Archive for the ‘racism’ Category
Since Last Time
Posted on: 31 October 2009
- In: BON JOVI | racism | thoughts
- 8 Comments
WE ARE GOING TO SEE
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Since I have an obvious dislike of getting up in the dark, I have acquired a new clock radio and light – it’s real cool! You set the time for when you want it to wake you, a low light comes on half-an-hour earlier and by the time the radio comes on, the shock of being roused so obtrusively is counteracted by the room bathed in a soft light. I can also put the light on when I go to bed, read for a little while and the light dims to darkness just about the time the book is falling out of my hands.
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I recorded and now watched The Event: How Racist Are You? – unfortunately my sky+ didn’t catch the end when Jane Elliot herself was interviewed. Her motive has been to expose and rid the world of racism, but it didn’t work on this group of British lab rats, a mix of whites and ethnic minorities. She has been doing this experiment in schools since the 1960’s, dividing a class into two groups; blue eyes and brown eyes. The blue-eyed group were separated for a couple of hours in a less comfortable room during which time she tries to convince the brown-eyed group that the blues are inferior and should be treated like second-class citizens. The blues are then invited to join the browns who are encouraged to put them down. The idea was for people who were unlikely to have ever experienced discrimination or been overlooked and ignored, or been stopped indiscriminately to see how it feels and to learn from it.
Initially some of the volunteers had sussed the exercise, refused to participate and left, escorted out the building. Jane Elliot thought they were latent racists; the reverse was true; they didn’t want words put into their mouths, to be made to abuse a group because they were told to by someone else when they didn’t feel that way. Once the remaining guinea pigs were settled, debate began and opinions bounced around, but some were so entrenched they totally lost the plot and lessons were not learnt that day. Her tactic was to bully; her intention was good; her experiment failed – at least with the Brits. One white man thought he was discriminated against because he was tubby, a woman because she was old, totally missing the point. One elderly lady did admit she was uncomfortable with the different races in the country today and noticed how different it was from her childhoold, but said that her children had no problem with it. I was disappointed the experiment did not work on this occasion but sadly I’m not surprised.
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The trick or treaters are out in force tonight – hope they are all done knocking on ol’ ma annie’s door before X-Factor. Yes, I know I moan about the show and if the twins are not voted off tonight I shall be sorely tempted to switch off, but not this weekend, not when my ab fab fav rock star Jon Bon Jovi is on the show
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They say little things please little minds… well the little things in question are olives. I have posted pics here of the olives growing in my garden. I should have taken pics of the grapes too, but my little vine was not evergreen and I’ve just replaced it with jasmine.
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For some reason I can’t open blogger today! No probs with wordpress or other sites or hotmail etc. just blogger! Am I the only one?
I Don’t Believe It…
Posted on: 28 October 2009
- In: judaism | racism | thoughts
- 16 Comments
A few rants on silly things and then a rant on something rather more serious.
Driving home from work yesterday I was dazzled. No, not the glare of the low hanging autum sun (the clocks had gone back, it was now dark, more of which later) but the tree on the big roundabout near my home was adorned with sparkly Christmas lights. For goodness sake, it’s still October! There should be laws and I hasten to add I am not a partypooper:
- Christmas decorations do not get put up until December
- Christmas music/jingles do not get aired on radio or in stores until December
- Peace And Goodwill To All Men. A philosophy that should be practised every day of the year. Like a dog, it’s not just for Christmas (sorry, think this should have been No.1)
- … and any others I’ve forgotten and you’d care to add!
Secondly, it’s half-term week! I’ve had to go out early every morning this week – my journey has taken half the time, or sometimes even less than that. There should be laws:
- All schools adopt the school bus system
- If you live in walking distance of your child’s school, walk them there, please
- … and any others I’ve not thought of and you’d care to add!
Thirdly, the clocks went back an hour- argh! My body-clock didn’t go back quite as easily as the millions of clocks in the house. At work my body-clock tells me it’s time to go home; the office clock tells another story. There should be laws:
- No one should have to get up until they are wide awake (i.e. me)
- No one should have to get up until the room is filled with natural light (i.e. me)
- On a day with no sunlight *stay in bed/stay at home/eat hot buttered crumpets and squaff lotsa hot chocolate/watch mindless tv/read trashy mags/read a book/have a long hot soak (*delete as appropriate)
- No one should have to go to work in the dark (i.e. me)
- No one should have to come home in the dark (i.e. me)
- … and any other reasons not to go work that you’d care to add!
Here’s the last of the silly rants – John and Edward are still in. Unbelievable! They purportedly collected the highest number of votes! There should be laws (or a change of rules):
- The judges (i.e. Louis Walsh) should pass a test of compos mentis
- The acts should be solely judged on their singing talent, not comic value, otherwise we may as well vote for a pair of chimps. Oh the voting British public did
- We should vote for the act we want to leave
- Someone on the x~factor should learn to count
- … and any others new rules you’d care to add – including one I’m tempted to do – switch off!
Auntie (for non-Brits the BBC) gave Nick Griffin free airtime, free publicity and freedom of bigotted racist speech. The man came across as an utter imbecile, laughing idiotically throughout the whole show; good grief it was serious man! Bonnie Greer wanted to slap him – read what she has to say here and also the views of his own mother-in-law.
The voting British public not only vote for a pair of untalented chimps on a show that is the launchpad of a glittering career for people with genuine talent like Leone Lewis and Alexandra Burke, but now a higher number of the voting British public are seriously considering voting for this bumbling fascist chump and his cronies. They are dangerous. In Europe Anti-Semitism did not lie dormant since the end of the Holocaust, it lie close to the surface and is now fermenting and bubbling away about to erupt. It is the same for all elements of racism today… the Jews are not the only ones who are hated and reviled and attacked and are not the only ones who should be alarmed.
Today the world is a smaller place – we travel widely – we live in a multi-cultural society – information is at our fingertips at the press of a button – BNP policy smacks of Ayranism – if your face don’t fit. I don’t want to think what these people may be capable of. Let’s think about it; the likes of Leone and Alexandra wouldn’t be given those same opportunities, assuming they were allowed to stay in this country along with anyone whose skin colour is not white, eye colour blue and not of whatever faith they deem fit is acceptable.
On Thursday, Channel 4 @ 10.00pm watch a programme called The Event: How Racist Are You? I am sure it will be an eye opener to many people and a warning not to be taken lightly. I have said it before, I will say it again – I am afraid, very afraid.
at home with ann 
your words