Caution, Adult content, this post contains music with explicit lyrics.
This morning I woke up to the news that Ingvar Kamprad , founder of IKEA , had died.
Creative Commons- by Sandra Baqirjazid.
Years ago I’d made a mental note of him, because of the relatively ordinary lifestyle he projected. He came across as humble. What the world knew was that he drove an ordinary Volvo, refused to travel first class, and lived in a normal house. Turns out that he did own more than he said he did, but it certainly wasn’t conspicuous consumption like some wealthy celebrities, more like upper middle class.
Pope Francis is known as being a humble man too. That might get him killed someday, as I read he prefers to ride in regular cars instead of the super safe Popemobile.
Two days ago, Kendrick Lamar’s hit song “Humble” made number one on the prestigious (in Australia) Triple JJJ radio station, annual Top 100 songs, which is voted on by Australians. I must say that musically this song doesn’t grab me, though the piano riff is catchy, it’s too repetitive, like the one chorus line, over and over. It also has so much swearing, and rap industry jargon, that deletes the message, in my opinion.
As a parent, what do I say when this explicit song comes on the car radio? Well I tell my teen daughter to turn over the channel. I don’t want her talking to some future boss like that and getting fired. However, she’s going to hear it on the school bus, as it’s a hit song, so we have a conversation something like this.
I don’t think Lamar’s message is meant for me. It’s directed at the rap and probably also the wider music industry, and the way it treats women, particularly on videos, I think. If you were alive in the last 20 years you’d know about the scantily clad women on rap and some pop videos, compared with the covered up men; and the often sexist or violent lyrics. (That’s painting with a broad brush as there are many much better, but still, the industry has a long way to go. )
Maybe , judging by the video, he’s also aiming at sexist religions, like the Catholic and orthodox Christians, and Orthodox Jews. He shows a Leonardo da Vinci inspired Last Supper scene, where they are sitting in normal clothes, like the disciples did, but he then reappears in a Pope’s robe. Jesus didn’t dress like that, is the message I see, he appeared in humble garb. On the other hand, the current Pope is known for his humility. I doubt that Jesus swore either, but he did say things that were considered blasphemous by the Jewish religious heirachy of the time, which was also male dominated. As a Christian myself, do I find it blasphemous to put Jesus and the Pope in a clip alongside such porno lyrics? Yes, I do, but I’d rather he took out those lyrics, as the images are both instructive, and well shot.
It’s interesting that this song became a hit after the inaugural Women’s March which occurred around the world in 2017. Coupled with that was the Presidential electoral campaign of Hillary Clinton. I wonder how much of the song’s success was because many buyers of the track missed the satire in the lyrics, and really do want women to sit down and be humble? Women went on in 2017 to create the #me too anti sexual harassment movement, and to repeat their Women’s march in the millions in January 2018 with the support of many men. This has been threatening to hundreds of thousands of men the world over, I’m guessing, often because women are demanding not only respect, but a 50% slice of the power.
Music only, cleaner version.
The girls reply (clean):
Should women allow men to have a voice in the feminist journey? Yes, they totally should. There should be a dialogue. That’s where Lamar’s Humble seems to resonate with young people. Elders can point the way, but it’s by the young that change is really walked forward. It might be in pornographic language that confronts, and by imperfect (very) songs like Humble, but hopefully the patriarchy will be reached.
“According to an interview with TSR, the French-language Swiss TV broadcaster, (Ingvar) Kamprad drove a 1993 Volvo 240, flew only economy class, and encouraged IKEA employees to use both sides of pieces of paper. He reportedly recycled tea bags and was known to pocket the salt and pepper packets at restaurants." Kamprad had also been known to visit IKEA for a "cheap meal". He was known for purchasing Christmas paper and presents in post-Christmas sales. The company he created is still known for the attention it gives to cost control, operational details and continuous product development, allowing it to lower its prices by an average of 2–3% over the decade to 2010, while continuing its global expansion. Kamprad explains his social philosophy in his Testament of a Furniture Dealer: "It is not only for cost reasons that we avoid the luxury hotels. We don't need flashy cars, impressive titles, uniforms or other status symbols. We rely on our strength and our will!" Kamprad owned a villa in Switzerland, a large country estate in Sweden and a vineyard in Provence, France. Kamprad was also known for driving a Porsche for several years.
Kamprad had named his sons as the sole heirs of an entity called the Ikano Group, which holds a substantial minority stake in IKEA estimated at US$1.5 billion. His adopted daughter Annika will receive approximately $300,000.” Wikipedia
Well, it says earlier in that article that the IKEA founder also founded a charitable foundation that was the biggest in the world until recently. However, there seems to be sexism in the inheritance his adoptive daughter received compared with her brothers.
Here is the original Lamar music clip, if you don’t like explicit lyrics turn off the sound, but I think it’s worth analysing the images in the video:
Baker Boy is a trained professional up and coming young indigenous musician from the Northern Territory of Australia. He’s proud of who he is, his language and his culture. Get your dance/toe tapping shoes on for this one, lyrics at the bottom of the page:
The following article is written by Acerules, aged nearly 16.
When the English first landed on Australian soil, they could not understand the indigenous population, their languages or their culture.
Aboriginal rock art on the Barnett River, Mount Elizabeth Station. Creative Commons, taken by Graeme Churchard.
So, feeling superior, the invaders enslaved and murdered. Of course this did not happen all at once but to our current Aboriginal generations that first day is seen as the beginning of the end.
Australia Day is on the twenty-sixth of January, a day of celebration, partying and the good old Aussie barbie (Barbecue). It’s a day of inclusion and national pride, but the indigenous people don’t feel very included. They call this day, Invasion Day. And that’s pretty correct. Our country is divided on this subject, causing many debates across the population. Many people believe that there is a simple solution, just change the date. Having Australia Day some other time will not make it harder for people to celebrate (as those opposed to the idea are stating) but just the opposite, with those Australians that formerly felt insulted and ignored finally being able to join in the fun and properly celebrate their country.
Not only that but, at a risk of sounding pedantic, not all of Australia was settled on that day. Those states and territories that were colonised on a later time, can’t be expected to celebrate fully on that day. Also this date does nothing to include all those Australians without British background, whose ancestors did not arrive with the first fleet. Western Australia (one of our states), commemorates Australia on the 28th, two days after the rest of the nation and yet there have not been any of the riots or protests that we were warned about. But besides all that, I’m talking about this country’s history. So why, when Australia has so much rich history to be proud of, do we still celebrate a day symbolising the dark parts of our past? This land has given birth to famous athletes, inventions, things to remember. Why can’t we move on from the Invasion, as a whole nation, together.
This morning we attended a gathering on Australia Day. It comprised a few short inoffensive speeches by local dignatories, a poem about a local river written by a local poet, a couple of awards given, a guitar /ukulele performer, and all standing to sing the national anthem. Many enjoyed chatting , especially as some came in from the farmlands. The Rotary Club, a community service group, provided free hot sausages, eggs and bacon, all in sandwiches; tea, coffee and cold drinks. They were set up in a field kitchen, very impressive. Free Australian flags on sticks were given out .
The overall impression was relaxed harmony, “laid back” , light on formality, as is the Aussie way. A great deal of effort goes in, but it looks effortless.
The Seekers- “We are Australian”:
ACERULES SITTING IN THE BACKGROUND:
On the Australian way of speaking:
Hmm. I’m not sure whether this is a sacrelige to “Advance Australia Fair” or to “Working Class Man”, but it kinda works, if you’re from my generation.
Australian Aboriginals are the oldest people in the world, at over 40,000 years. Therefore some of them object to the words in the national anthem, “For we are young and free.”
I think that the current US conservative government do believe that climate change exists, though they currently deny it. Most members of that government have large shareholdings in industries that have caused global warming, and don’t want to make admissions that one day could help lawsuits prove their culpability. They are still making money from those industries. They are mostly getting old. So the climate and flowon effects wont affect them directly, so they think. That’s my theory.
