Nope...Quote:
Originally Posted by Lainey
I'm not sure how you jump to the conclusion that the most stressful jobs involve physical stress. The hard part of firefighting and heavy rescue is mostly mental, frankly. Rob claims, against most of the data that waiting tables is up there though. Probably why he has PTSD. #StolenValorQuote:
Because there's plenty of people to admire who are courageous outside of the physical realm.
I could not agree more with you, Lainey. When I think of strength and courage, I think of Rosa Parks - her act of non violent non compliance sparked change. That to me took real courage and I'm honest enough to admit I don't have that level of courage - but I take my hat off to it and respect it a great deal. RobQuote:
Originally Posted by Lainey
so far all I have heard is how much you distrust and have no faith in America. Name one thing you do to make it a better place? How are you nitiating change? Previously you stated even if an old man was being assaulted or a young woman being gang raped you would not call the police. I just cannot reconcile your statement that basic healthcare is your right however you would not step up to help someone defenseless. It just does not make sense to me. We all have a shared responsibility here. That is the framework for a strong community, strong nation.Quote:
Originally Posted by gimmethesimplelife
And Rosa Parks might not be the best example. In subsequent interviews Rosa Parks saiid she did not want to start a protest. Her feet were sore and she was tired. So she sat down.
I'm not sure where she claimed this, she apparently also has claimed otherwise that she was not tired "No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in" is quoted many places, though I can't say I can confirm the quote supposedly in a book she wrote after the fact. Anyway quote or no, just tired and that's all? She had been a member and active volunteer of the NAACP for a decade by that point. But all without conviction that blacks should have more rights? I don't believe it. She had already previously refused to enter a bus from the back (not illegal as she just in effect boycotted her own personal bus ride that time). She had been involved in activism, not being a personal hero activism, more like going to a few meetings with activists, training youth, monetarily supporting trials where black men were falsely accused etc.. Whether she planned that exact day to resist is doubtful, some claim she did know the NAACP was looking for a test case, but it doesn't mean she really planned to BE THE TEST CASE.Quote:
And Rosa Parks might not be the best example. In subsequent interviews Rosa Parks saiid she did not want to start a protest. Her feet were sore and she was tired. So she sat down.
I suspect it works something like this: you are involved in the NAACP, you hear plenty about black rights, you hear about plans for boycotts, you hear about people here and there refusing to give up their seats, you believe in the fight for equal rights for blacks, when someone treats you as inferior because you are black it irritates personally and because you believe you should have equal rights. Then a confrontation ensues, you didn't' start it and maybe you are just thinking about your work day or getting home or whatever, you are asked to give up your seat, you see the opportunity open up before you in that instant, in light of the fact of the cases here and there you are already aware of of people refusing, the opportunity to do the right thing now. You do. I suspect that's more likely than a confrontation being planned that day, although it's possible they could have gone out looking for it. Certainly as soon as it happened the NAACP kicked in, flyers are distributed for boycotting busses ASAP etc. Courage? Yes. Anyone would have done it? No. But did it occur in a vacuum? No.
Amen! Great post, flowerseverywhere!Quote:
Originally Posted by flowerseverywhere
Apathetic, you are correct. I misspoke. Perhaps what would have been better phrasing was that Rosa was an ordinary person who did not set out to change everything that one day. She simply got tired and had enough. Of course like all of us her actions were influenced by her experiences. Those were evil times in our history and thank goodness for courageous people like her.
All over the world there are people who have had enough. people who spend time preparing and serving meals to the poor. People who are volunteer tutors in schools so maybe a child can read better. People who work with the countless refugees around the world fleeing war, ethnic cleansing and poverty. People working to better race relations so that people of color can have a chance. Just look at some of the more well known ones, like doctors without borders, habitat for humanity and the wounded warrior project.
