Notes · from · the · Poitin · Still

Today's been a bit of a write off; I have a massive sinus infection and half my face swelled out..it looked horrible :) and sore as feck.
Gave up at lunchtime and came home - four hours sleep and painkillers and I look & feel a bit more human. I have tomorrow off so hope it will be gone by Saturday ...

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there's different prompts for each day of November

I personally believe that all subjects are open to debate. I believe that debating thorny issues and delicate subjects is one of the best ways of exploring both what one believes and what others think.
If they happen to think something that opposes my view or offends my sensibilities I have the right to challenge it and vice versa.
In the course of any debate especially online (involving, as that tends to, more than two persons) then opinions will be aired on difficult subjects that will cause offence or annoyance to someone on that thread.

But recently I've come across a body of opinion that claims that if any such opinions are expressed then the thread is automatically a negative and prejudicial thread. That the debate itself is now inherently "racist" or "sectarian" - that allowing the expression of negative opinion is untenable in itself.

Yet, there are many reasons for negative expressions on these issues. Some of them are actually correct. No religion or society is perfect and none should be above comment or above criticism. Especially when the needs and agendas of these religions or societies impinges on the status quo. For example as a woman I believe I have every right to be critical of the treatment of women and the view of women in certain societies and religions, especially when those views threaten hard won freedom and equality for women in Ireland.
Equally the negative opinion may simply be incorrect and based on misconceptions. How can these misconceptions be challenged unless by well informed debate?
Or the person may simply be expressing disquiet, eg "How can we sustain this level of immigration?" without necessarily having a positive or negative attachment to that statement. It's a request for debate, for information, for opinion - based on their own fears or observations.

To react to expressions of disquiet or even outright illinformed prejudice by simply banning debate to my mind is ridiculous. To label every negative reaction to a religion or society prejudicial is even worse. There is a world of difference between the statement "All X are bad" and "This aspect of X's culture is bad" - and we are all and should be all open to the same criticism of our own culture or religion or society.

I've watched the wholesale dumbing down of debate on many fora and in many media both online and in real life and it's a terrible pity.
And it's generally neither welcomed nor pushed as an agenda by the very people most closley concerned with the debate. I have had the best and most informative discussions about Islam with islamic friends; the worst with woolly headed, confused middle class catholic irish people :)

How am I?:

contemplative

An Obituary printed in the London Times - not a joke and makes you think!

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years.
No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
Why the early bird gets the worm;
Life isn't always fair;
and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place:
Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate;
teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch;
and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sunscreen or an Aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot.
She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; by his wife, Discretion; by his daughter, Responsibility; and by his son, Reason.

He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers:
I Know My Rights
I Want It Now
Someone Else Is To Blame
I am a Victim

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.

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Just back home after visiting E & family - lovely evening, great food, doty kids and great friends. And it's almost Samhain- may the ones we love be with us tomorrow; may Winter bring us joy and may we all make it safely through to Spring.

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I was delighted when Mantell won the Booker for this; having read all the shortlist this year (and most of the longlist) while there were other good choices (Brooklyn, Colm Toibin for example) Wolf Hall managed to be that most elusive of books -a literary gem worthy of the Booker that's also a cracking good read.
It's a very different view of Thomas Cromwell than one finds usually - portraying him at least partly as a kind father and guardian, loyal servant and man of the people made good. The era is effortlessly evoked and her Henry 8th is pitch perfect.
One of the best books ive read this year.

A close second is Sarah Waters The Luttle Stranger - evocative and strange and wonderful. Give Brooklyn a read as well - Toibin recreates 1950s Ireland as it possibly was; although his heroine is sadly too realistic in her passivity.

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