After our usual long and sometimes brutal winter, it is good to see this:
And these:
Also good to hear people talking about gardening and the flowers they will grow and the tulips and daffodils are already up.
Spring
Cancelled
In public school, way back before I was even a teenager, we had to do projects that were put on display for adults and public.
I was very keen on animal welfare, long before animal welfare was a thing.
I did a scathing project on the cruelty of the Calgary Stampede. How they put things under the saddles to make horses buck. How they nearly break calfs necks roping them. How horses often died after wagon races (sometimes during). And a whole lot of other nasty things that went on at this event.
Well, despite being a little girl, you would not believe the backlash I got. I got yelled at during the show. People threatened to destroy my display right on the spot. They even went after my family too, (though fortunately, my father was a Sergeant Major and that put an end to a lot of harassment).
For months afterwards I was name called and pooh-bahed and basically – cancelled.
Then decades later I saw an article on the cruelty of the Stampede and how animal rights activists were protesting against the event.
I had to wait a long time to be uncancelled.
What’s Next? Fahrenheit 451?
Sensitivity readers.
Who invented this scourge upon writers and readers?
These self appointed know it alls are now rewriting Agatha Christie books so people won’t be offended.
Self righteous, self imposed censors of what we write and read. Scum. Degenerates. Useless self appointed guardians of our imaginations. They rewrite Roald Dahl because we can’t hurt our precious children’s eyes with phrases like ‘fat women’. And we can’t have playful poems like Dr. Suess because obviously, we can’t decide for ourselves what is dated or hateful or just plain fun. Good Lord. Sensitivity readers – you are disgusting. You insult our intelligence to such a degree, that even a preschooler would gag.
Can this be real?
NOTE: I WANT TO BE OFFENDED, CHALLENGED, MADE TO THINK BY WHAT I READ.
That is what books are for, you idiots. They are there to make us think and formulate our own opinions of what is good and bad, right or wrong. And it is good that everyone has their own opinions and they are not yours.
I want controversial books. I want to read all flavours and colours and opinions. Don’t make my world your vanilla. Let me paint my own colours.
I want to choose what I read. And I want all the shit in those books. I don’t want to tone it down. If I am really unhappy, guess what? I JUST DON’T READ IT.
Often characters in a book are not nice people, they may be a product of the time they live in, so they say and do things that are offensive to our sensibilities of the current age. But that is what makes a villain, you idiots. That is what makes a character, a character. They are not perfect, they have good and bad points. Don’t turn imaginary characters into marshmallows. You have to read that they are racists, misogynists, whatever, to understand their perception, behaviour and actions in terms of the plot. People who lived in the 1920’s are a lot different that in the 2000’s. People of different cultures have different ways. I feel stupid even having to explain that!
This is what makes you educated, you dufus. Reading about this stuff. Gee whiz.
And let me say this, sensitivity readers – you are hypocrites, vipers, pharisees. We see people cut up, tortured, blown to bits, raped, maimed, shouted at, swore at, called racists names, humiliated, all in gory technicolour, widescreen detail in nearly every movie and television and news program produced today, and ultra violent video games that is watched by children. These are a thousand times more damaging to our psyche than the printed word. Movies are so bad, that if sensitivity watchers were a thing and got a hold of them, all you would have would be the beginning and ending credits!
And what about real life? Are you going to edit what we experience too? Are you going wade in there and make my life easier? Perhaps some soma?
What is next in this brave New World, 1984 life? First we rewrite books and history and ban what we refuse to look at. A short step to Fahrenheit 451, where we don’t just ban books, we burn them!
Eat the Poor
Why do rich people persecute the poor?
Why do they take away their benefits, pay them shit, work them to the bone and kick them to the dogs? They take away food, health, shelter and liberty.
Why do they treat seniors so deplorably? It is shocking how our elders are so disrespected and forgotten. They deny them health care or enough money for a decent life.
And women! We are losing all our rights! The handmaidens tale is not fiction.
All the things we fought so hard to wrench from these greedy bastards hands is being snatched back.
If they had their way, we would all be out on the streets, unable to buy a loaf of bread, with only the shirt on our backs.
And they just want more and more and more and more.
