I find your interviews stimulating, and interesting. More so, because I suspect that there are many subjects on which we have very different views, but you help me to think and dig deeper, not close the window.
On the subject of Loki. I very much appreciated the interview, and fully endorse his statements with respect to the NGO's. Having filled in many grant applications, and equity, inclusion, diversity sections on these grants applications they always struck me as bizarre. Like why did I have argue about the needs of extremely marginalized people with people who had never talked or interacted with them. Why did people who were studying social capital, have no interest in people who had no social capital, or in finding ways increase to the social capital of people who had zero social capital? Why were University Academics from the upper middle class subject matter experts, while my 20 years on the ground counted for nothing.
Finally, I also appreciated the section at the end with your updates. One of the things missing in the Alternate Media Space is good curation. A search for truth requires that one go where ever truth is, but finding that truth is very difficult.
¨¨ Like why did I have argue about the needs of extremely marginalized people with people who had never talked or interacted with them. Why did people who were studying social capital, have no interest in people who had no social capital, or in finding ways increase to the social capital of people who had zero social capital? Why were University Academics from the upper middle class subject matter experts, while my 20 years on the ground counted for nothing. ¨
This is the problem , have these Academics live on the streets for 2 months with no lifeline , then they can come to the table and talk , until then they should STFU
And with the broader information ecosystem overrun by misinformation, conspiracy theories, propaganda, and clickbait, public trust in journalism has fallen to historical lows.' Riiiiiiiiight. That's definitely why trust in journalism has imploded.
'And young people almost have a license to be annoying.' Yes! We were all idiot teenagers and twenty somethings. It's frustrating to hear the pretentious finger wagging from us older people to the younger generations.
The interview was absolutely amazing Tara! It tackled some of the deepest questions I think we face in our society today. The question about personal responsibility really hit close to home for me, as it's something I often think about when working with my Indigenous clients. Loki's responses were thought-provoking and gave me a lot to consider in my own life. I've always looked at the poverty I faced as a benefit, because it made me want to work harder. I hadn't really considered the other ramifications. I'm very excited to read his book.
Tonight I found myself spiralling into grumpy interior monologue mode. I thought to go to your Substack and found myself feeling relieved. My peeps! Fair, honest discussion about troubling things. Thanks for being there.
Thanks for another great interview, Tara. I just wanted to let you know about a piece of writing I recently put up on my website, about how the pandemic drove my personal journey from someone who pretty unquestionably accepted anything that came from the spokespeople of the left, to someone who now routinely questions their pronouncements. I mention both you and Meagan Daum as two Substackers/podcasters I listen to frequently; you have illuminated new worlds for me. You can read my essay here: https://www.seanbutler.ca/2023/05/09/into-the-political-wilderness-part-1/
Hi Tara, I just wanted to let you know about my new Substack, called Farmer's Table. It's about food and farming, drawn largely from my experience as a small-scale Canadian farmer, with a dollop of food politics on top: https://farmerstable.substack.com/
The idea that the projects created disconnection and foundered because of it makes good sense. Now we've added smart phones, lack of personal responsibility and then COVID to ensure atomization. I wonder where we're going in the first world.
Okay, the Google thing made me chuckle because it was actually an allusion to my profile: "I never fit into a box, and I'm not about to start now" (which is a line from the Introduction to my first novel).
So, "toss the box" basically means, "think beyond your time." Not necessarily ahead of your time, just beyond. Not outside the box, because the box isn't even in the room once you toss it. Or, more accurately, throw it away.
All too often, I've noticed that people limit their thinking to the rhetoric around them, especially when it comes to politics, even nuance, &c., but I've always wanted a deeper intellectual diet. Because the danger in limiting our thinking to the discourse of our time, I think, impedes our ability to learn and our capacity to grow, to change. To evolve. There is an example of this in the aforementioned book, a chapter called "The Literacy of Compassion." When it opens, readers will most likely think, "Oh, he's on THAT side of the political aisle!" But as the chapter continues, the story evolves (there's that word again), and readers hopefully learn that the character has grown beyond the rhetoric of his time: he gets caught in a heated debate after presenting a poem for his Literature & Composition class, but ultimately rejects that whole line of thinking by ripping his assignment to shreds. The character would rather fail the class than sacrifice his intellectual diet by getting swallowed up in the rhetoric of those around him, people who are so laser tunnel-vision focused on what they think is the issue that they have lost every last ounce of compassion; they are so lacking in the literacy of compassion that they cannot *see* the person sitting right next to them. That's the danger of even the keeping the box in the room. So, toss the box.
Thanks again Tara.
I find your interviews stimulating, and interesting. More so, because I suspect that there are many subjects on which we have very different views, but you help me to think and dig deeper, not close the window.
