About a thousand years ago, or maybe ten, I was listening to a radio show and the narrator was talking about the subjunctive case (?) the "what if?", and that the Asian language his family spoke didn't have that. The whole "it could have been so much worse if X" was just NOT THERE, the very idea of looking for a worst case scenario wasn't in their thought process. Language shapes thought , and my linguistics brain absolutely exploded.
The young will not save us comment is so pertinent. As someone born early 1960’s I feel responsible for where we are now. My parents and their generation were directly impacted by two world wars with many very bad memories and strove to give me a better life. This I have had with little hardship somehow the poor result is my children despite being very cognizant of their past struggle to express concerns to their generation that seem so entitled with no clear understanding of how their entitlement is to be funded
Yep... that's going to be one of the biggest problems. And not realizing that some of the cultural norms they take for granted now were hard fought-for, and could be taken away again...
Ooh what a collection! No, the young will not save us, and there ARE a lot of us older folk now, and we know things. Most of us. But then turn to the elderly man alone on the bench… maybe he knows something, now. Maybe it took being alone for him to finally learn it. Maybe, he thinks about that bison he killed and sees the red thread running through his life from that moment to this. Maybe he wishes that, instead of always being hungry for the next big thing, he had learned to be comfortable, sometimes, just sitting with having hunger.
Insightful set! I see your points, and see men I know experience the last one, sadly so. There is a stigma unfairly placed on men who are alone and not in a powerful position. Though “creepy old men” do exist (anyone at any age can be creepy), most older men are very much not. And why does a man married to a woman deserve inherent credentialing based on that fact alone? Breaking down biases for men is good for women, and vice versa. The more everyone feels welcomed, the better life is.
About a thousand years ago, or maybe ten, I was listening to a radio show and the narrator was talking about the subjunctive case (?) the "what if?", and that the Asian language his family spoke didn't have that. The whole "it could have been so much worse if X" was just NOT THERE, the very idea of looking for a worst case scenario wasn't in their thought process. Language shapes thought , and my linguistics brain absolutely exploded.
I *love* that kind of stuff — truly fascinating. Language shapes thought, which then shapes reality.
Elderly women are better at sitting alone because they have had more practice. Even, when a man was around, they were often, still alone.
The young will not save us comment is so pertinent. As someone born early 1960’s I feel responsible for where we are now. My parents and their generation were directly impacted by two world wars with many very bad memories and strove to give me a better life. This I have had with little hardship somehow the poor result is my children despite being very cognizant of their past struggle to express concerns to their generation that seem so entitled with no clear understanding of how their entitlement is to be funded
Yep... that's going to be one of the biggest problems. And not realizing that some of the cultural norms they take for granted now were hard fought-for, and could be taken away again...
We both knew one elderly man who would have taken exception to that last Bit ;-)
True ;-)
Unusual beautifies, these!
Thank you!
*looks at my reflection as I sit in a waiting room*
Aww, shit.
*contemplates shaving or dyeing the grey beard*
:-) We wear these things with pride.
It is true- I can't imagine trying to maintain a colored beard. I would feel foppish.
And as for shaving... well, I would look far too much like my sister. Which would be Very Bad.
Ooh what a collection! No, the young will not save us, and there ARE a lot of us older folk now, and we know things. Most of us. But then turn to the elderly man alone on the bench… maybe he knows something, now. Maybe it took being alone for him to finally learn it. Maybe, he thinks about that bison he killed and sees the red thread running through his life from that moment to this. Maybe he wishes that, instead of always being hungry for the next big thing, he had learned to be comfortable, sometimes, just sitting with having hunger.
True. Not least because it's probably at least slightly true that he was more alive when hungry than when full.
Likely so!
Insightful set! I see your points, and see men I know experience the last one, sadly so. There is a stigma unfairly placed on men who are alone and not in a powerful position. Though “creepy old men” do exist (anyone at any age can be creepy), most older men are very much not. And why does a man married to a woman deserve inherent credentialing based on that fact alone? Breaking down biases for men is good for women, and vice versa. The more everyone feels welcomed, the better life is.
Absolutely. Couldn't agree more!