After:  Oliver Sacks  by Luigi Novi  9.13.09

. . . the arms that long for love

  Sir Roger was listening to the ABC Science Show today. It was Robyn Williams’ homage to Oliver Sacks (Awakenings, The Man Who Thought His Wife Was a Hat, Seeing Voices, Uncle Tungsten etc. etc. etc.) and was jolly-well enjoying it immensely. The sun was shining into the conservatory, the hounds had been exercised, the ice was clinking cheerfully in the Glenfiddich, all was right with the world … when suddenly his Lordship was shaken by these words:

 Listen to the complete ABC Science Show feature on Oliver Sacks

In the show, Sacks recalled his early (wartime) childhood experience after being evacuated to the country from London during the blitz.

He called it “soul murder”.

Sir Roger’s glass slid from his hand and he watched it slowly fall, like an overcranked silent film, to be dashed on the Italian tiles of the conservatory floor.

The idea of murdering a child’s soul – what would that mean? To thrust a knife into the heart of the spirit of playfulness and enthusiasm and joy, to cut off the hands that grasp so eagerly for learning, to amputate the arms that long for love, to sever the legs that long to walk tall, to blind the imagination and every dream, and to gut the body of hope.

To replace it all with what — an interminable desert of dust and ash and despair, and the nightmare of blank nothingness.

Repairing to the Library Sir Roger blew the dust off an article about “soul murder” by Leonard Shengold who said:

“ Soul murder is the term I have used for the apparently willful abuse and neglect of children by adults that are of sufficient intensity and frequency to be traumatic. By that I mean that the children’s subsequent emotional development has been profoundly and predominantly negatively affected.”

The mind of the master of Migently Estate flashed into flame, like ancient nitrocellulose film in a poorly maintained projector on a hot day, with the thought that the treatment of asylum seekers by successive Australian governments, and particularly their Prime Ministers and Ministers, their bureaucracies and bureaucrats, and their profit-driven corporate contractors, matches the description of “soul murder”.

Especially — though not only — when it is perpetrated against children for whom as a society we are collectively responsible. And more damningly, as a Culture — which we so pridefully contrast with others we call barbaric, backward, primitive, knuckle-dragging, inhumane – we are deeply shamed.

And so Sir Roger slumped into the rattan and pondered to whom, on Shengold’s definition, the term “soul murderer” might be applied. Who had publicly and wilfully perpetrated, advertised and perhaps boasted of abuse against children who are, after all, in the broad sense in Australia’s care (you know, to discourage people from getting on boats and to break the people smugglers’ “business model”)?

And, he mused, those would include Dutton, Morrison, Turnbull, Abbott, Rudd, Gillard, Howard, Keating, Evans, Bowen, Ruddock, Vanstone.

Who else?

All those who voted in parliament for them and their policies.

All those facilitators, such as bureaucrats and others, who were ‘just doing their jobs’. Heartlessly. 

And all those who are complicit because they voted to put those people in parliament.

And he shouted to the cat, “You can say ‘not in my name‘ as much and as loudly as you bloody well like, but actually it is in your name and you are not absolved unless you do something about it. It is in your name if you vote for either of the major parties party.”

“And that’s all right, puss,” he said quietly, “as long as you are clear and okay with yourself that that is who you are: someone who is okay with the murder of children’s souls.”

Thank you for reading this far!  You might think producing a post like this takes a bit of work. 
It does! If you’ve appreciated it you might consider encouraging me. ( We all like validation! )   

Buy Me A Coffee

All posts

Categories

You might also like:

The Ancient Marinara

  He's a Legend, and our friend   e wish he wouldn’t describe himself as “ancient”. That tends to put us at the edge of a category we fiercely resist. Richard Neville, one of the founders of homepagedaily.com, was the infamous, notorious...

Communities Thank Pokie Addicts

You look comfortable under your newspaper . . . ight around Australia – which is, you know, NSW and a couple of other fairly unimportant (albeit it occasionally charmingly old-fashioned) bits – Community Leaders are in panic over the impending loss...

Malcolm Turnbull: Next Prime Minister?

  Backing into the limelight ir Roger believes Malcolm Turnbull could easily be the next Prime Minister of Australia.What do you think? Here’s why: 1) The coalition and the right wing media will bring too much pressure on Julia Gillard about...

Just Checking our MASSIVE STUFF-UP

A note about the Haneef debacle/fallout...   he police and the government — notably Howard, Andrews, Downer and Ruddock (all of whom would have purple dye on their hands if they stole a briefcase instead of hijacking the brief on Haneef )...

You can be charged for what you did today…

  So here’s what Haneef was formally charged with on 14 July 2007, as revealed by Tony Jones on Lateline on Tuesday night: “...intentionally providing resources to a terrorist organisation consisting of persons including Sabeel Ahmed and Kafeel Ahmed, his...

We’ll All Be Rooned, Said Hanrahan

  Hooray for the Rain! (if you got it) In praise of the recent rain here is the most Strayan of Australian pomes; Hanrahan versing the elements. True Australian values. Pure Poa Tree.  SAID HANRAHAN by John O’Brien e’ll all be rooned,”...

Men and Whitlam of Australia

On Your Knees   Men and Whitlam of Australia . . .  he decision we will make on December 2 is a choice between the past and the future, between the habits and fears of the past and the demands and opportunities of the future. There are...

Expertology

  How the Experts Won the Iraq War in Weeks Rather Than Years   he newest Bill Moyers Journal episode includes an interview with Victor Navasky and Christopher Cerf, whose new book MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! OR HOW WE WON THE WAR IN IRAQ looks...

