Pandora's Box

The story of Pandora and her box of tricks has been around for thousands of years. According to Hesiod (Ancient writer dude), Pandora's husband left her in possession a vessel containing all of the evils of the world. After a while curiosity go the better of Pandora and she let the lid off the jar and these evils escaped, leaving hope and opportunity swilling around the bottom. And subsequently the world went to shit. 

This does not mean that hope and opportunity is a bad thing. But, in the words of an episode of Ted Lasso, it's the hope that kills you. 

We were talking about this after meditation the other day. 

My friend Gloria was relating how she had been verbally assaulted at her local, inner-city pub. She and her partner, Gaynor had gone out for a quiet dinner. As they were leaving, a man at the table next to hers began to call her every name under the sun. The barrage of abuse went on for minutes. The man's wife tried to intervene, saying that "they weren't disrespectful people." Gloria and Gaynor left the pub, the man's abuse continued until they were out of the street and away from the building. 

We talked about what she could have done. Gone straight to management? This was an unprovoked verbal assault - but there were no visible management around at the time. '

Shout back? No - that could be dangerous. 

Try and deflect with humour? I said maybe swiping over his shirt, calling "Lesbian germs, no returns." Might shut him up. It made Gloria laugh.

I believe that she's been back in contact with the pub to talk to management. Hopefully the cameras can pick something up. 

Yet, here's the thing. I'm hearing with more regularity, of queer friends being berated in the street. And I do not like this in the slightest. 

Although not queer, I've been othered. Once you've been othered, you get it. And it sends your tolerance to homophobia, racism, ageism, ableism - you name it, down to nothing. 

You don't pick on my friends, you arseholes, and expect to go down without a fight. 

But it's disconcerting. Melbourne is a melting pot of all types. We generally get on well. Okay, maybe the eshays can go jump in the Yarra, but they won't be missed. 

Melbourne is a cosmopolitan city. It's also accepting of people of all races, sexualities, genders, or so we're led to believe.

We're an enclave. 

It's very disconcerting when your friends, who have lived in their inner-city area minding their own business to be barraged with homophobic slurs. 

Is it the emboldening of Trump and that dreadful potato-headed arsehole Dutton doing his dog whistling? Is something more sinister afoot. 

Or is it that Pandora's Box has been opened, and the evils of the world are upon us and it's up to us to use the hope and opportunity to bring things back to an even, less combative, more accepting, loving and balanced keel?

Today's Song: