Math For Protesters

On October 20, 2011October 20, 2011 By WinstonIn Global Issues, Media, Personal Responsibility, Politics, Pop Culture, Society2 Comments

The more I see of the Occupy This And That crowd, the more they annoy me. One of their most annoying habits is claiming to be the “99%”. Even the most math challenged should be able to understand that this is decidedly not the case.

I’m going to be generous (and lazy) and give them a total of 500,000 protesters in Canada. Judging from the reports in a variety of media sources, there aren’t that many, but like I say, I’m feeling generous. A quick Google search for the population of Canada reveals that in 2009 there were 33,739,900 people here. If you divide the protesters by the population, you find out that the Occupy Whatever movement actually accounts for less than 2% of the available bodies.

Of course, “We are the 99%.” sounds much more impressive than “We are less than 2%.” But hey, what do I know? I’m not part of a magazine that specializes in inflammatory, anti-capitalist images and soundbites like AdBusters. For those of you who hadn’t heard, that’s who’s behind the “spontaneous” Occupy Wall Street movement. The nice people at AdBusters claim they were inspired by the Tahrir protests in Egypt. Because of course we have so much in common with people living under a military backed single party system. Sure we do.

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. The people in Tahrir square weren’t there because they were too lazy to get involved in the democratic process, they were protesting the total lack of a democratic process to be involved with. The issue in Canada and the U.S. isn’t that people can’t change the system, it’s that they can’t be bothered.

The tragedy of Democracy is that you end up not with what you wish for, but rather what you deserve. The system isn’t broken, it’s ignored. It gets ignored for the same reason our personal debt is so high. (If you said “Corporate Greed”, consider yourself slapped.) It’s all because people want short cuts. They want what they want, and they want it right now. Thank you very much.

Instead of saving up to buy a house, car and big screen TV or pay their tuition, they borrow and then blame their debt on the “greedy banks” with easy credit and high interest. Instead of years of political action and organizing and hard, slogging work, they expect the system to change because they spend a few weeks or months camping in a bunch of parks. Yeah. That’ll work for sure.

The biggest indicator of how the protests are failing is the media coverage they are receiving. Think about who owns the major media outlets. Those nasty, “greedy” corporations. If the Occupy Yourselves Protesting movement offered even the slightest threat to them, do you think they’d give them any ink at all? Sure, you’re reading this online, but answer me this. Who gets more voting eyeballs, YouTube, or CNN? That’s my point. Those big corporations don’t feel threatened because a couple of thousand people in a park are irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.

They are just another part of the Roman “bread and circuses”. They occupy the attention of the people and repeat the message that the system is broken. That means that people won’t engage with the system, and that ensures status quo, and that’s good new for all those evil corporate types.

So to wrap up, the math is pretty clear. half a million (inflated to salve the organizers egos) divided by thirty four million is not ninety-nine percent. Nobody voted for you, so you should stop saying you represent the ninety-nine percent. Next time AdBusters decides to stir people up , it would be nice if they could do it during an election year and try to stir them towards the polling stations.

Oh yeah. One more quick note. When movie stars and directors show up in support of people protesting against the “economic divide”, it looks a little bit… what’s the word I want? Oh yeah…. HYPOCRITICAL!

Cheers, Winston

Video Games, Virtual Worlds And Stepping Beyond The Real.

On October 17, 2011 By WinstonIn Media, Personal Responsibility, Pop Culture, Society, Technology, Video Games1 Comment

As someone who is slightly outside the usual demographic for video gamers, I periodically get asked what the appeal is. Of course, it’s usually phrased more like, “Don’t you have anything better to do with your life?” That depends on how you define better.

The short answer is, “Nope.” Told you it was short. That’s because it’s the wrong question. To more usefully address the implied question, I’ll need to address a common misconception. Video games aren’t actually any worse than golf, clubbing, drinking heavily, watching sports, reading, watching TV or any other pass time. From the start, they’ve been regarded as a brain destroying waste of time. Just like all of the things I just mentioned.

With the exception of clubbing, I’ve indulged in all of them. Oddly enough, I still indulge in most of them on an ongoing basis. Not so much with the heavy drinking or sports watching, but you get the idea. The short version is, most of the people who question my use of time, indulge in one or more of these activities themselves. So why the negative perception of video gaming? Because we have to blame something.

