1985-2012 Poverty in Europe

Posted on februari 23, 2012 by

From bad to worse

The number of poor people in Europe had increased from 38 million in 1975 to 44 million in 1985. {Interim report on the 2° European Poverty Programme – EU Commission 1989} But soon this figure went up in 1985 having already 50 million people living in not acceptable poverty. {Eurostat 1990} and mounting up to 57 million with incomes below the poverty line in 1993. {Eurostat 1997}

Belgium had 729 000 persons or 7,5% living in poverty in the 1980s, Holland 706 000 persons or 4,8%. The United Kingdom (14,8%) was just under Ireland 15,7%) but had to find a solution for 8 436 000 people. {Hagenaars a.o.}

At that time there was already too much inequality? Afterwards the rich continued to get more rich, the poor ones stayed poor, but the middle class got pressed in more and more in the corner and saw their savings diminishing and got poorer.
More people got pushed to the edge of society, which limited their access to resources and opportunities, curtailed their participation in normal social and cultural life leaving them feeling marginalised, powerless and discriminated against.
In Europe more and more people had to go living from day to day with no savings or reserves for times of crisis such as losing a job or falling ill and thus falling into debt.

Minimum European income to fight poverty?

Minimum European income to fight poverty?

In 2008 the rate of poverty varied between 10% and 23% in the countries of the European Union. In 2010, 115 million people, or 23.4% of the population, in the EU27 were at risk of poverty or social exclusion. This means that they were at least in one of the following three conditions: at-risk-of-poverty, severely materially deprived or living in households with very low work intensity. The reduction of the number of persons at risk of poverty or social exclusion in the EU is one of the key targets of the Europe 2020 strategy2.

As in 2008 the Scandinavian were able to keep their healthy position. Sweden got with the Netherlands about 15% people at risk. Low levels of poverty characterize also the so-called Corporatist countries (Austria, Germany) with Austria, Finland and Luxembourg (all 17%), and the Czech Republic (14%), Slovakia and Slovenia among the ex-Socialist countries.

European Union

European Union (Photo credit: ana branca)

In 2008 the risk of poverty tended to be relatively high in the Mediterranean and the Baltic states.  In spite of the overall wealth of the European Union (EU), poverty in the EU kept at a relatively high level.  Nearly 1 in 7 people are at risk of poverty.  In the EU27 in 2010, 27% of children aged below 18 were affected by at least one of the three forms of poverty or social exclusion, compared with 23% of the working age population (aged 18-64) and 20% of the elderly (aged 65 and over). Children were most affected in 20 Member States, while the elderly were the most touched in Bulgaria, Slovenia, Finland and Sweden. In Denmark, it was the working age population which was the most affected. In 2010, the highest shares of persons being at risk of poverty or social exclusion were recorded in Bulgaria (42%), Romania (41%), Latvia (38%), Lithuania (33%) and Hungary (30%).

Europe facing Combating Year 2010

Demographic balance, 2010 (1 000 persons) - Source: Eurostat

European Year for Combating Poverty and Social ExclusionThe European Union was one of the richest areas in the world, but in 2010 17% of EU citizens had such limited resources that they could not afford the basics.

Though one of the most prosperous regions in the world poverty remained a huge and even became a bigger problem, affecting 75 million people in the EU were „at risk of poverty“ in 2008 and an estimated 84 million people in 2009. Altogether around  in 2010 this went up to 85 million.

It sound crazy for such a welfare state that some 7 million people in 2010 had to survive on less than €5 a day. A similar proportion suffers what is known as ‘material deprivation’: money is so tight that they cannot keep their homes warm enough or meet unforeseen expenses, for example. Roughly one person out of ten across the EU lives in a household where no-one has work.end-poverty

Some groups in society are more vulnerable than others, and they include women,  children, disabled, unemployed and older people, migrants and single parents. For example, one child in five in the EU lives at risk of poverty. Furthermore, while having a job normally makes people better off , 8% of workers do not earn enough to rise above the poverty line: they are the working poor.

Countries with the highest poor population included then France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the UK. In 2010 Latvia got 1° place with 21.3%, Romania 21.1%, Spain 20.7, Bulgaria 20.7%, Greece 20.1%, United Kingdom 17.1%, Belgium 14.6%, Netherlands 10.3%.

A close-knit family in Bucharest - when it comes to space

A close-knit family in Bucharest - when it comes to space | In the poorest countries the poor communities have less problems with social exclusion, called ‘integrated poverty’ if we listen to sociologist Serge Pauman

Obligated to take action

In 2010 Europe had already no choice but to take action against the rise of unemployment and poverty. The way governments managed and co-ordinated their exit from the crisis then did not bring a solution or gave incense to fertilise the markets and fix the financial system.

Greece (20.1%) and Portugal (17.9% Persons at-risk-of-poverty after social transfers) are like in a whirl pool pulled downward into a economic spiral. Spain (20.7%)  and Italy (18.2%)  as well see the lesser growth and investment which is being sacrificed, creating an alarming increase in  unemployment. Economic analysts agree that the wage cuts, longer working hours, cancellation of several public holidays and tax hikes have led people in Portugal to spend less and save more, not to create a solid foundation for stability, but to sink further into poverty. For the Greek masses, the word ‘austerity’ has meant the demise of labour, economic and human rights and the dismantling of an inefficient yet crucial social welfare system. Greece once a country with universal healthcare has now many of the people who show up in public hospitals who can’t even afford the five-euro general admission fee introduced two years ago. Ten percent of patients don’t even have insurance. ‘Doctors of the World’, a volunteer team in the remote Athenian district of Perama, which has weathered unemployment rates of nearly 50 percent since the collapse of the local vessel reconstruction port, provides free treatment, medical supplies and foodstuffs to people lacking social insurance. The health of Portugal’s public finances has begun to improve, but the economy is showing worrying signs of weakening. The population is suffering from the austerity measures, and it is estimated that the middle class will lose 20 percent of its purchasing power in 2012. More bad news for the economy next year is that unemployment is set to rise from the current 12.6 percent to 13.6 percent, while inflation is expected to reach three percent.

Fertile ground for unrest

With cuts in consumption and public spending, as well as slower growth in Germany, the Netherlands, France and Belgium this does not promise some positive evolution, certainly when governments are going to look fro cutting in wages or taking away the safety belt for consumerism like in Belgium, wanting to get rid of the index. The governments first should try to stop the acceleration of the recession and should do everything to get back the consumer credibility so that the private consumption can go up again.

People coming on the streets in Greece can be the beginning of more social unrest in Europe if nothing is done against the negative spiral of the economical crisis.
In case the politicians do not take care we are not only going to face a further recession, accompanied by more social unrest. The danger luring around the corner is political radicalisation and institutional fragmentation, with some countries leaving the eurozone and even the EU itself.

16% of the population in the EU27 at risk of income poverty in 2010

File:Eurostat logo RGB 60.jpg

Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union provided some figures in a report3  based on data from the EU-SILC survey4 for 2012 with details on 2010.

