#it was a good idea to stop what etho was doing but it was implemented. directly after etho STOPPED doing that lol | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

qqueenofhades · 4 years

Note

so i’ve been following the presidential race closely, and i’ve been a fan of bernie since the start. however, my mom says that he wouldn’t make any big changes, as he’s hard to work with, can’t make the necessary compromises. the example she used was that throughout his senate term, he’s only passed 3 bills, 2 of which were insignificant. i didn’t think of this, as this is my first time closely following an election. what are your thoughts? would a sanders presidency make any real changes?

Oh dear. You really want to get me into trouble this morning, don’t you. Which is 100% not your fault, you are smart to be thinking about all this and asking questions, and by no means do I want you to stop doing that. So I’ll try to explain this as clearly and straightforwardly as I can, and if I get hate for it, alas.

The thing about Bernie is, which certain subsets of his supporters don’t seem to quite appreciate, is that he’s a great candidate, he’s been useful in pushing the public dialogue and political climate of the Democrats further to the left, he obviously inspires a devoted following, and I agree completely with all of his policies. But there’s still a gulf – a very wide gulf – between all that, and actually putting good ideas into political practice in the (very) flawed American system of government as it currently exists. Yes, the system sucks, we know that, and it can feel outrageously frustrating when moderate candidates are offering milquetoast proposals that don’t really get at the underlying structural causes of massive, entrenched inequality, oppression, racism, sexism, etc that these bright young people have rightly identified in the world. That’s why Bernie is appealing as a candidate, and while my primary already happened on Super Tuesday, I would vote for him over Biden if that was my choice right now. But the seeming expectation that we could pick Bernie, he’d win, he’d instantly remake the entire American political system and implement all his changes, and everything would be fine again – and that if we can’t have that option, just not voting is somehow better – is, to say the least, deeply problematic.

I supported Elizabeth Warren for a number of reasons, but one of them was that while she had many progressive policies similar to or almost identical to Bernie’s, she had tangible evidence of being able to get them done (see: the CFPB), to network and form functional relationships with the Democratic establishment, to work within the existing framework of party politics, and to actually do everything she had written her plans for. To certain Bernie supporters, this made her a corporate shill, a heartless witch who wanted to personally kill poor children, an establishment hack, so on and so forth. They attacked her for running in the first place, they attacked her for challenging Bernie in debates, they attacked her for not dropping out before Super Tuesday, they attacked her for dropping out and then not immediately endorsing Sanders, they attacked her supporters, so on and so forth. I’d still vote for Sanders in a heartbeat over Biden, and I will be happy to vote for him if he gets the nomination. But when you’re treating people that way who fundamentally agree with you on all your policies, there’s something wrong.

And no, it’s not a touchy-feely “we need to hold hands and be nice and listen to each other!” respectabillity politics issue, which also gets used as a straw man. Warren was committed to Medicare for All, but she also recognized there needed to be a transition period and that a public option was a good first step (something which Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the other progressive superstar, has also said). Because she accepted any limitations, because she wanted to work in the system, because she didn’t say she’d burn down global capitalism on day 1, this made her a Very Bad Candidate, and people who otherwise agreed with her didn’t think she’d win, so they didn’t vote for her and turned it into a self-fulfilling prophecy. I’m not saying Warren didn’t have flaws. She did. She’s a politician. There were other reasons people might not have been personally drawn to her. But the flack she got for daring to run as a progressive, while also acknowledging the power of the system and that you cannot uproot these structures immediately (she also planned to use executive power to implement some of her proposals on her first day in office), while challenging Bernie… wow.

Because the thing is, Bernie isn’t going to deliver absolutely everything he promises, and that’s not necessarily his fault. No politician in the history of time ever has. If Bernie somehow does get elected, with a Democratic-controlled House and Senate: great! Then yes, he does have a decent chance of passing some planks of his legislative policy. But there are several things you have to keep in mind here, and this is not “Bernie bashing”:

1. Bernie is not, strictly speaking, a Democrat. He’s an independent, he caucuses and votes often with the Democratic party, and he’s obviously running for their presidential nomination. But he’s not part of the party apparatus, he’s proud of that fact, and this is also a selling point for his supporters: look, he’s not part of the Corrupt Establishment! The DNC obviously has deep and systematic problems and is more committed to the bureaucratic status quo than uprooting inequality in America. That’s not up for debate. But as a candidate and as a nominee for the Democratic Party, Bernie would still need to have the backing of that system. If he doesn’t have it, that makes it harder.

2. “What does that matter?” a certain kind of Bernie supporter might cry. “They’re corrupt and rigging the election for Biden! Voter suppression!”

3. Pause for a deep sigh. Yes. There were long lines in many precincts on Super Tuesday. But voters for all candidates had to stand in them anyway. We’ve already discussed how some Sanders supporters treated Warren and her supporters, the ideologically closest candidate to them in the race. If your entire political ethos involves yelling at people and calling them names on the internet, that’s… not really sustainable as an outreach program and getting them into the hard work of day-to-day coalition building. I say this because I WANT to see progressive politics succeed and actually get put into practice, not just narrowly refined tighter and tighter into a certain tiny subset of Pure Beliefs that never amount to a hill of beans in anyone’s lives. You can have the greatest policies possible, but if you never acknowledge or accept any way to DO SOMETHING about them… really, is that a political ethos based on action and compassion or not? I’m voting for Sanders if he gets the nomination, and I’d vote for him if my primary was still upcoming and my first choice (Warren) was out. But I’m pretty fed up at how some camps on that side have been acting, and I am already a progressive. This… isn’t going to help build support beyond people who are already all in for Bernie. People who you will need to win an election.

4. The usual response here is often to blow off moderates and undecided voters and other people who are apparently just too dumb to see what’s going on. Yes! It is frustrating that half of America still wants to vote for Donald Goddamn Trump! But you’re still not winning an election and getting rid of him that way!

5. Bernie does, in fact, have a thin legislative track record, which may or may not matter if he actually becomes president. America has forgotten that the president is not SUPPOSED to make policy like a king, even though the function of the executive branch has been wildly expanded and bloated since W’s (and honestly, Reagan’s) day. The LEGISLATIVE branch, i.e. the House and Senate, is supposed to make policies, and the president EXECUTES them. That is his/her (ha, if only) JOB. But Bernie doesn’t have the kind of connections in the House/Senate that would help him efficiently mobilize policies, at least on his own initiative. Bills and amendments are slow, boring work. They require committee meetings, drafts, multiple readings, changes, deletions, hearings, final passage, etc. Ironically, the person Bernie could probably most count on in the Senate would be… Elizabeth Warren. And she’d obviously help him out, no matter what the rabid Bernie bros think, but it shows that party establishment politics, no matter how distasteful, are part of getting anything done.

6. Bernie’s plans to pay for some of his big policy proposals, such as student loan debt relief (which I am obviously very into) and Medicare for All, involve, according to him, levying a big new tax on Wall Street and the one percent. Passing a major new tax platform that RAISES taxes is always like pulling teeth. That would require passage in the House and Senate. Cool, let’s say the Democrats control both. Are all of them, especially the moderate ones or senators from red-leaning states, going to vote for it? Probably. But it’s not guaranteed. If you’re funding public policy by raising taxes (the one thing the American public has notably hated since 1773) it’s going to be HARD WORK. Let’s say that takes a year to pass. Let’s also guess that a President Sanders would lose either the House or the Senate in the 2022 midterm elections, because sitting presidents almost invariably do. Obama had two years to enact some of his policy proposals. Then came 2010 and the Tea Party, and it was, as a deliberate and ongoing GOP choice, gridlock central.

7. You think the Republicans obstructed OBAMA? Centrist corporate Democrat Obama, whose policies were solidly in line with the American establishment, but who happened to have brown skin and a funny name? You ain’t seen NOTHING compared to what they would do to a President Sanders. And as we said, even if the Democrats take Congressional control in 2020, they would invariably lose at least one branch in 2022. We are already figuring in at least a year for Bernie to somehow get his tax plan through. The billionaires are mad. They pour money like crazy into GOP candidates. Welp.

8. So this leaves us… maybe 12-16 months for Bernie to try to enact all his policy reforms, while being deliberately outside of the Democratic party establishment, while having to work with the House and Senate in a way he hasn’t really done before, and accepting limitations on his policies and his political ability, also not something he has really shown an aptitude for.

9. So what? Bernie supporters demand. Are you saying don’t vote for Bernie, it’s hopeless! CORPORATE SHILL!

10. No. Not what I am saying at all. Obviously a Sanders presidency would be light years, LIGHT FUCKING YEARS, better than what we’ve got in there right now. But Sanders (and also Biden) are in their late 70s and have underlying health problems. The likelihood that either of them would serve two full terms is… slim. Obama is two decades younger and we saw how much the presidency aged him. I feel like they’re both flawed candidates in different ways, and my deepest fear is that neither of them can beat Trump, that the Democrats by trying to go for Biden, an Establishment Centrist Old White Man, think they’re playing to a “middle” that doesn’t really exist, and that either progressives or moderates will feel left out in the cold if Biden or Sanders win the nomination. The candidate will have to do the post-convention “pivot,” i.e. trying to appeal to those of their party’s voters who didn’t choose them in the primary, but is Sanders going to do that? His whole platform and the reason his supporters love him is that he doesn’t compromise. Which again, great for ideology, but runs into problems with consistent and actual implementation.

At the end of all this, the takeaway is this: yes, vote for Bernie if you believe in him! But also have a realistic idea of what he will be up against! There is simply no way that he’s going to sweep into office, even if he does get elected, and magically whisk away all the parts of America that we hate. He would have maybe two years to ram through most of his policies, it requires a legislative skill set he hasn’t honed, it rests on passing a major tax package that would be deeply unpopular and cause him to get pummelled in the 2022 midterms, and he has made a career out of operating as the lone wolf. Once again, it’s not a question of whether the current system sucks. We know that it does. But it still exists, and one candidate, no matter how much we agree with him, is not going to change that. He would hopefully manage to pass some of his major policy initiatives. But pretending that there would be no opposition, that it would all be magically fine, and that everyone who DOES raise a note of caution is a cowardly defeatist, a secret capitalist pig, a fake progressive, a secret Trumper (and we’re not the ones threatening to vote for Trump or not at all if our fave doesn’t get the nomination) or whatever else is… not helpful.

Ultimately, if we do get stuck with Biden, we have to hold our noses and vote for him anyway. If we can hold the House and flip the Senate, they can make progressive legislation and Biden is very likely to sign it anyway. The presidential system is not SUPPOSED to rest purely on the personal beliefs of the president, like an absolutist monarch – there was a pretty famous war about it back in the eighteenth century. Biden has displayed no initiative to act like Trump and be a megalomaniacal fascist overlord. We need to take a step AWAY from the insanity that is the current administration, we need to get back to NORMAL, before we can keep going left. Which is what we want! But it happens in stages, if it happens at all, and pretending that it doesn’t, that the only options are the Whole Revolution Now or Nothing, is never, NEVER going to work. And yes, Biden’s positions are generally pretty eye-rolling and I’ll be annoyed if I have to vote for him. But I’ll still do it, because he is NOT equivalent to Trump. Biden got the Violence Against Women Act (which the GOP-controlled Senate notably just failed to reauthorize) funded and passed. Trump has been accused of sexual assault by… what, 22 women? RBG isn’t likely to last another four years. The circuit courts have already been stacked with young, wildly unqualified, hard-right John Birch Society-type judges who will hold their posts for at least 40 years, and this has a direct impact on the kind of cases that are reviewed, confirmed, or struck down even before they get to the Supreme Court. Climate change, the end. There is too much at stake to fuck this up for the sake of Not Getting Everything Now.

As a final note, the Russian propaganda/troll machine has made it clear that they’re posing as Bernie supporters who insist that if Bernie doesn’t win, you shouldn’t vote. They know Bernie supporters are already voicing and disseminating that argument themselves, and they’re going to inflame it as much as possible. So that’s something to keep in mind.

#politics for ts #long post #aroace-space-case #ask

106 notes · View notes

gunnerpalace · 5 years

Text

Hyperchlorate: How I’d Rewrite Bleach (Part I)

Okay, this is it, kids. This is gonna be—as best as I’m able to manage—the ultimate synthesis of all my scattered discourse on Bleach, combined with a condensation of what I’d do about it all. Buckle up, because these posts are going to be long, and I’m not putting it behind a spoiler. I’d apologize for destroying your dashboard, but I put in the work.

WHAT’S UP WITH THE NAME?

What's referred to as (liquid) bleach is usually a solution of sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) in water. Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is usually added to slow the decomposition of bleach into sodium chlorate (NaClO3), and sodium chloride (NaCl)—that is to say, common salt. (How appropriate!)

Sodium perchlorate (NaClO4) is a perchlorate salt which is very closely related to the above and, when treated hydrochloric acid (HCl), makes perchloric acid (HClO4) and common salt. The former is very nasty in and of itself and is mostly used to make other, worse things.

In the context of chemistry, the prefix hypo- means one less oxygen atom than something suffixed -ite, while the prefix per- means one more oxygen than something suffixed -ate. (See here for a chart if you want.) The prefix hyper- isn't used in chemistry, but I think it sounds better.

tl;dr: It's a weird chemistry not-joke used as a code name for this project.

WHAT’S THE PITCH?

The short version of the pitch is: Most people who liked Bleach as a thing liked the initial Karakura and Soul Society arcs, and interest gradually dropped off after that.

Therefore, if you wanted to rewrite Bleach, you’d want to focus on that time period and expand on it and develop it further. You would also want to rework whatever came after, and more thoroughly integrate it with that time period in tone, focus, and perspective.

To do that, you first need to understand how it was structured and what made it work in the first place.

OKAY, WHAT’S THE LONGER VERSION?

The longer version of the pitch is: Bleach was supposedly a shōnen. One of the Big Three shōnen, in fact (in Western thinking). But understanding Bleach and why it worked (and why it fell apart) requires debunking that idea.

You see, the thing is that Bleach was never particularly good at being a shōnen, at least as most people think of such a thing. When people think of shōnen, they tend to think of four (4) things: 1. A Certain Kind of Protagonist, 2. Worldbuilding, 3. Plot, and 4. Fights. Bleach doesn’t really fit the pattern when it comes to these elements. I’ve been over these before, to a certain extent (many times), but I’ll reiterate them here:

A Certain Kind of Protagonist: Goku. Luffy. Naruto. Natsu. Kenshin. Yusuke. I don’t have to name their anime or manga; you already know who they are and what they’re from. Ichigo is certainly a kind of protagonist, but as Sera (@hashtagartistlife) once pointed out, he’s very different from what one normally thinks of when they consider the genre. Ichigo is a punk with a heart of gold (a la Yusuke) but he lacks the inner drive and confidence of all those other protagonists. He is, in fact depressive at the start of the series; he’s at best listless and nihilistic, and at worst suicidal. He’s something of an outcast loner with a tsundere personality he developed as a kind of mental armor. He’s deliberately mediocre at and unengaged with things. That changes (and the story starts) when Rukia enters his life and gives him the ability to act on his desires to do good and protect people. In other words: his confidence comes from outside of himself. Indeed, it’s a recurring plot-point that the longer he’s separated from Rukia, the more his confidence wavers. In addition to all the other things that were noted as marking him out, this one is crucial, because the average shōnen protagonist is possessed of unwavering confidence. Having Ichigo’s confidence (and his animating ethos) externalized to Rukia essentially splits the traditional protagonist role in two. (Indeed, you could readily say Ichigo and Rukia are deuteragonists, despite the story focusing on Ichigo—he eclipses her visually, but her gravity is unmistakably present and dominant.) This by itself tells you that you are dealing with a different kind of story than usual. This fits in with one of the reasons people tend to like Bleach, specifically the first.

Worldbuilding: Few shōnen rival Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings in sophistication and detail, but they usually have well-developed worlds where whatever is going on substantiates—and ideally enhances—the plot and the journey of the protagonist. Think of the world of One Piece, which is excellent at this, or those of Naruto or Fairy Tale, which still sufficiently sell that there is a living, breathing setting in which the story is taking place. Bleach is something more like Plato’s Allegory of the Cave: it holds up on its own if you accept its premises at face value, but if you start to investigate more carefully, things stop really making all that much sense. My own personal go-to example is the identity of the two unrevealed Great Noble Houses which presumably wielded power in Central 46. (I don’t consider Can’t Fear Your Own World a satisfactory answer for this, or other questions, and notably it has only revealed one of them.) Another example is the history of the Great Noble Houses, or Soul Society in general, or the Soul King. All of these (and much more) were things that were shoved into data books or follow-on novels, if they were ever addressed at all. The more one inspects the worldbuilding of Bleach, the more it feels like it’s flat or significant sections of it were missing—like it’s a movie set instead of an actual place. Most fiction strives to present, as much as possible, a kind of simulated world that you could imagine existing. Bleach, perversely, rather brazenly gives us a set of stages with clearly defined borders instead. This ties into the third and fifth reason people tend to like Bleach.

Plot: In academic circles, you will be told that what distinguishes literary fiction from genre fiction is the former is about characters (i.e., how events impact them), and the latter is about plot (i.e., what happens). For example, White Noise by Don DeLillo is not about “The Airborne Toxic Event,” it is about what that catalyzes in the protagonist’s life. Something like One Piece is very much a genre story about adventure. Things happen to the characters, sure, but they don’t really change all that much over time. They’re all following their dreams, and those dreams are (for the protagonists) often immutable. Bleach doesn’t really follow that structure. Ichigo and Rukia have an ethical viewpoint, but they’re not really on a journey to implement it. Things largely just kind of happen to them. In this regard, Bleach is much more like a literary work than a genre one. It also features, as Sera pointed out in an earlier post, a depiction of Joseph Campbell’s monomyth within the Karakura and Soul Society arcs: we see Ichigo and Rukia go through the process of “becoming a hero.” Protagonists like Luffy or Goku already are the heroes, it’s just that nobody else knows it yet. The plots that unfold are thus very different. Furthermore, Bleach is also often a symbolic work. For example, the Karakura II, Hueco Mundo and Fake Karakura arcs are a sort of inverse deconstruction of the earlier Karakura and Soul Society arcs; they function as an anti-monomyth and refutation of it (think of it as being like “how a hero can fail”), a la how Bloodborne subverts the monomyth to incorporate Lovecraftian mythos: they are designed to cast down the achievements of the protagonists and demoralize the reader, rather than being triumphant and uplifting. Bleach also frequently prioritizes thematic elements over verisimilitude. One example is the association of romance with death (Isshin and Masaki, Ryuuken and Kanae, Kaien and Miyako, Rangiku and Gin, and so on). Another is loneliness (no one ever seems to really hang out or have many friendships), especially when it comes to parents (Isshin and Ryūken have strained relationships with Ichigo and Uryū, Ikumi is a single mother, Chad parents are dead, Orihime’s were reverse-abandoned, Keigo and Mizuiro’s are absent, Tatsuki’s are never seen, and so on). Bleach absolutely prioritizes characters and themes over traditional plot or plausibility—that is to say, how things feel is often much more important than how exciting or realistic they are, which ties into the second and third reasons people like Bleach.

Fights: Bleach’s fights tend to suck. There are some exceptions, sure, but the power of those exceptions usually stems from the emotional content and personal nature of them. Something like Ichigo vs. Byakuya, Uryū vs. Mayuri, or Rukia vs. Aaroniero (to name a later example) are very emotionally charged fights. That said, even fights that aren’t particularly interesting, like Ikkaku vs. Edrad, tend to be more about showing us aspects of the characters’ personalities more so than about the fight itself. In fiction, one is encouraged to show rather than tell, and more extreme situations (which violent confrontations are one example of) allow one to show deeper and more extreme aspects of a character than slice-of-life situations usually do. This is what Bleach’s fights are often in service of. This is evident from how uninteresting the average Bleach fight is. There’s a lot of sword-pressing, a lot of ineffectual diagonal slashes, a lot of appearing behind someone to their surprise, a lot of losing an arm as a serious injury, a lot of no-selling attacks, and whoever reveals how their powers work first usually loses. The fighting quickly boils down to shikai and bankai, or their equivalents, with the other aspects of fighting, like kidō (and the rest of zankensoki) being discarded except when they reflect some matter of character (for example, Byakuya or Uryū’s more analytical and technical approach to things). Combat in Bleach isn’t about a robust combat system or consistency, nor is it about what looks cool—it is about what shows off the character in question. This is unusual for a shōnen and ties directly into the second reason people like Bleach.

I’ve talked a lot about why Bleach is liked, and it’s now prudent to get into that. In my opinion, the reasons that early Bleach was well-liked and well-received can be boiled down to five (5) things: 1. Deuteragonists, 2. Character Designs, 3. Mystery, 4. Contrast, and 5. Urban Fantasy Setting. I’ve been over most of these before, but they also bear repeating.

Deuteragonists: I have explored this concept in quite some detail (see: 1, 2, 3) before, so I’m not going to go too deeply into its mechanics here. The most obvious selling point here is that splitting the role of the protagonist into two mutually supporting halves that are fallible in their own ways is A. relatively unique, and B. humanizing. Ichigo and Rukia are by no means either the first example of this (consider Sherlock Holmes and John Watson) or the last (I've not seen Psycho-Pass, but Shinya Kogami and Akane Tsunemori seem to have much the same relationship), but I am unaware of any (supposed) shōnen prior to Bleach that attempted it. (That’s not to say that it doesn’t exist, but rather, that its obscurity if it does simply reinforces the point.) That made it unique for its time. That Rukia is a (competent and independent, but still vulnerable and feminine) woman only makes it even more unique, especially given the medium and how women tend to be treated within it. It also allowed for both Ichigo and Rukia to have problems as characters, and to largely grow beyond those problems over the course of the series, rather than there being yet another immutable and unchanging rock of a protagonist like so many other shōnen feature. When coupled with their interpersonal banter and dynamics, they formed a major draw together simply because their sharing of the role was so unusual and well-executed.

Character Designs: Bleach suffers from a dizzying overabundance of characters. Many of them are only present for a few chapters, at most, and yet even characters who appeared very briefly have any number of adherents out there among the readership or viewership. Consider characters like Starrk, Bambietta, or Bazz B., who have little to no establishment, and little panel time relative to the series, but who nonetheless gained resolute fans. Sometimes they have backstories shoehorned in to help sell them (as in the case of Starrk and Bazz B.; the most hilarious example is probably Giriko being given a flashback several chapters after he was already dead), but often they succeeded without them. They also often succeed despite their personalities largely being remixes of existing characters. How? Because of their character design and attitudes. Bleach was enormously successful in delivering characters that appealed to somebody, even at almost only a glance. The characters almost radiate a sense of mie purely through their designs. This sort of visual imminence routinely overcame all other character shortfalls.

Mystery: The anime of Bleach began airing on October 5, 2004. Coincidentally, Lost started airing on September 22, 2004. They began at almost exactly the same time. What does one have to do with the other? Nothing, except for the fact that they both relied heavily on mystery and both capitalized on it (in different markets) at almost exactly the same time. The bulk of Bleach is predicated on inculcating a sense of mystery. This is why basic facts that would often be mentioned in passing are kept tightly wrapped secrets until the end of the series and beyond. (Token examples, great and small: Who are the other two Great Noble Houses? Where’s Yoruichi’s zanpakutō and why can she turn into a cat? What’s the deal with the Soul King? Why is there a fox-man like Sajin around, and is he a yōkai or what? What was the Final Getsuga Tenshō?) Even things that were resolved, like Ichigo’s parentage, what was going on with his “inner Hollow” and zanpakutō, and so on, were kicked down the road as long as possible to create an air of mystery. The most obvious manifestation of this was all the guessing about the bankai of various characters that the series egged on. This sense of mystery and a desire for closure kept quite a lot of people invested when their patience for the rest of the series ran out.