Let me use dogs to demonstrate that point. At the moment, Pit Bulls are the “Dangerous Breed”. Before that, it was Rottweilers, who came after Doberman Pincers, who followed German Shepherds. The truth is, none of these breeds are particularly dangerous if trained, treated and handled properly. But people love bad news, so that’s what the media focuses on. If Dobermans are the evil dog, then the media are going to report every bad Doberman story they can find. They might publish a hundred stories of Doberman attacks, but only a couple about the thousands of Dobermans who don’t attack anyone.

The same thing is true of video games. They are just the latest “bad” thing. The list has included, violence in Bugs Bunny cartoons, TV watching in general, cartoon watching in particular, horror movies, war movies, organized sports, lack of organized sports, reading any book except the Bible etc. It depends who you talk to and when as to what answer you’ll get. The simple truth is that there is no “bad” thing on that list.

Video games aren’t “bad”. It’s how people interact with them and what they choose to invest them with that can lead to problems. The media happily jump on a story about about an unfortunate young man who became so immersed in a game that he starved to death, or another who spent so much time gaming that his circulation failed and he ultimately died. Whenever a gamer does something “bad”, it’s the fault of the games and not the person.

For me, video games are an entertainment. They can provide an emotional outlet. Like any well executed entertainment, they allow me a brief respite from the everyday. Not to the exclusion of reality, but as a means to defocus. Let me clarify.

In an episode of the show “Corner Gas”, the main character announces he is going to take a vacation. He then takes his lawn chair, suntan oil, cooler etc and sets up on a nearby patch of grass. When questioned, he refers to it as a “Staycation”. That’s what video games are for me. A restful opportunity to recharge my mental and emotional batteries to better deal with the real world.

Sure, I play games where I drive 180 mph, or get trophies for set numbers of head shots, or chuck someone out a window just because I can. I also play games which involve building cities or civilizations, or solving puzzles or doing other non-violent things. Each game is enjoyed for it’s own merits. None of them carry over into the real world except in terms of slightly improved hand/eye coordination or logic processing skills. Both of which are proven benefits of regular video game playing.

In the real world, I don’t do any of those things. I don’t even drive, never mind at 180 mph. I’ve never shot anyone, or anything, or thrown anyone out a window. I’ve also never piloted a starship between systems, built a pyramid in Thebes, re-fought the Battle of Antietam, or flown a JN-4 Jenny along a mail route through the Appalacian mountains. I’ve done all of those things in video games. I’ve enjoyed them immensely.

It’s that ability to step beyond the real that is for me, the true appeal of video games. As it is for a well written novel, a good movie, or anything else that so fully engages me that it takes me out of the world. It refreshes my palate for the next serving of life.

Cheers, Winston

Conformity Is A False Comfort

On October 16, 2011October 20, 2011 By WinstonIn Enlightenment, Loving Life, Personal, Personal Responsibility, Society2 Comments

With no idea what to write tonight, I went and visited TED.com to surf for inspiration. I didn’t come away with the killer idea for my blog. That’s okay. I found lots of things to make me think, and they might lead to tomorrow’s post, or the one after that.

No. Tonight I want to write about something else. I want to write about interpretive reality. Which is to say, the way our brains process new information based on our existing experiences. I know it sounds fancy, but really it’s quite simple. What you see, isn’t always what I get.

Three people see a man dressed in brightly colored, flamboyant clothing. One might assume he’s homosexual and be disgusted, another might compliment him on his sense of style, while the third might be indifferent. All experienced the same thing, but react differently based on their past experiences. That is the core of interpretive reality.

I believe that our cultural passion for conformity stems from a subconscious realization that we are truly alone. Our instinct to reach out and seek acceptance is an outward manifestation of that understanding. The idea of the “soul mate” defines this urge. We seek that one person who gets us. The one who can totally understand us because they share our reality.

No matter how similar someone’s reaction may be to the same stimulus, it will never be identical to yours. But that’s what we’ve been taught to expect. That expectation is the basis of standing ovations, the wave at a ball game, or the phenomenon of social networking in general and Facebook in particular. It’s the quest for the hive-mind. We value our individuality, but we’d value it more if other people weren’t so different.

When we see that funny picture and post it on Facebook, we’re hoping that other people will find it as funny as we do. On one hand, we want to share this thing we enjoyed with other people. On the other, we want them to like it as much as we do. We are searching for that common binding response.

As I said earlier, we are a society that places an immense value on conformity. Anyone who has ever been made to feel less valued because they are different can vouch for that. We talk about individuality, but if anyone starts to be too individualized, they are made to pay. If we allow cracks in our cultural facade, it is only a matter of time until it crumbles and we have to face the truth.

