FROM THE LIVES OF THINGS

The perfect skin of things is stretched across them
as snugly as a circus tent,
Evening nears,
Welcome, darkness.
Farewell, daylight.
We're like eyelids, assert things,
we tough eyes, hair, darkness,
light, India, Europe.

Suddenly I find myself asking: "Things
do you know suffering?
Have you cried? Do you know fear,
shame? Have you learned jealousy, envy,
small sins, not of commission,
but not cured by absolution either?
Have you loved, and dies,
at night, wind opening the windows, absorbing the cool heart? Have you tasted
age, time, bereavement?"
Silence.
On the wall, the needle of a barometer dances.


Adam Zagajewski

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

Some of you may be aware of the comments recently of Macquarie University Law Professor Andrew Fraser on Africans. After seeing a picture of some Sudanese people in a newspaper Andrew wrote in and claimed that by allowing Africans into Australia there will be an increase in crime, because Africans have a genetic propensity to crime, or some such nonsense. He also said that studies have shown that sub-Saharan Africans have significantly lower IQs than Caucasians, and that Asian immigration into Australia should be stopped or we risked being ruled by an Asian elite. Now I have to say that I am always proud when a legal academic from the university I received my law degree from makes such public statements. (Note: I am not being serious about being proud)

These comments have raised some serious discussion amongst some of the groups I am a member of. The issue of freedom of speech is a vexed one. However the main discussion is around whether free speech should be restricted to stop comments like Andrew Fraser’s or whether freedom of speech should be absolute and as such he should be allowed to say what he wants, no matter how abhorrent what he says is.

My feelings on the matter; I disagree that freedom of speech should be absolute, but still defend Andrew Fraser's right to make his comments, even though they are wrong and I find them appalling to say the least.

There is the need to restrict free speech generally when that free speech advocates violence against others. In the case of Andrew Fraser's comments, though undeniably racist and repugnant, they do not advocate violence against those groups he attacks. This is why comparisons to Hitler are inaccurate; he did advocate violence against those groups he attacked. Yes some people will use his comments as an excuse to violently attack some groups based on their race. However some people could also use the comments of refugee rights activists about the Liberals as an excuse to violently attack Liberal party members and voters. Should these people be held responsible for this or have their right to say what they want taken away?

Remember, suppressing people's right to make racist comments won't actually eliminate racism. In Marxist countries like the USSR, Yugoslavia and China racism was "officially eliminated" and public racist comments were forbidden. Was racism eliminated in these states? The ethnic conflicts in the former USSR and Yugoslavia, and the continuing mistreatment of the Tibetans in China indicate that it wasn't.

In Australia, people held racist views on Aboriginals before Pauline Hanson made her racist comments on them public. Suppressing her views would not have eliminated racism to Aborigines. There were in fact benefits to her making her comments public; it allowed forums for people to publicly refute certain myths and stereotypes of Aborigines. There were also people who I knew who wouldn’t consider themselves racist yet who held some unenlightened views about Aborigines. When Pauline Hanson and her views were made public they quickly woke up to themselves because they didn’t want to be associated with someone who was such an ignorant bigot.

I think the focus of people should be on attacking Andrew Fraser's claims. For example his statement that sub-Saharan African's have lower IQs. There is much criticism of IQ tests on the grounds that it is very culturally specific to the Western world, and as such is not an appropriate way of measuring a person's intelligence. If there is any appropriate way of measuring a person's intelligence, which I doubt; to me some of the stupidest people I have ever met were people I studied law with at Macquarie Uni, even though most indicators would tend to suggest that they were "intelligent".

QUOTE

" I lose hope when the desire for life awakens within me; but I regain it whenever the longing for death comes upon me."

Gustaw Herling - Grudzinski

THE HUMAN RACE

Given the week that has been, I was going to do a post on the things I hate about people. After thinking about it a while I realised that there is no point in this when what I hate could be summed up in 5 words:

THE WHOLE FUCKING HUMAN RACE.

The stupidity, the greed, the superficiality, the basenes. Jean-Paul Satre was right: Hell is other people.

Do I live in hope of a change for the better? Gustaw Herling-Grudzinski sums things up nicely:

"When It comes down to it, what is hope? Impotent rebellion against despair. Whoever says that one cannot live without hope is simply asserting that one cannot live without constant rebellion."

I hope when I go to sleep tonight I never wake up. Either that or the planet earth ceases to exist.

I’ve been Tagged: My top ten turn on and turn offs

Well, CapeMan has tagged me. I have to list my top ten turn-one and turn offs. Are they meant to be about what you find attractive in the gender you are sexually attracted to? Or are they meant to be general? Well, as a man (or at least a close approximation of one) everything I suppose is related to sex, so here we go.