Population, EU-27, 1960-2011 (1) (at 1 January, million persons) - Source: Eurostat

The own citizens do not have it easy and could find nearly 25 % more asylum applicants in the EU-27 during the second quarter of 2011, compared with the second quarter of 2010. Nearly 69 000 asylum seekers applied for asylum in the EU-27. This represents an increase of about 12 800, or 23 per cent more compared with the second quarter of 2010.
On 1 January 2011 the population of the EU-27 was estimated at 502.5 million; this was 1.4 million people more than the year before and therefore continued a pattern of uninterrupted EU-27 population growth that has been apparent since 1960. The number of inhabitants in the EU-27 grew from 402.6 million in 1960, rising by almost 100 million persons through to 2011.

Homeless and hungry - Photo HippyKitty

With 16% of the population in the EU27 at risk of income poverty in 2010 we do know that with the economical crisis this figure went up sky high. So Europe is not facing a nice future. On e of the big problems in Europe is that the public does not want to know that there could be problems of lesser wellness around them. The extent and seriousness of the problem is often not well understood because not enough institutions and politicians want to tackle the problem publicly. Policy makers are more interested in the things they can score high marks with and be popular by the general public. Poverty is not exact the interesting subject to score with. On the other site there is also the problem of immigration and the homeless people. The increasing street people are considered a pestilence which every winter causes a lot of annoyance and disturbance in political landscape. In Belgium, as in many European countries, issues relating to homelessness are not loved to be discussed in the media, except around Christmas. Yet deaths among rough sleepers have taken place all year, having in England and Belgium always enough rain to soak the cardboards where people sleep on. It is also strange that many people do think the homeless chose to be like that and prefer to live free on the streets.

Without prospects near the stairs going down Brussels Euro Capital

The population should become more aware that people do not choose to be homeless, they find themselves in that situation. There are studies that suggest that those people without a roof above their head really would prefer to have shelter. There is not enough affordable social housing in Belgium. It really is a problem. Efforts to address homelessness have been hampered for years, by the fragmented nature in which the country is governed.
Politically it is also a matter of discussion about whom to allow entering the country and who to allow to stay in the country. Sufficient urgency is not given to its eradication.  Often this is because people only think of poverty as being something which is so extreme that it threatens people’s very existence and they associate this mainly with developing countries.  However, the reality is that poverty in the EU is a very real problem which brings misery to the lives of many people.

2012

Europe makes 2010 its year for fighting poverty and social exclusion

Working poor (Image: ©zeynep'arkok/ Flickr)

Now with the economical crisis it has become worse. More and more, families and individuals got in a precarious situation because of losing their savings, work or having to face an income which is too low to get the necessary things to live decently. Because of their low income many encounter difficulties in having proper accommodation. The question regularly comes down to what you do when rent exceeds half of a family’s income. Everyone with a low income is especially vulnerable to financial problems when faced with unexpected costs such as a higher energy costs, social arrangements or a medical bill. It is not only Greece were we can see people being strangled by the many family costs which are accumulating debts. More and more people start not seeing the end of the tunnel and even choose to make an end to their life, but leaving the others with even more problems.

Looking at each of the three elements defining at risk of poverty or social exclusion, 16% of the population in the EU27 in 2010 were at-risk-of-poverty after social transfers, meaning that their disposable income was below their national at-risk-of-poverty threshold1. The highest at-risk-of-poverty rates were observed in Latvia, Romania, Bulgaria and Spain (all 21%), and the lowest in the Czech Republic (9%), the Netherlands (10%), Slovakia, Austria and Hungary (all 12%).

8% severely materially deprived

In the EU27, 8% of the population were severely materially deprived, meaning that they had living conditions constrained by a lack of resources such as not being able to afford to pay their bills, keep their home adequately warm, or take a one week holiday away from home1. The share of those severely materially deprived varied significantly among Member States, ranging from 1% in Luxembourg and Sweden to 35% in Bulgaria and 31% in Romania.

Severely materially deprived persons have living conditions constrained by a lack of resources and experience at least 4 out of the 9 following deprivation items: cannot afford 1) to pay rent/mortgage or utility bills on time, 2) to keep home adequately warm, 3) to face unexpected expenses, 4) to eat meat, fish or a protein equivalent every second day, 5) a one week holiday away from home, 6) a car, 7) a washing machine, 8) a colour TV, or 9) a telephone (including mobile phone). Not that a television and telephone are necessary things, we can do without that. Fish and meat are also not necessary, but natural biological food to make up a healthy vegetarian meal is much more expensive than the more common meat-meal.

10% living in households with very low work intensity

Having a job does not guarantee social inclusion if it is poor quality and low paid. Some 8% of working adults live below the poverty threshold; their income may not be enough to protect their children from poverty. About a quarter of working Europeans are still in jobs
of relatively low quality, and because of the strong link between poor-quality work, social exclusion and poverty, the ESF devotes more than half of its budget to helping workers to upgrade their skills, and businesses to improve their organisation.

Poverty barometer

Regarding the indicator on low work intensity, 10% of the population aged 0-59 in the EU27 lived in households where the adults worked less than 20% of their total work potential during the past year. The United Kingdom and Belgium (both 13%) had the largest proportions of those living in very low work intensity households, and Luxembourg, Sweden and the Czech Republic (all 6%) the lowest. In Trebišov, Slovakia, the 3 500 Roma residents suffer almost 100% unemployment.

Latvia has the largest proportion of its population at risk of poverty in Europe. Although women’s employment is above the EU average, the country suffers from high rates of joblessness among 15 to 24-year-olds, and of long-term unemployment. ESF co-funding in Latvia is specifically targeted at fighting poverty and social exclusion, by developing an inclusive labour market and drawing in disadvantaged groups such as released prisoners, recovering addicts, homeless people and returning migrants. Initial results showed that 20% of social rehabilitation beneficiaries obtained work or started training or further rehabilitation.{The European Social Fund: a cornerstone in the fight against poverty and social exclusion}

Portugal’s 20 largest companies invested 23 percent less in 2011 than in 2010, which severely affected economic growth and produced drastic job losses. The National Institute of Statistics (INE) said unemployment in the fourth quarter of 2011 reached 14 percent for Portugal, the highest jobless rate since records began to be kept. Youth unemployment is even worse, at 35.4 percent. But the situation is much worse than the official figures suggest, as INE recognises only 770,000 unemployed persons within an economically active population of nearly 5.6 million – a figure that only includes unemployed persons who were available for work, and actively seeking work, during the survey period.

Measures taken

All measures taken after 2010 did not seem to bring the right turn in the avalanche. As two years ago we still need to act on the various factors that contribute to social exclusion and have to recognise that not enough help has been given to get people from the life on the streets. Instead of continuing the programs to develop their skills and have better jobs, those schemes seem to be reduced in many countries, also in Belgium.
Instead of demanding securities when governments gave money to factories or the industry, they got lured by the companies, who misused the money of every citizen in that community, without any blush on their face when they throw out all the workers. Therefore the countries in the EU should not only have to shape labour markets in a way to create more opportunities for people living with disabilities or belonging to vulnerable minorities, they also should take care that funds or state intervention in businesses shall be properly used and give enough opportunities to the workforce. Instead of weakening the endurances and social services we have to improve them, and help men and women to reconcile family and work. We have to share experience and make our social welfare systems more efficient. And, most importantly, we have to start acting now if we want to see poverty and social exclusion significantly reduced by 2020.