That truth is simple and for many, it is horrible. We are all alone. No one can truly understand your experience because they will never have your background. What we need to do is to stop mythologizing our sameness. We need to celebrate our true diversity instead of just paying lip service to it. That is how to stop people from being singled out for their differences.

Understand that we are all different. We have all been singled out. It is our nature, and it is immutable. Now to understand that it is not a bad thing. We can still come together into a society because this doesn’t change who we are, only our understanding of it. Instead of striving to be a uniform crowd, we need to accept the idea of a crowd of individuals. When we stop trying to be the same, maybe we can start to celebrate our actual commonalities.

Just something to think about.

Cheers, Winston

The Truth About Backwards And Forwards

On October 14, 2011 By WinstonIn Humor, Personal, Self AwarenessLeave a comment

Life is like driving. Looking back while moving forwards can have unpleasant consequence.

Cheers, Winston

Happy 40th Greenpeace!

On October 13, 2011 By WinstonIn Education, Environment, Global Issues, Green Energy, Personal Responsibility, Politics, Society, ValuesLeave a comment

http://www.greenpeace.org

Despite the fondest wishes of so many who opposed it, Greenpeace turned forty this year. I remember as a child back in the early ’70s listening to all the talk about this group of “hippies” that were interfering with nuclear testing. Because of the cold war, it seemed pretty obvious to a child like me that if no one could test nukes, maybe they wouldn’t be able to destroy the world with them. Then I learned a little more.

From my late teens to my mid-twenties, I went through a more conservative phase where I believed they were a menace. They hadn’t stopped nuclear testing to save me, but to save a bunch of wildlife. I like wildlife as much as the next person, but let’s get our priorities straight shall we. Then I learned a little more.

For the past fifteen years or so, I’ve been a dues paying member of Greenpeace. I’ve watched the world stand by and allow the wholesale destruction of the natural world. Only one group that I’ve seen has put out a consistent message backed by non-violent action to try an curb that trend. That group is Greenpeace.

Tar_Sands_01 — Contrary To Their Commercials, This Is What The Tar Sands REALLY Look Like

Yep, that’s beautiful northern Alberta in Canada. The company’s that run the oil sands projects have been putting out commercials that make it look all clean and friendly. (I was going to put a link to the ad here, but can’t seem to find that commercial anywhere.)

Greenpeace has been fighting for years to get some sort of environmentally responsible action from CAPP (Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers). Activists have occupied sites, caused work stoppages and worked to make the rest of the world aware of this tragic rape of Canada’s wilderness. It’s a slow process, made more so when the government at every level is on the side of those committing the crime.

They wanted to “save the whales” before it became a catchall phrase to describe anyone who cares about the environment. They also worked to keep Antarctica free, to stop overfishing on the high seas, to stop deforestation in South America, stop toxic and nuclear waste from being dumped into high seas, to stop our society from creating toxic nightmares by selling our electronic waste to companies that dump it on impoverished, third world shorelines to be manually broken down, recycled and burned in open fires.

Yeah, I can see now why some people think they’re radicals. Obviously, their opposition to genetically modified crops is just a ploy to cause famine. It couldn’t possibly have to do with Monsanto and co. owning the genetic rights to an ever increasing slice of the worlds seed crops. Nonsense, how could that possibly be a bad thing. It’s not like they can claim the rights to seeds from plants which have been inadvertently been cross pollinated from a neighboring field. Oh wait. Yes they can.

So yes, I give money every month to Greenpeace. I’m not out protesting or organizing or any of that stuff. That’s not me. Not at this time anyway. Who knows what the future will bring. I think it says enough that right now when money’s kind of an issue, I haven’t missed a payment. Now I’ve learned a little more.

I’m still a dues paying member of Greenpeace. Because once you learn some things, they can’t be unlearned.

Cheers, Winston

Occupying Protesters Are Taking The Easy Route

On October 12, 2011 By WinstonIn Enlightenment, Global Issues, Media, Personal Responsibility, Politics, Pop Culture, Self Awareness, Society, ValuesLeave a comment

Okay, you’ve finally got me. I can’t take it any more. Our society is caught in a feedback loop and just like the feedback at a live concert, the whining is driving me nuts.

