Getting more tolerant

Wouldn’t it be nice if we all get a little more tolerant.
More understanding, more respect, more love.

 

… the taste of respect

Purplerays

“Once you figure out
what respect tastes like,
it tastes better than attention”

~ Pink

Photo credit: Begin with Yes https://web.facebook.com/beginwithyes/

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For those who think there are no gender neutral people or that there is no reason to change gender

Probably a 35 old female Dutch writer who follows her own path and seems to forget that other people also want to follow their own path which should not have to run like her path.

She doesn’t care what we or others want to tell her. She hates mainstream media, but also the sheep of this world, as well as the rich of this world, but she hates most of all people.

For her

its time to feel weird about everything we can think of. {There is no gender neutral}

and in one of her blogarticles she writes

We want respect for many things, but we do not get respect for many things. {There is no gender neutral}

She perhaps forgets that for receiving respect one also has to give respect. We can understand that there are things in her life that disturb her. But some of those things could perhaps disturb her because she does not understand them or does not know about other matters. It is clear that she has no idea about gender, and therefore asks

First how can you change your gender? Second how can you born gender neutral?

Biological its not possible to born gender neutral, and Biological it can not change during your life from men to woman or vice versa. {There is no gender neutral}

What we note there is a problem that also arises in conservative Christian circles, where it is assumed that in nature nothing can go wrong and that God created man and woman in His likeness and should therefore be “complete”. She seems to forget that there are human beings who are born without a body full of specific male or female elements. Though she seems to understand, some children may not feel happy with their own bodies, we think she still overlooks those who are born with half a male half a female body.  She writes

Children yes some children are uncomfortable in their own body because they are born boy, but are acting like girls. It is even possible to change them! {There is no gender neutral}

But for her, there is no reason for people to change their gender.

i find that heavy shit, and in sort of way i can not accept that. {There is no gender neutral}

For her it seems to be clear that there can be “no in-between”.

You are or boy, or girl, not both or gender neutral. {There is no gender neutral}

If life were that simple, it would also be very easy. But life is not always so black and white. Not every boy feels like a boy or wants to be a boy, the same as every girl in a girl’s body does not always want to be that girl she sees in the mirror. It is very difficult to be both, though it can always also be that one feels a sort of sympathy for both sexes.

If you find yourself happier as a woman, then you have my respect go for it! But you can not change definitions of genders, you are boy or girl, so you dress like a girl but you are still a boy. {There is no gender neutral}

She does not go in into the aspect of changing sex. Because why should a boy who feels he is a girl born in a boy’s body should not be allowed to have this bodily position corrected? And why should a girl who is confronted with her male body not be allowed to have that body reshaped in a female person?

Now these days we have gender neutrality, come on why do we make this word so freaking difficult?

People can not even begin to understand what the definition is of being naked or porno. All lessons by adults to children about sexuality is taboo! We make it for them now days very difficult to understand things. This world is so freaking crazy, that we are far away from being normal. {There is no gender neutral}

It is just making it so difficult for children when neutral nouns are introduced and when people may not be called for what they are and for what they feel. The world would be so much easier if we just could name the things as they are.

In an other blog she writes

In my point of view, children are most important so we have to learn them realistic thoughts, not fairy tails. {8: Children}

Therefore we should not be afraid to speak to children about different feelings human beings can have. And we should not push stereotypes on those children, having girls be in pink and playing with dolls and boys having to be strong and playing with cars.

She agrees we must

Stop over protecting children if you not even can protect your own citizens. {8: Children}

By not showing the world how it is and by telling ‘fairy tales’ about boys and girls in this world, we do not help the child to develop properly. We must have our ears and eyes open to the child and help it in the way how that child wants to develop, even if it is not like we would have preferred it. As such in case a girl talks about her will to become a boy, we should listen to her and talk about that matter. We should give it full serious thought.

She writes

Stop pressure children to perform, stop to steal there youth. Do see lot of over protecting that will not help children in the future, it will be a disaster for the future if you continue lying to your children. Children want to change gender? Then something must be wrong with your kid, you can not change your gender. Its unhappy because this world demands so much off them. The problem is not gender but this world, this capitalistic system. Children can only be happy if you free them form this capitalistic system. Children are not stupid and most of the time smarter then you. {8: Children}

But the inner feeling of a human being has nothing to do with capitalism. We totally would agree that in this world a lot goes wrong because of capitalism, but that is not the cause that boy or girls would want to change gender.

It is a pity that the female blogger looks at people who believe in religion as deeply indoctrinated people. According to her, religious people are living with an unrealistic image that makes their future more difficult than it really is. Though it are religious people who open their mind to those who are different than the mainstream. Real Christians, for example, also do not turn their head away from people who are feeling differently than they or than what society expects from those people. As such they are empathic with those who are confronted with the difficult situation of being born in the wrong body.

The blogwriter says

Generations of people are victims of a story that has circulated on Earth for thousands of years, and it is they who keep the story alive. {Manifest}

But believers in the Elohim Hashem Jehovah are not at all victims, and we even wonder if other religious groups, be they Hindu, Muslim or Jew would be victims. In many religious groups, there are many stories that may have circulated for thousands of years, but that does not make those stories not true nor not valid to build up a secure life. There are enough reasons why to keep stories alive, the same as there are enough reasons why to keep beautiful constructions or monuments preserved for the future.

The lady who hates so much, has a manifest against religion, sexuality, capitalism, communism, the destroying of capitalism, destroying of media, and probably looks forward to the destroying of religion in total, that we only can think she must be very frustrated. She writes

People must understand that religion is the cause of the biggest problems on earth, they must realize that this is serious! Who not accept will be terminated who do accept can learn others to accept. Lets say pure atheism itself will be teaches at schools and everywhere where you can learn. Religion in total forbidden, by all laws international Israel will be disband and prosecuted against crimes to humanity. All former presidents and military of Israel that has killed others will be sent to the death penalty. {Manifest}

She continues her manifesto

In socialism and in communism we share, we share so we can be all the same, we can help always each other with no better human logo then other humans. If we share we have everything we need and everyone can have this. Education, health care, must be free for everyone on this earth no matter the color, no matter the cost, all the same rights. {Manifest}

Totally forgetting that in communism is requested to have respect for each human being, no matter how it looks or feels like. If a person is born without a leg, arm, penis or vagina, in communism that boy or girl should not be excluded and should have the same rights as another person having all those things one expects a boy or girl to have. In communism there is a place for each human being, be it a man, woman or transgender or homo to develop properly and to be a partner in a system to build up together in respect to all other human beings, animals and plants. The female blogwriter seems to forget the important law of equality in communism.

Because her blog does not provide a space to reply to her writings, we thought this matter of equality, gender and religiousness too important to let go of and to have it not responded.

By writing

All people on earth deserve good education and health care no doubts about that! Only non religious people deserve this because religious people they have their God that will heal them. {Manifest}

shows how she misunderstands religion and does not know the God of the Bible at all. She forgets that the God of Israel has given the world in the hands of man, who has now to prove he can tackle it. Clearly, with her writing on the media, she claims to detest, she herself tries to indoctrinate people, like she accused others of indoctrinating through the media.

She then ends her discours:

Children want to change gender? Then something must be wrong with your kid, you can not change your gender. Its unhappy because this world demands so much off them. The problem is not gender but this world, this capitalistic system. Children can only be happy if you free them form this capitalistic system. Children are not stupid and most of the time smarter then you. {Manifest}

The child can effectively be unhappy with ‘its’ body because our society demands too much of it. By not using gender nouns we are not going to solve the problems children may have, because by it we are even going to confuse it more.

Our society must learn to face the fact that not everything can always turn out the way one would like, nor is there a god or God involved when things go wrong. It is people themselves who seek war. It is people themselves who expect patterns from others, in which they are then disgusted when they see those expectations unfulfilled. No form of government is going to bring relief to that anytime soon. It is people who need to change their mindset and be open to the diversity in society, as well as the differences between the sexes of human beings.

It is by not wanting to listen to a child that feels unhappy in its body, one shows the selfishness and the restriction of freedom for a child to go its own way in a world it can feel happy as how she feels and want to go through the world. Denying that right for a child to choose one’s own orientation makes that person who does not grant that child that right an “inhuman” and “callous person”.

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Preceding

Gender, genderless, androgyny, bisexuality, cisgender and transgender

Study says highlighting gender leads to stereotypes

Do the concepts of male and female need to have a formal official definition

Trans extremism, trans ideology, genderless a.o. categories and TERFs

The dilemma of gender neutrality

She/Her – They/Them – Person

The Concept of Gender Neutrality and You

The World of ‘Men’?

Gender Neutrality

A culture of “democratic cleansing” – Elders and youngsters versus respect

The generation born between 1930 and 1960 had no choice but to listen to father‘s law and do as we were told.

Father’s will is Law!

When we asked

Why?

We got a very short but very well to understand answer.

Therefore!

Now those generations from before the 1960s have become the “oldies”.

We live with the thought that we taught some good and interesting things to our kids, but sometimes seem to wonder what they did with what we taught them and what went wrong with the present generation.

What did we do wrong?

For sure, though we did not always agree with our parents, and dared to go on the streets in 1968 to question our way of living and our society, we always still showed respect for our parents and grandparents. In many cases, there were no great-grandparents. Our grandparents, to us, looked already

so old

at an age that we now already survived a few years.

Unlike our parents, we taught our children to dare to question everything and not just accept or consider everything.

John Humphrys in the Daily Telegraph of 26 December 2022 wonders if he perhaps had a ridiculous dream.

Well yes, and a bit of a nightmare too. I can’t think of anything much worse than my kids sitting in respectful silence while I bang on.

At home and at school we learned courtesy rules. But what is left of it? Some of the things we learned, such as keeping the door open for ladies, are not always anymore appreciated but are viewed as a sexist attitude.

