Funky,
We are already living in the cyber world. Right here on this site, for one thing. Only part of the time, of course, but still....
If you've never read it, get a copy of Huysmans Against Nature (also translated as Against the Grain). This book came out in the late 19th C and was a huge influence on Wilde, among many others. It depicts a kind of pre-electronic version of virtual reality and the cult of the artificial.
As for primitivism, sad to say, from your perspective, I can't think of any primitives left in the world whom you might join. Ted Turner's global village reaches just about everywhere. Of course, the Taliban tried to create a form of primitive society, but something tells me you would not have liked their version.
"Going native" unfortunately requires a context in which to do it. When everyone was "primitive" they were dying from disease left and right, engaged in fierce hand to hand combat with each other, women routinely died in childbirth, children routinely died well before the age of 5, and not peacefully in their jammies either, hardly anyone made it past 35, etc etc It was an extremely violent and disease-ridden world most of the time, not at all this peaceful hippie-commune that people imagine now. The world is a much more peaceful and healthy place today than it ever was, and THAT is the scary thing. I personally don't believe in the "noble savage" myth. That, too, was create by Westerners (Rousseau as I recall) as the 18C equivalent of New Age nonsense.
Anyway, keep writing. I enjoy your stuff.
Just don't like people being patronised Mississippi.
That's the problem with communication in this format, you can't judge the tone. If I was wrong about your intent, then I apologise, but the way I read it, it came across as offensive and patronising.
Purplecat....I do understand your perspective...I work in the "poverty industry" and deal with people afflicted with drug problems often. But surely the amount of time spent by Police dealing with drug users is a really significant drain on their resources. The Police themselves would prefer not to deal with cannibis, it doesn't cause the sorts of problems that alcohol does at week-ends.
And the amount of crime caused by people who steal to finance their habit, must be astronomical, I live in a very deprived areas of London, Hackney, which appears to be the centre of a majot drug law between turkish and jamaican drug gangs. I have grown used to people being shot on the streets around the corner from where I live. As the trade is illegal, therea are no controls. Normal "market forces" to not apply, if you want to expand your customer base, you will kill or main your competitor..
I'm sure that the legalisation of most currently illegal drugs would lead to a reduction in their use, and more money would be released to pay for educational programmes to illuminate the dangers in over use.
Funky and Purlecat
78% of Aboriginies under 25 are alcoholics.
Read these three books because the plight of the aborginorie is becoming cooler by the day and you might not wish to miss the jumping on of the bandwagon.
Tracks by Robyn Davidson
Songlines by Bruce Chatwin
A Secret Country by John Pilger.
Tata
Ralph
Let he without guilt cast the first stone.
I wasn't trying to be offensive or patronising as it happens, another case of mistaken identity. Perhaps I'm becoming obtuse.
Yes, not only on abctales. I am against any legalized drugs. I respect your opinion but could you be more specific? I need to know if you prefer a young person to be an addict or would you prefer this person never to "taste" drugs? Your opinion is it formed as a solution to those that already are addicts, or do you claim official assistance to someone who wants to start taking drugs? And what about taking actions to help people relinquish this habit? Isn't this more important than the other?
with respect
skydolphin
I'm not utterly sure how I feel about legalizing all drugs, but what I am 100% convinced of is that it is time to actually have the debate, rather than branding anyone who suggests it as irresponsible.
I've worked with a lot of people who are heroin addicts and the drug only causes them problems because they can't afford it. The effects of the drug aren't as damaging to their ability to parent as alcohol which is freely available (and, one could argue, endorsed by the state since they are happy to make money from it). Cigarettes more so. Cigarettes pay for the NHS, are known to be addictive, carcinogenic and are linked to a number of other diseases.
My problem with drugs and the 'nanny State' is who decides which group things fall into ? The realistic approach on cannabis has to be welcome.
Cannabis leads to hard drugs ? In some cases, yes, but that may well be because firstly the law used to make people criminals for something they knew shouldn't have been a crime (and once people start viewing the law as something out-of-date and out-of-touch, it is easier to start thinking of it as something that doesn't apply) and secondly because they could only buy it from drug-dealers.
If the drug market was cleaned up, made safe and controlled, with tax revenue, there may well be benefits.
As for curing addicts - well, you need to be referred by your GP to a clinic (expensive, comes out of the GPs budget and to be honest, there is a good chance you won't finish the course, so most GPs won't pay. ) That has to be wrong.
Whatever happened to tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime?
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