Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/04/30
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]BD, you must have missed the pointone of my email where I make reference to having learnt more about the horrendous situation in South Africa when I moved to Australia and that I was retrospectively appalled - I am also not comparing USA with SA - that is a futile excercise - I am making the point that when one lives in and very close to a situation, it is at times, hard to see the forest from the trees. You must keep in mind that there were VERY HEAVY censorship laws in place at a time that my own opinions were forming - we did not have TV until 1974 and even then it was SA GOVT controlled - the very first thing I did when I arrived in Perth was go to the library and get books out like Biko and even The Female Eunich (which was banned when I left in 84). "Guess whose coming to dinner" was banned, the list is endless. At 20 I had the experience of watching my mother weep over a newspaper, the article was on the twilight children.... She had for all those years kept it a secret that she had close relatives on the "other side" of the colour barrier. I offered (and I was petrified of the implications of being caught) to drive her to visit them ,which we did as frequently as we could - armed with a car filled with groceries because they were living in squatter conditions...in a township..I do not need to be asked, my experience is raw and real, but my knowledge was limited, I have made up for that lack of knowledge since.......and believe that shifting attention to another countries "crime against humanity" is definitely not a contructive way of improving the situation in your own backyard, I qualify that further by saying that even if Australia has a great standard of living for the MAJORITY of the people - it never means we should ingnore the plight of those less fortunate - THERE IS ALWAYS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT, no matter how good - HOW LONG IS A PIECE OF STRING, BD. Karina > Karina actually wrote... > > That was what I thought and said about South africa until I moved to > Australia - I learnt more about the true state of South Africa whilst > living in Australia and I am retrospectively appalled by how it was for > those less fortunate..... > > ---- > Did you never read or see anything that wasn't pure racist propagand the > entire time you lived in South Africa? Weren't you ever the least bit > curious about who lived in the townships and how they lived? Didn't you > wonder what the homelands were all about? Didn't you have any curiosity > about who worked in the mines and what the conditions were like? And did you > never read anything written by Nadine Gorier, your Noble Prize winner for > literature? 'Those less fortunate'...by which you mean the majority of all > men, women, and children in South Africa? > > And you would, with a straight 'face,' compare the poverty and inequities in > today's America with the situation in South Africa? > > That's really pretty appalling. > > B. D. > > -----Original Message----- > From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us > [mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us]On Behalf Of > kiklaas@iinet.net.au > Sent: Monday, April 29, 2002 9:42 PM > To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us > Subject: RE: [Leica] Re: calling on the LUG to do a good deed: leica > scholarship > > > ...I'm just > > saying that, in general, things are economically pretty good here. > > > > B.D. > > > BD, > > That was what I thought and said about South africa until I moved to > Australia - I learnt more about the true state of South Africa whilst > living in Australia and I am retrospectively appalled by how it was for > those less fortunate..... > > How many years does it take to reach 4 week paid annual leave in the US? > > How many hours do you have to work a day to live well?' > > Quantifying standard of living should include quality of life....not the > clothes you wear and the cars you are able to drive...but also, how well > the less fortunate than you are taken care of and how much time you get to > spend with your family etc... > > What do they say - one can win the rat race....but you will always be a > rat. > > By the way, I enjoy this exchange because I learn more about the US so I > am absorbing everything you write. > > It does not take a stupid person to form a perception based > on the only source they have avalaible to them, until actually visiting > the country. I was just surprised at how far off the mark that perception > was > > Someone in LA said there is here is a saying that applies to LA: > > A bus comes in at 12 o'clock everynight and picks up all the ugly people > > This almost knocked me off my stool. > > Karina > > -- > To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html > > -- > To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html > - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html