I think, the reason they really want a wall is because, when the countries near the Equator heat up, flood, or otherwise become inhospitable, the US don’t want the resulting refugees yet to come. See on this map where the Equator is, cutting through Colombia and Brazil. Then see the land route from there to the USA.
1996. Courtesy of the University of Texas Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin.
Parts of Europe have been putting up security fences to keep out hordes of immigrants. I believe these are, at heart, climate refugees, however, their numbers are nothing to what is going to occur in the future, as climate change gets worse. I believe all countries in temperate zones are aware of the inrush of immigrants yet to come, whether their governments admit to climate change or not.
Do countries have the right to protect their borders with walls? Well, yes, I think they do, actually. It’s literally a stopgap measure though. We need to address the causes. As a planet, we have to urgently reduce our carbon output, stop deforestation, our pollution production generally needs to go down to almost nil. We need to drastically reduce our population growth.
Well, if other outlets can do US President Donald Trump retrospectives of his first year in office, so can we. I’m indebted to Acerules for her very funny memes, in my posts, that took a lot of work. Doing research for this retrospective shows me that I often drew parallels between US and Australian situation and personalities. The themes are often the same for both countries, though there is only one Trump.
Here’s a look back at our commentary here, on Trump.
Comment on the blog:
Margo said...
As a Trump supporter I welcome Inauguration Day!
I believe Trump will work for the people. I think if you look past the large ego and the showman you will find a man with heart. He will want history to see him favorably and will want to leave a great Trump presidential legacy. I think he will also be paving the way for future Trump family members to follow him.
I hope he ends up surprising some of his staunchest haters!
Cheers!
17 January 2017.
This entry before the inauguration, about the possibility of Russian interference in the election, was one of our most read posts ever:
A satire piece referencing first daughter Tiffany. Questions abounded online about the contents of the Tiffany box Melania Trump gave Michelle Obama at the inauguration:
A satire following speculation that the Trumps would decorate the Whitehouse in the gilded style of their New York apartment, and referencing “golden showers” rumours:
We were angry, here, when Trump withdrew from the Paris climate agreement:
KEthical politics said...
“Acerules....perfectly stated...Trump said the World laughs at America....well, since he has been President the the laughing has turned to dismay which Is even worse. The World is shaking it's head at the infantile actions and decisions of its new President. Because of him the states in US will usurp him. The states will fight back. We will not let him nor his 23% of US voters ruin America”.
A satire referencing Melania’s continued absence from the Whitehouse, Comey saying he didn’t like being alone with Trump, and Melania batting Trump’s hand away when he tried to hold hers:
“Thanks KE. Loved the toon! Trump seems like a man without much appreciation of anything other than business. It's sounds twee, but if you have little soul or appreciation of beauty, you're not bound to be mindful of preserving it around you. Can't believe it's even considered possible to mess with the Grand Canyon. If his personal style of decor is anything to go by, he certainly has no taste. All gold n garish glamour. This is not the style of a thoughtful man. A brash snowman that unfortunately duped a nation (well a poor % of them) into thinking he could run a country. It seems absurd that he is running things. What are his qualifications? Why do we even allow people without a history of proven service in politics to even stand for election?
I think most people just want Middle styled politics that takes as much care as possible of as many people as possible. I probably have an overly simplified view of things but money or nepotism (like Bush) should never be enough to run a campaign.”
Another reply to my Fourth of July post, from an American Right voter this time:
Satire following comments from Trump, saying his friend Jim wouldn’t go to Paris. Journalists couldn’t find Jim. This was prior to President Macron of France finally realising he had to charm Trump, which he did on the US President’s visit there:
As Trump and President Kim Jong Un from North Korea ramped up their nuclear stand off, the world became more nervous, me among them, mind you, Russian leader Putin was threatening nuclear war if Hilary Clinton got in, loud and clear:
Trump was mentioned in this post about regret. He doesn’t admit to regrets, usually. When he does alter a statement, he often goes back to the original.
