If you click on this thread you must post on it...

[CatrionaGrace]

Our long-time vet (45 years) and dear friend has cut down on his practice considerably over the last year. Sluggard. He's not even 90 yet. Or maybe he is. He graduated from veterinary college when I was in the 4th grade and I'm seventy, so... hmm.

We've moved to a small practice owned by our former horse doc and a colleague. It's a good 20 miles from our house, but we trust these folks and their prices are reasonable.

I've always wondered how people who venerate ancestors come to terms with those who were less than exemplary human beings. I can't be the only person with ancestors who were batshit crazy and/or mean.

 

[Rath Darkblade]

I've always wondered how people who venerate ancestors come to terms with those who were less than exemplary human beings. I can't be the only person with ancestors who were batshit crazy and/or mean.

I'm afraid I can't answer that, except that ancestor veneration is a very old idea that isn't going away any time soon. :-\

I've seen -- not just on the internet but IRL as well -- too many batshit crazy arguments for venerating even the worst ancestors. For instance:

- Mussolini might have been a crazy arsehole, but at least he made the trains run on time. (He didn't. No-one can).

- Hitler etc. etc., but at least he was a vegetarian and he loved his dog. (As if that's an excuse for what he did).

- Stalin etc. etc., but at least he Saved The Motherland. (No. Just don't).

- Mao etc. etc., but at least ... (Don't even start).

The craziest (and scariest) thing about these arguments is that small but persistent, loud and dangerous minorities are trying to bring back those "Good Old Days" ... as if the human race hasn't suffered enough?

 

[Stuart Dren]

I've always wondered how people who venerate ancestors come to terms with those who were less than exemplary human beings. I can't be the only person with ancestors who were batshit crazy and/or mean.

Well, they probably lived through some mean bat and shit crazy times.

 

[Naomasa298]

- Mussolini might have been a crazy arsehole, but at least he made the trains run on time. (He didn't. No-one can).

The Japanese can. But no one can make Italian trains run on time, fo' sho'. Or British ones, come to that.

 

[Link the Writer]

I'm afraid I can't answer that, except that ancestor veneration is a very old idea that isn't going away any time soon. :-\

I've seen -- not just on the internet but IRL as well -- too many batshit crazy arguments for venerating even the worst ancestors. For instance:

- Mussolini might have been a crazy arsehole, but at least he made the trains run on time. (He didn't. No-one can).

- Hitler etc. etc., but at least he was a vegetarian and he loved his dog. (As if that's an excuse for what he did).

- Stalin etc. etc., but at least he Saved The Motherland. (No. Just don't).

- Mao etc. etc., but at least ... (Don't even start).

The craziest (and scariest) thing about these arguments is that small but persistent, loud and dangerous minorities are trying to bring back those "Good Old Days" ... as if the human race hasn't suffered enough?

Every time I hear 'The Good Old Days', I always ask, 'The Good Old Days for who?'

 

[Heartlet Happer]

Every time I hear 'The Good Old Days', I always ask, 'The Good Old Days for who?'

It looks like there are three methods to make groups inclusive/exclusive:

- talk about the shared past - you get politics
- talk about shared present - you get influencers and the followers until their attention span is spent

And, interestingly, very few talks are about shared future. I suspect that because it is either domain of prophets in religions, science fiction writers or practical futurism. Consider "I have a dream" level of messages. But even then, it was not "We have a dream". Maybe there is some genius out there who can speak at "The Good Future Days" level in most understood form, most inclusive form.

 

[Louanne Learning]

Consider "I have a dream" level of messages. But even then, it was not "We have a dream"

I do wish we could get everyone on the same page with this

 

[CatrionaGrace]

Well, they probably lived through some mean bat and shit crazy times.

It ain't necessarily so (cue music from Porgy and Bess). Some people are self-indulgent jerks with no more environmental trauma than people who behave themselves.

 

[Homer Potvin]

Two days into my "retirement." I cleaned the oven, the chest freezer, both bathrooms, and reorganized both my wife's and my summer clothing in neatly labeled bags. Now what? It's barely 1:30pm and I can't realistically start dinner for three hours at least.

