Saturday, 18 February 2023
Fenced In
Grandcourt's view of things was considerably fenced in by his general sense, that what suited him others must put up with. There is no escaping the fact that want of sympathy condemns us to corresponding stupidity. Mephistopheles thrown upon real life, and obliged to manage his own plots, would inevitably make blunders.
George Eliot - Daniel Deronda (1876)
It’s an interesting quote with a fascinatingly grim analogy - Mephistopheles thrown upon real life. As Eliot points out, there is a link between lack of sympathy and stupidity. A necessary link too, because lack of sympathy is also a lack of information about certain situations. It can be a lack of important and even obvious information, but that's where the stupidity comes in.
We often see leaders caught by this particular problem. On the one hand too much sympathy renders decisive leadership difficult or even impossible, yet every now and then a lack of sympathy is bound to leave some pitfalls uncovered.
Nicola Sturgeon eventually discovered this the hard way. Politically she cannot be stupid, her success tells us that. Yet she had a fatal lack of sympathy with those who are concerned about the excesses of gender politics. Which was a stupid political lapse because the gender pitfall was obvious. To adapt Eliot –
Sturgeon’s view of things was considerably fenced in by her general sense, that what suited her politically others must put up with.
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7 comments:
There's been a lot of debate about the true reasons for Sturgeon's abdication.
My current favourite is that she was hell bent on bringing in changes to self-id as a political stunt but was unable to double down (as usual) when the row broke about a convicted male rapist wishing to declare himself a herself and be moved to a female prison.
DJ - yes, there was nowhere she could double down to. It will be interesting of other major political actors decide this is a hill they do not intend to die on. Starmer for example.
Politics is in large part knowing who to have sympathy with, or at least to feign sympathy with. Sturgeon wanted, I think, to appear sympathetic to trans people. But unless you are yourself trans, or closely involved with someone who is, it's obvious to most people that this is nonsense. It's like having sympathy for people who have had their moped stolen, or who have sunburnt knees. People like and respect those who are naturally and genuinely caring for everyone, but some "causes" are so clearly confected that they invite ridicule and contempt.
I wish to register a complaint. When I was young people said "double up" - e.g. on a bet - but now everyone says the American "double down". Boo, hiss!
I wish to register a complaint. When I was young people said "double up" - e.g. on a bet - but now everyone says the American "double down". Boo, hiss!
Dearieme - yes, it's absurd, it should be 'halve', as double down is meaningless (like so much of OUR language those twits across the water mangle).
Sam - I think she would have been much safer with the stolen moped cause, or even the sunburnt knees cause.
dearieme and Ed - I've sometimes wondered where "double down" comes from. Something like "dig in" does at least make sense.
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