I have sacked my Alpinist subscription this year for the same reasons. Less and less about climbing, more and more about soul searching, poetry and redemption. I think AK said once that whilst a more ‘woke’ agenda (sorry, not sure how else to describe it) ticks boxes for some, they are not the ones who will pay for - or subscribe to - a magazine. It’s a real shame but I don’t see much future for the once-great publication.
The alpinist thing is very sad, and I often wonder if its due to having the same editor (who is very talented), in that post for too long. Eventually you just get tired of climbing, climbers, and their boring and repetitive take on climbing. Often the injection of politics can feel as if its bringing something back from the dead, some energy and attention, but you’re not, its just a death spasm. I don’t think magazines or political parties are meant to last so long, but rather like most living things, need to die and be reborn.
I’m confident the next generation, the one’s who will pay the ticket price of a woke world (which will be nastier, more dangerous and corrupted than this one), will reject these pampered, indulged, and lazy ideas, and the people who propagated them. And when they do, just watch how fast everyone distances themselves from ever believing them in the first place (which is how culture evolves without mass executions I guess!). If I was a better man, I’d watch out for a mass movement back to religion, either Catholicism or Islam, or something new and fashionable (the wheel keeps on turning).
FIlm festivals are like bands: they start out unique, exciting, but rough around the edges. As success grows, so does the corporate need to continue success and a more formulaic, boring but consistent approach is followed. We need exciting new bands and exciting new film festivals.
Perhaps it’s because enthusiasm only gets you off the ground, but eventually requires organisation, but eventually organisation finds no use - only chaos - from enthusiasm, and so gets rid. Really they are opposites that need each other, and its often that tension that creates special things (the same is true in great bands). Underground festivals at mainstream festivals would be interesting.
You know it's coming, it's only a matter of time, the Gore-Tex Burkah. Corporations only care about consumption, to them, developing nations and globalism represent market expansion, culture clashes do not factor in their calculations. I remember feeling nauseous at a Kenton Cool show hearing him gush about the mythical Sherpas. A few years later they tried to kill Ueli Steck.
Life is full of compromises and trade offs, and every action we take is likely to make us some sort of hypocrite. Live and let live is a good way to live life, but there's this tendency in some to vote themselves as representatives of groups of their own definition. A great many of the West’s minorities came here to escape such people, but you’ll find them everywhere, mining our differences for their own benefit.
Spend less time crying into your beer about your lost youth, and more time organising an event you and other beer cryers do enjoy. You could have a male pale and stale punch up, but only for over 50s? I can see it now: Want to get angry drunk and hit someone, but in a safe caring enviroment with a de-fib to hand? Andy's Mountain Film Festival! Tell your daughter she's mostly doing a good job.
If he made a new event, in 10 years it would be just like all the others as corporate interests take over. Its amazing how you completely missed that point of the essay
It's fine, I can see where Alan is coming from, as these things are coding in such a way, and are inputted hour after hour, day after day, that they give the impression of being both organic and true. Take advertising for example, it give the impression that we all live in a multi-cultural, multi-ethic world, where bi-racial marriage is the norm, and at least 50% of the population is bipoc, or bame, or whatever. When we walk outside our houses and see that in most places, that is not the case, and that white people seem to be bloody everywhere, we assume we must live in a racist world, and so we are repelled by reality (if on the other-hand, you notice that adverts don't reflect reality, there is a good chance you will be repelled by yourself, that you must be a racist for noticing, or thinking it's an issue). Within this coding there is also an attack code, in which totally rational people, on seeing the narrative simply questioned, will attack with a tired tirade of dead words (which themselves are most often racist, sexist, ageist etc). It's very hard to divest people of such deep rooted coding, and generally the more you try, the harder they hold on.
It's like when people complain about KFC being Halal. That's not wokeness, my friend, that's capitalism. Companies are legally bound to make their shareholders MOAR MONEY, and it's cheaper to get ALL your chicken Halal, than to have a seperate Halal menu for a signifiant inner city muslim demographic. Capitalism doesn't care if it's advertising makes you feel paranoid. It's just about the money, honey. It's also why, if people are educated in the much derided "media studies" and critical thinking, they won't feel so angry and stupid.
