|
|
Wednesday April 2,
2008
I yam what I yam ...*
Cultural identity vs personal identity, plus the
US/China handshake, military wannabe blog hackers, and the "nobbling"
of the media (I love that word).
From the
Toronto Star:
University of Western Ontario sociology professor Rod Beaujot said
"Canadian" is meaningless and shouldn't be an option on the census.
Somebody should tell this guy that although it may be meaningless, it's
all we mongrels have. I'm at least a third generation Canadian
from an
extremely mixed background and I'm proud to say I have absolutely no
cultural identity save for the fact that I was born in a certain
country.
Oh, I'm sure that strangers form all sorts of conclusions about me from
my age, sex, appearance and speech, but those are based on their own
attitudes
formed from experience with people of whom I might remind them.
I hope that intermarriage continues until there can be no such thing as
racial prejudice, and until culture is seen for what it is - nothing
more important than a habitual way of doing things or looking at things
that is in no way superior to anyone else's habitual way of doing
things or looking at things.
Some people might think I'm talking cultural genocide. Not at
all. If
a group of people don't want to intermarry, if they want to have their
own separate culture, they should never be forced by anyone to
relinquish those features from which they derive their sense of
identity. And any group that knowingly deprives another group of
its
right to self-determination should correct that wrong as best they can,
and make sincere amends.
By the same token, no member of any group should suffer consequences
for failing to adhere strictly to that group's cultural code. No
matter what the cultural background, or lack thereof, all parents have
unrealistic dreams for their children.
Not meaning to single out any one group, but here's a
wonderful and poignant article
that's just come to my attention about the dilemma facing young Jewish
adults who have awakened out of
the Zionist dream.
The author and her subjects
are regulars at the Chapters boycott in Ottawa, and that's moi in the
photo of a white-haired chubby lady wearing a pink headband handing
out anti Israeli Apartheid bookmarks.
(There's another picket this Saturday, Apr. 5 at 1 PM,
corner
Rideau and Sussex and you are invited. Meet the pretty author of
"Waking Up Jewish", get her autograph and stay to hand out pamphlets
and/or bookmarks.)
But say you're an orphan of mixed ancestry with no religion or ethnic
culture, and you're straight, single, childless and
self-employed.
You're nobody's spouse, or parent or child or employee, or aunt or
uncle, and your skin is kinda sallow, your hair colour is nondescript,
your eyes are sort of greenish, and you are of average height and
weight. Who are
you? You can say you're a Sailor Man, but you know that's only
how you
earn your living. How can you possibly be happy not having a
recognizable cultural identity?
But you do know who you are. In fact, your cultural background
gets in
the way of that knowledge. Set it all aside, especially the guilt
of not living up to what's expected of you, and you realize
that your identity has nothing to do with externals; it's all
internal. After that, the cultural stuff can be a voluntary
choice.
As for me, "I'm one tough gazookus Which hates all palookas Wot ain't
on the up and square ..." Hate's too strong a word, but you get
the picture. * ... said Popeye the sailor man
Other Important Stuff
Have a look at this
photo of China shaking hands with the US. Does it remind
you anything? This
one, maybe?
Thanks to Jo W. for pointing out this strangely humorous item:
Military
Report: Secretly 'Recruit or Hire Bloggers'
And they think China is bad!! Here we have US military advisers
suggesting their public affairs officers should hack certain blogger
sites and "subtly" change statements that don't agree with US policy,
thereby setting the reader against the blogger. Do you remember public
affairs officer Lt. Finnemore
contacting me back in 2006, and specifically my having to break it to
him that his spelling and syntax were so bad some of his sentences made
no sense? Could you see him "subtly" changing my text? How
long would
it take my very intelligent readers to report to me that I'd either
gone mad or been hacked? About two seconds, maybe?
Thanks to Gary K. for this valuable item:
Israel:
20 Questions Media Interviewers Fail to Ask
The abysmal performance of western TV and radio interviewers when
dealing with issues surrounding Israel is not only embarrassing but a
blot on the escutcheon of journalism. Have the nation’s
truth-seekers
fallen under some wicked spell? Are their researchers on strike? Did
somebody nobble the programme editors?
And the survey says ... item #1. And possibly
also #3, if I
knew exactly what the author meant by "nobble".
I'm guessing
"disable by drugging".
yayacanada
|
|
