el gato : having experienced the performance art at a high end aerobic (swimming) indoor kids sports event in December, in a 'moderate' county in a 'moderate' state, I don't agree with either of your premises (If I got yours right)
1 - we won't roll over and agree to do this again. I might
2 - we shouldn't blame those who - *not* followi…
el gato : having experienced the performance art at a high end aerobic (swimming) indoor kids sports event in December, in a 'moderate' county in a 'moderate' state, I don't agree with either of your premises (If I got yours right)
1 - we won't roll over and agree to do this again. I might
2 - we shouldn't blame those who - *not* following science - guessed their ways to all sorts of invented regulations based on conjecture, not knowledge
1. I made a conscious decision to "go along" with the "authorities." This list: The state, local health dept, and the parks and rec center, and the hosting swimming club team. My alternative was to seek an injunction and risk delaying the meet. But I chose instead allow these high end athletes to swim without making a stink (among whom a number went to olympic swimming trials and of them, one qualified for the olympics). I did this so my kid could still swim, and as the performance art was just mildly bad, saving having to put a mask on right after swimming all out for minutes. One kid: "it was like waterboarding, sucking air through a wet mask"
2. I'm not going to do anything about it, but "forgive them, they were well meaning?" Nah. These low level officious fucks were chomping at the bit to invent rules and regs, as you wrote the other day
standing up to fight and resist now has a price and it's paid today.
going along to get along may reduce the present price, but it also means that you're going to be put in the same position again and again.
so which is the long-term good?
the calculus of playing a game one time vs repeatedly can be very different.
if we teach the state that short term threats yield acquiescence to long term authoritarianism, how ought we suspect that it will act going forward?
as a society, we failed this test badly. so there IS going to be another, likely sooner than people think.
sure, "if now, then hardships" but "if not now, when?"
if we'd put 30 million people in the streets last march, how much of this would never have happened and how much less prone to recurrence would our society currently be?
if the response is not instant and overwhelming next time, then we'll have earned an authoritarian new normal.
el gato : having experienced the performance art at a high end aerobic (swimming) indoor kids sports event in December, in a 'moderate' county in a 'moderate' state, I don't agree with either of your premises (If I got yours right)
1 - we won't roll over and agree to do this again. I might
2 - we shouldn't blame those who - *not* following science - guessed their ways to all sorts of invented regulations based on conjecture, not knowledge
1. I made a conscious decision to "go along" with the "authorities." This list: The state, local health dept, and the parks and rec center, and the hosting swimming club team. My alternative was to seek an injunction and risk delaying the meet. But I chose instead allow these high end athletes to swim without making a stink (among whom a number went to olympic swimming trials and of them, one qualified for the olympics). I did this so my kid could still swim, and as the performance art was just mildly bad, saving having to put a mask on right after swimming all out for minutes. One kid: "it was like waterboarding, sucking air through a wet mask"
2. I'm not going to do anything about it, but "forgive them, they were well meaning?" Nah. These low level officious fucks were chomping at the bit to invent rules and regs, as you wrote the other day
consider the trade off:
standing up to fight and resist now has a price and it's paid today.
going along to get along may reduce the present price, but it also means that you're going to be put in the same position again and again.
so which is the long-term good?
the calculus of playing a game one time vs repeatedly can be very different.
if we teach the state that short term threats yield acquiescence to long term authoritarianism, how ought we suspect that it will act going forward?
as a society, we failed this test badly. so there IS going to be another, likely sooner than people think.
sure, "if now, then hardships" but "if not now, when?"
if we'd put 30 million people in the streets last march, how much of this would never have happened and how much less prone to recurrence would our society currently be?
if the response is not instant and overwhelming next time, then we'll have earned an authoritarian new normal.