Humphrys writes

If I’ve taught them anything at all – pretty unlikely I know – it’s that healthy scepticism beats the pants off reverence. Always has. Always will.

And yet… maybe just the teeniest smattering of respect might not come amiss? Possibly not boys doffing their caps to ladies in the street as my school ordered us do. After all, who wears caps nowadays? (And is ‘ladies’ sexist? What if they’re trans?)

But perhaps an acknowledgement that we oldies just might have picked up some useful stuff during our decades of experience on this planet that could come in useful? That’s tricky in today’s climate. Just that word “experience” is fraught. It has to be a “lived” experience now and I’m not sure I know what that is.

We have also been brought up to check the past and present and to seek the truth each time.

Our parents taught us that if we did not know something, we should go and look it up in the encyclopaedias provided. Those writers were expected to have undergone sufficient schooling and presented well-founded articles under editorial authority to inform the reader and provide further knowledge. We found it great to find such reference works that contained information on all branches of knowledge or that treated a particular branch of knowledge in a comprehensive manner.

For more than 2,000 years encyclopaedias have existed as summaries of extant scholarship in forms comprehensible to their readers. But in the last two decades, we saw several well-known encyclopaedias disappearing from the market.

At our house, the 1968 Encyclopaedia Britannica, as the oldest English-language general encyclopaedia, was just one of the many other encyclopaedias we could use daily.

The researchers and authors and publishers of encyclopaedias had to face technological changes, beginning in the 1980s with the development and spread of personal computers. It really became a world that opened up, making it possible to look up documents from all over the world. The computer business evolved so fast, quickening in the 1990s and 2000s through the Internet and widespread diffusion of broadband access, it radically altered the publishing world generally and the encyclopaedia business in particular.

The 15th edition of Encyclopædia Britannica (1974), was designed in large part to enhance the role of an encyclopaedia in education and understanding without detracting from its role as a reference book. It represented very much the way we were brought up, finding it necessary to educate and to spread knowledge. Its three parts (Propædia, or Outline of Knowledge; Micropædia, or Ready Reference and Index; and Macropædia, or Knowledge in Depth) represented an effort to design an entire set on the understanding that there is a circle of learning and that an encyclopaedia’s short informational articles on the details of matter within that circle as well as its long articles on general topics must all be planned and prepared in such a way as to reflect their relation to one another and to the whole of knowledge.
For those who wanted to learn more or wished to delve deeper into a particular fact or topic, the Propædia became a great help for self-study. The propaedia was a reader’s version of the circle of learning on which the set had been based and was organised in such a way that a reader might reassemble in meaningful ways material that the accident of alphabetisation had dispersed.

In 1981, under an agreement with Mead Data Central, the first digital version of the Encyclopædia Britannica was created for the LexisNexis service. In the early 1990s Britannica was made available for electronic delivery on a number of CD-ROM-based products, including the Britannica Electronic Index and the Britannica CD (providing text and a dictionary, along with proprietary retrieval software, on a single disc). A two-disc CD was released in 1995, featuring illustrations and photos; multimedia, including videos, animations, and audio, was added in 1997.

John Humphrys seems to find it a waste of money that his parents scrimped to pay a weekly shilling to the Encyclopaedia Britannica door-to-door salesman so that they as kids would always have the world’s knowledge at their fingertips.

He gives the impression that those modern machines and the evolution of artificial intelligence is one of the many reasons why respect between the generations matters.

We do admit that many young people do not understand how the elderly can or cannot handle today’s modern gadgets.

Millennials (born 1981-1996) tend to put the boomers (born post-war) into a category. Specifically, men. Usually “old white men”.

How come that usage is tolerated? Substitute “women” for men and it wouldn’t be. It would be sexist. Substitute “black” for white and it would be racist.

He observes

Those who once wore the badge of old age with a certain pride must now carefully guard their tongues less they cause offence, even when it’s patently obvious that none was intended. Was it necessary to humiliate Lady Susan Hussey when she was seemingly too curious about the origins of a black woman who was wearing a vivid tribal dress? Her offence, it turned out, was being old.

Getting old happens to all of us. How we deal with it is very different. But it is also very different from how outsiders deal with elders.
Especially in recent years, there has been an unpleasant skew there, with many viewing elders as a burden.
Similarly, few can empathise with the world of understanding of those elders who have been brought up with certain ways of thinking, some of which are also sometimes difficult to distance themselves from or continue to think stereotypically.

We all pursue dreams and shall one day be confronted with that older body, becoming aware that there is not only a tendency to forget people’s names, but having more than once looking for the right words, having forgotten (for a moment) certain things. And then in confrontation with the youngsters, they not always understand or want to give some time to get the memory back.

For some elderly it is also not evident to have to rely on others. And the children are not so pleased anymore to be a safety net for their parents, as we looked after our parents when they were already starting to reach a reasonable age. Some may be annoyued that those above 65 do not want to retire. It might be those in their 60s whose mind is fooling them in which case they will rely on others around them to let them know that it is time to retire.

How many times do those who passed the 50s have to hear from the youngsters that their ideas are old fashioned or that they are not anymore from these times? Many younger people find it not appropriate that the elderly are still pursuing ideas and aspirations. Is it a form of respect to accepting that they express their feelings as well as their dreams and aspirations?

Most young people don’t sense time as being a high-speed train, because for them it often looks ages, before there is another hour, another day. That makes them also to express their impatience so often. But then again, the fact that some elders become a bit too slow bothers those younger ones, in that it seems that that time is taken up by that elder, who then keeps them from renewing moments. Some younger ones do not mind letting the older ones know that it is time to retreat, or to get silent.

At a certain age, it can be that we feel that there has come a time we need to withdraw from the hurly-burly of the life we once knew. But it does not always feel so nice, when those younger people say it in our face. (We never would have dared to say such a thing to our elderly.)

In his book, The War On The Old, English literature professor John Sutherland wrote about what he called a culture of “democratic cleansing… a state-condoned campaign against the nation’s old”.

He describes an overwhelming sense of blame that younger generations attribute to “the wrinklies” who voted for Brexit, comfortable in the mansions they bought for a pittance. The once-dignified badge of seniority is becoming synonymous with “narrow-minded”, “outdated” and “incipiently senile”.
The elderly are bed-blockers, job-blockers, pension-drainers. {We used to respect our elders – whatever happened to that? by John Humphrys}

Normally, one went from one generation to the next with improvements, but today that no longer holds true. Today’s 30-year-olds have it much harder than their parents did. The age-old argument over which generation has had more advantages has been settled – at least where finances are concerned.

Adult life is harder to afford now than it was 30 years ago and it has forced today’s young to delay big life events, which tend to happen around this milestone age. Today’s generation are buying their first home two years later, having ­children three years later and getting married six to seven years later than they were in 1992. {Six reasons why boomers have it better than millennials by Jessica Beard}

Due to the pressures of the outside world, those in their twenties and thirties may have become a bit “shorter” in their statements, and it is not always easy for them to be patient with those older people who are, as it were, still watching them or ready with criticism.

Dependence on two earners can make taking time off to care for children ­trickier, and to care for older people, even more, trickier or not so wanted. So it should not always be viewed so negatively by the elderly when those young people now show a little less time than their parents who could make more time for their parents and grandparents.

Many today are so engrossed in their work and the expectations of fellow peers that they have little time left outside their work sphere for their own spiritual formation, religious pursuits and many family activities outside their own families.

It can well be that certain actions and reactions of youngsters are sometimes unjustly interpreted as respectless, or not showing enough respect. It must not be disrespectful, but just because of these other times with much more pressure on the youngsters, that the gap between young and old has widened somewhat today compared to previous decades.

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Preceding

A more recent discrimination: Old Age

A Cranky Old Man

Readers, likes and comments

Thought on the birthday of an encyclopaedia

Available information for the youngsters and readers of my websites

Redeeming Our World

The Way You Live Your Life

Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan back with a bang

Mishmash of a legal code but importance of mitzvah or commandments

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Additional reading

1. Ageing and Solidarity between generations
2. Who is considered Old
3. Man in picture, seen from the other planets
4. Subcutaneous power for humanity 1 1940-1960 Influenced by horrors of the century
5. Justififiable anger or just anarchism
6. A trillion words
7. Looking at an era of international “youth culture”
8. Did the picture change for Working dads
9. Living in this world and viewing it
10. Hippies, a president, a damaged ozone layer and knights
11. This Week Twenty-Five Years Ago: The Velvet Revolution Succeeds, December 1989
12. Our brothers in Kyiv’s northwest suburb Irpin
13. Russia not wanting it neighbours countries to cooperate with the West
14. Left behind for economical emigration
15. 2014 Social contacts
16. 2014 Human Rights
17. Time to consider how to care for our common home
18. Welfare state and Poverty in Flanders #7 Education
19. Martin Luther King’s Dream Today
20. This fighting world, Zionism and Israel #5
21. Another Jewish Voice on Trump’s plan: No peace without equality and mutual respect
22. The truest greatness lies in being kind
23. Agape, a love to share with others from the Fruit of the Spirit
24. Approachers of ideas around gods, philosophers and theologians
25. Cleanliness and worrying or not about purity
26. Today’s thought “Teachers will be judged with greater strictness than others” (December 09)
27. Perspectives
28. Hungarian undermining of European freedoms

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Related

1. A reflective Morning
2. Time Hobbles On
3. Beautiful, she said
4. I am old.
5. Learning to be Old–5
6. The effects of just being you… Age.
7. When You Grow Old
8. The Age Old Question…
9. Ageism in the workplace
10. Life is Short
11. Pursuing dreams to stay young in mind
12. What We Need, in Order to, Age Gracefully
13. I Can’t Breath Through It All
14. Thirty Five Years and Old.
15. How to be Old
16. 75 And Counting
17. Age 90+
18. Stillness
19. Dealing with Age Discrimination: Workers’ rights and strategies
20. “The best gift you can give your children, is the love and respect you demonstrate for their mother.”
21. Respect for life…
22. … the taste of respect
23. life will teach you to honor and respect balance.
24. I do respect people’s faith
25. High recognitions . . . Honor and respect them, though you no longer worship them
26. Paris attacks darkning the world
27. Holidays break – Day 7

Christian Tan probeert Johan Derksen en ideeën over vertrutting in christelijk frame te duwen. Dat loopt vast in behoudzucht

Johannes Gerrit (Johan) Derksen voormalig Nederlands profvoetballer die met zijn cafépraat heel wat Nederlanders weet te bekoren.

Wat er in de Talpa show (Vandaag Inside )vertoond werd toen Johan Derksen zomaar botweg vertelde hoe hij een bewusteloze vrouw verkrachte en heel de zaal met de interviewers bulderend aan het lachen gingen toont eerder aan hoe erg het gesteld is met een groot deel van de Nederlandse bevolking, dat zij zulk een gebeuren om te lachen vinden.

Het was gewoon beneden alle fatsoensnormen. Of men nu christelijk, moslim, atheïst of agnost is, het is ontoelaatbaar dat men zulk een vernedering van een mens (zij het vrouw of man) als een toelaatbaar of niet strafbaar feit gaat aanschouwen. Nog erger is het als men het als een lach baar feit en kleine banaliteit gaat afwimpelen alsof het een normaal iets zou zijn dat twintigers zouden moeten kunnen doen, zoals Derksen zich later niet verontschuldigde, maar slachtoffers van zulke zedendelicten nog eens een slag in hun gezicht gaf.

Men kan enkel hopen dat het gerecht nu in gang schiet om die zaak ernstig te onderzoeken en dat die mediageile figuur er dan zal toe aangezet worden om zich én beter te gedragen én zijn tong wel eens twee keer meer rond te draaien vooraleer hij iets op de buis verkondigt.

Dat vele landen in West Europa zich niet meer houden aan God en gebod is niets nieuws, maar dat hoeft niet in te houden dat die landen zich niet aan ethische normen en warden zouden gaan houden en dat alles zo, maar zou mogen.

George Knight

Schermafbeelding van deel artikel van Christian Tan, ‘Johan Derksen en de cancelcultuur in Nederland: wat zegt de Bijbel hierover?‘, 2 mei 2022 op Revive.nl.

Terwijl de Europese veiligheid op het spel staat door de invasie van de Russische Federatie in Oekraïne houdt een groot deel van Nederland zich bezig met trivialiteiten. Zoals de uitspraken van voetbalcommentator en televisiepresentator Johan Derksen over een kaars waarmee hij lang geleden een vrouw zou hebben onteerd. Later zwakte hij dat verhaal af.

De reactie op Derksen die controversiële uitspraken gebruikt om de kijkcijfers van zijn programma op de commerciële omroep Talpa op te pimpen was duidelijk. Derksen was deze keer volgens velen over een grens gegaan. Sponsors liepen weg en het programma Vandaag Inside komt na een zomerpauze wellicht terug op de buis.

Commercie staat bij Talpa voorop. Het gaat uitsluitend om geld verdienen. Nieuwe sponsors kunnen zich straks weer…

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The Social Media Kindness Project

 

Talin Orfali Ghazarian

The Social Media Kindness Project
by: Talin Orfali Ghazarian

Social media has become a big part in today’s society and some people use it for goodness, positive and inspiration, but others not so much. Some people tend to use social media in a negative and toxic way to spread hate, bullying, rudeness, and sending terrible comments to anyone. As previous generations have taught “If you have nothing nice to say or do, do not say or do anything at all”. That is the golden rule.

So, with that I have come up with the social media kindness project. You have no idea what someone is going through in their lives. It is always a good idea to be kind and use social media in empowering and positive ways. This is going to take a village to do. Social media needs a big makeover and we need to start somewhere.

I…

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La colonne vertébrale de la bienveillance

L’attitude de compréhension et d’indulgence qui permet de bien vivre ensemble sont très important dans notre vie.

2020 a été une année au cours de laquelle la population du monde entier a eu beaucoup de maux de tête. Ce fut une année où plus de gens se sont retrouvés enfermés et ont eu suffisamment de temps pour réfléchir sur eux-mêmes.

En cette année de crise et d’incertitudes, la bienveillance est plus que jamais une clé du bien-être et de l’épanouissement au travail. Mais cette valeur ressemble parfois aussi à un concept tarte à la crème tellement de clichés lui sont associés.

Comment passer de la théorie à la pratique ? La psychologue Christèle Albaret, auteure de Et si on osait la bienveillance au travail ? (Diateino), nous apporte son éclairage et des pistes très concrètes.

La façon dont on va dialoguer, prendre des décisions, avancer me semble encore plus importante cette année quand on travaille à distance, elle doit être accentuée car les mauvaises interprétations sont plus importantes quand on n’est pas face à face. La cultiver, c’est aussi nourrir le besoin de vous sentir bien quand vous allez au boulot, sans boule au ventre.

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“La bienveillance n’est pas une solution miracle face aux difficultés, mais un ingrédient essentiel pour les traverser ensemble”

 

Constant schuldig verzuim in 2020 als het om ongelijkheid draait

In 2020 kon er nog geen kantelmoment komen waarop wij bij aanvang van de 21ste eeuw hadden op gehoopt.

Decennia lang moesten wij blijven zien hoe maar weinig aandacht voor ongelijkheid kon opgebracht worden. Als hippies streefden wij naar een wereld vol liefde, gelijkheid en een wederzijds respect. Van al onze dromen in de jaren zestig van vorig eeuw is er bij velen niets meer of niet veel meer van over gebleven. Sommigen blijven nog steeds hun hoop verder koesteren en door gaan met hun activeringswerk. Zo maakt deze website een onderdeel van Marcus Ampe zijn betrachtingen om mensen dichter bij elkaar te brengen en bewuster te maken van dingen die al of niet goed gaan en hoe wij naar een betere wereld kunnen blijven evolueren.

Wat wel op viel in de heropbouw jaren, na WO II, was dat er een enorme competitiviteitsdrang werd aangemoedigd. Wij moesten ondervinden hoe wij tegenover anderen in competitie moesten gaan. Dikwijls was het niet goed genoeg wat wij deden. Het moest ook alsmaar beter zijn. Bij velen van ons was er de wens of de drang om als de beste naar voor te komen. Alles leek ook vergeleken te worden met wat er vroeger was en met wat een ander wel kon. Niet enkel in de school was er een druk om het beter te doen, maar ook in de clubs na schooltijd. Elke turnclub deed wel mee aan agglomeratie, provinciale, nationale zelfs internationale meetings en competities. In zekere zin was dat wel leuk, want wij konden zo met mensen van verschillende landen kennis maken in wat voor ons een gezonde competitiegeest leek te zijn.

Ik moet toegeven dat de druk van bepaalde ouders enkelen wel intens deed dromen van kampioen te worden. Zelfs in onze vrijetijdsbesteding, tot in de Scoutbeweging werd er op toegezien dat wij allerlei vaardigheden aankonden en onze brevetten haalden maar ook tactisch konden handelen alsook strategische allianties konden smeden.

Nooit leek het dat men zich echt moest inspannen om bij deze of gene groep bij te horen. Daarentegen ziet men nu allerlei jongeren volop inspanningen leveren om anderen toch te laten zien dat zij er bij horen (of willen bij horen). In tegenstelling to nu waren wij echter meestal bezig in team verband te denken. Het leek nooit echt alsof wij voor onszelf bezig waren roem te proberen te bereiken. Onze inzet was steeds in het algemeen voor de groep, de school- of sportvereniging. Het eigen ik leek steeds op de tweede plaats te komen na het groepsverband. Nu lijkt het echter allemaal te gaan om dat eigen “Ik” bij velen.

Bij onze houding van samen iets te verwezenlijken, vormden vele gedachtewisselingen een belangrijk element in ons samenzijn. Vooral dat samen zijn en samen dingen kunnen doen alsook weldegelijk iets kunnen verwezenlijken was zeer belangrijk. Wel moet ik toegeven dat vele van ons  (zoals ik) zeer utopische ideeën hadden, die spijtig genoeg door velen opzij zijn geschoven om beter bij de grote hoop te kunnen passen.

Een hele tijd werd het stil, maar dan leek het even dat sinds in 2011 er terug wat verandering kon komen in de goede richting. Een golf van verontwaardiging spoelde toen over de wereld. En in 2014 doken begrippen als kapitaal, vermogen en zelfs een rechtmatige belasting ervan geregeld op in het publieke debat … omdat er gesprekken op gang kwamen dat zowel wie van werk leefde als wie van kapitaalinkomsten leefde een faire bijdrage moest leveren aan de belastingen en de publieke goederen. Dat bleken toen terug meerdere mensen heel verantwoord te vinden. Toch bleek dat van korte duur. Onze oproepen toen om iedereen een basisloon van 1500€ te geven werd honend weg gelachen. Nu zag men onze eis vorig jaar in meerdere politieke partijen weer terug aangehaald, maar zodra zij aan de macht kwamen werd dat maar al gauw weer op zij geschoven.

Niet enkel in ons land verhoogde dit jaar de ongelijkheid met een veelvoud van procenten. De Verenigde Staten van Amerika mag kwestie verhoging van ongelijkheid de kroon spannen. De 45ste president van die vroegere Verenigde Staten heeft er alles aan gedaan om zo veel mogelijk verdeeldheid te scheppen en om de ongelijkheid enorm te doen toe nemen. Betreft rassendiscriminatie zitten we weer zo een 70 jaar terug in het verleden. De komende president zal heel wat werk hebben om het trompettengeschal van de huidige president te kunnen doen temperen.