I for one am so grateful I was born and live in the US. I am proud of all the people I know who are trying to make the world a better place through paid and volunteer work. If you see something that isn't right, start to figure out how to change it, even in the smallest way. You don't have to be the first black woman to stay seated on a bus.
By the way, I find it ironic that in many countries you would be jailed or disappear for all the anti government things that have been posted here. However, we have the freedom to change things.
As Ghandi said "you must be the change you wish to see in this world".
I am continued to be amazed at how some people will use any given subject to brag, no matter how inappropriate it might be.
Are you referring to me? If so, please be specific.Quote:
Originally Posted by CathyA
Nope, definitely not you flowers...........
. Good I try not to be offensive. I just really believe that we are not powerless. We can change things but it sometimes is frustratingly slow. But even little steps will get someone up a seemingly insurmountable hill if you keep at it.Quote:
Originally Posted by CathyA
And it doesn't have to involve risk. For instance helping someone who does not speak or read English well with the language might help them get a better job or pass a driver license test or follow directions and answer questions if they are stopped by the police. Raising money to buy books for the library, or fire department, or volunteering at the local soup kitchen can be a tremendous help to someone in need. We are all in this together and everytime we help those less fortunate, no matter how small makes the world a better place
I missed the part where Americans acknowledged the inalienable right to feel comfortable all the time in any situation. Cops, firefighters, cancer patients, whistle blowers, Republican professors.... There are countless brave people in this country, but for the most part our citizens need to grow a pair. We are slipping away from greatness for a lot of reasons, but the need to be mollycoddled at every turn certainly doesn't help. No, we don't need everyone to be John Wayne, but I mean really. If I own a cafe and you're uncomfortable eating there because a cop comes in you can get your milk toast somewhere else. Don't let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya.
And then there's the difference between hard and stressful. Building cinder block walls is hard. Being an air traffic controller is stressful. Relatively speaking, most service jobs are neither. We owned a small restaurant years ago and did every job there, all day, every day. Getting busy during rush hour and dealing with the occasional jerk was about as bad as it got. The only source of real anxiety was when it came time to pay bills and meet payroll! Anyway, nothing there compared to the possibility of facing a life threatening situation even once, let alone daily. In the end everyone deserves respect as a human being and every job should afford the opportunity to carry it out with dignity. No one should argue that, but the volume of the whining in this country is deafening. Maybe instead of waiting in vein for a savior to rise from the streets (can't beat paraphrasing The Boss) its time for those of us that don't have infinite resources to start doing things a little differently.
I completely agree with you. Universities used to be a place to hear divergent opinions and have your assumptions challenged. Now students cower in "safe zones" to shield themselves from upsetting ideas. We've never been safer, but fret over all kinds of low-probability threats. We invent new classes of victim and villain constantly. Just the other day I read an article about the "social privilege" wielded by extroverts over introverts. Politicians portray themselves as the messiahs of the middle class, and large numbers of us lap it up.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gregg
I'm not sure of the cause. Maybe it's decades of victim-based identity politics coming home to roost. Maybe it's a terror of competition inculcated from childhood. Maybe it's a displacement of sterner, traditional belief systems by feel-good pop psychology. Maybe it's eliminating the draft or expanding litigation.
I'm not sure what the solution is.
Probably just another facet of hedonic adaptation.
Stressful is difficult because it's by definition a glitch. It's the primitive brain responding to 21st century conditions it was never wired for. Responding to the deadline like it's a tiger. So a lot can be stressful: deadlines, abusive bosses, not knowing how the rent will be paid etc..
I'm often very very glad to be female because support myself I do, but that's just holding a job, but because the social pressure to be John Wayne is less. I don't know if it's overall better to be female or male or anything (being either kind of sucks, but for different reasons, as far as I can see :)) - but that part definitely is better to be female, don't have to be John Wayne.
Flowerseverywhere..........I tried to send you a PM, but I guess you don't accept them. But my comment had absolutely nothing to do what with you've said.