Someone says, “One percent of the population controls most of the money while the other ninety-nine percent struggles.” and a media person likes it so they make a sound bite out of it. People hear the sound bite and like it so they repeat it. More media people hear it being said so they make a story out of it and even more people hear about it. Next thing you know, you can’t read a paper without hearing it, and you can’t throw a rock without hitting one of the alleged ninety-percent who are out protesting about it.

According to this movement, the super rich elites took all the money and used it to buy all the politicians and the only way to change it is by having these massive protests. These three points are what I like to call, delusional; accidentally right, but not for the reasons they think and wrong because it’s bloody stupid. Now that I’ve annoyed a bunch of folks, let me explain.

First off, the super rich didn’t “take” all the money. We gave it to them, and we continue to do so every day. They aren’t evil. We are gullible. Bill Gates never forced anyone to use Microsoft Windows or Office. People chose to give Microsoft, and by extension, Mr. Gates lots of money. Likewise, the late Steve Jobs didn’t wait for people in dark alleys, steal their wallets and replace them with iPhones. No hedgefund manager ever came to anyone’s door begging them to invest in their funds. Banks didn’t force mortgages onto people who had no hope in hell of ever paying them off. People did those things to themselves. Blaming the super rich is a way of deluding ourselves by taking up our cultural battle cry of, “It’s not my fault!”

The other favorite cause of financial hardship is “Corporate Greed”. Talk about delusional, blaming that is like blaming the Easter Bunny for childhood obesity. There’s no such thing people! Corporations aren’t greedy because they aren’t people. It’s called anthropomorphism. It’s our habit of trying to understand things by assigning human traits to them. “Corporate Greed” is another way of pretending that none of this is “our” fault. Surprise! It is all our fault. Those greedy corporations are actually all about HUMAN greed. Before you start thinking about agreeing with that, you need to read on.

It’s not just the executives that are greedy. That’s the easy out again. Here’s the truth. It’s damned near every single one of us. That’s the truth. Yes, the executives are in a position to get a visibly larger share than those elsewhere in the organization. Let’s stop kidding ourselves though, they aren’t the only greedy ones. If the CEO suddenly decides to give a percentage of the profits to whatever random charity you like, how long do you think he’ll keep his job? The shareholders are just a greedy as the CEO. What about the rank and file employees? Do you think they’d take a pay cut if they knew the money was going directly to fight world hunger? Yeah, that’s what I thought.

Stop blaming other people. Stop blaming some imaginary bogeyman. Accept responsibility for your choices. We can’t change other people, only ourselves. If we don’t like our world, it’s up to us to change it. But it’s almost like the tagline from season one of the TV series “Heroes”, only in this case it’s, “Change yourself. Change the world!” Which brings me to my next point.

Do rich and powerful lobbyists use money to influence politics? Of course they do! (See, I told you they’re right about that.) We need to be clear about why they do it though. No it’s not because they are corrupt, or politicians are weak, or because the New World Order told them to. Nope. The reason once again is closer to home. All those people who whine that the system is broken so there’s no point in participating, they give carte blanche to the lobbyists and the politicians to work out any deal they like. The system isn’t going to change itself, it’s up to the voters to do it. So if you can organize thousands of protesters all over the country, how come you can’t get them to the polls. It’s votes that put politicians in office. Organize block voting, and you could have a huge impact on who gets into office and who gets out. But it’s a hell of a lot easier to sit in a tent in the park and blame the super rich and corporate greed. Which brings me to my last point.

Protesting may raise awareness. I doubt it, but it might. Do you really believe that everyone else is so stupid that they won’t realize there’s a problem if you don’t camp in a park? I recently lost my job because of greedy people making bad decisions. Do you think I didn’t know that was a bad thing? The biggest annoyance out of all this is the massive self-righteous arrogance of the protesters. The idea that they are more aware or enlightened than the rest. If everyone else understood what they do, we’d all be out there. Well, not all of us would. I know I wouldn’t because I understand something they don’t. The protests won’t work because shortcuts never do. If you really want to change things, you have to do the heavy lifting just like everyone else.

They’ll find out that taking the easy route almost never takes you where you want to go. What they should really be occupying are some political activism workshops. Maybe someone can host a few in a tent in a park. Have fun with that.

Cheers, Winston

Aimless Wandering

On October 11, 2011October 12, 2011 By WinstonIn Loving Life, Personal, Self Awareness2 Comments

Chester003b — Chester. aka: The Best Dog In The World

It’s eleven p.m and I sit before my keyboard bereft of inspiration. This is not as uncommon as I might prefer. Tonight I may actually have an excuse.

