ShareWare OnLine 2/ShareWare OnLine Volume 2 (CMS Software)(1993).iso/infor/famag2r.zip/FA-8

Text File | 1993-03-23 | 6KB | 107 lines

                     Killing the Canaries

                              by

                        Grigori Cossack

         Until the recent advent of mechanical equipment to
take over its function, canaries had been, for hundreds of
years, the miner's best friend.  When the miner descended into
the pit, he took his canary cage with him.  This was not just
empty sentiment; the canary meant life itself to the miner.  If,
while he was working in the mine, the canary fell from its
perch, either unconscious or dead, the miner would hurry out
of the mine because the canary's sensitivity to gas had warned
him that the environment was becoming lethal.

         In human societies, it is what the media likes to refer
to as the "underclass" which serves the same function as the
canary in the mine.  The truth of this statement is clear to all
who have eyes to see.  The AIDS epidemic was first felt and
noticed among the underclass.  The "crack" epidemic showed
itself first in the inner cities.  The health and livability of a
society or environment can invariably be measured by the vigor
and strength of its weakest links.  Judging by this scale, our
society is in great peril.  We are like a patient succumbing to
a high fever; though our condition is critical tending toward
terminal, we are blissfully unaware of the severity of the illness
because of the irrationality imposed by the fever.

         It is an article of faith among the Establishment that
everything is wonderful.  Many in the middle and upper classes
have nothing but contempt for their "weaker brothers".  What
is often heard in these circles, when the conversation does not
revolve around their children, their jobs, their material wealth,
is that "those people" should:  (a) work for a living rather than
relying on welfare. If they did they would not be destitute; (b)
stop using drugs.  This would enable them to hold down a job
and become responsible, contributing citizens; (c) stop com-
plaining about their situation, pick themselves up by their
bootstraps and make something of themselves rather than
seeking special consideration from the government.  In answer
to the above canard, it is necessary to examine each contention
individually.

         One of the most obscene misconceptions is that those
who are in dire financial straits must be, in some way, person-
ally responsible.  An extension to this muddled way of thinking
is the corollary that if one is poor or on welfare, one must not
be working or, if working, then not working hard enough.  This
is fertilizer of the rankest kind.  Many of those on welfare are
working; many are single mothers with dependent children,
working at minimum wage.  This situation leads many to say
that the problem is the woman's morality.  How convenient.
Except for religion and social policy, we all agree with the
impossibility of virgin birth.  Yet, from the howls of the
moralists, one would conclude that the vast majority of single
mothers have been resorting to this form of procreation.  This
must be the case, for one hears little or no mention of the males
that must have some part in the reproductive equation.

     The panacea of our times is "Just say NO!" to
drugs mentality.  It is a standard assumption by the "silent
majority" that the typical drug user is analogous to the Skid Row
alky.  This again does not comport with reality.  The vast
majority of drug users hold down "straight" jobs.  The fact that
"socially accepted" drug use (i.e., those who worship at the
Temple of Caffeine, Alcohol & Nicotine; Valium, other
prescribed medications) is by far a greater problem in terms
of economics and volume than all illegal drug use combined,
seems to bother no one.  For many of "those people", their
selection and use of drugs is shaped by their circumstances.
The working poor, by and large, have little or no access to any
kind of medical care, much less prescription on demand.  For
many of the working poor, the only means of escape is
contained in a joint at the end of the day.  (By any reputable
studies you would care to cite, when comparing equivalent
dosage levels, marijuana users show more consistent and better
job performance than do users of alcohol).

        Many in the upper classes, including many upper and
middle class African-Americans, suggest that (1) poor people
must belong to a minority, and (2) they are expecting some
kind of special treatment (which the accusers themselves may
not have had) and, while waiting for this special treatment, are
doing nothing to help themselves.  This is truly a sham.  Many
of the people looking for "special treatment" are simply asking
that they be afforded the same opportunities offered others.
It is all well and good to speak of improving one's self but very
difficult if you are illiterate.  Yet these people have gone
through the mandatory training of the school system.  It is very
difficult to "improve" yourself in this country if you cannot read
or write.  The "special treatment" these people are asking for
is simply to be trained to deal with the society in which they
live.

        This is a very pivotal time for this society and civiliza-
tion, as we know it.  We must start realizing that the time has come
to start addressing our problems realistically rather than through a
haze of "gut feelings" and impulses of moral intolerance.  The
canaries of our society are falling off their perches.  We
MUST begin to work on a solution for the problems at hand.
It is time to either leave the mine or correct the lethal
situation developing.  It is time to admit that the atmosphere
is becoming lethal and to stop killing our canaries for the
crime of alerting us to our plight.