Why, and Why Now?

Again and again it’s claimed that fake indigenous people are taking opportunity from real indigenous people. But there is no limitation on how much talent there can be and there should be room for all the talent that makes the effort. It was wrong of her to claim to be indigenous because it wasn’t true... she wasn’t being authentic in a world trying so hard to embrace authenticity. But she wouldn’t be the first non-native person to embrace an indigenous identity. Some of my favourite books in my youth were ones written by Grey Owl. Remember him? He grew up in England, raised by two of his aunts. He had a consuming interest in wildlife and always wanted to come to Canada and be an Indian. So he did. He even got to go back to England to meet a monarch because he was a native writer. One indigenous researcher estimates that a huge percentage of indigenous people are actually not. Why?

Should we actually ask ourselves what’s at the heart of this phenomena? Is it just trying to grab an unearned opportunity? Or is there more to it than that? When white Europeans came to North America (Turtle Island), they were often running away from some sort of persecution. Thing is, they brought the injustice they’d suffered with them and summarily used the same abusive tactics on the people they encountered here. Not only run-of-the-mill injustice, but diseases intentionally spread, bigotry, genocide, residential schools that attempted to beat the Indian out of the children, stealing the land, outlawing the languages and customs of indigenous people. And now some of these great conquerors are wanting to switch teams? Let’s see... who started both world wars? Was it indigenous people from here, or Asians, or Africans?  Oh wait, white Europeans again. Sure, they managed to involve others, but hey...  Is it possible we're witnessing the rejection of white European culture?

And then there’s the issue of mental health. At a time when we’re supposed to be more sensitive to the inner demons that drive some people, the decision is made to expose an obviously seriously delusional person in a program that’s aired publicly. Was that a good idea? Now? That program hasn’t just hurt her, it’s hurt a lot of people. Why? And does the truth negate all her accomplishments somehow? Do the songs disappear? She got one movie producer to hire only real indigenous actors for his film. (She may have been the only fake Indian in it.) Is that now a bad thing? She gave indigenous people a voice, writing and singing about Wounded Knee. Does that have to go away now too? Was someone else destined to write Universal Soldier? She made children aware of indigenous people with her role on Sesame St. Does that not count now? She immersed herself in a culture not her own and lived most of her life that way. Now that she’s an old lady, do we just disregard her life and everything she accomplished? Does she just disappear now?

The Fifth Estate could have investigated why the Doctrine of Discovery is still on the books in Canada. They could have investigated murdered and missing indigenous women. They could have investigated just how many ancient indigenous monuments are on “crown” land and how many of them actually cannot be accessed. But they chose to do this, to satisfy the vengeance of her niece. And who is the better for it? Don’t tell me it’s going to stop the wannabes, because I just don’t believe that.  

Small Joys

The world seems a little scary right now, doesn’t it? Wars, protests, political posturing, and the US on the cusp of collapse. The big news is a little eye-popping. Yet I woke up this morning thinking about how the smaller joys of life are too often overlooked.

We are told that the past is done and we should move on. Yet it’s in the past that many of our life lessons were presented to us, and remembering those can be very important indeed. Hence, todays’ story.

I used to participate in a small market once a week at an Inn that attracted travellers from all over. My products included my quilling art earrings. On this day, an older woman stood in front of my display admiring a pair of these earrings. She smiled at me and asked about them, and I chatted with her. But then she went and sat down at a picnic table under the pavilion that sheltered us. She kept looking up though during the hour or so she was sitting there chatting with others. And she got up and came over a couple of times when there was no one else at my display, and looked again at those earrings. She was clearly quite taken with them. Finally a younger woman joined her under the pavilion and the older woman almost immediately brought her daughter, as she turned out to be, over to my table to show her those earrings.

The joy in her eyes was clear. “I really like these,” she said simply.

The daughter just said, “but Mom, when would you wear them?”

The older woman held her ground in front of the earrings, and repeated her admiration of them, but the daughter just kept repeating, “but when would you wear them?” I was aghast. I was charging all of 15 dollars for those earrings, and the daughter was actually withholding her willingness to have her mom buy them… something that was apparently necessary.

For pity’s sake, I thought, even if she just wears them in her room dancing to music on the radio, they will bring her joy. She really likes them and it would bring her so much pleasure to have them. But the daughter held out longer than her mom could. Mom hung her head, all the joy gone from her eyes, and she wandered unhappily away, the victorious daughter right behind her.

Wow, I thought, the cheap young woman won. But what did she win? For a lousy 15 bucks she could have bought her mom some genuine joy, but she declined, so I guess there was no dent put in her inheritance that day.

We all have priorities. Too often the simple, little joys of life are not even on the list, much less at the top of it. Is it really any wonder the world is becoming so angry and mean? The little things are sometimes the big things and people need to hold little joys in higher regard, whether it’s stopping to smell those roses, listening to the birds sing, or springing for those beautiful earrings you have no formal plans to wear. I’ve always kind of regretted that I didn’t just give them to that woman. It probably would have started a whole “thing” with the daughter, but tough. It would have also put the joy back in that woman’s eyes. And that matters.

It's Time To End the Monarchy

 Opinion:

It’s time to end the monarchy. Of course, it was an archaic system during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, but since the monarch no longer had any actual political power, she wisely used her position to change an empire into a commonwealth of nations, to increase the charitable presence of the monarchy, and to influence those who did have political power. And because she was a deeply respected individual who did her work calmly and quietly, she was listened to by many of those in positions of responsibility. After she passed, for instance, I heard at least four politicians speak of her influence in defeating apartheid in South Africa. For someone who was not supposed to be seen as a political force, she certainly made herself heard, but did so discreetly.

The Queen’s passing has certainly signaled the end of an era and yes, things have changed. Had the monarchy passed to Princess Anne, for instance, who holds patronage over more than 300 charities and actively participates in several of them, including Save the Children, there may have been a smoother transition. But the position is hereditary to the eldest child and while Charles is also a huge charity patron and is expert on contemporary matters, such as climate change, he seems also to be a controversial figure. More controversy accompanies his heir, since difficult family matters are not being handled with grace and calm, but rather with competitive and rather unpleasant turmoil. It seems clear that influence has been abused to sic the twisted pseudo press onto some members of the family, with a small knot of active haters attempting to orchestrate their downfall. What has been happening is seen by some as shaming the memory of a decent, dignified and very private Queen.

So clearly, the monarchy has outlived its usefulness. It is an antiquated institution that, without the guidance of the Queen, is apparently destined to sink into a quagmire of toxic misuse. This is the stuff of ancient sovereigns and why power was gradually taken away over time. Tourism has been one reason to keep the institution alive, but those castles and palaces owned by the state can still be open for tourist traffic without any royals living there. The royals will just have to move into their own properties, such as Balmoral and Kensington Palace. And the red-coated guards with whom tourists like to be photographed can certainly be maintained in sufficient numbers to satisfy that need. Souvenir shops can continue to carry mementos of the Queen as the last and longest living monarch in British history. Tourist bus tours of castles and cathedrals need not stop.

Of course, the separation of state and monarchy still won’t be easy. There are properties and their incomes to be divided up in fairness to the people of Britain. Historically, many treasures were come by dishonestly and should be retained by the people. Similarly, the generous tax breaks accorded the royals need to be stopped so they pay the same taxes as everyone else. There will likely be long drawn-out litigation to divvy up the resources, and many of their PR duties will have to be dispensed with or assigned to non-royals in some juicy employment opportunities. Lawyers will no doubt do very well in all this. The Commonwealth, however, will best be served to start now to make the necessary political adjustments to facilitate the end of the monarchy and set us on a fresh path, with our head of government being elected by the people. It’s time.

A Matter of Perspective

Those of you who are so sure this is a hoax or a conspiracy, listen up, and then think.

Who’s at greatest financial risk from this virus.  Answer: the wealthy.  The stock market is crashing. American Senators dumped their stocks just prior to the fall after receiving confidential information about the seriousness of this virus. That’s illegal. Will they get away with it? Probably.

How many poor people do you know who give a shit about the stock market?  They don’t have stocks and bonds, do they? They are living paycheck to paycheck and still not making it.  Why?  Because they aren’t paid a living wage for their hard work, that’s why.

Those who imagine that the wealthy and powerful are faking this to get more power over us are missing the facts: we’re already enslaved to them. They already have us by the balls. The infrastructure they rely on to move their manufactured goods, for instance, was built by us, not just physically, but using our tax dollars. (The wealthy have ample loopholes to avoid paying taxes. Why do you think Trump won’t show us his tax returns? C’mon! Think!) So they use our roads and bridges to move their goods which were made and financed by poorly paid labour.  And you imagine they want more?  Fact is, they’re suffering financial losses from all this.

Who's getting preferential treatment in this?  Why, the wealthy and famous of course. There are tests a-plenty for them.  But if we go to the hospital with symptoms but haven’t traveled recently (where can we afford to go?) we don’t get a test. And yet who’s at greatest risk of human to human contact?  Why, we are. Because while the wealthy and well-known are safely sequestered in their lovely homes, who is out there in the world, taking care of business?  Stock people, clerks, site attendants, garbage collectors... all those “essential”services.  Not to mention doctors and nurses.

Let’s look at the overview now: who’s safe in their homes after having been tested?  The rich and famous. Who’s at the greater risk of exposure and can’t get a test? The working poor.

Well, that seems cushy, except for that falling stock market, eh?

So why are companies suddenly giving some of their workers raises?  Why are some landlords waiving immediate rent payments? Why are gov’ts giving the working class an allowance to help them get by? (Mnuchin thinks $1200. should last you 10 weeks.) Is it out of some genuine concern for us and some sudden benevolence or generosity on their part?

It’s because they need us.

The world turns on the backs of the underpaid, overworked and over-taxed. This is what you need to notice and understand. The rich and powerful aren’t faking this pandemic. It’s been thrust upon them, it’s lowering the value of their stocks, and it’s killing their workers. They very much want things back to normal where we’re increasing their wealth for them. They had it good already. Same goes for gov’t. We might grumble, but we pay those taxes, those rents, those prices for goods and services and for the most part, we obey those laws, even the stupid ones.  They all have us by the balls, no hoax needed.

Conspiracy theories are only going to distract people from the truth... that things need to change, and that maybe this pandemic will actually cause some change in favour of the working poor. The ones that don’t die that is.

I have one “friend” who is sure it’s a hoax. “Use your own brain,” he says.  Yeah. Use it.  Please. Take every precaution you can to protect yourself from this novel virus that comes to us from selfish human abuse of wild animals, and that’s killing us. Do not even imagine that you are invincible. Protect yourself, your families and your friends. Not just so you can go back to working hard for the man, but so you can live to help change our society.

We'll Be Fine!

"We’ll be fine," he said.

WE'LL be fine... meaning human beings I guess. Never mind all the species dying off. The rapid loss of species happening today is estimated to be between 1,000 and 10,000 times higher than the natural extinction rate. A lot of leeway there, but apparently we're in the middle of a mass extinction according to scientists. As well, all these fires happening around the world have killed a lot of animals and destroyed their habitats too.

The ocean is warming, and the Great Barrier Reef is dying because of it, along with some ocean species. One respected biologist has said the oceans could be dead as soon as 2048. And as the ocean goes, so goes humanity. All manner of marine life is at risk from all the plastic we’ve dumped into the oceans as well. Whales are washing up on shore with bellies full of the stuff. All kinds of animals are at risk from our waste, including our shit from those floating toilets we call cruise ships and balloons released into the air.

 They do land somewhere, often where animals are at risk from what’s left of them. Then there’s melting glaciers and water rising over coastal cities and Pacific islands. And just for added fun, there’s glyphosate all over our food put there by the corporations that are actually running our world. I know, I know... little Mary Sunshine.

But take heart, WE’LL be fine, he said, with the calm assurance of an entitled old white man who doesn’t believe climate change is anything to be concerned about. He’s done the math. He says if the CO2 drops too low, all plant life will die. I have never heard anyone else point out the possibility of that before. I thought the problem was too much CO2, with more coming with the thawing of permafrost.

Anyway, there are quite a few of these creatures here on Earth... the old white men, I mean. Apparently they’re in no danger of extinction, especially to hear them tell it. You know the ones I mean. They don’t agree with the climate scientists. But most do not have the courage or integrity to criticize these scientists to their faces. Instead they go after those who believe the scientist’s predictions, the more vulnerable the better. Like school kids, for instance. They write open letters to a kid who’s been taught this science as fact in school. They don’t write to the scientists. They don’t write to the schools. They don’t go after the teachers and challenge them. Oh no, none of the people involved in teaching this science are approached. Nor do these climate change deniers hold a sign with their objections clearly stated outside the legislature, like the kids did. Nor did they have the gonads to go after the first messengers, Al Gore who produced a film on this, or Bill Nye, the Science Guy who also did a film on ice core research and climate change deniers.  No, they don't go after these people. Instead, school kids, and old ladies on Facebook, are fair game for the climate change deniers. And if you’re lucky enough to avoid the anger, accusations, threats, and the magnificent hyperbole, you get the old patronizing pat on the head from the all-knowing old man instead.

So no worries.  All those scientists are wrong. We’ll be fine.

Joie de Vivre

So I was listening to Michael A. Singer a couple of weeks ago. He was telling us how we needed to unburden ourselves from those less than happy memories because they really aren’t doing us any good hanging around.

Yesterday I was at the sink doing the dishes, just allowing my mind to meander as I scrubbed a pot, and suddenly, out of the depths came this memory of an older woman who’d really wanted to buy a set of my quilling art earrings.

This took place at an Inn where I used to sell my goods, and this woman was quite taken with this one pair of earrings. She went down the table and had a look at the other items, but came back to those earrings. Then she went and sat down with a couple of other seniors at a picnic table under the pavilion where we had our little market.

Other potential customers came and went, and then this woman came back again and stood in front of those earrings. I chatted with her about them, telling her how I made them, and that I laminate them to make them tough, and how they’re fitted with silver plate hooks, etc. She said she really liked them, and this was evident from her joyful smile. But she went back and sat down again.

After a while, a younger woman, who it became plain was her daughter, came in. The woman brought her daughter to show her the earrings she so liked. The daughter glanced at them and said, "but when would you ever wear them, Mom?"

The mom shrugged and said, "well, I don’t know, but they really are beautiful."

"But when would you ever wear them?" repeated the daughter.

After about the fourth time she said, "I just don’t know when you’d wear them," as if she was planning to keep Mom locked up in her room, my blood began to boil a little. I mean, why does anyone have to have a plan to wear something beautiful before buying it? You get it, then you work the thing into your life. Even confined to her room she could have put them on and danced around the room! And what difference did it make if she never got to wear them? They gave her pleasure and joy. They cost $15. for pitys sake. What’s the problem? But of course, it wasn’t my place to butt in, so I watched with interest as the younger woman talked her mother out of making this little purchase. And I watched as the mom walked away, glancing wistfully back at those earrings as they left the pavilion.

Well, I really scrubbed that pot, I tell you, and I wondered why, on a February afternoon, while doing dishes, all of this even occurred to me. It seemed an odd memory to dredge up out of the darker corners of my mind apropos of nothing. This, I thought, is the very sort of memory Michael Singer would encourage me to get rid of, since it was of little use.

Later the same afternoon, Bud, who was out shopping, called and asked if it was okay to buy a plush squeaky toy for the dog. It was really cute and Bud wanted to buy it for him, but wasn’t sure about it. The dog is old and has a heart condition, so we’re just loving him and taking care of him. He doesn’t play much anymore. But I instantly thought of the memory of the woman and the earrings and I said, "yes, buy him the toy. Even if he doesn’t play with it he’ll likely take great joy in just getting it."

So I’m not sure Michael Singer is quite right about these old, seemingly useless and negative memories. I mean, he says we’re supposed to ditch the memory and just keep the lesson, but there’s just something that seems a little incomplete about that, to me anyway. I’m thinking now that this experience came to my intuitive mind for a reason. The dog loved his new toy, and he even played with it a bit, even though it’s been a while since he "played." And then he snuggled down on his wee bed with it between his paws. 

It’s called joie de vivre. It matters people. Even if it takes the recollection of a challenging memory to get us there.

Sunshine and a Concept

I don’t know why, perhaps it’s a result of the sun shining this morning, but my mind migrated immediately to solving the problems of the world today. I tried to dismiss these notions with the old, "I’m just one person... can’t do a thing" thing. But of course, that’s a cop-out. Then the old jingle came to mind, which I guess dates me, "see the U.S.A. in your Chevrolet..."

 

along with pictures of people stampeding through store doors, crushing one another in an attempt to be among the lucky ones getting this new thing, or that fandangled what-have-you. 

And so it came to me what my subconscious was trying to tell me... almost time for Spring cleaning. I guess sunshine will do that.

So I allowed my thoughts to follow through on the whole thing. It’s time again to take a look around. I even did a Fall cleaning last year in an attempt to purge the house, but it didn’t get the job done. There’s still too much stuff in here. Time to look around and ask with brutal honestly, do I need this? And I’m not going to just send what I don’t need to landfill either... that’s not on.
Suddenly an image came to mind out of my past, an intellectually disabled person sitting in a corner of the thrift store gleefully cutting the buttons off old garments that no one would want and putting them into jars. These jars of buttons were then sold for sewing or crafting. And he created a lot of button bottles, so there’s a chap who went home at the end of the day feeling very productive indeed.

So for me, three piles: 1) legit garbage, 2) potential yard sale (one person’s trash and all that), 3) thrift shop give-aways. Okay, a small fourth pile... maybe I can sell this on Ebay? 

Maybe I can’t do much about all the conflict in the world except to speak the language of kindness, and I can't stop all the wars mostly waged against the dispossessed and helpless. And I guess all I can really do about all the refugees that result is support my government in their efforts to help as many as possible. But I *can* do something substantial about misguided consumerism in our society by simplifying my life, as many have already done. And by making sure that what I want and need is reasonable and will be used with satisfaction and joy, and what I get rid of doesn’t just burden the environment and finds as much useful new purpose as possible.

Mission impossible? Hehehe... we shall do it anyway.