Bepaalde politiekers in meerdere landen wensten met hun vinger naar een zondebok te wijzen of sloegen er in populistisch in te spelen op een stigmatisering van bepaalde bevolkingsgroepen die men al enkele jaren zag aangroeien.
De twaalfde editie van de “Democracy Index”constateerde dat voor de 2019 index de gemiddelde globale score al gedaald was van 5,48 in 2018 naar 5,44 en met het coronajaar verliep het nog slechter. Dit is de slechtste gemiddelde mondiale score sinds The Economist Intelligence Unit voor het eerst de Democracy Index produceerde in 2006. Gedreven door sterke terugval in Latijns-Amerika en Sub-Sahara Afrika, zijn vier van de vijf categorieën waaruit de globale gemiddelde score bestaat verslechterd. Hoewel de scores van bepaalde landen een aantal dramatische neergangen hadden, hebben andere de algemene trend tegengegaan en mochten er verrassend genoeg toch enkele indrukwekkende verbeteringen geregistreerd worden.

Duidelijk is onze maatschappij er niet in geslaagd om een sterke generatie te vormen die oog en oor heeft voor haar omgeving en er toe bereid wil zijn om daarvoor haar hand in het vuur te steken, zoals wij dat in onze jongerenjaren dat wel wilden doen.

Ludwig van El geeft de indruk dat de schuld bij die Babyboomers zou liggen. De voorgaande generatie van diegenen die nu aan het roer staan zouden zich volgens hem op de borst moeten kloppen:

 om hoe sociaal ze waren, {Niet klagen over egoïsme}

en horen nu volgens hem hun eigen verantwoordelijkheid maar te nemen.

De groep van de middelbare leeftijd en twintigers vond dat ze door hun regering in hun vrijheden werden beknot. Bepaalde religieuze groepen riepen uit dat de godsdienstvrijheid ook werd geschonden door dat zij hun erediensten noet in levende lijve konden houden. continu bleven er in meerdere landen bepaalde groepen de Islam en het Jodendom zwartmaken of de schuld in de schoenen steken van óf de verarming van de staat óf van de mogelijke verrijking van die volksgroep (de Joden)  tegenover de ‘verstoken’ gemeenschap.Betreft die geloofsgroepen viel op dat bepaalde groepen helemaal geen benul van de maatregelen hadden doordat ze gewoonweg niet naar de Belgische televisie of radia luisteren. Zo trof men in bepaalde Joodse gemeenschappen overtredingen aan van het scholingsverbod, waarbij die rabbijnen dan opriepen op het recht van vrije godsdienstbeleving en eredienst. Maar opvallend viel zulk een commentaar ook op te merken bij de evangelische gemeenschappen zowel in België als in Nederland. Ergerlijk riepen meerdere protestantse gemeenschappen in Nederland hun gelovigen op om toch samen te komen in hun kerkgebouwen om het vergaderen niet na te laten.

De roep om vrijheid van eredienst werd dan vermengd met heel wat negatieve commentaren dat men hier zo maar moskeeën kon blijven voort bouwen en zogezegd andere godsdiensten daar voorkeuren gaf terwijl de katholieke kerken hun deuren moesten sluiten.

Wat wel op viel in 2020 was dat de toestroom van immigranten wel sterk verminderd was maar dat de opeengepakte asielzoekers er niet voor terugdeinsden om hun kampen in brand te steken om zo de aandacht van de wereld op te roepen en hun erbarmelijke situatie aan het licht te laten komen.

De berichtgeving werd volgens meerdere groepen gestuurd door mensen die de democratie geen goed hart toe dragen en ons allemaal willen controleren. Er zijn er zelfs die zo ver willen gaan, mensen bang te maken dat er zogezegd chips in het corona vaccins zouden zitten. Hoe gek kan men het niet bedenken? Hoe zou men zulk een kleine chip kunnen maken dat deze in zulk een vloeistof niet zou opvallen en die dunne naald niet zou verstoppen?!

2020 was een jaar waar wij een verhoging zagen van zeggingskracht van uiterst rechtse groepen.
Extreemnationalisme en extreemrechts staan zeker in Europa, in Hongarije, Frankrijk en tal van landen, opnieuw op uit de macabere ruïnes waarin ze dit continent achterlieten in Wereldoorlog II, na het op de meest onmenselijke wijze te hebben gegeseld. Meestal gaat dit extremisme samen met vreemdelingenhaat, een onzalig verbond. Politiek, samenleving en media zijn vrij alert voor dit fenomeen maar bepaalde politiekers schrikken er niet voor terug om die sociale media zo goed mogelijk te gebruiken. Het Vlaams Belang heeft er daarom ook heel wat geld ingestoken.

Zoals extreemnationalisten geen plaats zien voor ‘andere’ mensen, zo zien religieus gedreven extremisten geen plaats voor ‘andere’ overtuigingen. Sinds enkele jaren werden voornamelijk Moslims en Joden geviseerd, maar niet-trinitarische Christenen kregen het de laatste jaren ook moeilijker te verduren. Bij meerdere Christen Joden of Jeshuaisten gaf dit aanleiding om België te verlaten. Alleen het eigen gelijk telt, ‘hun’ godsdienst, en alleen hun interpretatie ervan, moet het leven van iedereen regelen. Zij willen niet aanvaarden dat er plaats en erkenning moet komen voor en van democratie en persoonlijke vrijheden, waaronder trouwens de vrijheid van religie. Religieuze intolerantie en fundamentalisme, en politiek misbruikte religie vormen een oud zeer, de wereld rond. Wat zich afspeelt in o.a. Syrië, Irak, Pakistan, India, Nigeria en elders confronteert de wereld met een etterende wonde waarvan ze te makkelijk de blik afwendt: gewelddadig fundamentalisme blijft de menselijke samenleving bedreigen.

Voor de liberalen in dit land moet de economie in de eerste plaats komen. Bij vele maatregelen die tijdens de regering Wilmés genomen werden zag men duidelijk hoe de halfslachtige en soms tegenstrijdige maatregelen genomen werden om zo veel mogelijk de economie te doen draaien. De melkkoe mocht zeker niet geslcacht worden, maar of de gezondheid van velen daarvoor in gevaar moest gebracht worden is een andere vraag.

Het krotzinnig uitgangspunt om de welvaart van de staat voorop te zetten heeft ons land een absurd hoge tweede golf doen mee maken, die wel degelijk vermeden kon worden als de politici op tijd duidelijke maatregelen hadden genomen en het publiek voldoende zouden hebben voorgelicht. In 2020 kon men dan ook nogmaals zien hoe liberalen de materialisten hun mauwen veegden en hen nog wensten te verwennen. Zo konden zij vanwege hun economische focus de wereld de verkeerde richting uitsturen.

Terwijl ik dit artikel aan het schrijven ben stormt het hier. Al meerdere dagen is het hier ook donker en guur weer.  En eigenlijk is dat het eindbeeld voor 2020. Het was een zwart jaar, waar heel wat slachtoffers konden vermeden worden indien men niet het geldgewin voorop gezet had. Ook kon er heel wat kwaad vermeden zijn indien meerdere politiekers eindelijk eens hun mond durfden open te doen en niet zo laf waren om zoveel mogelijk partijbelangen en de rijkere klasse te willen plezieren. Zij die dan toch hun mond durfden open te doen hadden wel andere redenen dan het beschermen van de gehele gemeenschap. Liefst jutte zij de bevolking op om tegen de standaard regeringspartijen op te komen. In de VS gingen het zelfs zo ver dat er bijna een burgeroorlog nabij kwam om een president die niet wenste af te treden op de troon te houden.

Het grote gevaar van al die verwrongen toestanden die wij in de zogenaamd geciviliseerde en rijke landen zagen, is dat wij daar een ander onderhuids virus zagen opkomen dat als een parasiet de democratie zou kunnen gaan aantasten als wij niet tijdig optreden.

Geldgewin is de grote drijfveer geworden in onze landen en de consument is grotendeels gewonnen voor dat eigen zelfgenoegzame materialisme, dat de ander hem niet veel interesseert, zo lang zijn eilandje maar onaangeroerd blijft. Veel jongeren zijn heden helemaal niet meer geïnteresseerd in nastrevenswaardige idealen zoals gelijkheid, emancipatie en sociale rechtvaardigheid. Voor hen staat de eigen portomonee voorop en komt het er op aan in de eigen kring zo veel mogelijk van alle rijkdom te genieten, ook al zou dat ten koste gaan van uitbuiting van kindarbeiders en slaven in andere landen maar ook voor de ongelijkehid die in eigen land zou kunnen optreden. Velen zeggen dat zij die arm zijn in Vlaanderen dat te wijten hebben aan hun  eigen schuld. Alle mensen moeten volgens hen zelf opkomen om zo veel mogelijk winst te maken en te genieten van die dingen waar ze kunnen beslag op leggen. Of dat nu voor nog meer ongelijkheid zorgt is dan de schuld van die ander en van hen die zich laten onderdrukken. Maar daarbij zien zij niet dat zij elf slaaf zijn geworden van hen die nog meer geld hebben dan hen en hun rijkdom nog meer kunnen verhogen door hen uit te melken en hen bang te maken dat ze hun job zouden gaan verliezen als zij niet ingeven en toegeven aan hun baas en onderdanig werken voor die maatschappij die de meeste tijd van de dag hun opeist.

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Voorgaande

Naar het einde van 2020

Extremisme is terug van nooit weggeweest

2020 en het onfatsoen van het grote geld

Niet klagen over egoïsme

Armoede is Seksistisch. Elk jaar een Holocaust van stervende kinderen.

Mensen van verschillende culturen, geloofs- en politieke overtuigingen broederlijk naast elkaar

Mens of Consumens: Wat is tegenwoordig nog sociaal?

