hello all, i am particularly fond of calling you sinisters of mercy - thank you erica, i believe, but also thank you leonard cohen, you sexy misogynist bastard genius - that's his wutang name, btw. right then, on to business. Protests and other things we should all be aware of b/c the shit is hitting the goddamn fan and there aren't enough migrant workers in the world to clean it up: - Protests are about awareness, about the cultivation of a critical mind. The WTO conference and protests are about more than world trade - they are about power and someone always coming out on top. *That's* capitalism. That is *not* democracy, it's not "sharing the wealth". I'm sorry to say that I didn't make it down to Seattle due to illness and I regret this, but I have heard many first-hand accounts in the past couple of days. These include peaceful protestors being shoved to the ground by police, all the while yelling in disbelief that what they learned in their civics classes is a lie. A personal wake up call becomes political, a little light makes its way into the consumeristic cocoon of the 90s. - Protests (today) have the power to pull people out of their apathy and recognize the current state of the world. Whether you think protestors are dirty hippies or violent idiots or peaceful academics or whatever, at least you're *thinking* about it, and wasn't that the point anyway? This WTO protest is sure to spur more reaction to trade organizations, business and government power, the growing gap btwn rich and poor, the sad state of the environment, etc. There may still be confusion about one's own personal opinion, but at least people might understand that they can and should have the right to a voice that is listened to. Ideally, if we give respect, we should get respect. A good value, but one that is gets lost rather easily it seems. For me, it's very difficult to adhere to one opinion; we are so used to being swayed by advertising, media, government opposition, all the arguments that each side has against the others. What happens when you grow up in this kind of environment? It seems to me that we are caught in paradox and irony, and this conflict can send some of us into clinical disturbance and depression. The answer here is to try to ignore these confusions, for sanity's sake. But then, this would be apathethic - apathy (and self-absorbtion) being high among the majority of the "youth" population (read under 35(?)) right now. It's nice to listen to music and watch movies and hang out with friends, but there are conversations that need to be happening - philosophy is not boring, getting down to earth is not boring (I don't need to tell this group that, but you are an exception to the attitudes of most people, and yes, I am aware of stereotyping, but stereotypes exist because they exist...) And once we start talking about what needs to be done, well, that's where change can begin, and grow out of what is currently happening. The corresponding actions become apparent with thought. The thing is too: What are we protecting/fighting for? What are we supposed to be unified for, if unity is possible? Free trade doesn't exist, the name is a joke, someone gets rich, someone gets poor trying to live up to an impossible affluence. I don't blame the States, I don't blame anybody - it's this strange state of the world right now, something grown out of many influences. I don't understand it, and it is frustrating. But I know things should be better than they are. United for things being better than they are. United at all. There's the rant, the speech from an idealist, thoughts that are still forming, etc. Just had to say something on the topic. *the opinions expressed in this email are the opinions of Robyn Fadden, and in no way have anything at all to do with anybody at all except for her as she lives in her own sphere, untouched by anything or anyone, cool as a fuckin' cucumber, nothing can phase her, sentiment is for the weak, long live solipsism, climb to the top, believe the illusion. ===== I was reading the dictionary. I thought it was a poem about everything. ~Steven Wright ~~~ Robyn Fadden rfadden@yahoo.com Vancouver, BC __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. All in one place. Yahoo! Shopping: http://shopping.yahoo.com +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the reborn Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail "sinister@majordomo.net". To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to "majordomo@majordomo.net". WWW: http://www.majordomo.net/sinister +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "tech-heads and students" +-+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+