Look at what CEO’s make. Look at what their employees take home. Both values are obscene. Vile. Disgusting. Oh my. Look at what Mr. Weston got for being a good CEO to the shareholders lately for Loblaws. Since he successfully overinflates grocery prices so we can’t even afford a head of lettuce, saying companies should make a profit, he got a raise from 8 million to 11.4 million! Because he was, poor fellow, underpaid. Do you believe this crap?
What does it mean to be billionaire? It means you are above the law, above reproach, even above God. You don’t even pay taxes. I pay more taxes on my meager pension. And it means everyone is totally expendable. There are always replacements.
Yes, I am pissed.
I am pissed that we don’t fight back hard enough. We worship worthless, tone deaf, idiot billionaires and celebrities. We throw money at them for their substandard products and shows. We hang on their every opinion as if they are gods. We give them positions of power to rule over us and humiliate us.
We live in a slave economy. We all work and live to provide the rich with lavish lifestyles we will never ever experience, that they constantly shove in our faces.
They shamelessly flaunt their wealth. I am sick of seeing tours of some assholes ten million dollar homes on the beachfront. Reading about their Greek vacations, and five hundred million dollar yachts. The two dozen rare collectible cars they own. The Rembrandts hanging in their living rooms. This is not to show us what we can obtain, it is to keep us hungry, to keep us in our place, to keep us dirt poor and slaves to them.
Say Goodbye to OHIP
The pandemic has opened the door to disaster capitalism, that is, it has given the greedy rich an excuse to exploit the powerless and poor, all under the guise it is for our benefit.
Thus, here in Ontario, we are losing our long enjoyed health benefits.
We didn’t see the erosion coming of course, covid up ended everything in our lives. We have been too busy trying to survive.
Ah, but the wealthy always have their eyes, nose and ears tuned to dollar opportunities.
The pandemic has set back surgeries and the like, and this is true. There is a huge backlog.
But instead of funding our nurses and hospitals, the government had a better idea in mind. One that will ultimately end OHIP and make doctors, politicians, pharmaceutical companies. insurance companies and businessmen enormously wealthy. And the rest of us, screamingly poor and sick.
So they create a situation in which private health care are allowed to take OHIP patients, to alleviate the backlog of much needed medical help. Oh, doesn’t that sound good?
NOT.
There is nothing good about private business mucking about in health care. It turns a right into a luxury. That is, it is no longer a right to be healthy, but a privilege. Just as we see that the right to have shelter is now a privilege. A privilege for the RICH ONLY.
They stealthily do this, first by gradually eroding the rights of the sick, the elderly, the poor. Those least able to fight back and stop this. Once it gets past them, then it is too late to turn back and then everyone’s rights are gone.
We’ve had free health care so long, we forget the insidious nature of capitalism. Big business has nothing to do with charity. Nothing to do with rights. It only has to do with money. Money for shareholders. It is only and always about the bottom line. People are just wallets and bank accounts and credit. They don’t care whether you live or die. They don’t care about your problems or conditions.
Health clinics are for profit private businesses. Their goal is to make money. Not take care of people. Thus, they upsell. They happily take what OHIP gives them, but that is not enough. They are a business, not a charity. They want to make huge profits. Now there will be additional never heard of costs to the patient, that will result in out of pocket expenses in the thousands.
It is already happening. I have heard lots of complaints from people who are now expected to pay thousands of dollars for procedures that are FREE under OHIP. At a private clinic, people feel pressured to have more than is necessary done, at a huge cost. If they don’t want the upsell, then they wait just as long for a surgery at the clinic as they would for a hospital stay. If they pay, they get immediate surgery. The result is they either fork over lots of money, or worse, they delay or forgo having necessary surgery done.
Nurses and professionals of course want to work in these places because they are underpaid and working in deteriorating hospitals. Private clinics are state of the art, top of the line in cleanliness and professionalism – something our hospitals and staff used to be, because the money went there.
Eventually, OHIP will disappear and we will have private insurance – if you can afford it.
Gradually, Ford, our greedy business minded Premier, who has also decided to strip us of our beautiful Greenbelt for housing – for the RICH under the guise it is to alleviate homelessness (I ask you, who will be able to buy these homes, built on prime land, who, to begin with can’t even afford rent. Do you really believe those houses will be for low income???! Developers don ‘t build for poor people. Especially on choice land!)
We are on a slippery slope to the American health system. That is NO health system. Except if you are rich.
I predict that in two years, there will be little, if anything left of OHIP. And when other provinces see the money they too can make, all of Canada will follow suit.