It is a shameful indictment of our society that we are not able to give all the people living in our society a reasonable life, and that we do not find a solution to get homeless people off the streets and provide them with some good accommodation. Not only the physical survival has to be taken care of, we should make sure that everybody living in Europe shall not be risking to be excluded from full participation in their society.

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Please do find:

  1. At risk of poverty or social exclusion in the EU27
    In 2010, 23% of the population were at risk of poverty or social exclusion
    …and 27% of children aged less than 18
    > Eurostat STAT/12/21
  2. Poverty and Inequality in the European Union
  3. A European Union economic forecast for 2012 indicates Portugal is the EU country that will grow the least. > Side Effects of IMF Medicine
  4. See picture details
  5.  Greeks Discover the Politics of Poverty
    By Apostolis Fotiadis
    According to European mainstream economists and politicians, the solution to the Greek debt crisis, and the only option for returning the country to a path of progress, is ‘fiscal consolidation’. MORE >>
  6. Poverty Across Europe: A Comparison Between Countries
  7. The Cost of Disabilities Could Reach 77.2% of Household Income
    A team of researchers have for the first time estimated the cost and impact of disabilities on the finances of disabled people. According to data, 90% of the population with a serious disability in Spain is in a state of moderate poverty and 56% lives in a state of extreme poverty.
  8. Platform against poverty
    The fight against poverty is at the heart of the Europe 2020 strategy. Some 116 million people (or almost a quarter of the EU population) are at risk of poverty or social exclusion in the EU, falling under at least under one of the following criteria: 1) being at-risk-of poverty after social transfers (81 million); 2) being materially deprived (42 million); or 3) living in workless households (34 million). The impact of the economic crisis has hit the most vulnerable and disadvantaged the hardest. Combating social exclusion and promoting social justice and fundamental rights have long been core objectives of the EU, which is founded on the values of respect for human dignity and solidarity. A prosperous Union must ensure that its benefits accrue to all segments of society, bringing growth and social cohesion together. Economic growth with more and better jobs is a key factor to fight poverty and must be part of a coherent policy approach which balances economic, financial and social measures within the 2020 Strategy.
    +EESC opinion: European platform against poverty and social exclusion

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Related you may read as well:

  1. Homeless in the Heart of EU
    On a wet afternoon in Brussels, a dishevelled man shelters from the elements in a side entrance to the city’s main railway station. Beside his feet a green canvas bag carries all his worldly possessions. He has been homeless for a decade now; he has asked several times to be given accommodation by the Belgian authorities, but his request has never been granted. Often he sleeps rough.
  2. Anti-Crisis anger calling out
    At last, in many countries there seem to be people who want to let hear their voice, making it clear they had quite enough of this system where certain folks can keep enjoying good life at the cost of others. … continue reading →
  3. Welfare state and Poverty in Flanders #3 Right to Human dignity
    Universality – the idea that human rights apply to all people, in all places, at all times – was the basic principle underlying the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. From the … cont →
  4. Welfare state and Poverty in Flanders #4 The Family pact
    The Family pact Family and poverty: there is a narrow mutual connection between both terms. Poverty makes humans vulnerable and can destroy families. Sometimes the poverty goes so far that they take away the revenue … cont →
  5. Welfare state and Poverty in Flanders #5 Housing
    Housing Just over 84 million persons or 17 % of the EU-27‘s population were at-risk-of-poverty in 2007, while a similar proportion (17 %) of the total EU-27 population suffered from material deprivation. There was a … cont →
  6. Welfare state and Poverty in Flanders #8 Work
    Work Work-related factors were the principal explanations given as to why people were poor or excluded from society, the three main reasons being long-term unemployment (35 % of respondents giving it as one of up … cont →
  7. Welfare state and Poverty in Flanders #9 Consumption
    Consumption People with higher incomes are likely to consume more goods and services, and to attribute a far higher proportion of their expenditure to ‘non-essentials’ such as holidays, visits to restaurants, or other leisure activities. … continue reading →
  8. Word on the Street Is…
    People have lost their jobs as companies have down-sized, leaving families to suffer. Parents have had to make the difficult decisions whether to pay the rent or buy groceries each week.
    +
    As homelessness increases, the stereotypes and prejudices increase as well. However these stereotypes are not typically true. It is the stereotype that everyone on the streets has a history of drug and alcohol addiction and brought the situation upon themselves.
  9. Combatting the misconceptions of homelessness

    Homelessness - Photo Homeless, Not Hopeless Blog

    Homeless, Not Hopeless
    Homelessness has been a major issue worldwide and it is only getting worse. More children are running away from abused homes, which have caused them to be homeless and hungry.
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    There are homeless shelters and soup kitchens that can provide food for those who can not afford a meal, however it is not right for someone to constantly be dependent on others for a free meal. People do not understand the way that someone sitting on the streets is treated.
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    Many people especially parents complain that they don’t want their children  growing up where the percentages of homelessness are increasing dramatically, however these are the first ones who turn their back to the homeless who ask for help.  This goes to prove that the majority of the people who complain about the homeless taking over the streets are the same ones who never pitch in money or their time to help the homeless.

  10. Getting a count of homeless youth
    Youth Services joined forces with homeless shelters across the nation counting everyone who slept in their beds that night; volunteers canvassing homeless camps and gathering areas to determine who slept in abandoned buildings, cars, camping grounds or other outdoor settings. We did our part by surveying youth and families we served through our free counseling, Homeless Youth Walk-in and our Juvenile Receiving Center services.
  11. Beyond the Homeless Myth
    If the problem was a lack of shelters for the homeless why aren’t all the homeless shelter always full? During winter they are more busy but more shelters won’t solve the problem.
  12. Befriend a Homeless : It’s Easy to Help a Friend
    Maybe not everybody needs a friend (though most of us actually do), but no one should have to struggle alone. Yet, our homeless professional survivors often have nobody to turn to. Outside of their environment, they have no one to talk to, no one to lean on, no one to give them advice, no one to just give them a hug. As much as they need a friend the most, not many ever thought to befriend a homeless person.
  13. The scandal of child poverty in Europe
    Across Europe, whole families – children, parents and grandparents – find it hard to escape poverty as it is passed on from one generation to another.
  14. Bailout ‘helps stabilise Greece and Europe’
    In Brussels, the mood was one of congratulation that the marathon to agree Greece’s second major rescue – in principle – was finally at an end. Much of the multi-billion euro deal comes from strong arming private investors, forcing them to take heavy losses on their existing bonds.
  15. Minimum European income to fight poverty?
    Given persistent shortcomings of minimum wage policies, legislators and organisations instead debate the merits of ‘minimum income’ to combat poverty in Europe. But it remains to be seen whether the EU parliament will force continent-wide reforms
    +
    Rebeka Smith of Businesseurope (the confederation of European business) affirms that while ‘employment has to be viewed as one of the prerequisites for combating poverty,’ unemployment is only one of the principal issues. Given the proliferation of precarious jobs and low wages, 8% of workers still approach poverty despite earning salaries.
    +
    the Brussels-based European anti-poverty network (EAPN), founded in 1990, recently launched a campaign in favour of minimum income. On the website of their initiative there is support from people such as the Danish president of the European socialists group Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, and the French vice-president of the committee of the regions (CoR, a European institution), Michel Delebarre. Members of the greens have also rallied in favour of the initiative. Échos d’euro-écolos (‘Echoes from European ecology party members’) is one blog run by two young MEPs of the party, Karima Delli and Pascal Canfin, defends not just a minimum, but also a maximum income.
    +
    Ensure an Adequate Minimum Income for all!
    +
    Vers un revenu minimum européen?
    +Join the EAPN campaign for Adequate Minimum Income schemes!
  16. Europe makes 2010 its year for fighting poverty and social exclusion
    When the ‘Lisbon strategy’ was launched in March 2000, EU member state leaders said that they wanted to take decisive steps towards eliminating poverty. Ten years later, during the worst economic crisis since 1929, the EU has named 2010 its year for fighting poverty and social exclusion. It’s about time, too
    +
    French sociologist Serge Paugam expands on this definition of poverty, explaining that poverty creates a state of dependence. What it is like to live in this state of dependence, he says, varies according to the type of society you happen to live in. He therefore divides poverty into three different types: ‘standard poverty’ (found mainly in poor countries, where poverty is common), ‘marginalised poverty’ (in countries where there are fewer poor people) and ‘exclusion poverty’ (the most striking type, becoming more and more common in wealthy countries undergoing an economic crisis). In other words, 79 million people in Europe are experiencing poverty in quite different ways.

  17. EAPN’s Input to 2012 Commission Recommendation on Child Poverty – SPC Adhoc group questionnaire

  18. EAPN calls on President Barroso to demonstrate that solidarity with people and not markets is the basis for the financial aid packages
    In the wake of the new “bail out’’ package for Greece by the “Troika’’, EAPN has sent a letter to President Barroso, copied to the Heads of the IMF and ECB, setting out 5 key actions, consistent with the agreed Europe 2020 strategy, that should be taken in all countries in receipt of such economic support. These actions are aimed at reversing the attacks on social rights that has been a key feature of these “bail out’ packages to date.

  19. Europeans ageing faster, but are more diverse
    Sixty years ago the number of births rose sharply and remained high for about 20 to 30 years. Now the first of those baby-boomers, have reached the age of 60 and have started retiring. This marks a turning point in the demographic development of the European Union and makes it all the more important to consider the policy responses that are required by this major change. The EU is facing challenges on issues like sustainable public finances, increasing productivity and improving support for families. Major reforms and decisive action are necessary to meet these challenges.


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Homeless
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end-poverty

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    Mired in recession, with its economy set to contract for a fifth consecutive year, Greece is trapped in a vicious cycle with many fearing it is heading towards economic and social collapse. A €130bn (£108bn) aid package – the country’s second international bailout – is expected to be finalised at a meeting of Eurogroup finance ministers on Monday after months of ferocious negotiations. But it comes at a price. In the months and years ahead, Athens will have to apply further salary and pension cuts, axe around 150,000 jobs in the public sector and reduce the minimum wage by 22%.
  • What is social inclusion? (clubtroppo.com.au)
    Judith Sloan wants the term banned, the editors of the Australian think it’s bureaucratic gibberish and even the new minister for social inclusion seems unsureabout what it means. So what is social inclusion?For the New Labour politicians who popularised the term social exclusion in the UK, the excluded are those whose behaviour makes them a burden on other citizens and the state. Social inclusion is about helping the excluded become contributing members of the community.
    +The political rhetoric of social exclusion and inclusion ensnares both politicians and bureaucrats in the pretence that the world works the way swing voters in focus groups think it works. It’s an approach that assumes debate is pointless because these voters won’t pay attention to anything that doesn’t directly affect their own families and neighbourhoods.

    According to pollster Deborah Mattinson, politicians and voters are trapped in the never-never land of ‘Peter Pan politics’. It’s a “politics where the electorate never grows up. Instead the voter is indulged like a spoilt child by politicians desperately seeking their favour.” Politics is something that’s done to voters who demand outcomes that deep down they know are not really achievable.

    Perhaps it’s time both politicians expected more from voters and extended the idea of social inclusion to the political as well as the economic sphere.

     

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The Y generation in conflict with itself

Posted on februari 21, 2012 by

Sometimes humanity comes up with nice words to classify itself. The generation born after the Western post–World War II baby boom (1946-1964) ended some preferred to call them, the generation born between 1964 and 1981, Generation X, commonly abbreviated to Gen X, so those coming after them would then to be called Generation Y, though soon they would come to the end of the alphabet.

The Gen Xers  for  a time were also called the “baby bust” generation, because of the declining birth rate that started in 1964, officially ending the post-war baby boom.

Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture

Generation Tales The Cover Page of Generation X - 5th Edition Print - Image via Wikipedia

The Y generation is also known as the Millennial Generation (or Millennials) which would best describe those born around the turn of the century after the 2° World War.

For the Babyboomers  “Generation X” was the best undefined name to be put on the label for those who did not seem to have a real goal and own idea. For them it  were a a group of young people, seemingly without identity, who faced an uncertain, ill-defined (and perhaps hostile) future. The 1991 novel, Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture by Canadian author Douglas Coupland, concerning young adults during the late 1980s and their lifestyles, confirmed the tagging. Though in the US Generation X was originally referred to as the “baby bust” generation because of the drop in the birth rate following the baby boom. Was it not that it also could imply that it was a ruined generation it certainly was not penniless. The world could see a Spoiled Generation with many different groups like the Millet Generation. Generation X is also called  the “13th Generation” (In the 1991 book Generations, by William Strauss and Neil Howe)  and considered the group of those born between 1961 and 1981. 1970, the approximate mid-point of the “13th Generation”, had the lowest birth rate of this period.

While in most of the developed world, a person born in 1985 and a person born in 1990 are considered the same generation; in China, those born in the ’70s are called the “post-70s” generation, those born in the 80s the “post-80s” generation, and those born in the 90s the “post-90s generation”*
In China and Japan you could really find a  workaholics generation, while here in the West the parents of those kids born in 1970ies were perhaps workaholics, but the children did not become that because they found everything to come to them just like that, not having to do too much. Often they were spoiled by their parents who wanted to give them the best they could.

China’s post-1980s generation is proving to be passionately entrepreneurial as the economy prospers, a new survey shows. More than 54 percent of the adults younger than 30 surveyed are planning to launch their own businesses. That compares with 44 percent of people born in the 1960s and 70s. The figure for people born in the 1950s is about 39 percent. (The findings are part of the Kelly Global Workforce Index, which is conducted by Kelly Services, an international human resources company.)**

Cover of 1915 edition of J. M. Barrie's novel,...

Peter Pan a mischievous boy who can fly and who never ages

Those born after 1981 where ‘pampered’ by their parents and could enjoy many videos and were babysit by the gogglebox. On the tube they could watch the Walt-Disney Dreams and go in the air with Peter Pan. Elwood Carlson, locates the American generation, which he calls “New Boomers,” between 1983 and 2001, because of the upswing in births after 1983, finishing with the “political and social challenges” that occurred after the terrorist acts of September 11, 2001, and the “persistent economic difficulties” of the time.***

Those Millennials evidently belonged to the Hero category, having heroes everywhere and putting pictures or posters on the walls of their most precious examples. While the babyboomers protested against the establishment did they feature a deep trust in authority and institutions; being somewhat conventional, but still powerful. They grew up during an Unraveling cycle with more protections than the previous generation (Gen X). Having all those examples of heroes they themselves wanted to become such heroes like their favourite film-stars and sportsmen. Their parents followed in that they also wanted to flaunt with their kids who had to display all their treasures of trophies on the mantelpiece. Some of them therefore you could call the “Trophy Generation”, or “Trophy Kids“. In some countries it even became as bad that the ‘would like to be first’ candidates did everything to knock out every person standing in the way to get the goblet. Anything to cut out a competitor seemed to be acceptable. (In certain instances even accidents were caused and a murder done.) The “eighties babies” generation was not as innocent as the increasing narcissism brought forward with the white, affluent teenagers. The Peter Pan Generation loved to left alone in their “emerging adulthood” which would keep them at home by the parents, preferably until their 30ies. Some acted more as Captain Hook than Tinker Bellor than the one who  teaches the Darling children to fly using a combination of “lovely wonderful thoughts” (which became “happy thoughts” in Disney’s film) and fairy dust.

Trophy Kids

Most of them do not find the name “Peter Pan Generation” given to them particularly flattering sobriquet, meant to reflect the perception that they are having trouble “growing up” in a traditional sense. In their heart they loved to enjoy their childhood as long as they could, but in their mind they wanted to belong by the grown ups. In puberty lots of children are very much attracted to foul language and think they shall be great by using it. Using the vile language gives them a feeling to belong to that adult world. Mostly children grow out of it, but many of that generation did not and kept using those words. For those who got children when they were still using this foul language they made it more difficult for their children who did have to exaggerate their use of words to  have the feeling to be a grown up. To belong to the adult world they sought to be noticed either by their foul language, smoking, burping or belching, or farting, depending on what got most attention or negative reaction at home. That what did not chock or did not get enough attention was aborted soon.  That what they thought got most attention got embraced to continue doing, though they never questioned the positive and/or negative side effects.  At first they could get some attention, but they mostly did not notice that what was accepted first to laugh did not last long and became more annoying and took away more credit from them. Some of them could not get rid of their attitude and took it up into their thirties, where it is considered by the business-folks not done, so they lost also credibility at work and made less opportunities to climb up the ladder.

Peter Pan did not remain attached to his childhood because he had trouble picking up work or because his parents lived in separate houses. Rather, he chose to remain a child, and symbolizes both the idealization of our youth and our fear of adulthood. So that is not a bad quality. It is a good virtue to be able to dream and to go for adventure without being cocksure. Because today we encounter an other very conceited generation who come over very priggish and think they have invented the wheel.

Peter Pan the hero for those who stubbornly refused to completely grow up

As Peter Pan, the representer of the beauty of youth and of the beauty of a responsibility-free life, the generation called after him could also have the mindset and philosophy of the youth. To a child the world is full of endless opportunity, but for the baby boomer the world seemed to clash and everything they had learned about values seemed not workable any more. Many born the first centuries after the 2° World War had become slave of their jobs and not being respected for it by the newer generations. Like many they started to follow the same tired old routine, loosing more and more interest and noticing how governments also fooled them. But the children of those baby boomers  wanted to keep looking with the childish eye and see the world as place where adventures are always waiting to be had. Adventures that fill our life with hope and joy and purpose. Who could ever argue with wanting to maintain such a mindset through our 20’s and throughout our entire life?

The baby boomer at least could now see an optimistic generation which enjoyed life. Perhaps their children were optimistic because they did not expect to be given anything easily, according Jason Oberholtzer who came in defence of his generation. “The event that welcomed us to the adult world taught us that evil is real, justice is complicated and institutions are fallible. However, we aren’t angry and we will stay optimistic, because we’ve been planning on being the ones to clean all this up for years.” he writes. But he thinks think it is fair to suggest that a generally mistrustful view of adulthood has become more common for them, “and for defensible reasons”. “One can make a case-by-case argument that every institution we have been taught to hold in esteem has, in the last decade, given us ample reason to question their integrity”. ****

The 1950 generation got to see the first televisions, transistor-radios, cassette recorders, compact-disk-recorders and personal computers who entered the homes. Their children found it very easy to work with this new electronic devices which seemed to bring the world at the doorstep. Many of them got so involved with the internet they are often referred to as the Net-Generation.

Facebook engancha

Facebook engancha - Photo Olga Palma

Companionship had been very much appreciated in the 1950ies and 60ies. At that time there was a big difference between a comrade, a friend and a good friend. But good- fellowship and friendship became more vague and the spoiled generation got by its greed and jealousy less able to make good friends. To create the idea that they had many friends they went into their virtual world, part of their Peter Pan Fantasy World, with their computer games, were they also started to create their own little fantasy world, with villages, many friends but also several enemies. Not playing outside so much, they did not look for opportunities to meet their school-comrades or school-friends on the play-fields or in the park. In a way they also got more isolated from the real world. As such the social networks seemed to have brought the solution for them, and created the idea that they were encircled by many many friends, now even all over the world. Facebook opened for them a new world of friends. Some even really went to believe they had so many friends, and did not see the difference between a connection, somebody they just knew, an acquaintance, business connection, job-relation, comrades, friends or good friends and relatives. The boundaries were not so tight.

Waarom houdt de Y generatie van de programma’s binnen ImproTraining?Generation Y grew up with technology and rely on it to perform their jobs better. Armed with  laptops, i-pads, i-pods, BlackBerrys, cellphones, i-phones, smartphones and other gadgets, Generation Y is plugged-in 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This generation prefers to communicate through e-mail and text messaging rather than face-to-face contact and prefers webinars and online technology to traditional lecture-based presentations.

The Generation Y got thrown from one side to the other and had it not so easy to find her own path, so also many sub groups could be found in it. though the world wanted more and more some labels put on everything and there became a bigger emphasis on the relationship of the youngsters. Scientists also went into study the different groups and evolutions of the developing gangs and generations. They focussed more on such topics as meaning changes through time and interrelationship of language structure, behaviour, thought and meaning.

For the coming generations sometimes there was an awareness that they could be labelled, but than they should be careful how to behave because that was going to determine to which group they would belong or placed under, which could also determine their changes in the community. That awareness is a good sign, and I am happy that we can see more people wondering under which label they do want to belong. At first it will not be easy for them and perhaps they will laugh at it or would like to say it should not be taken to serious.

