We popped into one of the opening events of Living Local and then a few weeks later joined the craft group, here’s what people in Lingfield had to say…

Who or what has most influenced you in your lifetime? Good question. My mum. She is a person who puts community and other people over personal gain. That influenced me a lot in the career/ ethics I have. Also I spent some time volunteering in Rwanda. That was probably the thing that has most influenced me in my life. My teacher: who told me about sheep and goats. He said that in life you can either follow the crowd (like sheep) or follow your own path ( like goats) and which you choose is up to you.

What is it to love? Big question. Putting someone else’s needs and happiness above your own. Allowing and supporting someone to follow their own path/dreams/desire.

Do you think before you speak? Sometimes I overthink things. Then the words burst out. Sort of one leads to the other. I think a lot then I don’t think at all.

How does it feel to be wrong? I’m never wrong.

Where do you belong? Now that is a deep question…you could take that many ways. The locl. The global. Therese may said that if you are a citizen of everywhere then you are a citizen of nowhere. I don’t like talking politics – but is that right? Does it have to be either or? Can I belong to a place I live in and also belong in other places? Surely we are both? I belong here in Leeds where I live, where I grew up and also in all these other places too.

I belong where there are people that accept me warmly.

Why are you here? I just explained that. How strange to get that question.

How does it feel to be vulnerable? It’s a bit scary and then its empowering. You are sort of like a caterpillar’s metamorphosis into a butterfly. It is a moment of transformation: it seems very scary but afterward you are somewhere new.

What are you afraid of? I’m scared of birds….well anything that flaps actually. Story of the mer cat…   Though that reminds me of what I am really terrified of …which is disappointing people,. Is that sad? I mean you cant control other people’s expectations of you. It’s impossible.

What is the difference between you and me? I think we are all more similar then we are different. I was talking with a Muslim woman and on the outside we look very different and you might, on first glance, think that we would have very little in common. Yet as we spoke, we discovered so many similarities…our circumstances, where we lived and what we did, the problems we were having with our children. Really we had so much in common.

Every person is like a flower, And it would be really boring if every flower looked the same. Same colours same bloom. What is exciting about the flowers is that they are all different. And people are like those flowers in the garden, a myriad of colours and expressions and shapes, and all those differences are complementary.

What’s stopping you? That made me think of today. What is stopping me from singing?

What is your favourite word? A man told me this word once – Discombobulated. I love it. Sounds very clever. What does it mean?

I don’t have a clever word but the Albanian word for hello ‘pershendetje’ which I learnt whilst living in Albania, I discovered later when learning Spanish that the same word in Spanish means ‘little shit’. My friend used to get to me to tell all her friends the Albanian word for hello and of course they would all laugh, because it was a swear word and I didn’t know.

My children sometimes make up words in English, which are translations form words in Spanish. They don’t mean anything in English but I know exactly what they mean by these made up words. I love that.

I like long words but I prefer reading stories in simple language

Do you think before you speak? Mixed thoughts on this: from ‘never – I tell it like it is’; to ‘only when responding to ‘volatile’ people; to ‘I try to’.

What makes you hopeful? Places like this community hub. Seeing acts of cooperation and tolerance within this community.

What inspires you? Jean. Jean inspires us because she is the kindest, nicest person…she’s a little sweetheart. This place. My daughter made the logo – she won the competition at school. Originally it was a crayon drawing. We have it framed at home.

How does it feel to be vulnerable? Not much. My early life was quite harsh and compared to that nothing makes me feel vulnerable.

My car skidded on ice and I swerved off the motorway and then the car wouldn’t start. I felt pretty vulnerable waiting for help.

When do you ask for help? At the last minute usually. Practical help is easier to ask for. There is something about ‘no’ – can someone hear it or say it, when asking for help. The worry being if the person asked says no, then will it hurt; or if I ask, will the person feel burdened by me. I don’t care what people think so I’m not afraid to ask for help.

Why are you here? To support Kate and my friends and community. I wouldn’t say I’m here to make a difference because people come if they want and if they are interested.

