a show
The band was playing rock’n’roll
Roxette, I didn’t need to seek you out
The music played so loud
That I could hear you through the crowd
You was telling everyone
About a new guy you’d found

Roxette I gotta go away
And leave you for a couple of days
Roxette, I don’t want no more of your tricks
I’m gonna get some concrete mix
And fill your back door up with bricks
And you better be there waiting
When I get my business fixed

Wilko Johnson’s technique is a choppy guitar playing style which he demonstrates here:

 

….and here he is talking about  other group members

 

I think he’s great. I hope that you did too!

 

 

 

 

Rapid Rhyme #6

This poem was inspired by Colleen’s post Not alone. On looking back, I find that my last Rapid Rhyme was also inspired by Colleen whose magnificent blog you can find here.

If you have not read anything of C Faherty Brown’s words, nor seen her delightful, and insightful, drawings, then I would recommend that you delve into them. Her books, too, are a joy, and her latest, “The Sentinel”, also features a tree. It truly is a magnificent story which, uncharacteristically, features not a single picture. The words themselves are picture enough.

This is what Colleen inspired:

By the tree

in the tree

playfully

you and me

went on dates

__.__

Girl and boy

fun ahoy

boy oh boy

what a joy

consummates

__.__

Shared a life

man and wife

free from strife

love was rife

best of mates

I am Thankful — The happy Quitter!

We do not celebrate Thanksgiving in the UK. Perhaps we should.

In any case, I am thankful for many things, and often take those things for granted.

Thank you to all bloggers, whether I follow you, or not. Thank you for being part of a good world, and for sharing freely with others. Thank you to Bridget for posting this!

For the wife Who says it’s hot dogs tonight Because she is home with me And not out with someone else. For the husband Who is on the sofa Being a couch potato Because he is home with me And not out at the bars. For the teenager Who is complaining about doing dishes Because […]

via I am Thankful — The happy Quitter!

He’s not dead after all!

A post I wrote some time ago, (nearly 3 years ago, now that I look back,) speculated on what may have happened to a blogger who fades away into oblivion. Did they die? Were they incarcerated for the rest of their life, having killed the POTUS? Are they seriously ill, in hospital? Have they started to live off grid, with no access to modern living, or did they just decide enough was enough? 

Well, a notification in my email this morning showed that, at least, Cameron, The World’s Biggest Fridge Magnet, was alive and well, and that makes me very happy indeed!

If you have never read any of Cameron’s story, and you have time to spare, I would recommend that you have a look at his blog in detail. It is a story of desperation, of hope, of determination, of success, of setbacks, of huge effort to change his life for the better, and also to raise money and help others to change their lives for the better.

He’s a handsome guy, with a story to tell. He tells it well. He tells it with conviction. He’s not dead! 

Check out his latest post here.