Comments

Episode-2017- Listener Feedback for 6-5-17 — 14 Comments

  1. Great show, I could sense some fire in your voice today. Interesting anecdote about the Paris Agreement news from last week (personal opinions on climate change aside): When the announcement from Trump came, a TON of people started freaking out on my Facebook feed. So, I posted a message to everyone to STOP FREAKING OUT and go out and plant trees. I explained some of the positive environmental benefits of trees, what resources they can give us, and how they can sequester carbon in a number of ways.

    Then I explained how I, an apartment dweller, had already put a number of trees in the ground on other people’s property this year and my plans for how many more I intended to plant for the rest of the year. I thought people were going to start trying to debate me on my statement (I have some very establishment-minded friends). Turns out, some of them actually STOPPED freaking out and told me that they in fact thought it was a great idea and that they were going to take my advice. It made me think about the “sphere of influence” you always mention and about how practical, real-world efforts (no matter how small) can change the way we perceive the world around us.

    These abstract fears that so often echo across the digital realm can suddenly lose their power when the individual remembers that he/she has the ability to alter their personal sphere for a positive outcome. Many people have so outsourced their lives to institutional decision makers without even realizing it and you’re absolutely right when you say that we shouldn’t act disdainfully towards the people still plugged into matrix.

    Best we can do is remind them of the work that they can do with their own two hands and that there is a whole three dimensional world to interface with outside of the chatter of online groupthink. Maybe that will help some people find meaning… a concept that seems criminally elusive in today’s culture. Anyways, thanks again for a great show.

  2. WOW, we are caught up with the year. What a ride! Special thanks to the contributors for the History and Music segments.

  3. On the word “retard”, comedian Christopher Titus has a somewhat similar, and wildly funny, opinion on its use… basically he says it’s for the people with all their faculties who should know better, yet still repeatedly do profoundly stupid shit (https://youtu.be/oqiGWd0-0Os). I wholeheartedly agree with him (on that particular subject anyway)…

  4. I loved this episode and even had to stop at our public library so I could look at the linked articles. Lots of info!

    There was one issue that I wanted to discuss from a different angle. It’s the issue of the beheaded Trump image. Yes! I know it was a stupid publicity stunt and I think reactions have been WAY out of proportion. That’s exactly my point of concern about the image. Let me explain.

    I’ve been watching the shifting morality of discussion and disagreement for some time now. This kind of image used for political purposes or even marketing is nothing new. What is new(er) to me is the aggressive responses which have become seemingly acceptable when publicly discussing ideas or resolving disputes. It’s not this one image that I find disturbing, its the accumulative desensitization toward violence and division that I find “changing the temperature of my pool”.

    For instance, my husband works in customer service for a utility service. This is an old service in a historic building. I’m old enough to remember when raising your voice or using a swear word was considered offensive enough to get you ejected from the building. Recently it became necessary to hire security guards, and install physical barriers between customers and service representatives. When someone gets upset about their service now, it’s not uncommon to have threats, actual physical violence, stalking, and property destruction.

    I know that there have been duels and fist fights on the floor of congress. Things get heated sometimes when passionate beliefs are challenged. I get that. That won’t change but is it worsening?

    Besides the social hostility, I am concerned about the political motivations of these kinds of stunts. In other words, who gains from sowing and disseminating this kind of discord and distraction? In my opinion, much of this comes from politically motivated individuals who seek to keep divisions running deeply and make excuses for passing more restrictive laws.

    So, it’s not really this particular story that affects my life. It’s the collective horde of stories and how they have an accumulative effect on our society and laws.

    I’m going to still plant my trees, harvest my garden and generally get on with things. I am remaining vigilant though. I want to watch for the next trend that might impact my life and I think this is worth watching.

  5. Great show, one of the best this year, enjoyed the bit about cognitive disadance, it got me thinking that all humans are effected by it in in one way or another on some aspect of their lives.

    I remember having a debate with lady vegan years ago who argued that eating meat was unnatural when I pointed out that a fox has to eat a rabbit to survive because a fox can’t digest grass she drew out and boxed me. I won the debate but walked away with a black eye.

