As teenagers in the 80s my friends and I found so many great things in Dimmeys, we didn't have much money, but we had imagination ... thanks Beth for the memories.
Thanks Beth for this inspirational, informative, enjoyable, stirring 'Writing Beth'. Loved it. Especially loved the images and beautiful poetry of the 70's clothing piece. So true and so evocative. And, Tampon Tim and 100 Tampons song - classic!
Thanks Beth. So much to digest and so worthy of digestion. I always worry about personality politics when those being promoted to the pedestal are centre right not even centre left. And the platform is capitalism, and there is no possibility of democracy in a system of financial capitalism - which is what capitalism is, a financial system where some succeed at the expense of others, the masses.
I love the lovely snip with The Peace Train. I saw this beautiful song sung by Yusuf Islam to those of us who mourned the great loss of fifty one people. People - children, women, men, felled in prayer in a mosque a few blocks from where I live, plus plus so many people injured.
One white man had crossed the Tasman and found it really easy to grab his automatic guns and fire at peaceful people, and now the gun laws that reversed that are being reversed by our new foul leadership.
Anyway, thank you. Thank you. I will read, and re-read and digest. And when I get my next windfall I will become a paid subscriber because your work merits that recognition.
Oh, that's terrible that your gun laws are being reversed. It is so hard because it takes such great effort to create meaningful change and then when the right wing get back in govt again they can erase so much of it at the stroke of a pen. But I like to be reminded of Medicare -brought in by the Whitlam govt, then axed by Fraser, but Australians had at least seen what was possible and so it was revived and reborn when Labor got back in again and has lasted for decades.
And how beautiful that Peace Train helped bring people together to mourn after that terrible event.
I too dislike personality politics, but I have also seen over the years how some people do have a gift of leading and opening people up to more. And have the gift of not just seeing what kinds of change can lay foundations for the future but can argue for it in a compelling way, and are able to gather around them the kind of people who can make those changes in a well-thought through way with attention to detail. So when those people are able to somehow survive within and rise through the muck that is parliamentary politics, it is quite extraordinary. Lionel Murphy, for instance, who was able in the early 70s Australia to convince even the Opposition to support reforms like No Fault Divorce. And who presented environmental cases in the international courts. And presided over dozens of incredible reforms in just a few years. I always think it is a small miracle when people like that are in government.
What did you think of Jacinda Ardern? From over here she seemed amazing. Altho I guess she had her faults like everyone.
True re certain people having the capacity to influence positive change but unfortunately the system will veer back because the change is not systemic. We can all point to a bit of good here or there but overwhelmingly it is negative. Look at the referendum.
I think the days of good influence having a lasting effect have gone unfortunately and now we have centre left and centre right and extreme right and extreme left and the extremes have much in common when they meet.
We need a fairer system generally and then we won't see the extremes. I'm interested in explorations into a system where everyone has a flourishing start - shelter, education, healthcare - where it isn't a lottery.
Jacinda Adern did her best within a system of financial capitalism that guarantees that the rich will flourish at the expense of the working poor. She was vilified by the extremes and her life was often in danger, she received constant threats. She was inflated then deflated and the real person was nearly destroyed. It was wrong but predicable as the system faced several natural and man-made eruptions. In such cases it will explode or implode with personal consequences. Only a different system will avoid that.
I was disappointed when Jacina failed to bring in capital gains tax just as I was when Obama failed to close Guantanemo. Good people are caught in a system that guarantees good cannot win in the long term and we only need to imagine ourselves poor in this system to know that it does not work. We only need to look at the health of the planet to know that capitalism is unhealthy. Jacinda said capitalism has failed and she is right. It has brought the planet to the brink.
I believe we can unite towards a fairer system and it is the only hope and this is why I am a socialist, have been since I covered the so-called revolutions that were well engineered to bring a win for capitalism. Just before the Berlin Wall opened I met women in East Germany - including those who had left - who all told me they did not want capitalism because it is not a good system for women. They wanted a new kind of socialism but not capitalism. They did not want a system that guarantees that some really will have nothing, and those with nothing will increase.
I do have hope. But I only have hope if we aren't relying on the temporary hope - the fleeting hope - of getting in someone who is halfway decent who can have influence because they speak well. The right has that too. It flourishes on people who would be lovely to chat to at a bbq.
We need a system that is decent so that we aren't reliant on a star rising through the muck. In our case they tried to extinguish her flame anyway, both the extremes proved adept at that.
Capitalism is a system that rewards parasites who prey on the underfed - underfed in terms of housing and benefits and a stake in society - and that isn't healthy for any of us.
The expansion of consumerism, the material wealth at the top, the greed and appropriation of need is a death sentence not just for human beings but for the planet. It takes courage to work towards real change for all, but it is a relief not to be relying on false hope.
I love your dimmey's poem!
thank you! (And I still have a drawer full of half finished sewing things.)
Lovely substack Beth, thank you. You are my must read, along with Rick Morton's. xx
ooh, that's high praise indeed.
The best substack by miles, Beth – yours is the only one I read (sorry, other writerly friends) xox
Thank you Desney! ♥️ That will encourage me to keep doing it! It's such a lovely way to connect with readers and other writers.
