It's not good to be a fruit these days. The news headlines are rampant with reports of fruits upsetting the fabric of North American society. Fruits have been amongst us since .... well, forever. Fruits have never harmed anyone and it's time that I have my say and set the record straight.
It is the actions and ignorance of a few misguided people that have served to give rise to the ground swell of negativity against certain types of fruits. Not all fruits suffer from the same prejudice. Most fruits go about their business and cause little or no waves. They add to the flavour and well being of society. Fruits enrich us personally and are an essential ingredient to living a balanced and healthy existence.
From time to time, as is the case right now, certain events take place that serve to place fruits in the lime light. In most instances, the stories are positive in nature and serve to increase our knowledge and acceptance of having all types of fruits in our lives. The stories that are in vogue right now cast fruits in a negative role. These particular fruits are inherently good and well meaning. It is in the way the facts are being presented that tends to put more weight on the specific characteristics of the these fruits versus concentrating more on the essence of the behaviour that resulted in the fruits becoming involved in the first place.
What I am saying is that the fact they are fruits really has no bearing on the moral fabric of the story or on the societal issues that have reared their ugly heads. It is too easy to lose sight of the real issue at hand and to use the mere presence of the fruit to cloud and confuse the questions that need to be answered. The fruits become have become scapegoats for our failing, reluctance or inability to deal with the more difficult and pressing problems that have been presented and need to be addressed.
Be it the ground hugging cantaloupe of the New England area or the easily bruised banana from London, Ontario, fruits are being unfairly labelled and criticized. Is it the fault of the cantaloupe that food handlers were ignorant and uneducated about germ control and may have failed to wash their hands? Is it the fault of the banana that a solitary hockey spectator is so blinded by prejudice that he choose to toss one at a player, who is black?
My message is loud and clear - LEAVE THE FRUITS ALONE. Instead, concentrate on the true essence of the message that is being broadcast by these incidents, which is human ignorance and prejudice.
About the author:
The writer, Jim Nixon, is a husband, father and believer in the continued evolution of mankind as a species of acceptance and foresight. He likes all types of fruit.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
News To Me
I hate "the news". News is nothing more than information that is whacked out on crack cocaine. In that state, it adds little to the betterment of our society. News is to knowledge as the Newfoundland moose is to nutrition. Neither news nor the moose is absolutely necessary. Sure, they provide a little entertainment value and a few jobs, but in the big picture they probably do more harm than good. The comedic group, Buddy Wasisname's lovable character, Dicky Shea - The Townie Politician, had it right. "Get rid of the moose. Wipe'em out. What good are they? They don't pay taxes and they don't buy tickets to the Leaf games". He may of had 500,000 supporters had his next political pronouncement not have been that all of the baymen should be forced to move from the outports and live in the small spaces between the houses of the new developments in St. John's and Mount Pearl. Fiscally, he figured it was a wise move. When pressed about the infrastructure costs related to adding so many people to the suburbs, he replied it wasn't a problem - "The baymen can shit in the woods." Now that would be news worthy.
I'm a seeker of information. Information is knowledge and knowledge is power. Our daily newspaper, radio stations and TV news programs provide little in the way of useful information. The fact that a steroid junkie lost his cool and beat up a guy during a road rage incident is not information that increases my knowledge. The fact that a high profile St. John's lawyer seems to have an unusual relationship with a client in no way serves to make me smarter. These type of stories belong in the trashy gossip magazines. Wouldn't really useful information be something along the lines of: Which lawyer has the best chances of getting me off, even when I'm guilty? How about knowing which Judges are the softies and which ones will nail you to the wall. Surely there are statistics available for all of this type of stuff. Aren't these the things that people would benefit from knowing?
Our economy is often front and center on the news. The debate is raging about whether we are presently in a recession or will we soon fall into one. Some wind bag will appear on the tube or be quoted in the paper and provide a technical analysis of our GDP and the direction of the10 year T-bill rate. Who, the frig, cares! How one chooses to define our economy has absolutely no bearing on whether you can put food on the table and provide a good future for your family. What these educated financial geniuses think about the prospects of a repeat of a 1930's style recession is nothing more than one person's opinion. We all know the famous expression about opinions (if you don't, then I'm about to share) - Opinions are like ass-holes... everybody has one.
I was somewhat more vulgar today than usual. I apologize for that. Perhaps I am a little miffed that a major story these last few days has been that a yet-to-be named resident of Newfoundlander has won $21 million in last Saturday's 6-49 draw. By my definition, that is not news. That story does not provide me with any useful information or add to my knowledge of anything. It is a waste of good newsprint and of airtime.