Uit de Oude doos: Een steeds kleiner wordende wereld

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Aanverwante lectuur

1. Nieuwkomers, nieuwelingen, immigranten, allochtonen en import
2. Motie over Godsdienstvrijheid
3. Religiestress en corona maatregelen
4. Nederlandse kerken willen te veel risico nemen
5. Kerkdienst in openlucht tijdens vakantie
6. Angst voor Islamisering dat juist leidt tot indoctrinatiemogelijkheden
7. Noodzaak om geweld tegen moslims ook in kaart te brengen
8. Een schandvlek op de Europese Unie
9. Uiting tegen armoede en sociale uitsluiting
10. Geïnstitutionaliseerde discriminatie
11. Geen teken van vooruitgang
12. Goede mensen en verborgen christenen
13. Lappendeken als uithangbord
14. Witte, grijze en zwarte tinten voor de Lage Landen en Europa
15. Angst voor Islamisering dat juist leidt tot indoctrinatiemogelijkheden
16. GeenStijl-columnist Ebru Umar reageert op Geert Wilders die alle 475 moskeeën in Nederland wilsluiten
17. Moeten kerken zich beperken tot online diensten?
18. Coronasluitingen tegen gaan voor zogezegde godsdienstvrijheid

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Gerelateerde lectuur

1. De Gewenning
2. We moeten ons leven flink veranderen
3. De antiracismegroep roept op om de politie te ontmaskeren en de raciale ongelijkheid eindigde in de NHS
4. Hoeveel (on)gelijkheid kunnen wij aan?
5. Wat was er echt belangrijk in mijn academisch leven?
6. Is solidaire zijn met zwarte mannen een bodemloze put?
7. Racisme als hedendaags trauma geldt ook voor moslims @trouw #racisme-dient-als-psychotherapie-benaderd-te-worden
8. ‘Onvrijheid is het werkelijke probleem’ @trouw #waardenbewustzijn
9. Systemische discriminatie? Nee, bij ons niet… denk ik…
10. Alex’ view – Leefbare samenleving
11. Recensie Constitutionalism, Democracy and Religious Freedom in NTKR, Tijdschrift voor Recht en Religie
12. Wat was er eerder, de democratische recessie of de wederopleving van het populisme?
13. Artikel “De democratie wordt bedreigd, mede door eigen tekortkomingen”, Het Goede Leven, 27 april 2020
14. Verloren land: Dit is een historische trend, die de banaliteit van het kwaad verandert in het kwaad van de banaliteit.
15. De zaak Organon “dat afbraak van werknemersrechten en het uitkeren van zo veel mogelijk middelen aan de kapitaalbezitters economisch gezien het beste beleid zou zijn”
16. Waarom rechtse en linkse populistische partijen blijvertjes zijn @fd #populis1dimensionaal #politiek spectrum
17. Wat als de minister niet doet wat het parlement – Eerste Kamer – wil? @fd #populisme #staatsrecht
18. Eenzijdig optreden van een president alléén voor eigen achterban schendt alle normen van het algemeen belang @volkskrant #onrecht #discriminatie #staatshoofdbovendepartijen #dualisme
19. Politiek influencer Rutte schiet te kort in de strijd tegen racisme
20. Etnisch profileren door de overheid‘
21. Over racisme werd eindelijk inhoudelijk gesproken’ @parool #racismedebat
22. Politie voert app in tegen etnisch profileren maar effectiviteit is nu al twijfelachtig
23. Discriminatie en arbeidsovereenkomsten voor bepaalde tijd in het kader van aanvullende pensioenplannen
24. Memento mori en stop de lockdown
25. Interview ‘De liberale democratie is bezig zijn eigen graf te graven’
26. Bespreking enkele resultaten NWO-project ‘Nederlandse kerk-staatverhoudingen in beweging’ in Nederlands Juristenblad
27. Met lokale worteling van gesubsidieerde kunst neem je het populisme wind uit de zeilen‘
28. Grondrechten op de helling’ door de ogen van een advocaat betrokken bij Wildersproces (dl2) #vrijheidvmeningsuiting #grenzenvrijheidsbeleving @tweedekamer
29. Goed verslag: ‘Ongewenst? Ja, maar niet in strijd met de wet’ @fd #onderzoekscommissieTK #salafisme @tweedekamer
30. Kernprobleem van orthodox-salafistische islam in ons land is niet de godsdienstvrijheid, maar strijdigheid met de basiswaarden van onze Grondwet @trouw #staatsrecht #interpretatie-art-6/23Gw‘
31. Vrijheid’ heeft niemand begrepen en liberalen al helemaal niet @volkskrant
32. Is China to blame for the COVID-19 pandemic?
33. Failed nation U.S.A.
34. New publication on the conceptualization of everyday racism in health research

Niet klagen over egoïsme

Maar al te graag schuift men de mensen geboren in de jaren 1940 en 1950 de schuld in hun schoenen van de huidige verwende koopzuchtige en aan hebbedingen verslaafde jongeren. Wij vragen ons wel dikwijls af wat wij verkeerd mogen gedaan hebben om zulk een zelfzuchtige gemeenschap gekweekt te hebben, terwijl velen van ons juist zo begaan waren met het beschermen van een gezamenlijk goed en het onderling delen van de dingen waarbij wij toch steeds het volle respect naar alles en iedereen vertoonden.

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Voorgaande

Dirk Van Duppen over de samenleving op een kruispunt

Naar het einde van 2020

Extremisme is terug van nooit weggeweest

2020 en het onfatsoen van het grote geld

Ludwig van El

“De huidige generatie is te egoïstisch, denkt alleen maar aan zichzelf.”
En wiens schuld is dat? Ze zijn opgegroeid in een wereld waarin het de gewoonte was, om maar geld van de ene groep af te pikken om aan een andere groep te geven. Dus deze generatie heeft alleen maar krijgen gekend, en niet geven.
En zo,teelt men egoïsten.
Dus: de vorige generatie die zich op de borst klopt om hoe sociaal ze waren, neem je eigen verantwoordelijkheid maar.
En besef je eindelijk eens, dat de staat voor je karretje spannen, nooit goed uitpakt.
Het is veel wenselijker om sociale voorzieningen door de samenleving (stam van het woord sociaal) te laten regelen, aant dat levert een samenhangende bevolking op, die wèl bereid is tot geven en nemen.

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Learn to say “Thank you”!

When your partner does something for you or gives you something as a show of their love, you need to show respect by expressing some gratitude; just say “thank you”.

Ingratitude is a sign of disrespect implying that you feel entitled to whatever you have been offered, hence no need to show gratitude. When you say “thank you” for whatever your partner does for you or gives you, you are simply appreciating their love and communicating your own love, respect, and admiration for their show of love. As a sign of respect, you must learn to say thank you, even for the little things!

– Josiah B. Andor, PhD (Director, Paraklet Love and Life Consultancy).

Gezonde liefde altijd een element van discipline en onderscheidingsvermogen bevattend

Gezonde liefde moet altijd een element van discipline en onderscheidingsvermogen bevatten;
een zekere afstand en respect voor de grenzen van een ander;
een beoordeling van andermans vermogen om je liefde te beheersen.
Liefde moet op de juiste manier worden getemperd en geregisseerd.Vraag een ouder die in naam van de liefde
een kind heeft verwend;
of iemand die een echtgenoot met liefde verstikt
en hen geen persoonlijke ruimte toestaat.

Oefening voor de dag:
help iemand op zijn voorwaarden
niet met de jouwe.
Pas jezelf toe op hun specifieke behoeften,
zelfs als het moeite kost.

Engelse versie / English version: Healthy love always including an element of discipline and discernment

Healthy love always including an element of discipline and discernment

Healthy love must always include an element of discipline and discernment;
a degree of distance and respect for another’s boundaries;
an assessment of another’s capacity to contain your love.
Love must be tempered and directed properly.

Ask a parent who, in the name of love,
has spoiled a child;
or someone who suffocates a spouse with love
and doesn’t allow them any personal space.Exercise for the day:
Help someone on their terms not on yours.
Apply yourself to their specific needs even if it takes effort.

dutch text / Nederlandse tekst: Gezonde liefde altijd een element van discipline en onderscheidingsvermogen bevattend

It’s Time real lovers of God to Stand and Speak Out!

On one article we reblogged over here (and as such did not write it ourselves) and in which there were used popular words by youngsters, somebody felt offended. It looks like she could not feel any empathy with the generation we and the author of the original article were talking about and brought herself calling us stupid people, though missing the whole point of that article and the discussion around it.

Extended Coloured family from South Africa showing some spectrum of human skin colouration

In our world we see still too many people who want to differentiate between skin colour and race. They continue to demand that there would be called or named the differences between people who live at the same place, instead of accepting everybody who lives there for what he is and for how he looks like. They insist that people who live already for many generations in a certain country or area would still have a referral to that long ago place of origin as if that place of origin of so many generations ago brought a blemish on that person. It looks like many do want that lots of people keep running around with the stain of their past and long death ancestors.

Today we see again a movement going on to put on all people labels, like Moroco, Turkish,  Arabic, Berber, Afro-American, etc.. Though those people may already live here for the 3rd, 4th or even 5th generation. As we spoke about the trend the Dutch Press requesting not to use the word ‘blank’ (fair) but now to use ‘wit’ (white) opposite ‘zwart’ (black) instead of ‘kleurling (coloured). Whilst certain newspapers still shall continue words as ‘blank’ and ‘kleurling’ (coloured) not looking at the different skin colour as something negative. Clearly the colour of the skin has become again a point of discussion and we are back to the way of return and pre-Martin Luther King-times, or the time of racial segregation with Apartheid.

Iranian-Belgian human rights activist Darya Safai playtoy of the rightwing political parties trying to limit the freedom of expression and freedom of religion

Several politicians are doing their best to come back to such a time and many migrants are helping them without them having a proper knowledge of what is happening. As such we may find the Iranian dentist Darya Safai who is used as a plaything by the Flemish Nationalists and/or right-wing political parties. The Iranian-Belgian human rights activist grew up in the Islamic Republic of Iran after the revolution of 1979. We can clearly see how she got traumatised with her experiences in Iran. There she experienced at first hand how it was to live as an oppressed woman in a religious dictatorship. But now she thinks this would also be so in Belgium or the countries around us. She insist that parents would have no say on the religious education they want to give at home and want to prohibit any person in our country to wear religious symbols or to have traditional attire.  She finds the schools must prohibit any religious dress-code. By doing so she wants the freedom of religion, the freedom of expression and the freedom of clothing restricted. By doing so see also endangers our democratic freedom.

