Ostomy Memories of Fishing

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HenryM

RIP DST  **  SURROUNDED BY WATER MOST OF MY LIFE in Florida, a peninsula, I have never been fishing. Floridians and tourists are always going out into the Atlantic on the east coast and the Gulf of Mexico on the west coast in fishing boats and trying to catch marlin, grouper, red snapper, sea bass, and a variety of catches. It is referred to, somewhat disingenuously, as “sport fishing.” Like hunting, I fail to see the sport. If you want to be fair about it, “sport” involves individuals or teams competing against each other on even terms. If the hunter’s prey could shoot back, or it the fish was higher up on the evolutionary scale, then perhaps there would be some semblance of competitiveness involved. But, lacking that, to call it “sport” is a stretch. Of course, I’m sure there are less obvious reasons for someone to go fishing than just to catch fish. A lazy way to wile away a day, get away from the spouse and kids, down some cold brews with your buddies. Or, as Hemingway wrote in “The Old Man and the Sea”: “Then he felt the gentle touch on the line and he was happy.”

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Bill

Hello HenryM.
Thank you once again for providing a platform upon which we may place our perspectives on an issue that has been at the forefront of our discussions for a long while.
However, more recently, there has been a spat between the British and the French over ‘fishing rights’.

As soon as this concept was mentioned in this form, my wife turned to me and said: “What RIGHTS?”
What she meant was; What right does anyone have to pick on another creature, torture it by taking it out of its environment and murder it for their own pleasure or greed? Does the fish have no ‘rights’ to live? Do they have no ‘righs’t to enjoy the environment in which they were born and raised?
My wife went on to rail against the cruelty involved in catching the fish in large nets and dropping them head-first onto the steel decks of ships whilst they are still alive. The discussion then progressed to line-fishing where the fish are hooked by the mouth and dragged through the water until eventually dying by a form of air-suffocation out of the water which is necessary for them to stay alive.
She goes on to repeat her question: “What gives people the ‘right’ to be cruel in this way?”

I join in the conversation with my usual comparisons with other types of ‘bullying’ in human societies; Pointing out that anyone who hunts, fishes or otherwise kills other living things, is by definition - a ‘bully’. This makes them prime contenders for other types of physical and psychological cruelty.
My favourite cliché in this regard is to mention my concept of ‘fairness’, whereby I maintain that:
“If a situation seems ‘unfair’, then one criteria should be to reverse the roles, and if the ‘new-victim’ doesn’t like the outcome, then the original position was unfair.”
I have heard many and varied ‘justifications’ and rationalisations for these murderous activities, (as with other types of bullying) but so far, none of them seem morally justifiable.

The human race appears to be divided/dividing into those who have a moral conscience and those who don’t.
It would be my contention, that part of being a modern, socially evolving ‘human’, is to have developed a moral framework by which to live. Without this, the people are still like any other ‘wild’, ‘uncivilised’ animal.
Further to this, I would say that these ‘animals’ have proved themselves to be the most dangerous animals that have ever inhabited the Earth. Therefore, they should be controlled in the same ways that we might control other dangerous animals.
Further still, there has developed, a sub-species of humans who have developed a creed of cruelty and death by proxy. Sending/paying/getting other humans to do their dirty work for them, so they can absolve themselves of any personal ‘blame’.

In monetarist societies, this is often achieved by the manipulation of wealth and finances for the benefit of the few, at the expense and exploitation of the majority.
All my life, this type of thing has felt ‘fishy’ and ‘unfair’, and, has therefore been a motivation to versify the emerging concepts.
I apologise in advance for the number of verses shared on this occasion, but they seemed to neatly form a small ‘sub-set’ amongst a vast number of others in my latest book ‘B. Withers Against Covert bullying 2nd Edition. 2021 (pp 125-131)’

Best wishes
Bill

BULLY PASTIMES.

A person’s pastimes are a clue
to what bullies might think and do
to fool people who think that they
are simply people out to play.

When bullies take up pastimes, we
may use analogies to see
that what they do as a pastime
fits with the bully paradigm.

