CRAFTERTHOUGHT: I’m not angry, I”m just disappointed

30 Mar CRAFTERTHOUGHT: I’m not angry, I”m just disappointed

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My crafterthought today is: Instead of shouting, marching, demonising and trying to shame the current UK Government to change their ways why don’t we show how disappointed and quietly upset we are with them & even cry with a cuppa tea in hand to offer our MPs, Minsters & Prime Minster in exchange for asking them to comfort us by explaining why they have to put these specific cuts in place that will hit the most vulnerable first and the hardest. Would this method of campaigning be more impactful and shake them up to think about the results of their actions more than signing a petition or tweeting nasty names at them (see the tweets Osborne got when he signed up for Twitter)?

I’m writing this because I don’t feel like a fighter today. I read this article by Polly Toynbee on the Guardian website this morning and it just made me so upset, feel so helpless and so embarrassed of our country and ashamed of our Government. I think everyone should read it. 

I took this photo walking into Cambridge city centre from my nan’s house, wondering how the UK Con-Dem coalition Government can sleep at night knowing that the cuts they have put in place will effect the most vulnerable people in society first and the most (cuts in welfare support, welfare advice, legal advice, bedroom tax… I could go on). Some children in Liverpool are even eating wallpaper to stop feeling hungry (see the thoughtful opinion piece by Gillian Tett in the FT)  The daffodils in this photo are fighting to bloom in this crazy cold English weather, I wish I felt like a daffodil today. 

One of first benefits I feel when doing craftivism is that it made me feel less powerless: it gives me time to think about the enormous injustices happening in the world, understand more about them them & what I & others could to do be part of the solution to them rather than the problem. Plus crafting helps me feel like I am doing something- If I didn’t have something in my hands to do with a purpose I could easily feel very depressed, completely helpless, overwhelmed & just cry (I’m quite a sensitive soul). At the moment I’m stitching a message on yellow fabric to look like a post-it to leave somewhere (like the image below but a new one). I was thinking what we can do to challenge our Government on their actions. 

There has been a lot of activists talking about how we need to shame the Government to change their ways. We know deep down this won’t work because their actions are deeply rooted in their ideology. We also know that as human beings we tend not to change our minds and views by people shouting, preaching or bullying us- often that makes us more stubborn & unwilling to listen. But when someone you love and respect says “I’m not angry I’m just disappointed” when we’ve done something bad that really hits us hard doesn’t it? For me that really makes me think deeply about what I did, why, how I can rectify the situation, why they were disappointed & makes me think twice about doing it again. 

Also when you see someone clearly upset most of us have the urge to comfort that person. We listen to why they are so upset and try and come up with a solution and way of cheering them up. What would our MPs do if we asked to meet them because we are just so upset with what is happening & we want to understand why the UK Government has stop supporting people already struggling to survive & get the support they need. I’m tempted to email my MP, refer to the hanky I made her that is hung up by her desk and ask her to explain why these cuts are the answer rather than increasing tax on the extremely wealthy etc. Will she be able to comfort me or will we both go home thinking even more deeply about what this country has turned into and what we can do about it? That’s my crafterthought. What’s yours?