But at the end they should know that it is a very serious matter which is going to have a not to ignore importance on their development in the community and stipulate a lot of their chances in the society.

Generation Next, Net Generation, could find that they can become the reverberation of the baby-boom generation and as such be called the Echo Boomers.

Blood Brother by Elliott Arnold (New York, 1947) made into the American film Broken Arrow (1950) had become known as the first Western in which red Indians were depicted as normal men and not as a set bloodthirsty savages.  Several people form the 1950ies were interested in the many sorts of people, cultures, who looked precious for them and which had to be nourished. The generation after them did not want to get a deeper insight in the soul of men.

Flower Power

Flower Power

The 1960ies era could find a fundamental core in the spirit of sacrifice, honesty and dignity, professional pride for the growth of society. The Flower Power Movement may have seemed very loose for some but got together people who valued the human person and his environment. Egoism was not in its dictionary, and they considered everything for and from every one.

Strange enough got many of their children, and grandchildren more an attitude like it did not bother them how the world around them is going as long as they can have it good and survive in the nicest conditions. The newer generations seem to have replaced the love for mother earth with the love for themselves. The credo ‘minimum engagement for a maximum of results’ seems to have become the set standard. It’s an egoism which puts ‘me, myself and I’ above everything and everyone. Success at any price to exercise power over others.

The generations of the 1980ies and later consider the previous generations responsible for what is going to face them now. For today’s youth it is clear that they aren’t responsible for the situation today, but yesterday’s youth are. That’s a generation who betrayed themselves as they became adults.

spiderman reboot andrew garfield

Superhero Alter-Ego

The Peter Pan Generation with its  heroes as Superman, Spiderman, Knight Rider and many figures of the lovely series Sesame Street seem to have been the last generation who played in the streets with flippos, pogs from crisp bags and spinning tops, and also the first who had fun with video games. They got an avalanche of information in front of them on the screen of the home computer but drowned in the huge amount of information which came over them. Having been kids who were full of information, with higher education and languages, who could handle new technologies at their whim and who knew how to travel with backpacks better than the next person, they also were the first generation which was not allowed to be really a small kid. after them it even got worse. The parents wanted to see in their kids copies of the adult world. The small children got even dressed as big adult. Lots of them were not allowed to play the games of the Y generation because they were considered to childish. Part of the Peter Pan Generation suddenly had seemed to be taken out of their dream and have clashed with reality of the grown up world, which had passed them and betrayed many people who had expected so much after the terrible damage the 2nd World War had done.

Though the 1980ies generation could be considered to have been young of spirit at first, sportive and supportive, able to absorb the positive from different people, they got it more difficult to face the society who betrayed their parents.  They became a generation who have it tough to be stable professionally and be able to plan a dignified future.

Among Douglas Coupland's voluminous archives is a Generation-X comic strip from Vista Magazine, circa 1987

While the Generation X thought to be able to conquer the world and was willing to fight for everything in which it believed, the Generation Y saw many dreams chattered. Today’s generation projects itself into the future but doesn’t dare to enough. The older ones from today’s generation focus on perfection while the newer ones in business do think they know everything (better) and get positions over the Generation Y group who is looked at by the youngsters as the dummies.

Today the world seems to have rolled out the red carpet for the 1990 generation which is  young, educated, and thought of to be with professional experience, though they still look green behind their ears. But what the bay boomer and X generations did not have enough was the hair on their teeth, being  communicative, multilingual, having several social competences. That is what companies are looking for today. But such high demands inevitably provoke the fear of failure. The pressure which was put on the children of the after war period is now put on the grandchildren in a later stadium in their life.  While the Baby boomer and Generation X were stimulated by the high requirements of their parents, the newer generation has now come under more pressure in adult life. After they got the idea to be the prince of the world and able to tackle everything they get introduced to the question “Am I good enough? What other qualifications do I need?” in a time were they should be able to start building up new things. Instead their tower they had build in their childhood is stone by stone taken down. In such a decisive phase of their life they are confronted with their own private ambitions, the aspirations and expectations at work, as well as having children and a family.

The baby boomer and Generation X did not seem to have any fear, but now fear seems to creep in by Generation Y and Generation Z.

Generation change > First things first

The Baby boom Generation is put aside, made redundant, not considered to be useful for the future and the business.  All their savings are lost by the bank crisis, and their children understand that their parents were lured in mischievous projects and deals by corrupt business managers. The median age of retirement declined 3,7 years between 1940 and 1980 and most of the decline occurred in the 1970s as before.  (“A generation of change: a profile of America’s older population” by Jacob S. Siegel,Murray Gendell,Sally L. Hoover) But we can hear that several people were put on early retirement in schemes which were created to save the industry a lot of money not having to pay out the labourers they did not want to have any more, because considered to old and to expensive. By taking the Baby Boom Generation from the labour market they throw away the people with experience and they put on a financial burden on the younger generations.

This makes the following generations also wonder which way to take and whom to believe. Values they had learned from their grandparents and parents seem not to be of any value in this world today.  Nobody seems to respect credibility any more. Enormous level of pressure is making today’s generation lose creativity and spontaneity. If we are not careful we shall soon face a generation who shall not try out new things. This was always youth’s privilege but it has become to dangerous ground, bringing luxury and  family stability in danger.

The Beat Generation (1950s) are considered the mad ones or the loonies (the “Noops”). They had enjoyed the roller skates and got to see the surfing craze in full swing, realizing skateboarding could recreate the feeling of riding a wave. (By 1959 the first Roller Derby Skateboard was for sale.) After Larry Stevenson invented the kicktail the first generation of skateboarders laid down the foundation of tricks and style. However, they were still largely limited by equipment, the gadget of “flying freedom” was used in ballets and shows, creating a dream-world. The children had taken a drive in the clouds, but fell down on their face before the turn of the century.
They are now pushed aside by those born in the mid-1980′s and later, Generation Y  professionals are in their 20s and are just entering the workforce. With numbers estimated as high as 70 million, Generation Y is the fastest growing segment of today’s workforce. As firms compete for available talent, employers cannot ignore the needs, desires and attitudes of this vast generation.

teenagers 300x254 Gen Y Conversations Snippets: 1

Gen Yers who have gotten a lot of their information in pictures, audio clips, video clips

Several of the Y Generations did love a lot of variation. They were not the type of people who wanted to settle in jobs, relationships, and when they did “settle down” they often  understood this on a deep subtextual level that there is always a possibility of divorce if it doesn’t work out. for them it is important to be able to make any change if necessary to make their life better. Whatever changes they need they would take to in order to make the situation better. They do not want to be tied to a position, either a job, a wife or a family. They were the start of generations who found that they should be liberated from any boundary. With the Generation X it started already what we see today’s 20 and 30 some things working at one place for 40-50 years like their grandparents did. Some even  don’t see themselves making it to 10 years. Change, and changing up, is so deeply embedded in their psyche that they don’t know how to grin and bear it. “Why should we have to if there is a possibility of something better somewhere else?” they say.
Innovation has become a competitive edge and today everything goes around and about change and renewal.

