... or the "The Sad Tale of Chicken Little"
I recently came across this heart-rending tale and had to share it with my hordes of avid readers. This pitiful note was found scrawled on the underside of hut No. 5 at Grangefield chicken farm, Eurasia (names have been changed to protect the innocent):
"I hate all humans.
I didn't use to. Don't get me wrong - I wasn't hatched into the world with this bitterness and hatred in me. I've been made that way.
Okay. Let's start at the beginning.
Once, when I was young and carefree, I'd love my time chirping and pecking along with my lovely, fluffy brothers and sisters. We'd have such fun playing around in the dirt. Getting excited at feeding time; hiding from mum when she turned away from us; teasing the little piglets next door; hiding under the hut then jumping out when the old dog went by, ...
Oh I recall those days so fondly. Lovely, happy, precious, innocent moments. I never really noticed that sad, worried, frightened look in my mother's eye. I never considered where this was all leading to.
But then things started to change. I think ... yes, it was quite a wet day ... the five of us had just been nestled together trying to stay dry when there was a terrible commotion two huts down. Shrieks of terror. 'Take me! Take me!' I thought I heard distinctly among the sound of the raindrops and the squawks of fear. 'Take me...'
That was the first day. From then on my world descended into carnage. Madness. Those I thought my friends amongst the humans (the nice woman who brought the feed) were involved, it was clear. The huts started to empty. Hushed words were passed between us. Tales of capture, murder, and terrible unspeakable things. "They eat us!" I heard once. I shudder to think of it.
Now, we're the last hut unaffected. Well, that was until today. When my sisters were with me. Now there's just me. My mother ... she cannot speak. Her eyes...
So now I know the true nature of humans. These killers. These hateful, awful creatures. We need to unite against them. Make sure future generations know our fate, so they can guard against these dreadful beings. I hope you, my brethren, are able to find my words, and know the face of the enemy."
And that was all we found. I'm not sure what happened to 'Little'; only that when we arrived at the farm to liberate it, we found no living birds in that place. It's with a heavy heart that I realise we were one, maybe two, days late to save the last of the farmstead. She will have died hating us all. Never knowing that her view of humanity was limited to those few she encountered, and coloured by their behaviours, not knowing this was the merest fraction of humanity.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Monday, August 20, 2012
Politics, Philosophy and Economics
The social media world is an amazingly reactive beast, which is sometimes a good thing, and sometimes bad. Polarised views surface quickly, and we (or rather, politicians) need to be mindful of the knee-jerk reaction and concomitant views often expressed.
Let's look at three recent examples of the last week.
Julian Assange
The Wikileaks founder/rape story is one where proponents of either camp seem keen to overlook facts, and instead work from speculation and hearsay. Although that's fine for you and I (nobody really cares what you or I think), if you're a politician, my best advice to you would be, in the words of Homer Simpson, "to keep your damn fool mouth shut."
Advocates of Assange press the point that the allegations against Assange came after the US had reacted bitterly to the release of 'secrets' on the Wikileaks site (I say 'secrets' ... the US spy on friend and foe alike; they quite often say one thing to your face, and another behind your back ... ? Well, hardly cause for a new book of Revelation for that); and that there appears to have been prior congress between Assange and his accusers.
Those of the opposing view appear to have already convicted Assange in their mind, and see him as a self-serving misogynist, using his notoriety and fame as a shield against the attempts at justice.
Probably neither camp has it right, and the best course of action would be for the judicial process be allowed to progress. Those worried that Assange won't get a proper trial (when/if he is arrested and charged) should consider that Sweden is hardly a US puppet-state without a proper legal system. Those who are already treating him like a convicted rapist should remember that he is innocent of any crime until proved otherwise.
However, those like Mr Galloway who seek to jump into the limelight as a result of the media frenzy (so unlike George...) ought to keep their thoughts to themselves. Social media is great at demonstrating the adage; "best to keep your mouth closed and let everyone think you're an idiot, rather than to open it and remove all doubt."
And whilst I'm dishing out mild admonishments, 'feminist former MP for Corby', Louise Mensch ought to consider the propriety of re-tweeting this 'joke':
Simon Hinde @Simonhinde
#assange
ends speech with a big shout to "all the ladies in the house" and
invites some girl from the audience to join him on the balcony
- at the very least, poor taste.
Todd Akin / "Legitimate Rape"
For those of you who haven't seen it, the video of Mr Akin is a priceless wonder:
http://t.co/MxQlud5u
For once, he can hardly offer the "quoted out of context" defence. Let's ignore the "legitimate rape" line, as it's been re-quoted to death (and for what it's worth I think he was possibly trying to make a distinction between 'alleged' and 'proved' rape; but that's by-the-by ... if you make the claim for 'legitimate rape' then you obviously open yourself up to the counter statement, and that's something to avoid). In case I'm being unclear - all rape is rape. It's so obvious, it hardly needs saying.
What I find incredible though, is that this is a grown man, in his 50s/60s, with an entourage of advisers, who would have primed him for the interview; someone who will have undergone a vetting process to get this far in politics; and at no point did anyone realise / notice / understand / question this man's idiotic grasp of basic human biology. It begs the question - how exactly are these people advised and vetted? Are US politicians really so naive about the world? Is this the level of ignorance and stupidity that the 'bible belt' breeds? It's shameful. It's embarrassing.
If there's one with this level of stupidity, doesn't it call into doubt all the others in the 'Grand Old Party'? US Democrats laughing their way to re-election.