 Do you count? Everyone counts. Maybe more people feel like they count at the moment?

If you could change anything, what would you change? The government. No the PM. I’d bring in proportional representation. But who would you put in place of the current PM? I like that old guy with the beard…Corbyn. He seems honest and is for the people. But are the things he wants too good to be true? And can he balance the books? Though the conservatives havn’t done a great job with that have they.

Where do you draw the line? Racism. People think I will agree with them because of what I look like but if I witness racism, I will step in and stop it. They don’t expect that but I don’t care.

Comments:

 

 

We need a larger sense of us. What is ‘us’?

Someone said it’s a good sign if you didn’t get around to taking photographs – means you were having a good time.

Feel like bonds were deepened and there was a commonality of thinking across the different people there.

Oh wow! Thats amazing! So glad you came and did that, we have a lot of conversations in the hub, we all talk an awful lot, so its nice to have those conversations directed and recorded. So, so important this work that you are doing, now more than ever.

Who are Tea and Tolerance? We explained about our roots in the York Mosque who invited the EDL in for tea and football. It struck a chord for some residents and they talked about how scary it was a few years ago when that had happened in this community. How police had told them to stay inside but they wanted to carry on as normal and didn’t want to hide.

So great to see everyone together: laughing and smiling. We have so much #moreincommon

  

Great out there challenge in November 2016 as part of Compass live Art Festival at Live Art Bistro Here’s a link to a little film.

 

Discussion 1 – Handbook for being Human in the 21st Century with MB TB EH JH LM PM ZP & JW

Thanks to generous funding from Arts Council England, we begin researching conversation and being human.  Below are the reflections of 8 artists based in Leeds and Bradford on 27.1.17. We each started with the gathered blogs of the conversations of each event we have taken our project Tea and Tolerance to and 7 proposed chapter titles. The initial proposal being to write a Handbook for being Human in the 21st century.

Is it a book? A process?… an adventure?
Who have we worked with?
Where is it going? – to parliament? As a manifesto for humankind?

Cards FOR Humanity (rather than ‘against’)

MANIFESTO – or a journal / workbook / actions / tools: what am I gonna do? What next?

It’s all talk… Create a tool-kit to prompt conversation / a series of tasks and blank pages (Kindness Advent Calendar; Random Acts of Kindness..?)

A LAUNCHPAD to SOMEWHERE ELSE?

Where is the warmth..? The Story… The development of T&T… COntextUalisation.

WHO IS IT FOR? And WHAT IS IT FOR? Accessibility…

Is social change necessary? YOU might think so – but what if most people just want to ‘get along’, fall in love… ‘I’m not looking for a New England…’
Who should I be cross with, and what do people want? Will there be a WW3? Will we do it all over again?… But the reality is: people died, a lot of people…

Who is to blame, and how do we evolve? How do we all have conversations / empathy and compassion with and for  people who do not share your world view. What if I am ‘their ‘ HITLER?

Who’s in & Who’s out? How do you make room for everybody? Who explains POLITICS to you? What does it all mean?

In a no (WO)MANS land – from our exclusive little ‘bubbles’…. crafting cultural / social experiences…

POLITICS is a privilege – what about ‘just surviving’???

Are we just wanking off? Who is to blame for all the wanking?

If SHIFT is going to happen… what do we do? Who do we talk with? And how?
A need to recognize spheres of influence…? Meaning – for whom?

DON’T TELL ME HOW TO BE GOOD.

YOU CAN ONLY ASK GOOD QUESTIONS… Questions to bridge boundaries… Bridging gaps.

Making assumptions? Fulfilling expectations? What DOES it MEAN? (Define / determine – unravel terms together to develop a shared understanding…)

A need to strip language back, develop definitions, get out of our BOXES of assumptions – what does the word Fascist / Nazi mean. Define it. Together. There are massive gulfs between people – even in families…

HOW DO WE HAVE THE CONVERSATION?