Don’t confuse pragmatism for wokism. One works with objective reality, how things are, the other subjective reality, how you want things to be. A business model based on a fantasy is by its nature anti-capialist and can only survive by extracting/leaching actual value. Trying to get little girls to like Marvel movies is capitalism, declaring black people are prohibited from entering national parks is not (but you could make a career out of saying it).
Why not put your words were mouth is, and actually write a considered criticism of my point of view? If you do then I'll take the time to consider if my opinion is wrong (educate me), and post your words and my response. Be careful if you do, as you might realise your response is emotional, not rational, and your strong beliefs (that the outdoor community is hostile to minorities), has all the substance of a hashtag. When this happens the response is usually the fall back of name calling (that I'm racist, right ring, male pale and stale etc), which is equally educational.
The sad fact is that the vast majority of outdoor people represent the high water mark of progressive, leftwing values, and very often the thing they hold most dear is social status and credit. Perhaps it's that eagerness to do missionary work, to 'convert' everyone they view as in need of their help, visible high value minorities, that's off-putting (no one likes a do-gooder, as their motives are selfish). Really this issues are to do with class, not race or gender, and I doubt many do gooders would ask the asian taxi driver if he fancies going bouldering at the weekend (just as the taxi driver doesn't fancy inviting this stranger around to his house to watch cricket). How about we put all this money (which is considerable), into getting city kids out into the outdoors for one week a year, regardless of race or gender?
I edited my comment to death then deleted it, here was the comment. Nothing stops black people from going into the countryside, that isn't the point of those new BAME outdoors groups, what they want is be in the countryside with other black people.
I have sacked my Alpinist subscription this year for the same reasons. Less and less about climbing, more and more about soul searching, poetry and redemption. I think AK said once that whilst a more ‘woke’ agenda (sorry, not sure how else to describe it) ticks boxes for some, they are not the ones who will pay for - or subscribe to - a magazine. It’s a real shame but I don’t see much future for the once-great publication.
The alpinist thing is very sad, and I often wonder if its due to having the same editor (who is very talented), in that post for too long. Eventually you just get tired of climbing, climbers, and their boring and repetitive take on climbing. Often the injection of politics can feel as if its bringing something back from the dead, some energy and attention, but you’re not, its just a death spasm. I don’t think magazines or political parties are meant to last so long, but rather like most living things, need to die and be reborn.
Absolutely brill.
I feel this 100%. Canceled my AMC membership 2 years ago cause of the Bully Pulpit it became. "I just wanna climb bro!"
Couldn't agree more Andy. I can't even escape pernicious cult of woke outdoors now.
I’m confident the next generation, the one’s who will pay the ticket price of a woke world (which will be nastier, more dangerous and corrupted than this one), will reject these pampered, indulged, and lazy ideas, and the people who propagated them. And when they do, just watch how fast everyone distances themselves from ever believing them in the first place (which is how culture evolves without mass executions I guess!). If I was a better man, I’d watch out for a mass movement back to religion, either Catholicism or Islam, or something new and fashionable (the wheel keeps on turning).
Brilliant. Never change, Andy.
FIlm festivals are like bands: they start out unique, exciting, but rough around the edges. As success grows, so does the corporate need to continue success and a more formulaic, boring but consistent approach is followed. We need exciting new bands and exciting new film festivals.
Perhaps it’s because enthusiasm only gets you off the ground, but eventually requires organisation, but eventually organisation finds no use - only chaos - from enthusiasm, and so gets rid. Really they are opposites that need each other, and its often that tension that creates special things (the same is true in great bands). Underground festivals at mainstream festivals would be interesting.
You know it's coming, it's only a matter of time, the Gore-Tex Burkah. Corporations only care about consumption, to them, developing nations and globalism represent market expansion, culture clashes do not factor in their calculations. I remember feeling nauseous at a Kenton Cool show hearing him gush about the mythical Sherpas. A few years later they tried to kill Ueli Steck.