Girl Arrested for Blasphemy
Finally, there's the story of an 11-year old girl in Pakistan with Down's Syndrome who has been arrested for desecrating pages of the Koran. In Pakistan, it's a crime punishable by life imprisonment. However, I hope/think this is one of those sensationalist stories that has been picked up from an AP feed, and the truth is somewhat less dramatic. The main threat from desecrating the Koran appears to be from mob-mentality, threatening ill to any perpetrator. In fact a few politicians have been killed for threatening to suggest the repealing of such laws.
In this case I think the authorities are aware of the girl's age, and of her condition, and she's been taken into custody as much for her protection as for anything else. But it's a juicy tale we can get enraged at, so that's why it's been reported I suspect.
It's one of those cases where we need to accept that not all countries and societies are like ours. We can't celebrate diversity and multiculturalism one moment, and then decry it the next. Of course, it's absurd to punish a child with an illness for her actions; yet we shouldn't either try to enforce our morality and sensibilities on a foreign culture. We let them live and act as they see fit, and hope that their convictions conform to a sensible moral code. We have various international human rights' acts to suggest a minimum acceptable treatment to people, and suitable diplomatic processes in place to ensure this is enforced. At times we need to trust that sense and justice will prevail. Rushing to take the moral high-ground is rarely going to increase the chances of our words of protest being heard.
Phew! After all that I feel quite tired. Time for another glass I think ...
Let's look at three recent examples of the last week.
Julian Assange
The Wikileaks founder/rape story is one where proponents of either camp seem keen to overlook facts, and instead work from speculation and hearsay. Although that's fine for you and I (nobody really cares what you or I think), if you're a politician, my best advice to you would be, in the words of Homer Simpson, "to keep your damn fool mouth shut."
Advocates of Assange press the point that the allegations against Assange came after the US had reacted bitterly to the release of 'secrets' on the Wikileaks site (I say 'secrets' ... the US spy on friend and foe alike; they quite often say one thing to your face, and another behind your back ... ? Well, hardly cause for a new book of Revelation for that); and that there appears to have been prior congress between Assange and his accusers.
Those of the opposing view appear to have already convicted Assange in their mind, and see him as a self-serving misogynist, using his notoriety and fame as a shield against the attempts at justice.
Probably neither camp has it right, and the best course of action would be for the judicial process be allowed to progress. Those worried that Assange won't get a proper trial (when/if he is arrested and charged) should consider that Sweden is hardly a US puppet-state without a proper legal system. Those who are already treating him like a convicted rapist should remember that he is innocent of any crime until proved otherwise.
However, those like Mr Galloway who seek to jump into the limelight as a result of the media frenzy (so unlike George...) ought to keep their thoughts to themselves. Social media is great at demonstrating the adage; "best to keep your mouth closed and let everyone think you're an idiot, rather than to open it and remove all doubt."
And whilst I'm dishing out mild admonishments, 'feminist former MP for Corby', Louise Mensch ought to consider the propriety of re-tweeting this 'joke':
Simon Hinde
- at the very least, poor taste.
Todd Akin / "Legitimate Rape"
For those of you who haven't seen it, the video of Mr Akin is a priceless wonder:
http://t.co/MxQlud5u
For once, he can hardly offer the "quoted out of context" defence. Let's ignore the "legitimate rape" line, as it's been re-quoted to death (and for what it's worth I think he was possibly trying to make a distinction between 'alleged' and 'proved' rape; but that's by-the-by ... if you make the claim for 'legitimate rape' then you obviously open yourself up to the counter statement, and that's something to avoid). In case I'm being unclear - all rape is rape. It's so obvious, it hardly needs saying.
What I find incredible though, is that this is a grown man, in his 50s/60s, with an entourage of advisers, who would have primed him for the interview; someone who will have undergone a vetting process to get this far in politics; and at no point did anyone realise / notice / understand / question this man's idiotic grasp of basic human biology. It begs the question - how exactly are these people advised and vetted? Are US politicians really so naive about the world? Is this the level of ignorance and stupidity that the 'bible belt' breeds? It's shameful. It's embarrassing.
If there's one with this level of stupidity, doesn't it call into doubt all the others in the 'Grand Old Party'? US Democrats laughing their way to re-election.
Girl Arrested for Blasphemy
Finally, there's the story of an 11-year old girl in Pakistan with Down's Syndrome who has been arrested for desecrating pages of the Koran. In Pakistan, it's a crime punishable by life imprisonment. However, I hope/think this is one of those sensationalist stories that has been picked up from an AP feed, and the truth is somewhat less dramatic. The main threat from desecrating the Koran appears to be from mob-mentality, threatening ill to any perpetrator. In fact a few politicians have been killed for threatening to suggest the repealing of such laws.
In this case I think the authorities are aware of the girl's age, and of her condition, and she's been taken into custody as much for her protection as for anything else. But it's a juicy tale we can get enraged at, so that's why it's been reported I suspect.
It's one of those cases where we need to accept that not all countries and societies are like ours. We can't celebrate diversity and multiculturalism one moment, and then decry it the next. Of course, it's absurd to punish a child with an illness for her actions; yet we shouldn't either try to enforce our morality and sensibilities on a foreign culture. We let them live and act as they see fit, and hope that their convictions conform to a sensible moral code. We have various international human rights' acts to suggest a minimum acceptable treatment to people, and suitable diplomatic processes in place to ensure this is enforced. At times we need to trust that sense and justice will prevail. Rushing to take the moral high-ground is rarely going to increase the chances of our words of protest being heard.
Phew! After all that I feel quite tired. Time for another glass I think ...
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