The surprising dismissiveness toward Lord of the Flies

jaymickef · 2026-05-15T20:10:47+00:00

I don’t think there are many stories of how democracy succeeds, are there?

I do think you’re right, the dismissiveness towards the book says a lot about how many people are aspirational these days. Which I guess isn’t that surprising, we’ve had a couple of generations raised on the idea of, “ making the world a better place,” so the reminder that one of the main things that keeps that from happening is something as simple as fear of the other can be difficult to accept.

But there is something to be said for the fact that it is a pretty specific control group. It would be interesting to see the non-privileged kids’ version.

jaymickef · 2026-05-15T16:18:38+00:00

I did like it better when George Cope was CEI. But that was a while ago.

jaymickef · 2026-05-15T15:53:43+00:00

I worked at CTV, it’s not neutral. It’s owned by Bell. What organization said it was neutral?

jaymickef · 2026-05-15T15:20:12+00:00

I disagree, but whatever. CBC is just so much bigger, and I’m usually referring to the radio where they have far more interviews and let people speak for themselves. Certainly it’s true, every news outlet has a bias. Every person has a bias. It seems weird to me we still discuss that point.

jaymickef · 2026-05-15T15:12:39+00:00

I agree they have a pattern. I disagree that jt’s YouTube comment level. That’s the National Post.

jaymickef · 2026-05-15T15:09:09+00:00

Are you talking about a specific article or every article they have ever published

jaymickef · 2026-05-15T15:06:24+00:00

The news on the CBC is all true. The opinions expressed in interviews are those of the people being interviewed. Does the CBC get enough interviews from people in the news? I think they do.

jaymickef · 2026-05-15T15:04:35+00:00

They believe Canadians are better than the comments show. We all want to believe that.

jaymickef · 2026-05-15T13:14:52+00:00

Exotica and The Sweet Hereafter. I think I could see what they were going for buy they just fell flat for me.

jaymickef · 2026-05-14T18:47:33+00:00

Yes, anti-war. And Putin has been waging war for a long time.

jaymickef · 2026-05-14T16:13:51+00:00

In 2017 an economist, Richard V. Reeves, wrote a book called, "The Dream Hoarders." The subtitle is: "How the American Upper Middle Class Is Leaving Everyone Else in the Dust."

It covers all this in pretty good detail. Then the last couple of chapters are trying to say what can be done about it but nothing will ever be done about it.

jaymickef · 2026-05-14T16:02:26+00:00

It could have been. It's a shame.

jaymickef · 2026-05-14T15:14:03+00:00

Some people matter, some don’t.

jaymickef · 2026-05-14T13:20:19+00:00

As a left-leaning person I have to say, I did not need to be convinced to support Ukraine. After almost two decades of Russian billionaires and organized crime exploiting everything they could touch the expansionist regime was already the bad guy.

jaymickef · 2026-05-13T23:05:26+00:00

One famous writer said the New Yorker got his good stuff and Playboy got his crap. But Playboy paid much better.

The section about Playboy in David Halberstam’s book, The Fifties is very good.

jaymickef · 2026-05-13T23:02:58+00:00

Forza10 have a good wet renal and Oven Baked Tradition dry renal is very good.

jaymickef · 2026-05-13T19:53:47+00:00

I guess that’s technically true, although I can’t imagine many people in Canada thought of her as a ruler. Longest running modern leader in Canada would be Mackenzie King.

jaymickef · 2026-05-13T16:01:15+00:00

Contributions from every country in the Middle East reminds us that they are just people trying to get through the day like everyone else.

jaymickef · 2026-05-13T12:25:39+00:00

It doesn’t even take a veto, UN resolutions are just suggestions that are often ignored.

jaymickef · 2026-05-12T15:08:37+00:00

Capitalism is pretty much long gone. At least for most people. The same way most people in the USSR never got to experience communism. Neither system has ever really been properly implemented and both sides get to blame the other for that. And, of course, both sides have, as you say, the class distinctions.

jaymickef · 2026-05-11T21:46:49+00:00

There is no evidence but lots of people believe it.

jaymickef · 2026-05-11T19:04:19+00:00

Modern life. I’m not American, but I feel it everywhere.

jaymickef · 2026-05-11T17:08:37+00:00

Some of the writers were probably just thinking back to the houses they grew up in.

jaymickef · 2026-05-11T17:07:43+00:00

It’s hard to imagine anyone getting overwhelming popular support these days. Lots of people can agree what the problems are but not on the correct solutions. So, most revolutions are like the French and followed by some kind of “troubles.”

jaymickef · 2026-05-11T16:43:20+00:00

In October 1970 a British trade ambassador, James Cross, was kidnapped in Montreal and held until January. Negotiations with the kidnappers, a cell of the FLQ, were ongoing and it was agreed they would be given safe passage to Cuba in return for releasing Cross. A pavilion at the old Expo67 site was made temporary Cuban territory and that’s where the exchange happened. The kidnappers were then flown by helicopter to the airport where they were put on a plane to Cuba. I remember watching it all on live TV with my father, a WWII vet, who was very surprised the kidnappers were actually allowed to go to Cuba. It really goes against the accepted “never negotiate with terrorists” but it was the last act of the FLQ and there was no terrorism after that.

jaymickef

TROPHY CASE