If I had won the $21 million, then I would put the money to good use. I would start a 6 o'clock broadcast on TV that would be chalked full of real information and educational stories that bestow useful knowledge to the viewers of our fair province. I would call it the "Hour of Power". I would want to have a popular and well known face in front of the camera, so I'd try to get Dicky Shea to be the anchorman. Politicians would be allowed on the program only if they left their opinions at home. Rather than have one mindless politician after another on the program, like the present news shows do, it would probably be more informative to interview the despised moose to see how it has been coping with being #1 on the province's hit list. Another good story would be to investigate the health consequences of the mounds of human feces showing up in the woods surrounding the metro area. Pictures could be obtained to show how it gets "dumped" there. On second thought..... maybe too much knowledge is not such a good thing after all.
I'm a seeker of information. Information is knowledge and knowledge is power. Our daily newspaper, radio stations and TV news programs provide little in the way of useful information. The fact that a steroid junkie lost his cool and beat up a guy during a road rage incident is not information that increases my knowledge. The fact that a high profile St. John's lawyer seems to have an unusual relationship with a client in no way serves to make me smarter. These type of stories belong in the trashy gossip magazines. Wouldn't really useful information be something along the lines of: Which lawyer has the best chances of getting me off, even when I'm guilty? How about knowing which Judges are the softies and which ones will nail you to the wall. Surely there are statistics available for all of this type of stuff. Aren't these the things that people would benefit from knowing?
Our economy is often front and center on the news. The debate is raging about whether we are presently in a recession or will we soon fall into one. Some wind bag will appear on the tube or be quoted in the paper and provide a technical analysis of our GDP and the direction of the10 year T-bill rate. Who, the frig, cares! How one chooses to define our economy has absolutely no bearing on whether you can put food on the table and provide a good future for your family. What these educated financial geniuses think about the prospects of a repeat of a 1930's style recession is nothing more than one person's opinion. We all know the famous expression about opinions (if you don't, then I'm about to share) - Opinions are like ass-holes... everybody has one.
I was somewhat more vulgar today than usual. I apologize for that. Perhaps I am a little miffed that a major story these last few days has been that a yet-to-be named resident of Newfoundlander has won $21 million in last Saturday's 6-49 draw. By my definition, that is not news. That story does not provide me with any useful information or add to my knowledge of anything. It is a waste of good newsprint and of airtime.
If I had won the $21 million, then I would put the money to good use. I would start a 6 o'clock broadcast on TV that would be chalked full of real information and educational stories that bestow useful knowledge to the viewers of our fair province. I would call it the "Hour of Power". I would want to have a popular and well known face in front of the camera, so I'd try to get Dicky Shea to be the anchorman. Politicians would be allowed on the program only if they left their opinions at home. Rather than have one mindless politician after another on the program, like the present news shows do, it would probably be more informative to interview the despised moose to see how it has been coping with being #1 on the province's hit list. Another good story would be to investigate the health consequences of the mounds of human feces showing up in the woods surrounding the metro area. Pictures could be obtained to show how it gets "dumped" there. On second thought..... maybe too much knowledge is not such a good thing after all.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Coloured By Numbers
My dog sees the world much clearer than I do. Apparently dogs cannot see colours, but take in the visual world in shades of grey only. The fact that there are an infinite number of shades of grey means that Jasper's perceptions of reality are probably not too far removed from the true pictures being transmitted. He likely sees a bright red as a bright grey, while a very light yellow colour probably is just a tad removed from whitish grey.
The canine world has never observed colour, so they can't miss what they've never had. When Jasper looks at a rainbow all he sees are semicircular shades of grey that supposedly lead to a pot of grey coins. I doubt he even cares about the rainbow or its mystical bounty and I bet he can never quite understand his master's fascination with those things. I learned in elementary school that a rainbow also holds the secret of the colours of the spectrum. I have never forgotten that ROY G BIV lives inside every rainbow no matter where in the world it may be - Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet. They are beautiful.
Colour is everywhere. It has come to symbolize moods (red = anger), gender (pink = female), the environment (green = eco-friendly), and the rainbow itself is the symbol of the gay and lesbian movement. I know these colours are out there. I sense them. I'm just not sure that I completely comprehend and appreciate them. You see, I've always known that I have a tendency to see everything in only two colours, either black or white. As a result, I often see only only two solutions to a problem, two outcomes to a situation, two courses of action from which to choose, you are either someone I like or you are not, you are a good person or you're not, you are a team player or you're not.
