Just continuing on my last entry...
Something just doesn't seem right when a Canadian citizen doesn't know what a canoe is. I don't know what to make of the fact that Max is choosing an AK47 to protect his family rather than simply living a less overtly materialist lifestyle. I'm sure the choice hasn't been presented to him, which is a failing of those of us who know a 'third way' and for whatever reason miss the chance to share it. He told me about the "way it is in India." Every family needs one boy who's "the bad boy." That's how people know not to mess with your family. Your oldest (boy) takes the family business, your second may excel academically, but one of them needs to be the gangster. Max's sentiment may be a shock response - not surprising - but it's the glib "get 'er done" attitude that worries me. It reminds me of this unfortunate poem.
http://www.bittersweetme.net/RussVaughn_Poetry.htm#p8
"We love our sheep, we Dogs of War." Those of us who drive regularly, eat meat beyond what the earth can sustain, fly unnecessarily, or otherwise use resources that necessitate foreign military intervention, are as much a party to violence as soldiers. To me, an incident like a home invasion would be cause for grief and reflection on something that's clearly broken in the social fabric of our neighbourhood...or MEGAcity, as the appliance salesman, former Mayor of Toronto, and original "Bad Boy", Mel Lastman used to call it. Sheesh...
I guess my point is simply that we can all do more at home to welcome immigrants and new Canadians into the culture and society that makes Canada appealing to those seeking refuge from conflict and violence. We don't want British-style ghettos that kindle terrorism; we don't want American-style income disparity that leaves gates and guns as preferred tools for personal security. (If we were talking about computer science, I think we'd call these brute force solutions.)
Speaking of Comp Sci, today is a very exciting one for me. I discovered that I passed my last course, which means I'll be graduating in October. So very exciting! :)
PS - Check out the new Black Car link in my friendly links... my house mate and I have been looking for a way to decommission the Honda by turning it into art. This looks like a great way to do it, and be part of something bigger at the same time.
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2 comments:
I agree with what you've said, so this isn't to be taken as a counterexample. I had bike that was simple (read crappy) and that was supposed to be insurance against theft. It got stolen last month anyway. It's so frustrating. But I promise I won't go out and get an AK47.
-A
I don't know about the AK-47, by all accounts crime in Canada could be seriously worse. Maybe instead rig up some cans on a string in front of your door at night to warn you of intruders. As to the Black Car Project, I highly reccomend you take the pledge and deccommission your automobile. It is the most liberating feeling, far outstriping the slight hassle of getting around easily. Besides you, another two people are begginning to look at joining the project. One from Virginia and one from New York. Once you have purposefully given up your automobile rather than just letting it die or selling it and not getting a new one, you feel like you have slapped the face of the automotive and oil industry and that their control is imaginitive that we all could one day dissolve.
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