Contrast: While lots of anime and manga frequently leaven their drama with comedy, or vice-versa, Bleach was unique for the means in which it did so. It’s worthwhile to draw a contrast with something very close to its opposite: Gintama. Gintama is particularly notable because of its odd mix of different elements; it has a fantastical alternate history setting and can go from irreverent comedy (running the gamut from pop-culture puns to crude toilet humor) to deadly serious drama in just a few pages. However, Gintama’s default mode is comedy. Bleach is a relatively grounded secret history with a default mode that is dramatic. In this regard, they are equal but opposite. Early Bleach was a very dark and grim, almost Lovecraftian setting, and often had elements of horror or was just plain gross, but was lightened up through the way in which it approached that and its frequent inclusion of humor. This contrast is also heightened by the relative lack of fighting in the early manga; when fighting does occur, it’s all the more notable because the focus is largely upon slice-of-life elements. As the series progressed, this element of contrast was lost as it became relentlessly serious (in the process, becoming desensitized to its own sense of horror, great or small) and tried to become a battle manga.

Urban Fantasy Setting: Although Bleach ultimately goes on to visit rather fantastical places, it started out in a very grounded and realistic fashion. The sleepy (fictional) suburb of Karakura in Western Tokyo is just the right mix of urban and rural to be relatable to almost anyone. Simply by virtue of being based on a real area (the region around Tama), Karakura feels lived-in and well-developed, despite the fact that we see very little of it. (This is especially true compared to Soul Society [be it the Seireitei or Rukongai] or Hueco Mundo, both of which are very sterile and fantastical in a bad way [especially since the former is really just a stylized representation of the Heian period in Japan]. There is a very old parody of DBZ featuring the line "We need to go to some place that's completely desolate and... that would never be in real life at all, and it's huge, and it's a bajillion miles wide and it's nowhere to be found on earth—but it's right over there!" and that accurately describes both Soul Society and Hueco Mundo. I’ll get into this more in the next post.) The initial focus on day-to-day high school life also gave it a solid grounding for the age bracket of its intended audience. In this capacity, it exactly nailed the setting of teen-focused urban fantasy. The interesting thing is it did so before a lot of the most prominent novels in that genre were written. In other words, Bleach was a market-leader in urban fantasy for teens, and beat many of its peers to the punch. Just as deuteragonists were a major selling point out of their sheer novelty, so was the setting.

As an aside at this junction, I’d like to direct your attention to something from the Wikipedia page on urban fantasy, regarding the distinction between urban fantasy and supernatural romance:

The two share 90% of their genre DNA. However, the main differences are this: Urban fantasy focuses on an issue outside of a romantic relationship between two characters. Paranormal romance focuses on a romantic relationship between two characters and how outside forces affect that relationship. The best litmus test to determine if a story is urban fantasy or paranormal romance is to ask the following question: 'If the romance between Character A and Character B were removed, would the plot still stand as a viable storyline?' If the answer is 'yes,' chances are good it's urban fantasy. If the answer is 'no,' it's most likely paranormal romance.

Now, whether you think the relationship between Ichigo and Rukia is romantic or not, I would note two things. The first is that if their relationship was removed, the plot would not “still stand as a viable storyline.” The second is that the events of the Karakura and Soul Society arcs are very much about “how outside forces affect [their] relationship.” (As were all subsequent events involving them, really.) In short, I would argue that it’s impossible to suggest that early Bleach doesn’t sit somewhere that very closely approximates paranormal romance, if not being one outright. In this regard, Sera’s assertion that Bleach is a shōjo is a lot closer to the mark than you might think, as is my own that it was on the path to becoming either a battle shōjo or a couple shōnen.

HOLY SHIT, GIVE ME AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SO FAR?

To summarize, Bleach started off as a pseudo-paranormal romance (if not an actual one) that succeeded on the basis of being—on the one hand—grounded, characterful, and novel, while—on the other—also being mysterious, emotive, and meaningful. Bleach was, at the start, not necessarily trying to sell itself as an unbiased account of “things that happened in this fictional world,” or create an expansive universe. It was instead a rather intimate story set in a particular place, focusing very much on its characters and on conjuring up emotions.

Even when it went to Soul Society, you might still just as easily think it as something like an off-beat Kabuki play rather than a traditional shōnen. (Perhaps making it not so surprising that it was so easily adapted into a musical play.)

I feel that Bleach is also notable for embracing the aesthetic principles of Japanese art and culture that other traditional shōnen usually do not heavily emphasize; it features elements of not just Kawaii (of course), but Jo-ha-kyū, Geidō, Miyabi, Iki, Ensō, Shibui, Yūgen, and Wabi-sabi. (Indeed, I would say that an over-attachment to those last four is a major component of why it ultimately failed.) This also gave it a unique flair.

I think it was ultimately so successful to begin with because it was a unique melange of elements.

BUT I LIKED BLEACH BECAUSE OF SOME PARTICULAR THING YOU DISMISSED AS ANCILLARY!

There’s no accounting for taste. I’m just telling you what Bleach’s focus was and why it was initially exciting and good at what it did.

OKAY, FINE, WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH REWRITING IT?

Like I said, I think it’s important to first understand what worked and why. Then, it’s important to understand why things went wrong. (And boy, did things go wrong...) Only then can you reasonably propose solutions to fix things.

Next time, we’ll go into what went wrong, which involves a mixture of poor planning, shifting priorities, inflexibility, overindulgence, and hubris. But for that story, you’ll have to stay tuned for Part II!

#Bleach #Hyperchlorate #Meta #Analysis

278 notes · View notes

wickedbananas · 6 years

Text

How to Win Some Local Customers Back from Amazon this Holiday Season

Posted by MiriamEllis

Your local business may not be able to beat Amazon at the volume of their own game of convenient shipping this holiday season, but don’t assume it’s a game you can’t at least get into!

This small revelation took me by surprise last month while I was shopping for a birthday gift for my brother. Like many Americans, I’m feeling growing qualms about the economic and societal impacts of putting my own perceived convenience at the top of a list of larger concerns like ensuring fair business practices, humane working conditions, and sustainable communities.

So, when I found myself on the periphery of an author talk at the local independent bookstore and the book happened to be one I thought my brother would enjoy, I asked myself a new question:

“I wonder if this shop would ship?”

There was no signage indicating such a service, but I asked anyway, and was delighted to discover that they do. Minutes later, the friendly staff was wrapping up a signed copy of the volume in nice paper and popping a card in at no extra charge. Shipping wasn’t free, but I walked away feeling a new kind of happiness in wishing my sibling a “Happy Birthday” this year.

And that single transaction not only opened my eyes to the fact that I don’t have to remain habituated to gift shopping at Amazon or similar online giants for remote loved ones, but it also inspired this article.

Let’s talk about this now, while your local business, large or small, still has time to make plans for the holidays. Let’s examine this opportunity together, with a small study, a checklist, and some inspiration for seasonal success.

What do people buy most at the holidays and who’s shipping?

According to Statista, the categories in the following chart are the most heavily shopped during the holiday season. I selected a large town in California with a population of 60,000+, and phoned every business in these categories that was ranking in the top 10 of Google’s Local Finder view. This comprised both branded chains and independently-owned businesses. I asked each business if I came in and purchased items whether they could ship them to a friend.

Category

% Offer Shipping

Notes

Clothing

80%

Some employees weren’t sure. Outlets of larger store brands couldn’t ship. Some offered shipping only if you were a member of their loyalty program. Small independents consistently offered shipping. Larger brands promoted shopping online.

Electronics

10%

Larger stores all stressed going online. The few smaller stores said they could ship, but made it clear that it was an unusual request.

Games/Toys/Dolls etc.

25%

Large stores promote online shopping. One said they would ship some items but not all. Independents did not ship.

Food/Liquor

20%

USPS prohibits shipping alcohol. I surveyed grocery, gourmet, and candy stores. None of the grocery stores shipped and only two candy stores did.

Books

50%

Only two bookstores in this town, both independent. One gladly ships. The other had never considered it.

Jewelry

60%

Chains require online shopping. Independents more open to shipping but some didn’t offer it.

Health/Beauty

20%

With a few exceptions, cosmetic and fitness-related stores either had no shipping service or had either limited or full online shopping.

Takeaways from the study

Most of the chains promote online shopping vs. shopping in their stores, which didn’t surprise me, but which strikes me as opportunity being left on the table.

I was pleasantly surprised by the number of independent clothing and jewelry stores that gladly offered to ship gift purchases.

I was concerned by how many employees initially didn’t know whether or not their employer offered shipping, indicating a lack of adequate training.

Finally, I’ll add that I’ve physically visited at least 85% of these businesses in the past few years and have never been told by any staff member about their shipping services, nor have I seen any in-store signage promoting such an offer.

My overarching takeaway from the experiment is that, though all of us are now steeped in the idea that consumers love the convenience of shipping, a dominant percentage of physical businesses are still operating as though this realization hasn’t fully hit in… or that it can be safely ignored.

To put it another way, if Amazon has taken some of your customers, why not take a page from their playbook and get shipping?

The nitty-gritty of brick-and-mortar shipping

62% of consumers say the reason they’d shop offline is because they want to see, touch, and try out items. – RetailDive

There’s no time like the holidays to experiment with a new campaign. I sat down with a staff member at the bookstore where I bought my brother’s gift and asked her some questions about how they manage shipping. From that conversation, and from some additional research, I came away with the following checklist for implementing a shipping offer at your brick-and-mortar locations:

✔ Determine whether your business category is one that lends itself to holiday gift shopping.

✔ Train core or holiday temp staff to package and ship gifts.

✔ Craft compelling messaging surrounding your shipping offer, perhaps promoting pride in the local community vs. pride in Amazon. Don’t leave it to customers to shop online on autopilot — help them realize there’s a choice.

✔ Cover your store and website with messaging highlighting this offering, at least two months in advance of the holidays.

✔ In October, run an in-store campaign in which cashiers verbally communicate your holiday shipping service to every customer.

✔ Sweeten the offer with a dedication of X% of sales to a most popular local cause/organization/institution.

✔ Promote your shipping service via your social accounts.

✔ Make an effort to earn a mention of your shipping service in local print and radio news.

✔ Set clear dates for when the last purchases can be made to reach their destinations in time for the holidays.

✔ Coordinate with the USPS, FedEx, or UPS to have them pick up packages from your location daily.

✔ Determine the finances of your shipping charges. You may need to experiment with whether free shipping would put too big of a hole in your pocket, or whether it’s necessary to compete with online giants at the holidays.

✔ Track the success of this campaign to discover ROI.

Not every business is a holiday shopping destination, and online shopping may simply have become too dominant in some categories to overcome the Amazon habit. But, if you determine you’ve got an opportunity here, designate 2018 as a year to experiment with shipping with a view towards making refinements in the new year.

You may discover that your customers so appreciate the lightbulb moment of being able to support local businesses when they want something mailed that shipping is a service you’ll want to instate year-round. And not just for gifts… consumers are already signaling at full strength that they like having merchandise shipped to themselves!

Adding the lagniappe: Something extra

For the past couple of years, economists have reported that Americans are spending more on restaurants than on groceries. I see a combination of a desire for experiences and convenience in that, don’t you? It has been joked that someone needs to invent food that takes pictures of itself for social sharing! What can you do to capitalize on this desire for ease and experience in your business?

Cards, carols, and customs are wreathed in the “joy” part of the holidays, but how often do customers genuinely feel the enjoyment when they are shopping these days? True, a run to the store for a box of cereal may not require aesthetic satisfaction, but shouldn’t we be able to expect some pleasure in our purchasing experiences, especially when we are buying gifts that are meant to spread goodwill?

When my great-grandmother got tired from shopping at the Emporium in San Francisco, one of the superabundant sales clerks would direct her to the soft surroundings of the ladies’ lounge to refresh her weary feet on an automatic massager. She could lunch at a variety of nicely appointed in-store restaurants at varied prices. Money was often tight, but she could browse happily in the “bargain basement”. There were holiday roof rides for the kiddies, and holiday window displays beckoning passersby to stop and gaze in wonder. Great-grandmother, an immigrant from Ireland, got quite a bit of enjoyment out of the few dollars in her purse.

It may be that those lavish days of yore are long gone, taking the pleasure of shopping with them, and that we’re doomed to meager choosing between impersonal online shopping or impersonal offline warehouses … but I don’t think so.

The old Emporium was huge, with multiple floors and hundreds of employees … but it wasn’t a “big box store”.

There’s still opportunity for larger brands to differentiate themselves from their warehouse-lookalike competitors. Who says retail has to look like a fast food chain or a mobile phone store?

And as for small, independent businesses? I can’t open my Twitter feed nowadays without encountering a new and encouraging story about the rise of localism and local entrepreneurialism.

It’s a good time to revive the ethos of the lagniappe — the Louisiana custom of giving patrons a little something extra with their purchase, something that will make it worth it to get off the computer and head into town for a fun, seasonal experience. Yesterday’s extra cookie that made up the baker’s dozen could be today’s enjoyable atmosphere, truly expert salesperson, chair to sit down in when weary, free cup of spiced cider on a wintry day… or the highly desirable service of free shipping. Chalk up the knowledge of this need as one great thing Amazon has gifted you.

In 2017, our household chose to buy as many holiday presents as possible from Main Street for our nearby family and friends. We actually enjoyed the experience. In 2018, we plan to see how far our town can take us in terms of shipping gifts to loved ones we won’t have a chance to see. Will your business be ready to serve our newfound need?

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

from The Moz Blog https://ift.tt/2Ou0yfm via IFTTT

#The Moz Blog #Moz #seo

1 note · View note

picloblog · 3 years

Text

Meet the team: building new platform features!

Get to know the team at Piclo responsible for building new features on Piclo Flex. Introducing:

Adrian, Data Engineer

Hua, Service Designer and User Researcher

Liam, Software Developer

Meghan, Product Manager

Q1. What does your role involve when Piclo builds new platform features?

Q2. What do you enjoy most about working on this?

I love understanding a problem and figuring out the best solution, and take particular pride in making it efficient when I'm able to.

Q3. Are there particular skills you need for this role?

I would say being able to translate between the real world and the world of data, and being an effective communicator. It helps when people want to know something but aren't quite sure how to ask for it.

Q4. Other than working on introducing new platform features what else does your role include?

I help with producing data insights for both industry and commercial purposes. As data engineer, I'm also closely involved with testing and managing our cloud infrastructure to ensure we are able to scale the platform.

Q5. What did you do before joining Piclo?

I have worked as an analyst and software developer for an environmental consultancy and an off-grid solar provider. Before that I did a PhD in volcano seismology 🌋

Q6. Why did you like the look of the job?

I wanted to work at a company involved in modernising our energy infrastructure that also had technology at its core. I had heard good things about Open Utility (now known as Piclo), it fit the bill, they were about to embark on the Piclo Flex project, and they were hiring. So, here I am!

Q7. Piclo is built on the belief that we are not powerless against climate change. Is tackling climate change important to you? Is there anything you do to contribute?

Tackling climate change is absolutely important to me. Whenever I can, I champion our scientific understanding of climate change (being a geoscientist). I've also tried to build my career around work that helps solve some of the inefficiencies driving climate change. In the name of environmentalism I also gave up eating meat.

Q8. What advice would you give to someone wanting to follow a similar career to yours?

You don't need a PhD in volcano seismology.

Q1. What does your role involve when Piclo builds new platform features?

Before we commit to any new features, I do some investigations to understand the problem and then share the insights with the team, then we explore solutions together. I prototype different solutions to help with visualisation and the prototypes are then used to help validate our assumptions with the users. By the time we are ready to build, the design has gone through quite a few iterations. We follow the Lean startup model of build - measure - learn, so launching new features is a step in the loop; afterwards I collect quantitative and qualitative feedback, which will guide us to figure out what we should build next.

Q2. What do you enjoy most about working on this?

The flexibility market is not only new to me; it’s also new to many players in the market. I’m learning with them together and helping this market to evolve. The past 12 months of remote working was only made bearable by the wonderful people I work with. My colleagues gave me a lot of support and inspiration. The shared vision of a decarbonised future keeps us motivated.

Q3. Are there particular skills you need for this role?

Putting aside the hard skills of being a designer, I have benefited from developing some soft skills: being curious, being empathetic towards others and myself, getting comfortable with uncertainties and learning from making mistakes.

Q4. Other than working on introducing new platform features what else does your role include?

I sincerely believe that designers don’t hold the best ideas or know the solution to every problem; designers can play the facilitator to guide the team to develop innovative ideas based on their expertise. Disseminating the user knowledge within the team is an essential step after user research. I try to create reusable artefacts, reports or visualisations to store these insights. I recently got very interested in doing quantitative analysis and discovered some useful behavioural patterns and trends.

Q5. What did you do before joining Piclo?

I was freelancing and worked on a few exciting projects in public service and fintech. Somehow I always ended up working on complex domains with highly specialised user groups. I have been fortunate to collaborate with great teams that unite around user needs and are very generous to support each other.

Q6. Why did you like the look of the job?

I’d like to drive a positive impact contributing to solving the climate crisis. A friend of mine told me about their work in the energy trading space, and it opened my eyes to this industry. When I first met the team, I got a good vibe. Alice shared the employee handbook with me before I joined; it showed some very progressive thinking in how the company is run. The product ethos is user-centric, and there is a good understanding of the value of design activities.

Q7. Piclo is built on the belief that we are not powerless against climate change. Is tackling climate change important to you? Is there anything you do to contribute?

Yoyu is a simple app that shows the carbon intensity of energy production forecast for the next 24 hours. I try to shift my energy consumption to the time when there is more renewable energy. I have a smart plug connected to all the chargeable devices at home and it is timed to switch on based on the information in Yoyu. I also compost waste as much as possible. Landfills create a lot more greenhouse gases and soil is the carbon sink - I’m delighted that the local council offers composting!

Q8. What advice would you give to someone wanting to follow a similar career to yours?

Don’t stop learning. The environment around us is rapidly changing, which is very exciting. The way we work and design are constantly evolving. Be creative about how you can enrich yourself, either in learning new skills or pursuing new interests.

Q1. What does your role involve when Piclo builds new platform features?

Trying not to overpromise and underdeliver. My role generally involves taking designs, requirements and packages of work from the product team and turning them into something that can be used. It’s a fairly stimulating mixture of user interface/frontend development mixed with backend data wrangling. I try and steer clear of the super techy infrastructure side of things.

Q2. What do you enjoy most about working on this?

Being part of a small team working on a specific problem, it’s nice to have input at pretty much every stage of defining and implementing a particular feature, as opposed to churning out widgets of code.

Q3. Are there particular skills you need for this role?

Pragmatism and compromise are always useful.

Q4. Other than working on introducing new platform features what else does your role include?

In a good way, my role is pretty much entirely devoted to this purpose. There aren’t many random tasks or meetings I find clogging up my day (aside from filling out timesheets).

Q5. What did you do before joining Piclo?

Harvesting cookie data for a soulless marketing platform. Before that I was a soulless management consultant.

Q6. Why did you like the look of the job?

I like how Piclo is genuinely trying to solve a problem that hasn’t been addressed yet.

Q7. Piclo is built on the belief that we are not powerless against climate change. Is tackling climate change important to you? Is there anything you do to contribute?

It’s obviously a huge problem but I can’t profess to it informing my everyday life. Sometimes though, there’s a convenient overlap between my being stingy and green behaviours: cycling as much as possible; picking the meat free option.

Q8. What advice would you give to someone wanting to follow a similar career to yours?

Trust your instinct.

Q1. What does your role involve when Piclo builds new platform features

As a product manager I have a wide range of activities I get involved in when building new features. A quick summary: defining the problems we’re trying to solve, supporting our designers during user research, unpacking all the learnings, co-leading discovery sessions to dig into the problem we’re trying to solve, bringing the team together to design solutions, ticket scoping, and validating recent releases via testing.

Q2. What do you enjoy most about working on this?

As cliche as this sounds, I really do enjoy taking problems off people’s plates, and improving things through our software. As a product manager, you really do have a direct impact on identifying user problems and championing solutions to keep evolving your product.

Q3. Are there particular skills you need for this role?

I think it’s really important to be empathetic in this role. If you struggle to understand your user’s or the pain points that the developers might be feeling, you will also struggle to be a successful PM. Good, clear communication is hugely important. You need to be confident in the decisions you are making, as many times you need to explain or justify why you are or aren’t doing something. Finally, I’d say that collaboration as a PM is a vital skill to embrace and keep getting better at - great products are built with the whole team, and it’s important to know when to reach out to experts on your team to make decisions.

Q4. Other than working on introducing new platform features what else does your role include?

Essentially, my job entails making sure that our production teams are working on the right things at the right times. At Piclo this is a really collaborative process. I’m involved in roadmapping, sprint and release planning at a high level. On a more practical day to day level, I assist in problem discovery, definition of features, ticket scoping and post development testing and validation. I also get to liaise with a lot of different stakeholders in order to improve our product. I especially like supporting our customer success team to get a pulse on what is happening with our product.

Q5. What did you do before joining Piclo?

Just before Piclo I was working for a Madrid based startup. Our product was akin to an Oyster card for live events - mainly music festivals. I had many different roles there but naturally progressed into product management. Aside from the usual PM work, I got to travel loads and see our product being deployed at many a music festival - that was a nice little bonus 😎

Q6. Why did you like the look of the job?

I found myself questioning more and more whether or not where I was choosing to spend my time was meaningful in the grand scheme of things. When the answer turned out to be a ‘not really’ I knew it was time for a change. I loved Piclo’s mission (still do), and I sincerely think that we are building a product that is changing behaviours today to tackle climate change. I was also really attracted to Piclo’s emphasis on teamwork and transparency. This is not just something that we say on job descriptions. We work hard every day to maintain this principle.

Q7. Piclo is built on the belief that we are not powerless against climate change. Is tackling climate change important to you? Is there anything you do to contribute?

Tackling climate change is important to me, it’s one of the reasons I landed at Piclo. I contribute by not eating meat, choosing a green tariff on my energy bill, when commuting choosing to cycle, and I’ve recently subscribed to Mossy Earth after our CEO recommended it 👏🏼 Really nice project!

Q8. What advice would you give to someone wanting to follow a similar career to yours?

Don’t be afraid to try, fail, learn, and ask a lot of questions along the way. Also, find a community of like minded individuals that you can share your experiences with specifically as a PM or aspiring one.

0 notes

solarpanelinstall · 3 years

Text

Solar Energy in Georgia

The single greatest project killer we've struck repeatedly is if project teams neglect to get in touch with each of their approving authorities before they start the job. You might need blessings from any or all of the community municipal building department, the Ontario Power Authority, the Electrical Safety Authority, and sometimes a local Conservation Authority. Any one of these can stop a job in its own tracks, regardless of just how much money you've spent until you telephone them. The most tragic instance we've seen was not quite 200kW of solarpanels fully installed, but struggling to connect into the grid because the master failed to get approvals first.

You will find more than a few homeowners around Ontario now attempting to connect Micro Fit systems, even less than 10kW in size, that similarly failed to talk to their community electric utilities first, and that may not be in a position to have connected whatsoever. Some have withdrawn their retirement savings to finance their endeavors. That's a tragic and costly mistake to produce. Help. That is an interesting note.