There are some things we can look for
that shows morality is poor,
and that these bullies rarely stop
their playing games to be on top.

The pastimes that the bullies seek,
are those where they can act and speak
and influence in ways where they
can put their bullying into play.

There’s hunting, shooting, and fishing.
Teaching/preaching, blacksmithing.
Politics and muck-raking,
and almost any undertaking.

It’s not the pastimes that’s to blame,
but bullies, as they play their game
of Machiavellian deceit,
in order that they may maltreat.

The pastimes I’ve selected here,
are just examples that are near
to ones I know will resonate
with how these bullies operate.

Perhaps you’d like to take a look
at other rhymes within this book,
which covers this subject more fully
through the behaviour of the bully.

(continued---)
BULLY PASTIMES. ( Hunting continued)

I’ll start here with a pastime where
the bully clearly has no care
for the creatures that they hurt
as their bullying they exert.

Hunting is an illustration
where bullies give us confirmation
of cruelty that they employ
whilst doing stuff that they enjoy.

Surely, anyone that’s willing
to indulge in wanton killing
creatures that don’t stand a chance
must be viewed as fer-de-lance. (venomous snake)

Killing things is practice for
the bullying that I abhor,
for these same people can be cruel
by using hunting as a tool.

They’ll use their predation skill
to bully, maim, and sometimes kill
the human prey who they pursue
which may include both me and you.

Hunting’s so mean, it’s obvious,
yet bullies seem oblivious
to the cruelty involved
so, they’ve no problem to be solved.

This is a similar mind-set
to the one’s the bullies get
when they are cruel to human prey
and view it as a game to play.

The bully and the hunter share
a feeling that they just don’t care
about the victims of their acts
for they’ve found ways to twist the facts.

(continued---)
BULLY PASTIMES. (teaching- continued)

Whilst hunting has some direct links
to overt bullying that stinks,
I’d like to expose covert stuff,
of which we all have had enough.

Some bullies like to hide their traits
of personal bullying and hate,
so, they seek pastimes that might hide
their sneaky, snidey cruel side.

Teaching seems to be ideal
for those bullies who want to feel
the dominance this role affords
as this is something that accords.

Teachers have opportunity
to bully with impunity,
for they have the authority
and gain superiority.

Not every teacher is a bully,
so, to understand them fully
we must examine motives where
they first decided they would share.

In formal classrooms there’s no doubt
that most bullies are weeded out
before they get to ply their trade
on students from whatever grade.

But there are ways that bullies can
get into teaching man-on man,
and that’s by way of private tuition
with some cunning intuition.

But first, the teacher needs a skill
so, they can start to teach at will
and pupils will be unaware
that they are bullies and don’t care.

(continued---)

BULLY PASTIMES. (blacksmithing continued)

A brief, first glance at blacksmithing
would not lead us to think this thing
could directly link to bullying
in similar ways to hunting.

But look more closely, and we see
a remarkable similarity,
in that, some bullies use this trade
as a substitute-bullies aid.

The bully wants complete control
over body, heart and soul.
But how to practice this when they
have limits on the way they play.

The blacksmith ‘beats’ the metal so
they can control the way to go,
until the item’s finished and
the blacksmith has the upper-hand.

They gain a lot of satisfaction
in this manipulative action,
where metal rarely will resist
the forces of the metalist.

But bashing metal’s not the same
as their human-bashing game.
So, while it works with blacksmith stuff,
this type of bashing’s not enough.

After a time they’ll have a skill,
that with manipulation will
open up a teaching role
which puts the bully in control.

Herein lies that complex net,
the bully weaves so he can get
some bullying experience
over those much less experienced.

(continued---)
BULLY PASTIMES. (Pseudo-Politics  continued)

We know that politics, it seems
fulfils most of the bully’s dreams.
For in those roles, the power lies
and bullies wish to win that prize.

From outside, politicians reign,
so, there appears a lot to gain
from being in the driving seat
controlling everyone you meet.

Aspiring politicians may
appear to have a lot to say,
which mostly will be critical
because this tack is typical.

