Probably the most enjoyable of all your writings on this forum. I loved it.
Last week my 7-year old grandson asked me about where a film we were watching was set. When I answered Russia he exlaimed that he thought the country was "bad". When I asked why he answered that Russia was bad because it had invaded Ukraine. I have no idea where he picked this up, but I suspect it was school - probably a fellow pupil but I wouldn't rule out a teacher. I see a Ukrainian flag in one on the classroom windows when I collect him from school.
I tried to explain that Russia is a lovely country but I didn't pursue the point with him. I now remember all the BS I absorbed during my own schooldays. It was at least as bad, e.g. black babies, girls were to be avoided, etc. Although I survived all that (I think!), I would love to have had someone sensible at hand to advise me to learn to think for myself, not to follow the herd even if I ended up in a miniroity of one.
Independent-mindedness is probably the greatest gift any young person today should have. Reading your piece today tells me your son has it in spades.
You're lad will be grand Gerry. Its more painful for us parents though. Of my five children only one is on the page with me on this Agenda. My fourth son is 38 and studied Science and other stuff at college, completely woke and fast asleep, read the Yuval Harari books and watched the David Attenborough films and believed in de covid story and took tests and got off work etc. You are blessed you can sit down and have a decent conversation. We always seem to break into a row and I have to walk away because I can't tolerate nonsense. Obviously my children believe I've become a lunatic
Thanks for sharing your story of college days. I didn't go to college, I disliked school except for the fun part, meeting friends and getting up to no good etc. I was young and opted to spend a year in Spain as an au-pair and when I got back after that I still didn't want to go to Uni. I did a commercial course and began work in an Insurance Company. We all have painful experiences in our lives and we have to go through them. Its how we learn, by our mistakes. Hopefully our life's experiences will help us to muddle our way through this aweful future the powers who shouldn't be have planned for us. By the way I love learning things now that I am old and worked in the library for last 17 years of my working life, so I had access to any learning material that I wanted
Congratulations on your year at the writing and may you go from strength to strength xxx
Thanks Fionnuala. God Yuval Harari came up in a Whatsapp group that I am in and caused quite the stir as many don't know the Background with him. I have plenty of rows too don't worry about lol. A lot of people aren't ready for college at 17 I know I certainly wasn't. I'd have been much better off going 5 or 6 years later after working for a few years.
"He’s a bright young fella but full of a lot of the type of global idealism I am more than a little skeptical about and allied to this he seems to possess a worrying and innate trust in the goodness of the state and world around him. And what it can achieve for people." I could have written exactly the same words about my 19 year old son! Parenting is tough when you see that despite all your best intentions and all your learnings, your children have to go and work it out for themselves... it gives great insight into the grief that we caused our own parents!!. On the plus, I am so glad my kids have enough self awareness to stand up to peer pressure and hopefully will not end up in any of the predicaments that their mother did, and they have actually got to university... they have passed me out already.... I will take those wins! The fact that he is even voicing an opinion to you at that age speaks volumes. A very enjoyable read.
Brilliant piece , so much insight through anecdote . It’s a shame Wuthering Heights is being decimated by critical race theory , my favourite novel once . When I was at UCGeeee there was a Hugh McDermott (?) lecturing , who had recorded all his lectures on VHS and never strayed from his own script . The same jokes . Every time . Anyway I too live in daily fear of waking up to a woke son and the university years loom ahead with big woke banners … the trouble is it’s probably already happened . Da woke-ness…
Thanks Siofra. I keep forgetting you were in UCG. Hubert McDermott I think was it...If it's the same fella he was a brilliant lecturer. We had another lad that used to hold his tutorials in that pub across from the hospital. Can't remember his name though!
“If different gypsy or Traveller tribes from here and around Europe were not discriminated by 19th century society what would have happened to their indigenousness? Would they still be recognisable and as strong as a tribe today?”
This is a brilliant question. And one worthy of a substack in itself. Congrats on the birthday - mine will be in a couple of months. It’s not easy, just as living truthfully is not easy, but it’s the brave path.
I do the same with my 4 children - we talk, or should I say I lecture and they ignore me. It was funny though once my 14 year old and I agreed on something and she was agreeing so vehemently in expectation of an argument that she was disorientated when she realised we actually agreed with each other. However I wouldn’t do it at midnight after a shift at work, I wait till they’re at the dinner table, all of them together and yes, they’ve often ganged up on me but at least it makes them think about it. One thing we all do agree on is that their new “climate action” class is a pile of doggy doo doo, but we seem to agree for different reasons. Perhaps I’ll write about this, however I hold my children’s privacy as so sacred I tend to leave them out of my writings.
I recently listened to the audiobook version of Wuthering Heights and was struck by how miserable all of the characters were, and how disrespectful they were to each other. I’m not woke but I wondered what it was that drew me in the first time I read it. Heathcliff was a nasty bastard no matter what his skin colour was, if it was as a result of his treatment or not, many people were also nasty bastards at that time. Woke-ism perhaps takes respect and consideration a couple of bridges too far, however I do believe the pendulum must swing too far in the opposite direction before it comes to a happy balance.
So as you can see I honour your rambling substack with a ramble of my own! The world is a better place with you and your musings in it. I doff my hat to you sir.
Thanks a million Abby. Unfortunately midnight is the only time I can catch this fella off guard hahahaha. I think the television adaptations have had a lot to do with the popularity in the recent generations of Wuthering Heights. I alway enjoyed the Brontes for some reason but I get what your saying alright.
Great story, Gerry. I like the relationship you have with your son, at least he allows you drive him home. As far as the answer book goes, you're a better man than me as I would have been happy to burn it or at least hang onto it. Would it not be great if you still had that book so you could eventually show it to your son and tell him the story? Keep on writing lad.
Probably the most enjoyable of all your writings on this forum. I loved it.
Last week my 7-year old grandson asked me about where a film we were watching was set. When I answered Russia he exlaimed that he thought the country was "bad". When I asked why he answered that Russia was bad because it had invaded Ukraine. I have no idea where he picked this up, but I suspect it was school - probably a fellow pupil but I wouldn't rule out a teacher. I see a Ukrainian flag in one on the classroom windows when I collect him from school.
I tried to explain that Russia is a lovely country but I didn't pursue the point with him. I now remember all the BS I absorbed during my own schooldays. It was at least as bad, e.g. black babies, girls were to be avoided, etc. Although I survived all that (I think!), I would love to have had someone sensible at hand to advise me to learn to think for myself, not to follow the herd even if I ended up in a miniroity of one.
Independent-mindedness is probably the greatest gift any young person today should have. Reading your piece today tells me your son has it in spades.
You're lad will be grand Gerry. Its more painful for us parents though. Of my five children only one is on the page with me on this Agenda. My fourth son is 38 and studied Science and other stuff at college, completely woke and fast asleep, read the Yuval Harari books and watched the David Attenborough films and believed in de covid story and took tests and got off work etc. You are blessed you can sit down and have a decent conversation. We always seem to break into a row and I have to walk away because I can't tolerate nonsense. Obviously my children believe I've become a lunatic
Thanks for sharing your story of college days. I didn't go to college, I disliked school except for the fun part, meeting friends and getting up to no good etc. I was young and opted to spend a year in Spain as an au-pair and when I got back after that I still didn't want to go to Uni. I did a commercial course and began work in an Insurance Company. We all have painful experiences in our lives and we have to go through them. Its how we learn, by our mistakes. Hopefully our life's experiences will help us to muddle our way through this aweful future the powers who shouldn't be have planned for us. By the way I love learning things now that I am old and worked in the library for last 17 years of my working life, so I had access to any learning material that I wanted
Congratulations on your year at the writing and may you go from strength to strength xxx
Thanks Fionnuala. God Yuval Harari came up in a Whatsapp group that I am in and caused quite the stir as many don't know the Background with him. I have plenty of rows too don't worry about lol. A lot of people aren't ready for college at 17 I know I certainly wasn't. I'd have been much better off going 5 or 6 years later after working for a few years.