We've observed other projects get wrapped up at the fine print. Within this marketplace, it happens often that builders become hired in good faith based on a talented sales telephone and also a narrow purchase arrangement, and the fine print does not include a number of the essential details that the home owner doesn't know, like securing the FIT or microFIT contract to promote the power into the grid. Sometimes in larger projects, this falls between contracts. By way of example, whenever a general contractor produces a"turn-key" system design and installation, hi res technology consultants to accomplish the design and technicians and roofers to perform the install, but forgets to clearly show that can make an application to the FIT contract. With no FIT or microFIT contract, solar panels can be exceedingly expensive decorations. Notably in progressive and exciting fresh niches, an individual cannot comprehend the need for having clear contract records, and of making sure that the whole project team includes a complete and clear understanding of one another's responsibilities, and that nothing falls through the cracks. Georgia Solar Panels 2021

But just like everything that is exciting, there's a tiny mythology that is accumulated round solar power endeavors, and a number of the myths need to get cleared up. The Solar industry isn't new in Canada, however, it's grown over the last ten years. When 2009 switched RESOP into the Feed-in Tariff (FIT), Ontario became North America's renewable energy policy pioneer, and a global model for other authorities to follow. Ontario's solar industry stinks, and authorities scrambled to put processes in place to keep us safe and to help projects proceed. Life at the Trenches: The Way Solar Projects Really Work For example, FIT contracts aren't subsidies, and so they wont help anyone get loaded quickly. Subsidies by definition are intended to help"subsidize" something: they do things like reducing or cancel construction or other improvement expenses, such as the way we cover for the construction of fresh gas or atomic energy plants.

FIT contracts are the opposite: they just pay for delivered energy. Project proponents consume 100 percent of this job risk up to the day if energy is sold into the grid, and the only payment they get stems after, for electric kilowatthours (kWh's). Nuclear energy plants will normally possess special contract provisions that ensure they have paid even when they will have downtime. FIT contracts provide no such luxury: repayment is just created for kWh's brought to the grid. This is a good thing for your ratepayer and taxpayer, however it poses an interesting challenge to the project team: that the job should be designed right and implemented precisely as intended, or all losses fall into the job owner. One of the most unexpected challenges which our projects sometimes face is societal friction.

One of our customers was siphoned with a neighbor because"my taxes are investing in the [expletive] panelsyou thief!" It's remarkable how modest Ontarians know about how our energy markets work, and also just how hypocritical some uneducated or miseducated folks may be. False information is absolutely free and widely available. Superior advice takes attempt to market and frequently costs money. And even though any bigot can degree heavy accusations with small effort, the"good guys" have to work hard and spend greatly to give solid answers to those accusations Common Project Pitfalls As well as when you do everything , sometimes projects still get jinxed within the very things. Most builders don't want to look for CSA certifications on the services and products that they install, but I've seen equipment arrive on site that has been maybe not CSA certified and that ultimately had to be ripped out and replaced with something which has been.

Unless products are certified to CSA or equal criteria, the Electrical Safety Authority won't let them be connected with our grid, and with good reason. None of us wants to be the project that caused a flame worse, a fatality. My brother and I personally really could build such a thing once we put our minds on it. We'd adventures with castles, knights, and creatures, drove trains to the moon, made our very own transformers... and not had a building license, or even perhaps a utility connection agreement, or even an ESA approval.

FIT: Contract, maybe not Subsidy Public Misinformation The truth is that lots of well-intentioned players from all areas of the industry had no idea what to expect. It had been as if we knocked down the first domino in a long chain, and that I want to a degree that we're still watching other dominos fall, and we're learning how to tidy up the mess.

Solar projects are all exciting. They truly are great for the environment, they truly are good for social ethos, also due to the FIT apps, they truly are cheap for farmers, faith groups, municipalities, along with typical middleclass laypeople. FIT job proponents range from homeowners to farmers to commercial developers or industrial factory operators. They have many unique needs, but they have a tendency to fight with the exact things when considering solar energy endeavors.

Like any endeavor, solar technology projects succeed or fail based on planning. While the proverb goes, if you fail to plan, then you plan to fail, or at least to learn some hard lessons along the way.

0 notes

zanytimetravelenthusiast-blog · 5 years

Text

Impact BreakOut Program Review And Huge Bonus

Impact BreakOut Program Testimonial - Are you searching for more knowleadge regarding Impact BreakOut Program? Please review my honest testimonial about it before choosing to review the weak points as well as staminas of it. If you get Impact BreakOut Program via my link, you will certainly obtain unique as well as appealing bonus plans. I constantly update my bonus offers day-to-day.

Introducing Impact BreakOut Program

6 Online Service Ideas To Begin A Successful Profession In 2019 (Component 1)

There has never been a far better time to begin a company online. You only require a computer system and also a web connection to transform your leisure activity right into an economic side hustle.

Starting an online organisation is just one of the most amazing things you can do. There has actually never ever been a much better time to do so than now, and right here. Here are 6 on the internet companies you can start today, as well as you don't even need to quit your day task.

Come to be a professional or professional

We are all truly proficient at something and have the understanding we can pass onto other people. Coming to be an expert is everything about using the something that you're excellent at, as well as utilizing it to help, or show others.

A lot more organisations look for experts in particular topics or areas because their personnel contains many "Jack of all professions" types. They have knowledge in several Impact BreakOut Program areas yet aren't professionals at any kind of one thing.

Popular online consulting gigs are frequently related to promoting a business, such as social media sites administration, seo (SEO), paid search marketing (such as with Google Adwords or Bing Ads ppc).

If you have layout abilities or learn about web site usability, you can connect to services and give positive individual experience critiques for their internet site or on-line shop. People often tend to be humble concerning things they are actually good at, yet all that humbleness could be holding you back from a fantastic side company in consulting.

Dig up some self-confidence as well as put yourself (as well as your skills) out there.

Sell "creative" stuff on Etsy

Smart individuals have a tendency to shy away from innovation, yet Etsy is where you'll locate a middle ground.

Etsy is an on the internet Impact BreakOut Program marketplace for almost any person that intends to offer their hand-crafted products. If you knit, paint, weld, sculpt, stitch, mold and mildew, or shape something, you can probably market it on Etsy.

Invest ten mins jabbing around different Etsy stores, and you'll find people from around the world, and also all walks of life, selling their items.

And also you don't need to stop at having a side hustle; there are many individuals that have actually transformed their little side organisation on Etsy into a full time job. Etsy supplies a simple layout and also lots of how-to guides, so you won't get bewildered with beginning the on-line section of your organisation.

If you have also the slightest little bit of creative thinking or artistic talent, Etsy is a no-brainer for making side income online.

Start a dropshipping store

Beginning an online e-commerce shop can be a substantial undertaking and call for a great deal of in advance investment. Not only do you require to develop a website and develop product listings, however you likewise need to acquire, shop and also deliver the products you market.

Dropshipping stores are various, though. With a dropshipping store, you only need to do a portion of that job. Dropshipping stores enable you to develop a website and offer products, however without having to keep supply or ship the items yourself-- it's all cared for by a third-party dealer.

When a consumer purchases an item from your site, you place an order with the third-party producer or dealer, that then ships it straight to the client in your place. Dropship stores save you time, cash, as well as sources.

Developing your web site or item gallery does not also have to be hard. You can develop an on the internet shop using WooCommerce or simple templates on platforms like Shopify, and apps like Oberlo. You can actually set up an on the internet dropship shop with hundreds of items in simply a couple of days.

Impact BreakOut Program Evaluation & Overview

Supplier: Tina Fletcher

Item: Impact BreakOut Program

Introduce Day: 2019-Oct-07

Launch Time: 8:00 EDT

Front-End Rate: $997

JV Page: https://www.socialleadfreak.com/impact-breakout-program-review/

Niche: General

What Is Impact BreakOut Program?

Impact BreakOut Program is a Brand name Ethos and Company Foundational Program that educates company online just how to Change their Service with the Power of a Brand Ethos to Make the Impact They Truly Should.

It is made to assist local business owners, instructor, author, musician, business owners and also service-based business to comprehend their business mission, vision, voice, consumers and also brand values. This allows them to not only recognize the power of a brand, it likewise digs deep right into exactly how to attach to your audience on a more profound degree.

How Does The Impact BreakOut Program Work?

It is an intensive 90-day program (plus the consumer get accessibility to all the training for twelve month) designed to help take action and also take their existing company either online (if it's not already) or to declutter, streamline as well as implemented systems for you to function smarter in your existing business.

The Program consists of: 1 on 1 Laser Coaching Sessions based on Responsibility Research, Live Weekly Training Session with Q&A, Exemption Online Members Location, Knowing in Bite Dimension Session to encourage action taking.

UNLIMITED: 1-1 Laser Mentoring Sessions

You will do workable actions and also research and after that we meet again.

These sessions will usually be 15 mins, but since we have a prime focus, we are working on a simple to produce momentum. After that, you will be provided the next action.

EXCLUSIVE: Online Members Only Location

Online Educating with over the shoulder detailed instructions training, audio, composed web content, workbooks and even more.

Plus Incentive Training & Technology on advised devices to help you do tasks quicker as well as less complicated, which I have used and also tested as well as gave me the most effective outcomes.

LIVE WEEKLY: Training Procedure including Q&A

We will certainly either go deeper right into a few of the training, look at instances or case studies, or take pupil's elements and also create them live.

Live Inquiry and also Response sessions where you can ask me inquiries as well as see other examples. All created to inspire you and maintain you moving forward.

ONE YEAR ACCESSIBILITY: Bite-Size Discovering Procedure

To quit you jumping around as well as getting bewildered with all the moving components you will certainly get your web content one lesson each time, then you will certainly require to do a 'Completed This Lesson Task' to proceed.

Year Accessibility to Members Location as well as Online Training

Verdict

"It's A Large amount. Should I Invest Today?"

Not only are you obtaining access to Impact BreakOut Program for the very best cost ever used, yet likewise You're spending entirely without risk. Impact BreakOut Program consists of a 30-day Refund Guarantee Plan. When you choose Impact BreakOut Program, your complete satisfaction is guaranteed. If you are not entirely pleased with it for any kind of factor within the initial one month, you're entitled to a full refund-- no doubt asked. You've got nothing to shed! What Are You Waiting for? Try It today and get The Following Reward Currently!

#Impact BreakOut Program #Impact BreakOut Program Review

0 notes

scottckinder-blog · 7 years

Text

Quiet Professionals

We all know that person at work who has all sorts of great ideas. Great ideas, I’ll add, that never get past being just that: ideas. They have no intentions of doing anything, they just want to voice an idea or thought out loud.

In Special Forces we called these people the "Good Idea Fairy” or “GIF". The GIF is the person who has ideas of how to do things “better” - but are utterly incapable of identifying the action items or next steps necessary to implement their ideas.

They’re the people who love to offer opinions and gossip about a chosen course of action, but never seem able to offer any viable solutions, inputs, or alternatives.

Sadly, the GIF is never alone. Where there’s a GIF you’ll always find his great friend the “Triple P” or Problem-Problem-Person. Triple P’s love to bring problems to the table just to watch the drama unfold.

They are easily distinguishable from their opposites – “Problem-Solution-People”. These people, upon identifying problems, quickly and proactively develop quality ideas on how to correct them.

If you don’t know how to figure out the difference between the two, I’ll help: Problem-Solution-People are easier to identify. They are the ones at work who help and are proactive and cooperative team players when dealing with problems. They are far less concerned with the problem than with correcting it. I’ll phrase it another way: they are the people you enjoy working with.

Every organization has Good Idea Fairies. Some have more than others, but I promise you they are there.

Think back to a meeting that went on far too long because the Triple P wouldn’t stop offering suggestions. What about the most recent time an entire new project was dumped on you because the GIF planted a seed in the boss’s brain?

Sometimes, sadly, your boss is the GIF. Even worse is when you realize they are a combination GIF/Triple P.

It happens more than you think. When it does it is a clear signal the organization is in serious trouble. But… It doesn’t have to be this way.

The ability to identify problems resides in each of us. It’s part of our limbic brain and drives our survival instincts.

Rare though, is the individual born with the inherent ability (and desire) to quietly and proactively solve problems – prior to and without burdening others with them. Oh, and without seeking recognition for their efforts.

Even more rare are organizations filled with these proactive problem solvers - the people who engage targets and put out fires before others even smell the smoke.

This ethos doesn’t come naturally to most people, you have to select, educate, and empower them.

By selecting (the correct people), educating (their weaknesses) and empowering (their strengths) you’ll see the organization start to transform. You’ll start accomplishing things previously unimagined and you’ll do so with less drama and strife than ever thought possible.

When your organization is filled with the right people who are energetic, passionate, and empowered it is unbelievable what you can accomplish. You’ll accomplish things daily that others can’t, or won’t, in a month.

In my opinion, the best example of an organization which operates like this is the Army Special Forces, or Green Berets. We call ourselves “Quiet Professionals," and we mean it.

Sure, we have our fair share of braggarts, but I’ll argue they typically don’t occupy positions of importance.

Army Special Forces personnel are taught to think unconventionally, to master the basics, and are encouraged at every level to creatively and unconventionally solve problems. We collectively embrace learning and strive to be the best at all we do.

You have to realize, we are assessed and selected on our ability to solve problems. Throughout all training phases (even after we’ve made it to a Team) our problem solving ability is honed to a weaponized edge.

Problem-Problem-People are anathema to us and we avoid them like the plague. Oh yeah, and whenever possible we box up the Good Idea Fairies and put them on the shelf.

We don’t seek recognition and are unconventional, cooperative, yet disruptive team players.

We understand Quiet Professionals DO the job – no matter what that job may be. We put fingers to keyboard and produce products. We pick up the phone and make sales. We lead energetic and professional organizations with little to no drama. We complete our missions to the best of our ability. No Matter What.

Even when it’s neither pretty nor enjoyable.

We win both the battles and the war. We don’t talk endlessly about it because we don’t need to. As Nike says – we “Just do it.” We solve problems.

Dizzy Dean, the great baseball player, said it best - “It ain’t bragging if you can do it."

Ask yourself, have you been bragging or are you truly doing it? Be a problem solver. Be a Quiet Professional.

#special forces #leadership #problem solving

2 notes · View notes

abracalara · 7 years

Text

A Critique on Michael L. Tan’s Opinion Article: “Anatomy of fear”

The article by Michael L. Tan entitled “Anatomy of fear” talks about how the restoration of death penalty, a part of the ongoing war on drugs in the Philippines, make the anatomy of fear even harder to understand. The author talks about the varied effects of death penalty in hopes of resolving the war on drugs within the Philippines. In the article, the author states how the anatomy of fear can be complicated among humans. For human beings, “Fear runs through our lives as quick, fleeting reactions.” As fear is regarded as a fleeting reaction, the act of killing drug pushers and drug users with the main purpose of controlling crime within the country is not an effective way of trying to eradicate the negative actions happening within the country. Although killings may instill fear in some, Tan states that fear tactics only work for a short period of time. The article provides different perspectives concerning the current state of the country’s citizens and the reasons behind some of the citizens’ actions in going against what the government believes in. Based on the information and ideas present in the article, claims of value and claims of fact concerning the effects of implementing death penalty to instill fear among the Filipino citizens are evident in the text.

The author’s central theme revolves around the different aspects of fear and how it contributes to the maltreatment of police and government officials to the Filipino people who are suspected of being involved with the use or selling of drugs, particularly the less fortunate. Tan expresses that instilling fear by soon implementing the death penalty or the continuing the extrajudicial killings, some people, according to the conditioning theory, reaches the point of extinction when one keeps trying to reinforce ideas or guidelines for individuals to follow. These people affected by the conditioning theory slowly become immune to the effects of fear within them. The author’s purpose was to raise awareness on how extrajudicial killings and forcefully taking away lives of many does not help lessen the crime rates within the country. With the article, the readers, especially the Filipino citizens, may open their eyes to understand the harsh reality the country is facing. With their awareness, they may take action on what they think is right and just to counteract the actions of the authorities.

It is expected that with the uniqueness of human beings come the differences and variety in the assertions of truth for a specific idea. In this article, Aristotle’s ingredients for persuasion are used to provide the author’s stand on the different ideas he is expressing. Convincing the readers of the credibility of the persuader or Ethos, is seen in the line of the article saying “As parents know all too well, we see differences even among our children.” With this, it implies that because of the author’s knowledge about the differences among his children, he is a parent. On the second paragraph of the article, convincing the readers by creating an emotional response or Pathos, is expressed. The author states that, “this argument is based on a lack of understanding of what is involved with fear and deterrence,” which expresses the idea that because of the lack of understanding of authorities, death penalty is on its process in becoming a law. This line convinces the reader that understanding is an emotion that must be given attention on to fully comprehend what is right from what is wrong. In the article, the author persuades the readers by reason or Logos. The fear of death penalty will not work for the war on drugs is proven by the presentation of data from the article that says, “More than 7,000 alleged drug pushers and users have been killed so far, mostly extrajudicially, brutally, in their homes, in front of family and friends.” Despite the killings, Filipinos continue to witness their fellow citizens using and selling drugs. With the evidence being explained and stated in the article, the possibility of being immune to fear is rampant in the society of the Philippines. With the ideas from the article, one can conclude that the author makes use of Aristotle’s Appeals to convince the readers on how death penalty and fear do not have a harmonious relationship with each other.

In the article, the author expresses ideas on what he thinks are true, what actions are moral or immoral, and what measures should be done to the current ways of thinking of the Filipinos. Claims of fact, value, and policy are evident in the article. Similarly to the example provided for Logos, “More than 7,000 alleged drug pushers and users have been killed so far, mostly extrajudicially, brutally, in their homes, in front of family and friends.” is a claim of fact as well. The information about the 7,000 killings is considered as numerical data gathered from the act of killing of the alleged drug pushers and users making the statement a claim of fact. The tenth paragraph states that, “Fear is not processed as fear alone. People think of costs and benefits.” With this, the following lines saying “Will I be caught, and if I am caught, what will I lose?” imply how the Filipinos have their own ways of thinking on what is right from wrong and what is moral from immoral. When people answer their own question on what they comprehend as right or moral, their answers are considered as claims of value. The fifth paragraph states that, “A healthier approach is to teach children to take calculated risks, to temper but not suppress their fears.” which is a statement of a claim of policy. Teaching children to temper but not suppress their fears is a procedure that can be adopted for an individual to become a person who is understanding and open-minded. With this statement, the proposed idea is a practical and reasonable way of handling fearful situations.

According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, fallacies are mistaken or false ideas. In the article, oversimplification, a fallacy, is committed. The first paragraph states, “once you execute people for the heinous crimes that are named in the bill, you will strike fear in the hearts of the criminals and would-be criminals, and they will think twice, thrice, many times, before breaking the law. Crime rates would then drop.” This is a proof that oversimplification exists within the article. Striking fear within the criminals does not ultimately mean that they would stop what they do which resulting to the dropping of crime rates. Some people may choose to continue to follow their own ways of living by committing crimes in order for them to be able to live which does not support the idea from the authorities that crime rates would drop as long as fear is instilled. The article did not contain much fallacies since most of the ideas and data mentioned are presented in a realistic manner with provided reasons. Main ideas are backed up by supporting ideas containing the author’s perspectives or factual and numerical data.

The article does not contain any form of intertextuality. Although the author’s work is not deliberately employing intertextuality, intertextuality is still present by the gathering of data and putting it into one article to support the ideas presented. With the gathering of varied information and ideas based off theories or opinions, latent intertextuality is present within the text.

In conclusion, the article is able to provide a clear message on how fear is instilled throughout the country by the extrajudicial killings and the death penalty bill in process of becoming a law. The author was able to deliver his stand clearly by using appropriate words and ideas in a way for his readers to easily comprehend. His ideas are organized in such a way that each sentence and each paragraph relates to one another and by the use of Aristotle’s Appeals, claims, and intertextuality, the author is able to achieve his purpose of creating the text. In terms of the claims presented in the text, the author was able to provide the needed supporting details to express his credibility and character in sharing his ideas. Although some people may not have the same views and opinions on a very sensitive topic such as extrajudicial killings and death penalty, the author is able to impart his views in such a way that it would not offend or harm anyone. Overall, the article is a good read for one to gain knowledge and be aware of the different perspectives on what the Philippines is currently facing.

Tan, M. (March 3, 2017). Anatomy of Fear. Retrieved March 4, 2017, from http://opinion.inquirer.net/102121/anatomy-of-fear

2 notes · View notes

axiomabstractions · 3 years

Text

One Step Forward

For many years, one of my most deeply held beliefs has been that the most powerful thing any individual can do is inspire others. I’m almost positive I’ve been saying this since high school. A TED talk I watched earlier today (June 11, 2021) reminded me of this. Now, here I am, closing up what may be the single most important piece of literature I’ve yet written in my life. It's definitely the one I'm most proud of.

I won’t provide you with a complete synopsis of the TED talk, as I believe it’s good enough to deserve you listening to it in its entirety and in full context. However, one of the central ideas was that of looking inward in order to first develop a stronger sense of self, and then to strategically, methodically align your intention, efforts, and actions with those things that inspire you in a positive way. It was an excellent presentation, and the themes resonated with me strongly enough to inspire me to write this essay. I feel like many people in America, particularly many young adults, have been very impassioned and inspired for the past several years. It’s good to be inspired. Inspiration is where action and change come from. It shows that many of us care to make a difference, which is important and necessary, but I’m not so sure the picture of the world we are being inspired by is accurate.

The way I see it, the truths each of us is able to see are not only becoming further and further divorced from the way things actually are, much of those truths are being manufactured by a technological and informational infrastructure designed to exploit each of us for our attention as effectively as possible. In order to maximally draw our gaze, the artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms track our activity across the internet, and develop an increasingly accurate picture of the type of content each of us tends to engage with most consistently. The fact that I even believe this may very well be a direct consequence of what I just described, except I listen to a lot of podcasts and actually pick up a book every now and then, so I’d venture to say enough of my sources exist sufficiently outside of this framework to provide at least a moderately effective filter. In any case, the general trend I see is that, within this infrastructure, it is becoming increasingly difficult for us to distill the same truths as one another concerning the state of the world and the direction we are heading as a society. We’ve seemingly been reduced to engaging most strongly with, among other reference points equally unfit to facilitate the expansion and forwarding of the conversation in any meaningful way, memes, sound bites, “gotcha” moments, group think, moral outrage, and open resentment and hatred for “the other.” The identity politics serve only to devolve the conversation into a finger-pointing fest devoid of any potential to produce real, practical forms of change which could serve all our interests.

Okay this seems like a monster of an issue, so what the hell do we do about it. Well, one approach would be to demand more stringent regulatory oversight of the tech superpowers responsible for maintaining the infrastructure within these systems. That would be great, and I think that idea does deserve some careful attention. However, I prefer to work from the ground up. By that I mean I try to focus more on what each of us can do as individuals, as opposed to relying on some institution to implement changes that probably won’t ever happen. Even if the necessary changes were implemented on this scale, I believe the time it would take to get there would allow for much more damage to the ethos of our society than any of us should dare to flirt with. We need to change the way we’re interacting with these systems and with each other, so we can collectively break the spell being held over so many of us.

I mentioned something above, which I think serves as a good starting point for finding a solution: the idea of a filter. Functionally, what this filter should do is provide each of us with enough variation in perceived perspectives, incentives, and outcomes so as to enable us to break the gridlock of these confirmation-bias bolstering meme machines. We need to re-enable ourselves, re-equip ourselves with the psychological, contemplative framework from which we can make more reasonable determinations about what information qualifies and what information has no utility as a piece of the story we tell ourselves about the state of the world, about ourselves, and about each other. Again, this could be done by regulating the systems which deliver this information to us (i.e. try to make is so that no bad information is broadcasted), but I think it’s more important for each of us to take personal responsibility for the way we interact with these systems, not to mention the implications enforcing such regulations would have for our free speech. There are powerful forces at play, and if we aren’t mindful and strategic about our approach to overcoming this, I fear we will simply be inviting the technocalypse. The filter needs to come from inside each of us. It needs to happen in your mind, not in silicone valley.

