ALL IS okay with the world. A nice morning coffee at the usual venue and a little cake while reading their free newspapers.
A quick trip to the toilet before leaving.
All is not okay with the world. A notice saying “Please don’t steal our toilet paper” shows how the world has gone made.
Admittedly there is little available for purchase but there are options such as newspapers, obviously not this one, that will make a reasonable short term alternative.
Let’s get back to a sane world where the only robberies involving paper are for dollar notes.
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Advice and a virus
Yes, we have an epidemic and maybe a pandemic, the coronavirus, but the reaction of many people is ridiculous and often racist.
There are reports that the paranoid in the community have already started panic buying of food and virtually anything they think they might need. This is just silly and annoying.
Some of the parents with children at the cities ‘children’s hospitals have actually refused to let doctors or nurses that appear “Asian” to treat their children.
The doctors and nurses are well aware of the virus and how to maintain a healthy regime. This is silly, racist and potentially life threatening.
The local Asian restaurants are virtually empty, and some have closed, maybe permanently, as many of their regular customers fear the “Asian” virus. They may not realize that most “non-Asian” restaurants have a wide range of employees and any health risk eating there is the same as usual. Again, this is silly, economically damaging and racist.
It’s time to listen to the people who know what they are doing, the medical experts, not the politicians or the paranoid.
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Children should not suffer
Over the last week, one of the biggest stories in the local newspapers has concerned a private Catholic boys school, St. Kevins. The articles relate to the school’s management, its culture and past actions seemingly being ignored.
Since a TV report on this last Monday, a number of staff are no longer on staff. There is no suggestion of criminal activity however in the resignation of the Headmaster, the Deputy Principal standing aside and with the Director of Studies, the Dean of Sports and another teacher having their employment “concluded”.
There are two interrelated matters that have occurred in what could be seen as a toxic cultural environment. The first is a group of the boys, on public transport, have been filmed singing a misogynistic, degrading chant showing their attitude to women and yet surely most of them would have mothers, sisters and maybe girlfriends. This type of behavior suggests a poisoned culture that must be condemned by the school.
The second was a historical event of child abuser, a volunteer coach now convicted, for which the Headmaster wrote a positive report which was presented at a court hearing. At this stage the coach had been caught out, so it is not the right thing to support them.
The two matters are unforgivable and suggest that there are concerns with the culture of the college. It is not always possible to spot the child abusers as about forty years ago I taught with a Brother from this religious organization and I never noticed any concerns.
Similar stories occur far too frequently and should serve as a warning of how toxic some male cultures can be. The #metoo movement has brought many individual cases of abusive males into the light. This school’s story has shown how groups, often of males, can also be so abusive.
We need to bring such matters into the light, stop the abuse and destroy the cultures that allow these things to occur.
Remember that children are our future. (dfitzger@melbpc.org.au/PN)