Without responsibility,
the bully’s sensibility
is often coloured by the fact
they think they’re better at this act.

Their problem is, they know-it-all
and want to see their rivals fall,
because they have this fantasy
that they can grasp reality.

They’re jealous, and believe that they
could do much better on the day,
if only they could win the pole
and subsequently gain control.

Of course, a few bullies get through
and often prove, by what they do,
that they are bullies and dictators
so, were much better as spectators.

These pseudo-politicians think
all other politicians stink,
but we all know they’ll be the same
if they’re allowed to join this game.

(continued---)
BULLY PASTIMES. (Muck-raking  continued)

So, now we come to muck-raking,
which is the bully’s way of taking
every bad thing they think they know,
and put it all on public show.

This is a classic bully’s ploy
to wind folk up, and to annoy
the victims they bullied before
and want to line them up for more.

They take the things that ‘they’ believe
will persuade people and deceive
them into thinking that it’s right
and therefore, folks should stand and fight.

But, with these bullies, be aware,
they are deceitful and don’t care
whether it is truth or lies,
as long as they can forge strong ties.

Their own wrongdoings, they will hide,
so people might be on ‘their’ side,
thus, it seems that they are strong
and opposition must be wrong.

Mud-slingers seem to get their kicks
from the belief, it’s mud that sticks.
But, these bullies are uncouth
and care-not if the mud’s not truth.

For bullies, mud-slinging feels good,
as many people never could
detect the source from whence it came,
thus, it supports the bully’s game.

So, looking at these pastimes we
expose their games, and clearly see
that everything these bullies do
has been designed to upset you.

So, don’t get bound by all their shit
just turn around and ignore it!

Be Withers 2021

BULLY PASTIMES (SPORT)

I thought I ought to look at sport,
to highlight things bullies are taught
so, they may justify their aims
and label it as ‘playing games’.

When ‘sport’ becomes competitive
it also becomes combative,
where motive’s have an origin
with each side trying hard to win.

This means the other side must lose,
so guess what every side will choose.
and bully’s motives are the same
as they play their bully games.

In sport they talk of honing skill
and fighting very hard until
they have that killer instinct and
they strive to get the upper-hand.

Some sports exemplify this more,
football and rugby, that’s for sure,
but all competitive sports will be
using methods of the bully.

Thus, if we scrutinise some more
these competitions look like war,
and perhaps they are just substitutes
for pseudo-fighting between brutes.

Listening to these sports’ rhetoric,
and when fans become euphoric,
we can see they think this way
by all the things they do and say.

So, sport’s a way to normalise
behaviour that may brutalise,
and teach people to dominate,
win the game and subjugate.

                                      Be Withers 2021

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Ritz

Henry, I grew up fishing every weekend. I love the fight on my hook but never wasted a good catch. My dinner. Never on a fishing boat with crowds, just off the shores of lakes and oceans... the peace and quiet. Catch, clean, and cook!

Enjoy your view... Ritz

lovely
Reply to Bill

Does this saying apply to all creatures we kill and eat?

What right does anyone have to pick on another creature, torture it by taking it out of its environment and murder it for their own pleasure or greed? Does the fish have no 'rights' to live? Do they have no 'rights' to enjoy the environment in which they were born and raised?

