Archive for the ‘ Society ’ Category
A young boy in his football kit is walking away from the front door of a block of apartments, turns round to wave at dad in the balcony and calls out, "Are you working this evening, pa?"
Father calls back, "Why do you want to know?"
This answer strikes me as odd and callous, even suspicious. I cannot for the life of me imagine a true parent being so evasive to a child's normal question which merely required a straightforward, "Yes, son" or, "Unfortunately not."
That headline is taken from The Times website of this evening (25 October 2010 @ 20:03).
We're so open and complacent about the problem of domestic violence that a call is being made, by a women's rights organization no less, to raise funds in order to promote its use even further.
Come on men, let's get paid to beat up our women!
Why am I finally convinced that equality between the sexes in Malta has been truly achieved? No, it's not because of a plethora of political declarations which serve as confetti to celebrate Women's Day; neither the Catholic church which proclaims from the pulpit that a woman is a man's equal while ensuring that she never even gets a whisper in its upper echelons; nor the feminist groups which paradoxically still exist in spite of our decades-old Constitution clearly stating that there mustn't be any gender discrimination.
Well, the other evening I spent an hour or so strolling through Paceville. I have never been a habitual frequenter of the place but I am very much aware of a particular aspect of the landscape. That is the sight of a male, whipping out his weasel and using it as a water spout, watching the urine sizzle and bubble as it makes contact with the limestone walls or the Lilliputian-sized dust dunes gathered beneath. Then, a good shake of Mr weasel to extract the final, reluctant drops and he reels it back into his pants.
This time round though I was amused to find a change in what was once familiar scenery - instead of innumerable impersonations of worshippers at the Wailing Wall, it was glorious moons ashining over different terrain. And by their luminescence I was enlightened because if a woman can comfortably expose her bottom, squat and pee on the rocks near the Casino or the 5-star turf of the Corinthia San Gorg Hotel, then she has certainly raised herself on a par to any man.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/catherinejamieson/
When does the passing of wind by an obscure pastor in Florida result in a bad case of global diarrhoea? It's when the head of a 50-strong(!) religious community - Terry Jones - threatens to burn some books which have 'Koran' for a title.
As one who grew up in an environment where censorship was, and to a lesser degree still is, endemic, I hesitate to censor his burning of the books. He has an opinion to express and though we might want to shout our opposition, we shouldn't shut him up. On the other hand, I have a visceral dislike to seeing the ink of a printed word melting in a bonfire because even this is an attempt at censoring ideas, albeit in a symbolic way. Over the millennia, too many temporal and spiritual dictators have used the element of fire in an attempt to control the minds of the people.
A congregation of fifty speaks and a religion of one billion feels threatened enough to take to the streets and issue counter-threats.
A congregation of fifty speaks and leaders of nations of millions who have far more serious matters to deal with feel obliged to join in the debate.
I've never been one for mathematics so could someone please help me reconcile this unbalanced equation?
This related article might interest you: Religion of Division
"Two young men were caught skinny dipping in St George’s Bay in St Julians just hours after they arrived in Malta to learn English.... jailed the two Spaniards for one month suspended for one year and fined them €100 each." - The Times, 12 August 2010
"Another four foreign students convicted for skinny dipping....Magistrate Vella gave the men a one-month jail term suspended for two years and also fined them €100 each." - The Times, 14 August 2010
Now every time my skin dips into the cool Mediterranean, it becomes a criminal act.