Life is full of compromises and trade offs, and every action we take is likely to make us some sort of hypocrite. Live and let live is a good way to live life, but there's this tendency in some to vote themselves as representatives of groups of their own definition. A great many of the West’s minorities came here to escape such people, but you’ll find them everywhere, mining our differences for their own benefit.
Kendal Woke Film Festival . Embarrassingly and tediously right on. Off!
Spend less time crying into your beer about your lost youth, and more time organising an event you and other beer cryers do enjoy. You could have a male pale and stale punch up, but only for over 50s? I can see it now: Want to get angry drunk and hit someone, but in a safe caring enviroment with a de-fib to hand? Andy's Mountain Film Festival! Tell your daughter she's mostly doing a good job.
Hail, Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst women
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
If he made a new event, in 10 years it would be just like all the others as corporate interests take over. Its amazing how you completely missed that point of the essay
It's fine, I can see where Alan is coming from, as these things are coding in such a way, and are inputted hour after hour, day after day, that they give the impression of being both organic and true. Take advertising for example, it give the impression that we all live in a multi-cultural, multi-ethic world, where bi-racial marriage is the norm, and at least 50% of the population is bipoc, or bame, or whatever. When we walk outside our houses and see that in most places, that is not the case, and that white people seem to be bloody everywhere, we assume we must live in a racist world, and so we are repelled by reality (if on the other-hand, you notice that adverts don't reflect reality, there is a good chance you will be repelled by yourself, that you must be a racist for noticing, or thinking it's an issue). Within this coding there is also an attack code, in which totally rational people, on seeing the narrative simply questioned, will attack with a tired tirade of dead words (which themselves are most often racist, sexist, ageist etc). It's very hard to divest people of such deep rooted coding, and generally the more you try, the harder they hold on.
It's like when people complain about KFC being Halal. That's not wokeness, my friend, that's capitalism. Companies are legally bound to make their shareholders MOAR MONEY, and it's cheaper to get ALL your chicken Halal, than to have a seperate Halal menu for a signifiant inner city muslim demographic. Capitalism doesn't care if it's advertising makes you feel paranoid. It's just about the money, honey. It's also why, if people are educated in the much derided "media studies" and critical thinking, they won't feel so angry and stupid.
Don’t confuse pragmatism for wokism. One works with objective reality, how things are, the other subjective reality, how you want things to be. A business model based on a fantasy is by its nature anti-capialist and can only survive by extracting/leaching actual value. Trying to get little girls to like Marvel movies is capitalism, declaring black people are prohibited from entering national parks is not (but you could make a career out of saying it).
Painfully true Andy
Excellent!
Rubbish.
Why not put your words were mouth is, and actually write a considered criticism of my point of view? If you do then I'll take the time to consider if my opinion is wrong (educate me), and post your words and my response. Be careful if you do, as you might realise your response is emotional, not rational, and your strong beliefs (that the outdoor community is hostile to minorities), has all the substance of a hashtag. When this happens the response is usually the fall back of name calling (that I'm racist, right ring, male pale and stale etc), which is equally educational.
The sad fact is that the vast majority of outdoor people represent the high water mark of progressive, leftwing values, and very often the thing they hold most dear is social status and credit. Perhaps it's that eagerness to do missionary work, to 'convert' everyone they view as in need of their help, visible high value minorities, that's off-putting (no one likes a do-gooder, as their motives are selfish). Really this issues are to do with class, not race or gender, and I doubt many do gooders would ask the asian taxi driver if he fancies going bouldering at the weekend (just as the taxi driver doesn't fancy inviting this stranger around to his house to watch cricket). How about we put all this money (which is considerable), into getting city kids out into the outdoors for one week a year, regardless of race or gender?
I edited my comment to death then deleted it, here was the comment. Nothing stops black people from going into the countryside, that isn't the point of those new BAME outdoors groups, what they want is be in the countryside with other black people.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/10/black-british-hiker-tackling-exclusion-outdoors-systemic-racism/
“The group is currently raising money to create nature retreats to help women heal from traumatic events.”