'We're Gen Y and we are in fact virtual' by Debe Maxwell, Charlotte NC Real Estate

But they do not feel so secure, as they see the ground taken under the feet of their parents. While their grandparents and parents did not have the need to crave attention in the forms of feedback and guidance they urge for recognition. They look up to the fashion magazines who put everybody in the floodlight.  While the baby boomers preferred to have work and family life totally separated, the Y generation throws out any family history to come into the picture. Tittle-tattle has become important for the contemporary generation. They do not know any more the difference between being known and being well known, being renowned and being famous or being famed. What is important for them is also to being  kept in the loop. They seek frequent praise and reassurance and do hope to find or use people whom may give them opportunities and help them to get higher up and develop their young careers.

Generation X was the first group of young people to challenge the long-held belief that each generation is destined to be better off than the one preceding it. Generation Y sees that everything seems to becoming worse for their future: they shall have to work longer and harder, and the climate is changing on all levels (work possibilities, weather, etc.)

If the 15 year old Michelle could see her now, she would probably want to jump into the future and slap her. She took the faux fur off and she doesn't own Uggs. She owns a TNA parka

Michelle***** (Kearnel), a student at a small, bilingual university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, position as a “field marketing director” on a short contract with a local event company, realizes that she is not a revolutionary by pointing out that sometimes people her age are ridiculous, but according to her that is no surprise because it’s 2012 and all the original ideas have been used. She says “Don’t grow up. You will lose all your friends, have a mid-life crisis where you think buying a reliable compact Japanese SUV is the coolest thing you could do, and will let corporations pay you money to sell out your old dreams and ideas. You will supplement your misery by occasionally skipping work  and desperately trying to re-create the spontaneous adventure of your youth, but all alone.”
For her “Life’s too short to overanalyze.” For her “Pulp Fiction may mock it” but she is  “just waiting for IcelandAir” to offer her a good deal. “TTYL, Ketchup-fiends!”

Basically, she’d be committing to spending two months sleeping in a tent without internet access (le gasp!) or even 3G. Even any phone service, for that matter, is obsolete. She spent 3 weeks in a cable-less, phone service-less house in PEI last summer. Even then she had her 13″ laptop and some Harry Potter DVDs.

GenerationY

Social Networks and Generation Y

Because she gave up buying video games and not having her i-pod as loud that people still can hear it 50 meters further, she feels she could be the stranger in the group, but she forgets a lot of the Generation Y did not buy the games but downloaded them illegally. In her writing we can feel the underneath frustration as well about the too fast evolving systems which make is impossible to use certain games if the person has not the required new gadget. Their generation saw many versions of Windows and when they wanted to use certain Microsoft Word files they had to be updated to be able to pen them.

Some of the Y Generation got so much frustrated they started getting eating disorders and the Z Generation is following in their footsteps, but exaggerating everything even more. the foul language can not be hard enough for them and letters in postings, sms got multiplied to add emphasis but those extra letters and four letter words do not ad anything, except taking away credibility for that person. Others got their body designed with tattoos, but got as such branded for ever.

Though everybody had the chance now to study, we see that they are throwing their chances away to get in some good positions. Today they have the choice either to be popular with their slang and dirty words, and be part of the plebs, like in the Roman times of bread and circuses, enjoying the reality shows and soaps on tv; or becoming part of a new growing elite of scholars and more serious thinkers and writers. The coin is thrown in their basket. They can choose for head and tales but it is always only one which is going to get a better position in life, and providing the necessary money to be able to keep the wolf from the door.

+

* Post 80s and 90s: What’s With the Ultra Short Generation Gaps in China?

** Post-80s Get Businesslike

*** Carlson, Elwood (June 30, 2008). The Lucky Few: Between the Greatest Generation and the Baby Boom. Springer. p. 29. ISBN 978-1-4020-8540-6.

**** In Defense of My Generation
So let’s please do away with the following seductive assertions: we have no regard for sacred institutions or hard work and we prefer our mother’s basement and the blogosphere to paying rent and heading into the office; we are self-absorbed, or rather self-obsessed and we must be treated like adolescents characterized by that self-obsession; our goldfish memories can only remember sound bytes, slogans and Mortal Kombat cheat codes; and finally, that we are slovenly couch-dwellers who idolize Seth Rogan characters and are pulling a fast one on the productive, hard-working adults who keep the world running.

***** Sometimes My Own Generation Confuses Me + My English Class Supplement: Ferris Bueller’s New Ad + Tree Planting?

Peter Pan, the character in all of his various media depictions, represents the beauty of youth. Somewhat he represents the beauty of a responsibility-free life, yes, but he mostly represents the beauty of the mindset and philosophy of the youth. To a child the world is full of endless opportunity. While our parents slave away at their jobs, following the same tired old routine, a child sees the world as place where adventures are always waiting to be had. Adventures that fill your life with hope and joy and purpose. Who could ever argue with wanting to maintain such a mindset through your 20’s and throughout your entire life?

Appendix: Some thought 2011 would become the new May’ 68. The year passed with a lot of tribulation but it could not reach the tip of May  ’68. I do believe we are facing a total different interest and engagement. The Occupy Movement is much more varied and not everywhere is such a feeling of togetherness and respect.  today we are also facing more famine in Europe and there is a big need for jobs and respect for the labour force. In Greece, the youth unemployment amounts to 45%.  In Spain also.  But the problem is not limited to the  southern  countries.  Also in cities as Brussels stands the counter already on 40%.  Whole Europe could do with more jobs and better prospects for younger people!  The unrest under these younger people grows yet each day.  The dissatisfaction is not limited however to unemployment. The younger ones have to face the greying population for whom they also have to take care and have to pay the debt of their government. On the streets you can see many youngsters running with their buttocks partly naked. The bare bottoms show the Y of the generation.
Authenticity has become super important for younger people.  The internet is so transparent that incredible promises finally always become pricked.  They want that a fair politician must say not what they want to hear, but what they must know.  Especially when it is not popular.   They demand political courage, and  in this way we can see a connection to what was been requested in 1968 as well.  As such the X and Y Generation have come home again and perhaps are ready now to split in the reality group who knows some things have to be done , though they can be not so nice, in able to survive in a better way and look for a future which shall be acceptable for all.