On the subject of Loki. I very much appreciated the interview, and fully endorse his statements with respect to the NGO's. Having filled in many grant applications, and equity, inclusion, diversity sections on these grants applications they always struck me as bizarre. Like why did I have argue about the needs of extremely marginalized people with people who had never talked or interacted with them. Why did people who were studying social capital, have no interest in people who had no social capital, or in finding ways increase to the social capital of people who had zero social capital? Why were University Academics from the upper middle class subject matter experts, while my 20 years on the ground counted for nothing.
Finally, I also appreciated the section at the end with your updates. One of the things missing in the Alternate Media Space is good curation. A search for truth requires that one go where ever truth is, but finding that truth is very difficult.
¨¨ Like why did I have argue about the needs of extremely marginalized people with people who had never talked or interacted with them. Why did people who were studying social capital, have no interest in people who had no social capital, or in finding ways increase to the social capital of people who had zero social capital? Why were University Academics from the upper middle class subject matter experts, while my 20 years on the ground counted for nothing. ¨
This is the problem , have these Academics live on the streets for 2 months with no lifeline , then they can come to the table and talk , until then they should STFU
Thanks, John. And glad to hear the updates section is working for you. Will keep it going!
And with the broader information ecosystem overrun by misinformation, conspiracy theories, propaganda, and clickbait, public trust in journalism has fallen to historical lows.' Riiiiiiiiight. That's definitely why trust in journalism has imploded.
'And young people almost have a license to be annoying.' Yes! We were all idiot teenagers and twenty somethings. It's frustrating to hear the pretentious finger wagging from us older people to the younger generations.
The interview was absolutely amazing Tara! It tackled some of the deepest questions I think we face in our society today. The question about personal responsibility really hit close to home for me, as it's something I often think about when working with my Indigenous clients. Loki's responses were thought-provoking and gave me a lot to consider in my own life. I've always looked at the poverty I faced as a benefit, because it made me want to work harder. I hadn't really considered the other ramifications. I'm very excited to read his book.
Tonight I found myself spiralling into grumpy interior monologue mode. I thought to go to your Substack and found myself feeling relieved. My peeps! Fair, honest discussion about troubling things. Thanks for being there.
Thanks for another great interview, Tara. I just wanted to let you know about a piece of writing I recently put up on my website, about how the pandemic drove my personal journey from someone who pretty unquestionably accepted anything that came from the spokespeople of the left, to someone who now routinely questions their pronouncements. I mention both you and Meagan Daum as two Substackers/podcasters I listen to frequently; you have illuminated new worlds for me. You can read my essay here: https://www.seanbutler.ca/2023/05/09/into-the-political-wilderness-part-1/
Thank you, Sean. And this is such a compelling read, thanks for sharing!
Hi Tara, I just wanted to let you know about my new Substack, called Farmer's Table. It's about food and farming, drawn largely from my experience as a small-scale Canadian farmer, with a dollop of food politics on top: https://farmerstable.substack.com/
The idea that the projects created disconnection and foundered because of it makes good sense. Now we've added smart phones, lack of personal responsibility and then COVID to ensure atomization. I wonder where we're going in the first world.
Not bad for 34. Not too bad at all. I think if he just tossed the box, he'd get there in a heartbeat...
Agreed, he's impressive! What does tossed the box mean? Googled but found nothing lol.
Okay, the Google thing made me chuckle because it was actually an allusion to my profile: "I never fit into a box, and I'm not about to start now" (which is a line from the Introduction to my first novel).
So, "toss the box" basically means, "think beyond your time." Not necessarily ahead of your time, just beyond. Not outside the box, because the box isn't even in the room once you toss it. Or, more accurately, throw it away.
All too often, I've noticed that people limit their thinking to the rhetoric around them, especially when it comes to politics, even nuance, &c., but I've always wanted a deeper intellectual diet. Because the danger in limiting our thinking to the discourse of our time, I think, impedes our ability to learn and our capacity to grow, to change. To evolve. There is an example of this in the aforementioned book, a chapter called "The Literacy of Compassion." When it opens, readers will most likely think, "Oh, he's on THAT side of the political aisle!" But as the chapter continues, the story evolves (there's that word again), and readers hopefully learn that the character has grown beyond the rhetoric of his time: he gets caught in a heated debate after presenting a poem for his Literature & Composition class, but ultimately rejects that whole line of thinking by ripping his assignment to shreds. The character would rather fail the class than sacrifice his intellectual diet by getting swallowed up in the rhetoric of those around him, people who are so laser tunnel-vision focused on what they think is the issue that they have lost every last ounce of compassion; they are so lacking in the literacy of compassion that they cannot *see* the person sitting right next to them. That's the danger of even the keeping the box in the room. So, toss the box.
Tara, is there an audio recording this available?
Hi Rajiv! I don't have a recording to post for this one, unfortunately...apologies!