"I guess that fear is the load we are experiencing" My world changed immeasurably when the fear fell away.
On Oct 19, 1:25 pm, archytas <[email protected]> wrote: > I can't take it myself to be honest Chris. Derrida used to say we are > in spirit positive. In Anglo-Saxon terms he was just a liberal, almost > priestly as a bloke over a few beers. I was younger then, still able > to knock things over and feel it was worth the bother. I suspect we > don't understand "negation" very well. Gabby (bless) always has some > - or it seems that way (I remember very positive support of me some > years back) - and the question arising is when this becomes as much > censorship as all the other stuff we might brand as that. It isn't > "negation" or the sting of criticism that really gets to me, more > selfish attitudes in what I feel as madness, triumphed as positive but > perpetual children. I like kids and even childish behaviour as > entertainment. I can't stand the failure of education in making a > decent society of responsible adults. > I've done a lot more than most in playing the game - £7 million in > research/project grants doesn't come from admissions projects will > fail in the business plan. But the critical eye has to admit the > majority fail and I was often signing-off on lies. £9K for university > tutoring (outside of science and engineering) goes to fund middle- > class lifestyles of the university hangers-on not towards the > education of the young person. When last full-time, I was teaching > 100 FTEs at least (200 times £9K = £900K in fees leaving £810K after > my costs). I could have done a better job for the students with > properly organised distance learning and a 'university' organised > around local pubs, theartres and sports clubs done through social > media - the overhead costed at around £100K (electronic library > etc.). A better education with much more opportunity for small > business involvement and so on at under a third of the cost and one > not building onerous debt. What is negative in this? And sadly, the > answer is easy middle-class incomes. I can go on an explain how even > these would not be affected as we could expand more practical > education and work development. I'm talking here of a more social, > more tutor supported education better than the expensive, debt- > producing fantasy we're forcing kids into. And one with lots of local > creative possibilities with less bureaucracy and vastly increased > 'civic' involvement. > You have to 'deconstruct' to get to the above idea - and elsewhere in > terms of stuff like agricultural and manufacturing productivity we > have done this with little thought on the jobs lost by workers - > indeed we've run roughshod over 'them'. The point in the negation > should be positive - about the use of efficiency for general well- > being and the creation of wider prosperity, probably redefined. > > What's hard, Chris, is facing-up to what life means to most people - > the economics I've never taught (but colleagues have from a single > text book) leads to a few very rich and the rest in debt-rent-mortgage > peonage and the arms' race. It must be obvious we barely have even > capitalism. It would be great to be able to ignore politics and the > status quo, but we need to build so we can. The old phrase from the > 50's (I only know from reading) was 'structuring freedom'. The human > population has tripled since I was born (I reject personal, intimate > responsibility!) - all very 'free' - producing planet burning and soon > 'competition for air'. Raising questions about how complex freedom > is. > > The weight on us - if we think for improved practice - is complexity > that most use simple Idols on to make their sense. I played rugby and > was a cop. The whole Bradford Northern front row were less > intimidating than the mad munter of some low-life I might nick with a > bread knife. The rules and structure of the competition allow rugby - > but what rules and structure would allow a decent society. Not every > claim can count in trying to do that do should, in principle be heard > so we don't 'go total' like some Spanish Fascit (fair typo) stealing > babies from their ideologically unsound mothers. > > I guess that fear is the load we are experiencing - maybe like that of > animals in hierarchies under all kinds of complex leader power - just > look what cockroaches and bees do to members in their 'reaching > consensus rules'. Even the really positive is negative - we can now > support human life without much effort - so why do we need poverty? > That would destroy the motivation of the rest of us now, wouldn't it? > The most obvious fact in the world is that most of what we claim we > want as moral individuals needs a change in what society is and what > people can aspire to as persons in it - otherwise we head to the usual > human solution, war. > > Maybe I should 'out Dilbert' Scott Adams, you do some illustrations > and pics, and we should watch the fireworks from Bermuda? I like the > shadows in Bermuda. > > On Oct 19, 3:56 pm, Chris Jenkins <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > > > > I've