QUESTION FROM BASIC PRINCIPLES: Use a battering ram or develop a curiosity tool…?

DIALOGUE. Where and how are we similar? Let’s not start by knowing that the other is definitely wrong. Stop filling in the gaps in conversation. Stop being so fucking clever.

LISTEN
Establish lexicon (words we understand) with each other.
CURIOUSNESS
Stop pitting people against each other & blaming….
LISTEN
Stop being binary. Evolve your multiplicity.
Create ‘Safe’ space to be FIERCE
RADICAL HONESTY – build toward a place where this can take place…

WHAT are the LAYERS, and HOW do they FUNCTION in the development of creating that ‘Safe Place’?

LAYERS of CHOICES
BE CURIOUS – who knows everything?
LISTEN very very CAREFULLY…
FIND yourself in a group of people who are able to hold their tongues…
SPEAK… maybe.
BREATHE
This is an enquiry – we will work it out together…
WITH OUR PASSION…

HOW DO WE ASK & WHAT ARE THE RIGHT QUESTIONS?

Book? App? Social media? Multi-platform? Multiple access routes in…

[When do I feel alone? What do I go to? Someone’s thought. But how do I go on? Blank pages. Need a space to feed back into…]

Activities to create position of an imagined and distant point of view… One person’s terrorist is another’s freedom fighter.

How do we avoid dominant voices? REFLECT / BREATHE

PRIVILEGE. CIS / TRANS / HOW DO WE INCLUDE PEOPLE IF THEY ARE NOT VOCAL?

CHECK IN – with each other along the way.
WHAT IS YOUR LANGUAGE (plain speaking).
REFLECT UPON HOW YOU ARE DOING
MOMENTS of COMPULSORY NOTHING.
RULES & REGS.

SPACE – and How does a conversation work?
Clumsily – that’s life! Justification of positions / or Evolution of ideas or concepts….

CURIOSITY BINGO!

WHAT DO YOU MEAN? (When, if ever, do we land on the same page?)
(Where is the route map that takes me from here to There…?)

What are the core questions – and how do we speak: converse, converge & transform…

TIME PLACE PROCESS
CARTOGRAPHY

At the crossroads where all the ghosts, futures and present converge… Where the decision has to be made as regards the next step… In the moment?

A tool-kit for guided conversations.
{note from Lucy to remember the Naughty Virgin Mary?}???
WHAT IS LISTENING? Re-creation of the T&T model / way of evolving and developing conversation…

A TOOL-KIT to build with…
(What is the game and how does it work?)
Game of Equality… or Equity…
What are the rules?
How do we do tolerance?

Where are you stuck in your life? Need spaces to speak on particular issues…

EVERYBODY IS AMAZING AREN’T THEY?
(Termites and shouters)
What will make it all better?

TIME LIMITS: game mechanisms; open spaces; creating frameworks…

[Social Engineering] / T&T FIGHT CLUB…

Who are you? Will you share it with me?

FURTHER / ONWARD THINKING:

Part 1: Tea & Tolerance: Re-establishing the Art of Conversation.

I think this is what i/we came to as a conclusion… to create something that is the right balance… of instructions, rules, options and strategies (maybe even a few statements & suggestions, games and aides) that helps people to really enjoy each others company whilst evolving meaningful dialogue with each other.

To be calm becomes a kind revolutionary act…

Levels of Inequality is unprecedented in these times. INEQUALITY exists because a small amount of people the 0.01% have EXTREME WEALTH. In 2011, about 300 people owned more than 50% of the wealth of the rest of the humans on the planet. This is now down to less than 50  people in the world, who have individual net worth’s between 3bn and 100bn ( or more). They own multiple personal homes, business lettings, corporations, even  islands…this SUPER-WEALTH is HIGHLY NEGATIVE on SOCIETY as a  whole because it has a corrosive effect on DEMOCRACY.