I'm not certain why I'm like this. Perhaps it is a means to simplify a complicated world. This is not necessarily a positive thing. I tend to limit my options too quickly, I see people as being one way or another and don't allow for the prospect of change in those I have preordained.
I actually started this story thinking about how numbers are the essence of black & white thinking. A number is a finite thing, it is quantifiable and unquestionable in its value. It is what it is. Despite this, numbers always seem to come with a secondary meaning attached. This meaning is what colours the numbers and makes them so confusing. The confusion only grows when numbers are manipulated. Let me show you an example: In 1989 I was 185 pounds. Today I am 235 pounds. (I'm not fat, I'm just short for my weight.) I have gained 50 pounds. That sounds brutal and it is, but let's look at it another way. In 22 years I have gained an average of 2 1/4 pounds a year. Now that doesn't sound too bad. Put another way, I've put on 3 ounces a month. That's represented by a couple of Timbits. Losing weight is going to be easy when I frame it using those numbers. If I cut back on those Timbits and throw in a bag of chips or two, then the weight will just fall off of me. If I lose just 10 pounds a year, when I'm 66 I'll be 35 pounds. If I'm going to be that thin, then I'd better play it safe and not cut back on the chips.
I'll continue to work at being more open minded and to appreciate the abundance of colourful people that make up our world. I'll also continue to observe Jasper and try to learn a little more about how our non-judgemental canine friends have flourished despite being colour blind. Forgive me if I happen to invade your personal space in the coming days and weeks. Getting a good sniff seems to help dogs to form an accurate opinion of people. I'll try to avoid getting too close to your crotch, but I make no promises. So please follow the advice of your mothers and always wear clean underwear. The colour of them doesn't matter.
The canine world has never observed colour, so they can't miss what they've never had. When Jasper looks at a rainbow all he sees are semicircular shades of grey that supposedly lead to a pot of grey coins. I doubt he even cares about the rainbow or its mystical bounty and I bet he can never quite understand his master's fascination with those things. I learned in elementary school that a rainbow also holds the secret of the colours of the spectrum. I have never forgotten that ROY G BIV lives inside every rainbow no matter where in the world it may be - Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet. They are beautiful.
Colour is everywhere. It has come to symbolize moods (red = anger), gender (pink = female), the environment (green = eco-friendly), and the rainbow itself is the symbol of the gay and lesbian movement. I know these colours are out there. I sense them. I'm just not sure that I completely comprehend and appreciate them. You see, I've always known that I have a tendency to see everything in only two colours, either black or white. As a result, I often see only only two solutions to a problem, two outcomes to a situation, two courses of action from which to choose, you are either someone I like or you are not, you are a good person or you're not, you are a team player or you're not.
I'm not certain why I'm like this. Perhaps it is a means to simplify a complicated world. This is not necessarily a positive thing. I tend to limit my options too quickly, I see people as being one way or another and don't allow for the prospect of change in those I have preordained.
I actually started this story thinking about how numbers are the essence of black & white thinking. A number is a finite thing, it is quantifiable and unquestionable in its value. It is what it is. Despite this, numbers always seem to come with a secondary meaning attached. This meaning is what colours the numbers and makes them so confusing. The confusion only grows when numbers are manipulated. Let me show you an example: In 1989 I was 185 pounds. Today I am 235 pounds. (I'm not fat, I'm just short for my weight.) I have gained 50 pounds. That sounds brutal and it is, but let's look at it another way. In 22 years I have gained an average of 2 1/4 pounds a year. Now that doesn't sound too bad. Put another way, I've put on 3 ounces a month. That's represented by a couple of Timbits. Losing weight is going to be easy when I frame it using those numbers. If I cut back on those Timbits and throw in a bag of chips or two, then the weight will just fall off of me. If I lose just 10 pounds a year, when I'm 66 I'll be 35 pounds. If I'm going to be that thin, then I'd better play it safe and not cut back on the chips.
I'll continue to work at being more open minded and to appreciate the abundance of colourful people that make up our world. I'll also continue to observe Jasper and try to learn a little more about how our non-judgemental canine friends have flourished despite being colour blind. Forgive me if I happen to invade your personal space in the coming days and weeks. Getting a good sniff seems to help dogs to form an accurate opinion of people. I'll try to avoid getting too close to your crotch, but I make no promises. So please follow the advice of your mothers and always wear clean underwear. The colour of them doesn't matter.
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