Some Thoughts On Priorities ( Archived) (9)

That one made me think about the impact of power and control.

I'm kinda interested in power and control issues.

If we see a stray, neglected puppy, or eager to please Labrador, we can enter the 'caring space' in the fairly safe knowledge we'll be responded to positively and a solution will be quickly met. We can then feel good about ourselves.

Approaching other human beings who have an unknown history makes us feel out of control. What were the circumstances that lead to them being homeless? How will they react to our intrusion? Will we remain in the power position and in control of the situation? Will we remain in control of our own lives (or at least our perception of them) if we step closer to this person's world?

I understand your point about priorities and the apparant irrationality of the way we conduct ourselves, but I suspect these issues are rather more complex than linear correlations between two isolated phenomena.

Ro sadly not everyones priotities are the same. The one word you used alot here is we and no it is not we. Maybe how you see it maybe how I see it but not how all see it I do however believe that the vision has been lost a long time ago.

To make that leap of faith, we need a certain confidence that we can handle any situation which may arise. That takes a certain amount of skill and knowledge.

You mentioning your work made me think of how I avoid match days in Cardiff like the plague. I feel extremely uncomfortable in crowds of inebriated, vomiting, publicly urinating supporters, whilst my wee less than 5' daughter is completely unphased.

On the other hand, its me who scrapes dead hedgehogs of the road and gives them a decent burial, so my daughter doesn't get freaked out by the remains.

She doesn't feel vulnerable in her prefered situation because she has certain skills and knowledge; I, likewise, don't feel vulnerable in mine.

To get beyond our irrational behaviours, we must learn. Unfortunately, remaining ignorant may serve other power and control purposes: we live in socioeconomic hierarchies as a rule, and these are best served by ignorance, division and someone to deride.