BetterMost, Wyoming & Brokeback Mountain Forum

The World Beyond BetterMost => Anything Goes => Topic started by: isabelle on June 06, 2006, 08:11:57 am

Title: Something, or things, we are proud of.
Post by: isabelle on June 06, 2006, 08:11:57 am
As some of you may have noticed, I have on occasions bitched about France (I'm French), saying it is by and large a homophobic, racist country... And it is. But something is happening here of which I am proud, and proud to be part of it.

Roughly 75% of the people here are more and more openly racist and xenophobic; our government, whose head (Chirac) is a clown, and a corrupt one, is right wing veering to the extreme. So they are naturally prone to heeding the people's growing sympathy for the National Front, our own neo-nazi party. To the point of advocating what that party has been advocating since it appeared on the political scene in the 1980's, ie, massive deportations of "non-French", understand mostly "non-whites". So the Minister of Interior has been speeding up deportations of immigrants who have not been granted asylum here when they risk being killed or jailed once they return to their countries of origin. They are deported even when they have children who were born in France, including when the partner/spouse is French.

Now, I am ashamed of this. BUT, an association was created last year, initiated by teachers but now made up of people from all walks of life. It has launched a nationwide petition stating that those who sign it promise to protect those people and their children who risk deportation and their lives. We are fully aware that it is against the law, and that we may be jailed for it.

24,000 have signed this petition in just ONE week! I am proud of all those people, and those who are to sign yet. I have signed the petition; this country is well-known for having had more collaborators with the nazis than resistants during WWII, so this might be a drop in the ocean, but I am hoping it will turn into a tidal wave. Just to show we've moved on since the 40's.

What are you proud of?
Title: Re: Something, or things, we are proud of.
Post by: YaadPyar on June 06, 2006, 08:22:36 pm
Simply this - being a part of this place.  I am always touched by the sincerity of each one on whatever journey they are taking to keep moving forward with humor, wit, insight and honesty.  We are all so different, but all trying.
Title: Re: Something, or things, we are proud of.
Post by: slayers_creek_oth on June 06, 2006, 08:25:30 pm
Quote
What are you proud of?

My family!  My son, my wife, my mom, my siblings, and YOU ALL!   ;D
Title: Re: Something, or things, we are proud of.
Post by: vkm91941 on June 06, 2006, 09:02:47 pm
What are you proud of?

I am proud of:

* Being a survivor of life's tempests with my heart and my integrity intact
* of having know the love of two good men
* of my boys, that they are smart, compassionate, and caring people
* of my family, my brothers are the greatest, my neices and nephews are all stellar folks
* to live in a country where we are free to publically speak our minds and hold our own counsel without fear of     governmental reprisals, where the standard of living even for the poorest citizen is higher than it is in MANY other parts of the world

and I am proud to call many on this forum my friends
 
Title: Re: Something, or things, we are proud of.
Post by: isabelle on June 07, 2006, 01:54:42 am
Sorry, I did not mention this forum, and being proud to be part of it, because for me it goes without saying. But it might still sound good to hear it.

Vick, even in France we are (still) allowed to speak our minds without fear of reprisal  ;)

Update on my OP: the Minister of Interior has obviously been impressed by the number of signatures of that petition; he announced yesterday that 2000 people would be granted citizenship when they have kids who were born in France, have always been to school in France, and cannot speak their parents' language (extremely mean, that last one, if you ask me). But still, it shows you can do things that count, out there! I would have lost all human dignity in my own opinion, had I not signed. May sound pompous, but it's very important to me to "act as I wish every single person would act" (Montaigne, 16th century French philosopher).

Title: Re: Something, or things, we are proud of.
Post by: vkm91941 on June 07, 2006, 02:55:20 am
Vick, even in France we are (still) allowed to speak our minds without fear of reprisal  ;)

LOL I know that!  ;)  Certainly never meant to imply otherwise.  However, sadly  :'( there are still many places in the  world where the people do not enjoy the freedoms that we in US, Canada and those of you in the European Union often take for granted.
Title: Re: Something, or things, we are proud of.
Post by: vkm91941 on June 09, 2006, 04:04:02 am
bumping in the hopes of inspiring others to share their blessings with us   ;)
Title: Re: Something, or things, we are proud of.
Post by: Sheyne on June 09, 2006, 08:12:08 am

Sorry, I so rarely give myself credit for anything, so I'm going to say, in the face of the day I've just had, that I am very proud of myself.