never had someone so casually create a crushing despair in me, Neil. > > Your writing has always affected me greatly, but the sense of general > > futility that is often expressed weighs a ton. As someone who still holds > > out hope for society's betterment, your words often feel like mountains on > > my head.The sense of truth in them, I think, is what gives them so much > > weight. > > > On Tue, Oct 18, 2011 at 4:25 PM, archytas <[email protected]> wrote: > > > The smell of authority gets up my nose however disguised Gabby - we've > > > just seen an example in rugby union with a Welsh player sent off for a > > > decent tackle and then banned for three games to reinforce the > > > referee's authority. It all reeks of what people do given authority. > > > Sport hardly matters, but the example is good. I don't know what's > > > happening in Detroit. I do know that in Spain a ring of bastards > > > (priests, nuns, doctors) removed 40,000 kids from their parents and > > > adopted through mass baby trafficking beyond the Fascists. I was > > > tempted once to become an anarcho-existential organisational > > > practitioner and break some windows from the inside, but somehow > > > jargon remains with the same smell. > > > Molly's got a point - the problem is that words so rarely match what > > > happens. The gadfly of irony loses its sting too,much as increasing > > > lexicon (equafinality, artifactuality etc.) ... and paradigms of > > > synergy fade in the dust of asset strippers. > > > > So where are the solutions we might express? > > > > On Oct 18, 8:15 pm, gabbydott <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > Puh, this is the flowery version of "I am against dualism" (compare: All > > > > power plays are based in these memes because they require opposition), > > > which > > > > is understandable if the writer gets payed by the line. Whereby the > > > > scent > > > of > > > > power being related to hierarchies is decently overtoned, now isn't that > > > > lovely. No mod here has the power over the ban button, this is me here > > > > trolling and spreading an unpleasant odor. Puh, could someone please > > > > let in some fresh air? > > > > > On Tue, Oct 18, 2011 at 1:16 PM, Molly <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > Power relations work only in a group with leadership who's view is > > > > > based on power and the idea that "i" or "we" can have more or less > > > > > than "you." There are views that realize that every group operates > > > > > holistically, and the flow of operation and pinnacle of achievement is > > > > > not dependent on power but synergy. A savvy leader knows the group > > > > > members potentiality, talent, perceived limitation, resources etc., > > > > > and creates the conditions necessary for every and all to move beyond > > > > > them as a whole. It takes a big picture view of how each person > > > > > operates and where the group fits in the community (whole). A group > > > > > with such leadership can become a change agent. The leadership > > > > > understands that power is a misnomer, as it is not power that fuels > > > > > the group effort, but synergy. > > > > > > Given, not all groups operate like this. Not everyone has realized > > > > > the fallacious nature of "power." Fallacious because we indeed are > > > > > operating as a whole on the more subtle levels. Our view can distort > > > > > what is really occurring, because it is often too narrow (egocentric - > > > > > me against them- or ethnocentric - us against them.) All power plays > > > > > are based in these memes because they require opposition. Leaders who > > > > > allow the talent in the group to emerge and mentor, who can inspire > > > > > group vision and keep the group focused to it, who recognized each > > > > > individual contribution and potential and provide resources necessary > > > > > for fulfillment are indeed rare. But they are emerging whether by > > > > > necessity of a higher calling. > > > > > > I find it interesting that here in Detroit, Mayor Bing, who receives a > > > > > whopping $.90 annual salary, has done more to allow the worldcentric > > > > > leadership of the city to emerge than anyone in the history of the > > > > > city. His critics say that he has not made any tangible change > > > > > although you don't have to look far to see that he has. He operates > > > > > at a much higher meme than our President, although I suspect that the > > > > > conditions of the world might not be ready for any other than a power > > > > > based person in the Presidency. > > > > > > Power relations are inevitable in groups whose members know no other > > > > > way. But there are other ways and other views. > > > > > > On Oct 17, 7:00 pm, archytas <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > I think we have to admit to some inevitability of power relations - > > > > > > objectivity gets as invasive as bully-power if we aren't careful. > > > > > > > On Oct 17, 2:27 pm, James Lynch <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > > > Personal power seems part and parcel to living authentically > > ... > > read more »
