For those who think of LAUNCESTON as HOME despite theIr ‘cultural reality’ being something other than the ANGLOcentric cum COLONIALheritage that the city still wears as a ‘IDENTITY BADGE’ on its colonial cloak – or might that be COLONIALyoke – it is what it is and it pervades everything in every way.
Then there are those who think of LAUNCESTON as a DESTINATION – a place to go to, an elsewhere 'place'. For those 'at home' in LAUNCESTON the 'place' is what it is – made for us, by us over time. For those for who see LAUNCESTON a 'place' to go to, it is what it as well but it's quirkiness, its 'otherness' is the attractor. Whatever it is that 'attracts', or disappoints, is left behind to be ponder upon 'at home'.
HOW MIGHT ANNY OF THIS BE SUSTAINED AND MAINTAINED? All this 'places' a COLONIALyoke on Launceston's placedness and it is made clear when the city’s mayors BLINGup in their Medieval getups. The message here is we are a SOMBODY among NOBODIES –lesser people.
This is RANKISM and it is discriminatory like other behavior such as bullying and racism – and hazing, ageism, sexism, ableism, mentalism, antisemitism, homophobia, transphobia etc. etc too.
Come what may, around every corner, under every rock in any place, discriminatory behavior can be found. In many ways it is part and parcel of a place's 'placedness'. No matter where we are there just four life imperatives relative to being 'in the world':
- Getting what you need to sustain life – air to breath, water to drink, food to eat;
- Asserting one's identity – that is who you are within a group, family, tribe, community, a place;
- Fulfilling the need to procreate – genetically, intellectually, idealogically;
- Making a home – a lace where one is welcomed and safe.
THE NOBODY IDEA
Who are the nobodies? Those with less power – at the moment. Who are the somebodies? Those with more power - at the moment. Power is signified by rank. Rank in a particular setting. Somebodies hold higher rank than nobodies. In that setting.- for that moment. A somebody in one setting can be a nobody in another, and vice versa. A somebody now might be a nobody a moment later, and vice versa. [See Robert Fuller on Rankism] The abuse of power inherent in rank is rankism.
When somebodies use the power of their position in one setting to exercise power in another, that's rankism. When somebodies use the power of their position to put a permanent hold on their power, that, too, is rankism.
SO, celebrating POWERFULNESS in MAYROLbling is arguably COLONIALcentric, peri-colonial, a redundant sensibility of-the-past, and RANKIST – somebodiness among nobodies – and it is stratus quo oriented and in the end diminishing for all who live a culturally diverse reality but who nonetheless imagine themselves as 'Launcestonians' – First Nations people,
So, the question hanging here is in the 21st C, seems to be, in a place in the world somewhat at its edge, how might people be ranked relative to place and then their placedness?
It is political in so much as those who perceive that their wellbeing, their relative wealth, their status and authority is invested in the status quo. Ronal Regan said of the ‘status quo’ …. Quite simply it is Latin for the mess we are in.
It turns out that 'the PRESS' in Tasmania/Launceston has been, and largely still is, invested in maintaining the status quo – maintaining all that is and all the power invested in the good ship STATUS QUO and all who sail in her – for example think of EDMUND ROUSE and others.
For those who have much invested in and so heavily in the status quo most/many/some will be prepared ‘to die in a ditch’ defending the status quo a bit like fighting for ‘King, country and the Empire’. Somewhat Interestingly here Kenny Everett said “When England was a kingdom, we had a king. When we were an empire, we had an emperor. Now we’re a country, and we have Margaret Thatcher.” ... and a rather long conga line of other pretenders since. In the UK the need for change is simultaniously embraced and resisted as King Charles readies himself for 'coronation'.
It turns out that despite all the 21st C and its technologies have to offer in the way of CHANGE – necessary change – the realisation of change ultimately becomes a compelling mechanism for its maintenance aided and abetted by current atechnologies.
EFFECTING CHANGE EFFECTIVELY!
In the 21st C the Status Quo is not sustainable albeit that governance’s mindsets and thus their managements have so much invested in ’everything remaining basically the same’ – even if it needs a tweak here, a repair there etc. etc.
As it turns out in the 21st C – now 2 decades in –and its technologies CHANGE can be realised despite the PRESS and its compulsion, and perceived necessity, to maintain the status quo. Social Media has democratised ‘information and news sharing’ within Communities of Ownership and Interest – some vast, some small, all having a diverse and layered membership network.
There are EFFECTIVE democratising mechanisms available, largely cheap and for the most part relatively accessible that can challenge the ‘power of the press’ and even NEUTRALISE its ‘dead hand’ protecting the status quo.
It is worth remembering that essentially THE COVID-19 VIRUS empowered the QRcode (Quick Response Code) and what was once obscure is now generally well understood thus overturning what passed for WISDOM – The Proper Way. zenZING proverb – The PROPERway is that straight and narrow pathway from wherever you happen to be and all the way to mediocrity.
All this opens up a bunch of cliches that invokes a can of worms, the flood gates and of course pandora's box were only theAUDATIOUS might dare go! The 'four life imperatives' impact upon everything that we all do, all the time and always. Putting such considerations aside is perilous and especially so given that in that it impacts upon those who have their lives and wellbeing invested in a place – places that have diverse Communities of Ownership and Interest that all too often go unacknowledged.
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