Top Ten Turn-ons

1. Politically left-wing (obviously) – particularly a Greens supporter or member
2. Politically active and passionate about politics – there is no use being left wing if you are not politically active and passionate about it.
3. Big eyes, particularly if they are blue or green - to look into when talking, preferably when talking about politics, movies, books etc.
4. Loves Punk and hardcore music - nothing like a bit of political punk/hardcore to get you worked up and make you want to smash the state.
5. Movie Buff – and not your typical blockbuster. If you like going to see the movies that are on at Hoyts or Greater Union, then you are not for me. I mean intelligent, thought provoking films we can discuss and debate for hours afterwards.
6. Significantly taller or shorter than me – I don’t know why, I just do.
7. Watches the Simpsons – Homer Jay Simpson said: "Ah beer, my one weakness. My Achilles' heel, if you will." Well The Simpsons is my beer.
8. Likes to read, particularly literature and poetry – to me there is little difference between someone who can’t read and someone who doesn’t read. And when I say literature I don’t mean Tom Clancy, Sidney Sheldon and crap like that.
9. Does a job because they are passionate about it, not because of what it pays – You spend too much time at work not work on something you are passionate about.
10. Wants Children, but only two – I love kids but we shouldn’t add to the world’s overpopulation problem. That’s why couples should only replace themselves and have two children.
11. Freckles on the nose – I know, it’s only supposed to be ten, but melbournegirl and cape man had eleven, so I want eleven too (throws a childish tantrum). Again I don’t know why I find this attractive, I just do.


Top Ten Turn-offs

1. Isn’t politically left-wing (also obviously)
2. Smokes – Smoking is the biggest con-job of multinationals; you pay them for the privilege of them killing you and those around you and making you and your breathe stink
3. Watches lifestyle shows and reality television – lifestyle shows are designed to make you buy more crap you don’t need, and reality television is so banal and insipid and brings out the most base elements in people.
4. Racist – obvious given my first turn-on.
5. Dyed Blonde Hair – Why would you do this? If you think that this will help you attract men, then you are obviously not looking for a man like me.
6. Chooses jobs based on what they pay – way too materialistic for me.
7. Loves shopping – again too materialistic for me.
8. Starves themselves to be thin – If we were meant to be really skinny, sweet and fatty things wouldn’t taste so good.
9. Reads Women’s magazines like New Idea, Woman’s day etc. – point 8 in my turn-one is subject to the following; reading "women’s" magazines is worse than not reading at all.
10. Drinks wine, but not beer – way too bourgeois.


So the next question is who do I tag?

Well given my politics, I have to tag two fellow comrades on the road left;
Mr Watermelon himself, and the
Woman who speaks her mind; now go forth comrades and spread your leftist turn-ons and turn-offs.

PATHETIC POST

Why is it that seeing somebody who you used to go out with and had strong feelings for, but who decided to end things, stirs up such strong feelings in you, months, or even years down the track.

What feelings?

Anger at how they made you feel.

Hatred for ending things and making you feel so shit.

Sadness because you realise you still do have feelings for that person, but you know they aren’t reciprocated.

But mostly self-loathing. Self-loathing because you know that this person is an intelligent, warm, decent human being. That is why you enjoyed more than anything else looking into their eyes and talking to them, and why their smile made you forget everything else that was going on n the world. Yet this intelligent, warm, decent person did not feel for you what you felt for them, and as such you cannot help but question your self-worth. And the only conclusion you can come to is that there must be something seriously wrong with you, and as a result you loathe yourself.

I watched Krzysztof Kieslowski’s Bez Konca (No End) again on the weekend. What the movie says (at least my interpretation of it) is that one should be willing to compromise one’s political beliefs, but should not compromise on love. That one should not be willing to die for one’s political beliefs, but should be willing to die for love. As a highly political person, I am often sceptical of such a view of things. But there are days, like today, where I think there may be a semblance of truth in what Krzysztof Kieslowski was saying.

Thankfully I have tomorrow afternoon off from work and I am going to see my little nephew. He always has the ability to cheer me up.

INDIFFERENCE, ANGER AND HATRED

Recently I read Albert Camus’ The Outsider. I have to say that I am not a big fan of existentialism, but the book did raise some interesting questions and was much better than The Myth of Sisyphus. I particularly found the last few lines interesting:

"I looked up at the mass of signs and stars in the night sky and laid myself open for the first time to the benign indifference of the world. And finding it so much like myself, in fact so fraternal, I realised that I’d been happy, and that I was still happy. For the final consummation and for me to feel less lonely, my last wish was that there should be a crowd of spectators at my execution and that they should greet me with cries of hatred."

Now one thing I am not is indifferent; I am constantly angry with the suffering in the world that could so easily be averted, and as such am rarely what one would call happy.

However I do believe that for the most part the world and many people in it are indifferent to the suffering around them. And this makes me even angrier, and as a result I often feel the need to confront people with what I see as their indifference; family, friends, complete strangers. Most people (understandably) don’t take too kindly to this.

However even at times when I am more reasoned with people (being an extremely emotional person this doesn’t happen as often as it should) I rarely (though not always) see a change in people’s view of the suffering around them.

That’s why there is this part of me that if I was to be executed would also wish to that there would be a crowds of spectators greeting me with cries of hatred.

Who should this crowd be? People who I have communicated with about the suffering that goes on that they could try and stop, but who haven’t listened.

Why would I want them to be greeting me with hatred? Because I have made them feel guilty about their indifference.

I’m a complex individual folks.