Kaepernick vs. Floyd: Who bothers you more?

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kmedup

One day, in the not too distant future, I would like to venture back to Eastern Canada, pick up Laurie and anyone in between our provinces, cross our friendly borders again, and actually meet the ostomates I really admire for their honesty and tenacity - Nancy, Mike, Bob .. I am just now forgetting names (she said hopefully in another daze......) Wouldn't that be nice? Stay strong folks. K

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First off, this is a pretty cool site with 33,093 members. Get inside and you will see.

We're not all about ostomy. Everything is being discussed in the forums.

It's a very special community, embracing all ages and backgrounds. People are honest and truly care.

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Create an account and you will be amazed.

Past Member

Karen - I'm in! Road trip!

Laurie

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kmedup

I am used to getting involved in what is happening around me - even in a small way. Now I watch helplessly (not hopelessly) at what is happening state-side. The protests are becoming mesmerizing and inspirational. Now, if all those protesters turn up at the voting polls, it may all be worth it. K

kmedup

It would be nice if people did not see color. K

dadnabbit

And even nicer if they would just accept the rainbow of humanity. :-)

Peace

Nancy

 
Words of Encouragement from Ostomy Advocates I Hollister
kmedup

Hi Laurie,

Edmonton does not disappoint. A Black Lives Matter peaceful protest is going on while I am typing. So proud of our citizens.

I guess Captain Bone Spur better put on his big boy pants and attempt to walk among the people he pretends to represent rather than resort to childish name-calling and an upside-down Bible holding stunt. What is Jesus thinking now? Bunker Boy finally got his wall - to encapsulate the White House aka The People's House. Imagine - the US, a police state. Who'da ever thunk it! He alone is dismantling democracy.

I keep waiting for the curtain to be pulled away to expose "Agent Orange" (Wizard of Oz analogy). I could get chided for making these remarks but oh well - if it is okay for Teleprompter and Twitter Trump to continually name-call and chastise people, it is okay for me. The bar could not be lower. What next? Babygate, for King Trump 1. The storm troopers in front of the Lincoln Memorial should be embarrassing. History will not be kind to the Bunker Inspector.

What is being camouflaged, unfortunately, is ... that the virus keeps spreading... behind the scenes. Yes Bob - another rant but the time is ripe with material. Carpe momentum! Karen

kmedup

Who is this British artist Banksy? I must find out more.    https://www.designboom.com/art/banksy-anti-racism-george-floyd-black-lives-matter-06-06-2020/  His or her analogy is really quite spot-on:

'At first, I thought I should just shut up and listen to black people about this issue,' starts Banksy. 'But why would I do that? It's not their problem. It's mine.'

'People of colour are being failed by the system. The white system. Like a broken pipe flooding the apartment of the people living downstairs. This faulty system is making their life a misery, but it's not their job to fix it. They can't – no one will let them in the apartment upstairs.

This is a white problem. And if white people don't fix it, someone will have to come upstairs and kick the door in.'

On another note: I have over 10 boxes of Coloplast – 15470 – 30 closed pouches in each box = 300 pouches - for a fellow Canadian ostomate. Whatever I can put in the largest flat rate box - is all yours   - FREE.

Will hot weather (I would settle for warm) ever come to Alberta? I have to cover my plants again tonight:(   Karen

Past Member

Banksy holds a mirror for us to see ourselves within. Like the fool of the courts of days gone by, Banksy pricks our collective conscience and challenges us to see what's really going on. His or her art speaks to our soul, if we still have one.

Laurie

Bill

An interesting development over here in the UK was that protesters pulled down a statue of a slave-trader in Bristol and dumped it in the sea. ( It reminded me of the protesters pulling down the Berlin wall!) Fortunately, the police did not intervene ( They probably agreed with this action!) and mentioned that people had previously been requesting that the statue be removed for years.What was particularly pertinent about this event was that Boris Johnson PM and Pretti Patel ( Both bullies) described the protesters as 'criminal thugs'. Thus, by implication, supporting the notion of having statues erected to honour the slave-traders. 

My own perspective of these people from the past, is that they were narcissistic 'BULLIES' towards anyone who they thought they could exploit for personal gain.  My perspective on this type of behaviour has not changed in the modern era. They are still with us and without efecting some social and systematic changes in controlling them, they will continue with their malintent. 

This is the underlying ethos of a conservative government as well as an indication of 'institutionalised' racism. Our governments deplore and decry those revolutions in the past which have displaced the elite with a communist, or dictatorial rule. However, they do not seem to recognise the appalling circumstances which led to the people rebelling and fighting for what they percieved as a 'better' system. 

Before I get responses along the lines of 'our system is a better one', I would like to make my position clear. Many of the past revolutions seem to have replaced oppressive systems with similar ones in a different form. My own preference would be for a truly 'democratic' system where we no longer have politicians, but all have a say about every thing via a technological voting system.  I would also like to see a more moralistically based system whereby we could establish what we think is morally right as well as simply financially and socially beneficial to the elite in society. 