If we rely on tech or the news media companies alone to address this issue, we will be perpetuating the cycle of disempowerment and victimhood, a cycle whose trajectory only leads downwards into the abyss. The same can be said for any institutional problem that we care to identify and take a stand against. Regardless of which position you start at (victimhood or powerlessness), the same positive feedback loop is activated (“positive” in this case meaning that these two modes of thought are complimentary and enforce one another, not that this feedback loop is good in any way). When you frame the world through the lens of victimhood you rob yourself of your own sense of autonomy by the assertion that the outcomes of events in your life are outside of your control, and thus the processes which determine those outcomes should be governed by another. Allowing our outcomes to be increasingly governed by others gradually robs us of our ability to make decisions over outcomes in our own lives, and thus constructs a society wherein we are all increasingly likely to be made into victims by those whom we have allowed to steal our autonomy from us. See how this feeds into itself? My basic proposition would be that personal responsibility and accountability serve as the antidote to this cycle, by re-empowering us to control the outcomes of events in our own lives. If each of us chooses to be accountable for our contribution to the outcomes we experience in our own lives, we empower ourselves to change the way we choose to contribute, thus can gracefully pursue the outcomes we most desire.

I believe firmly that the macro social phenomena we see are necessarily the direct sum of our attitudes and actions as the constituents of our society. Consequently, it is imperative that we manage how we interact with the framework of our society, the relationship between ourselves and our institutions, and the personal policies we carry through our day to day lives as individuals. I was recently introduced to the simple notion of us all taking one collective step forward by Douglas Murray, a guest on Eric Weinstein’s Podcast “The Portal.” To clarify, I am in no way associated with Douglas or Eric, but It’s a fucking awesome podcast. You should check it out sometime. Anyhow, the point I’m trying to make is that I see much more potential in the idea of working to inspire a healthy perspective shift across 350,000,000 people, than I do in the notion of regulating our institutions so as to attempt to please 350,000,000 people. The latter seems like a fool’s endeavor to me, which is why I care more to work from the ground up. And yes, that starts with working on myself. I wouldn’t be telling you all this, if I was not adamant about incorporating these ideas into my own life.

If we bring our focus back now to the filter, I do have a suggestion for how specifically to make this happen. You ready? Spend less time getting your information from within the framework designed to extract as much of your attention as possible. Get more of your information from books, scientific literature, observing nature, conversations, etc. Go to a library if you need to. Find more places from which to extract your model of the world we live in, places which are not manufacturing an artificial truth for you. Intentionally seek diversity of perspective to help you build a model that is well examined from as many angles as possible. Insofar as you do choose to consume content on facebook, twitter, Instagram, wherever you get your tailored version of reality, be more critical of the ideas you choose to adopt and/or share. Indeed, I think a more critical general audience would be a natural consequence of us forming better habits around where we get our information.

I’m no evolutionary biologist, but I don’t believe humans were evolved for our brains to compete with supercomputers in constructing our perspectives, incentives, and policies of living. I believe we evolved to extract our understanding and meaning through the process of interacting with and carefully examining our natural environment, and testing those observations, in good faith, against what others have observed. Another big difference is the sheer volume of information the average American in consuming on a daily basis. It’s outrageous. There’s no way to possibly keep up with and make sense of it all. We need to stop bombarding ourselves so haphazardly with mind numbing click-bait that’ll be irrelevant in 12 hours or less.

And look, right now, as I’m writing this, I am as much telling this to myself as I am telling this to you. I’m not perfect, and I’m not immune from this either. It is every bit as important for me to grow and improve in these ways, and to remain cognizant through my effort to do so. In fact, that’s what this whole thing is “axiomabstractions.” This is my standing invitation to everyone to not only bear witness to the process of my growth in real time, but to become more involved in the process of their own growth, so that we can grow and build a better truth together as we move ever-forward into the future. If we fail to do this, we will likely continue to suffer from the existential angst produced by the unbalanced distribution of perspectives, incentives, and outcomes manufactured by our technological machinery. We will likely continue to fall deeper into the grips of insecurity, fear, powerlessness, and victimhood together, which if that’s the ride we’re on, then it’s the ride we’re on. I’d much rather be on a different ride though, one that ends in a better place than mutually assured destruction.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not a pessimist. I can just see catastrophe looming. However, the fact that I make the effort to share this with all of you is my way of saying I have faith in us to get through this shit. It would be a total waste of my time if I didn’t have a fundamental, unwavering faith in humanity. We’re not going to accomplish it alone though. The conversation on how we’re approaching progress needs to shift in a manner which promotes more collaboration, cooperation, and honest communication. We need to start participating in growth with each other in good faith again.

In closing, I’d like to send a short message to all active members of the IDW:

We, your viewers, desperately need continued and even more exposure to your perspectives, just as your perspectives deserve increased viewership and broader consideration within the context of our society as a whole. Please keep the conversation going as you have been. This movement, by far, does not stop with you, as I’m sure you are already all starkly aware.

#nuffsaid

0 notes

gymblogs · 4 years

Text

“SatNav” - A Covid-19 story

“SatNav”

“Proceed on the current road”.

The satnav voice was getting to be very repetitive.

The windscreen wipers slapped determinedly back and forth, fighting the driving snowfall to provide even the briefest of glimpses of the narrow road ahead.

“I can barely see the road”, said Grace, peering through the white haze.

“Road! I’d like it to be a road. More like a bloody farm track. I never should have tried to avoid that traffic on the main route”, said Roy in mounting, worried frustration.

“I did tell you. If you had a bit of patience, we could have waited it out in the queues.” Grace was getting deeply concerned as well. The arrow on the satnav screen was travelling along a white line on an otherwise featureless grey screen, as it had been for some time. “We were about an hour from the cottage, but now we’ve been going nowhere for nearly twice that and we have no idea where we are.”

“Hang on a second; that damn thing (he briefly waved a hand at the satnav screen, returning it quickly to control the squirming car) showed a cross-country route that was supposed to add thirty minutes to our journey at the most. I didn’t make it up!”

Roy and Grace, like millions of others – hence the horrendous traffic jams – had been taking advantage of the slight second easing of the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions to travel to their small country cottage. Roy shared it with his small coterie of staff as a company benefit, but this was their own turn. They had stopped at a superstore on the way, queuing patiently in compliance with the ever-more annoying social-distancing to stock up on supplies for their long weekend. That in itself was luxury, there only really having been the option of their small local shop, which had been bravely and gamely serving their village.

It was January 2021, the initial outbreak of the Corona Virus in the early part of 2020 seemed a lifetime ago. Yet again, Covid-19 Britain was not a great place to be, but there were signs of relief. There had been a period of easing of the restrictions on people and businesses heading into the summer; that had been an unmitigated disaster. Mixed messages from an internally-riven government had combined with sheer incompetence to let the virus run out of control again. The much-feared “second spike” of the virus had become the reality, even sooner than feared, in August. After catastrophic misjudgement of the nation’s mood and its tolerance for what had been blatantly revealed as the “Do as I say; not as I do” attitude from the ruling elite, the public’s outrage had made the situation worse. Even the most compliant and sensible had released themselves from months of enforced house-arrest in a fit of pique. The government’s much-touted appreciation of their personal sacrifices had been revealed as a hollow sham. There was hardly a household that did not react with disgust and by doing so, throw just a little too much caution to the wind.

Thousands more had died; the Nightingale pop-up hospitals had to be reopened to cope with the new wave of infection; thousands more businesses – large and small – collapsed as the severest restrictions were re-imposed and the multi-billion-pound support packages had to be redrawn and then withdrawn. “Furloughed” staff were made summarily redundant as reality bit deep both in businesses that had thought they could survive and in those zombie companies who had staggered on only because they had secured their share of the mountains of public money. Whole industries – entertainment and leisure; airlines and holiday companies; car manufacturing; the financial services sector and more teetered on the edge of oblivion or were in their death throes. Rebellious and politically-motivated unions had prevented some willing workers, like many teachers, from returning to their vital work. The government had completely lost control of the actions of the three smaller nations, each of which blundered through their own reactions to the crisis. The discredited “Prime Minister of England” (as he was being called by the press), his arrogant, Svengali-like chief adviser and the blundering Health Minister had all been forced to resign. “Being led by the science” had lost all credibility as the scientific community began to turn in on itself, arguing over every aspect of the pandemic. The failed “Track and Trace” initiative was the final straw. It had called upon “civic duty” from a population that had stoically shown just that and been betrayed for it. One of the Chief Scientific Advisers was appointed to lead the health brief, despite not being a member of either House of Parliament. The bland, clever but charisma-free Deputy PM had been handed the poisoned chalice of the leadership role as a matter of urgency, slotted into it without any semblance of party democracy. An angry, impatient but chastened citizenry had been battered into “Lockdown Two”.

After months of further life-restricting agonies, along with increasingly prevalent personal and family tragedies, there was some second sign of hope. By the end of the year all of the numbers relentlessly paraded in government broadcasts had slowly gone in the right direction again. The late but – finally - effective implementation of mass testing had happened. Added to this, the revelatory discovery and incredibly fast distribution of treatment for the disease had combined to bring the country to another point of “release” from the ever-more stringent laws on “staying at home”. A vaccine was once more promised within weeks. “Easing Two” was being gingerly but eagerly seized upon by almost everyone in the country, all of whom had endured a miserable, “socially-distanced” Christmas period. The new Health Secretary was now facing another, more muted wave of “It’s too early” calls on the second easing of lockdown, as hundreds of new cases persisted in appearing each day. “Being led by the science” was already a discredited mantra. What was “safe” and what was not? Again, scientists disagreed. Confusion reigned.

It still was going ahead. As fate would have it, the release of “The Great British Public” from further house-arrest coincided with the worst January weather for decades. Blasting winds, freezing temperatures, and latterly, extremely heavy snowfall had begun on the very day of the announcement. Still, intrepid escapees were on the roads and rails and trying to pull their lives back to some sort of acceptable compromise between what was and what now had to be. Altruism, selflessness and neighbourly generosity had eroded as a more desperate “everyone for themselves” ethos began to take over.

Grace and Roy had, like so many, begun to envisage a world where much was permanently changed: a cold and cheerless, anti-social world, where no one ever shook hands again; where grandparents saw their grandchildren only on screens; where masked people scurrying or queueing in the streets had given up any hope of that atmospheric meal out or that thrill of being part of the huge, roaring, cheering crowd of sports fans.

The “Easing Two” announcement had raised spirits. The couple had overspent massively on not so much the quantity as the quality of the food and clothes, some household goods, DIY gear, assorted non-essentials. It felt like a justifiable splurge, after months of restraint and confinement, despite their worries over their reducing income and dwindling savings. They were the lucky ones. They had each suffered a few days of Covid-19, but their symptoms had been mild. Grace had been treated callously by her airline employer of twenty years, and like so many other cabin crew, was now laid off permanently. Roy had struggled to keep himself and his small team working on their building projects, losing a number of the most lucrative ones. He had become a victim of the small business Catch-22 effect. His customers were worried that his business could not stay afloat long enough to finish the job, so cancelled his contracts, hastening that very result. With strenuous efforts, he had gained a number of small jobs and projects to keep his men and himself in funds, though much reduced. He had become a newly-expert marketer of his own skills and services, using digital marketing techniques for the first time, helped by the youngest in his team. Like everyone else, their family and social lives had been reduced to sterile and unsatisfying videoconferencing, telephone calls and online communication.

“Look out!”, screamed Grace, pointing ahead.

The BMW slithered sideways – the ABS stuttering the brakes as Roy slammed his foot down. The impact was loud and hard enough to jolt them both violently into their seat belts; the airbags did not deploy as the crunching of metal and the shattering of glass subsided. Roy stopped the engine running, looked to his left at Grace and put the arm that he had automatically put across her front, around her shoulders.

“Are you OK?”

“Yes. No damage, Pet.”

“Well not to us, but I don’t think we can say the same about the car. Thank God you saw ahead and shouted. I didn’t see that coming” He unclipped his seat belt, opened the door and stepped out into the fallen and falling snow.

“You can’t get out in the middle of the road!”

“There is only the middle. This track is not much wider than the car!”, he shouted back through the door. He trudged the few feet to the front of the car. An enormous pile of felled trees had been dislodged from the side of the road and rolled across it, from the weight of the snow, he assumed. “Bloody marvellous. Bloody, sodding marvellous!”, he hissed through clenched teeth. The car – luckily not travelling very fast – had hit the pile of trees at an angle of around thirty degrees as it skidded on the snowy road. The off-side lights were smashed and the front wing had been crushed back onto the wheel. Roy assumed that the angle of the impact had prevented the airbags from being activated. He struggled back into the car.

“Well, that’s the end of this wondrous joyride”, he announced sarcastically. “Even if I could wrench the wing back, clear of the wheel, those trees are far too big and too many for us to move out of our way and there’s no turning room for us here. Can I take a hammer to that damn satnav now?” There was an enormous gust of wind that splattered a heavy flurry of snow across one side of the car. “Still no phone signal. This is not looking good.” Roy grabbed his coat from the rear seat and wrestled it on. “I’m going to scramble up the side of the road, here, so that I can see past the trees. If I can see the lights on the main road, we may be able to get to it on foot.”

“We certainly can’t just sit here, that’s for certain”, said Grace, beginning to worry. “Take the big torch and for goodness’ sake be careful”. Roy flipped the boot catch, trudged to the rear of the car and picked up the big torch. He grabbed the blanket from on top of the large pile of food shopping slammed the boot lid and threw it inside to Grace as he passed back along the side of the car. He saw a gap in the trees up the steeply banked side of the road and headed for that. After a struggle and two face-first, swearing plunges into the snow, he reached the ridge and looked out across the white expanse that confronted him. He could see no stream of car lights, but there was what looked like a single, large bright light and what he thought were the roofs of buildings, about half a mile away, though the distance was difficult to judge in the dark and the swirling snowfall. He made his way back to the car.

“Are you OK?” Grace nodded; the blanket pulled tight around her. “I can see a place across what I assume is a field. No idea what it is, but it’s lit up and there are definitely some buildings there. Anything is better than sitting here and freezing to death, right?”

“Right. Let’s go.” The snow was so deep now that Grace could not open her door so she clambered across to the other side and out of the driver’s door. The wind slammed snow immediately into her face. “Christ” We need to get to that place, fast!”, she spluttered. They put some food and snacks into her rucksack and set off.

It took them about twenty minutes to get across what was a mercifully flat field, high-stepping through three feet of snow, sometimes laughing near-hysterically. They reached the light that had guided them. It illuminated a narrow road through a high metal fence that they could see ran off into the distance in both directions. There was a sign on the open gate: “Welcome Holiday Camp”. They tramped on through the gate and up to the large double doors of a sizeable, log-cabin-style building. It was unlit inside. A security light came on above the door.

“I know this isn’t very friendly of me, but needs must”, said Roy. He used the solid battery-pack end of the heavy torch to break the window in the half-glazed door. Knocking out the jagged glass, he reached inside and flicked the snib of the lock. He pushed down on the handle and the door opened. They both tumbled in; Roy shut the door. The relief from the driving, stinging, freezing snow and the howl of the wind was immediate and welcome. They leaned jointly back against the door and caught their breath. Roy flicked the light switch. Nothing. “There’s obviously no one here, so I expect the power’s off”, he said, pulling down his snow-soaked hood. “Stay here a sec, Grace”. He shone the torch ahead and walked into the half-light. Grace dropped her hood and took off the rucksack, dropping it to the floor. The lights came on. “That’s better”, said Roy, emerging from behind what Grace could now see was a plush timber reception desk. “Bloody Hell! Still no mobile signal”, he cursed. They began to look around what was a large, spacious reception area and welcoming lounge full of plush grey leather sofas.

The Maserati Levante was making a good effort. It was riding high and quite fast over and through the snow. Silvio had fallen for its sleek, shiny black exterior and soft, sumptuous, charcoal-coloured leather seats in an instant. A year on Premier League wages had encouraged him to over-indulge. He loved it; he and his three fellow footballers used it a lot when it was new; less so, of course, since the lockdown came into place in March. They were en-route to an indoor training facility that they had never used before. They had kept their own regular evening training sessions going as well as the sporadic and annoying social-distanced ones run by the club. They had each had Covid-19 and recovered from it quickly, so trained normally together when it was just the four of them in their own rented place. It was a fun semblance of their previous lives.

Robbo was being driven mad by the lack of phone signal. N’Golo was lost in the stored music from his phone, through his headphones. He loved his R’n’B. Patricio was just bored, trying to peer out of the window through the snow.

“Where is this place, Silvio, man? You said we were nearly there twenty minutes ago.”

“The satnav is acting up a bit, but don’t worry, Patricio, mate, I’ll soon be taking the ball and running rings around you”. Robbo laughed loudly.

“Funny guy; funny guy”, said Patricio, laughing at his own expense.

From the passenger seat, Robbo, pointing at the large satnav screen, said:

“I know this is supposed to be taking us there, Silvio, but this seems to be saying it’s on the left, where I see nothing at all, but on the right, I see a light and some buildings. What d’you all say we head for that?” he addressed the rear seats.

“Phew, yeah, man, I’m game. I can hardly see a thing, here. I’ll take the next right towards that light.” In two minutes, he took the right. The Maserati ploughed its way along the approach road to the same holiday camp where – unbeknown to the footballers - Roy and Grace had just broken in. Taking off his headphones, N’Golo said he had the feeling they weren’t in Kansas anymore. One blank stare; two laughs. He thought they might be getting in, but not getting out again, as they entered through the gate. “It’s an all-nighter for us, then!”, said Silvio, trying to cover his frustration with an upbeat tone. “There’s no one there – I’ve got the keycode – but I’m hoping for a drinks machine, at least”. He turned the increasingly struggling SUV sharp left into “Car park 1”, as the sign told them. They struggled into their coats and out of the vehicle.

“This does not look like a sports centre”, spluttered Robbo through the snow. They all took their bags with them. They noticed two trails through the snow, looking at one another warily. Reaching the door – the “Reception” sign was lit above it and all the inside lights were on – they saw the broken window. “I’m getting a bad feeling about this”, said Robbo. “Shall I?”. He put his hand on the handle.

“Go for it; I’m dying of the cold out here”, shivered N’Golo. They walked in and were greeted – after a few seconds’ hesitation – by a soaked and shivering couple. Robbo was right: this was not the sports centre. Half an hour later, two of the footballers were on their way back across the field on a mission to find the immobilised BMW and to gather its supplies. They had insisted that the bedraggled Roy and Grace stay inside to get warm and dry.

Yvette had managed to slither the red Tesla model X silently into the camp car park. Its all-wheel-drive had done its job in getting them there, just. They, too had decided that any port in this storm would be a welcome one. The kids had certainly had enough of the journey, especially since their precious phone signals had cut out, miles earlier.

“Thank Christ for the four-wheel-drive”, she said “Though God knows where we really are. That satnav is not my favourite, right now. Whatever is the problem with it, Den?”

Your car, darling; I have no idea.”

“Mmmh; mine when it goes wrong, but ours when its being electric is saving us a fortune in fuel, right?” Tempers were generally fraying in the car.

The kids – Brigitte and Donald – were putting on their coats and pulling unsuccessfully at the locked door handles.

“Oh, come on, Mum and Dad. Let’s get out. Please.” Brie (16) and her brother (14) would rather have been in the snow than the car. I need the loo (“Me, too”, added Donnie) and I’m fed up of being in the car.”

“Well, I’d rather be in the middle of nowhere than not get out of the damn house for a while, wouldn’t you?” Dennis thought he had started to go stir-crazy during the second lockdown.

“I suppose so, but what a day we chose. I’ve never seen so much snow fall and stick around in a single day. Crazy!”

“Mum, please open the doors!” chorused the teenagers. The massive cantilevered “falcon-wing” rear doors swung upward, the car immediately starting to fill with snow.

They all got out of the car into the teeth of the snowy wind. The doors seemed to close agonisingly slowly to shut out the snow. The kids were already on their way, pushing on through the deepening snow to the main building.

“Thank goodness someone’s in”, said Donni. “I thought there might be, with those other cars in the car park. They’re buried in snow, so they’ve been here a while”. They shuffled their way across the threshold, to be greeted by a group of surprised faces. “Hi! We’re the Grissoms” announced Donni.

They were greeted warmly – at a distance - but after sharing their post-Covid-19 infection status and learning that everyone else in the big, bright, open room was the same, they relaxed into the group. There was an agreement that social distancing was suspended for what Roy immediately had dubbed “the snowbounders”. That was a relief all round, followed by a flurry of much-missed handshakes. The two footballers – N’Golo and Silvio, and a warmed and dried-out Roy and Grace had been joined by Tony and Cherie, with their son Gavin. Yet another satnav-misdirected carload, drawn by the Welcome Camp light. Again, an all-wheel-drive Jaguar F-Pace SUV had got them this far, but they felt they could go no further.

They all settled into the plush grey leather sofas with a variety of hot and cold drinks, “liberated” from the reception bar, though studiously accounted for. Everyone was particularly grateful for Roy’s firing up and fuelling of the large wood-burner in the end wall. The big door slammed open yet again, the storm still keen to join them in the building. It was the returning Robbo and Patricio, soaked and bedraggled, laughing crazily, with bagsful of supplies from Roy’s crashed and abandoned car on the other side of the field. The “snowbounders” group of thirteen souls who were to spend two nights together was now complete.

The group collectively agreed that they would make the best of the single location, leaving any exploration of the rest of the place until the morning. The picture map on the wall, showing the layout of the camp, intrigued everyone. There was no ‘phone signal on anyone’s mobile, but Roy was convinced that there would be some wi-fi that everyone could use when he’d found where to switch it on. The same with the large TV on the wall. There was some tetchy attitude around and a few harsh words were exchanged and then apologised for, as they manipulated the furniture to give everyone room to bed down. There was a small bedroom suite at one end of the big cabin building and some spare linen and blankets to share around. They managed. The reception building was soon dark and quiet, just as it had previously been for months, but with the addition of thirteen sleeping figures.

There was a lull in the snowstorm the next morning. Dennis, Roy and Tony were quick to volunteer to be the investigative team and were out in the deep snow by 8.30am, beginning to look around the site. In truth, they were relieved to be away from the awkwardness of waking up in close forced proximity to a small crowd of complete strangers, no matter how good the level of bonhomie. Everyone there knew how fortunate they had been to be there on that dreadful, storm-lashed night. Coffee, tea and improvised breakfasts flowed, generously provided by Roy and Grace’s shopping. Roy had found the central network router and (to applause from the others!) switched on the broadband connection and wi-fi. They had left a feverishly screen-tapping crowd. Each of the men was reasonably well-equipped for the conditions, with a warm coat, boots and gloves. It was bitterly cold, still with a biting wind, but it was not snowing, with a fairly clear and bright sky, save for some ominous-looking dark clouds on the horizon to the north. More snow looked inevitable.

Having studied the picture map in the reception, the intrepid trio knew what was there, under the deep snow. It was a nearly circular layout of twenty-five large, sturdy log cabins, arranged either side of an access road. A broad path dissecting the circle horizontally had four shops on one side and three other large buildings on the other. It looked – as far as they could tell in the snow – well-maintained. Tony carried with him what appeared to be the complete set of keys for the camp buildings. They high-stepped their way to the nearest cabin, number 25. Tony found the keylock card with all of the codes on it and punched it into the security door lock. The door opened – thankfully, inwardly, not having to be opened against the snow, two feet of which tumbled inward ahead of him. They all went in and closed the door. The cabin had a large central lounge space, a small open kitchen / dining area and three double bedrooms, two with twin beds. Sealed bags of bed linen were on each one. It smelt of new wood; everything was antique pine, including the floor. Tony noticed large rugs rolled up and standing against the wall in each room. They were unsealed; obviously unused.