Bill
Reply to lovely

Hello Lovely.
This is a very good question you raise and I will try to answer it as best I can despite its underlying complexity.
Firstly, you may note that the paragraph you chose to quote as a ‘saying’, was in fact a snippet from a conversation between my wife and myself. These were a volley of (very pertinent) questions relating to the ’morality’ of the ‘rights’ of humans over the ‘rights’ of other animals.
One of the many problems with sharing this sort of conversation with a wider audience is that other people may not view killing things as unacceptable.
‘Morality’, according to the dictionary definition, is:
1) Standards of conduct that are generally accepted as right or proper.
2) The rightness or wrongness of something as judged by accepted moral standards
3) ‘Virtuous behaviour’: conduct that is in accord with accepted moral standards.
Given the above definition of ‘morality’ was drawn up by human beings, in favour of human beings. It would be my contention that it is both biased, and outdated (as is the case with so many of our laws).
What has become ‘accepted’ by humans in modern societies, is what I have labelled ‘The morals of the marketplace’; By that, I mean that many humans have become ‘normalised’ to non-virtuous behaviour and what would be considered to be ‘immoral’ by those who wish to strive towards a ‘fairer’ and more compassionate way of behaving.
From my own perspective (which is biased towards fairness and against unfairness) , it seems ‘right’ to be asking these sorts questions.
The answers that people come up with may well depend upon how open they are to question the status quo and the motives of those who have previously made it seem ‘normal’ to kill (or harm) things that may or may not be more vulnerable than they are.
Given the amount of killing of humans, animals and the environment around the globe, it would seem that killing has been deemed to be an acceptable thing to do.
My own view (that I have expressed many times before), is that killing and harming others (including other animals) is an indication that human beings have not evolved as far as they like to think they have. They are still behaving like other predatory animals, without remorse, or what is commonly called a ‘conscience’.
These humans are still acting on their ‘instincts’, and self-interests, rather than on any desire to make things ‘better’ for everyone and everything on our tiny, fragile planet.
In our family, we have tried to make it ‘normal’ to be able to express our views, and question things without fear of being criticised for creating or holding ‘different’ perspectives.
In short – ‘Our’ answer to your question must be YES!
However, this response has evolved via a lifetime of questioning what seems right and what seems wrong in the way that we behave and take responsibility for our own behaviour.
Gradually, this has made us and many others, into something other than instinctive predatory animals, who are willing to kill or harm other things at will.
I hope this goes some way to answering your question but, perhaps more importantly, I hope it stimulates you to ask even more questions.

PS:  Knowing that you are a Christian, I would add that I have every respect for someone like Jesus, who, according to historical records, tried to compile his own moral compass which was clearly opposed to what was prevalent at the time.

One of the 'commandments' (as I understand it) was: "Thou shalt not kill!"  From my perspective, this is still quite a reasonable aspiration and moral stand. There is no ambiguity about what or who you should not kill; It is stating a 'principle' which should be a guide to Christian (and perhaps all) behaviour. 

Ironically, he was murdered for what he believed in, by those who did not want his message(s) disseminated amongst the general population. 

There was something else that he is reported as saying to his disciples:  " I will make you fishers of men".  Now, I have little doubt that this did not mean that he wanted them to use nets or hooks to entrap their prey with the aim of  eventually enslaving, torturing and killing them. Unlike the (supposedly 'civilised') Romans, who were ruling his world at that time. Perhaps there are still some things humans can learn from 'kind' people from our past.

 
Best wishes
Bill

QUESTIONING LIFE 2.

I think it’s good to question life.
And cut the crap with a sharp knife.
Look at all the things you’ve done.
To see where you have lost or won.

This will help you get to know.
Which is your best way to go.
The questions are all there for you.
So start to question all you knew.

There’s much to make you raise concerns.
About life’s many twists and turns.
By asking questions you might find.
Many answers spring to mind.

If you want to cure an ill.
Questioning’s a useful skill.
To really know what it’s about.
You need to try the questions out.

You need to practice every day.
And learn how questions interplay.
No matter how much time is spent.
Make your questions relevant.

Once the questions have been asked.
Then the answers are unmasked.
For asking questions is the key.
To open doors and set you free.

The questions that you ask right now.
May be what or who or how.
But if you want to get somewhere.
Don’t forget the when and where.

Here’s some other questions -‘Whink’,
Which simply asks you ‘what you think’.
‘Whem’ is ‘what emotions’ flow.
‘Whelse’ – ‘what else’ keeps you on the go.

All these questions lay foundations.
For constructive conversations.

