Wednesday, May 18

Another thought-provoking Q & A the other night.  It was a breath of fresh air - broadcast from the Perth Writers Festival and politician-free.  There was a Muslim woman from the Netherlands who is calling for a Muslim reformation which would challenge the mediaeval beliefs of today's jihadists, but the real hero was Kate Tempest, a young woman from the UK, an articulate street poet who 'showed us old farts that we need to maintain the rage', as one tweeter commented.  In a discussion about diabolical regimes like Saudi Arabia she said that the real problem in the world today is the greed which is driving western society and called capitalist economies equally diabolical.  She commented,

'You talk about diabolical regimes where young people can't work, well, that's Britain.'

I wish I could reproduce 'Progress', the poem she recited but it's on Youtube. Instead, here are some excerpts:

• "They used to burn women who had epileptic fits, they'd tie you to a stake and they'd proclaim you a witch. Now they'll put you on the screen if you've got nice tits but you will be torn apart if you let yourself slip, and they'll draw red rings around your saggy bits."
• "The world is your playground, go and get your kicks as long as you're not poor or ugly or sick. We never saw it coming just like all the best tricks because, yes, once we had the fear but now we have the fix."