Thinking Cap
May – from 21 Quirky Designs by Kim Hargreaves in Rowan Cocoon
Two wrongs can make a very far right it seems. Strange times…
I made this while mulling over incoming election results. And not that I don’t concur broadly with anyone espousing objectives of justice and equality, or doubt some of the winners' commitment to their mission – In fact I think many will likely make excellent public representatives.
My problem is with the way some of the camp followers made their point to political opponents throughout this campaign. I'd love to see any democrats who may have even inadvertently inspired this style of canvass publicly distancing themselves in a way that was very convincing ...
It bothers me because of the severe intolerance towards those with a different viewpoint, and because it's as far removed from justice and equality - let alone any kind of democratic expression - as is imaginable. It also bothers me because it's been a regularly recurring theme - there were umpteen instances in this campaign, and in a previous one I can immediately recall reports of threats by followers to a journalist who posed an uncomfortable question to a candidate. And it bothers me yet again because serious trouble is often facilitated by apparently inconsequential small denials on the part of people whose own objectives may be served by looking the other way.
…another example from this campaign…
Happily the candidate was elected.
A friend - an academic - peripherally connected with someone on the winning side said:
“Oh...those..they’re just anarchists: as much an annoyance to the party as to anyone else – Everyone setting out into a new phase gets stuck with lunatics from time to time. They’ll bundle them away into some dark closet in due course…”
...and in a nutshell, that's pretty much exactly what really bothers me...
