It’s a thoroughly wet and miserable day. I have been out and about, buying a couple of essentials for today’s menu. There were few people about, mostly like me hurrying to do essential stuff and get back home again. I did, however, see one group of very determined walkers: half a dozen of them with their ski-pole style walking canes, their waterproof trousers and jackets, their little backpacks, perhaps with a packed lunch in, and an obvious leader making sure they all went in the right direction.
They probably planned today’s hike weeks ago, too far ahead for really accurate weather prediction. And really, if you have the right gear and you’re not trying anything too adventurous, a good walk in bad weather is not such a bad adventure. I would, however, prefer to stop at some mind of hostelry for warm food rather than sitting outside eating a packed lunch.
In more challenging places than our immediate surroundings it seems that more and more people have been venturing out and getting themselves into difficulties. One reason for this is their relying solely on smartphones to navigate. The Lake District Search and Mountain Rescue Association said one in four callouts were “avoidable rescues” due to people getting lost or delayed through not having the necessary navigational skills. Up until Boxing Day morning, rescue teams there had attended 606 callouts in 2022, a figure they expected to rise to 620 by the end of the year. Numbers have risen significantly in the last 10 years, up from 432 incidents in 2012. Last year was their busiest, with 681 callouts. That’s more than 10 call-outs per week - astounding! And most of the rescuers are unpaid volunteers!m
This is one of the consequences of our digital age.
Another is the perceived license to be mean and cruel. I read today about 92 year old Liliana Segre, an Italian holocaust survivor. Expelled from school at age 8 because of Mussolini’s anti-Jewish racial laws and sent off to Auschwitz at age 13, she was the only one of her immediate family to survive the holocaust and eventually return to Italy. In the 1990s she began to visit schools and other institutions to talk about her experiences, as did others of her generation in various countries. I remember colleges where I worked having visiting speakers of that kind.
In 2018, on the 80th anniversary of the enactment of Mussolini’s racial laws, she was made a life senator by the Italian president, Sergio Mattarella. And suddenly she came to the notice of some right wing nutcases and became a target of death threats. Since 2019 has been obliged to have a police escort. In one incident, a teacher from the Veneto region wrote on Facebook that Segre “would do well in a nice little incinerator”.
Wow! And they let such people teach children and influence young minds?
Why does the ability to post material on social media and digital platforms make some people think they can be so harsh! I should not be so surprised at this as it happens all the time but ai remain shocked and saddened by it. We live in a cruel age!
Well, I have digressed somewhat from the subject of weather. Judging by what is happening weather-wise in the USA, where even more snow is predicted for New York at least and probably elsewhere, we should be thankful to have only rain. And then there is this report of fog in China, leading to a 200 vehicle pile-up. It’s worth looking at the article just for the picture of the crash. So many vehicle! And amazingly only pne person is reported to have been killed. I suppose that’s an odd kind of tribute to the safety features of modern cars.
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
No comments:
Post a Comment