After she was temporarily released on bail, she decided to flee Iran together with husband via Turkey to Belgium.  Instead of seeing that we want to be a free country where everybody should be able to live next to each other she now wants to create an other Iran where she shall be on the side of the dictators or decision makers. Though she says she wants to fight against discrimination she tries to bring in discriminating  measures, having children nor their parents the right to choose their own religion and how they want to be religious.

In December 2016, Darya Safai was awarded the title ‘Women Of Peace’ by the Belgian Secretary of State for Equal Opportunities at the Belgian Senate, for her fight for women’s rights, though at that time it was already clear she had a more unpleasant agenda.

Last week when  a state school was ordered to let 11 young girls (age 12) to wear their hijab to school inspite their ban on all religious symbols Safai went into heavy reaction again helping to have a growing stir in the debate

because when a judge rules that specific people can ignore a rule that counts for everyone, it will cause more division.

It is true that now other Muslim, Sikh, Jewish parents can go to court and achieve the same override for their kid. On the other hand by Safai her actions to forbid head-covering we now have Sikh kids in Sint-Truiden (Haspengouw Hesbaye), who cannot go any more to a state- or to a Catholic school because they are not allowed in with their head covering. For them and for those who want to wear a head-covering the only solution is to go to a private school. Safai forgets that this would cost the parents a lot more and that such private schools of a certain religion endangers our society more, because than there is no control by the school directorate and then the way to indoctrination is totally free and would be unnoticed. We also could see what happened already in one of the Antwerp Jewish schools a few weeks ago. We must be very careful with an overprotection and giving the opportunity to have youngsters drifting away.

Safai seems to think the same rules count over here as in her birthplace. She argues that the choice to wear a headscarf is not made by girls themselves. By this she underestimate the strong will of many Belgian girls. She says

“It’s not a free choice, when I see six-year-old girls wearing headscarves, I really wonder how they could decide that for themselves-it’s imposed on you and you live with them.”

For Safai the girls their head-covering is indeed a symbol of oppression.

“Men do not wear headscarves, that’s the best proof,”

Orthodox Christian pilgrim

said Safai, to which Vanhecke replied

“With Jews, only the men wear a yarmulke, and that is not seen as a symbol of oppression,”

Safai also forgets or probably does not know that in West Europe all kids from the 1940ies to 1960ies have had to cover their head as girls and we as boys had to cover (like the girls also) our limbs. No bare arms or are knees where to be seen and women at to sit on the left side of the church.  It is all still clear in our head also, how our parents and when we went swimming in the sea we had to cover most of our body. (Later, as hippies we went against those restrictions and ran even naked in nature.) And now a few years later what had to happen then suddenly should not be allowed any more. She also does it as if the head-covering is only a Muslim matter, forgetting that still today many religious Christian groups prescribe head-covering for their members.

Roman Catholic nuns – Roman Catholic nuns singing in choir. – Smith2006

Throughout the centuries of Church history, women have worn head coverings during the meetings of the church – that is, when “praying or prophesying” take place. In Europe the wearing of fabric head coverings in worship was also universally the practice of Christian women until the twentieth century and in several Reformed churches, Baptists, Christadelphian, Brethren and various Mennonites it is still the custom for young and old. In the South of Europe we may find lots of nuns of the Roman Catholic churches with a covering of their heads, whilst many women in the South (like Spain and Italy) still often have the head covering by means of a headscarf. In Eastern Orthodox churches, all women still cover their heads. With the old believers this may only be a headscarf, with the other Eastern Orthodox it may also be a veil.

Vanhecke, with good reason, thinks girls are also oppressed if they are not allowed to wear the headscarf.

“A religion obliges the headscarf, a society forbids it, that is the same principle.”

“You interfere in a fundamental right of parents to make choices for their children,”

says Vanhecke.

That what Safai tries to avoid she helps to create. One should avoid that we get such private religious schools as only possibility for religious people to give their kids an education. When we would have such specific Jewish, Hindu and/or Islam schools we make it much easier to have them a specific religious education or indoctrination and creating a generation which would be less adapted in our culture than those who grow up together with all sorts of kids from different nationalities and different religions. Instead of integrating them in a multicultural society Safai shall help to create a divided society with lots of racism.

So needless to say this situation actually causes the very religious division that the ban on head-covering tries to avoid.

Mieke Vanhecke (CD & V), ex-top woman of Catholic education, pleaded in Terzake for the right to wear a headscarf at school. Darya Safai (N-VA) continues to see it as a symbol of oppression. Vanhecke argues that not only Muslims are victims of the headscarf debate.

“A ban on headgear not only affects Muslims,”

says Vanhecke.

“In Sint-Truiden there were never any problems, the Sikh boys came to school with a turban, because of the ban they no longer have access to our school.”

Safia is convinced that children and young women can not make up their own mind what to wear. For her children nor women who wear the hijab impossibly can do that of their own will and impossibly can be happy clothing themself that way. Many like her she see misogyny and are convinced that they must be under dictation of a male dictator or male bully. Often we hear voices like

‘Her husband must have forced her’

‘Poor girl, she may not dress like she wants’

Safia like many right wing people can only think of suppression, seeing men’s orders and their power over women. Others love to shout

‘Unveil yourself’,

‘Hide not yourself”

‘Let us see your beauty’

Why should they have such a need to see the beauty of that woman? Why can they not respect that woman like she wants to dress herself?

Those people thinking women or girls who like to wear a head scarf of hijab are pushed by their family, do forget that there are enough strong women in Belgium who can make up their mind themselves. They do not need their fathers or their male partner to dictate what they should wear but even less should they have others to dictate what they should wear or may not wear. That last bit is what Darya Safai and many Nationalists and Neo-Nazis love to do.

Lots of those who call themselves Christian but oppose the freedom of other lovers of God, do forget that by doing so they go in against the Law of God. Their strong actions against Muslims and Jews also clearly show that they do not bear Jesus his teachings of love in their heart. Lots of them also do not understand that wearing a covering on the head may represent an ordainment from God and a submitting to the Most High. There are enough places in Scriptures which talk about such covering and reasons why and when to do it.

Those who are an atheist or do not believe in the One True God should not try to put their law above the Laws of God nor should they urge all others to live like them and to dress like them.

Many also do forget the use of a head-covering can just mean those women liberated themselves from the world and its attitudes. For many believers in the One True God it can mean just empowerment, liberation and freedom. Too many underestimate the European female and think they would be like the women in the Middle East used as slaves by the male figures around them. But we can see strong women who have made up their own mind and by their own choice and by their own intentions they dare to show their faith to others and are not afraid to be mocked at or to be looked at as of ‘not of this world’. They do not want to be of this world but of the world of God. For them that is more important than being a slave of this world where every body assumes he or she is free when they can have sex with as many as they can or drink as much as they want to do all the funniest things one can think of.

Mrs. Safai does as if those girls, when they would wear a head dress, never would be able to integrate in our society or would never be able to get work. When they would not get work because they wear a head covering, does that not tell more about the party who does not want to give her work? And does that not show how certain people do not want others to integrate in our community?

By the way, lots of right wing people do as if those Muslim girls who want to cover their head are foreigners, but a lot are girls and ladies who were before ‘white Belgian citizens’ and even belonging to Catholic families.

That many people are so much afraid that there would be so many converts to Mohammedanism tells also a lot about the weakness of most members of that faith. Lots of Roman Catholics and Protestants even not knowing the Name of God and never having read the Bible. If they would be standing strong in the faith we see no reason why they and others should be so afraid. The other way, Christians should come out and proclaim their faith to those who are no Christian. They should show people that Jesus is the way and show that Jesus his teaching is one of love and of comprehension and compassion. But most Belgians, Dutch and French people just show the opposite, showing their hate against immigrants and people who are different than they or who think differently than they.

Lots of people seem to have forgotten how we and our parents had to cover our body a few decades ago. Lots of them also forget that just because their western values don’t fit with a woman covering her hair and beauty, it still could be a personal choice for that person covering herself. Many do forget that their Western values are way out from our Christian Western values and norms.

Today so many oppose people who have an other opinion. We also see the right wing people wanting so much that every body would dance to their will.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said,

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”

These days we are going backwards because several people want to push their will unto others. They want an exclusive white state for themselves with only believers in that what they believe and in that what they call Christian values, but are not at all Christian values.

In Belgium we can find  more and more Muslim children in community education, especially with regard to other educational networks we may find a larger influx of students from other cultures in general in the state schools. When these children want to show their own faith in the form of clothing, they often do so out of their own convictions, but because these young people are not yet adults, they often take over the prevailing morality of their immediate environment and of society. If we compare this with the Flemish youths of indigenous origin, we notice a big difference, but according to us that is easy to explain. After all, with many Flemish young people there is a great ignorance of the church, while the Muslim children are more often socialized in their ideology.
The total banning of religious signs would thus be a violation of religious freedom. We should resist such a thing.
That a lot of inhabitants of Belgium, Holland and France do not want to stand open for other cultures we should try to avoid in the next generations by introducing the various cultures from the early years in childhood.

Dyab Abou Jahjah in 2008.

The Belgian-Lebanese Arab political activist and writer Dyab Abou Jahjah, claims that

‘hatred in Flanders is mainstream’

and

‘racism determines the agenda’.

When you follow certain reactions and talks it gives the impression not enough people want to react against that dangerous trend.

