How many times have we heard the lament by individuals, businesses, large organizations and, in general, those in need of post-misdeed comfort: we are acting in the spirit, if not the letter, of the law, the regulation, the policy, ethics, etc.? So, the Canadian government has a new cell phone tower rule to replace the old guideline which seems to have been misunderstood by the companies supposed to be abiding by it. It used to be they had to consult with the locals (they read yokels) before putting up any of their attractive towers, if they were 15 meters or higher. Now they have to ask permission to go to the toilet for towers of any height. Why? Continue reading Making Shit Look Good: Part 2: Just Say No →
Here I use the word shit symbolically, a perfectly legitimate one in the English language, rather than as the vulgar form of fecal matter or to defecate. It is versatile enough to capture the flavour of lives lived at the deepest end of the socio-economic valley. The joke where an optimist says we will all soon be eating shit only to get the pessimist’s response that there won’t be enough to go around nicely, if somewhat loutishly, demonstrates how framing can alter how we view this particular form of bodily effluvia: From a waste product to a foodstuff that becomes desirable when there is not enough of it. I’m of course stretching what is basically low humour into convenient metaphor, but if it conveys how framing can change perspective then it has been a useful exercise. Continue reading Making Shit Look Good: It’s all about Framing →
"do unto others before they do unto you"