Personally, I would rather pay more for my OHIP through my taxes each year, as do countries like Norway and Denmark, than to have to navigate and negotiate and beg for insurance and end up penniless and sick, or dead.
I ask you, what is government for? It is to PROTECT PEOPLE. It is suppose to be socialist. Get that through your heads. It suppose to be FOR the people, not for business, not for profit. The money is there. OUR MONEY. The government is NOT cash strapped. It is just full of greedy politicians not the least bit caring about us. They are not suppose to take advantage of situations for their own benefit. The government is not a corporation, not a private business. Our tax dollars are suppose to be used for US. For our health care, schooling, roads, police…don’t you understand that?
Beware. It does not end here. These type of politicians will come for our school system next.
We have a chance to vote this guy out in October. Let’s do it. Before we become the mess that the United States is.
I suggest you read Bernie Sanders book, It’s Okay to be Angry about Capitalism, and see how little the Americans have compared to us, and where we are heading.
More Interesting Pictures
Last week I had some pictures of seeing things in things.
But this is my favourite. It is a modern day Picasso.
Maybe even a Salvador Dali.
Pareidolia
If you are looking to have some fun while waiting for the bus, or doing a mundane task, look for patterns in the everyday. You will see faces or animals, or a host of other things if you are imaginative.
Pareidolia is seeing faces in objects, but you can see most anything. It is akin to seeing pictures in clouds, only a lot more fun.
So I had this kinda disgruntled pole watching me while I waited for the bus.
If you really use your imagination for this snow bank, you can see a cat lying on their side sleeping, splayed hind legs and bum facing you. If you have a cat you have seen this position often.
As you can tell, I have long waits for buses.
Don’t get me started.
There’s a Spot for Me
Whenever I feel overwhelmed with life (practically a daily occurrence) I am extremely fortunate to have places within walking distance that I can go to, at least, in the summertime.
Ah, to be at that picnic table, under that big tree, unapologetically doing absolutely NOTHING.
It is dead quiet there. Sigh.
No office politics. No doctor visits. No missing in non action buses. No telephones ringing. Just me, the tree, and the occasional bug, chipmunk or curious sparrows.
In the winter time, I have these pictures of solitude, and a slight anxiety.
We all need a sanctuary. I hope you find yours.
Snow
In my hometown, you have two choices with winter weather.
Either it is warm with a lot of snow and no sun, or freeze your ass off cold, no snow and sunny.
This year has been the picture postcard white winter. Even at the bus stops. Especially at the bus stops because you are going to wait forever for a bus. Might as well take pictures to pass the time.
You don’t need to know what the bus sign says. You just go out and wait. Maybe pray.
I love snow storms, I just don’t like being out in them.
Waiting for a bus.
Look Outward
Recently I was pressed by a well meaning person to check out a ‘must read’, best selling self help book.
UGH.
I wasted decades of my life (and a considerable amount of my pay cheques) on self help books and gurus and I have said it many times before, they did not help me one iota.
Looking inward is constrictive. It is like curling up in the fetal position. It’s being a frightened porcupine, an armadillo, or even one of those woolly caterpillars curled up in itself. With your head tucked between your knees you aren’t going to see anything, save maybe, lint on your trousers.
The problem, and the answer, is not inside of you.
Look outward first, and then try some introspection on what you have seen and heard and experienced. Reflect on experiences. Learn from them.
Looking outward is expansive. It is eye opening. It is mind blowing.
Be worldly.
Spend your money and time on experiences. Do things. Ask questions about things and people. Listen to and think about the answers. Take your nose out of self help books and your navel, get out of your living room and comfort zone and go outside!
And when you are inside, go to the learning capital of the world. The LIBRARY.
No, not the internet. The LIBRARY. A brick and mortar building. Introduce yourself to hold in your hands books, real paper and cardboard, things that make your wrists ache and your head spin. Nothing beats a book in your hands – not a self help book, but a book that is going to make you see the world.
Read about things you know nothing about. Read biographies. History. Science.
Try these on for size: The Lost Pianos of Siberia. Bono’s biography Surrender. Michelle Obama’s Becoming. Bob Stanley’s Let’s Do It. There are great fiction stories too, check out Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See, The Day of the Jackal, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
And please, don’t insist I read any more self help books – especially if you think I need it.