9/11/10 Somewhere in my way of looking at and living life there is a distinct difference in my character to other people. Not that this difference makes me any better in comparison when it comes to successes or failures than anybody else. It is purely a thing that I notice from time to time when reading, listening or talking about people, that disdain and criticism that is thrown at people who are trying to do something. To use the vernacular "Having a crack at it" is becoming a socially unacceptable challenge for a person to attempt.
I could be totally wrong this is not a simple topic to discuss, among the complexities of the variety and number of individuals this broadly covers. Even so it has became a symptom of the cynical nature that is required to survive in this world today. When the News is actually entertainment, make no mistake I do mean that statement. How often have you been watching/listening to the news, or reading it and an item has been included that is about a person or program that is a feature of that stations scheduling. A recent example of this was the ‘News” that a character in Channel 7’s “Packed to the rafters” was ‘killed in a car crash. It was the character not the actor and a part of the series yet it was included in the regular new reports. It was a publicity and promotional act yet people tuning in to the news were confused, some thought that it involved a member of tennis player Patrick Rafter’s family, others thought the actor had been killed. The same story was aired on 7’s morning show as well in total 8 times for the day, it was not the intent of the station to mislead viewers but it is a great example of not believing everything you hear literally.
The natural disaster in Pakistan in 2010 followed a run of similar disasters around the world and the fundraising efforts for aid were finding that the public were not responding. It would be very rude to say that Australians are not generous in supporting people in need, in most cases assistance is given willingly and without a demand for recognition. This time though the media had to make a concerted effort that got some support flowing there were even media reports of a possible,”Charity fatigue” among Australians and this was hampering the appeal. Then there is the everyday need to manage personal finances, it is a good thing to have food in your own fridge and a roof over your head as well.
Then through the numerous social networking sites on the ‘net, users are subjected to neverending requests to like this, support that, play a game, check a list and all these requests come from our ‘friends’. This is not a new phenomenon getting support for any cause, appeal and even business takes hard work and effort. What we have now is the establishing of a ‘Supporters fatigue” being so accessible to new friends on the internet it is a 24 hour a day effort to maintain the contact and communication to show that we care. Champion surfer Kelly Slater has a passion for playing golf and it has been mentioned that at 38 he is getting too old to keep being a professional surfer. In this mention it was intimated that perhaps Kelly may take up playing golf professionally. This is not easy to do but nothing says he cannot have a crack at it. Yet the number of golfers who spat out the disdain for him to even consider trying to do this was a surprise. Yes it is hard yet golf is a sport that although many try, few do become successful pro’s. Among those that do succeed many continue playing and winning professionally into their 50’s so why shouldn’t a 38 year old athlete consider the sport as a way to continue following a passion as a career.
Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff
