Ducks: My first graphic novel

 I try to catch the Canada Reads contest each year.  Only got sections of it and was surprised to learn that a graphic novel won the 2023 prize.  I am classifying this as fiction, but it is pretty obvious it contains a lot of personal content--Kate Beaton uses her real name and those of others.

Up until my teen years I read lots of comics, mostly about the super heroes, but also Classics Illustrated.  By high school I had transitioned to hard cover books and taken a snobby view of comics.  Graphic novels tackle adult themes and offer another platform for serious matters.

For instance, rape.  The author admits to suffering two rapes and both are referred to in the novel. 

The main thrust of the novel reflects a current reality.  Adolescents are encouraged to get a university education.  All too often they end up with a lot of debt and poor job prospects.  If they happen to live in the eastern part of Canada job prospects are even more precarious.  The author from Cape Breton felt overwhelmed with her debt and had heard from Maritimers that high paying jobs were available at the Alberta oil sands.

One aspect of working in the Oil Sands is that there are very few women.  Rape was a relatively rare event, but sexual harassment was very common.  Lewd comments were almost taken for granted.  Kate tried to recognize a male perspective.  Many of the men had left wives and children and had little contact with women.  They did not go to such an isolated place to meet women.  Men without women are different creatures.  Loneliness was common and with little mental health support, drugs and alcohol were common

The big driving force was money.  One outcome was the desire for overtime and taking on second jobs (to make up for mandatory rest times).  For some the extra money causes extra consumption.  Kate resisted going home to save money, but did take off a year to work in Victoria at a lower paying job, but closer to her interests.

The title "Ducks" refers to the environmental problem.  At one point newspapers were publicizing dead ducks due to chemical leaks. Kate pointed out that there were plenty of meetings regarding safety, but not as much emphasis on environmental concerns.  

Although people from all parts of Canada worked in the Oil Sands the culture was most effected by a lot of Newfoundlanders and Maritimers.  Apart from their unique cultures perhaps mostly expressed in musical tastes they share a history of jobs disappearing such as from fishing and mining.

In an afterward Kate admits her consciousness of indigenous issues came from her experiences in Alberta.  She got special permission to use the words and likeness of Celina Harpe an elder of the Cree community of Fort McKay in the narrative. 

The book gives me no desire to visit the Oil Sands, but she wrote about time in Cape Breton and Victoria, two places I have visited and loved.  Too bad we can't spend all our time in such places.

Are graphic novels for you?  It depends.  For me the subject and the credibility of the author would be critical.  This was an encouraging venture and many of you might have gotten some value out of it.

The book reminds me of my efforts to be an environmentalist in conflict with my desire to retire.

My experience with Suncor didn't start out to support the Oil Sands.  One of the retailers I sold to was Ontario Co-ops who had an arrangement with Sunoco (part of the Suncor corporation) to blend in ethanol to gasoline served at many of their locations.  Ethanol was supposed to give improved engine efficiency and was natural being derived from corn.  Seemed like a good thing to invest in and I wrote away for an annual report from Suncor.  I spent a lot of time looking for any mention of ethanol and finally found it, but it was pretty miniscule.  Still I thought I was very clever and bought shares in my self-directed pension fund.

Ethanol became more common, but more importantly Suncor turned out to be the most successful investment I ever made.  The dividends at first were small, but I  bought a few more shares, then noticed it seemed to split every few years.  A few times thinking I was ahead of the game I took the profits after a split to diversify into a few other stocks, some of which did ok, but none performed as well as Suncor.  I became more conscious of the Oil Sands, but still saw ethanol as my motivating driver.  Oil from the Oil Sands was much more expensive to extract, but Suncor and others invested large amounts of money for what was seen as the inevitable rise in prices.  Lots of political turmoil had made both Canada and the United States dependent on foreign countries and in fact our purchase of gas seemed to be financing lots of Mid-East jihadists.

The dividends from Suncor became significant and while interest rates declined my income and capital gains from Suncor was more critical to retirement plans. Another thing I noticed on a few day trips to the States and a major trip to New Zealand was that the Canadian currency had more power than earlier.  The Canadian dollar seemed to track the price of oil.

I would like to think I am both smart and ethical.  The smart part of me thought although fossil fuels were bad, nothing I did would change their power, so I might as well keep the stock.  I had some advice that reinforced that thinking.  Later spurred by my son Michael I started voting for the Green Party and in general became more concerned and informed about Climate Change, but still clung to Suncor.  Eventually my conscience troubled me more and I began to believe that renewables would eventually conquer the fossil fuels.  I sold my Suncor shares, though I confess I timed it until just after the date of record for dividends. 

In total my Suncor investment increased by well over 10 fold.  I used to drive more than the average person because of my jobs (http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/02/my-life-and-adventures-with-cars-part.html) that has already been curbed.  The Canadian currency has become weaker and that will also affect my travels and probably even local purchases. Hopefully the air will be nicer and perhaps the climate more controllable, but both are long term projects.

ARE WE TOO QUICK TO JUDGE?

Two issues have garnered a lot of attention lately and they are issues that need to be dealt with.  The first was over the removal of Confederate statues which had very definite racial overtones.  The second was the sexual harassment scandals that developed post Trump starting with Harvey Weinstein.  To repeat both of these issues are serious blots on society.  My concern is that we are quick to judge those who in effect got caught at the wrong time.

I admit that not every action or thought of mine from birth has been pure and could withstand all criticism.  I will hide behind Jimmy Carter who once was criticized for lusting in his heart.  Bad behaviour needs to be curtailed and perhaps the first step is to acknowledge it happens and identify the guilty.  Appropriate punishment or other action can then be decided.  With the right decisions society can move forward with benefits to everyone (including the guilty).

Every human being is limited by two things--their genetics and their environment.  We all know stories of people who have overcome what others would consider handicaps.  The majority of us follow a pattern for 90% of our actions and even the exceptions have much in common.

From birth we are taught right from wrong and where we fit in the status quo.  As a male I and most of my peers learned that men and boys played by different rules and in fact were more powerful physically and socially.  Some of us were taught some respect for the "weaker sex" and most of us were attached to our mothers and sisters.  At the same time sex and gender were treated differently in different cultures, but for the most part the male was dominant in critical ways.  The goal of most males has been to be a breadwinner, a protector, but also the decision maker.  Much of society has progressed, but much is still held back by the male ego.

The more powerful among us (those who didn't directly inherit our position) were motivated by the rewards of success--money, power and sex.  Many took short cuts and took unfair advantage of others. The indications of power are important to many; some by displaying wealth or dominating decisions.  Others are frustrated in their attempts to be accepted  All I am saying is that it is normal to take advantage of whatever leverage life has given you.  It is in society's interest to be fair.

One face saving device for many who don't quite get what they consider their fair share of the pie is to blame others.  Powerful men understand this and many encourage the blame game.  It is easy to point fingers at all sorts of outsiders as some sort of unfair constraint on their status.  We dismiss the merits of those we have come to hate, but we benefit when we better understand what makes others behave the way they do.

All humans strive for survival and then  acceptance.  For most of us it is parents who guide us, but soon other relatives join in and then there are "strangers."  Most of what we consider "normal" is subconscious.

Jesus said "let him who is without sin throw the first stone."  Newt Gingrich was prepared to judge Bill Clinton while he was carrying on a adulterous affair.

In all our relations with other humans the first priority should be respect as in reality they are very much like we are.  As much as possible we should try to understand what they are about.  Of course we have to do what we can to prevent harm.

The world is a scary place, mainly because we do not really understand one another.  We spot differences and too often assume they are a sign of inferiority while we fail to notice the many similarities we share.

I am not saying it is wrong to condemn racist or sexual harassing behavior, but that we should examine the problem and look for solutions.  One commentator suggested that punishment has had an effect on sexual harassment while others are saying the solution is training.  The training to my way of thinking is to reset the unconscious cultural background and subject to subjective thinking.  Torgy Segerstedt, a Swedish journalist before and during WWII once said "No human can withstand close scrutiny."  Lets let the non sinner throw the first stone while the rest of us should look for solutions to the problem (which might carry some punishment as a deterrent)..
 



It is an ongoing battle to be fair all the time.  In an earlier blog I dealt with my own inadequacy.
http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2015/11/when-public-that-means-you-are-lied-to.html