Well past shocked and appalled

I always hate column pieces that start with “I am shocked and appalled”, because the phrase seems so trite. You know you are about to read something about someone complaining about something they believe they can’t do anything about. I swore that I would never write anything that started with the words appalled or shocked. There must be more elegant ways to express oneself.

At least that is what I thought until today. I read the recent Chronical Herald article reporting that one-in-three Cape Breton children live in poverty . I thought about the implications of the article while still reflecting on the Post piece concerning the Mayor’s second secretive excursion to China . How best to express my thoughts on this? Appalled and shocked comes pretty close, but perhaps that expression is just the polite version of what I am really thinking.

My family had some tough times growing up in Whitney Pier. There were a few Christmas mornings when the only gifts under the tree were from the Salvation Army. I also remember receiving new eyeglasses thanks to the CNIB. To say that I am appalled and shocked that we still have families in the CBRM so destitute is an understatement. Perhaps the “shocked and appalled" phrase was used by those too polite to say “I am pissed as hell and fed up with the bulls**t”.

The problem, as I see it, is that we have too many career politicians more concerned about their own pensions rather than the people they are supposed to support. Either that, or politicians too timid to tackle the draconian leaders currently empowered. Unfortunately, the politicians of both camps also know they can get away with this as long as they throw some money around to the right people at the right time. Until, of course, we get to the point that citizens become “pissed as hell and fed up with the bulls**t”. This is what happened in the last federal election and it is about to happen locally across the country.

If you are “pissed as hell and fed up with the bulls**t” then like and forward this post. Let us start with changing CBRM for the better.

Dr. StrangeJob

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Well past shocked and appalled and well on to pissed as hell and fed up with the bulls**t.
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Christian Murphy Follow Me
Dan I can't disagree with you, the frustration is real and people are getting angry with false promises and lies. It's as I often say, ignorance and apathy; I don't know and I don't care! We know there's a problem, it's been studied and recommended to death. Child poverty is a symptom of a greater problem.....it's not government, it's not politicians and it's not the agencies nor the myriad of others who with all the good will in the world can't fix this problem. Fundamentally it's the approach, to paraphrase Einstein, doing the same thing over and over expecting different result. I recently said in a post that if you want to create economic and sociological change in this region we have to first study what everyone has done to date and do the complete opposite. The same people with the same mindset in the same positions are not capable of changing it....so why bother with engaging in the current system? Create a new system...I read in your blog the quote, "In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to their level of incompetence." – Laurence J. Peter & Raymond Hull. The system has been designed to ensure we remain at our highest level of incompetence. Politics the metaphorical beauty contest, is not a competency evaluation. The organizational structures in which we live are not relevant within our reality, the are simply modifications of structures that are hundreds of years old. Change will only come if we create it.
Joe Ward Follow Me
Network: "I"m mad as hell and i'm not going to take it anymore". Just watched it recently. ;) But the faster we can turn discontent into suggested tangible action items, the better.
Dan Yakimchuk My Post Follow Me
Great comments. Two sayings come to mind. 1. People change not because they see the light, but because they feel the heat. 2. If you are just reshuffling the same deck then you will still be playing the same game. You are correct that my post was born of frustration, but it was also to see if others have reached the same frustration point that will force the change. The key will be to make sure that we do not simply replace one talking head with another talking head, but find people to support us from a more altruistic mindset (or at least a less tainted one). I tend to use humor to make my points but maybe we should look to the Geezers and Strategists Party that I referenced in an earlier blog. https://drstrangejob.wordpress.com/2015/09/17/geezer-party/
madeline yakimchuk Follow Me
we need to have a few new people run this time, people who are willing to put in the time and effort to keep things from collapsing because of the messed up way they are organized now, but also take a long view toward a different way to do things. These people are probably younger people, but not necessarily. There are a few councillors who occasionally or regularly go against the vote with Cecil, but Cecil still has the numbers, and until that changes he does have broad based power to do what he feels like. It is rather Harper like, especially since he seems to manage by the Harper Procedures Handbook. I hope we don't lose these people. I also hope we don't elect people who still have their heads in the past century just because we want change. I would like to call upon all of you who have a different vision to consider running now... you will need time to network, and you will need patience. It took Eldon MacDonald three tries to get elected.
Joan O'Connor Follow Me
Dan: I just saw this article as i was reading the new comments on Joe's video. Single moms probably make up a large portion of this group who live in poverty. If government got really strict with dead beat dads, it would help, although I suppose a lot of them who were working are no longer. Single moms are too busy to be political active and often not well equipped to advocate for themselves. So those of us who are somewhat better equipped are going to have to be the ones to try to change something that is becoming structural. Unless income inequality is tackled, nothing will change. Many businesses here and in the US are flush with cash, but won't spend any, they're hoarding it and not creating jobs. The middle class has been and is continuing to be pushed below traditional middle income and lots of boomers have lost pension and RRSP savings to the banks. They're in debt heading into retirement age. it's a very bad time, and government is doing nothing bold. They are protecting the wealthy on all sides of the political spectrum, indeed nobody is even suggesting that any of the structural problems that keep people poor or just above the poverty level should be overhauled in a dramatic way. Millenilas are trying to survive, so although they were somewhat effective with the occupy movement, they also need to work to eat. It's falling to old boomers to do this.

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