Christian people should let others know that all people have the same value because we are created by the same One True God. We all are being allowed to live on this globe and are given talents which can be used to help others. All people in a community have to complement each other.
Each person should know that racism devalues people. Non believers should come to see that Christ has broken down racial doors and overcomes divisive thinking by creating for himself a new nation through his death and resurrection. Every Christian should help to build a loving world by showing his love for others, be them of no believe or any other believe than Christianity.
When the politicians are not doing their job properly to build a multicultural peaceful state, the Christians needs to lead the way.
When you are a Christian do not wait until it is too late!

Let your voice be heard and speak up for the weaker ones in our society and for those who humiliated and shut out.

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Preceding articles

What is important?

Enough with the Clothes Shaming of Muslim Women

Anti-Semitic pressure driving Jews out of Europe

The Mountain: Radical Love

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Additional reading

1. Vliegend spaghettimonster en Gelijke behandeling voor elke overtuiging
2. Parenthood made more difficult
3. Uncertainty, shame and no time for vacillation
4. Migrants to the West #2
5. On French beach French police forces woman to undress in public
6. Pew Research: How People in Muslim Countries Believe Women Should Dress
7. Allowing dress code according liberty of religion
8. Coverings Worn by Muslim Women
9. The Dress Code for Women in the Quran
10. Meditating Muslimah on “hijab to be a religious obligation”
11. French showing to the whole world their fear and weakness
12. Christians, secularism, morals and values
13. Trusting present youngsters who are not necessary evil
14. Overprotection and making youngsters drifting away
15. Today’s thought “And he counted it to him for righteousness” (January 12)
16. Listening to the lessons of the Bible and looking for ways to please God

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Related

1. Hijab 1
2. Hijab 2
3. The Meaning of Hijab
4. I Tried Wearing a Hijab (sort of)
5. The hijab of ignorance
6. Cultural Bias
7. An Imagined Offence
8. The Irony of Hijabs!!
9. Transition: My Hijab Story
10. Hijab: Oppression or Freedom?
11. Hijab in Islam and other religions
12. Hijab | Zanzibar, Tanzania
13. Women unite for World Hijab Day, which is Today
14. Happy World Hijab Day 2018!
15. Pearls and swines – loose priorities – the hijab-saga in perspective
16. Hidden Pearl Hijab Review
17. Hijab ‘Attack’ Condemned By Canada’s Prime Minister Was A Hoax
18. My Hijab Story
19. The Secret Hijabi
20. What My Hijab Means To Me
21. Perspective: Hijab is Oppression or Freedom?Newspeak and the politics of fear

Dear Mr. President – A Response to the “Shithole Countries” Comment

From people in a certain position we would expect coming out their mouths some respectful and words of a certain standard. Incredible that we in Europe could hear already so many words and phrases a president unworthy, though coming out of the mouth (and mind) of the one who has to lead one of the most powerful countries in the world.

He dares to give the outside world the impression he is standing for the American upbringing and culture, but luckily there are others who want and dare to counter this ‘bogeyman’ plus trying to educate in the proper way the next generation, so that we still can have hope for the future.

7th Grade Global Studies teacher at Jefferson Junior High School in Naperville, Illinois , Chris Heffernan, National Geographic Education Contributor Worldgeochat gives a very nice welcome reaction on the way of speaking of his schoolkids president. He does find that Donald Trump does not represent them anymore than warlords represent all Sudanese or corrupt politicians represent all Haitians.

This isn’t a Democrat/Republican thing, this is all about human decency.

It’s the 12-13 year olds in his classroom that give him hope for the future, but it are also those who do need the right ‘spiritual’ food to be able to communicate with each other in their upcoming world.

We need to believe that they will do better than the “grown-ups” we have now!

worldgeochat

Dear Mr. President,

I have so many thoughts right now, but I’ll try to keep this simple for you.

My school has students from 38 nations. It is hard enough for them to adjust to life in a new country as an adolescent without someone calling their homeland a “shithole country.” As a geography teacher, I’ve spent the better part of two decades trying to get students to see that ALL countries have problems, and ALL countries have cultures to be proud of. I’ve had hundred of students watch the TED Talk by Chimamanda Adichie, “The Danger of a Single Story.” You should consider watching it, it would serve you well.

What 12-13 year olds understand, but you clearly don’t, is that we cannot, and should not judge an entire group of people by the actions of some. You have done this repeatedly with respect to Muslims, Mexicans, and anti-Nazi…

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To the Freeworlders

With pleasure we want to let you know that we have been busy with building a place where people want to share with each other. For more than 27 years Marcus Ampe tried to bring the idea of sharing into our capitalist society. In 1995 he got a computer and started writing on the internet under different pen names, to spout his ideas and to ventilate his criticism on our squandering society. In the 1990ies, with some political activists it was tried to get some ideas in the Belgian political and economical system (further presented by Roland Duchâtelet his political movement Vivant), like a standard income for every adult citizen and to bring more awareness about ecological matters. On that part he continued in the lines of the “Kabouters” (the Gnomes), the political green-party of the 1960ies of which he was an active member in the late 1960ies early 1970ies, and which promoted already the idea of sharing goods with each other to lessen the waste of consumption goods [long before Agalev – founded in 1979 and transformed into Groen (Green) in 2003].

A famous and controversial 1971 election poster, reading “Disarming”, giving a good impression for what the movements of which Marcus Ampe was involved with stood for and why their actions in the conservative Roman Catholic country got them and Marcus Ampe so much in trouble.

Because of his ideas of people having to share with each other and helping each other to build a peaceful multicultural society in an ecological respected environment, Mr. Ampe, as a flower-power person or hippie, was many times attacked and considered to be a communist, though he always claimed to promote the ways of Christ and considering his expressing disagreement with the principles and particular outcomes of capitalism plus considering himself more as utopist or by some called Utopian socialist. Because of his non-violence attitude, e.g. on animal rights, some considered him as pacifist,  a “politically homeless“, as progressive liberal (charismatic) Christian having contacts and friends with leftwing socialists, orthodox Marxists, anti-Stalinist Trotskyists, left communists, liberal pacifists and some anarchists, to be a weak and to naive stargazer to avoid. Mr. Ampe was clearly very much influenced by one of his favourite thinkers, Charles Fourier, and reformers as Robert Owen, going for utopian socialism, even when he got so much adverse wind of socialists, drawing from early communist and socialist ideas.

Today he is still convinced that our current systems of monetary, social, ideological and border divisions are not working and endangering our species. Having come aware that too many of his ideals are perhaps not for this world he still keeps to many of his old ideals and hopes once there may come a new generation again prepared to oppose our war-machine and consumer society. He is still looking at mankind as people allowed (by the Most High Power) to live on this planet as attenders who have to come to show their mutual respect for each other and our planetary home.

For him it must not be that every single one of us, rich or poor, born into life-long slavery and bondage from which there would be no escape under the current system. There is still to do a lot of work to have more people come to see that we can liberate ourselves. Most of us may know that the system we are born into does not serve humanity, but very few of us know what to do to change it or are even willing to look for some change which brings more peace in the hearts of the people.

We can no longer sit idly, watching the destruction of our people, our communities, our countries, and our human potential, by greedy corporations supported by governments with no remorse for their actions, or accountability to the people they are supposed to serve. It should not be allowed that certain people earn 300% more than those who do the dirty job.

Along all sites there are certain groups and movements trying to bring fear and restriction of liberty, freedom of speech and freedom of religion. If we are not careful a lot fro what so many fought in the previous centuries will be lost again soon.

We can no longer sit silently, hoping that someone will do something to stop the assault on our liberties and future prosperity. It has fallen on the shoulders of the common people, to unite and create a new way … a new system … a future filled with abundance and prosperity for ourselves, our children and our grandchildren. The individualist centralist ego has to be silenced.

We should go for creating a totally new system free from economic slavery … where we turn competition into collaboration …  a new social structure where we all benefit from our collective efforts and individual talents …  a new world where people are put before profits, and the resources & materials are used to enrich all our lives.

Every single one of us is born in the image of the Divine Creator with valuable and unique gifts and talents and should be happy that he or she can have such talents.  Tat what we received for nothing we also should share with others and should use it for those who do not have such talents. When each individual uses his own talents to improve the lives of everyone around them, these gifts would not be wasted in mundane week-long positions of servitude making profits for those wealthier than ourselves.

Everything you see around you are things which came into being by people who used their hands and brains, and should all be articles created by people for people. Therefore it can not be that there are many who have so little.

The people are the gifts, the people are the power, the genius, the brilliance, and the vision that has created everything we see around us. Without the workers no factory can produce. So why should the society receive most of the gains, the bricks do not need the money.

We are told all the problems facing us are inevitable, that war, hunger and poverty are symptoms of the human condition and we need governments to protect us from ourselves. As many of us now realize, this is simply a lie to disempower us! All the decay, hunger, fear, and lack surrounding us are the direct results of the parasites profiteering off of us, which includes the governments we are told are there to serve us, but just do not come to protect and help the citizens of their country.

Mr. Ampe says.

In the meantime all over the world we could find like-minded figures willing to promote the sharing of knowledge and materials.

In 2014 Robert Chatwin (robito) founded Wake Up World Education (WUWE) trying to collaborate with the world’s biggest global movements for change to help bring solutions into everyone’s life.  WUWE is contributing to this global movement for positive change by switching people on (or waking people up) to this solutions-focused reality so they feel energised, inspired and excited about the world we live in. They take Solutions Education into schools, workplaces, homes and communities, as well as providing a Free online course and offering the world’s biggest solutions to meet-up via their Weekly Circle.

The author of F-Day: The Second Dawn Of Man, a fictional account of humanity’s evolution into a society beyond money, and several video’s on YouTube, created a few years ago a Free World Charter, a social reform initiative that proposes 10 founding principles on which to grow an alternative moneyless society that is fair and sustainable, which Marcus Ampe also endorsed.