I have a little boy in my class (8 years old) who was a terrible behaviour management case. The principal of the school was tearing her hair out. She'd tried suspension, counselling, meeting with his dad.. EVERYTHING. And by some wonderful stroke of luck, his teacher (a hormonal, emotionally-bankrupt icicle of a woman) fell pregnant and they began to hunt for her replacement. They replaced her with me, after they watched - with their jaws on the floor - me interacting with him and not only had he sat and talked with me for nearly 5 minutes without a single swear word or violent outburst, but he was actually laughing.

They asked me what I did. I replied "I asked him how his day was". They seemed flummoxed that something so simple could delight a child like Barton, but it did. They hired me. Since I took over the class, he hasn't been to the principal's office once, let alone suspended or been in trouble.  See, I asked this little boy a few questions about his life and discovered quickly that all he wanted was a woman to come into his life who liked him and cared about him, who wasn't going to reject him or leave him, like his mother did.

And I am really proud of myself for making this little boy, (who is easily the smartest child in my class), relaxed and safe and happy and not only loving school, but achieving academically. The other teachers are astounded at the change in him. In the staffroom on Tuesday, the other teachers were gushing about how fantastic his behaviour is these days. One bitch, well overdue for retirement, remarked loudly "Oh so they eventually medicated him, huh? What's he on, Sheyne?" and it was with great delight that I sat back and let my teacher aide reply "Oh, he's not medicated, Jackie. Its amazing that caring for a child has the same effect as Ritalin, but that's all it is".

*sheyne beams*  ;D
Title: Re: Something, or things, we are proud of.
Post by: Pipedream on June 09, 2006, 09:21:21 am
Sheyne! That's the nicest thing I've read in a while. You can really be proud of yourself, teacher!!  :-* 
Title: Re: Something, or things, we are proud of.
Post by: Front-Ranger on June 09, 2006, 09:46:22 am
It's not even 8:00 in the a.m. here and I'm all blubbery already!  :D I'm so proud for you Sheyne, Victoria, and Isabelle! There are many things I'm proud of but right now I'm proud to call myself a Bettermost Brokie, one of the best people on Earth, and a citizen of the Earth!
Title: Re: Something, or things, we are proud of.
Post by: isabelle on June 09, 2006, 03:26:04 pm
Sheyne, I'll have to repeat what has been said: this is excellent! As a teacher myself, I understand how proud (and rightly so) you must be. My deepest admiration to you!
Title: Re: Something, or things, we are proud of.
Post by: Lumière on June 09, 2006, 05:24:49 pm
Sheyne, Vicky, Isabelle - we are proud of you too.  :-*

I guess I am proud of the little things:

I left home and parents at 17, I am almost 27 now, and I am happy that I got an education, worked all sorts of crappy jobs (sometimes 2 or 3 at a time) got through Undergrad and Grad school and finally got a job!
(Which I could lose if I keep coming here so often.. :P)

I am proud of my parents - they raised 8 kids (would've been 10 but 2 passed away) and they are the sweetest..love U mom and dad!  :-* (although they won't read this..lol)

All in all, life is not perfect, but I won't undulge in complaining, there is always something to be proud of..
Live the present, I say!

 :-*
Title: Re: Something, or things, we are proud of.
Post by: vkm91941 on June 09, 2006, 11:39:27 pm
I wonder why Chris is the only man to respond to this thread.  I would think it being pride week and all we'd see more of the men around here sharing.... ::)
Title: Re: Something, or things, we are proud of.
Post by: slayers_creek_oth on June 09, 2006, 11:40:04 pm
I wonder why Chris is the only man to respond to this thread.  I would think it being pride week and all we'd see more of the men around here sharing.... ::)

Because I'm special...LOL
Title: Re: Something, or things, we are proud of.
Post by: Pipedream on June 17, 2006, 06:14:16 pm
What am I proud of? Well, I guess, it's not so much pride, but an overwhelming sense of gratitude, in my case.
I live in a country that is somewhat slow and bureaucratic, but still reasonably wealthy, and, above all: democratic. Horrible things have happened here in the past, and nothing can be done to change that. The guilt, our ancestors have heaped upon their nation will always remain. But, at least, we are aware of that. We don’t lie about our history but make an effort to teach our young people better. The "Third Reich" and the Holocaust are essential parts of the teaching curriculums in school, nowadays. Thank God!
I'm lucky enough to belong to the younger generation, myself, who have neither experienced the horrors of war nor have known suppression or dictatorship. As a journalist, I am also happy to say that the freedom of the press is held in high regard overhere, which is not the case in so many countries!

