Local Inner West resident and artist Thomas Jackson painted the George Street wall of Hive Bar in Erskineville, a comment to the recent Western Australian government’s shark cull that began on January 26.
It was so much easier to blame it on Them. It was bleakly depressing to think that They were Us. If it was Them, then nothing was anyone’s fault. If it was us, what did that make Me? After all, I’m one of Us. I must be. I’ve certainly never thought of myself as one of Them. No one ever thinks of themselves as one of Them. We’re always one of Us. It’s Them that do the bad things. Terry Pratchett, Jingo
At the same time news headines also declared “Buses the big killers of pedestrians in Sydney’s CBD…”. I ask myself, should the NSW Government take a cue from WA and cull the buses?
daleleelife101.blog 
Terry Pratchett has such a wonderful way of bringing to light things that we know are true, but don’t really think about until we read them in his books.
This shark cull is such an unnecessary outrage, but yo made me smile when you mentioned culling buses!
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I’m all for culling buses, from a NIMBY point of view, I’m a train commuter 😉 I’m happy to take my chances, and live and let live with the sharks.
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I agree. However, for me sharks are like snakes. I have a fear of them (fortunately I am not a swimmer or surfer), even though I have never met either creature in real life. When I am in the bush I stomp heavily. Is there a stomping equivalent for sharks?! 🙂
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I never venture too far in or swim alone so I think I’m safe.
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Ahhh, Terry Pratchett. 😀
Yes, I think a bus cull would be very logical in those circumstances, even one quietly going about its day is a potential killer, best we eradicate them before they get us….
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I confess to [cautiously] playing chicken with the city traffic but not buses. They are unpredictable beasts. As we’ve discussed previously, I respect the sharks’ territory.
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I can think of other species that would merit culling more, clue: they have two legs and sit in positions of power.
Nice mural though. The RG quote is interesting, I would add a line or two, ‘Listen to each other Listen to the earth’.
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Sage advice indeed.
For those in positions of power, I diagnose narcissism with delusional Selachophobia. One of the symptoms is selective deafness.
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Nice mural and the TP quote is something to ponder.
Also nice add on from roughseasinthemed 🙂
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It is quite a simple but impressive mural. Us and them sadly isn’t isolated to the shark issue; encouraging that sort of thinking seems to be a tactic across the political board.
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You are absolutely right. Divide and rule is a nasty political tactic but one we are seeing more and more of. Here in the UK politicians use immigrants and people who are out of work as scapegoats. In Russia at the moment the politicians are setting a homophobic agenda and I’m sure if I mentioned enough countries the list is endless but the practice is the same! Its a sad sign of the times….
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Obviously tactic sharing going on: gay marriage, asylum seekers, employment issues are high profile & divisive here. Shame for the UK, USSR pollies there aren’t any shark attacks for variety but I guess than comes under the broad and profitable political umbrella of environment.
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Yesterday Channel 4 TV in the UK marked the opening of the winter olympics by rebranding for the day and screened this (link below) promo video through the day. Given the nature of human rights in Russia the video clearly has a serious side but it is delivered with a lot of humour and it is nice that at least one of our broadcasters has bothered to pick up on the politics of the games…
And here is a link about the video with lyrics…
http://www.channel4.com/info/press/news/channel-4-goes-rainbow-to-wish-good-luck-in-sochi
If you want to escape the politics of the games and fancy watching a very interesting and scary documentary about urban climbing (also on C4) then click on the following link:
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dont-look-down/4od
Not sure how long the documentary will be up for as the on demand TV from C4 usually only stays up for a week or so. The documentary is about 50 minutes long but worth every minute!
It is one of the most gripping bits of TV I’ve seen in ages with some wonderful visuals… Enjoy 🙂
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I didn’t know it would put the video into the reply I only added a link and it appears to have had a mind of its own….
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All good, as was the clip – very good 🙂
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I couldn’t believe what I was hearing on the TV the other day when they were talking about the shark cull.
Even the divers and surfers they were interviewing were against it, saying it was their choice to take the risk.
What right have we to perform such atrocities.
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Me neither. Logical people think like that. Politicians use it as an agenda.
They have no right at all. But having no right to do something seldom interferes with what people will do. The difference between rightful and righteous.
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When will we learn? Whether it’s sharks in the waters, wolves in the forests, tigers in the marshes, or lions on the savannas, these creatures are all necessary pieces to the ecosystem puzzle. We must save them and their environments if we are to save ourselves.
Unless we’re talking about spiders.
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Ah yes, spiders… but I assume you don’t walk around town armed with a spray can to eradicate spiders you would never otherwise encounter.
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