You see, last night, I didn’t sleep. Not at all. Lately that’s been happening a fair bit. I lie in bed and toss and turn. I do breathing exercises to relax. I count sheep. I count goats. I count ibexes. Then morning comes and I get up and get on with my day. Within a couple of days, I sleep for six or seven hours to catch it up and all is well.

Today, it was a bit more of an issue. Today I was getting up early because today we had to close our trailer for the season. Technically, yesterday was the last day, but hey, who’s perfect. The amount we pay, I don’t feel we’re abusing them with one extra day.

Long story short: No sleep. Pack up the trailer. Pack everything into the car. Put the dog in the car. Drive home. Unpack the car. Rearrange the kitchen cupboard to accommodate all the food from the trailer. Shave, shower, go to in-laws for belated Thanksgiving Dinner.

So now I’m a little over-tired. I’m full as a tick. Finally, I’m actually sleepy. So, what to write about? Oh wait, I know. I’ll write about not being able to decide what to write about.

Maybe a nap first.

Nah. Just wing it. Who’s going to notice?

Good point.

So yeah. We’ve closed our trailer for the season. It’s always kind of sad. No more dodging the stuff that needs doing at home. No more excuses to sit with my feet up and read or watch movies when I know there’s a ton of things I should be doing. I’ll miss the chipmunks rushing through the autumn leaves. Those tiny little things make more noise than my dog. And I don’t have a small dog.

I’ll miss sitting on my deck dozing through the heat of the day under the awning. Listening to some soft jazz saxophone and letting my mind drift. Which is what it’s doing now without the heat or the jazz.

I’ve learned that everything is a question of perspective. In July I had surgery. That was painful and scary and unpleasant to say the least. On the other hand, it gave me two and half months at my trailer while I recovered. Oh and it led me to start this blog to pass the time.

In September, Blockbuster Canada closed it’s doors and I found myself without a job. That is seriously not cool and if you want to know more, read some of my earlier posts. On the other hand, I worked my last shift on the 27th, and got to spend the next week and a half at my trailer in time for one of the nicest Thanksgiving weekends on the books.

A lot of things are like that. Kind of a good news/bad news thing. Or, the way I usually look at things, it’s more of a bad news/good news thing. I tend to look at the bad news first. It used to be that’s pretty much where I’d stop looking. Now I work to see past the bad thing in my face and look for the good things hiding in it’s shadow. Makes the world a nicer place, and me a nicer person.

Well, I can’t think of anything else to ramble about at the moment. Except this. Because I just had Thanksgiving Dinner, I’d like to take a moment to be really thankful for a few things. I’m thankful for my blood family. They have always been there for me and have given me the space to be who I wanted to be. I’m thankful for my extended family and friends because they help to define me. Take a look at a person’s friends and you can tell a lot about them. I’m fortunate to have some incredible people in my life. I’m thankful for my personal family. For Lynn who sees more in me than I ever will and never stops trying to help me to be the person she believes in. For Cynthia who at eighteen still sometimes asks me to tuck her in and kiss her goodnight. For Chester who happens to be the best dog in the world and the best friend anyone ever had.

With all the negatives in the world, it’s important for me to remember just how blessed and lucky I really am. If anyone out there is listening……. I owe you one.

Cheers, Winston.

Today's Technology

On October 10, 2011October 10, 2011 By WinstonIn Loving Life, Personal, Technology2 Comments

Connectedness. That one word best sums up my enjoyment of technology. I’ve got friends scattered all over the place.

Today’s technology means I can chat with my buddy in California. Or I can tell my father in Sudbury about my new job. I complimented a friend in Montreal for getting some pro-level exposure for his photography. All while sitting at my trailer by the lake watching the chipmunks and squirrels preparing for the winter.

It’s also handy for doing real-time tech support for my daughter who is at home. We are texting on our smart phones while I use my netbook to look up how to install a wireless printer on her new Windows 7 laptop.

That’s connectedness. That’s what I enjoy most about technology.

Cheers, Winston

Brain Bits To Go

Tag: postaday2011

Math For Protesters

Video Games, Virtual Worlds And Stepping Beyond The Real.

Conformity Is A False Comfort

The Truth About Backwards And Forwards

Happy 40th Greenpeace!

Occupying Protesters Are Taking The Easy Route

Aimless Wandering

Today's Technology