alexol

Written and posted by Robin Horsfall, on LinkedIn

The consequences of my aging process is that I make comparisons with the past. My mother was born in 1940 and gave birth to me when she was seventeen. At that time every adult over thirty remembered world war two and was familiar with early death, hunger, disease and risk. Most of all risk.

I rode my bicycle two miles to the cinema on Saturdays when I was eight years old. It was too big for me so I had to scoot it to start and get off to stop. My mother didn’t tell me to be careful she just gave me sixpence and I came home later. If something bad happened, it made absolutely no difference whether she knew immediately or an hour later.

The idea that I would be damaged in anyway by her behaviour was ridiculous. So long as she fed me and made me go to school, her job was done. She was female, this was dictated by the very obvious fact that her chromosomes were XX and she gave birth to children and breast fed them. Only a complete fool would have questioned that she was female. No one taught me that girls were different from boys, it was self-evident, girls in my world were and still are mysterious and overwhelmingly controlling. They knew what was right and held almost all the authority where my standards of behaviour were concerned. My mother sent me to church on Sundays but I think that gave her a private morning to cook dinner. When I was sixteen she slapped me across the face for being rude to her. I think she was right to do so.

I have a degree in literature and people tell me that I cannot use certain words because they offend people even when my intention is to be clear not offensive. I have to choose different adjectives or use alternative descriptions such as ‘not white’. If I have one apple it is singular, if I have two it is plural, that is without question, correct grammar. One of the greatest attributes of language might be using it to offend people, rather than attacking them.

Offending people is absolutely essential to stop insane, inane people from taking over the world. If I offend someone with my objections to their detrimental effects on my life I hope I will provide them with enough negative consequences to go away.

The world continues with wars. I wonder if at this moment an officer in a trench in Ukraine is worried about his use of pronouns to his soldiers, or if a mother in Gaza is worrying whether she should insist on carrying a weapon to be equal to her husband, or if her little boy who seems quite effeminate needs hormone treatment. She would probably slap me for my idiocy. Just like my mother - she would be right!

Is the world madder? Yes, but it is the affluent, over indulged, people who indulge in this madness, because they have nothing really important to do. The truth is offensive sometimes. Too much ice cream makes us obese, so the answer has to be ‘No you can’t have another one. too much will mess up your life and end it early.’ if that upsets you tough!

Who Dares Shares.

alexol

The original post: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7129905894238105602/

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

dancers Loc: melbourne.victoria, australia

my world was different.my Mum was born in 1903, my Dad in 1900. I never had a bicycle, we never had a car, phone, fridge, air con. hot water on tap.... but we managed all through ww2 with food we grew in the back yard.


the world is already in the hands of lunatics, in my opinion.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

And has been for centuries, if not millenia.

bcheary Loc: Jacksonville, FL

Brings back memories of my youth (born in 1936)

Old Bill Loc: Vinton, Virginia

I was born in 1938. When I was two years old, my father sold his home in town and we moved back to the family farm. His father had passed earlier and so had his father in law. Dad was then the sole provider for his family, his mother-in-law and the wives of his brothers who were drafted. He was deferred and given work at Radford Arsenal making powder for the war. The farm still had plows, mower and hand tools but no live stock. He used money from the sale of his house to buy two mismatched horses, six sheep, five cows, two hogs and some chickens.
He commuted 30 miles to work which was shift work with rotating shifts ( as I remember it) every two weeks. Schedules were set up with my mother and grandmother milking the cows when he was working.
There was no electricity, plumbing or central heat. We had a wood cook stove in the kitchen and an Edison stove in the living room. There was no heat in the bed rooms.
Dad had to plant crops to feed the live stock, a garden to feed the family, chop wood for the stoves, repair fences, dig a new pit for the out house and repair harness for the horse drawn equipment.
My mother and grandmother did the household chores including churning butter, washing clothes with scrub boards, canning fruit and vegetables for winter, cooking meals and mending clothes. Work started at daylight and ended at bedtime. Many chores were done by lamp light or lanterns which require keeping them filled and the wicks trimmed. In winter a quilting frame was set up in the living room and mom and grandmother quilted by lamplight.
The things that could not be raised were bartered at the country store. We had butter and eggs to trade for thread, needles and cheese.
Things we had to buy like sugar, flour and gas were rationed and required stamps. Dad had two men who rode to work with him and paid with gas stamps so he could use them to trade.
When I was bigger, my chore was carrying water from the spring house up to the barrel on the back porch. (I could only carry two half buckets)
We survived.

raymondh Loc: Walker, MI

Sadly, Captain Obvious has been court marshaled and we are no longer the wiser for it.

Canisdirus

There is an historical pattern to the collapse of civilizations...the main contributor is one that is happening right now.

The citizens begin to replace reason with desire. A healthy civ keeps reason in the front and center.

Basically...the populace becomes delusional on key issues...

So far...no civilization has stopped it...once it has taken hold.

There is no destiny...just hard work and vigilance...discipline.

Those are gone now...we're running down a fuse line.

Old Bill Loc: Vinton, Virginia

I was born in 1938. When I was two years old, my father sold his home in town and we moved back to the family farm. His father had passed earlier and so had his father in law. Dad was then the sole provider for his family, his mother-in-law and the wives of his brothers who were drafted. He was deferred and given work at Radford Arsenal making powder for the war. The farm still had plows, mower and hand tools but no live stock. He used money from the sale of his house to buy two mismatched horses, six sheep, five cows, two hogs and some chickens.
He commuted 30 miles to work which was shift work with rotating shifts ( as I remember it) every two weeks. Schedules were set up with my mother and grandmother milking the cows when he was working.
There was no electricity, plumbing or central heat. We had a wood cook stove in the kitchen and an Edison stove in the living room. There was no heat in the bed rooms.
Dad had to plant crops to feed the live stock, a garden to feed the family, chop wood for the stoves, repair fences, dig a new pit for the out house and repair harness for the horse drawn equipment.
My mother and grandmother did the household chores including churning butter, washing clothes with scrub boards, canning fruit and vegetables for winter, cooking meals and mending clothes. Work started at daylight and ended at bedtime. Many chores were done by lamp light or lanterns which require keeping them filled and the wicks trimmed. In winter a quilting frame was set up in the living room and mom and grandmother quilted by lamplight.
The things that could not be raised were bartered at the country store. We had butter and eggs to trade for thread, needles and cheese.
Things we had to buy like sugar, flour and gas were rationed and required stamps. Dad had two men who rode to work with him and paid with gas stamps so he could use them to trade.
When I was bigger, my chore was carrying water from the spring house up to the barrel on the back porch. (I could only carry two half buckets)
We survived.

KillroyII Loc: Middle Georgia

KillroyII Loc: Middle Georgia

Absoutely (the world is already in the hands of lunatics)