Let’s see what this year will bring. The only thing I can confidently predict about Trump is that the almost daily news , often shocking, will continue. This is not a President that likes to beaver quietly away in the shadows. He’s more a limelight, chaos kind of guy, as Margo said up above, a “large ego and” a “showman”. Well, roll up , roll up people, for year two. Will he “Make America Great Again?” Time will tell. There are world forces, he is not the only player on the stage, and greatness is relative.
“The dust clears away in places, the star burns out more quickly because it’s big and hot, and we will get to see more clearly what it was made of.
Hopefully before it causes a sequence of nuclear reactions. “
Runningonempty.
Thankyou to Acerules and our other contributors. Comments are welcome, as always.
Your brown skin shining in the sun. You got your hair combed back And your sunglasses on, baby. I can tell you my love for you will still be strong After the boys of summer have gone.”
Excerpt from The Boys of Summer by Don Henley
This week we went to a beautiful beach in our region. It is a beach that gets rips* and sharks sometimes, so it is “manned” in the high season by Surf Life Savers. They also have a club for local children called the Nippers. The Surf Lifesavers in Australia are world famous, and rightly so.
There is a heat wave on our side of the country, and it was cooler there with the sea breezes gently whispering near me in the grasses.
The dry sand is light and soft , the wet is hard , so people and dogs enjoy running on it.
Acerules enjoyed splashing in the sea.
Woodside Beach is toward one end of the famous Ninety Mile Beach in Victoria, which is popular with fisher people and water sports, and of course ocean swimming. You cannot see an end to it, it’s marvellous. Being far from cities, it’s very clean too.
I enjoyed the crashing of the waves and it was not overcrowded for such a hot day in the school holidays (Summer vacation).
We all have to pay our way somehow. That seems to be how life currently is. To take up space in a community, and to get what we want, we need to provide a service, or goods of some kind. In The Getting of Wisdom, by Henry Handel Richardson, an Australian book and movie, Laura pays her way with the students, by telling stories. The book is a classic of Australian literature, and a great movie was made of it.
Ashamed of her true situation , Laura makes up lies, that entertain the other girls at the boarding school, and relieve their boredom, in a pre-screen age. This buys her popularity. I won’t spell out how that ends, but you know how lying always ends, when it is eventually found out.
Many people, companies, leaders of our community, are prepared to take that risk, for short to long term gain. It is a type of selling of the soul, that slowly poisons the psyche of the individual, and the community, I think.
In the light of that, I am opposed to large political contributions from stakeholders. It seems undemocratic, and leading to the corruption of whole political parties, I think. Surely, politicians should be there to represent their constituents, and the country or portion of the country, as a whole? How can they do that if they are representing the people who paid for their campaign first?
I think campaigns shouldn’t be paid for by the candidate either. Too many leaders these days are rich, and have no idea of the travails of the common person. I remember John Howard, a past conservative Prime Minister , having no knowledge of the prices of common groceries. I’m guessing he’s not the only leader like that around the world.
Here’s an idea, how about the taxpayers paying an equal amount for each candidate’s campaign. Parties with more candidates would have more money, sure, but if all materials were ordered through a central department, all parties could get the economies of scale.
I also think all materials should be recyclable. No more plastic banners. All candidates would be required to produce a bio, and actual policies, not empty slogans, before appearing on a tv show and no one would have more time, as is the current system. I get very irritated at the difficulty in finding out information before polling day, about the lesser known candidates, while we get sick of hearing about the cashed up ones. Quite often, that cash comes from corporations who don’t have our best interests at heart.
I’d also suggest politicians being fined, or otherwise penalised , for lying to the voters, and not fulfilling their campaign promises, or at least trying to. After all, under the Fair Trade act here, it’s illegal to make false claims about a product. It should be the same if you are “selling” yourself. Fines collected should be added to the pot to pay for campaigns. It would be a double deterrent if politicians knew their lies paid for someone else’s campaign!
'We pay for access': Lobby group's admission on political donations - The Sydney Morning Herald :
