I've really something else I should be writing. I've got a post planned today on a historical anniversary. But if I don't write a rebuttal to a post that's appeared in the Northern blogosphere my head will explode. I'm not going to link to the post, it really isn't deserving of any sort of exposure. But it was ostentatiously written in response to my (and/or Darcy's) posts on the latest suicide in Arctic Bay.
I've written that if the suicide rate of Arctic Bay (comparable to other communities in Nunavut) was extrapolated to southern cities, that the outcry would be deafening. And that millions upon millions of dollars would be spent. 5200 suicides a year in Toronto and the issue would never leave the news. But here's the point, it wouldn't happen in Big City because Big City's have purpose. We apprarently exist only to leach off the government, and by god we'll use one of the highest suicide rates in the world as an excuse to suck more from that teat.
Besides Big Cities like New York (the city used as an example), you know places with a purpose, would never run deficits (well not since they almost went bankrupt in the 80s) or that purpose, the economy, would never rely on government help. God forbid that the government would, oh say, try to pump 700 Billion dollars to prop up that purpose. Hell, they are too busy providing me with free internet, so I can sit and surf porno sites and look for further government handouts, while reveling in my $36/month rent.
Now the writer has never been to Arctic Bay but that doesn't matter because, well, if you've seen one aboriginal community you've seen them all. I was surprised to know that the community was run by a Band, seeing as Inuit don't have them, nor have any of the treaty status of some other aboriginal communities but hey, maybe I haven't been paying close attention enough. Darn all that free surfing time, I'm missing the structure of my community government, also known as the "parasitic twin."
Now, back to that purpose, I suppose if there was some sort of free market economy up here in Nunavut, all of our social ills would disappear. Paying our own way would free us from the burden of suicide so that will be the answer to all of our problems. Why didn't we see that before. What kind of business could be grow up here. High tech is out, internet is provided by the government and there just isn't any money in competing with that. How about the Mining Industry. Say there's an idea.
Oh, you mean Nunavut has one of the most rapidly expanding and vibrant Mining economies in the world? What? There is currently exploration going on for Diamonds, Uranium and other metals in the region right now? Man I've got to stop spending so much time in the welfare lineup. The iron deposit in the up coming Mary River mine is one of the largest in the world and it will end up one of the largest mie of its kind in the world, complete with its own railway and port?
This sort of development is just great. It will give us purpose. Think about all the financial resources the Government of Nunavut will have from this resource based economy. We'll be rolling in money. Oh, the Federal Government gets all mining royalties, because we're just a Territorial backwater. Well they do have to pay for my internet, it's only fair.
No economy. No economy. No economy. Maybe tourism? Oh wait, air fares cost $3700 to $5000 from Ottawa. But that's because it is so much more expensive to fly up hill here to the North. It costs $500 to fly across the south of Canada but they don't have expense of the northern, what ever it is that pushes the costs of air travel up here. Oh yeah, free market economy, that's it. Luckily no government money goes to the airlines to support that free market economy.
Ah, and there is that Bridge to nowhere in Fort Providence (come on you can write the whole community names). I lived in Fort Providence, now who was it that clambered for a bridge across the MacKenzie when I was there. It couldn't have been the business community who didn't want a twice yearly disruption to goods travel to Yellowknife and beyond. No it had to be the community of Fort Providence. And why, oh why would they ever want to have a stake in the project. That should all go to business from the south, you know, places with purpose.
But then all of (sorry the vast majority) of Aboriginal adults can't be told apart from people with FAS, and need their hand held just to function. Gaol (spell it right) is a great place because then everything will be done for aboriginals. People can't wait to get in and have the care they need. Perhaps we should lock up everyone, what a place the north will be then. Perhaps it will have purpose. Something to do when while we're all drinking down that liquor we've bought with government money. Busy drinking ourselves (well I'm not aboriginal so I guess it will be just my children) to death. White people don't drink, or at least don't have problems like that. It comes from living in places with purpose.
Oh, and the Saxons were French by the way. Olde English was a Germanic language, Saxons were from Saxony and spoke a romance based language. But we wouldn't want facts to get in the way of our little rant would we?
(I was letting my rant get in the way of my facts. I screwed up by thinking Normans, while reading and writing Saxon.)
People have been living in this purposeless place for nigh on 5000 years. And to be honest, pre-contact life was basically a "stone age" existance, not "Bronze-age". It also served them well, and they managed to live in one of the harshest environment in the world. Not a life without deprivation or starvation, but a life that us southerner's couldn't live in without their help. And it was not until our "resources", the ability to transport things like coal and wood in sufficient quantities, entered into the mix that we had a hope to survive up here without their "stone age" technologies.