 

[CatrionaGrace]

Two days into my "retirement." I cleaned the oven, the chest freezer, both bathrooms, and reorganized both my wife's and my summer clothing in neatly labeled bags. Now what? It's barely 1:30pm and I can't realistically start dinner for three hours at least.

Hey, plenty of time for you to fly out to Wyoming and do some cleaning for me before dinner. Heck, stay and cook dinner, too. How often do you have antelope and elk at your disposal?

Failing that, you could (ahem) sit down and write something.

Seriously, it took me at least a couple of weeks to wind down from job stress and anxiety. You're dealing with a double whammy, having quit nicotine. Please know you have admirers cheering you on.

 

[JLT]

I've seen -- not just on the internet but IRL as well -- too many batshit crazy arguments for venerating even the worst ancestors. For instance:

- Mussolini might have been a crazy arsehole, but at least he made the trains run on time. (He didn't. No-one can).

A valid observation, that.

- Hitler etc. etc., but at least he was a vegetarian and he loved his dog.

Until he had them take cyanide pills to see if the pills really worked.

- Stalin etc. etc., but at least he Saved The Motherland. (No. Just don't).

He did pick the generals who were generally competent enough to resist the German invasion. There is that.

- Mao etc. etc., but at least ... (Don't even start).

About the only thing Mao did of lasting value was replace the old monarchy with one that put the people in the center, at least for a while. And he served as a poster child the folly of instituting "reforms" that were horribly destructive and led to widespread famine. But the kind of government that succeeded him was a crazy brand of capitalism that he would not have recognized.

The craziest (and scariest) thing about these arguments is that small but persistent, loud and dangerous minorities are trying to bring back those "Good Old Days" ... as if the human race hasn't suffered enough?

"The good old days" is more properly viewed as "the good part of the old days" which ignore the bad parts. There are some things I've seen that I hated to see go away... a childhood free of social media pressure, a time when we kids could bicycle everywhere, even in a big city* in safety, a time when elections were not based on how much money a candidate could amass.

But I've also seen legalized racism, in the form of Jim Crow laws, be eradicated. And kids no longer end up in iron lungs. And people are no longer quite as oblivious to the harm being done to our planet. These things I won't miss.

*That city was Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was still so bicycle-friendly that there were bike paths paralleling even the main drags, since many Germans still couldn't afford their own cars. Those bike paths were later absorbed into the streets themselves to form more lanes for cars, but I hear that many are being restored.

 

[JLT]

They can't support everything remotely, of course. But it's a great option for the more basic kinds of care and advice that one might need. Also, it's far more affordable.

I renew my own prescriptions via virtual visits and then get them delivered to my door. There are some things I really like about this future of convenience. I don't ever want to own a vehicle again, and I don't want to spend a couple of hours going from A to B and back on public transit. If I simply must do something in person, I'll take an Uber.

That's why cabs are so popular in big cities like New York. When I was a young man, I lived in Baltimore, Maryland, which had such good public transportation that I lived there for years without owning a car. I rented a van when I need to, for moving, and lived in places where grocery stores and coin-op laundries were within walking distance. If I had to move now, I think I'll relocate to some place that has those things (and a hardware store and a library).

 

[Set2Stun]

This thread sure is busy again! You simply love to see it. Think I'll spend the afternoon going through the ole submission lists and maybe fire out a few queries.

 

[Naomasa298]

This thread sure is busy again! You simply love to see it. Think I'll spend the afternoon going through the ole submission lists and maybe fire out a few queries.

I should do the same. Need to do with quick revision, then I've got three stories free to submit. Will have to see what's open.

 

[CatrionaGrace]

Got my puppy's chip registered in case he decides to go walkabout. Trying to get hold of my old vet since the older dog's rabies tag got pulled off in some dog tussle a while back and we need a replacement. I may have to drive out to his place, take him a few bottles of microbrewery beer, and see what's going on. One worries about friends when they ease into retirement.