“Wow! This is very upmarket, isn’t it?” Dennis was impressed. He opened cupboards. “Well-equipped kitchen, too. My guess is that this would cost a fair amount of money to stay in, though it looks like no one ever has. Tragic, really. There must be a story behind this.”

They left the cabin and moved on to one of the larger buildings on the central path. The sign above its front door read “Everyone Theatre”. Tony sorted through the keys and found the right one. He opened the door and they all went in, rubbing their hands against the cold. It was dark inside and the light switch made nothing happen. Roy put on his torch and moved off to the left and through another door. The others groped slowly forward to what was the rear row of seats. The lights flickered on.

“Separate mains power on each building”, said Roy.

“Wow!”. Dennis was immediately impressed. “This place is definitely punching above its weight for a shed in the middle of nowhere!”

“Harsh!”, said Tony. “But yes, wow! I really like it. It’s like a miniature version of the Pantages art deco theatre in L.A.”

“Ooh, travel-name-dropping”, laughed Roy. There had been a brief “who’s-been-where” session over the group breakfast that morning. “But yes, I agree; impressive work. I couldn’t have done better myself”, he laughed”, stroking the gilded, fluted wooden pillars. “This was obviously a labour-of-love by a classic film fan. It has a decent-sized orchestra pit and stage, as well, though, look; it’s certainly a live performance venue as well as a cinema” The theatre was an art deco extravaganza of red velvet, gold paint and brocade, with around a hundred matching, comfortable-looking seats. The rear end had what was obviously a projection and control room and the lighting rig above the stage looked high-tech and comprehensively-equipped.

“I love it. Cherie would certainly spend every night in here watching something in black and white that would bore me to tears”. Roy and Dennis joined Tony’s laughter and nodded their understanding of the comment. “Come on guys, let’s get to the other buildings before that storm gets started again.” Tony led them back outside into the ominously increasing wind and locked the door behind them. “We’ll leave the mains switched on so that the others can easily take a look if they want to”.

They pushed through the deep snowfall along the central path to the next large building. Dennis – the shorter of the three – mumbled that he was feeling cold, wet and in need of some caffeine. Two heads nodded in agreement. This time they entered the building labelled “The Club”. The door on this one opened outward, so they had to struggle to clear snow with their hands to open it enough to sidle in. A dead light switch again.

“This kind of place has to have its own isolators for each main building unit, to meet the regulations”, said Roy, after he had done his power-finding routine again and got the lights on.

“I knew a builder would have his uses, that’s why I invited you to join us on this holiday camp break”, intoned Dennis with fake pomposity, laughing. He got a jokey flash of two fingers from Roy in response. It was another large building. It smelled a lot of leather. There were groups of plush black semi-circular chairs around low, glass and chrome tables, running all the way the length of the room. Against the far wall was an elaborately mirrored and apparently well-stocked bar.

“This really a bit spooky, now. It’s as if the clientele vanished instantly as the place opened. And we’re making a mess of a very plush carpet”, said Dennis, realising that he had shaken the slushy snow off his boots as a reflex action when he’d come in.

“Well, unless we’ve found ourselves in a Twilight Zone episode, I reckon that’s almost what did happen, but it happened before any visitors had a chance to check in”, Roy responded. “I’m beginning to see that this place was all set up to be opened to the public when the bloody plague hit. All the lockdown rules scuppered that plan altogether. Such a shame. This, again, is quite a set-up. I could certainly spend time in here, with a bit of cool jazz coming across the room.” He pointed towards the small central stage and the small, circular, immaculately-polished wooden dance floor. “I might even be tempted!”. There was understanding laughter from his two companions.

“The Club” had been furnished to a very upmarket, Las-Vegas-style, blingy cocktail-lounge standard. Tony had that comparison on the tip of his tongue, but suppressed it, so as not to invite the same name-dropping jibe as before from his new acquaintances. He and Cherie had visited Vegas many times. Like the “Everyone Theatre”, this was plainly aimed at an expectedly affluent and demanding audience, but this time with a sleek, modern look and feel, rather than a retro one. It was sumptuous but simple; expensive but tasteful. It looked as if it would be exciting and entertaining without being intimidating, for around a hundred people.

Roy switched off the lights. “Let’s move on”. He led the others in squeezing out of the half-snow-blocked door. “Let’s have a look at one of these”, he said, beginning to forge a way through the snow, across what they knew was the central path, towards one of the shops. They were all shuttered and locked. The one they opened and looked into was fitted out as a clothing shop. The hanging rails and shelves were empty.

“The picture-map on the reception wall showed the other three as being a sporting goods shop, a food and general supplies shop with a pharmacy and a gift shop”, observed Tony. The wind swirled around them and the sky began to darken from the north. “I’m inclined to get some warmth and caffeine, guys, what about you? We’re hardly going to be going anywhere, so we can look at the other big place later”. The others agreed; they started back towards the reception building.

The three men had not seen Donnie and Brie Beck make their way from the reception building, around the road from the other direction and onto the central path to the third large wooden structure, labelled “Fun and Games” on the picture-map. They had persuaded their mother to let them explore it and had found a second set of keys. The door opened inward, allowing a pile of snow to cascade through and onto the tiled floor. It was pitch black inside; the windows were covered by heavy blinds. Brie felt along the wall, found the light switch and flicked it repeatedly, to no effect.

“Let’s try this”, Donnie suggested, pulling on the cords for the first blind. It went up smoothly and allowed in the dwindling sunlight. “Hooray!” he moved along the wall and did the same to two more window blinds. “Oh, yeah. Neat!”. He was pleased with what he saw. At the far end of the room was a transparent wall with “KidZone” signwritten on it in three-feet-high yellow lettering. They could see an assortment of climbing frames and soft play gear in there. All along one wall was a succession of electronic games and arcade-type machines. “Wow! These really are the latest!”, he shouted over his shoulder to Brie, who was walking to the other end of the building. He continued his inspection, calling out the titles of the games. “Yum!” was his next delighted comment, as the line of electronics was interrupted by an elaborately-equipped coffee and juice bar. “I am definitely liking this place”, he said. Brie was parading the other side of the room, naming snooker, air hockey, table football, and more, as she discovered them.

She reached the KidZone wall and noticed a door next to it. It was darker at this end, but she could see a sign above the door that read “Bowls and Bowling”. She went through it. Separated by a dividing wall, another large area contained a three-lane bowling alley and a carpet bowls pitch. Everything was pristine; obviously unused.

“Wow! Mum and Dad would love this bit”, said Donnie, hurrying in to the room.

“Are the games good, then?”

“Brilliant! The very latest and with VR headsets and everything!”. A violent gust of wind made the big wooden building creak. “Ooh. Feels like maybe we should be getting back”. Brie agreed. It took them twenty minutes – the snow now falling again – to return to the reception building. They stumbled, laughing and soaking, through the door.

It was their second night at the camp. The overhead heaters were glowing; the wine flowing; the conversation growing in variety and volume. The disparate group was coming together in their enforced proximity. Nine months of pandemic lockdown provided them all with a wealth of mostly unwanted anecdotes and a wide-ranging spread of opinions, all cascading out in a welcome torrent of long-denied face-to-face conversation. Each member was acutely aware of the facial and other mannerisms of their fellows, each relearning the art of human interaction, so much missed. This distinctly middle-class crowd knew that they were not – by far – the most badly affected of the UK’s or the world’s populations; so many more had been left literally destitute. On this second evening, they had gathered in the comfortable “Club Lounge”.

The first night had been a somewhat fraught and tetchy affair – an occasionally ill-tempered sharing of a haven from the storm. This was more like a social evening that they had chosen to participate in. That was illusory; there was no choice about their remaining there as the storm continued to rage. After a brief respite that morning, the heavy snowfall had returned, continuing to keep the “snowbounders” trapped in the camp. The forecast was that the storm would subside the next day and that an unseasonably warm weather front would hasten the disappearance of the ice and snow.

Their collective relief that they had all suffered and recovered from theCovid-19 virus led them to relax in one another’s company; their “social distancing” was forgotten. Personal experiences of the pandemic and its effects on business and personal lives were being shared expansively and candidly.

Yvette and Grace were getting on well. “I used to really enjoy my tennis. I told myself that I was at the club regularly to keep myself fit and to improve my game, but I realised after being restricted to non-socialising singles games that it was the social side that was most important to me”, said Yvette.

“I’ve really missed going to the gym for the same reason, Yvette. I know exactly what you mean. The whole crew used to use the same gym at the airport”. Grace had been cabin crew for an airline.

“I read that after meeting family and friends properly again, people’s priorities were playing sport and having a haircut”, said Donni, joining his mum’s conversation. Everyone in the room who heard his comment self-consciously ran a hand through their generally over-long hair.

Gavin and Dennis were discussing wine, gin and general drinking habits. N’Golo joked that he’d read that it would be wise to limit locked down drinking to one drink per day, “And I’ve been doing that: I’m up to January 10th 2022!” There was a ripple of laughter, but an exchange of uncomfortable looks between his fellow footballers, who knew there was a problem there, behind the joke. They were bemoaning their situation.

“In truth, none of us was having a great last season, anyway”, said Robbo, “but the complete cancellation of the Championship after the failed restart in the Premier League was the killer. Oops, sorry!”. He looked sheepishly around as some breath was sucked in through pursed lips, realising that his comment was inappropriate, especially since they knew that two of the families in the room had lost loved ones to the disease. The other three sportsmen sighed and nodded agreement. Returning from the bar, Silvio handed his colleagues a beer each, sitting down at their table.

“They haven’t said it yet, I know, but I reckon the club is preparing to fold altogether, guys. I just don’t see us getting back to playing and bringing in any money for the business soon enough to stop that happening, do you?”

“Oh, great. Cheer us up, why don’t you?!”, said Silvio. They all laughed, ruefully. “I know you’re right, though, mate. It’s made bloody worse by not being able to use the time off to see my family in Madrid; and that’s for nearly a year, now. Ridiculously depressing for us all, although I’m the only one who actually got the damn bug, I’m glad to say.” The on-again, off-again, totally confused travel and quarantining restrictions had left everyone increasingly bemused and frustrated. “I could fly there in my own damn ‘plane, but still can’t go”, added Silvio. “OK, flash monkey”; “Oh, here we go!”, and other derisory comments ran around the group at this reminder of the player’s other prized possession after his Maserati. His travel frustrations were shared by many. No one thought it was unjustified when the new Prime Minister had sacked the hapless Transport Minister, who had completely failed to negotiate or communicate a coherent policy amidst what was an international mess not all of his making. Every country had made a unilateral decision on what travel was allowed for its own citizens and visitors. Any semblance of international coordination on the issue had quickly evaporated, as had many airlines and travel companies, as a result.

“I’ve really missed working with the youth team. I get a lot of joy seeing those young players improving and knowing that I’ve helped them”, said N’Golo. He coached the club’s local school team, as well; it was clearly his vocation. Whenever he returned to his native Belgium, he never failed to visit his old school and play out the role of inspirational “Old Boy” sportsman. Unable to do any of this or to see his parents and extended family in even harder-virus-hit Belgium, he had begun to succumb to a bout of depression that had markedly blunted his sunny demeanour, causing him to put on weight and, his colleagues suspected, drink too much. Robbo admitted that he had become increasingly irritated and dismissive of “being guided by the science” and incompetent football officials into ruination of his career, social life, physical wellbeing and finances. He – as sometime team captain when not bench-warming through recurrent injury - had pushed hard for a return to playing last season. “Social common sense” had been his mantra until he had been forced to swallow his words as the deadly virus resurgence came about. Try as he might to keep his own and his friends’ spirits up, he knew that his future as a footballer now looked bleak.

Both Cherie and Grace had been in the front line of the Corona Virus effect. Cherie was a nursing sister in a private hospital. Grace had been briefly furloughed and then made redundant. She had caught and recovered from Covid-19 and gone back to work, only to then be rewarded with dismissal. The airline she had worked with for twenty years had pressured for and got a government bailout, but had downsized the business considerably, closing some airport operations, cutting back on routes, selling of a large proportion of its fleet and firing a third of its staff. She had been devastated, but had come to terms with it, now helping out Roy with his building firm where she could.

Cherie had been one of the first of the volunteers to staff the London Nightingale hospital. She managed the recruitment and training of other incoming staff, being very familiar with the array of technologies that was installed there. Her private hospital was very well equipped with the latest medical machinery, so she was familiar with its use. She had found the work tiring but satisfying. When the Nightingale was mothballed in May, she had returned to her regular job as a nursing sister at the private hospital, which had been specifically reorganised to exclude Covid-19 cases to concentrate on helping the catch-up of the many previously cancelled serious but routine health checks and operations.

Having settled back into that for the summer, she had then been urgently redeployed to the London Nightingale when the “second wave” of the pandemic hit and the admissions of new cases soared. Stressed and exhausted, she was taking a well-earned fortnight’s break as the “curve” of infections once again headed downwards and the pressure on the hospital eased a little.

Tony and Dennis had not been in the convivial huddle in the Club lounge. They had been going through the paperwork in the camp office behind reception. They had made a discovery and returned to the group to share it. Crashing in from the storm outside in the now-expected fashion, Tony took off his coat and boots and stood in the middle of the room.

“Well, everyone”, he began.

“Snowbounders!”, shouted Donni, who liked the gang-name.

“Well, Snowbounders”, Tony began again, attracting everyone’s attention and muting the animated conversations. “We’ve some news”. He looked across at a smiling Dennis, settling into a chair beside Yvette. Tony remained standing, a sheaf of papers and folders in his hand. “We owe our storm salvation, here, to Mr and Mrs. Rocklaz, the owners of this property. Unfortunately (he paused) they have sadly died of Corona Virus; may they rest in peace”. Mumbled commiserations went around the seated group. “This correspondence (he waved the papers) is a series of exchanges between the local Church Commissioners and their solicitor.”

“Why on earth are you going through their private papers?”, asked Yvette. “And how did you get hold of them?”

Tony continued “Strangely, they were in an unlocked filing cabinet and we wanted to find out to whom exactly we owe this hospitality, even if they don’t know about it.”

“And we were particularly curious to find out why everything is pristine and unused”, added Dennis.

Sitting down, Tony laid out the whole story to the fascinated “Snowbounders”. Through contracts, accounts, printed emails, notes, written correspondence and some local newspaper cuttings, they had pieced together the story behind the abandoned camp that had become their refuge.

An elderly Polish couple – Nina and Jakub Rocklaz – had been resident in the UK since arriving as children, fleeing the Nazi persecution in their own country at the beginning of World War Two. They had decided, after retiring from what had been a very successful garden centre business, to build a holiday camp. Not unduly wealthy but with significant assets from the sale of their business, the still-energetic couple had wanted to benefit their beloved church and the needy in the local community. The Church Commission charity arm had invested part of the capital to fund the construction, but had been allocated in the contract a full 25% of all profits, in perpetuity. To ensure the ongoing local benefit was continuous, the charity would be paid these profits on a quarterly basis, not having to wait for annual accounts. They played no part in the running of the business, the Rocklazs having full control through a Board of their choosing. They knew what they wanted and what they wanted to achieve.

The result was the upmarket and prestigiously-equipped camp that the thirteen now found themselves in. It had been constructed in record time, the elderly couple having anticipated the renewed, post-pandemic demand for UK holidays early on and negotiated hard to allow construction to go ahead within the restrictions. Certainly not primarily aimed at the impecunious locals, the couple had ambitions to attract the affluent holidaymakers who would otherwise have been flying abroad to spend their money. It had been ready to open by August 2020, one week before those ambitions were thwarted by the second peak of the virus and the subsequent second lockdown. Camp Welcome – as they had named it - had never opened its doors to the public. Tragically, ten days after the lockdown, the couple both caught the vicious virus and died from it, just days later.

“I’d like you to have a look at the contracts and the wills, Yvette. Dennis told me that you’re a solicitor with real expertise on this stuff”. He handed the papers to Yvette. “I can see that they have built in to the agreements an assurance that whatever happens, the Church Charity and the community get the benefit they intended. Whoever takes it on as a business has to abide by the original agreement. It looks like the land cannot be resold for any other development, including the piece the same size again as the whole camp – to the north – that was a provision for expansion. If it was a phenomenal success, it could be literally doubled in size.” Yvette, intrigued now, put on her glasses, moved to another table and spread out the papers to examine them in detail.

“Wow! Great story, but let’s face it, it’s far too ambitious a project for out here in the middle of nowhere”, laughed Cherie. “Who would come?”

“Everyone who would have been spending that same holiday overseas, I reckon. Now doubly so, after five more months of bloody house-arrest!”. Roy was one who had certainly had enough of that. “If it was genuinely a non-Covid bubble, we’d be there, wouldn’t we, Grace?”.

“We are there, Roy!”, she responded. Everyone laughed. “Yes, it would be a better option than the company cottage, because of the facilities. Even if we could find them open near the cottage, I’d be nervous of their safety aspect.”

“Can we buy it, then?” chorused Brie and Donni. “It would be sooo cool”. “We couldn’t actually live here, Donni”, said Brie.

“Someone has to, don’t they? In that place in the reception building.”

“I couldn’t see us moving in, kids, but it certainly would be a Hell of a project”, said their father.

The room went quiet. The members of each group looked at one another, trying to gauge one another’s reaction to what they had heard. This was a group of accomplished, clever and resourceful people, each of whom had in some way been battered by the pandemic and its effects on their world. Gradually, the hubbub of conversation returned. The precocious teenager Brie pleaded for a banned list of pandemic jargon:

She wanted “unprecedented”, “the great British Public”, “the British People”, “our marvellous NHS”, “the new normal”, “ramping up”, “at pace”, “going forward”, “at scale”, “social distancing”, “flattening the curve”, “the R-number”, “Wuhan”, “distance-learning”, WFH (Working From Home), “Zooming”, “contactless delivery” and many other newly-minted and overused jargon terms to be banned from the discussion. This produced laughter but not a lot of adherence to the request, to her dismay.

“I could write that business plan”. Gavin was the first to speak out loud. “Dad, you might even be a bit of help with it!”, he laughed towards Tony.

“Cheeky sod!” was the smiling response. A knowing look passed between them. Yes, they could write that plan. Roy and Dennis were deep in conversation; N’Golo and Robbo, too. Yvette addressed the room:

“Oooh, an interesting clause in here, everyone. There’s a commitment to keep five of the cabins primarily available for the benefit of any emergency workers resident in the local community and for the residents of the local care home, specifically. Another nod to the generosity of the couple, of course, but that does take out 20% of the saleable capacity of the camp, when it’s requested.”

“Do they get that for nothing?”, asked Dennis.

“No, it’s “at an advantageous and affordable rate”, replied Yvette.

“Great piece of brand value, there. Committed not only to safety, but to generous altruism, too”, offered Tony. “I like it” His wife shot him a scornful look. “For all the right reasons, of course”, he quickly added.

Patricio suddenly shouted:

“Hey, hold on a moment. Surely the poor couple had family to will this all to? Family must come first”.

Yvette had the answer to that. “Sadly, it looks as if they outlived their two sons, Patricio. Each of them died relatively young and neither had a family of his own. It’s all in the solicitor’s letters. He obviously had the same thought as you.” They all resumed their conversations.

N’Golo turned to Silvio:

“The plan on the reception wall shows that between the central path and the outer road there’s a five-a-side pitch, a tennis court and another big green space, none of which we can see under the snow, at the moment. I was imagining how we could run that whole section like a sports training school, Silvio. You were a schoolboy tennis champ, weren’t you, and you still play regularly, right? I heard you can play football a bit, too!” Silvio gave him a substantial thump on the arm, laughing.

“Yes, I was and, yes I can, man. And you might just remember my all-conquering five-a-side team on the club summer break the season before last”, he gloated.

“O.K., sure. I’m winding you up, of course, bruv, but I know that putting smiles on the faces of holidaymakers here – released at last from lockdown – would be a heck of a lot more satisfying for me than warming the bench during matches in an empty stadium. And that’s if there’s still a club to pay for. And a bench!”

“Be serious, guys”. Robbo chimed in. Neither of you two could cover your clothes bill, let alone live on what you’d make doing that.”

“We all appreciate you arranging these training sessions, Robbo, mate, and we’ve appreciated them, but you’re delusional if you think there’s more than half a chance that any of us has a professional career left. Guys like us have to figure out what to do with the next thirty years of our working lives. If Pat went back to Milan, me to Brussels and Silvio to Madrid, the situation there is not going to be any better. This crazy project might be worth a shot, and if it’s successful, there could be proper money involved, later”. They all got up to get another beer, still talking animatedly.

“We’ve never considered running anything like this kind of operation, or even being a part of it, Grace”, said Roy. Their minds had raced ahead on the possibilities, since the earlier announcement.

“I have been part of the holiday leisure industry for over twenty years, you know. Of course, this is different, but it’s still all about giving people a good holiday. Remember that project you quoted for in the summer, to get an equestrian centre back up and running? You built in some great anti-virus facilities to that one. You could do the same here”. Grace was feeling positive about the camp.

“Yeah. I really liked the look of that one and my guys surprised me with their inventive suggestions for it. Didn’t get the job, though, did I?”

“Exactly. The future for small building firms is going to be a struggle and my airline – as was – is talking about four more years of reduced operations, so there’s no chance of my getting reemployed, either. Why not change tack and make our expertise work for us in a different way? We’d even be doing some community good, based on what the old couple have built into the plan.”

“There’d be financial commitment, too”, Roy said with a worried frown.

“I can’t see the odds on this bet being any worse than our status quo”, said Grace. “This might just be the way to rise with the tide when it comes back in”

“Sorry, but I overheard you”, Tony and Cherie leaned in from behind them. “If it really could be made zero-risk and convincingly sold as such, it could really work. I know it’s in the middle of bloody nowhere, as all our satnavs would testify, but that would work in its favour, surely. Luxurious isolation. It could be the answer to that question people like us are asking – “Where are you going on your holidays? Answer: Nowhere!”. Actually, I could do things with that name (he turned towards the room). How about Camp Nowhere, everyone?”. He shouted. The rest of them rolled their eyes exaggeratedly, some laughing, but liking the suggestion. The conversations continued.

Dennis didn’t hold back on expressing his opinions on pandemic-riven UK.

“Just because we all had a period of happy-clappy, front-line worker hero-worship, doesn’t mean that what was a bloated, chronically-inefficient, self-rewarding behemoth will be any different after all this”, he said. “I mean the NHS, of course. Has everyone forgotten the people lying in corridors; the day-long waits in A&E; the disgraceful waiting periods for GP appointments and the cancelled operations? Nothing has changed, as far as I can see, to stop it reverting to the same. Anonymous wasters in so-called “Trusts” will still be slapping one another on the back, taking six-figure salaries and covering one another’s arses when they get found out.” Yvette nudged him heavily in the ribs. “It’s true! The same people are still in charge; the same anachronistic systems are still in place. Nothing will have changed, no matter how dedicated the doctors and nurses have been throughout the pandemic”.

“Perhaps you should go and work there and change it from the inside, then”, a tetchy Cherie said.

“You work in a private hospital, right?”, an indignant Dennis flashed back.

Tony saw a need for a little peace-making and stepped in:

“What I’d like to see is some better articulation of the need to bring society together. I know that sounds a bit wet, but really, our country’s schisms and inequalities have really been exposed, haven’t they? I get really irritated when our useless politicians and so-called commentators use what amounts to demographic astrology to look at things and assign rules, regulations and different levels of assistance to people, based simply on age, gender or race.”

“Did you hear about the statisticians who were broken down by age and sex?”, offered a smirking Dennis, to a ripple of embarrassed laughter.