We could have laws  based on simplistic things like ;Thou shalt not kill and thou shalt not steal etc, but these laws would be applicable to everyone and not just to the underpriviledged. I would percieve 'profiteering' as stealing and the punishments would be in proportion to how much has been 'stolen'. There could perhaps be laws relating to the theft of things from the environment; and my particular interest, which is in those bullies who indulge in 'THE THEFT OF HOPE!'

Sorry for the rant, but it seemed to be in keeping with the mood of the moment.

Best wishes

Bill 

PS: For years Banksie was described by the establishment as a criminal  'vandal' for his socially explicit street art. 

Past Member

Bill, I don't disagree with a single thing you've said, however, I do see problems with what you've suggested. First, in order to have, as you've said, a truly democratic system, everyone would have to be well-informed and vote. I don't see how voting could be mandatory in a free system, and who would do the informing of the public? FOX vs CNN? Who gets to control the narrative? Whoever controls the narrative controls the spin. Second, we do, in free countries, have laws based on simplistic things like "thou shalt not kill," etc. Because we also believe in innocence until guilt is proven, things get complicated. Sometimes, decisions of guilt or innocence are swayed by whether or not you have the better (read: more expensive) legal team. It might be fairer to have a system in which everyone is entitled to the same level of legal representation. However, that would be expensive, and, well, we'd have to put it to a vote in a truly democratic system. While I personally would vote for it, there is no guarantee that the majority would. Let me say for the record though that I applaud your ideals. I vote for Bill for PM! (Providing that all campaign slogans are in iambic pentameter!)

Laurie

Past Member

So, since my last post (this morning), I have been stuck on the idea of nominating Bill for Prime Minister. Why? I like his idealism, his moral compass, and his sense of compassion. But then, I realize that no one in their right mind (hence Boris!) would want the job. So I wouldn't want to inflict that on a gentle soul like Bill. However, I would like to draw attention to the fact that Bill has an ability to get his point across very eloquently, without doing any harm to anyone. That in itself is noteworthy!!! We could all learn from his example. Maybe we should all take up writing poetry as a method of protest! I decided to give it a try, and I have to say, it's not as easy as I thought. Here is my Ode to Bill. (I know I said iambic pentameter in my last post, but, hey - I'm not the Bard!)

Ode to Bill

There once was a poet named Bill

Who, with bullies, had quite had his fill.

With his weapon of choice

(Nought more than his voice)

Said, "I'll smite the damn sods with my quill".



Laurie

kmedup

Hi Bill,

So much to say, so little time. My week is all but too full. I want to get back to your post later - when I get a life:) Karen

Bill

Hello Laurie. 

Thank you so much for the Ode. which is much appreciated both for it's poetry and its sentiment. I am about to publish a book called 'Rhymes on rhymes',  which is (obviously) about the reasoning and motivation behind writing in this way.

With your permission, I would like to reproduce your Ode in the book - which, if nothing else, will afford you the opportunity of boasting that you are a 'published-poet'!

Best wishes

Bill

 

INTRODUCTION (to rhymes on rhymes)

This book is a compendium,
with rhyming verse, the medium
for conveying many themes
which emanate from thoughts and dreams.

However, on reflection, we
found that writing poetry
became the subject of some rhyme,
so forms this present paradigm.

By looking back through my bookcase
it seems I always found a place,
to pen some rhymes on rhymes themselves,
which share the space upon my shelves.

The introductions and prologues,
acknowledgements and epilogues,
obviously are entitled
to remain with the same titles.

But hopefully, the rhyme inside
will not also coincide,
for each of these tries to portray
a different subject on display.

It also seems that as I write,
quite often I will have insight
into the reasons for my rhymes,
which also need a rhyme that chimes.

When that occurred, I thought I ought
to make sure that the thoughts were caught
within the same rhyming format,
that I’d become proficient at.

It then seemed the right thing to do,
to bring them all together to
make them much easier to view
for all the poets amongst you.

                                      B. Withers 2020

 

Past Member

Bill, I would be honored to have you add my ode to your book. Thank you for the ultimate compliment.

Laurie

Bill

Hello Laurie,

Thank you so much for your kind offer.

In case you need to refer to it at anytime, - failing any further additions or alterations, your Ode will be on page 154 (they are in alphabtical order) of Rhymes on Rhymes by B. Withers 2020. ISBN 978-1-874761-58-7

Best wishes

Bill

kmedup

Hi ladies,

I hear the pain as well, for I am also watching a country I used to visit annually and where I have many friends and relatives, implode.

I think the many injustices that have been going on untouched for years have finally and rightly so surfaced. It makes me rethink what racism is all about. Our Prime Minister does not want to open the borders, and I can see why. Not only is the virus still an unknown entity, people seem to not care anymore about masking or social distancing. I guess we are all so used to getting our own way that no one really listens anymore.

There are so many issues going on at once; it is a wonder what the states will look like when the dust settles. I still believe, however, that there are more good people stateside than there are opportunists, and like a young man said during an interview, "There are more of us than there are of you." Just maybe things can be righted in the near future, and we can start becoming caring human beings again.

The animal kingdom is not as cruel as our human race has become. It once took a village to raise a child. Now the child cannot even go into the village safely.

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