We do do it so well, don't we?
Pageantry.
Let us pray, stand, or kneel by ceremony.
Pageantry.
Heavens they even invited a black gospel choir!
STAND BY...
ME!
OH! Moving it was.
OH HURRAH!
God save the Queen!
Lime green, behatted, b.well conserved, granny.
What's not to LOVE?
We do do it so well, don't we?
Pageantry.
People slept in the streets...
They were moved on.
People slept in the streets.
They stood to cheer.
Hurrah!
Pageantry.
Let us pray, stand, or kneel, or lie perhaps, by ceremony.
They have updated the brand a bit.
Heavens, they even elected a black president!
Heavens, they even invited a black preacher!
He dared to "touch on civil rights" even!
He dared to speak to POWER!
Of "Power" "Real Power".
“I'm talking about some power, real power, power to change the world ... If you don't believe me there were some old slaves in America's South who explained the power of love."
Curry continued,
“They sang a spiritual even in the midst of their captivity. It's the one that says there's a balm in Gilead, a healing balm."
FREEDOM.He quoted from Saintly Martyred Doctor King, now relic, now bust, no body, now stood alone, cast bronze in oval office.
Oval offices past and present.
Take a tour.
Is that a portrait of Andrew Jackson smirking?
Let us trot out a dream.
AMERICAN DREAM.
He gave us LOVE.
He gave us hope?
Real hope?
False hope?
We have LOVE that will change the world.
OH TRUE LOVE!
Rev Michael Curry could almost make me a believer— Ed Miliband (@Ed_Miliband) May 19, 2018
OH DOE-EYED PRIVILEGE!
Yes, the Rev Michael Curry could almost make me a believer.
ALL WE NEED IS LOVE!!
Her, veteran of suits series, in Givenchy.
Him, veteran of uniform series, in Afghanistan.
What the hell was he doing in Afghanistan?
What the hell was she doing in America?
HIS STORY.
HER STORY.
THEIR STORY.
OUR STORY.
"There is no PLAN ET B"
Emanuel Macron.
SAVE THE PLANET.
Changed to black tie, white dress.
Changed from gas-guzzling Rolls to grey-horse-drawn carriage to "a zero-emissions, battery-electric-powered version of the 1968 model with LED headlights". Jaguar
Doesn't it make you feel all fuzzy, dozy and content?
ROSE-TINTED SPECTACLE...(S)
OH TRUE LOVE!
“What a stupendous, what an incomprehensible machine is man! Who can endure toil, famine, stripes, imprisonment and death itself in vindication of his own liberty, and the next moment . . . inflict on his fellow men a bondage, one hour of which is fraught with more misery than ages of that which he rose in rebellion to oppose.”
― Thomas Jefferson, Letters of Thomas Jefferson
"After over 200 years of rumors and controversy, Thomas Jefferson’s historic home at Monticello is giving Sally Hemings, the slave with whom Jefferson likely fathered at least six children with, a room of her own, reports Michael Cottman at NBC News."
"...small, windowless room is 14 feet, 8 inches wide and 13 feet long"
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/sally-hemings-gets-her-own-room-monticello-180963944/
Diffusion of responsibility.
They've cut the number of classes per term.
Oh you know "budget cuts."
Nothing to do.
Oh, you know "we (the university) do(es)n't have any money."
"So what that means is you will have 20% less time to cram in all those hours."
She was already stretched to the limit, people on yearly contracts do 30% more teaching hours.
On a spreadsheet, nobody can hear her scream.
The accountant is relieved.
The director is relieved.
She is screaming.
I am blogging.
Blogging on, banging on...doing nothing.
I am reminded of a blog post of Jesse Stommel.
I wrote about my time at Marylhurst: “As the financial woes of the institution mounted, the mistreatment of faculty, and especially adjunct faculty, increased ... Tears were not unusual at committee meetings.” https://t.co/wjp4SyggKO— Jesse Stommel (@Jessifer) May 19, 2018
In a blog post, nobody can hear her weep.
Writing, singing, movies, social media diffuse emotional proximity.
We can feel moved.
We can relate...vicariously.
We can nod (off).
Diffusion of responsibility.
Don't speak out.
Don't act up.
I mean we are all so busy.
I mean we are all so scared.
I mean we are all so fortunate...
Well some of us.
Aren't they beautiful?
What a gorgeous spring day it was for the assembled flag wavers, people watchers, souvenir hawkers, Her, Him, HRM, George Clooney and I.
Count your blessings.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or should it be 5, 4, 3, 2, 1?
I mean it's all about cost.
To them, certainly.
To us?
5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Shh... count your blessings.
Diffusion of responsibility.
Shall we sing songs of slaves?
"Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then has not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?"
Jeremiah 8:22
Shall we swallow talk of "love" whole (and do nothing)?
Shall we swallow talk of "love" whole (and do nothing)?
"I'm talking about some power, real power, power to change the world ... If you don't believe me there were some old slaves in America's South who explained the power of love."
Dr Stephen Curry gave us songs of captive slaves?
Why wasn't he speaking of slave rebellions which freed them?
“I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical. Unsuccesful rebellions indeed generally establish the incroachments on the rights of the people which have produced them. An observation of this truth should render honest republican governors so mild in their punishment of rebellions, as not to discourage them too much. It is a medecine necessary for the sound health of government.”
― Thomas Jefferson, Letters of Thomas Jefferson
Didn't King speak of that struggle, that suffering?
"I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive."
http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1951-/martin-luther-kings-i-have-a-dream-speech-august-28-1963.php
Diffusion of responsibility.
Corridors of power are long.
Whose doors do we knock on to speak to the management?
"Take me to your leader!"
"According to Hesiod, the Hydra was the offspring of Typhon and Echidna.[3] It possessed many heads, the exact number of which varies according to the source. Later versions of the Hydra story add a regeneration feature to the monster: for every head chopped off, the Hydra would regrow a couple of heads.[4]
The Hydra had poisonous breath and blood so virulent that even its scent was deadly.[5]
Whose streets do we barricade when the highways are virtual?
Whose (virtual) walls are we banging our heads against?
Blogging on, banging on...doing nothing.
Safe.
Safe?
Safe?
Banging on, blogging on... Banging on door. Blogging on. Did you hear the screams? No?— Simon Ensor (@sensor63) May 22, 2018
Him not I...
Him being flogged.
Diffusion of responsibility.
What to do when responsibility is diffuse?
What to do when responsibility is distributed?
Where is Google or Facebook based?
In Ireland?
In Luxembourg?
In Gilead?
Where is the capital?
Washington?
Bei Jing?
Wall Street?
Davos?
Panama?
Jerusalem?
And did those feet in ancient time,
Walk upon England's mountains green?
And was the holy lamb of god
On England's pleasant pastures seen?
Walk upon England's mountains green?
And was the holy lamb of god
On England's pleasant pastures seen?
And did the countenance divine,
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here
Among these dark satanic mills?
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here
Among these dark satanic mills?
Diffusion of responsibility.
What of King's "dreams"... on Youtube?
Oh yes, part of the curriculum now.
He's safe now he's bust in bronze and gone into scripture for royalty.
What of crowds of anonymous marchers at the capitol?
What is the "power of love" without the power of rebellion?
Count your blessings.
Count those sheep.
Count those years you spend asleep.
May your dreams be sweet.
Some have dreams of release.
Here I am banging on, blogging on, doing nothing.
Count your blessings.
Count those sheep.
Count those years you spend asleep.
May your dreams be sweet.
Some have dreams of freedom.
There is no freedom without struggle.
Hope, it's theirs...
He waves a banner.
Hope, it's the right one.
Touches of sense...
5, 4, 3, 2, 1...
He snores.
Footnotes
Diffusion of responsibility[1] is a sociopsychological phenomenon whereby a person is less likely to take responsibility for action or inaction when others are present. Considered a form of attribution, the individual assumes that others either are responsible for taking action or have already done so.[2] Assumption of responsibility tends to decrease when the potential helping group is larger, resulting in little aiding behavior demonstrated by the bystander(s).[3] Causes range from psychological effects of anonymity to differences in gender. Implication of behaviors related to diffusion of responsibility can be threatening as there have been increases in moral disengagement and helping behavior. The infamous rape case of Kitty Genovese and increased murders in WWII can be attributed to diffusion of responsibility
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusion_of_responsibility
Diffusion of responsibility
In addition, diffusion of responsibility is more likely to occur under conditions of anonymity. In prosocial situations, individuals are less likely to intervene when they do not know the victim personally. Instead, they believe that someone who has a relationship with the victim will assist. In antisocial situations, negative behaviors are more likely to be carried out when the person is in a group of similarly motivated individuals. The behavior is driven by the deindividuating effects of group membership and the diffusion of feelings of personal responsibility for the consequences.[6] As part of this process, individuals become less self-aware and feel an increased sense of anonymity. As a result, they are less likely to feel responsible for any antisocial behavior performed by their group. Diffusion of responsibility is also a causal factor governing much crowd behavior, as well as risk-taking in groups
Post Script
"When we cheer the royals, democracy suffers."
No comments:
Post a Comment