Much was agreed upon, but much argued about as the evening wore on, fuelled by copious amounts of alcohol. There was general tiredness and frustration because of the disruption they had all suffered, many seeing the permanent end to their professional lives as they had been and two families present having suffered the agonies of bereavements that could not properly be grieved over. There was no doubt that a general appetite for life-changing responses in reaction to the pandemic’s effects permeated the thinking of the people in the room. Tony, the management consultant had cancelled a lucrative contract with an airline, that expected him to do the impossible and defend the indefensible way it had treated its customers. He did not want to be associated with a brand that had frustrated and manipulated its customers, causing them financial hardship and stress whilst using their money to stay afloat. Looking for other sources of income for himself, he had been frustrated by the mass giving-away of advice and guidance in written, audio and video form that made it virtually impossible to make a living from his marketing experience and advice. “It’s damn difficult to remove a label that says “free” from anything, once it’s attached, he had said”. Another victim of Corona Virus disillusionment was his son, Gavin, who no longer felt that his massively expensive post-graduate education was worth the money or the effort. The lack of quality time spent with his professors and international alumni had become ever more frustrating for him. He had begun – reluctantly at first and then with increasing enthusiasm - to spend an increasing amount of time on developing his already considerable technology expertise.

The two teenaged Grissom children had been cast adrift from their friends and busy social lives, becoming social-media-sated and terminally bored with remote home-schooling. Brie had experienced a chaotic introduction to her first sixth form year and Donni’s exam results had been compromised. A critical period of their education has been compromised, and continued to be so. Both highly tech-savvy, they were excitedly discussing the possibilities for automating the entire holiday camp for the safety and benefit of the potential new breed of holidaymaker. Gavin saw possibilities beyond what he saw as the initial potential automation installation in this camp. He was thinking of much grander plans for the technology. Dennis, the management accountant increasingly frustrated by the lockdown and now fearing for the longevity of his own employer, felt that he would go insane if subjected to even one more day of continual videoconferences. He had begun to truly hate his job and to realise that his tendency to be short-tempered was worsening.

Much later, they all battled their way back through the snow to the temporary communal sleeping area in the reception building. There was an almost audible buzz of whirring braincells.

Next morning, having eaten virtually the last of Roy and Grace’s supplies for breakfast, everyone was glad to see and to read online that the storm had blown itself out. By mid-morning, rapid thawing was much in evidence all around them and the blessed relief of the absence of wind and falling snow saw everyone in the group venture out to look around the buildings in the camp. They had agreed to meet back in reception for a farewell at 1.00pm. They all gathered punctually.

Tony, Dennis, Gavin and Yvette had spent the morning writing up a selection of all the ideas from the night before. Dennis had managed to exchange emails with the Church Commissioners and to arrange a meeting later that week.

“Well Dennis, where would you like to go on holiday this year?”

“I certainly won’t be flying abroad or leaving the country any other way, Tony. So, I suppose I’ll be going Nowhere!” he emphasised the final word, theatrically. The others, sat around them, appreciated their little performance.

“Is that Camp Nowhere, you mean, Dennis? Gavin, could you tell us about this place?” He indicated Gavin with a flourish, who stood.

“Certainly, ladies and gents. Camp Nowhere is designed as the ultimate safe refuge from the risk and restrictions of the pandemic. When you arrive at the camp, after taking the instant Covid-19 test in your car, at the gatehouse, you will be able to drive directly to your allocated cabin to unload, before parking your car in your personal parking space, back in one of the car parks. You’ll find your pre-programmed medallions in the lock-box on the wall of your cabin, which you’ll open by using the code already sent to you. These medallions (Roy and Grace acknowledge this idea as one they got from a Princess Cruise ship) are your electronic friends. You have the option to wear them as a medallion, clip badge, on a bracelet or simply in your pocket. They open doors, recognise your preferences and accept charges to your account from anywhere in the camp. Guaranteed hassle-free, contact-free, Covid-19 – free and so stress-free.” Gavin was pleased to detect a little ripple of approval run through the audience.

“Your cabin will have been sanitised using the very latest electrostatic disinfectant sprayers; your personal sealed packs of bed linen will be on every bed, and your sealed food pack – as you specified on your booking – will be in your kitchen. Your own mobile devices – or the one that you ordered, which would be in your cabin – will automatically be connected to the central system as you enter the cabin. The system will ask you when you would like to schedule the sanitation service for the next day. This will trigger the non-contact air conditioning to operate automatically on a super-high level and to thoroughly clean your room. A comprehensive, sealed cleaning kit is available for your use, as no one but yourselves will enter your cabin for the duration of your stay.

If you are completely self-catering during your visit, you can add to your initial supplies pack whenever you wish, by ordering through the system. There is a wide variety of options, including complete take-away meals of all kinds from our approved vendors. Anything you order will arrive at the delivery point at the main gate from where you can collect it, or have our own staff bring it to your door. That way, no one other than our fully-trained staff will have to enter the camp or approach your cabin. In good weather, you can order a picnic to be delivered to your designated, socially-distanced outdoor space in the same way.

You can use our system to order anything from any of the four shops on the site – the sports kit and equipment shop; the casual clothes shop; the gift shop or the general store, and its pharmacy. If you prefer to have a traditional shopping experience, you can book an access time for any or all of them, where you and any members of your group will simply walk to the door, without queueing, and gain automatic access from your medallions, which will have stored your booking. It will for that time, be your own personal shop. The clean-up team will be automatically allocated to thoroughly sanitise the premises between visits. There are no retail staff. Any items that you remove from the shop will be recognised and automatically charged to your account. It’s even more contactless than contactless! The whole shopping experience is completely contact-free and totally personalised. If your family group wish to do this together with another group, this can be handled by the system, and there is a fully-stocked PPE vending machine between shops two and three if you want to take extra precautions.”

Roy whispered to Gavin, as he finished his description:

“Isn’t all of that automation going to cost a fortune to install, Gavin?”

“No, Roy. Yes, there’ll be some cost to it, but the networking infrastructure already exists in the camp and the usual bulk of the cost – the time and expertise to do it – is coming gratis from me”. Roy patted him on the shoulder.

Dennis took over the description:

“At Camp Nowhere you have a wide range of entertainment options. In addition to your wide-screen TV with hundreds of channels, your cabin has a PlayStation Four with four controllers and access to a wide variety of games. (There was a suppressed “Yes!” from Donni, forgetting that he was unlikely to be a guest himself.) The previously frequent and now long-frustrated regular theatre and cinema-goers amongst you will be pleased to hear that we have the sumptuously-appointed, socially-distanced Everyone theatre running a varied programme of films and live shows, twelve hours a day. Thirty patrons can enjoy a performance in comfort, in a space originally housing one hundred. Each seat is as you would expect to find in the first-class cabin on an aeroplane; they are in pairs, with moveable, plexiglass screens between those pairs. There is a two-metre gap between the other paired seats in the row and between the rows in front and behind. Booking is via the central system and staggered arrival times given to avoid any queueing. You can order food and drinks when you book your seat and these will be on your seat when you arrive, having been prepared and put there by our highly-trained staff. We did have a suggestion of putting cardboard cut-outs of film stars in the gaps, but we thought that would just be spooky!”.

“That was me!”, whispered Yvette to Grace. Gavin continued his pitch.

“We found it a challenge to get the Fun and Games building up to standard, but we have figured it out. Each of the games will have its own plexiglass enclosure. (“This was my bit”, stage-whispered Donni to his sister, to a ripple of laughter) The central booking system will allow any player to book their slot to play and again – like the retail units – this will alert the cleaning team to swoop in and sanitise it before the next player arrives. Your medallion will automatically register your score on the electronic games and you can enter the ones from the traditional games from your own device, if you wish. If you want to play competitively, there will be a league table that you and your chosen competitors can access at any time through your own devices.

“Nice, Donni”, said Brie to her brother, giving him a hug.

“I already hacked a couple of them to get the latest upgrades, as well”, whispered Donni”, with a cheeky laugh.

“Don’t tell anyone that!”, said an exaggeratedly shocked, but unsurprised Brie. Gavin continued:

“The bowls and tenpin bowling will be given their own separate entrances and again can be booked through the system by any cabin group for a specified time. The same cleaning regime will apply and there will be additional wipes and hand sanitiser stations in there. All players on both games will put their balls in electrostatic cleaning machines as they leave”

“Ouch!”, said Roy. More laughter from the crew paying close attention, now.

Gavin went on to describe how, once inside the camp, reassured that not a single infected person could get in or would randomly enter at any point, the Camp Nowhere residents could relax as they slept, ate, played and exercised in a safe but relatively unrestricted environment. They could have confidence that the virus was excluded and avoided to the greatest possible degree.

The provision for the “community” cabins had been hotly debated, especially by Dennis, the management accountant. He was concerned that the profit margins would be severely impacted. He was persuaded otherwise. The residents of those five cabins – numbers 1 to 5 would be allocated for the purpose, closest to the main facilities – would be responsible for providing their own extra care where needed. Any carers would face the same rigorous anti-virus procedures as every other guest and be required either to stay with them or to go through the instant test each time they entered the camp. They would not be allowed to compromise the sanitisation standards in any way. Dennis again railed against the extent of some of the measures and the expense of providing them “to protect against the same level of risk as being hit by a bolt of lightning”, as he put it. Again, the others’ insistence on the need for a completely uncompromised, sealed environment won over his protests.

Gavin reiterated to his audience that the already high standards of fitting-out that the Rocklazs had put in place would not be compromised. Roy said that his building and upgrading work would not be marred by any “pleblon” additions, making a Jeremy Clarkson reference. There had been much discussion about using the additional large field as a camping and caravanning area, but the positive financial implications were overshadowed by the impossibilities of enforcing the same standard of anti-virus protection for other people’s tents and vehicles as for the cabins. Tony advocated “focus”, avoiding the temptation to dilute the key message in any way and the concentration on getting the existing offering right, establishing “Nowhere” as the place to go for a safe and secure, upmarket holiday.

Gavin handed over to Robbo, who described how he and his footballing colleagues would provide a robust and challenging sports calendar for their visitors, while observing all the anti-virus protection measures. It was a major task to run competitive sport and training sessions, but the four of them had some experience in doing so and a determination to make it work. They felt that they could learn from the successes of some sports over the last few months and the failures of others.

Yvette presented the financial plan, in brief. This furrowed some brows as the reality of taking over and investing in a business was explained.

“This will, or would, take us about two years to break even with moderate bookings”, she explained. “Of course, we may just be surprised by the level of success we can achieve. This is to be a seven-days-a-week, all-year-round, all-weather, operation – hopefully not with weather often as bad as this!”, she gestured out of the window at what was now, in fact a blue and welcoming sky. “From day one, we will be premium-priced, but hopefully our branding and promotion based on our unique positioning will justify the cost of a holiday to Nowhere in the minds of our target audience”

“I trained her well, you know”, laughed Tony, the marketing consultant, to a half-smiling look from Yvette, as hearty applause ended the session.

All-round farewells began. Roy and Grace had managed to arrange to get a motoring rescue service to agree to come to their abandoned car that afternoon by paying an insulting premium price. The others all began preparing their vehicles to go home, removing snow from them and digging a path out of the car park. There was a rapid thawing, streams of glistening water beginning to drip from the buildings. Roy had temporarily repaired and secured the broken window in the door to the reception building long before. Dennis had agreed with the Church Commissioners that he would bring the keys with him to their meeting in a couple of days. The teenagers had again high-stepped their way back through the snow to the outbuildings, switched their power supplies off and relocked the doors.

Each family group travelled home almost in silence. Everyone had liked Gavin’s sign-off from the “presentation” of the plan:

“In the words of Stephen Hawking: “Be brave, be curious, be determined; overcome the odds. It can be done.” “

Two miles out from the camp, all the satnavs revived themselves and showed them their routes home. In the artificially-collegiate atmosphere of the “snowbounders”, they had all imagined reconstructing their pandemic-disrupted lives. Were they just imagining that new way of living, pivoting away from what they had struggled to maintain as normality? Were they serious? They had agreed to the inevitable “snowbounders” Zoom videoconference the day after Dennis’s meeting with the Church Commissioners, to get the final word on what could be agreed and on what was possible, based on their outline plan.

Would they all be there or would there be a reluctance to follow through on the project idea? Dennis expected some drop-outs. Would it work if half of the “snowbounders” decided not to participate?

Was the exciting new enterprise a way to salvation for these battered lives in uncertain times? Would the familiar, despite its current uncertainty hold some of them back from a daring new path?

Would they rely on those “personal satnavs” again, going back to their uncertain individual journeys in a Covid-19-dominated world?

Or would they all take the uncharted road to “Nowhere”?

Inspired by “Road To Nowhere”, by Talking Heads

"Soundtracks" Track 9 on Spotify

#covid-19 #newnormal #lockdown #easing

0 notes

ally3bd-blog · 4 years

Text

*What is Rhetoric to Me? (Then and Now)*

In Comm 380, Rhetorical Traditions, I learned about many theories of rhetoric. This essay highlights how my definition of rhetoric shifted from the beginning to the end of the course. In the beginning of the term, I stated that rhetoric was “speech. That could mean written or verbal communication and word choice, or diction. The way that people go about conveying an idea.” Now I believe that rhetoric in its best, truest, and most ethical form is the way that all forms of communication are crafted by a credible rhetor who uses experiences, facts, emotions, and has considered the audience’s preexisting beliefs and all sides of an issue. It spreads a positive and truthful message to society or creates positive societal change. It will result in three things from the audience: deeper understanding, changed beliefs, or action.

The core theorists who influenced my definition of rhetoric are the following: Booth, Aristotle, Dow, and Tonn.

Booth is the main theorist who influenced my definition of rhetoric. He believes that rhetoric encompasses “all forms of communication...” (Booth 4). This means that smiles, podcasts, interviews, posters, and speeches are all considered forms of rhetoric. He then goes on to explain part of his definition of rhetoric. He says that rhetoric is “the art of removing misunderstanding” (Booth 9) and that it should be used as a “tool [for] genuine reasoning” (Booth 6). When rhetoric is used to reduce misunderstanding, it allows the audience to form a clear understanding about the topic at hand. His contribution to the study of rhetoric was his idea of listening rhetoric. He explained that “when [listening rhetoric] is pushed to its fullest possibilities, opponents in any controversy listen to each other not only to persuade better but also to find the common ground behind the conflict” (Booth 10). Booth wanted people to discover the similarities they had with others, so that they didn’t just focus on what they didn’t agree on. This not only helps reduce understanding and persuade the audience because it provides a more in depth understanding of what the other believes. The rhetor can appeal to the similarities their argument has with the audience’s argument.

What I have taken from Booth’s idea of rhetoric for my own definition is that any form of communication can be considered rhetoric, not just speech. I also pulled a quote from Booth about how rhetoric should “enlighten the understanding, please the imagination, move the passions, and influence the will” of the rhetor’s audience (Booth 6). I couldn’t change this quote or only address parts of it because rhetoric should expand people’s knowledge, get them thinking, make them passionate about an issue, and get them to act on what they have seen or heard. If rhetoric deepens understanding, then the audience will either have a more solid foundation for their beliefs or they will change them as they see fit. If all of this is accomplished, then the rhetoric has been successful. Furthermore, a rhetor should know how the audience feels about the topic or issue they are concerned with, so that they can speak to what the audience already knows, relate to them, and appeal to the similarities between multiple sides of an issue.

Aristotle was the second theorist to add to my definition of rhetoric with his ideas of logos, pathos, and ethos. James Herrick explains these three artistic proofs by first defining logos as “arguments and logical reasoning” (Herrick 78). Logos has this definition because it “[implies] both thought and speech” (Herrick 79). Logos can be beneficial in rhetoric because it has the ability to show a speaker’s intelligence to their audience. Having a well thought out argument to support your claim is more effective than just stating an idea. Herrick then goes on to mention pathos, which can be referred to as “the names and causes of various emotions” (78) or “putting the audience in the right frame of mind to make a good decision” (79). To be brief, pathos deals with the wave of emotions that the audience experiences from the moment before a speech is given to after it is over. Pathos is incredibly critical in a speech because “emotions do affect judgment” (Herrick 79). Lastly, Herrick explains ethos, which can be defined as “human character and goodness” (78) or “the speaker’s character or personal credibility” (80). People are much more likely to listen to someone who they consider credible than someone that they don’t trust or believe to be worth listening to. Herrick explains that Aristotle believed that there were three different aspects of ethos: “intelligence, good sense”, “virtue”, and “goodwill” (80-81). According to this, a speaker should present themselves as being knowledgeable, having good character, and speaking to promote the good of the people and not for one’s own personal gain.

I have added Aristotle’s idea of logos, pathos, and ethos into my definition of rhetoric. These elements improve the audience’s trust in the rhetor, create a deeper understanding of rhetoric, capture the audience’s attention, and allow the rhetor to easily persuade the audience. The rhetor’s use of facts in my definition stems from logos. A well-crafted argument that has facts will persuade an audience more than one without. Furthermore, the rhetor’s use of emotions in my definition is based on pathos. If a rhetor can get the audience to feel a certain way, then they have a higher likelihood of being able to persuade them. Lastly, the rhetor should be credible, which satisfies the requirement of ethos. When an audience believes a rhetor is trustworthy and qualified to be using rhetoric, they become trusting and take what the rhetor is saying into consideration; whereas, if they think a speaker is uneducated, the audience might ignore what the rhetor says.

Lastly, Dow and Tonn’s article about Feminine Style contributed to my definition of rhetoric. They explain that Campbell said feminine style is “discourse that displays a personal tone, uses personal experiences, anecdotes and examples as evidence, exhibits inductive structure, emphasizes audience participation, and encourages identification between speaker and audience” (Dow & Tonn 287). There is a lot to unpack within this definition. A key takeaway is that the feminine style is all about connecting with the audience on a personal level. That is why personal tone, personal experience including anecdotes and examples, audience participation, and identification between the speaker and the audience are so important. This requires the speaker to open up to the audience, so that the audience will feel closer to the speaker and can relate to them on a deeper level. Audience participation keeps the audience involved; therefore, making them more interested in the rhetoric. Lastly, feminine style uses inductive structure based on the way women used to be treated in society. In the past, women’s opinions were not always valued in society. By saving the argument until the end, women made sure to keep the audience’s attention throughout their speeches. If they had stated the purpose of their speech in the beginning, it is likely that people would stop listening afterwards. It is important to note that although the feminine style was based on women’s use of rhetoric, it can be used by either men or women.

The main point that I took from Feminine Style rhetoric is the importance of using experiences to connect with the audience. Personal experiences often are associated with pathos and evoke emotions in the audience. This can help the rhetor persuade the audience for the betterment of society. The article says that this also allows “claims [to be] tested against private experience” (Dow & Tonn 290). This is important because personal experiences reflect someone’s reality. For rhetoric to deepen someone’s understanding, change their beliefs, or urge them to take action in a way that benefits society, the public must know what the current state of society is like and how implementing specific rhetoric will affect society.

In conclusion, the best, truest, and most ethical form of rhetoric can be described as the way that all forms of communication are crafted by a credible rhetor who uses experiences, facts, emotions, and has considered the audience’s preexisting beliefs and all sides of an issue. It spreads a positive and truthful message to society or creates positive societal change. Finally, it will result in three things from the audience: deeper understanding, changed beliefs, or action.

Works Cited:

Booth, W. (2004). How many rhetorics? In The rhetoric of rhetoric (pp. 3-22). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

Dow, B. J., & Tonn, M. B. (1993). Feminine style and political judgment in the rhetoric of Ann Richards. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 79(3), 286-302.

Herrick, J. A. (2005). Aristotle on rhetoric. In The history and theory of rhetoric: An Introduction (5th ed.) (pp. 69-81). New York: Routledge.

0 notes

startupcanada · 5 years

Text

7 Entrepreneurial Insights From LEGO Playtime With My Kids

Miten Shah, an Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) member in Belgium, is a serial entrepreneur. His most recent venture, Legopreneur, was inspired by the insightful ideas his children share while he builds LEGO creations with them. Miten encourages other parents to adopt similar guided conversations by sharing your work week with kids and basking in their unintentional―but often wise―business insights. Here’s what he shared.

Spending time with my kids―ages 3, 5 and 7―has probably taught me more about entrepreneurship than all of the live keynote addresses I have attended in my entire life.

1. Make it simple enough for a 6-year-old

As I was trying to explain to my daughter what my company does, I had an aha! moment that an elevator pitch should be so simple, direct and concise that a 6-year-old can understand it, remember it, and say it back without any mistakes.

With her as my consultant, we crafted the elevator pitch, “Awesome jewelry, for a month―every month” for my jewelry subscription service. It was more challenging to pinpoint the pitch for my accelerator that funds innovative companies. How do you explain an accelerator to a 6-year-old? We managed, coining the pitch, “We give you money, you sell more.”

Many entrepreneurs mix work and family life but try to stop it. I’m different: I want to combine the two. For tasks that require creativity, leadership or motivation, kids make ideal Guinea pigs. If it goes well―great! If not, at least you spent some valuable time with them.

2. Be kind, brave and smart

I believe being happy equates with being kind, brave and smart. To share these values with my kids, we created a “happiness board” at home. On it, we keep track of what we’ve done that is kind, brave or smart.

Witnessing the strong bonds it created within my family, I implemented the practice at work. On Friday afternoons, our team shares where we as individuals have been kind, by making a positive difference. Smart, by searching for a better way. Brave, by achieving a target that seemed impossible.

3. Build something tangible together

I wanted to do something kind, by giving back to my community; smart, by asking good questions; and brave by getting out of my comfort zone. I started conducting video interviews with players in Belgium’s startup world―but with a twist. Every person I interview builds one part of a LEGO Pirate Ship. I wanted to tangibly show each individual within the ecosystem working together. I chose a pirate ship, inspired by Steve Jobs’ quote, “Why join the Navy if you can be a pirate?” Before elections, we also interviewed leaders of Belgium’s political parties, and yes, they also participated in the LEGO building.

Now I’m interviewing every nation’s ambassador to Belgium, and we’re building a LEGO Caravan. It’s a tangible message that the whole world joins together to make something. Some of the most in-depth, profound thoughts the ambassadors share are while they play LEGO with us.

4. Begin with the end in mind

It’s not only ambassadors and adults that share impactful messages when playing LEGO; kids are the same. My kids say they enjoy playing with me as I don’t push them to follow the instruction manual. However, we do sort out beforehand what pieces they have and think about what they want to make. After all, in life and business: “It’s best when we don’t follow the instructions, but we must plan and begin with the end in mind.”

5. If you build it, then they will believe it

I decided to structure LEGO play dates with my kids while talking to them about my week at work. I guide the conversation, exploring any analogies that surface.

I found this so fruitful that I wanted to share the joy with other parents, encouraging them to instigate similar conversations with their kids, so I started Legopreneur.

One day I mentioned to my kids about building a giant LEGO bus so we could invite all their friends on a tour. My son told me, “It’s only when we build it that people will believe we have it.” His words motivated me to stop dreaming, thinking and talking about Legopreneur, and make it happen. Only when people see it will they believe it.

His words gave me the kick I needed to write the articles, post images on LinkedIn, and start our podcast.

6. Everybody is replaceable

The LEGO man we designated to symbolize Mr. Legopreneur had a black shirt and blue trousers―an homage to Steve Jobs’ uniform. One day, Mr. Legopreneur was lost. I thought of buying a similar character, but it dawned on me: “Everybody is replaceable.” We replaced him with another character, a reminder that everyone within my team and even stakeholders are replaceable.

