livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing
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- From: Pete Vukovich <pvukovic1@yahoo.com>
- To: Healthy soil and sustainable growing <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
- Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Cities of Light
- Date: Mon, 27 Dec 2010 19:12:51 -0800 (PST)
Being a smoker myself something you said 'lit' me up. I think people do want to change, I think most of them don't see a viable way to do so, but subconsciously are savvy enough to know there aren't going to be simple solutions. The problem I think is we often confuse difficult with doomed. Well at least I know I do a lot of the time. Certainly the majority of the mainstream culture reinforces that feeling - it has a lot invested in doing so. You can't diagnose your own illness since you're not a doctor - so just double up on your <latest seratonin re-uptake inhibitor thats untested here>, you can't grow your own food since you have no idea how hard it is to kill a chicken - so instead just hit the freezer and pop something from tyson foods in the microwave, you can't possibly protect yourself from someone intent on doing you harm so instead of trying just be thankful you have an army somebody else runs working for you (or a cop). We live in a world that is largely at odds with allowing people to develop personal responsibility while giving lip service to it at every turn. After all people who aren't working are just lazy socialists with grandiose senses of entitlement aren't they (or so I'm told)? They just don't want to feel useful like those humanitarians on wall street doing 'gods' work moving money around making bets based on bad math, and what about those guys are they really as soulless as they are clueless? Delusion really doesn't need to be a separate word from normal. Yntil you know the source of someone's personal delusions you aren't likely to shine a light on them accept by dumb luck. Taking B-3 might help curb the immediate cravings, but it won't put a dent in dealing with pompous clueless doctors, irate patients, or watching people suffer when there is little to nothing you can do about it, let alone the things that slowly and consistently grind the life out of people. Nicotine on the other hand can make daily hell's seem passable right up until it kills you. After all, we both know B-3 won't stimulate nor epinephrine the way nicotene does, and since its not delivered in concentrated burst the way nicotene in a cigarette is you won't get the adrenal rush you need to stay alert. I apologize up front if this sounds like a criticism, you were trying to help someone - and in spite of your efforts you couldn't reach them. I don't think it was about your sincerity or their stated desire not to quit, I don't think it hardly ever is. But I do not think we should dismiss the forces that prevent change lightly - or be dismissive of whether they should be obliterated, coopted, or ignored. What would make someone quit smoking? Hard to say, but given that most people treat smokers like pariahs to begin with and they have learned they are targets - consequently they are instinctively defensive. Even a dog will push back if it thinks its going to get smacked. Certainly it takes bravery to intervene and approach someone you know little about, just as it takes a certain bravery to admit to a potential adversary you don't know that you are weak. But as my partner once said and I think it was the most important thing I ever heard, "There is a lot of dignity in getting knocked down and standing up on your own two feet". What I think this adds up to is that we are still a long way from coming up with strategies that will convince people that change is necessary and possible - we have hardly scratched the surface in fact and we can expect to get knocked down quite a few times before we see much progress. Pride will trump necessity, and depression a desire to survive anyday - but dignity is still a mighty fine thing to have. --- On Mon, 12/27/10, Andeanfx <andeanfx@midrivers.com> wrote:
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Re: [Livingontheland] Cities of Light
, (continued)
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Re: [Livingontheland] Cities of Light,
Debbie McDonald, 12/27/2010
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Re: [Livingontheland] Cities of Light,
Tradingpost, 12/27/2010
- Re: [Livingontheland] Cities of Light, John D'hondt, 12/28/2010
- Re: [Livingontheland] Cities of Light, John D'hondt, 12/29/2010
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Re: [Livingontheland] Cities of Light,
Tradingpost, 12/27/2010
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Re: [Livingontheland] Cities of Light,
Debbie McDonald, 12/27/2010
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Re: [Livingontheland] Cities of Light,
Andeanfx, 12/27/2010
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Re: [Livingontheland] Cities of Light,
Tradingpost, 12/27/2010
- Re: [Livingontheland] Cities of Light, Aliza Vanderlip, 12/27/2010
- Re: [Livingontheland] Cities of Light, Tradingpost, 12/27/2010
- Re: [Livingontheland] Cities of Light, Michelle Silva, 12/28/2010
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Re: [Livingontheland] Cities of Light,
Tradingpost, 12/27/2010
- Re: [Livingontheland] Cities of Light, Andeanfx, 12/27/2010
- Re: [Livingontheland] Cities of Light, Andeanfx, 12/27/2010
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