A Moron in a Hurry – Part 2

It's Me! It's Tim!   A s you know Sir Roger has been stood over by the rozzers of the Whitlam Industry, accused of the most nefarious crimes in the most aggressive tones. Almost as terrifying as the big boys threatening him for his lunch money. To help the dear...

The Front Fell Off

ll the sage analysts and opinionators, as well as the “'King Makers'” – as News Ltd “'journalist's” like to refer to themselves – seem to be agreed that there is a mood for change in the electorate. They agree that it’s not really about John Howard...

Heads They Win, Tails You Lose

Whom the gods wish to destroy they first send mad — Euripides   n 2007  we pleaded  … tell me that America isn’t completely barmy, batty, berserk, bonkers, cracked, crazed, cuckoo, crazy, demented, deranged, dippy, flipped out, fruity, haywire,...

Migently Mountain Manifesto: 2

  6. hen we swear to something, that is kind of a proper commitment. The word “swear” comes from an ancient word that means “to speak”; to say words. In one of the most savagely beautiful and exceptional works of fiction, the Book of John...

Lord Roger Migently?

Back to the Regency Future   ir Roger Migently, as you must surely realise, has been quite unwell. He has been managed like an unlucky skier in an induced coma these many months since September 2013, when the floor of the Migently Mansions...

Special Intel Ops

Night of the Big Dicks pecial Intel Ops, Sir Roger is required to inform his readers, may actually AT THIS VERY MOMENT be taking place, or may be in preparation, or may at the very least be in prospect. (Clutches pearls) It has come to Sir Roger’s...

Education and Life

   Be Normal and Fit In    ir Roger’s close confidante writes: My mother used to ask me if I wouldn’t prefer to work in a bank. In those days it was a safe occupation – safe as a bank, literally. A job for life with almost guaranteed...

The SIEV X-Factor

“A Certain Maritime Incident”   ichard Fidler interviewed  Tony Kevin on ABC's Conversation Hour  last week. Tony Kevin is an activist who was one of the driving forces behind the campaign to uncover, and especially to tell, the truth about...

The Meaning of Life

Sunday Sacrilege   nsights from the great Joseph Campbell, Mythologist, best known for his work in comparative mythology and comparative religion, author of The Power of Myth, The Inner Secrets of Outer Space, and The Hero with a Thousand Faces...

Migently Mountain Manifesto: 3

11.   Science is not a set of facts. Science is a process. The process is to — a) observe, b) speculate, c) propose an explanation (or “theory”), d) devise an experiment which i) can be repeated (“replicable”) and ii) can prove the theory false (“falsifiable”) e)...

Sack Keelty

  Sack the Bastard   …and DIC Senior Management, particularly the Deputy Secretary in charge of borders, compliance, and detention, the avowed expert in the use of the visa as a tool for enforcing (at the time) Liberal Party policy. Yes, it’s our old friend,...

Pedants r Us

  What on earth is going on?   Is it all over, after all? Have the barbarians claimed victory?   First: Sir Roger listens to ABC Radio A LOT. One evening, or early morning, he was listening to an interview with an author by a respected ABC presenter....

Money money money?

'In my dreams I have a plan'   lthough we are proud of our reputation for being disreputable, confusing, harmful, misleading and offensive it is quite clear that all the best blogs have serious posts by Nicholas Gruen or Peter Martin, Fred...

‘Compassionate’ Costello Reach-around

  Costello reaches out to the downtrodden ... [Drawing by Tony King, 1969]   ... The electorate merely retches. r Costello said that in the election campaign he would talk about what Australia needs for its future, in particular drawing the...

Bertrand Russell & The Life of Brian

    Bertrand Russell’s grandmother’s favourite Bible verse was this: Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil.” (Exodus 23:2) We can think of a lot of people we would like to see taking that to heart. The ones with special vests and...

Assessment of Current Australian Politics

  Executive Summary     ir Roger has been absent from his adoring public. He has been busy, of course, and apologises from the bottom of what is left of his heart; from what is left of Australian politics by the Australian politicians who have...

Dear Bob Correll

  To: Mr Bob Correll, Deputy Secretary Department of Immigration and Censorship   ear Bob, Bob, you aren’t replying to any of my messages. Is everything all right? I thought we had something really special for a while. Bob, you wrote to...

Draft Mateship Guidelines Exhumed

Fair Dinkum Aussie Mateship Cetrificate Test   new Mateship test will ensure Australia strikes the right balance between the British and the rest, says Minister for Aussie Mateship, Smeagol K. Dic. The Ministry today released a draft guide...

Such Is Life

"Unemployed at last!"    e think this is the best Australian novel ever written. Yes, we know there are many contenders and perhaps The Tree of Man comes a close second. But to us, at least, Such Is Life by “Tom Collins” (Joseph Furphy),...

Haneef, Whores, ‘Howard with Hair’

  "This glorious fat trout of an election godsend..."   e that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself.”, ~  Thomas...

Telemarketing Counter-Script

  Now there is a way to get your own back ost people (92% according to one report) perceive commercial telephone calls as a violation of privacy. Have you ever received an unwelcome unsolicited marketing phone call? Have you ever wished you...

Porter Loo

The GuardianWhen Christian Is a Dirty Word   This won't take long. The Department of Home Affairs ("the Potatocracy")  stirringly asserts that people love to come to Australia because:  " ​​​​​​​​Australian values are based on freedom, respect, fairness and...

0 Comments