International Peace Day

Or perhaps, dt, they are quietly saying Hail Marys and, naturally, not telling anyone because they were taught the Brownie method as well. I was told when a child that if enough people said enough Hail Marys then there would be peace in the world.

Were you also told that if you said you believed in fairies, Tinkerbelle wouldn't die?

I did post a "Thank you" to ga. She certainly reminded me that I used to be a lot more active in the cause of peace. As far as if one should tell everyone about the good works you do I would imagine if everyone didn't the incomes of lots of charities would fall dramatically. Fundraising, campaigning and raising awareness require people to go out and tell everyone about what you are doing. Of course there is always room for the person who donates quietly and anonymously, but to suggest that everything should be done quietly is ridiculous.
One of the things I have noticed is the increasingly militaristic tone of the world compared with when I was younger. It would be nice to see a peace movement to counter this.
Thanks for the link about the White helmets dj something really worth supporting.
Oh and enough people have to clap to save a fairy from dying.

They have to believe in fairies as well, though.

Fundraising, campaigning and raising awareness require people to go out and tell everyone about what you are doing.

No, raising awareness requires people to tell others about what is being done. If people want to say what they are doing personally, of course they can, but someone could have the same feelings as I do about not polishing one's own halo and still get the message across by talking about what is being done rather than who is doing it.

but to suggest that everything should be done quietly is ridiculous

Of course it is, which is probably why no-one has suggested it.

Up next for discussion:
1. How many angels can dance on the head of a pin, including a debate on what do you mean by "angel" and "pin"
2. Is Schrödinger's hypothetical cat dead or alive and how can you tell without opening the hypothetical box. Important to first be clear about meaning of "cat", "box", "dead" and "alive"

thatbags one of the ways of raising awareness of cancer is getting cancer survivors to tell their story are you suggesting that this shouldn't be allowed or that they are somehow "polishing their halo"? You will of course say "No" but it proves the point you can't say what people should talk about, sometimes it's personal, sometimes less so.

Ana you're right, every time someone says they don't believe in fairies, one dies.

JessM I don't believe in cats either (especially when they catch the birds in my garden), dead, alive, in a box or radioactive.

Except for two, one of whom has been neutered anyway, end of story!

thatbags one of the ways of raising awareness of cancer is getting cancer survivors to tell their story are you suggesting that this shouldn't be allowed or that they are somehow "polishing their halo"?

A cancer survivor telling their story is not someone boasting about how good they are. What have halos or ostentatious goodness got to do with recovering from an illness?

You will of course say "No" but it proves the point you can't say what people should talk about, sometimes it's personal, sometimes less so.

I will say no because you are not talking about the same thing as I am, trisher. I haven't said people shouldn't tell their survival stories. I haven't even said people shouldn't boast about their own charitable work. What I've said is that I think it is distasteful to keep telling people what good things one does and impressing upon them how charitable one is. Other people apparently don't find that distasteful. That's all there is to it really.

thatbags Do you think the OP was boastful? People often mention things they do: helping a sick friend,visiting dementia patients, supporting the bereaved, rescuing factory farm chickens etc etc. Is that being boastful?? If I say I went on the march in solidarity with refugees..am I boasting??

Before I answer properly as well as I can, please remember that to talk about this topic without being accused of 'aiming' what I say at any individual is difficult but that is what I'm trying to do.

I think it's boasting when it happens repeatedly. How good works are talked about makes a difference too. If the purpose of a story seems more to be about the 'halo polishing' of the storyteller than about the need for something to be done and the need to encourage others to help as well, then I think that, if not boasting, it morphs into a kind of asking for a pat on the back from others: a "seeking approval" activism or a self-justification activism. That's how it seems to me anyhow.

Please note the word 'seems' above. The assessment of when a story or a collection of stories (the repetition part mentioned above) becomes self-congratulatory or asking for one's goodness to be confirmed by others is of course subjective as the discussion so far has shown.

Obviously there's nothing wrong with activism per se—always depending on the methods of activity used: terrorism is a kind of activism that is clearly wrong, and so was the Greenpeace trampling of an ancient and sacred site in Peru for the purposes of their own political agenda.

How the hell does an innocuous question of 'does anyone else wear a white poppy' degenerate into this war of sarcasm and hurt No wonder the worlds in a bad state this illustrates it perfectly

Threads extend into discussions of related concepts, bb. Not all posts are direct replies to the opening post. You could join in with various parts of the thread rather than screaming about nothing in particular because other people find something to think and talk about and you don't like some of it.

Classic censorship tactic: "you can't say that!" syndrome is just that.

Shrug.

Also, just out of curiosity: what sarcasm?

I haven't been sarcastic so you can't be referring to my posts. So I just wondered...

Isn't one of the points of activism to let other people know so they can join you in activism?

Let me tell you, that the slightest discomfort I feel upsets me more than the death of 800 people that are in any war zone.

Instead of a International Peace Day we should have gun training day, the way this world is going we need to protect ourselves.

Now you can think what you like about me, but I don't ever want to see pictures like see again, because I cry-ed and cry-ed

Sorry, just re-read my last post, hope it makes sense, I'm so upset by that little lad, if he needs a home he can join us.

I think an Americam family has offered to have him too, 68.

Yes, dj, that point has been made a few times on the thread and, as far as I'm aware, so far no-one has disagreed with it.

"Instead of a International Peace Day we should have gun training day, the way this world is going we need to protect ourselves."
And that is the way a war starts

And what have we got now. Their are people who are quite happy to say "I told you so", I say get in first, and if that means blowing up the world so be it, I can't run any more, so give me a rifle ,put me upstairs, I'll take a few of them with me.

So obviously a refugee from a war zone would be perfectly happy and cared for with you.

He can pass the bullets.

How anyone who has posted that picture can say that I do not understand. It can only be a wind-up. If you enjoy treating the plight of Syrian children as a joke I don't so I leave you to it.

But you do all the time, bags, and then pretend you didn't mean it.
If we tell people on here about our activism, we're accused of boasting.