Below are my notes on  Requiem of the American Dream by Noam Chomsky. REQUIEM is a potent reminder that power ultimately rests in the hands of the governed – and is required viewing for all who maintain hope in a shared stake in the future. It has a western eurocentric focus, so that is to born in mind also given the inequities between the global north & south, and colonial legacies / impact of current global wealth distribution.

TEN  PRINCIPLES OF CONCENTRATION OF WEALTH AND POWER: THE VICIOUS CYCLE

1.REDUCE DEMOCRACY
2.SHAPE IDEOLOGY
3.RE-DESIGN THE ECONOMY
4.SHIFT THE BURDEN TO THE MASSES
5.ATTACK SOLIDARITY
6.RUN THE REGULATORS
7.ENGINEER ELECTIONS
8.KEEP THE RABBLE IN LINE
9.MANUFACTURE CONSENT
10.MARGINALIZE THE POPULATION

Who owns the Society? CLASS – who gives the orders? Who follows them

1.REDUCE DEMOCRACY

“Protect the minority of the opulent and the wealthy”
The system is set up to prevent democracy in any meaningful way as the major sectors of society THE MEDIA COMMERCE and PRODUCTION are all controlled / ruled by the richest people and to ensure their continued wealth. Their aim is to reduce democracy or to reduce inequality so that business doesn’t lose control of society.

2. SHAPE IDEOLOGY

There has been a business offensive since the 1970’s as previously passive and obedient citizens were organising and taking an interest in politics ( ACTIVISM) – This is a CONTROL of resources even if that means manipulating people. The general population must be subdued and  the young indoctrinated. Our thoughts are literally shaped by business and governments.

3.RE-DESIGN THE ECONOMY

Increased role of the financial institutions. By 2007 it made 40% of corporate profits. Banks make half their profits by moving money around with trickery. There is no evidence that they are doing anything of value to the economy. That is FINANCIALISATION ( the process by which financial organisations increase in influence and size) and OFF SHORING of trades ( moving trading overseas).
Policy is designed to increase insecurity.

The aim is to create GREATER WORKER INSECURITY becaause Insecure people are easy to CONTROL

4. SHIFT THE BURDEN

Shift the burden of paying for society to masses and away from the 0.01%
Democracy is mainly a myth in our societies. This is more of a PLUTOCRACY ( a few RULE the many ) than a DEMOCRACY ( the many people rule the many).
Anti-British anti-American, identifying and targeting anyone negatively because of their race, beliefs, religion, these are TOTALITARIAN IDEAS ( think tyrant ruler and subservient people) expressions are NOT democratic. Reagan and Thatcher vilified unions with these terms. We see a similar things today.

5.ATTACK SOLIDARITY

SOLIDARITY is dangerous. Solidarity is the principle of public services – Education, Housing, NHS, Social Security.
They are fundamentally about sympathy and caring for other people.
The rule says CARE only for YOURSELF and NOT other people.
There has to be a concerted effort to DESTROY solidarity. If you want to destroy something first thing you do is DE-FUND it. That’s a standard technique for privatising something.
So to attack solidarity you must severely attack public services.

6.RUN THE REGULATORS

This is called ‘regulatory capture’. The businesses being regulated is in fact running the regulators. Bank lobbyists are writing the laws of financial regulation. They are TOO BIG TO FAIL – they have the time and money to campaign for what matters to them. Do you? We bailed out the banks – with few repercussions. Many of the richest people and companies increased their wealth in this time, while most otehr people lost over 44% of their wealth. Yet no help for poor people when they need bailing out – they are demonised This is NEO-LIBERALISM. By the way there is the opposite rule for the poor. Deregulation is closely linked to financial crashes.

7.ENGINEER ELECTIONS

Is it all rigged?
Concentration of wealth yields concentration of political power. Money is a form of free speech ( since 1970’s). Business, commerce, media have a MASSIVE amount of POWER and control over policies and therefore politicians – this influence is a massive attack on democracy. Phrases such as “The people have spoken..” probably engineered by very well paid experts and are, by their very design, undemocratic. Who actually spoke and for whom? AI, social media networks & use of mass personal data is a major current tool for control in elections, and general mind control of the mass population.