Colin Turner his work also includes the Freeworlder Free Sharing Network and HonorPay, a moneyless public awards system for expressing appreciation and gratitude. Many of the underlying concepts of his charter were originally inspired by Jacque Fresco’s Venus Project and Peter Joseph’s Zeitgeist film series – visionaries who, no doubt, would attribute their inspiration to many other historical influences too.

Freewolder Founder Colin Turner states:

“Imagine the power of billions of acts of unconditional free-sharing and the positive effect that could have both on our society and the environment. Imagine how much more peaceful and abundant our world could be without the limitations and injustices of trade.”

Freeworlder: the world’s first truly free sharing network! No exchange. No credits. No barter. Just everyone sharing their excess items and skills!

Can you imagine the power of free, unconditional sharing, mulitplied by millions and billions of people? What kind of world would that be?

Can you imagine the problems we could solve if we didn’t need to trade in order to survive?

Can you imagine if the only thing that governed people’s behaviour was not the money they had nor the laws they obeyed, but rather the knowledge, respect and appreciation they had for each other and their environment?

This is why we built Freeworlder.com – to facilitate online what we all do every day – except to bring that trust outside our immediate circles, friends and family and around the world.

We are changing the world in baby steps. Today, we can share our small excess items, skills and knowledge easily. Soon we will build enough trust and confidence in the idea of unconditional sharing, that we can begin to truly re-organise our society for the mutual benefit of all.

“The Freeworlder Network” will go online this coming May. (We’ll let you know when the site is ready)

Welcome to the world’s first free-sharing network!

Please join. Please support. Please share.

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Find also to read

1. The Free World
2. Freeworlder – Free Sharing Network
3. The Free World Charter – A New Story
4. Our World Is Free
5. Ubuntu contrubitonism
6. Pulling The Gum Out Of The Rug
7. Free The Economy
8. Universal Basic Serfdom – Freeworlder.com
9. The Free World Charter: Let’s make everything free
10. The Freeworlder Wall – see who’s here!
11. Life In The Open Economy – Freeworlder.com
12. The Flower of Life
13. Access to a New Dream
14. The mindful approach to animal connection
15. Socialentrepreneurialism project. Collaborators wanted
16. WUWE, can be contacted by email or signed up here to get involved and stay informed.
17. Blogging In The Free World
18. A Call to Calm, A Call to Reset
19. 21 Day Challenge – Complaint Free
20. Leaders of the Free World
21. The “American Dream” …
22. What in the “Free” world….?
23. Fear of Truth (Reprise)
24. Dreamland!
25. Virtual Brownie Sharing Circle
26. one.
27. sharing
28. Just Sharing!!
29. Sharing is Caring
30. Free From Modern Capitalism

    

Koffers van trots inpakken en wegwezen

‘Elke vrouw die haar waarde eindelijk heeft gevonden,
heeft haar koffertjes van trotsheid opgepakt
en een vlucht naar vrijheid genomen,
die in de vallei van de verandering landde.’

– Shannon L. Alder

English version / Engelse versie > Picking up suitcases of pride

 

Related articles

• The first lady of Japan may have pretended not to speak English to avoid Trump

Reflectie voor 13 Juli: Drie belangrijke dingen in liefde en vriendschap

”In de liefde en in vriendschappen zijn drie dingen belangrijk: Respect, Begrip en Vergeving.”

Sonia Pereira

 

100 Direct Instructions!

Colors of my life

100 direct instructions by Allah in the Quran for mankind with references:
1. Do not be rude in speech (3:159)

2. Restrain Anger (3:134)

3. Be good to others (4:36)

4. Do not be arrogant (7:13)

5. Forgive others for their mistakes (7:199)

6. Speak to people mildly (20:44)

7. Lower your voice (31:19)

8. Do not ridicule others (49:11)

9. Be dutiful to parents(17:23)

10. Do not say a word of disrespect to parents (17:23)

11. Do not enter parents’ private room without asking permission (24:58)

12. Write down the debt (2:282)

13. Do not follow anyone blindly (2:170)

14. Grant more time to repay if the debtor is in hard time (2:280)

15. Don’t consume interest (2:275)

16. Do not engage in bribery (2:188)

17. Do not break the promise (2:177)

18. Keep the trust (2:283)

19. Do not mix the truth with falsehood (2:42)

20. Judge with…

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Respect en luisteren

”Er is geen betere manier om respect te tonen dan naar iemand te luisteren.”

Amy Cuddly

 

Artists role in Time of great danger

Artists are the voice of or for society. They are the ones who look at things, analyse the situations and try to warn the people around them.

At 1:00pm on Tuesday, May 9, 2017 at Radio City Music Hall  the New York City’s School of Visual Arts had activist and icon Gloria Steinem spokeeaking urgently on the state of the union at the College’s 41st annual commencement exercises.

On Tuesday, beginning around noon, a sea of buoyant figures in swirling red gowns descended on Rockefeller Center in New York City. Slowly disappearing into Radio City Music Hall, the some 1,170 students were gathering for commencement and graduation from the School of Visual Arts. In the auditorium, their robes billowed out over the velvet-red seats; the resulting camouflage effect seemed symbolically appropriate as a nod to their shared experience at SVA, in a last, unifying moment before they dispersed to start the next chapter of their lives.

Kicking off the program was a speech by Allison R. Schaller, soon to be an alumna with a BFA in Photography and Video.

“As artists, we can think up anything. But it’s the creating, the doing that’s important,”

Schaller said.

“We know many of the world’s problems, and largely the actions we need to take, it’s acting on that knowledge that’s challenging. But luckily for us, we now have a leg up, as we are armed with an education. Find a cause you believe in, find something you are great at, find a passion and make it yours. And please do so with empathy for others.”

SVA President David Rhodes spoke about how citizens in a democracy have an obligation to parse out the truths in the deluge of information circulating in public discourse.

Writer, lecturer, political activist, and feminist organizer Gloria Steinem when stepping up to the podium remembered that she grew up in Toledo,

” hoping, praying to be a Rockette.”

“I want to say to my 10-year-old self, I’m on the stage of Radio City Music Hall, and this is better!”

she declared to a cheering audience.

Addressing the students, Steinem implored them to realize their power as visual artists — namely, in their ability to appeal to sensations, even instincts, shared by all humans.

“To be universally understandable is to have the potential of bringing diverse people together, undivided by different languages or degree of education,”

she said.

The work that writers do, in contrast, takes shape internally, subject to the whims of consciousness, which are as fleeting as they are inscrutable, she implied.

“My joy in writing comes from having an idea and then from finally achieving it,”

she explained.

“But not so much from the tactical, visual and sensory processes in between.”

It was not lost on the room that Steinem’s calls for unity had uncommon urgency.

Women’s March in Washington – worldwide protest on January 21, 2017, to advocate legislation and policies regarding human rights and other issues, including women’s rights, immigration reform, healthcare reform, reproductive rights, the natural environment, LGBTQ rights, racial equality, freedom of religion, and workers’ rights.

“We are in a time of maximum change. On the one hand there is great danger, and I am not for a moment diminishing how great that danger is, and on the other hand, we are woke! I have never in my life seen so much organic, sustained, enthusiastic, inventive, created, and fan-f..cking-tastic activism as I did doing the March on Washington.”

I think we have come to a time where artists of all breed have to come out stronger again. It is perhaps not bad we can see a movement again like we had when we went on the barricades in 1968. Our egocentric capitalist society needs again some voices to bring awareness about climate change and our way to live.

Steinem looked back at the more recent march and said

Steinem raises a fist after being presented with a Doctor of Fine Arts degree by Glaser (left). Photo Copyright © 2017Joseph Sinnott.

“What we remember are the symbols, the hats! It’s a rebellion of the visual arts, the arts of the heart, the arts that are not limited by language, not limited by technology.  There’s so much to be learned if you go beyond your boundaries and now is the time we need to blast those boundaries.”

Steinem called the graduates

“the arts of the heart,”

and cautioned them that from her experience, revolutionaries have to proceed in a way that will renew a world they want to be a part of.

“If you want to have fun and laughter and sex and poetry and music at the end of the revolution,”

she said, beaming at the cheering graduates and their families,

“You have to have fun and laughter and sex and poetry and music on the way.”

Reacting against the bad way our society is moving should not limit us to have fun at the same time that we react against the wrong going. By our creative work we can give criticism and can show a reflection of how our world is evolving, treating its past and showing where it wants to go. We need more artists who hold the mirror in front of us, like Rabirius does, for example.

Reflection to awaken the people around us. By all the social media and advertisements they have been taken asleep. So many are not any more interested in the welfare of animals and plants and think

“It will not be so bad”

Many like the present president of the U.S.A. are not interested in bringing the truth and are more concerned about their own positioning and ‘shining’ in the world. Many are even prepared to walk over corpses if necessary to create a better position for themselves. Others are just happy when they have their gadgets and daily fun.

Today we also can see lots of people are looking for the communal fun, to feel the vibration of togetherness, having the idea they may be between like minded people. Lots of festivals are “in”. It reminds me of the time we had also the many festivals, Woodstock being our ‘greatest one’. Now the Belgian organisers of ‘Tomorrow Land‘ manage to create a magic world and incredible worldwide feeling of unity again. They claim

We believe in enjoying life to the fullest without having to compromise everything. We are responsible for the generation of tomorrow and respect each other and Mother Nature. Respect, Health, Nature, Responsibility and Innovation are the five circles of Love Tomorrow. The Heart is the inner circle, representing passion, love and respect.

We can only hope that those who go and visit such Fantasy World festival shall come to think further their than the entrance gates of their magic world and shall rally spread that love and respect.

Let us hope they may meet others from all over the world to keep contact with and to exchange ideas, but also to get a preparedness to react to our present world and how politicians are screwing the people where they are standing next to them.

In any case it has become high time for the artists to let their political and world views be shown in their work again to bring a ‘voice to think’ again.