7. Build bigger, be different, become better

I asked my son why he wanted to make spaceships when he already had planes. His answer was simple: “Dad, we’ve got to build bigger, be different and become better.” This ethos of constant iteration and improvement is one that we always seek in companies we invest in. But we were never able to express something so wise so simply.

Playing LEGO with my kids has taught me about myself and my business. As a father, I get the most satisfaction when I can dedicate playtime with my kids, learn from and teach them about ethics, values and life. My Father’s Day wish is for a LEGO set so that I can keep learning about entrepreneurship while spending quality time with my kids.

Starting a Business in Canada?

Company Formations Canada assist domestic, global entrepreneurs an foreign company to start, register and expand a new company in Canada.

Canada company registration for Canadian residents

We incorporate your new corporation federally or provincially in any province of Canada according to the provisions of federal and provincial Business Corporation Acts. Company Formations Canada provides fast and easy Canada Online Incorporation Service for only $99.99. Continue here to register today your new company in Canada.

https://companyformations.ca/corporations/

Canada Company Registration for Non-Canadian Residents

Incorporating in Canada – Canada Incorporation for Non-Canadians for only $2200 (All Inclusive.) Company Formations provides fast and easy Company Registration in Canada for non-Canadians residents and provides all the documents your new Canada corporation will need to stay up-to-date and in compliance with your province of registration corporations law.

Learn more about our services

https://companyformations.ca/canada-corporations-non-canadian-residents/

Canada Company Registration for Foreign Companies

Company Formations offers a full range of services designed to help global entrepreneurs and small and medium sized businesses create new businesses in Canada or expand current businesses to Canada.

Our services to non Canadian residents includes:

New Company Registration (Canada Corporations)

Registration of foreign companies in Canada (Extra Provincial Registration)

Canada Registered Agent Services

Canada Corporate Bank Account Introduction & bank account opening

Canada Residency Visa under the Canada Startup Program

This Article first appeared in Inc

The post 7 Entrepreneurial Insights From LEGO Playtime With My Kids appeared first on Company Formations Canada.

from Company Formations Canada http://bit.ly/2X56Mdu

#IFTTT #Company Formations Canada

0 notes

newsnigeria · 5 years

Text

Check out New Post published on Ọmọ Oòduà

New Post has been published on http://ooduarere.com/news-from-nigeria/world-news/what-the-west-can-learn-yellow-vests/

What the West can learn: Yellow Vests are demanding a Cultural Revolution (8/8)

by Ramin Mazaheri

For years I have talked about “White Trash Revolutions”, and the emergence of the Yellow Vests proves that my finger is perfectly on the pulse of things: the only people publicly wearing “Yellow Vests” on the streets of Paris prior to November 17, 2018, were… garbage men.

So, imagine me, with my love of Trash Revolutions of all hues (Iran’s 1979 “Revolution of the Barefooted” amounts to the same idea)… and then the French adopted the look of trash collectors as their uniform – I couldn’t be happier!!!

But this idea is not new – even in modern 24/7 politics, genuine historical processes take years or decades to culminate. In 2016, following the election of Donald Trump in the United States, Slavov Zizek expressed the same idea offhandedly: “Sorry, White Trash is our only hope. We have to win them over.”

I could not agree more. But we must go further than just “winning over Trash” – we must let them win.

That is the essence of China’s Cultural Revolution.

I penned this 8-part series because the Yellow Vests show us – urgently, courageously, necessarily, violently – just how relevant China’s Cultural Revolution (CR) should be to Westerns in 2019.

If you have not read the previous 7 parts of this series (and know only anti-CR propaganda) then you may not realize the China’s CR proved how good, productive, efficient and equal society can be – democratically, economically, educationally and culturally – when rural people are supported instead of insulted.

This entire series has not been designed to celebrate China or socialism – it has been written to show what happens when the rural-urban divide is seriously addressed in modern politics, as it was in China during the CR in an unprecedented manner. Society has many seemingly irreconcilable poles of contention – the only one this series seriously addresses is the rural-urban divide.

The CR showed that solutions to this seemingly irreconcilable divide are possible if we accept that Trash is our only hope and not – as the urban-based Mainstream Media insists – the cause of our ills.

Not everyone in a small town is a farmer, but the exclusion of village values is obviously why France’s rural traffic roundabouts have been blockaded for 5.5 months (the government started banning these rural protests on May 11).

More than anything, I think that studying and emulating the CR can end the urban West’s hatred, fear and disgust of rural citizens in power. Islamophobia – every definition includes the fear of Islam as a political force – is pretty bad, but Hillbillyophobia – fear of rural values as a political force – is truly at a modern apex. Thus this series.

The world has seen 2 Cultural Revolutions already – is the West finally ready for 1?

This series used the CR to to illustrate that France and the West are 50 years behind China because they are being wracked by a Yellow Vest movement which is essentially demanding a Cultural Revolution which the Chinese already had. However, because the neoliberal empire known as the European Union has been undemocratically forced on Europe during the interim, the French have even more work to do than 1960s China, but the first step is to realize that the Yellow Vests are essentially demanding a Cultural Revolution.

That IS what this is all about every Saturday – Yellow Vests want institutions to cease their terrible functioning, every major policy to come up for review (constitutional changes, staying in the EU, Eurozone and NATO, Françafrique, austerity spending policies, taxation policies, environmental policies, banking, education, housing, industrialisation, etc.) and new local, grassroots groups to implement them – a Cultural Revolution.

Like Iran from 1980-83 (Iran had the world’s only other state-sponsored Cultural Revolution, obviously modelled on China’s), like China from 1965-74, France wants several years where everything is brought to a halt in order to engage in mass discussions, with the aim of drastically updating French democracy and French culture in order to accord with more modern political ideals.

Capitalists cannot tolerate such a halting. Not only because it would lead to a reduction in their power, and not only because modern political ideals must be Socialist Democratic and not Liberal Democratic – it is also a cultural thing: “keep calm and carry on” is the fundamental ethos of conservatism worldwide.

The two Cultural Revolution have said: “To hell with this – halt! Now waitaminut…. what on earth have we become and should we keep being like this?” Both CRs also led to miniature civil wars, as reactionary or fascist forces, and insanely radical and democratically unwanted leftist forces (like the Mojahedin-e Khalq – MKO), were pushed out.

And, after the halt, as the trajectories of both China and Iran show amazing success. They started over (revolution), then stopped (cultural revolution), then restarted anew yet again.

A Cultural Revolution – China and Iran prove – does something the US and French Revolutions did not do: put into power the formerly-oppressed class of people, which is also the majority class. These four revolutions all eliminated monarchies, but only the former two put the oppressed in charge.

(I do not call the French or American aristocracies “oppressed”, as they previously colluded with the king and shared in the ill-gotten gains – call me a radical, I guess.)

The Yellow Vests are this oppressed class which deserves to lead, and which would certainly lead the country better than France’s current leaders. Everybody in France knows this, but they feel powerless to make it happen. The Yellow Vests are also – everyone in France knows this as well – the majority class. The conditions for Cultural Revolution – for Trash Revolution – are as clear as the yellow vests of garbagemen who wear reflective gear to avoid traffic.

Yes, the Yellow Vests are not solely the result of an untreated urban divide, but anyone following them knows that this is one of the primary causes of the movement.

Those who have been following this series will know what I mean: what should rural “Jimo County, France” be demanding in their nascent French Cultural Revolution?

It’s a genuine political question to ask: is the future only for cities?

Modernized countries need to honestly ask themselves: should humanity’s goal be to empty the rural areas of people?

Are rural areas that bad? That depressing, boring, backward and hate-filled?

The rural-urban migration of the past century is universal, but do we not need any rural inhabitants? Will robots, drones and computers allow everyone to live in supposedly-superior urban areas? Are the values which flourish in rural areas more often than in urban areas not necessary for human culture any more – are these values only hindrances to human progress?

Because if the answer is: “No – rural areas will always have some people; farming areas will never be so efficient as to not need human involvement; rural people actually do learn a useful thing or two about life which city people don’t learn,” then we have no choice but to tackle the urban-rural divide as much as other key societal divides.

So, when we realize that we must clearly affirm that, “Yes, we need rural areas,” that necessarily implies a huge overhaul of value systems in the modern capitalist West, which has become hugely urban dominated. The aspects of this dominance – the financial futures exchanges, mass media, only-urban cultural hubs, the denigration of a collective ethos inherent in rural communities, etc. – are so obvious and so numerous that I don’t need to list them here. The path of history shows that the era of Thomas Jefferson’s ideal of farmer-citizen-soldier have been totally jettisoned in the West, probably due to the industrial/electrical/digital revolutions. However, China’s CR showed how necessary it was to re-balance the scales in favor of the country life.

What is more interesting is to discuss how specific policies of the China’s CR could be translated to the West. The Iranian CR was the democratically demanded introduction of Islam into governance, which resulted in what is clearly Iranian Islamic Socialism (out in book form this summer, Inshallah), but I don’t think the West is interested in religion-based ideas anymore – they have deluded themselves into thinking that religion is always regressive, never progressive. (The West prefers secular zero-theism – which is actually the bleakest and most egotistical version of monotheism, because zero is not a plural number, after all.)

But what are being demanded are cultural changes. These precede and influence political changes.

On the level of practical politics, which I will discuss later, I will be sweeping and brief here: neoliberalism (and free-market capitalism) is incompatible with democracy, and we all know it, and thus this particular version of the pan-European project is inherently anti-democratic; the historic heavy, urban-based statism of France is an anti-democratic legacy of the Napoleonic “revolution”; the 1789 French “revolution” was bourgeois and thus not democratic… 2019 France has to stop holding on to all of these falsely progressive legacies. China’s CR – and all forms of socialism – prove that local, socialist democracy is the only guarantee of success and stability. But back to cultural changes….

Above all, a Western Cultural Revolution must begin with an urban mea culpa – the gift of apology is the only way to start in any such situation of familial division and bad blood, which is what France currently has. Even Jesus son of Mary said the same thing, according to Matthew 5:23 – Therefore if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

After reconciliation comes actual gifts – reparations – in order to even the scales in the favor of rural areas.

But reparations and admission of arrogance/imperialism is verboten in capitalist societies – what the CR proves is that the rural-urban divide can only be healed through a collective mentality, not an individualist mentality: the urban individual must renounce their alleged superiority.

That is the primary psycho-cultural message of the Yellow Vests; the proof of this is obvious in the exaggerated hatred of President Emmanuel Macron.

His aloofness and arrogance are unprecedented in modern times, I agree, but his anti-democratic methods and beliefs are not at all different from his predecessor, Francois Hollande. Perhaps his anti-democratic methods and beliefs are 10-15% worse than Hollande’s, but many Yellow Vests only want Macron to quit simply because they have been so deranged by Macron’s urban sense of entitlement that they lose their sense of scope – I hear it often from Vesters every Saturday. But, just like Trump, Macron is the symptom and not the disease.

Macron has become a symbol of what we can call the “anti-CR forces in France”, and the danger is that if the symbol falls – if Macron actually quits – that could stave off the demand for an actual French Cultural Revolution. Certainly, Macron’s puppet-masters will allow him to resign before they allow the sweeping discussions and changes of a CR.

Thus the first step towards reducing the rural-urban divide in the West begins with a revalorisation of rural areas. As long as mainstream journalists continue insisting on a “red state-blue state” divide, no nation can possibly be united, healthy and successful.

This revaluing is a cultural change – what about practical measures?

The CR sent politicians to do farm work – no wonder the Western political class hates the idea of a CR

The disease which roils the West is something which socialism is based on, and especially Maoism, and which was ably demonstrated in the Great Leap Forward – the collective mentality must triumph over the individualist mentality. Indeed, I fairly refer to the CR as the “Great Leap Forward #2” because the CR was an unquestionable restarting of collectivist projects.

But Westerners don’t wanna! To hell with the collective!

The collective line – which in Western Liberal Democracy is only limited to preserving the solidarity of the 1% among themselves – is really rather religious in its view, as it is based on the idea of something larger than just the individual and goes far beyond day-to-day concerns.

Nor is it mere nationalism, which is just a larger, modern version of tribalism. In neoliberal capitalism the loyalty is only to one’s self and family (and often not even to family, but one’s “household” within the necessarily multi-household “family”… and often not even to one’s household!), so it does not even achieve tribalism. How someone can live without a view of something larger than one’s own self is beyond me – it is truly to live without honor, and only with ego.

(In order to prove the enormous socioeconomic success of the CR, this book drew heavily from the ground-breaking investigative & scholarly work The Unknown Cultural Revolution: Life and Change in a Chinese Village, by Dongping Han, a former Chinese villager himself. Han hailed from and studied rural Jimo County, interviewing hundreds of locals about the Cultural Revolution (CR) and poring over local historical records. Han was kind enough to write the forward to my new book, I’ll Ruin Everything You Are: Ending Western Propaganda on Red China, which is available for purchase. This 8-part series is not a part of that book.)

Accordingly, Han relates the motivation of someone who worked for free on Jimo’s irrigation project during the CR: “She said that she, like others, volunteered to work at these projects at the time because it was an honorable thing to do.”

The major problem in Western capitalism is that their people are not lacking in honor – that would be untrue, as well as insulting: the problem is they do not believe their governments should promote selflessness and honor, as morality is a strictly personal issue. In China, Cuba, Iran and other socialist democratic-based systems, maybe everybody ignores the government’s morality campaigns, LOL, but such campaigns exist, at least, and thus surely have an impact (and a positive one).

A lesson of the CR is that if the government does not promote a “collective mentality”, then there is no “free-market magic” which can reliably conjure up the same necessary feeling, action and outcome.

But promotion is not leadership – leadership is done by doing! Perhaps the Chinese had a leg up in understanding this concept, as Confucianism stresses leadership by example.

“After the failure of the Great Leap Forward , many farmers in Jimo were so bitter about the food shortages that they declared they would not do any more work for the commune. Why, then, were Jimo farmers willing to work hard for the collective during the Cultural Revolution? What was behind this change of attitude? Some workers and farmers testified that the practice of cadres’ participation in production during the Cultural Revolution made an important difference. They said that when leaders worked hard, common villagers would work hard with them. … More importantly, village youth, politically emboldened through the Cultural Revolution conflicts and educated in the new schools, were ready to challenge party leaders if they did not work with ordinary people. … Common villagers would not tolerate lazy leaders. If leaders did not work, villagers refused to work as well, which would lead to a decline in production and living standards. If the leaders did not work hard, villagers would elect someone else to replace them in the year-end election, someone who was ready to work hard.” (emphasis mine)

Now Macron constantly says that he works hard, but he does not work hard with ordinary people – therein lies a world of difference.

It is impossible for an unempathetic leader (as Macron clearly is), who has never worked a regular, dreary, timeclock-punching job in his life (as Macron never has) to make policies which benefit the average worker when he has no idea what an average worker goes through.

I include that passage because it is a fascinating phenomenon, seemingly unique to Chinese socialism – it is a dagger in the heart of Western technocratism. I wonder: how it can be replicated? Did Mao or Fidel spend time working in the fields at 55 years old? LOL, an elder-worshipping Iranian would probably commit suicide before being forced to watch Khamenei, 80, do hard labor in front of them (the guy already lost use of his right arm due to a bomb from the MKO, so how much more effort should he give?).

But what if Macron spent just one week working at a farm? I think his approval rating would rise 10 points immediately!

Macron is 41 – is he just lazy? Is he so effete that he doesn’t like hard & sweaty work? Or is it that he is trying to cultivate an image of someone who is “above” or “smarter than” everybody else in France, and thus only deigns to spend his time on a “superior” type of work? It’s clearly the latter – Macron is trying to cultivate the image that his mind and soul are too valuable, too finely-tuned, to waste on lower-class work.

(But it’s really surprising that a young Western leader doesn’t do these types of propaganda ops. If anybody in the Iranian government is reading this: I will GLADLY work a pistachio farm for months, even years at a time – sheesh, that sounds like heaven, as I write this from the most-population dense city in the Western world. (Y’all would have to pay to store my stuff, though. I guess I’d lose my apartment in Paris. Not that I own it, of course, but it is SO HARD just to find a long-term apartment to rent here – I moved 10 times in my first 3.5 years in France.) Anyway, I predict that in the future, with viral videos and the omnipresence of screens, there will be some leader who takes advantage of every country’s love of hard work – and this will be denounced as “populism” by general population-hating capitalists.)

Crucially, Han writes, “They participated in manual labor more conscientiously than their predecessors had. In some localities it was stipulated that members of the county revolution committee had to participate in manual labor for about two hundred days a year, and members of the commune revolutionary committees had to work in the fields for more than two hundred days a year.”

How can these ideas be applied elsewhere? Could we possibly imagine President Macron working manual labor for 8 hours a day for 10 days, much less 200? What about Theresa May working at an elder care center? These ideas are delicious but ludicrous – certainly, their defense would be that they have “more important things to do”. They are “above” such work; such work would degrade their incredible abilities.

These unstated, but universally perceived, beliefs, is a real problem – the CR solved this problem; thus this series.

This is a huge, flaming, primary message of the CR – rural toil (but also factory toil, service sector toil, or other toiling lower and middle class jobs) is indispensable in creating good governors. There is only one clear solution – joining the masses at work – and yet it would take a CR in the West for such things to occur.

I have relayed Han’s data which show the economic, industrial educational explosion for rural areas – seeing the cultural changes the CR wrought on their local political leaders: How fortunate (and superior) is the Chinese system that they had the CR?

Such practices are inherently anti-technocratic: a politician with a PhD who has to work some manual labor may be a worse technocrat, due to less time spent wonking out, but he or she is a better human being and governor.

Han relates a great story: A respected Peoples’ Liberation Army veteran returned to Jimo after four years in the army, to much acclaim, and he was elected secretary of a village Communist Youth League. He was asked to work on the irrigation project, which involved four people pushing a wheelbarrow of mud weighing 1,000 pounds. “But his army life had never put him to the test of such hard work.” The leader could not do the work, and thus was the naozheng – the incompetent person – in the group. He was not re-elected the following year.

“It was important that leaders could talk high-sounding words, but they had to live up to what they said at the same time. Otherwise nobody would listen to them. … The CCP’s policy then was: yu chenfen, dan bu wei chenfen (class labels are important, but they are not the exclusive factor in judging a person).”

I find it very hard to believe any demonstrating Yellow Vest wouldn’t agree with these policies and beliefs of the CR; putting politicians to work would be Yellow Vest demand #26 if they only knew about it.

Macron does not appear very physically strong… but that is no matter. What is important is that he only finally said the words “Yellow Vests” in public on April 25rd – he clearly has no interest in working shoulder to shoulder with them, no matter what job we can find for him to not be the naozheng at.

Why would such a sensible policy – forcing politicians to do SOME real work – likely be opposed by supporters of Liberal Democracy? Because forcing them to do things they personally don’t want to do is an alleged violation of Western individualist rights. The irony, of course, is that the 1740-1840 heyday of Liberal Democracy rested upon the stolen wages of slaves. And when the slave-masters were forced to work in the countryside – what a horror the CR was!

I don’t see it that way at all. I think, especially when tied to promises of advancement, it is a perfect apprenticeship for future politicians. China knows that, and they are sending another 10 million urban cadres to the countryside – more well-rounded, respectful leaders in the future for China thanks to CR 2.0.

The Cultural Revolution lessons for modern schools

Culture is taught – it is not inbred. Thus a revolution in education is just as fundamental as a revolution in the “work” of politicians. The CR grasped this as well.

I would be remiss not to include a short section on education in this final part. Previous parts of this series examined Han’s data and conclusions regarding educational policy changes, because giving equal access to education – and making schooling truly egalitarian and not urban-elite based nor technocratic – was truly a primary, if not the primary, motivation and goal of the CR. I reiterate Han’s thesis and data, which I gave in Part 1, because it is so necessary: “…this study contends that that the political convulsions of the Cultural Revolution democratized village political culture and spurred the growth of rural education, leading to substantial and rapid economic development.” Education change is the middle link between political culture change and economic change.

Firstly, there is a major problem of gender imbalance in modern schools: in Iran and seemingly all other modernised areas women outperform men, including at security spots i at university. This is not a cause for celebration, but a huge problem.

If men were outperforming women, we would say that there is some sort of prejudice occurring or, as is the case now, the system is simply set up for young men to fail more often than young women, correct? You never hear this view in the West, as their societies are far more matriarchal than in Asia.

But China’s Cultural Revolution did what I think all schools should do: not simply “be schools”.

It is something like a crime against humanity how young, fun, spirit-filled boys are forced to wedge themselves behind a desk for their entire youth. The Cultural Revolution did what many boys find fun – doing stuff: they had to work on a farm, a workshop, a lab, and even money-making activities. That all beats “school” for young and teenage boys.

Crucially, these are all activities which educate kids on the serious facts of life, facts which are vital for happiness far more than yet more technocratic learning.

A teenager who cuts grass, picks up garbage or simply breaks rocks for 7 hours one day a week learns many things. Among them: if you do not study you will be doing this boring work for the rest of your life; hard work is needed to maintain society; manual labor is hard, and thus those who do it must be respected; “boring” or toiling labor requires just as much attention and effort as “office work”, or mental work, and thus must be respected; some jobs wear humans out faster than others, and thus social safety nets – with different rules – are required to avoid widespread misery.

But in a capitalist system, which is technocratic and not meritocratic, 21st century students are incredibly overburdened by testing and homework.

Of course: this is primarily a result of forcing competition via false scarcities in education and jobs – forcing competition is what free market/neoliberal societies are built upon, of course. The CR recognised this and I relayed Han’s detailing of the enormous explosion in rural school creation.

But Liberal Democratic supporters will insist that schools must remain dull and conservative with nihilistic claims such as: “School is just a way to make sheep; is really just child care, because both parents have to work in order to survive; societal masters are only interested in creating compliant cubicle drones, human robots for factory work, and subservient service industry slaves.” I agree: in capitalist countries.

But in socialist countries, where power has been devolved to workers and away from the 1%/technocratic class, other educational policies ARE possible and ARE implemented. Because the Chinese Communist Party explicitly sought to reduce the influence of schoolteachers, and to reduce China’s longstanding over-admiration for them, it is thus little wonder that schoolteachers across the West have zero interest in teaching the truth about the CR!

A Yellow Vest CR must include major educational reform:

“Exclusive book learning that used mainly the rote method was opposed. During the educational reforms, the concept of education was greatly broadened to include productive labor and many other related activities. Education was no longer limited to reading books inside the classroom; learning could take place in the workshops and on the farms, and many other places. Teachers were not considered to have a monopoly on knowledge. Workers and farmers and soldiers could all impart experiential knowledge to students. In fact, even students might know something the teachers did not know.”

Socialism rests on two pillars: redistribution of money and redistribution of political power. Redistributing political power in the realm of education can have enormously positive impacts on how rural societies view, and benefit from, schooling.

The Yellow Vests want a Cultural Revolution – will it succeed? Right now, I’d say ‘No”

Brexit, the election of Trump and the Yellow Vests – these are all viewed as horrifically negative historical & sociopolitical developments in the West’s fake-leftist and elite circles. The Yellow Vests are yet another “basket of deplorables” who have been rendered insane by… what exactly? Racism, Islamophobia, homophobia, anti-Semitism….

Firstly, we should ask, in order to find parallels: did China’s deplorables have these problems of prejudice and “identity politics” when their CR started in 1966? Or what about Iran’s barefooted?

No, neither did – that cannot be disputed – and the reason why is indicative of why I feel the Yellow Vests will not achieve their revolutionary goals:

Iran and China already had governments inspired by socialism when they embarked on their Cultural Revolutions, whereas France does not. State-sponsored efforts to end prejudice is just one of many, many proofs which show how much more politically-advanced China and Iran were when they embarked on their Cultural Revolutions than the Yellow Vests are.