8.KEEP THE RABBLE IN LINE

Unions provide a barrier to corporate dominance. Unions are a democratising force and so to keep people in line you must ATTACK the unions. When a population is strong enough the politicians listen. In a plutocracy you must OPPRESS the rising masses. A very small percentage of people are currently in a union. Is that an accident or engineered? Elites in US hate unions so strongly that the fundamental core of labour rights ( the right to form unions) has never been ratified.How do unions fair in the UK? Thatcher damaged them greatly. Zero hours contracts.

9.MANUFACTURE CONSENT

A CIRCUS. A DISTRACTION.– trapping people in consumption and in the belief that they need the next gadget, fashion item or diet pill to be happy. This is no accident but deliberate. The general population are DISTRACTED with superfluous things. Think of the endless advertising campaigns for christmas, valentines, easter…all a promise to our aspirations to be happy, healthy and loved. Can we only get these things with their products? Do we even want these things? Landfill. More profit for corporations and suffocating “consumption  clogging up our systems.

“The public must be put in their place”

Turn the person into the perfect system of consumption. The point is to create UNINFORMED CONSUMERS who make IRRATIONAL CHOICES. Spectators not participants and so those people are no trouble and easy to control.
This happens in elections and referendums. An uninformed electorate – who make irrational choices – often against their own interests.
A DEMOCRATIC system would encourage INFORMED CONSUMERS to make RATIONAL CHOICES.

10.MARGINALISE THE POPULATION

Make people HATE and FEAR each other and only look out for them selves – No constructive action. recognised in unfocused anger and an attack on the vulnerable.
POLICY will be the shadow cast by business over society.
“ALL FOR MYSELF NOTHING FOR ANYONE ELSE”
This leads to UGLY greed. A GLOBAL SOCIETY going unchecked based on these principles will lead to the MASS DESTRUCTION of human beings.

If we want democracy we need a participatory and democratising CONTROL of MEDIA COMMERCE and PRODUCTION

So what are the OPPOSITE PRINCIPLES?? My thinking so far…

1.STRENGTHEN and protect DEMOCRACY 

2.ALLOW OWN IDEOLOGY – BE INFORMED and QUESTION EVERYTHING so what we think is our own critical thoughts not what someone else has told us.

3.REDESIGN THE ECONOMY – decrease the power of financial institutions over governments and communities, increase community and collective leader-full principles, that encourage informed choices for as many as possible. 

4.Be RESPONSE ABLE – A community that want to contribute – responsive individuals giving what they can in expertise, consent, hope, empathy, finance, time…for the benefit of the many.

5.PROTECT and INCREASE SOLIDARITY – Stand up for others. Stand with not against. Support Each other. Empathy. 

6.REGULATIONS – regulate with a range of people who have a stake – i.e. communities, people from all social positions, cultures, genders etc who all have a stake to hold in the regulating. Listen and be sensible and individual. Be fair to what benefits the whole and harms the fewest, not what makes the most money/ profit. Remember the other economic costs and values – time, social, environmental

7.LIMIT FINANCE ALLOWED IN ELECTIONS – create mechanisms that give each person more of a fair chance to have their voice count. Care about each person’s voice. Learn to listen and seek out the voiceless.

8.FREE THE RABBLE – Unionise, organise, community ownership, collective decision making, cultivate consent, look at different perspectives, different ways & multiple thinking patterns within decision making.

9.ALLOW INFORMED RATIONAL CHOICE/REDUCE CONSUMERISM – don’t ‘put’ anyone anywhere – allow them to choose. Allow views especially those you don’t agree with to exist.

10.COLLECTIVISM – EMPOWER THE MANY – responsibility and contribution of every human within local and global communities. LOVE and be BRAVE

Links – http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/forandagainstchomsky

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Noam_Chomskyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Noam_Chomsky

https://www.currentaffairs.org/2016/12/thousand-ways-to-misrepresent-noam-chomsky