So there, don't worry about peppering your misanthropic rant with facts. Leave my purposeless life alone. Go build houses in Guatemala because charity (and by that I mean compassion for the people we share this world with) doesn't begin at home. We'll all move down to Toronto or New York or some other happy purpose filled place, and that will solve all of our social ills. Or maybe it isn't the place that has no purpose, maybe its those of us who live here. I'm sure you'd have a "final solution" for that.
Comments
16 responses
Hear, Hear!
Great response Clare!
Clare, you’ve got to be kidding me, right? Do you seriously doubt that reading a newspaper on the subway to work in NYC is more purposeful than just sitting around on a small hill on the arctic coast in the midnight sun and watching belugas swim by while a Snow Bunting attempts to land on your shoulder?
Come on, I KNOW you’d prefer the purposefulness of a subway ride any day, right?
Ain’t that so?
Wouldn’t we all?
Bravo!
Kudos! Great response Clare.
Thank You.
I printed off this ladies blog post and showed to my co-workers. I am the only one that has been able to read the entire piece of crap from beginning to end and then it has taken three tries to do it.
It is people like this that give the rest of us bad names. If any Inuit are reading this please accept my apology.
Great post! What an upsetting thing to read, and I beg to differ. How can living in a place like NYC be more purposeful? With all those people crammed into such a small place, I would think it would be the opposite; you’d get lost in the crowd and be forgotten. I live in a small town (Ben Lomond, CA). While it’s only 45 minutes from Silicon Valley, it was the farthest I could get away from the city and still afford to commute to my job. But I would give anything to live in a small place with a sense of community – a place with a sense of purpose. I think the writer of the article needs to buy a clue.
Word. 100 per cent in agreement.
As for this:
“I was letting my rant get in the way of my facts”
That made me smile.
Apparently, she wrote the whole text in 90 minutes. That’s a lot of text.
It makes me wonder just why she is so angry and so arrogant.
But then again, it might not be worth the effort of wondering.
I too read – or tried to read that piece but since I didn’t know how to respond, Igave up. I am so glad you found the voice and words to do so!
Like Jochen, I too wonder what underlies her vitriol. I’d be surprised if it isn’t rooted in some kind of fear.
I didn’t comment on your two earlier posts about this — it was that helplessness when faced with an empty comment box, coupled with the knowledge that others had already said well what needed to be said — but I thought they rang very true indeed. And, my guess about why the terrible suicide rate up north is largely ignored is simply that you’re too small a population — you don’t offer enough votes. After all, the purpose of communities is to provide votes and if one’s community has no purpose* it offers politicians (most of whom live in large cities) — nothing.
*(irony alert)
Thanks Arctic Hound and Kara.
Hi Jochan. Of course, I believe we find purpose where ever we look at it. And like you I wonder why there was so much anger there. It is hard to fathom as a response to some one’s death.
Thanks Darcy and Kennie
It was a difficult thing to read from start to finish M&M. But it is something that needed to be confronted. I only wish I hadn’t been so angry when I wrote my response.
Hi Kat, I agree in terms of places I’d rather live, but if everyone wanted to live where I did they’d be crowded also. Purpose doesn’t come from place, but the people in that place. Place is important, moreso to how it inspires us.
Thanks Kent, I should have let my anger abate somewhat before I penned it. My brother-in-law was there listening to me pound away at the keyboard and he said “You are angry. Can’t wait to read that response.”
Thanks allmycke
You’re probably right about the fear Pete. Unfortunately fear inspires far too many people in the world.
I’m not sure why the rate gets more than a passing comment in the south. Part of it is surely our shear numbers (or rather lack thereof) as you suggest, but part of it is this helplessness that one feels trying to grasp the problem, or rather the solutions. Looking at a blank comment box as it were and not knowing how to respond.
Excellent piece, Clare. Agreed about “Purpose doesn’t come from place, but the people in that place. Place is important, moreso to how it inspires us.”
I’ve found that to be true throughout my life and it has even more meaning at this point in time. – bev
Thanks Bev, place is important and I’m sure your place is feeling the void right now. Hope things are alright with you.
Go to my URL (blog) and see what I see as most important in this world.
1- Family
2- God
3- Outdoors
4- Making a great life!
Not that I want to begrudge you a chance at some self promotion aspenimage, but a little blog etiquette is in order. There are other ways to self promote including blog carnivals and the like. Or leaving a comment germane to the topic that would cause others to seek out your blog to find out more about you.