per·i·pa·tet·ic
ˌperēpəˈtedik/
adjective
  1. 1.
    traveling from place to place, especially working or based in various places for relatively short periods.
    "the peripatetic nature of military life"
    synonyms:nomadic, itinerant, traveling, wandering, roving, roaming, migrant,migratory, unsettled
    "I could never get used to her peripatetic lifestyle"
  2. 2.
    Aristotelian.
noun
  1. 1.
    a person who travels from place to place.
  2. 2.
    an Aristotelian philosopher.

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Black? White? Brown Month? Pied Beauty Month!


Pied Beauty
(poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins, pub. 1918)

Glory be to God for dappled things--
For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls, finches' wings;


Landscape plotted and pieced--fold, fallow, and plough;


And all trades, their gear and tackle and trim.


All things counter, original, spare, strange;
Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how??)
With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;


He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change;
Praise him.


Arlee Bird of the blog Tossing It Out, in his post dated 2-15-16, observes that in this month, known as Black History Month in the United States and Canada, much (maybe too much?) has been made of "black" history: 

"There is no doubt that the descendants of African diaspora have made important contributions throughout the world, but so have the peoples from many other cultures.  My preference is to become aware of as much history as I can absorb and have a very keen knowledge of the history that made my country of the United States of America what it is and to discern where it can go in the positive sense."

SAM has told me, and I find it interesting, that many job applications now have a new choice to fill in for the category "race." It's "two or more;" which, I believe, is as it should be. No one race can (or should) be claimed to the exclusion of (or preference for) any other one. There are unintended ethical, legal, and political consequences for making racial distinctions, as we all should know by now. We, as Americans, must acknowledge our differences but celebrate our unity--one nation, you know?


16 comments:

  1. Interesting thoughts in the post you linked and yours, too.

    Greetings from London.

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    Replies
    1. Mr. Arlee always has interesting posts, ACIL, and he employs a gentle approach to touchy subjects. I, on the other hand, am rather like a bull in a china shop and end up smashing things as I make my way. Thanks for commenting. You're brave.

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  2. Hi W2W - love the Hopkins poem and his use of words .. also your photos aptly 'showing' us some of the words ...

    We seem to live happily together here in the UK - in general ... until something angers a few hard-liners - then it's difficult - but our metropolises essentially live and work together - embracing the different cultures and opportunities that abound with this mixing.

    We need to learn, understand and live together in harmony. Cheers Hilary

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    Replies
    1. You're right, Ms. Hilary, that Mr. Hopkins' poetry is so visually suggestive, and his words are fun to read aloud too.

      It's interesting to see the differences in British and American society regarding people's feelings about an historical aspect that we have in common. After all, slavery was common in both nations until the mid-19th century. Are people in the UK more forgiving? Less likely to constantly reopen old wounds? It would be nice if we could discover your country's secrets to healing.

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  3. A great poem, beautifully illustrated, and convincing thoughts. Thank you!

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    Replies
    1. So glad you enjoyed the post, Ms. Britta. Thanks for stopping by.

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  4. Good info.
    Never knew about the Black History Month.

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    Replies
    1. You know, Haddock, even with all the information we have at our fingertips 24/7, it's amazing how little we (or at least I) know about the rest of the world and what makes it tick. I guess that's why I love blogging so much. It takes me places I would otherwise not know about and experience all kinds of different perspectives.

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  5. I love that poem and have only to look into my ancestry for "dappled things". Excellent post!

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    1. It is one of those poems that's a pleasure to read aloud as well as to oneself. I think most people have a dappled background. It's probably a healthy thing for the gene pool to mix it up. So happy you like the post, Mr. Geo.

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  6. An excellent tribute to our multi-ethnic country for Black History month. The expat American protagonist of my YA work-in-progress is multi-racial because that best represents our nation.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Sarah. I do believe that America is great because of its "diversity," but I think that term is best employed to describe multi-ethnicity and not multiple races. We are all part of one race, the human race, or at least I hope so.

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  7. Hi, thanks for following my Blog! I don't always enjoy Manley Hopkins but I do like this one. Interesting discussion about race here and I tend to agree with your thoughts on Black History month which we also have in the UK.
    CLICK HERE for Bazza’s fabulous Blog ‘To Discover Ice’

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  8. Thank you so much for referencing my blog post! Sorry I've gotten here so late, but it seems like I've been behind in a lot of things these days. Thinking about the employment applications, maybe there shouldn't even be a place for race or anything like that. I was under the impression that this was no longer legal anyway. I used to hire a lot of people for a business I managed, but race was never something for me to consider. Rather I was more interested in the impression they made on me in the interview, their past experience, and what enthusiasm for the job that they displayed as I talked with them.

    Hope all is well with you!

    Arlee Bird
    A to Z Challenge Co-host
    Tossing It Out

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  9. I just put the word "American" in that box and recommend it for everyone else...:)

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