Wednesday, 18 February 2015

Crumbs, or (In)consequential Trifles (1)


What do you want first, good news or bad news?

Some statements/headlines in the press or online are so stupid, outlandish, silly, ridiculous, horrifying, that they deserve no comment at all. Or no more than a sharp snort, a fruity snicker or a disgusted harrumph.

 British confirmed as world’s sexiest accent. Guardian online.  (Since when is ‘British' a language?)

 Nine is a perfectly good age for girls to consider marriage. Islamic State All-Female Militia Manifesto.

Female martyrs to the cause are rewarded with the freedom to choose their favourite husband and to stay with him for all eternity.  Ditto. (Lucky ladies.)

Finland is to remove cursive writing from its education programme and replace it
with lessons in keyboard typing. IceNews (What next, no maths, just calculators?)


But then I came across this:

German teen’s simple anti-bullying message goes viral

No all-singing-all-dancing-fancy-tech-firewoks, just bits of paper with handwritten lines held up, coming from the heart.

People! Nobody is worth less than anyone else just because he or she:

 Has a handicap /
May not have much money /
May not be very smart /
May not have the best figure /
Is gay, lesbian or bisexual /
Has a different skin color /
Has a different religion /
Comes from a different country/

 Victims of bullying often feel lonesome and left alone. They hurt their bodies because they think they are different. They have thoughts about suicide!

 How would – you – feel about that?

 Only TOGETHER can we CHANGE things! =)

 The boy meant to address his peer group but his message goes for all of us. Just because somebody is different doesn’t make them a justified target for ridicule, hatred, bullying.  Will we ever learn this simple truth?




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24 comments:

  1. Brian Miller18 February 2015 at 21:20

    i am thankful that some of the younger generation realize that we must change things...
    i like his message and i am glad that it is catching on...

    9...wow...
    get to choose which husband....but you must martyr first...my what a deal that one is...

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  2. Jenny Woolf18 February 2015 at 23:12

    And it is something that comes from the young people themselves - that is great.

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  3. Anonymous19 February 2015 at 00:12

    British is the sexiest accent? Clearly some people have never been to Lancashire. Even my English born partner could not translate for me.

    Nice work by the lad. I think keeping the message simple and to the point with little adornment makes it more powerful.

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  4. Frances19 February 2015 at 00:17

    Friko, once again, how I wish that we could just meet tomorrow and have lunch, or coffee or tea, but definitely chat away.

    As I get older, and think that I have been able to do some evolving in my own life away from some not so great influences my parents wished to pass along to me, I read the news, look around me, and wonder whether our better choices, our lesser inner evils, ... oh, how does evolution work.

    Maybe I think too much. Perhaps this might be a reason that I do not have a husband or children?

    Perhaps not. xo

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  5. Terra 19 February 2015 at 00:20

    Nine was the age of Muhammad's favorite wife when he married her, and she wrote down / memorized many of his sayings which are followed by Muslims today, unfortunately. That is good the boy's anti-bullying message is being heard.

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  6. Cloudia19 February 2015 at 01:34

    Ah the wisdom that years bring!



    ALOHA from Honolulu
    ComfortSpiral
    <3

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  7. Red19 February 2015 at 02:34

    You have a lot of fun being a sharp critical reader! I better watch what I say!

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  8. Librarian19 February 2015 at 06:29

    I'm afraid there will always been a far too big portion of prejudice in the human mind in general. For some, it's not as bad as going out and hurt or kill the subjects of their prejudice, but some will never change their narrow-minded ways.

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  9. Tabor19 February 2015 at 12:30

    I think those that fear difference are very insecure in themselves, their beliefs and their self-confidence.

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  10. Jeanie19 February 2015 at 13:22

    Beautifully stated. Bullying is a huge thing here. In fact, when I was working as a grief group facilitator to middle school-aged kids, one of our kids was a girl whose brother had been bullied -- and hung himself. His family since has become a powerful advocating for against bullying in our state -- but at what price. I hope the world hears this young man's message. And then pays attention.

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  11. ellen abbott19 February 2015 at 15:15

    I was just thinking about the whole cursive thing myself or maybe not cursive particularly but handwriting in general vs typing. my son never took to cursive even though he was taught it in school. when he writes he writes in print. but the world is going to hell in a hand basket but isn't that what every generation says when they get old enough?

