Tumbling Giraffe

This was posted by a friend of mine on Facebook, and I really thought it was worth sharing:

“ATT: PERTH PEOPLES!
I am starting a petition against a designated smoking area at the Westfield Shopping Centre, Whitfords City and need as many names and numbers as I can get. As most people on my friends list know, I am a Disablility Care Worker and frequently take a young lady with epilepsy on outings to the shopping Centre. Her favourite store (Lincraft) is located upstairs and the wheelchair access is located outside the store building. To reach the elevator, we have to walk through the designated smoking area and walk down a smoke filled ally and doing this could trigger siezures for this young lady. We understand that there is allowed to be a smoking area 5 metres from the entrance but to get to the entrance for people living with Disabilities, we have to walk through a smoke filled area. This is beyond unfair, and I have spoken to Centre Management and was told that there is nothing that can be done. I am not seeking to remove the smoking area completely, but only to re-locate it to a different area. As I am getting no response from centre Management, I am taking a different approach to the situation by writing letters and starting a petition. I would be greatful if you believe in this cause, to please inbox me your name, area and phone number. Please share this status with your friends. Thankyou very much :-D”

You can email my friend at: asheejane@hotmail.com

Please lend your support!

7am on Australia Day, and I’m feeling incredibly depressed. My day will be spent avoiding mad crowds. My night will be spent awake listening to the people of my suburb stumble drunkenly in the streets, possibly fighting with each other, and definitely annoying my dogs (but then again, that happens every public holiday, and every social security pay day…)

Once upon a time Australia day meant something to me. My grandfather (a man whose family was one of the first group to settle in WA) instilled in me a great pride in my heritage. From his stories, and the further research they inspired, I learned how and why each of my ancestors came to this country, and how they built lives for themselves here. My family background is mostly people of extremely lower class background in Western Europe… The expendable people who were used and abused to satisfy the needs and wants of the middle and upper classes. Coming to Australia meant freedom (although it was still a limited freedom for a long time) and opportunity (although it was still a limited opportunity).

It sucks that the freedom my ancestors gained came at the price of the freedom of the Aboriginal peoples of Australia. And it sucks that the exploited sometimes became exploiters. I have often wondered what part my ancestors played in the dealings of the European settlers with the Aboriginals. I have wondered if I should feel any personal guilt over what they may or may not have done. I was raised with some racist sentiments - some general, some from specific hurts members of my family experienced in the past that were passed down. I’ve tried very very hard to distance myself from that, and to try and understand the situation on the other side.

I think it would accomplish a lot if we made a formal request to the Aboriginals, to ask them to share their land. It might only be a gesture, but maybe it would help us all feel more like we belonged, in this land and in this nation…

I wanted to send some sort of holiday greeting to my friends and colleagues, but it is difficult in today’s world to know exactly what to say without offending someone. So I met with my lawyer yesterday, and on her advice I wish to say the following:

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non addictive, gender neutral celebration of the summer solstice holiday practised with the most enjoyable traditions of religious persuasion or secular practices of your choice with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practise religious or secular traditions at all.

I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2012, but not without due respect for the calendar of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make our country great (not to imply that Australia is necessarily greater than any other country) and without regard to the race, creed, colour, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee .

By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms:

This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/him or others and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. The wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year or until the issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.

Best Regards ( without prejudice )

Name withheld ( Privacy Act ).

another thought… It’s interesting to see plus sized models on the covers of famous fashion magazines. You’d think, as a “curvy” girl this would make me happy. (it seems to bring on a delirium of happiness to so many others…) but I still have a problem. It could just be that I am cynical and pessimistic, but these “plus sized models” are still tall, with perfect skin, perfect teeth, even features, beautiful proportions to their curviness… And are probably still airbrushed.
Even if you count all the “curvy” girls, there’s still not one in a hundred women that looks like that. I resent plus sized models being called “real women”. Real women are not perfect. Real women aren’t all hourglass shaped, or proportions akin to classical paintings. They don’t all have perfect skin or teeth. Some have uneven features or complexions. Some are short, tall or even just average.
Plus sized models, for all their curviness, still represent an impossible standard of beauty.