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psycho_tabby had her 21st birthday party on New Year's Eve. There was chocolate cake. Also prawns on sticks, a multitude of spiders lurking in a suspicious manner over our heads (I was worried it was going to turn into a scene from Harry Potter) and there was Dee! Home from Canada! And 21. And my friends were there. And Dee's nice family. And sparklers! I had much fun :)And then there was the inevitable discussion about the updated death toll and how countries should be donating more...
And look! They are. And maybe it is a bit of a pissing contest, as the article says, but I have to think that it's because the scale of the tragedy just keeps escalating. The newspaper this morning proclaimed "127 000 dead, that number to double."
zebra363 said "Anyone with your DVD collection isn't in a postion to criticise." And she has a damn good point. And makes it in detail here. Go read it. Embrace the guilt. (The rest of this post is a sort of in response.)I love my DVD's. They bring me joy. Like Zebra, I donated what I thought was a decent amount of money, and on the way home from the bank I wondered if all those boxed DVD set's I snapped up from Amazon UK because they were half price had arrived yet. And realised that I had spent more on myself this Christmas than I had donated. A sobering realisation. Tomorrow I will go back to the bank and give a hell of a lot more. But give up everything beyond necessities? I don't want to do that. I am trying to find a justification for this but there isn't one. At the risk of sounding dramatic I know that if I could end world hunger at the cost of my life I would not hesitate. Maybe it's the sheer scope that is too overwhelming. Starvation, disease, human rights abuse, the destruction of the environment, species becoming extinct every day, inhumane treatment of animals...
How do you decide what's most important?
The decision I made many years ago was to pick a cause to 'join', if you like, and I chose Amnesty International. Should I feel guilty that the thought of victims of torture, and the horrific abuses which too many women and girls in are forced to endure, stir me more than thoughts of children starving?
And now I've been jolted out of my complacency. *glares at Zebra*
Maybe I'll think of something profound when I'm not so tired.
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I also meant to say:
There's a billboard on Albany Highway I drive past all the time which says something like "Remember it is by faith you are saved, not by works." It never fails to raise my blood pressure as I pass it. It seems to say that it's fine if you never lift a finger to help anybody, so long as you have "faith". If that's really what it means, that has to be the biggest cop-out of all time.
Can I ask a quick medical question, K? I've been painting the trim & interior doors in my house. Is it bad to leave turpentine to dry on your hands?
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And I think I have similar problems with the attitudes of some Christians...
Remember Voltaire - I disagree with what you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it.
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Like when I chastised a kid at work the other day for using a racially derogative term.
Or any time someone expresses homophobia.
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In Geraldton in late October one of the nurses made a purse-lipped comment about how "those gays shouldn't parade down the street like that". I didn't directly harass her, but I did start carrying on about how affirming it is for isolated gays/lesbians/queers to see others on the TV being out and proud, and how if it prevented one suicide, then it's worth it.
She shut up, but I'm not sure if she's convinced. She certainly doesn't make homophobic comments to me any more. But by my terms, she should be allowed to voice her opinions safely.
I struggle with that.
Not justifying