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Feminism: The Hardliners Fighting Themselves
It’s hard to believe but, even with the rapid advancement of time, knowledge and understanding we are going backwards. Admittedly not all of us, not the entire civilised or uncivilised world, but a few. And it is these few who seem capable of grabbing the headlines which, as we know from the way the press works, should not be that much of a surprise. What is a surprise, though, is that despite the opening up of western society to more equality and fairness, despite the work of feminism and feminists – as much as ordinary people who would not wish to be categorised as such – many women are supporting…
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The Best Defense: Attack
We live in times when certain forces around us, seen and unseen, defend themselves by attacking their assailants, real or imagined, by any means possible, and often by those means which we might consider not only underhand, but illegal. Illegality is, of course, something discerned by those in power, and not necessarily by the law books, by custom or any other means, including the law courts. There are enough examples of actions taken which have not only been widely condemned in the mass media and by the public, but ruled illegal by courts at all levels, and still ignored. The interested spectator need only take a quick glance at the…
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Where Were You In The Great War?
There was a British poster, during the World War, of a young child sitting on her father’s knee and asking, in all innocence, what he did during the war. The idea, clear to all at the time, was to embarrass all those who had not taken part, not served the fatherland in some form of military role, to awaken a nationalistic feeling, awaken patriotism for the country, and avoid having to explain themselves at a later date. The same level of patriotism, of being prepared to serve the country and, if necessary, sacrifice your life, was raised again during the Second World War, and then seemed to disappear from the…
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Photographic Abuse: Loopholes in the Law
Street photographers who make their living, or pursue their hobby, in search of the perfect spontaneous image out in the wild have enough problems with the law and with the belief in a private sphere for those who could become the subject of their work. That the law is not clear, in many aspects and not just photography, has been accepted for many years, with constant promises from politicians – especially on the hustings – that matters will be addressed, and the law reformed to make it better, precise, workable. Yet, no matter the promises, no matter the varied and various attempts to reform, there are loopholes which the less…
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A Most Respectable Lifestyle
I suspect it depends a great deal on a person’s interpretation of Respectable, and whether it can be accepted for many different ways of life, or just from those in certain professions, and the former landed gentry but, as a child, it was a lifestyle which appealed to me. The fault is undoubtedly that of my grandmother – mother’s side – who talked of the old ways of the professional tramp, and the morals and standards some of them lived up to. How they traversed the country, seeking odd jobs and short-term employment in return for sustenance and a quarter to rest in, before moving on to new areas; unbound,…