                                                 B. Withers 2012
(P257 In: ‘A Thesis on Constructive Conversations 2012)

 
Living with Your Ostomy | Hollister
bowsprit

We all know that life can be unfair. One of its many inexplicable qualities is that many of the greatest conservationists were hunters and anglers themselves. They include Ernest Hemingway, Jimmy Carter who is responsible for the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, and surprisingly John James Audubon. I have been going on shoots since I was six years old, though I don't shoot anymore. Over the years, I have met many crack shots, all of them now involved in conservation in some way. An English shooting instructor once told us that even if you pick up a gun at age twenty, you will never be as good a shot as one who starts at a much earlier age. The fees for shooting and fishing permits keep many game departments in business. The fee for a single Markhor permit here is US$125,000, and a little less for locals, though most of them go to foreigners. Without these funds, it would be very difficult for game officials to operate in remote areas. Ducks Unlimited, the American organization, contributes $146 million yearly to conservation efforts. Arab Sheikhs run a well-staffed and funded project for the preservation of the Houbara Bustard. Fortunately, they don't hunt with guns but with falcons. Some critics find nothing wrong with eating beef, lamb, and pork. How are those animals brought to the dining table?

HenryM
Reply to bowsprit

"Some critics find nothing wrong with eating beef, lamb and pork.  How are those animals brought to the dining table?"  A valid point.  Speaking for myself, I feel guilty, but not guilty enough to become a vegan.  At least the animals being slaughtered in the abattoir are being killed for food, as opposed to the "sport" of hunters who get off shooting living things.  This subject inevitably reminds me of the scene in the film "Soylent Green" where Charlton Heston realizes that "Soylent Green is people!" 

Bill

hello HenryM & all resondents.

I am so appreciative of the stimulating discussions provided by you all.

Apart from the useful information and support with stoma stuff, this site has a way of stimulating  new concepts and motivational ideas.

Since I finished my latest book on 'bullying', I have been searching for concepts relating to 'kindness'. These are surprisingly hard to find (in comparison to bullying) However, while racking my diminishing brain as to how to answer Lovely's question (above), it occurred to me that Bullying is equivalent to 'unkindness'; Therefore, there must be just as many examples of kindness in the world as there are unkindness.

One of the enlightening aspects of this train of thought is, that people 'choose' to be unkind; hence, when they 'choose' to omit being unkind, then these alternative acts should surely be examples of potential kindnesses (which are much more likely to go unnoticed).

Anyway, the logic may be flawed but at least it has prompted me to wrtite another rhyme:

Best wishes

Bill 

KINDNESS BY OMMISSION.

Our way of thinking, by tradition,
often ignores acts of omission
as illustrating acts of kindness,
as if we have some kind of blindness.

But in this verse, I would maintain
omissions need not be in vain,
for sometimes they are just as kind
as other things we have in mind.

Take, for instance, cases where
a stark choice is laid out bare,
where we could be kind or unkind,
which of these choices would we find.

In a bullying society
with all its impropriety,
it might be tempting to do wrong
for that’s what’s happened for too long.

It seems that wrongdoers prevail,
gain rewards and often sail
through their lives with privilege
whilst others live upon the edge.

Poor people do not have much choice,
and neither do they have a voice
to make the point that if they could
they would choose to do some good.

But if they cannot do some good,
perhaps it’s time that others should
recognise that doing nowt
can be what kindness is about.

Is it not better to omit,
than bully, so ‘we’ benefit?
It’s better to do nothing than
harm or kill another man.

Of all the things that bullies do
to the likes of me and you,
it surely would be better to
have an opposing point of view.

When we do this, we might-well find
that ‘not to bully’ may be ‘kind’
and this might shed a different light
upon what may be wrong or right.

Bullies bully without much thought
about the fact they may be caught,
because people are not surprised,
for it’s their way that’s normalised.

Bullies bully because they can
and because it’s their game-plan,
to dictate and to dominate,
castigate and subjugate.

If we omit to do these things,
we’ll see what kindnesses it brings
to those who only know what’s bad,
which makes them vulnerable and sad.

If we refrain from causing pain,
time, and time, and time again,
then a concept springs to mind,
this act, in fact is being kind.

If we can stop our cruel abuse,
and put our acts to better use,
or simply do nothing, we may
have stumbled on a ‘better’ way.

Sometimes it’s things that we omit
that can act as a conduit
to channel all our kindness through
and help our lives to start anew.

                                       Be Withers 2021

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