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  12. shoreacres19 February 2015 at 15:44

    School districts have been removing instruction in cursive, or minimizing its importance, for some time in this country. There are cautions appearing more often, now. I read a really remarkably testimony to the importance of cursive from a young woman who suddenly realized she couldn't read either hand-written historical documents or thank-you notes from her grandmother.

    Whether intended or not, taking cursive away from children is cutting them off from their history. There's a reason beyond a pretty hand that we were made to sit in classes and practice making our letters. (Palmer Method, it was -- and I still have my little tin buttons around somewhere, showing I had passed each level.)

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  13. Hilary19 February 2015 at 20:24

    Sweet boy. May we always continue to learn from these kidlets who speak (or hold up signs) from the heart.

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  14. Sally Wessely20 February 2015 at 04:08

    I hope so.

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  15. SmitoniusAndSonata20 February 2015 at 11:02

    There must be a few Finns left who can write by hand ? They could give private coaching to the children of those who don't send their tots to afterschool Japanese violin lessons , karate or chess club .

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  16. Marty20 February 2015 at 13:02

    You're right, Friko. Too often we just accept the cruel way the world works. It takes young eyes to remind us of everyday injustices.
    And we're already there with math - 15 years ago when I taught middle school, the math teachers were told not to bother doing drills and rote memorization of times tables because the kids would use calculators. (To disastrous results when I later saw the math scores in high school.)

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  17. Beate20 February 2015 at 22:43

    Oh boy, I can't believe those first few headlines :(
    But what the boy wrote is truly awesome! And I wish, just like you, that this world would finally learn the simple truth that love and compassion change everything for the better. I don't get why so many people don't want to see that.

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  18. Optimistic Existentialist21 February 2015 at 00:32

    I have to admit that I do love a British accent :)

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  19. Anonymous21 February 2015 at 14:13

    I too love a British accent. Over here the report said...women find men with a British accent the sexiest. All you have to do to believe that is look at the top movie stars over the years. I too swooned over Daniel Day Lewis and others. Fell in love with the accent when I heard Lawrence Olivier play Richard III. Named my oldest son Richard. Should I go on?

    As for cursive..obviously the person or persons who made this decision is an idiot. My granddaughters inform me they know kids...in college...who can't sign their name.

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  20. kj22 February 2015 at 19:39

    i would like to meet you and frances for a chat-a-way…. :^)

    so much to say here. i'm offended that cursive writing is becoming obsolete. that speaks (unwrites) volumes to me and none of it is good.

    nine year old children? disgusting and deplorable. what is wrong with our species? we evolve lightyears in technology. why not in compassion and humanity? (grrrrrr)

    i think about certain people i can't stand for real or imagined reasons and i wonder how the line toward bullying happens. i think it's a group mob mentality and i wonder why the goodness in us doesn't restrain the badness?

    thoughtful post, friko. i like how you write.

    love
    kj

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  21. Pauline24 February 2015 at 14:03

    "Will we ever learn this simple truth?" In short, no. At our most basic level we humans are motivated by the urge to survive, but we are also driven by aggression - not a happy combination. One of the headlines here in the US this morning (MoneyMorning.com) was: All 16 U.S. Intelligence Agencies have begun to prepare for World War III. After such an occurrence we would not have to worry about bullying or the loss of cursive writing. We'll all be gone! On the other hand, there's hope that those who have control over their aggression and have a sense of compassion and community might find a way to save us...

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  22. Vicki Lane27 February 2015 at 22:41

    Spending much time on the internet can be really depressing but there is some good stuff out there -- and I don't mean just cute kittens.

    Still, it's tempting just to chuck it all and and spend my declining years re-reading favorite books...

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  23. Hilary Melton-Butcher28 February 2015 at 10:19

    Hi Friko - excellent viral expression of humanity ... wonderful - thanks for letting us know ... cheers Hilary

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  24. Kathy2 March 2015 at 22:28

    Good for the lad! I hope his message is heard and heeded. As for the headlines - sigh....

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Comments are good, I like to know what you think of my posts. I know you'll keep it civil.