Where have all the good manners gone?
I frequently voice this lament while driving around Johannesburg (and I'm sure it's true of other cities also). Give someone a gap in the traffic and they may as well give you the middle finger because they certainly don't often seem to say thank you. Those who use turning lanes to avoid traffic queues, drive the wrong way down a one-way, oh the list is endless!
Stop at the garage for some...um...probably chocolate...and the guy next to you says to the cashier "Give me a packet of <cigarette brand>" with not a please in sight. Sometimes I just strip gears and turn to the person and ask them if they know how to say please. Needless to say this is met with a variety of replies, from bashfulness to outright hostility.
Perhaps the worst thing of all is that all too often the children are watching. Children are always watching, and that's how they learn. Is it me or do children also seem brattier than ever?
Good manners cost nothing, and speak a great deal about one's character. I implore one and all: please save them from their dying spasms. Let's all say please and thank you today.
Wednesday 7 November 2012
Sunday 4 November 2012
When the guiding light dims...
Living a life by a set of principles can be really hard. I believe in "first do no harm". I am a vegetarian, do not use products of animal origin (such as leather) and do the best I can to make my footprint on the planet a light one.
This may sound pretty straight forward, but you know, it's very hard.
I have often used PETA's (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) list of companies who do and companies who don't test on animals list to inform many of my buying decisions. While I believe PETA's heart is in the right place, I am becoming quite disillusioned with them. Companies can easily move from one list to another without any transparency as to the reasons why. You can write to them, but alas, it would be in vain, as you wouldn't get the answers. For example, the Body Shop is a company who's founding principles is one of doing no hard to people, animals or the environment. Sadly they were sold to L'Oreal, who is a terrible company when it comes to the testing of animals. Now the Body Shop is blacklisted.
Companies such as Estee Lauder have simply moved from the good to the bad list with nary a reason in sight. How did they change from angelic to demonic overnight? When you write to the Estee Lauder company they will insist that they do not undertake animal testing or have it done on their behalf.
I am one of those people who cannot blindly play "follow the leader". I must have the facts at my disposal. I must understand WHY. Is PETA using their position to bully and mislead? I'd like to believe not.
Most of the companies and products that are sold in South Africa would be on PETA's blacklist. There is not a country specific list, so we are largely left in the dark.
I write to the companies in question and ask about their animal testing policies, and most of them deny any animal testing. I try to support South African brands, such as Tiger Brands, who assure me they do no animal testing.
As a South African and concerned citizen of the earth, I'd love more clarity so that I may live according to my guiding principles safe in the knowledge that I am still doing no harm.
This may sound pretty straight forward, but you know, it's very hard.
I have often used PETA's (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) list of companies who do and companies who don't test on animals list to inform many of my buying decisions. While I believe PETA's heart is in the right place, I am becoming quite disillusioned with them. Companies can easily move from one list to another without any transparency as to the reasons why. You can write to them, but alas, it would be in vain, as you wouldn't get the answers. For example, the Body Shop is a company who's founding principles is one of doing no hard to people, animals or the environment. Sadly they were sold to L'Oreal, who is a terrible company when it comes to the testing of animals. Now the Body Shop is blacklisted.
Companies such as Estee Lauder have simply moved from the good to the bad list with nary a reason in sight. How did they change from angelic to demonic overnight? When you write to the Estee Lauder company they will insist that they do not undertake animal testing or have it done on their behalf.
I am one of those people who cannot blindly play "follow the leader". I must have the facts at my disposal. I must understand WHY. Is PETA using their position to bully and mislead? I'd like to believe not.
Most of the companies and products that are sold in South Africa would be on PETA's blacklist. There is not a country specific list, so we are largely left in the dark.
I write to the companies in question and ask about their animal testing policies, and most of them deny any animal testing. I try to support South African brands, such as Tiger Brands, who assure me they do no animal testing.
As a South African and concerned citizen of the earth, I'd love more clarity so that I may live according to my guiding principles safe in the knowledge that I am still doing no harm.
Sunday 28 October 2012
Study blues...
And so it is that exam season is upon us. This time is easily discerned in our household: the teenager is shrieking about something (what she's actually freaking out about is the looming Geography or Accounting, or whatever, exam). I can be found studiously working on tasks that have absolutely nothing to do with MY looming exams. I've done family trees, installed Windows 8, tidied my desk a bit, and studied a grand total of one section of my sociology book thus far. Hmmm.
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