Originally posted by Sentinal
dude, I dont think your going to find people to receptive to your views and opinions by insulting them. :rolleyes:
Zen meditation teachers have been known to toss students out of a second story window to help wake them up. Sometimes compassion comes in the form of a swift kick in the designer jeans.
Don't like? I'm sure that the nearly 3 billion people who subsist on less than $2/day don't like government and financial heads making decisions that continue to keep them entrenched in abject poverty. Think about that the next time you're about to drop $200 on a pair of jeans that cost a fraction of that to make, thanks to the convenience of slave labour from some faraway country that only exists as a vague notion in the periphery of your mind when you're handing over your hardly-earned cash.
StereoPrincess
^^^^^pfffffft.
you lose all credibility with this post. what the does that have to do with the conversation? hahahahahaha. ing jeans? honestly? what pants are you going to wear today? what food are you going to eat today?
you want to protest? then you give up all that stuff. you live on 2 dollars a day. and you get the other 3 billion people to do the same. guess what, that is not going to happen. you wanna change levi's? you have to own the company or at least advise the people that do.
be a little bit smarter and not a blind idealist.
Jayx1
quote:
Originally posted by PivotTechno
Don't like? I'm sure that the nearly 3 billion people who subsist on less than $2/day don't like government and financial heads making decisions that continue to keep them entrenched in abject poverty. Think about that the next time you're about to drop $200 on a pair of jeans that cost a fraction of that to make, thanks to the convenience of slave labour from some faraway country that only exists as a vague notion in the periphery of your mind when you're handing over your hardly-earned cash.
i always love this statistic. Ive been to places where $2 a day will actually get you a comfortable life. Not a luxurious one, but a comfortable one.
No doubt we have a lot in our country compared to a lot of people, but im not about to apologize for it. Our problem here in canada is not money but our mentality.
PivotTechno
quote:
Originally posted by StereoPrincess
2) i complained a little bit to give the other side of the story. i wasn't crying a ing river. why are the protests allowed to complain about everything and i can't? why were the trinity-bellwoods people allowed to complain and i can't?
No, you complained because you're selfish and your fragile ego won't allow you admit otherwise. So instead, you whine that you should have every right to complain because other, equally selfish people are doing the same.
Jayx1
if the g 20 protestors want protesting immunity they should hire some sri lanken children to be on the front lines. Apparently they act like water repellent as not one water cannon will ever go near them. I hear natives work even better!
Brennen
quote:
Originally posted by StereoPrincess
3) i don't give a about these people's rights to protest since i know that people all over the world deal/dealt with much worse things that some rich dudes meeting. they are the one's crying a ing river. but they aren't going to do with the protests, no matter where they do it. the only way to change things are from the inside, you have to become one of these powerful people. some pot smoker getting tear gassed ain't gonna do .
Wow, you don't care about people fundamental rights? And go even further to generalize protesters as pot smokers. Good one. You think that we don't know that protesting does dick all, unfortunately its the only thing we can do. Its better to do something then nothing.
I can understand your frustration, i would be pissed too if they disrupted my life for a bunch of rich corrupt bankers and government officials. If it was up to me there would be no "free speech" zone and we would be allowed to go to the convention centre (not inside obviously).
PivotTechno
quote:
Originally posted by StereoPrincess
the only way to change things are from the inside
Mahatma Gandhi believed that we must be the change we want to see in the world. This was well demonstrated when he helped India gain its independence. Gandhi was a revolutionary man, but he accomplished India's emergence as a nation without starting a revolution. In fact, he advocated no violence. One of the most powerful countries in the world yielded to the commitment of one man and the dream of millions.
What change can we effect? What's the difference we want to make in the world?
Gandhi said, "In a gentle way you can shake the world." Here are some things to think about how to do just that …
1. Know that all significant change throughout history has occurred not because of nations, armies, governments and certainly not committees. They happened as a result of the courage and commitment of individuals. People like Joan of Ark, Albert Einstein, Clara Barton, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison and Rosa Parks. They might not have done it alone, but they were, without question, the change makers.
2. Believe that you have a unique purpose and potential in the world. It's not so much something to create as to be discovered. And it's up to you to discover it. Believe that you can and will make a difference.
3. Recognize that everything you do, every step you take, every sentence you write, every word you speak-or DON'T speak--counts. Nothing is trivial. The world may be big, but there are no small things. Everything matters.
4. To be the change you want to see in the world, you don't have to be loud. You don't have to be eloquent. You don't have to be elected. You don't even have to be particularly smart or well educated. You do, however, have to be committed.
5. Take personal responsibility. Never think "it's not my job". It's a cop-out to say, "What can I do, I'm only one person." You don't need everyone's cooperation or anyone's permission to make changes. Remember this little gem, "If it's to be, it's up to me."
6. Don't get caught up in the how of things. If you're clear on what you want to change and why you want to change it, the how will come. Many significant things have been left undone because someone let the problem solving interfere with the decision-making.
7. Don't wait for things to be right in order to begin. Change is messy. Things will never be just right. Follow Teddy Roosevelt's timeless advice, "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."
8. The genesis for change is awareness. We cannot change what we don't acknowledge. Most of the time, we aren't aware of what's wrong or what's not working. We don't see what could be. By becoming more aware, we begin the process of change.
9. Take to heart these words from Albert Einstein--arguably one of the smartest change masters who ever lived: "All meaningful and lasting change starts first in your imagination and then works its way out. Imagination is more important than knowledge."
10. In order for things to change, YOU have to change. We can't change others; we can only change ourselves. However, when WE change, it changes everything. And in doing so, we truly can be the change we want to see in the world.
The following is inscribed on the tomb of an Anglican Bishop in Westminster Abby (1100 A.D.) …
When I was young and free and my imagination had no limits, I dreamed of changing the world. As I grew older and wiser, I discovered the world would not change, so I shortened my sights somewhat and decided to change only my country.
But it, too, seemed immovable.
As I grew into my twilight years, in one last desperate attempt, I settled for changing only my family, those closest to me, but alas, they would have none of it.
And now, as I lie on my deathbed, I suddenly realize: If I had only changed myself first, then by example I would have changed my family.
From their inspiration and encouragement, I would then have been able to better my country, and who knows, I may have even changed the world.
Since my 10-point list above was inspired by Gandhi's belief, it seems appropriate to end with another of his quotes: "Consciously or unconsciously, every one of us does render some service or other. If we cultivate the habit of doing this service deliberately, our desire for service will steadily grow stronger and we will make not only our own happiness, but that of the world at large."
PivotTechno
quote:
Originally posted by Brennen
If it was up to me there would be no "free speech" zone and we would be allowed to go to the convention centre (not inside obviously).
It's divide and conquer tactics on behalf of the summit organisers. Herd the people too cowed by the thought of police retailiation into a well-distanced "official protest area", while summit security deals with largely violent anarchist factions on the frontline.
Polarisation renders these protests incredibly ineffective. As you inferred, until you can get thousands of people peacefully marching up to the summit site to state their unified cause, it will be business as usual and little change will result from such a massive expenditure of energy. And while I suppose a little change is better than no change at all, it's still a sad state of affairs.
Jayx1
i want to know why people dont protest our local issues. Like for example the HST and all the extra taxes piled on year after year. Most of the protesters coming from my understanding are foreigners that follow the G20 and other meetings around like a bunch of dead heads. Its time we act on local issues like the HST!
PivotTechno
Why protest the HST when there are $200 pairs of jeans to be had, which can be paid for by the $1000 supplementary cheque the gov't is doling out over the course of six months, and when you too can have a say in choosing our new national bird?!
Bread and circuses, that's why - too many people are too easily distracted by small, shiny things.
PivotTechno
quote:
Originally posted by Jayx1
Ive been to places where $2 a day will actually get you a comfortable life. Not a luxurious one, but a comfortable one.
If you haven't been to places where $2/day doesn't get you a comfortable life, you should watch this:
English translation is "The Dignity of the Nobodies".
FunkyCrew
quote:
Originally posted by StereoPrincess
well, i felt he did.
i didn't deserve that response.
why can everyone bitch about things and i can't or it's referred to crying a river? and then assuming i am a ing idiot and that i don't think outside my arm length? ing rude! he doesn't know anything about me or what a give a about.
he didn't call you an idiot
telling someone to cry a rive is hardly rude! lol guys wtf?! we had worse insults being tossed around!
i think he makes valid points!
