Excellent, thank you for doing this. Your mind is too vabluable to waste on 140 character pearls before swine.
This post reminds me of a quote I heard once about how in an absolute monarchy only the court jester can speak truth because he’s so low on the power hierarchy he’s not worth punishing. May we all dare to be Roma and jesters.
In the absence of argument a certain crowd aims for mortifying exclusion, a clue to their lack of confidence. One sees a version of this in the shift from the investigative spirit of science to science as a “belief,” an attachment that needs no rational defense. Great to see your writing in a new forum, by the way.
Interested in the glass nazar. I work in glass and you can buy what I make but the light that comes through you cannot possess. You literally can’t grasp it. I think this might be how art works in a religious sense, it can introduce rhythms to help lead you away from wanting things all the time. There is a reason some are fearful of art and religion. It’s because if it’s done right it can help us stop wanting.
I have a studio in the suburbs and the locals don’t buy much art, I think because they are spending all their extra money on prepping their kids for college. I used to think that art was useless to the parents but now I think it might be the best thing for they could buy for their kids.
My ancestors are Anatolian, indigenous people also known as Armenians. We are not Roma but farmers, architects, artists, tradespeople. Also the first to declare Christianity a national religion. Look up our history. It will tell you everything about ruthless overlords, and more than you can imagine in the details. This includes recent history. We remain independent even in diaspora. We put those "eyes" even on necklaces (although priests don't approve) as do others from the broad general region, and who have a history of dealing with the same overlords of many centuries
“Surrounded by panopticon”. Foucault opens our eyes to how “rehabilitation” and shaming works in society. It’s exactly that feeling you caught here, especially resonant now.
You said you were interested in learning about Indigenous Languages... well... reading this article is Fascinating to me because it is helping me to learning about the Culture of the Roma,
Thinking about the talismans that your mother hung up to ward off bad things....
... It reminds me of the lesson I learned about the word for "police-man" in our Hul'qumi'num, Coast Salish language. We had no word for "police" in our language.... before non-natives came here. The word we use for "Police Man" is "T'qu quills" which translates directly as "They come and take you away".
It's really a different way of looking at the world, isn't it? To look through the lens of the Roma, or look through the lens of an Indigenous culture. Thank you for sharing your culture with us.
I've always been a drifter. I've always aspired to be a writer. I mistakenly chose a safer path, out of fear. As I return to writing, the need to hit the road grows. I've never trusted cops and i've paid a severe price for that several times. This piece helps bring that all into perspective in our grotesque momentary setting. Thank you. Glad I'm not alone. Where's my nazar?
Many businesses used to enforce a requirement that problems, along with a recommended solution, be summarized in one page to send them up the chain of command. I would sometimes get in trouble for asking what we were doing about the problems that required more than a page to understand... Often they were never addressed because we were all trained to live under the One Page Mandate. I feel the same about the 140k restriction. No, I feel worse... Thanks for doing this. I always learn from reading your stuff.
A most enjoyable read. BTW I just unsubscribed but will sign on again. The reason for unsubscribing was technical. My credit showed a charge but the app listed me as “free”. This contradiction spooked me. Just in time for Halloween. But reading this piece has set me right again. Thank you!
Gypsies. Roma. Love reading about them, don't like being spat on by them or dodging the glares they give when you don't shell out. I'm talking about European cities here, not USA. Robbing as a way of life is uncomfortable for me, as is lying. Not how I was raised, not my way. And the glares that we give to those who are obstreperous are involuntary. Cultural conditioning. I'm a life-long outsider in so many ways, but I also glared at people, still do, when they wear a mask like some kind of beard cover, or facial bikini bottom. And I found myself glaring at out of state license plates early in the pandemic- even though some of them might have been my kids' or friends'. It's a reflex we have in defense against others- it needs to be worked with. Bur first, it needs to be seen. I'd wager we all have it to some degree. Same impulse that makes some folks demand that anyone "not from here" go home. Which gets absurd when you do all the calculations. The Evil Eye, such a common concept, must be some truth in it. Is it like when you feel someone looking at you and you turn around and sure enough there is someone looking at you? Why act like there is no such thing as an evil eye? But not every strong gaze is an evil eye- it has to have ill-intent behind it to be evil.
Congrats, Walter, on a lovely start to a new world here.
I was in grade school with some Roma children whose mom fell ill, and when she did, the local authorities demanded the children be educated. Those schools weren’t a good fit for them or for me, either. I often wondered where they went once their mom healed.
A couple of typos and missing words in there. I learned that a piece can't be edited once sent, and I didn't read it closely enough. Next time.
Excellent, thank you for doing this. Your mind is too vabluable to waste on 140 character pearls before swine.
This post reminds me of a quote I heard once about how in an absolute monarchy only the court jester can speak truth because he’s so low on the power hierarchy he’s not worth punishing. May we all dare to be Roma and jesters.
In the absence of argument a certain crowd aims for mortifying exclusion, a clue to their lack of confidence. One sees a version of this in the shift from the investigative spirit of science to science as a “belief,” an attachment that needs no rational defense. Great to see your writing in a new forum, by the way.
A couple of typos and missing words in there. I learned that a piece can't be edited once sent, and I didn't read it closely enough. Next time.
Interested in the glass nazar. I work in glass and you can buy what I make but the light that comes through you cannot possess. You literally can’t grasp it. I think this might be how art works in a religious sense, it can introduce rhythms to help lead you away from wanting things all the time. There is a reason some are fearful of art and religion. It’s because if it’s done right it can help us stop wanting.
I have a studio in the suburbs and the locals don’t buy much art, I think because they are spending all their extra money on prepping their kids for college. I used to think that art was useless to the parents but now I think it might be the best thing for they could buy for their kids.
My ancestors are Anatolian, indigenous people also known as Armenians. We are not Roma but farmers, architects, artists, tradespeople. Also the first to declare Christianity a national religion. Look up our history. It will tell you everything about ruthless overlords, and more than you can imagine in the details. This includes recent history. We remain independent even in diaspora. We put those "eyes" even on necklaces (although priests don't approve) as do others from the broad general region, and who have a history of dealing with the same overlords of many centuries
“Surrounded by panopticon”. Foucault opens our eyes to how “rehabilitation” and shaming works in society. It’s exactly that feeling you caught here, especially resonant now.
You said you were interested in learning about Indigenous Languages... well... reading this article is Fascinating to me because it is helping me to learning about the Culture of the Roma,
Thinking about the talismans that your mother hung up to ward off bad things....
... It reminds me of the lesson I learned about the word for "police-man" in our Hul'qumi'num, Coast Salish language. We had no word for "police" in our language.... before non-natives came here. The word we use for "Police Man" is "T'qu quills" which translates directly as "They come and take you away".
It's really a different way of looking at the world, isn't it? To look through the lens of the Roma, or look through the lens of an Indigenous culture. Thank you for sharing your culture with us.
I've always been a drifter. I've always aspired to be a writer. I mistakenly chose a safer path, out of fear. As I return to writing, the need to hit the road grows. I've never trusted cops and i've paid a severe price for that several times. This piece helps bring that all into perspective in our grotesque momentary setting. Thank you. Glad I'm not alone. Where's my nazar?
Many businesses used to enforce a requirement that problems, along with a recommended solution, be summarized in one page to send them up the chain of command. I would sometimes get in trouble for asking what we were doing about the problems that required more than a page to understand... Often they were never addressed because we were all trained to live under the One Page Mandate. I feel the same about the 140k restriction. No, I feel worse... Thanks for doing this. I always learn from reading your stuff.
Well done! The perfect allegory for a surreal world.
Appreciate your work, sir.
Thank you, Walter, I love this piece. Just the sort of allegorical literature that will be so important in our 'brave new world.'
A most enjoyable read. BTW I just unsubscribed but will sign on again. The reason for unsubscribing was technical. My credit showed a charge but the app listed me as “free”. This contradiction spooked me. Just in time for Halloween. But reading this piece has set me right again. Thank you!
Gypsies. Roma. Love reading about them, don't like being spat on by them or dodging the glares they give when you don't shell out. I'm talking about European cities here, not USA. Robbing as a way of life is uncomfortable for me, as is lying. Not how I was raised, not my way. And the glares that we give to those who are obstreperous are involuntary. Cultural conditioning. I'm a life-long outsider in so many ways, but I also glared at people, still do, when they wear a mask like some kind of beard cover, or facial bikini bottom. And I found myself glaring at out of state license plates early in the pandemic- even though some of them might have been my kids' or friends'. It's a reflex we have in defense against others- it needs to be worked with. Bur first, it needs to be seen. I'd wager we all have it to some degree. Same impulse that makes some folks demand that anyone "not from here" go home. Which gets absurd when you do all the calculations. The Evil Eye, such a common concept, must be some truth in it. Is it like when you feel someone looking at you and you turn around and sure enough there is someone looking at you? Why act like there is no such thing as an evil eye? But not every strong gaze is an evil eye- it has to have ill-intent behind it to be evil.
Congrats, Walter, on a lovely start to a new world here.
I was in grade school with some Roma children whose mom fell ill, and when she did, the local authorities demanded the children be educated. Those schools weren’t a good fit for them or for me, either. I often wondered where they went once their mom healed.