As teenagers in the 80s my friends and I found so many great things in Dimmeys, we didn't have much money, but we had imagination ... thanks Beth for the memories.
Yes! Dimmeys was full of treasures. Did you go to the one in Richmond?
Such a lovely evocative piece. The granddaughters of Depression-era grandmothers, daughters to make-do mothers, an underrecognised cohort.
Yes, we slid in between the cracks and prised open little doors.
What unsung pieces of history you evoke Beth! You should star in a documentary series. xx
haha, thank you Roxanne! I hope someone interviews you one day for a doco about the 80s music scene.
Thanks Beth for this inspirational, informative, enjoyable, stirring 'Writing Beth'. Loved it. Especially loved the images and beautiful poetry of the 70's clothing piece. So true and so evocative. And, Tampon Tim and 100 Tampons song - classic!
Thank you Caroline Anne - you always give such wonderful feedback comments. Hugely appreciated.
Thanks Beth. So much to digest and so worthy of digestion. I always worry about personality politics when those being promoted to the pedestal are centre right not even centre left. And the platform is capitalism, and there is no possibility of democracy in a system of financial capitalism - which is what capitalism is, a financial system where some succeed at the expense of others, the masses.
I love the lovely snip with The Peace Train. I saw this beautiful song sung by Yusuf Islam to those of us who mourned the great loss of fifty one people. People - children, women, men, felled in prayer in a mosque a few blocks from where I live, plus plus so many people injured.
One white man had crossed the Tasman and found it really easy to grab his automatic guns and fire at peaceful people, and now the gun laws that reversed that are being reversed by our new foul leadership.
Anyway, thank you. Thank you. I will read, and re-read and digest. And when I get my next windfall I will become a paid subscriber because your work merits that recognition.
Oh, that's terrible that your gun laws are being reversed. It is so hard because it takes such great effort to create meaningful change and then when the right wing get back in govt again they can erase so much of it at the stroke of a pen. But I like to be reminded of Medicare -brought in by the Whitlam govt, then axed by Fraser, but Australians had at least seen what was possible and so it was revived and reborn when Labor got back in again and has lasted for decades.
And how beautiful that Peace Train helped bring people together to mourn after that terrible event.
I too dislike personality politics, but I have also seen over the years how some people do have a gift of leading and opening people up to more. And have the gift of not just seeing what kinds of change can lay foundations for the future but can argue for it in a compelling way, and are able to gather around them the kind of people who can make those changes in a well-thought through way with attention to detail. So when those people are able to somehow survive within and rise through the muck that is parliamentary politics, it is quite extraordinary. Lionel Murphy, for instance, who was able in the early 70s Australia to convince even the Opposition to support reforms like No Fault Divorce. And who presented environmental cases in the international courts. And presided over dozens of incredible reforms in just a few years. I always think it is a small miracle when people like that are in government.
What did you think of Jacinda Ardern? From over here she seemed amazing. Altho I guess she had her faults like everyone.
True re certain people having the capacity to influence positive change but unfortunately the system will veer back because the change is not systemic. We can all point to a bit of good here or there but overwhelmingly it is negative. Look at the referendum.
I think the days of good influence having a lasting effect have gone unfortunately and now we have centre left and centre right and extreme right and extreme left and the extremes have much in common when they meet.
We need a fairer system generally and then we won't see the extremes. I'm interested in explorations into a system where everyone has a flourishing start - shelter, education, healthcare - where it isn't a lottery.
Jacinda Adern did her best within a system of financial capitalism that guarantees that the rich will flourish at the expense of the working poor. She was vilified by the extremes and her life was often in danger, she received constant threats. She was inflated then deflated and the real person was nearly destroyed. It was wrong but predicable as the system faced several natural and man-made eruptions. In such cases it will explode or implode with personal consequences. Only a different system will avoid that.
I was disappointed when Jacina failed to bring in capital gains tax just as I was when Obama failed to close Guantanemo. Good people are caught in a system that guarantees good cannot win in the long term and we only need to imagine ourselves poor in this system to know that it does not work. We only need to look at the health of the planet to know that capitalism is unhealthy. Jacinda said capitalism has failed and she is right. It has brought the planet to the brink.
I believe we can unite towards a fairer system and it is the only hope and this is why I am a socialist, have been since I covered the so-called revolutions that were well engineered to bring a win for capitalism. Just before the Berlin Wall opened I met women in East Germany - including those who had left - who all told me they did not want capitalism because it is not a good system for women. They wanted a new kind of socialism but not capitalism. They did not want a system that guarantees that some really will have nothing, and those with nothing will increase.
I do have hope. But I only have hope if we aren't relying on the temporary hope - the fleeting hope - of getting in someone who is halfway decent who can have influence because they speak well. The right has that too. It flourishes on people who would be lovely to chat to at a bbq.
We need a system that is decent so that we aren't reliant on a star rising through the muck. In our case they tried to extinguish her flame anyway, both the extremes proved adept at that.
Capitalism is a system that rewards parasites who prey on the underfed - underfed in terms of housing and benefits and a stake in society - and that isn't healthy for any of us.
The expansion of consumerism, the material wealth at the top, the greed and appropriation of need is a death sentence not just for human beings but for the planet. It takes courage to work towards real change for all, but it is a relief not to be relying on false hope.