I think a lot about who I am to other people in the world–particular who I am to strangers as a mere concept in their lives.
Today this woman called our information desk and said, “my son’s band is playing tonight. I want to come see him, but he never answers his phone…..I want to be there. Have you heard anything about his band?”
And I felt so bad for this lady but I’m not in the music scene around here so I had to tell her no, sorry.
Five hours later, I’m hiking and run into a group of guys setting up for some outdoor performance, and as I watch them unload the drums it hits me.
“Hey,” I said, “are y’all in a band?”
They said yeah and smiled and I told them “one of your moms called today. She wants to watch you play, but she can’t get a hold of you. Call your mom.”
And they all pulled out their phones and started discussing whose mom it probably was as they presumably dialed their own.
And now, unless we meet again and recognize each other, that’s who I’ll be forever to those guys–some mysterious courier for mom-messages who came out of the woods and told them their mom called.
I didn’t even tell them why their mom called me. Who am I to their mom?? Nobody even asked. They just took my word for it and called their mothers.
Squad. Gang. Team. Got the shivers and the shudders and the shakes after the election of President Toupee? My Aussie mates, it’s time we channelled that fear and frustration into something at home.
Peter Dutton, Human Brussel Sprout and Minister for Immigration, floated a plan that would leave asylum seekers banned from ever entering Australia. Dutton’s idea is that this will be backdated to people who had tried entering from July 2013. This is a massive dickhead move, and despite Labor and the Greens voting against it, the bill has passed through the Lower House and into the Senate.
That is fucked. We’re going to email all the crossbench Senators who may oppose this bill, and so hold the balance of power, and let them know that this is not on.
So what we’re going to do is email all these people a nice little note letting them know that this law is appalling and unaustralian. Only email the Senators for your state, because in theory you’ll be voting for them again in three or six years.
This bill cannot pass. It flouts international law and common decency. Let’s do this.
NEW SOUTH WALES
Senator David Leyonhjelm (Liberal Democrats) -senator.leyonhjelm@aph.gov.au + (02) 6277 3054
Senator the Honourable Nigel Scullion (Country Liberal Party) – senator.scullion@aph.gov.au + (08) 8948 3555
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
You guys really don’t like minor parties, do you. Hope you’re feeling better, Scotty Ludlam.
AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY
Oh yeah you only have two senators suck it.
A sample message you can send –
Dear [SENATOR’S NAME],
My name is [YOUR NAME] and I live in [YOUR TOWN] in [YOUR STATE]. Recently I heard that Peter Dutton’s proposal to ban asylum seekers from ever settling or visiting Australia passed the Lower House.
The contents of this bill appall me and many of my friends and family. I feel it is a horrifying, unaustralian idea. If you support this bill you can be sure you will never receive my support as a voter ever again.
Please do not vote in favour of permanently banning asylum seekers from ever settling in Australia.
Thank you,
[YOUR NAME].
Keep it short, sharp and simple. Write your own email if that’s easier for you – the more voices they hear, the better. Go on and do some good in the world. It takes five minutes to send an email – I sent one last week to the Labor MP Shane Neumann, the Shadow Minister for Immigration, who replied and confirmed that Labor would not be supporting the bill. Send an email now. Call them on Monday morning.
when i was a kid, i played a game that a lot of jewish kids play. it’s called the anne frank game, and it goes like this:
when the next holocaust comes, who will hide me? which of my neighbors will take me in? whose attic? whose basement? whose truck? when they come to get me, which of my friends and teachers and acquaintances can i trust?
and as i got older, the game changed. i stopped asking the question. because i had learned the answer:
mine. my attic. my basement. my truck. my home. i hide my neighbors. i help my friends.
the next four years will require from each of us an unprecedented capacity for moral courage.
we will be asked to make choices that are more difficult than any choices we have ever faced. we will be told, and told truthfully, that to do good will hurt us. that to do good will put us in danger. that to do good will put in danger our loved ones, our family, our friends.
the next four years will require from each of us an unprecedented capacity for love.
love is not enough. it is not food, or healthcare. it is not a bulletproof vest. it is not a visa, or a bail bond, or a roof over someone’s head. nevertheless love will be necessary; nevertheless love will be all that keeps us alive, some days.
i do not have blind faith in human goodness. i have studied history. i do not rely on human ability, or american ability, to choose kindness over cruelty, bravery over courage, death over life.
i do not rely on these things – but i hope for them. i have hope for your courage to open up your attic, your basement, your truck. it is your duty to do so. we must love one another or die.
we must hope for the best, but prepare for the worst – fascism is not known for its respect for the rule of law – but there are things within you that no evil can take. and there is courage within you, and love within you, and you can take the small and blazing life that has been given to you and devote it to that love, and that courage, and to kindness, and defiance, and hope.
the road ahead is very dark, and the strength of the enemy is very great. we have no choice but to move forward into that darkness; but we will do so together, and we will do so with our hands clasped, and we will do so singing.
you are fabulous creatures, each and every one. and i bless you: more life. the great work begins.
Oh hello bird you look happy there. It would be a shame if someone TRIED TO MAKE YOU VERY UNCOMFORTABLE
It seems that the bird is the guardian of the audio tours, glaring at you sternly until you have visibly returned your audio tour.
I can confirm this was the freaking funniest thing ever to watch. The bird kept sneaking a look at him and quietly freaking out and sidling away a step, all while pretending nothing was happening.
Clearing off my camera, I found one where you can see Moose and his evil collaborator working in tandem. It is pretty funny.
Now we just need to somehow do this to the Queen.
WHILE WE ARE REMEMBERING BATTLES FROM THE PAST, THIS HAPPENED 3 YEARS AGO ON THIS DAY
Verylisa 