Hello Ray, I understand (I think) your indignation but would like to disabuse you, if possible, about my posting mentioning posts you had not seen.
I made only three refereces in my posting -- to your article of the same day, to Mike Spenser's post of the previous day which I hope and trust you received, and to my indebtedness to John Verdon of this list for a reference to a book. That reference was not current and may or may not have been made through this list. (I am indebted to John for a number of references, made in varous contexts.) I hope this will help to reassure you that I, at least, doubt there is such discrimation against you as would have excluded you from any posts made to the list. As for discrimination more generally, your own post refers to this and it has certainly been my experience, as a Canadian, that we are far yet from regarding Canada's aboriginal peoples as brothers under the skin. However, quite remarkable progress has been made within my lifetime and even among my acquaintance from both cultures. At the same time, while personal relationships may have improved, I believe (as my posting tried to point up) that the immensity of the revolution in thought required for most of us later immigrants to the Americas to understand what it is like to live within rather than merely surrrounded by our natural environment has barely begun to be appreciated. It is not just that we have all been, for example, on a burning spree with fossil fuels and are now trying (and soon likely to be forced) to cut back, but that this is just the tip of an intellectual reordering of our planetary environmental relationships if we hope to have sustainability of human life on the planet in anything like our current numbers. The alternative to rethinking our situation is not pretty and the entire matter (including your postings continuously challenging the perceptions of the dominant society) relates very much to our current concepts of work so is good grist for our mills on this list. At least that's my view. May the discussion go on! Work, jobs, what are we trying to do? Cheers, Gail ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ray Harrell" <[email protected]> To: "'RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, EDUCATION'" <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, February 16, 2011 9:37 AM Subject: Re: [Futurework] The Way of Right Relationship > Sad but not mistaken? Therein lies the problem. Whether to design the > environment for the good of all or to eat it slowly like an army of > disconnected ants. You think its sad but you do not take the Native > systems alternative seriously. The Yonega alternative, to teach the > children to ignore their own identity and psycho-physical reality, only > works for a short part of their lives. Once they realize they have been > tricked out of their birthright all too often the answer is to look > reality > in the face and choose to leave with suicide or drugs. No capital, no > future, no investment in a Yonega's version of success. That's simple > basic psychology and choices that are not ir-rational but horrible. How > could free Indian foresters want to join such a group that would propagate > such a thing as an ideal? > > The Canadian government thought that creating a reservation for the plants > and animals was a respectful alternative economic structure for people > whose > systems were built on respect and balance for all of the species. It > doesn't compute except to show that the government doesn't speak in the > language of the First Nations. Those government folks are biased, afraid > and stress the active grammatical tense over the passive in their language > and communications. Same here, but when we [I] speak in their language > and > avoid the passive, the translation sends them away even though their > horrendous hubris results in genocide. > > Even today, I don't get materials from this list for discussion. [Gail > mentioned posts that I have not received.] I assume its because certain > members refused to stay and deal with blunt discussion unless I was > excluded > from their posts which were rife with inaccuracies and bias. Its OK to > overwhelm another culture but its not OK for those cultures to verbally > fight back in resistance on the internet. My childhood friends, now > Elders, > ask me not to talk to their Yonega neighbors because telling them the > truth > and defeating their argument just feedbacks to their having to deal with > powerful and hostile neighbors who strike out because their arguments are > irrational and they can't win them verbally. Jesus has forgiven them but > He has left them impotent and dangerous. > > REH > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ed Weick > Sent: Wednesday, February 16, 2011 7:49 AM > To: Gail Stewart; RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, EDUCATION > Subject: Re: [Futurework] The Way of Right Relationship > > I've experienced something like that in the very remotest of northern > communities in which people still apologized to the animals they had to > kill > > in order to stay alive themselves. The people were still strongly tied > into > > the ecosphere and they knew it. However, things were changing. Kids > learned our view of the world at school, and when they had finished their > primary grades they were shipped out to Yellowknife or Inuvik to do high > school. Elders were still respected, but as icons more than as sources of > ancient wisdom bearing on the ecosystem. > > In my last visit to one of those communities, about five years ago, I > stayed > > with a local family. I had work to do but found it difficult because the > TV > > was blaring for much of the day. The community was close to a national > park > > that our government had created out of the community's ancient hunting > lands, and tourism was expected to become a growing source of income. The > people still knew the land, but they expected to increasingly use it as > tour > > guides and not as harvesters. > > Even if it was all inevitable, I found it a little sad. > > Ed > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Gail Stewart" <[email protected]> > To: "RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION,EDUCATION" > <[email protected]> > Sent: Tuesday, February 15, 2011 6:28 AM > Subject: Re: [Futurework] The Way of Right Relationship > > >> >> (Incidently but not irrelevantly, has anybody on this list ever >> experienced >> themselves as active participant in the ecosphere, the thin skin of this >> spinning planet, among all its living inhabitants? Might you be willing >> to >> share something of that experience?) >> >> Regards, >> >> Gail >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Futurework mailing list >> [email protected] >> https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Futurework mailing list >> [email protected] >> https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework >> > > _______________________________________________ > Futurework mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework > > _______________________________________________ > Futurework mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework > _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [email protected] https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