I am not blaming the Yellow Vests: because the West has totally rejected socialism’s advances and ethos – unlike Iran and China – they have many types of reactionary problems which China and Iran did not suffer from as strongly at the time of their CRs.

There is a tremendous amount of political regression among the Yellow Vests and their leaders, who have aims which are merely incremental improvements and not truly a new French order. This was illustrated by my last article, A French cop on why French cops will never join the Yellow Vests – many Vesters not only expect but want the cops to join them… even though it cannot and should not work because they are the devoted dogs of the reactionary order! Whoever heard of a revolution were the forces of order remained unchanged? Is France still stuck in hippie, utopian 1960s thinking?! Perhaps they are… it leads to regression, individualism and nihilism.

This political-cultural backwardness and conservatism of many Yellow Vests cannot cannot be repaired by an 8-part series, nor by protests which only attracted 2% (1.3 million) of the nation on its biggest day (the first Yellow Vest demonstration, on November 17, 2018, – data according to a police union, not the French Interior Ministry).

So when I wrote that “everyone knows” the Yellow Vests are the majority, that is true – the problem is that they don’t act like it!

It is amazing how effectively the French political class is able to suppress polling about the Yellow Vests. This suppression coincided with March 23, when President Emmanuel Macron deployed the army, unveiled even harsher measures of repression and banned of urban demonstrations. The latest poll I can find, from a month ago (even though this is the most important issue in French society) still has their approval rating at 50%, and that follows months of anti-Yellow Vest propaganda.

But being a Yellow Vest and merely supporting the Yellow Vests are two different things entirely. After all, the latter can be appeased even more easily than a right-wing Yellow Vest can be bought off. The Yellow Vests are the cultural majority but not the political majority.

Therefore, what the Yellow Vests are is this: they are the nation’s political vanguard party.

However – there is no “nation” anymore. There is no more political and economic sovereignty in Europe, and that is a concrete, structural, “rule of law” reality and not hyperbole.

The prime adulthood of France, and 41-year old Macron exemplifies this 100%, is full of people who grew up being culturally inculcated into blindly and hysterically supporting not modern socialist democratic ideals, but instead the neoliberal empire known as the European Union, and also the even more undemocratic banking empire known as the Eurozone.

Therefore, there is no “France” for the Yellow Vests to be – as they should – raised upon the People’s shoulders and put into power nationwide; the Yellow Vests, thus, have to be a pan-European movement in order to succeed in their aims. We are talking about an order of magnitude, here.

The reality is that the Yellow Vest movement reflects the same schizophrenia as most Western governments and societies: this is succinctly encapsulated by a favourite phrase and policy of the West’s – “humanitarian intervention” (whatever that is – as though nations were dogs which were humanely euthanised).

Vesters are certainly clearer than most – this is why they are the vanguard party, i.e. the most enlightened local leaders – but they also partially suffer from the tremendous cognitive dissonance and intellectual fog caused by the intersection of European neo-imperialism, bourgeois-centered European Enlightenment ideals, and the undemocratic concepts and political structures of the liberal democratic European Union empire.

Yellow Vests, especially on the right-wing of their spectrum, are often so blinded by their “glorious” view of France’s (bourgeois) “revolutionary history that they have not updated their political thought in 200+ years – they don’t want to admit their revolution was not enough; that they probably need a true revolution before a 2nd revolution; that the CRs of Chain and Iran should be their model.

And yet they do admit this….

Simply review number 7 on the list of their 25 primary demands: “Rewriting a Constitution by the people and for the interest the sovereign people.” It’s the latter part which would require a revolution in French/Western culture because it is obviously rooted in socialist democratic ideals; the people were not sovereign in US and French Revolutions (the only Western nations to have revolutions), as non-Whites, women and the poor, landless masses were all most glaringly excluded, of course.

This “they do but they don’t” is exactly why French society is both “revolutionary” in self-conception but incredibly reactionary in practice.

It would take a Cultural Revolution to sort out these issues, and that is what the Yellow Vests are truly asking for; it is the leftist ones which are willing to slough off the ancient husk of 1789, not the right-wing Vesters.

Any way you look at it, two things are clear: the Yellow Vests still have very far to go, and victory will look like Cultural Revolution.

Series Conclusion

This series emphatically demonstrated that China’s post-1980 economic success did not start with Deng Xiaoping’s reforms but instead was built upon on the Cultural Revolution’s hugely successful creation of human, educational, and economic capital in China’s rural areas.

By focusing on and promoting the values of the rural areas, China has soared past us all today – this is the hidden lesson of the CR and the genius of Maoism.

Han’s book, this series, and the lessons of the Cultural Revolution should have tremendous interest for developing countries – the CR is a blueprint for lifting essentially non-industrial societies into the socioeconomic stratosphere. The blueprint is not provided by the IMF – they have certainly had decades of chances.

The idea that China’s success is due to being a “Western sweatshop” is, it is rarely remembered, merely a way to credit the West for China’s success. No, it is due to Chinese innovations and adaptions of ideas already present around the globe.

A key flaw in Western capitalist allegations that the CR was simply a way for Mao to gain control: if that’s true – what could he have possibly gained by encouraging criticism of Confucius? The CCP was already in control – there was no “pro-Confucian Party” which was taking the CCP’s power. Confucianism is an inherently conservative ideal – why rock that boat? Bring up this point to those who are anti-CR and they will certainly be totally flummoxed.

But criticising Confucianism – which is such a thrillingly productive and superbly admirable philosophy which I have learned much from for years – was a way to pull down the dominant class and replace it with the oppressed classes.

However, Chinese culture remains incredibly Confucian, any Chinese person will tell you. I predict that one day the ubiquitous phrase “Socialism with Chinese characteristics” will be replaced with a regional generalisation of “Confucian Socialism”, and this phrase will describe not just China but include Vietnam, Korea and (hopefully) others. This is exactly the same as how “Iranian Islamic Socialism” is a variant of the larger “Islamic Socialism”. These truths are self-evident, if not yet fully flowered….

When discussing the anti-Confucius campaigns, Han writes: “But it had specific meaning for ordinary people. The major theme of the campaign was to criticize the elitist mentality in Chinese culture. It promoted Mao’s idea that the masses are the motive force of history and that the elite are sometimes stupid while working people are intelligent. These were not empty words. Villagers toiled all year round, supplying the elite with grain, meat and vegetables. But they were made to feel stupid in front of the elite. They did not know how to talk with the elite, and accepted the stigma of stupidity the elite gave to them.”

This idea – that rural Trash are stupid, that urban leaders are right to view themselves as “elite” – is something which has to be remedied in the West, or else Western society can never be whole. The rural-urban divide is the most urgent divide in the West today, but the CR shows it can be resolved.

Unfortunately, because they adhere to capitalism-imperialism, many nation in the West are not trying to be united at all – their people subsist on contempt for “the other” as well as competition to join the 1%, as capitalism-imperialism ceaselessly instructs them.

**********************************

This was the final article in an 8-part series which examined Dongping Han’s book The Unknown Cultural Revolution: Life and Change in a Chinese Village in order to drastically redefine a decade which has proven to be not just the basis of China’s current success, but also a beacon of hope for developing countries worldwide. Here is the list of articles slated to be published, and I hope you will find them useful in your leftist struggle!

Part 1 – A much-needed revolution in discussing China’s Cultural Revolution: an 8-part series

Part 2 – The story of a martyr FOR, and not BY, China’s Cultural Revolution

Part 3 – Why was a Cultural Revolution needed in already-Red China?

Part 4 – How the Little Red Book created a cult ‘of socialism’ and not ‘of Mao’

Part 5 – Red Guards ain’t all red: Who fought whom in China’s Cultural Revolution?

Part 6 – How the socioeconomic gains of China’s Cultural Revolution fuelled their 1980s boom

Part 7 – Ending a Cultural Revolution can only be counter-revolutionary

Part 8 – What the West can learn: Yellow Vests are demanding a Cultural Revolution

#France

0 notes

lodelss · 5 years

Link

Bryce Covert | Longreads | April 2019 | 13 minutes (3,374 words)

“The American work ethic, the motivation that drives Americans to work longer hours each week and more weeks each year than any of our economic peers, is a long-standing contributor to America’s success.” Thus reads the first sentence of a massive report the Trump administration released in July 2018. Americans’ drive to work ever harder, longer, and faster is at the heart of the American Dream: the idea, which has become more mythology than reality in a country with yawning income inequality and stagnating upward economic mobility, that if an American works hard enough she can attain her every desire. And we really try: We put in between 30 to 90 minutes more each day than the typical European. We work 400 hours more annually than the high-output Germans and clock more office time than even the work-obsessed Japanese.

The story of individual hard work is embedded into the very founding of our country, from the supposedly self-made, entrepreneurial Founding Fathers to the pioneers who plotted the United States’ western expansion; little do we acknowledge that the riches of this country were built on the backs of African slaves, many owned by the Founding Fathers themselves, whose descendants live under oppressive policies that continue to leave them with lower incomes and overall wealth and in greater poverty. We — the “we” who write the history books — would rather tell ourselves that the people who shaped our country did it through their own hard work and not by standing on the shoulders, or stepping on the necks, of others. It’s an easier story to live with. It’s one where the people with power and money have it because they deserve it, not because they took it, and where we each have an equal shot at doing the same.

Because for all our national pride in our puritanical work ethic, the ethic doesn’t apply evenly. At the highest income levels, wealthy Americans are making money passively, through investments and inheritances, and doing little of what most would consider “work.” Basic subsistence may soon be predicated on whether and how much a poor person works, while the rich count on tax credits and carve-outs designed to protect stockpiles of wealth created by money begetting itself. It’s the poor who are expected to work the hardest to prove that they are worthy of Americanness, or a helping hand, or humanity. At the same time, we idolize and imitate the rich. If you’re rich, you must have worked hard. You must be someone to emulate. Maybe you should even be president.

* * *

Trump has a long history of antipathy to the poor, a word which he uses as a synonym for “welfare,” which he understands only as a pejorative. When he and his father were sued by the Department of Justice in 1973 for discriminating against black tenants in their real estate business, he shot back that he was being forced to rent to “welfare recipients.” Nearly 40 years later, he called President Obama “our Welfare & Food Stamp President,” saying he “doesn’t believe in work.” He wrote in his 2011 book Time To Get Tough, “There’s nothing ‘compassionate’ about allowing welfare dependency to be passed from generation to generation.”

Perhaps. But Trump certainly knows about relying on things passed from generation to generation. His self-styled origin story is that he got his start with a “small” $1 million loan from his real estate tycoon father, Fred C. Trump, which he used to grow his own empire. “I built what I built myself,” he has claimed. “I did it by working long hours, and working hard and working smart.”

It’s an interesting interpretation of “myself”: A New York Times investigation in October reported that, instead, Trump has received at least $413 million from his father’s businesses over the course of his life. “By age 3, Mr. Trump was earning $200,000 a year in today’s dollars from his father’s empire. He was a millionaire by age 8. By the time he was 17, his father had given him part ownership of a 52-unit apartment building,” reporters David Barstow, Susanne Craig, and Russ Buettner wrote. “Soon after Mr. Trump graduated from college, he was receiving the equivalent of $1 million a year from his father. The money increased with the years, to more than $5 million annually in his 40s and 50s.” The Times found 295 different streams of revenue Fred created to enrich his son — loans that weren’t repaid, three trust funds, shares in partnerships, lump-sum gifts — much of it further inflated by reducing how much went to the government. Donald and his siblings helped their parents dodge taxes with sham corporations, improper deductions, and undervalued assets, helping evade levies on gifts and inheritances.

If you’re rich, you must have worked hard. You must be someone to emulate. Maybe you should even be president.

Even the money that was made squarely owed a debt to the government. Fred Trump nimbly rode the rising wave of federal spending on housing that began with the New Deal and continued with the G.I. Bill. “Fred Trump would become a millionaire many times over by making himself one of the nation’s largest recipients of cheap government-backed building loans,” the Times reported. Donald carried on this tradition of milking government subsidies to accumulate fortunes. He obtained at least $885 million in perfectly legal grants, subsidies, and tax breaks from New York to build his real estate business.

Someone could have taken this largesse and worked hard to grow it into something more, but Donald Trump was not that someone. Much of his fortune comes not from the down and dirty work of running businesses, but from slapping his name on everything from golf courses to steaks. Many of these deals entail merely licensing his name while a developer actually runs things. And as president, he still doesn’t seem inclined to clock much time doing actual work.

That hasn’t stopped him from putting work at the center of his administration’s poverty-related policies. In the White House Council of Economic Advisers’ lengthy tome, it argued for adding work requirements to a new universe of public benefits. These requirements, which up until the Trump administration only existed for direct cash assistance and food stamps, require a recipient not just to put in a certain number of hours at a job or some other qualifying activity, but to amass paperwork to prove those hours each month. The CEA report is focused, supposedly, on “the importance and dignity of work.” But the benefits of engaging in labor are only deemed important for a particular population: “welfare recipients who society expects to work.” Over and over, it takes for granted that our country only expects the poorest to work in order to prove themselves worthy of government funds, specifically targeting those who get food stamps to feed their families, housing assistance to keep roofs over their heads, and Medicaid to stay healthy.

* * *

The report doesn’t just represent an ethos in the administration; it was also a justification for concrete actions it had already taken and more it would soon roll out. Last April, Trump signed an executive order that ordered federal agencies to review public assistance programs in order to see if they could impose work requirements unilaterally to “ensure that they are consistent with principles that are central to the American spirit — work, free enterprise, and safeguarding human and economic resources,” as the document states, while also “reserving public assistance programs for those who are truly in need.”

The administration has also pushed forward on its own. In 2017, it announced that states could apply for waivers that would allow them to implement work requirements in Medicaid for the first time, and so far more than a dozen states have taken it up on the offer, with Arkansas’s rule in effect since June 2018. (It has now been halted by a federal judge.) In that state, Medicaid recipients had to spend 80 hours a month at work, school, or volunteering, and report those activities to the government in order to keep getting health insurance. And in April 2018, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson unveiled a proposal to let housing authorities implement work requirements for public housing residents and rental assistance recipients. Trump pushed Congress to include more stringent work requirements in the food stamp program as it debated the most recent farm bill, arguing it would “get America back to work.” When that effort failed, the Agriculture Department turned around and proposed a rule to impose the requirements by itself.

These aren’t fiscal necessities — they’re crackdowns on the poor, justified by the idea that they should prove themselves worthy of the benefits that help them survive, that are not just cruel but out of step with real life. Most people who turn to public programs already work, and those who don’t often have good reason. More than 60 percent of people on Medicaid are working. They remain on Medicaid because their pay isn’t enough to keep them out of poverty, and many of the low-wage jobs they work don’t offer health insurance they can afford. Of those not working, most either have a physical impairment or conflicting responsibilities like school or caregiving.

Enrollment in food stamps tells the same story. Among the “work-capable” adults on food stamps, about two thirds work at some point during the year, while 84 percent live in a household where someone works. But low-wage work is often chaotic and unpredictable. Recipients are more likely to turn to food stamps during a spell of unemployment or too few hours, then stop when they resume steadier employment. Many of those who are supposedly capable of work but don’t have a job have a health barrier or live with someone who has one; they’re in school, they’re caring for family, or they just can’t find work in their community.

Work requirements, then, fail to account for the reality of poor people’s lives. It’s not that there’s a widespread lack of work ethic among people who earn the least, but that there’s a lack of steady pay and consistent opportunities that allow someone to sustain herself and her family without assistance. We also know work requirements just don’t work. They’ve existed in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families cash-assistance program for decades, yet they don’t help people find meaningful, lasting work; instead they serve as a way to shove them out of programs they desperately need. The result is more poverty, not more jobs.

If this country were so concerned about helping people who might face barriers to working get jobs, we might not be the second-lowest among OECD member countries by percentage of GDP spent on labor-market programs like job-search assistance or retraining. The poor in particular face barriers like affordable childcare and reliable transportation, and could use education or training to reach for better-paid, more meaningful work. But we do little to extend these supports. Instead, we chastise them for not pulling on their frayed bootstraps hard enough.

We also seem content with the notion that a person who doesn’t work — either out of inability or refusal — doesn’t deserve the building blocks of staying alive. The programs Trump is targeting, after all, are about basic needs: housing to stay safe from the elements, food to keep from going hungry, healthcare to receive treatment and avoid dying of neglect. Even if it were true that there was a horde of poor people refusing to work, do we want to condemn them to starvation and likely death? In one of the world’s richest countries, do we really balk at spending money on keeping our people — even lazy ones — alive?

We also know work requirements just don’t work. They’ve existed in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families cash-assistance program for decades, yet they don’t help people find meaningful, lasting work; instead they serve as a way to shove them out of programs they desperately need. The result is more poverty, not more jobs.

Plenty of other countries don’t do so. Single mothers experience higher rates of destitution than coupled parents or people without children all over the world. But the higher poverty rate in the U.S. as compared to other developed countries isn’t because we have more single mothers; instead, it’s because we do so little to help them. Compare us to Denmark, which gives parents unconditional cash benefits for each of their children regardless of whether or how much they work, on top of generously subsidizing childcare, offering universal health coverage, and guaranteeing paid leave. It’s no coincidence that they also have a lower poverty rate, both generally and for single mothers specifically. A recent examination of poverty across countries found that children are at higher risk in the U.S because we have a sparse social safety net that’s so closely tied to demanding that people work. It makes us an international outlier, the world’s miser that only opens a clenched fist to the poor if they’re willing to demonstrate their worthiness first.

Here, too, America’s history of slavery and ongoing racism rears its head. According to a trio of renowned economists, we don’t have a European-style social safety net because “racial animosity in the U.S. makes redistribution to the poor, who are disproportionately black, unappealing to many voters.” White people turn against funding public benefit programs when they feel their racial status threatened, particularly benefits they (falsely) believe mainly accrue to black people. The black poor are seen as the most undeserving of help and most in need of proving their worthiness to get it. States with larger percentages of black residents, for example, focus less on TANF’s goal of providing cash to the needy and have stingier benefits with higher hurdles to enrollment.

* * *

The CEA’s report on work requirements claimed that being an adult who doesn’t work is particularly prevalent among “those living in low-income households.” But that’s debatable. The more income someone has, the less likely he is to be getting it from wages. In 2012, those earning less than $25,000 a year made nearly three quarters of that money from a job. Those making more than $10 million, on the other hand, made about half of their money from capital gains — in other words, returns on investments. The bottom half of the country has, on average, just $826 in income from capital investments each; the average for those in the top 1 percent is more than $16 million.

The richest are the least likely to have their money come from hard labor — yet there’s no moral panic over whether they’re coddled or lacking in self reliance. Instead, government benefits help the rich protect and grow idle wealth. Capital gains and dividends are taxed at a lower rate than regular salaried income. Inheritances were taxed at an average rate of 4 percent in 2009, compared to the average rate of 18 percent for money earned by working and saving. When investments are bequeathed, the recipient owes no taxes on any asset appreciation.

Kickstart your weekend reading by getting the week’s best Longreads delivered to your inbox every Friday afternoon.

In fact, government tax benefits that increase people’s take-home money at the expense of what the government collects for its own coffers overwhelmingly benefit the rich over the poor (or even the middle class). More than 60 percent of the roughly $900 billion in annual tax expenditures goes to the richest 20 percent of American families. That figure dwarfs what the government expends on many public benefit programs. The government spends more than three times as much on tax subsidies for homeowners, mostly captured by the well-to-do, than it does on rental assistance for the poor. The three benefit programs the Trump administration is concerned with — Medicaid, food stamps, and housing assistance — come to about $705 billion in combined spending.

While the administration has been concerned with what it can do to compel the poor to work, it’s handed out more largesse to the idle rich. Its signature tax-cut package, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, offered an extra cut for so-called “pass-through” businesses, like law or real estate firms. But the fine print included a wrinkle: If someone is considered actively involved in his pass-through business, only 30 percent of his earnings could qualify for the new discount. If someone is passively involved, however — a shareholder who doesn’t do much about the day-to-day work of the company — then he gets 100 percent of the new benefit.

Then there’s the law’s significant lowering of the estate tax. The tax is levied on only the biggest, most valuable inheritances passed down from wealthy parent to newly wealthy child. Before the Republicans’ tax bill, only the richest 0.2 percent of estates had to pay the tax when fortunes changed hands. Now it’s just the richest 0.1 percent, or a mere 1,800 very wealthy families worth more than $22 million. The rest get to pass money to their heirs tax-free. Those who do pay it will be paying less when tax time comes due — $4.4 million less, to be exact.

Despite the Republican rhetoric that lowering the estate tax is about saving family farms, it’s really about allowing an aristocracy to calcify — one in which rich parents ensure their children are rich before they lift a single finger in work. As those heirs receive their fortunes, they also receive the blessing that comes with riches: the halo of success and, therefore, deservedness without having to work to prove it. Yet there’s evidence that increasing taxes on inheritances has the potentially salutary effect of getting heirs to work more. The more their inheritances are taxed, the more they end up paying in labor taxes — evidence that they’re working harder for their livings, not just coasting on generational wealth. Perhaps our tax code could encourage rich heirs to experience the dignity of work.

* * *

Trump’s CEA report is accurate about at least one thing: Our country has a history of only offering public benefits to the poor either deemed worthy through their work or exempt through old age or disability. An outlier was the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program, which became Temporary Assistance for Needy Families after Bill Clinton signed welfare reform into law in the ’90s. But the 1996 transformation of the program took what was a promise of cash for poor mothers and changed it into an obstacle course of proving a mother’s worth before she can get anywhere close to a check. It paved the way for the current administration’s obsession with work requirements.

Largesse for the rich, on the other hand, has rarely included such tests. No one has been made to pee in a cup for tax breaks on their mortgages, which cost as much as the food stamp program but overwhelmingly benefit families that earn more than $100,000. No one has had to prove a certain number of work hours to get a lower tax rate on investment income or an inheritance. They get that discount on their money without having to do any work at all.

We haven’t always been so extreme in our dichotomous treatment of the rich and poor; throughout the 1940s, ’50s, and ’60s, we coupled high marginal taxes on the wealthy with a minimum wage that ensured that people who put in full-time work could rise out of poverty. The estate tax has been as high as 77 percent. As Dutch historian Rutger Bregman recently told an audience of the ultrawealthy at Davos, we’re living proof that high taxes can spread shared prosperity. “The United States, that’s where it has actually worked, in the 1950s, during Republican President Eisenhower,” he pointed out. “This is not rocket science.” It was during the same era that we also created significant anti-poverty programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. In fact, this country pioneered the idea of progressive taxation and has always had some form of tax on inheritance to avoid creating an aristocracy. But we’ve papered over that history as tax rates have cratered and poverty has climbed.

Instead, as Reaganomics and neoliberal ideas took hold of our politics, we turned back to the Horatio Alger myth that success is attained on an individual basis by hard work alone, and that riches are the proof of a dogged drive. Lower tax rates naturally follow under the theory that the rich should keep more of their deserved bounty. And if you’re poor, coming to the government seeking a helping hand up, you failed.

The country is due for a reckoning with our obsession with work. There are certainly financial and emotional benefits that come from having a job. But why are we only concerned with whether the poor reap those benefits? Is working ourselves to the bone the best signifier of our worth — and are there basic elements of life that we should guarantee regardless of work? It doesn’t mean dropping all emphasis on work ethic. But it does require a deeper examination of who we expect to work — and why.

* * *

Bryce Covert is an independent journalist writing about the economy and a contributing op-ed writer at The New York Times.

Editor: Michelle Weber Fact checker: Ethan Chiel Copy editor: Jacob Z. Gross

#IFTTT #Blogger

0 notes