    A friend of mine who works in social care showed me a guide book which they were given at work a few months back, it’s a dictionary of words which can and can’t be used by them, many everyday words were banned to be replaced with several ‘professionally’ sounding acqward sentences.

    One thing I can’t get my head around about is crypto currency as an investment , what guarantee is there that the a government in the future wont change the value of the currency in their favour and against the interest of the owner of the crypto coins.

    • People will think me horrible for this, but if I am talking to a person, any person who draws back and punches me, bitch is getting a slap! I am sure she was also for equality and all.

    • On crypto, so how is the government of the US going to make the dollar 2700 times more valuable and not destroy themselves at the same time?

  6. On Reply to Lana on the subject of the Trump Head. Here is something we done a few years back, which improved the quality of our lives greatly.

    We brought our perfectly working television to the local recycling centre and left it there. We use the time instead to do things instead of watching other paid actors, live act or peddle propaganda and lies.

    You would be surprised how quickly you forget about tv and don’t miss it. There are many good podcasts and radio shows which can be listened to in the background while doing useful active tasks which generate useful results.

    Watching tv is hugely unproductive in relation to achieving ones goals in life because it requires total attention and immobility

    • Thing is I bet 99% of those pissed off bout the Trump Head, didn’t see it on TV, they saw it on FB.

  7. The way I’m looking asset the trump head photo it’s like I looked at our old neighborhood. About 5 years before we put our house on the market, there was one gang tag. It was removed in a few days. Eh, one gang sign, quickly removed,we still have a good community.

    A month later, three signs showed up. They were there longer. A few older, stable neighbours died and their homes went to rentals.

    A few months later, there wasn’t just one gang tag showing up, there were three. There were more of them and they weren’t going down very quickly. Shortly after that there was a murder at one of the rental properties.

    Because I’d been noting the trend, i was getting our home ready for market. I was clearing up debt and prepping for a farm purchase. I saw a trend.

    That’s what this image is to me. It’s another sign of coursening and unrest. It’s another mode of watchfulness.

    P.S.-we sold at the top of market prices while there was a farm land downturn. There have been multiple drive by shootings in a 3 mile radius of our old neighborhood and prices crashed. Just saying that trend watching can be useful.

  8. I agree with Jack’s statements on the use of words today. In relation to Jack talking about the use of the word “survival” over “prepper”, I wrote an article around 4 years ago which I will link here incase anyone was interested.

    http://littletassieprepper.com/index.php/2013/08/28/start-by-doing-whats-necessary-then-do-whats-possible-and-suddenly-you-are-doing-the-impossible-francis-of-assisi/

    I am not sure I stand by everything I wrote then, yet I do think that some fights are not worth fighting. I will have to consider how I feel about it now.

    This also brought to mind a situation with society deciding which words can and can’t be used, which affected my children. A couple of months ago, my children told me that they can’t use the word “club” as school. That if they use the word they will be in trouble and go to after school detention.

    This apparently came into effect when some children (including my own) started clubs to group together and enjoy a particular past time. For example, my daughter started a “music club” where they were practicing songs in order to do a performance in front of the school. Some of the clubs had decided that they wouldn’t let certain kids in… in the example of my daughter’s group, they only wanted kids who could sing and would do the songs they were practicing… the teachers stepped in and ordered that the children be allowed to participate.

    When kids complained that they were still refused entry into these clubs the teachers stepped in and decided to ban the groups. They also banned kids discussing the groups and the word “club”. My children were told that “club” is a bad word and they can’t use it.

    When I learned of this my wife, Kitty, helped me to calm down before I marched down there as I was so incensed that the school had tried to teach my children that:

    The word “club” is a bad word
    That my children would be punished for using the word
    That my children had no say in who they played with, and were punished for saying no.

    My wife talked to the school and told them that they would not punish our children without seeking permission from us first, and that our children were free to play with whomever they chose. I explained to my kids that the word “club” wasn’t bad and I told them why the teachers had tried to tell them this. I explained that they could use the word, and if they got in to trouble over it I would come down and sort the situation out… that they should stand up for what is right and I would stand with them.

    Shortly after this the Principal who created this (and other stupid rules) was removed from the school… partly due to my wife Kitty and other parents working with the education department. We now have a progressive and flexible principal who has implemented great changes into the school to make it a much better environment.