Posts by Ross Mason
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Its my total lack of trust and respect towards our 'leaders' that I'm expressing.
A classic line from the likes of those who won't vaccinate (and NOT limited to this) their kids. An example of the need for information and the benefits of herd immunity is useful for the Public Good. Knowing that you even exist helps me and my fellow citizens to be accommodated by those you don't trust when they come to build (eg) hospitals, schools and roads.
As for our Leaders. You and I get what we deserve. Everyone exercsing their voting rights would probably alleviate that issue significantly.
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Which is all very interesting, but doesn't help the Ministry of Health, Education, Police, Corrections, various university researchers, historians etc when they want useful information. It's been put into the census because it's useful information to have.
(See also people who write 'Jedi' as their religion, which also annoys me).
Those two points are interesting. Yes, no doubt that it helps to know which "group" you come from for health purposes. Medication purposes, immigration for historical etc. But that can be accessed when you go to the hospital unless you are unconcious. It is a "public good" - or it bloody well should be.
The bit about my being a Jedi - which I ticked BTW. :-) "Public Health" is a secular activity. It gets screwed by the likes of non blood tranfusing daleks. I would like to suggest that knowing my religion is not that useful for the "public good".
Hmmmm.......When does "first do no harm" kick in if religion needs to be taken into account??? If it is life and death and you don't know my religion, will you let me die rather than give me a tranfusion that will 'save me' but without my knowledge?
Oops. Maybe hijacked too far here.
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Ross, there's a whole bunch of former Yugoslavs outside. I can't tell them apart but they seem quite unhappy with each other, even the next-door neighbours.
It is why I added "usually" to the physical bit. Culture etc comes into the equation I s'pose. Religion to?
Which brings up an interesting point you see. One needs to dig deeper to discover how these groups - who YOU can't tell apart - are "different". But the CG thing was about colour and voice. There is no doubt about that.
So I gather if you got a bunch of Yugoslavs (does the term exist anymore?) together who did not know which "group" the others were in, would they have any difficulty deciding who they should hate with no other information?
Irish Catholic and Protestants anyone? And of course Indian and Pakistan.
Race is more physical in focus
I don't think is even exists anymore. It was very much associated with the "sub human" of the "new worlds".
Darwin has a lot to answer for. If he hadn't been around we would probably still be preaching to the natives.
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How's this then:
Ethnicity: Groups of people who gathered in different places sometime in the past and by the process of evolution, have developed (usually) physical differences when "compared" to other groups.
Or more simply, and probably in the context of what we are all discussing, they merely LOOK different to YOUR group.
And, I say again, only 2000+ generations worth of changing.
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If I was just right this very minute switching on Breakfast (I couldn't "right this very minute" I know....but) and I saw and heard that twirp for the very first time.
Well.
Warning: Sarcasm/"joke"/satire coming up.
I could have said: "When did that shrimp arsed whinging Pom turn up?" Looks like a Pom. Sounds like a Pom. We all hate Poms. They should go back to where they come from. What have they done for us? Why should HE be on OUR morning TV?
Finished.
It's so easy to denigrate. As folk have pointed out, there is always a voice like Henry's around and there will always be those that will react to such a voice. It's so easy to seed such attitudes as well. Parents invariably are the source of that initial seed. We were discussing this at tea and a workmate was telling a story of trying to identify a girl in her class. "Bit taller than me, round faced, blah blah blah," "Oh", says Mum, "You mean the black girl?" Taadaaa! Our talker had no idea that the colour of her skin meant she was someone, "something" different. But from then on, she knew about colour.
Fascinating.
Could it be that the only way out of this is to ban the first overseas trips any New Zealander (real one) takes is never to Australia. It is so like ours that it can never count as "foreign travel". We all need to see for ourselves that there are others in this world that demand respect (including Ockers BTW). They will then see that: We all have mothers; We all are trying to make our way in this world; We all have a right to be here on this Earth.
They might then realise there are migrants in all our roots and ....and maybe - hopefully - they won't care.
And we are only 2000ish generations from being from the same small family for f*&ks sake. It's time to grow up. It's getting crowded.
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One of the interesting 'rumours' that came for the LOTR years was that a lot of the NZers on set were employed by overseas companies. That makes for interesting situations. One biggie being that you are no longer coverd by ACC. I am aware of at least one guy being bashed over the nut with a sword and being invalided out of the movie and no ACC coverage.
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This local body election a few off us have got together to campaign to keep these local branches, precious civic spaces, which always seem to be under threat these days
Heh. That's great to see!!!!! I am "famous" in Pinehaven for being one of the front-people (frontspeople?? frontmen??) when the Upper Hutt Council wanted to ditch the Pinehaven Community Library about 15 years ago. I got to be President of the Library Committee for a year or so. That was fun with half the suburb sitting around the council chamber while we put our case. A motion was moved by our local councillor and Vooom!! Finance was approved with no dissention. No councillor was game to put their hand up agin it with THAT many voters around the place. We ended up "handing " it over to the Upper Hutt Council a few years later to run as a branch library. Even that has meant a few trips back to those chambers to reinforce the benefit.
Had to smile this week though. Upper Hutt is expanding the Main Library and Pinehaven is having it's hours extended to 6 days a week to cater for the whole city 'cos the main one will be closed to Joe Public!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeeee Haaaa. Isn't that wonderful!!
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Don't know if I entirely trust people who don't have a book in the house.
Amen. They are of another planet. Sometimes I look around these families and wonder what the hell the kids do at night or in the weekends. Usually the house does not look lived in either. "Surfaces surfaces - I MUST have surfaces." Those kind of poor folk.
I can live with messy.
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"I must go down there and arrange them by colour while everyone else is busy,
Oh dear......I remember a flatmate (female) who hung the washing out by colour AND by shape. Lalalalalala.
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What is it about these musty old bits of paper between thick cardboard and leather? I cannot help myself from picking them up and quickly getting engrossed in the lost world. Wifey is into geneology which too brings out the ferret of the past. Recently I got into digging out "history" (if 1968+ is history) of NZ shooters to Olympic Games. it was 40 years since Ian Ballinger won the only medal NZ has won at an Olympics. Bronze in Mexico. I spent a couple of days in Nat Lib searching newspapers looking for articles on these few guys. It was painful. The adjacent column was always at least or more interesting than the "research" topic. My bookshelf is full of "collectables" (hahahahahaha). Antarctic heroes. Old science books. Aviation. And an amazing series on engravings of Shackeltons expedition of Antarctica of flora and fauna that was going to be chucked out from a library. Saved!
Love it.