There is much to be grateful for in my private life, too. To be honest, I never really had to struggle for anything. I was the youngest child in my family. My two older siblings kinda paved me the way. I went through school, university and job training without any serious trouble, got employed before I even graduated, married a man who, as a Cancer, taught me (a stubborn Capricorn) a thing or two on endearments and was ready to stay at home with our baby when I wanted to go back to work half a year after our sweet lil' Franca was born. Do I have to mention that I have a beautiful, healthy, sweet little child? God, I'm very grateful, indeed! 
And I have both: a sweet live in a rural, small town community (with all it's blessings) and a job that is challenging, interesting and satisfying. And: well paid!! I am very aware of the fact that I am the exception to the rule. Many females of my age will envy me. I'm not the typical representative of my gender. I feel privileged. And I am grateful. Proud? Dunno. Germans got a problem with that word. And rightly so.

Love

ANKE  :-*
Title: Re: Something, or things, we are proud of.
Post by: isabelle on June 17, 2006, 06:25:12 pm
Anke - thank you, very beautiful. As you know, my partner is German. He is 48, his own father was involved in the war as a very young man, and my partner seems to be still bearing the burden of that history. But it is over. It's really over, and I, as a French, admire Germany for looking at its past honestly. France still hasn't started, and what my country did in Algeria for instance was nothing to be proud of. We have only just started looking honestly at our active role as a state in supporting the nazis in WWII! Oops, here I am bitching again about France  ::), but sorry, it is true.
As a German of your generation, you can be proud of your country's honesty and what it has become.
Title: Re: Something, or things, we are proud of.
Post by: Pipedream on June 17, 2006, 06:43:15 pm
Thank you, Isabelle! Let's make en effort to spread the word!

Hope I'll meet you at the Euro Brokie Brunch!!!

ANKE  :)
Title: Re: Something, or things, we are proud of.
Post by: Lumière on June 17, 2006, 09:00:18 pm
I am glad to see more posts on what we are all proud/grateful for.  :-*
Lovely posts Anke and Isabelle.
Title: Re: Something, or things, we are proud of.
Post by: isabelle on June 18, 2006, 03:37:19 am
Thanks Milli. I do hope to meet you in person one day!

And Anke, I hope to meet you in London in September too. I'm going to do my best to attend.
Title: Re: Something, or things, we are proud of.
Post by: Lumière on June 18, 2006, 01:50:49 pm
And Anke, I hope to meet you in London in September too. I'm going to do my best to attend.

*SIGH*  Yet another Brokie Get-together my scrawny ass will not be able to attend!  :-\ :'(

Ok, I'll try not to dwell on what I can't do and make another list of things to be grateful for.  :)
Title: Re: Something, or things, we are proud of.
Post by: henrypie on June 18, 2006, 07:01:01 pm
Hey Anke and Isabelle,
Very lovely posts.  My country has its hideous past as well -- slavery, and its modern cousin, intractable racism.  It is incredibily frustrating to see people misunderstand or deny how intensely the past shapes the present.

On balance, I'm not proud of America, but I do love it.


Hmm, a few things I am proud of:
-This community
-The very small amount of volunteer tutoring I do in a public elementary school whose children live and breathe a culture of poverty, ignorance, and violence.
-My mom, who teaches those children, full-time, every day.
Title: Re: Something, or things, we are proud of.
Post by: isabelle on June 19, 2006, 02:16:01 am


Hmm, a few things I am proud of:
-This community
-The very small amount of volunteer tutoring I do in a public elementary school whose children live and breathe a culture of poverty, ignorance, and violence.
-My mom, who teaches those children, full-time, every day.

What you and your mom are doing are invaluable. I always believed in school and education. But then it's also for the pupils to seize this opportunity...