"He’s a bright young fella but full of a lot of the type of global idealism I am more than a little skeptical about and allied to this he seems to possess a worrying and innate trust in the goodness of the state and world around him. And what it can achieve for people." I could have written exactly the same words about my 19 year old son! Parenting is tough when you see that despite all your best intentions and all your learnings, your children have to go and work it out for themselves... it gives great insight into the grief that we caused our own parents!!. On the plus, I am so glad my kids have enough self awareness to stand up to peer pressure and hopefully will not end up in any of the predicaments that their mother did, and they have actually got to university... they have passed me out already.... I will take those wins! The fact that he is even voicing an opinion to you at that age speaks volumes. A very enjoyable read.
I could write a book about all the grief I caused my parents lol. And they could probably write two!
Brilliant piece , so much insight through anecdote . It’s a shame Wuthering Heights is being decimated by critical race theory , my favourite novel once . When I was at UCGeeee there was a Hugh McDermott (?) lecturing , who had recorded all his lectures on VHS and never strayed from his own script . The same jokes . Every time . Anyway I too live in daily fear of waking up to a woke son and the university years loom ahead with big woke banners … the trouble is it’s probably already happened . Da woke-ness…
Thanks Siofra. I keep forgetting you were in UCG. Hubert McDermott I think was it...If it's the same fella he was a brilliant lecturer. We had another lad that used to hold his tutorials in that pub across from the hospital. Can't remember his name though!
The monk ? He was great. can't remember his name either...
“If different gypsy or Traveller tribes from here and around Europe were not discriminated by 19th century society what would have happened to their indigenousness? Would they still be recognisable and as strong as a tribe today?”
This is a brilliant question. And one worthy of a substack in itself. Congrats on the birthday - mine will be in a couple of months. It’s not easy, just as living truthfully is not easy, but it’s the brave path.
I do the same with my 4 children - we talk, or should I say I lecture and they ignore me. It was funny though once my 14 year old and I agreed on something and she was agreeing so vehemently in expectation of an argument that she was disorientated when she realised we actually agreed with each other. However I wouldn’t do it at midnight after a shift at work, I wait till they’re at the dinner table, all of them together and yes, they’ve often ganged up on me but at least it makes them think about it. One thing we all do agree on is that their new “climate action” class is a pile of doggy doo doo, but we seem to agree for different reasons. Perhaps I’ll write about this, however I hold my children’s privacy as so sacred I tend to leave them out of my writings.
I recently listened to the audiobook version of Wuthering Heights and was struck by how miserable all of the characters were, and how disrespectful they were to each other. I’m not woke but I wondered what it was that drew me in the first time I read it. Heathcliff was a nasty bastard no matter what his skin colour was, if it was as a result of his treatment or not, many people were also nasty bastards at that time. Woke-ism perhaps takes respect and consideration a couple of bridges too far, however I do believe the pendulum must swing too far in the opposite direction before it comes to a happy balance.
So as you can see I honour your rambling substack with a ramble of my own! The world is a better place with you and your musings in it. I doff my hat to you sir.
Thanks a million Abby. Unfortunately midnight is the only time I can catch this fella off guard hahahaha. I think the television adaptations have had a lot to do with the popularity in the recent generations of Wuthering Heights. I alway enjoyed the Brontes for some reason but I get what your saying alright.
Great story, Gerry. I like the relationship you have with your son, at least he allows you drive him home. As far as the answer book goes, you're a better man than me as I would have been happy to burn it or at least hang onto it. Would it not be great if you still had that book so you could eventually show it to your son and tell him the story? Keep on writing lad.
Thanks Billy. I wish I did burn it!