Read also:

  1. 20-Somethings: No, I Won’t Grow Up
  2. The Peter Pan Generation
  3. Peter Pan Syndrome 
  4. Generation Change
  5. Cafe Babel Editors parents speak: Generations 1950 and 1960 on Generation 1980
  6. The space of two decades allows our parents an affectionate but criticial vision on our generation, born in the eighties. From video games and unemployment to travel and money, time for one last pan-European lecture.
  7. Managing Multiple Generations
  8. Baby Boomers – Traits and Values
  9. Generation X – What is Generation X?
  10. Generation X – Traits and Values
  11. How to Sell to Generation X
    The typical owner of a newly built home is changing. It’s no longer the baby boomers dominating the new-home market. Instead, it’s the up-and-coming Generation X population that is now beginning to purchase second and even third homes.
    +
    The Frost & Sullivan study found that due to Gen-Xers’ appreciation for advanced technology, along with their growing income, “the increase in percent of young people buying new construction has not only triggered the new-construction activity, but also increased the growth of home automation systems sales.”
  12. A Generation-X pack-rat gives away his treasures
  13. Generation YBy ,
  14. Millennial Women – What Millennial Women Think
  15. Millennial – What is a Millennial and How Are Millennials Changing the Work…
  16. Generation Y Characteristics
    Baby boomers were raising hell in the 60s against the Vietnam War, burning draft cards, drugs, sex and rock and roll. Many of that generation “dropped out.” Generation Y has a much closer relationship with their parents. I’m not sure why that is though. One thing this generation has in common with my baby boomer generation is their interest in politics.
    +
    Generation Y is considered much more liberal than Gen X, baby boomers and especially “the greatest generation” of WWII. They are much more supportive of abortion, same sex marriages, and so forth. But, this does not mean that Generation Y as a whole is liberal minded.
  17. Generation Y at work

  18. Generation Y Leaders of tomorow

    Generation Y and their role!

  19. Generation X vs. Generation Y on the financial recruitment circuit
    According to Robert Half CFO Confidence Index over two-thirds of financial heads want the best of our country’s Generation Y to be the next batch of financial head honchos.
    +
    Gen Y are younger they’ll be more adaptable to changing markets, so will therefore be more commercially susceptible, which is something the financial sector is crying out for after the mess we’ve been left in.
    +
    Gen Y has had a rough time of late. Up against hundreds of other applicants, where competition is stiff. CVs and cover letters get swallowed up in the sea of ‘unsuccessful’ submissions just because of the sheer volume, which means they have to be nothing short of excellent to get through the first stage.
  20. How To Attract and Retain Generation Y Employees
    • 74% of employers say Gen Y workers expect to be paid more
    • 61% say Gen Y workers expect to have flexible work schedules
    • 56% say Gen Y workers expect to be promoted within a year
    • 50% say Gen Y workers expect to have more vacation or personal time
    • 37% say Gen Y workers expect to have access to state-of-the-art technology
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    • Understanding & Managing Generation Y
  21. Generation Y female consumer decision-making styles
  22. How well do you know Generation Y?

  23. Generation Y-Z and the 2008 Gap

    Generation Y – Z
    Generation Y fastest growing segment of today’s workforce, willing to trade high pay for fewer billable hours, flexible schedules and a better work/life balance. While older generations may view this attitude as narcissistic or lacking commitment, discipline and drive, Generation Y legal professionals have a different vision of workplace expectations and prioritize family over work.
    +
    Generation Y craves attention in the forms of feedback and guidance. They appreciate being kept in the loop and seek frequent praise and reassurance. Generation Y may benefit greatly from mentors who can help guide and develop their young careers.
    +

    Generation Z 
    Generation Z is the latest generation which will be leading the world in a couple of decades from now. Is the generation responsible enough is a big question and are they being prepared in the right way for days to come? The current recession and financial strife has no bearing in shaping the future of the generation Z and they do not feel it either.
    +
    They are the children of the modern world and are also called the digital generation.
    +
    They are less oriented than the generation Y but have strong opinions and do not take suggestions well. Psychologists are noticing a drastic behavior change from generation Y to Generation Z.  For the generation Y, the emphasis has always been career and studies whereas the generation Z does not believe in career and formal studies either. Their personal lives can lack communication and this lack of communication may not be very effective for bringing up future generations by them. Also by the time the Generation Z starts working there might be severe shortage of professionals like doctors and scientists. Also, such professions may not hold any value for the generation Z.
  24. Hacking Work on Gen Y
  25. Training Gen Y Teachers for Maximum Effectiveness
    If inquiry means deep thinking, then the Gen Ys can already run circles around us veteran educators when it comes to collecting data, finding resources, thinking deeply, problem-solving, reflecting, and inquiring.
    +
    The Generation Y can be described in four positive ways:
    1. A generation that is confident, self-sufficient, and achievement-oriented
    2. A generation that is the most education-minded in history
    3. A generation paving the way to a more open, tolerant society
    4. A socially conscious generation leading a new wave of volunteerism
    +
    Surround Gen Y teachers with a community of creative thinkers and the solutions will abound everywhere.  They are great team players.
    +
    Millennials like structure and will want schools to give them clear rules and procedures to follow.  They need to clearly see the value of their work.  They want their work to be relevant, have impact, and offer them a diversity of experiences.
  26. The Revolution of Generation Y’s Evolution
    Evolution_Gen_Y.jpg
    To put it plain and simple, without their cell phones, computers, laptops, Tablets, GPS etc the majority of Generation Y would be lost however according to studies, they would be in a much better state physically and mentally. Studies have shown that while Generation Y are becoming more and more technology dependent, they may also be becoming more susceptible to the deterioration of mental and physical health. “Generation Y is a stressed out generation … Many college campuses have seen increases in the numbers diagnosed with depression and other mental health disorders.” (Jayson, 2007)

+++

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    +
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Vile language and behaviour plus little secrets

Posted on februari 17, 2012 by

It is a sign of the times that several young people do not see anything wrong in using certain words which belong to foul language.

The problem comes from the many American series where swearing seems to be a normal thing and a lot of people think they are more important. For others it is a way to hide their weakness because they did not have a proper or higher education, it shows then their lower standard of eduction.

Many times the many vile words used by a person are also a way to hide several difficulties that person underwent. We often can find it by persons in social distress and having difficulties in sexual relations, being divorced, living in difficult circumstances, poverty and too much pressure. for them it seems a way to cope with it or to give themselves a feeling of more power. What they feel they are missing they want to put in exaggeration by words which can shock or have other people reacting and giving ‘more attention’. those who use a lot of such verbal mistreats should wonder why they like it so much to use those words which give not any more information than they can give with the normal words they can use. What is it adding to their story?

I wonder why this generation don’t hold anything like curse words back. How is it possible that certain people think it makes their entries more enjoyable and that it would give more of a sense of legit connecting communication? They really think they can show off with their so called ‘liberated speech’.

Do they not have enough vocabulary to give their words power?

A ‘queen of the couch’ brought a post filled with just an amount of vitriol though she could  make her point better without the foul language, because she really has something to tell about the attitude of trying to turn around the situation of the pest or bully and the one bullied.

bullying.jpg

Bullying the plague of today

Today we do have to see too much pestering and some do not seem to see any harm in the needling. But what often starts of as a little bit of teasing, becomes taking the mickey out of some one to place yourself on a more important or more liked position. As many use the dirty words to make them more important or more liked, because they think or feel themselves more important, they also start to think they can get some power over situations and over certain persons.

Often the teasing becomes, like the foul language, vexatious. They mostly think the others do have to take it teasing and foul language like a sport. They delight in their foul language as they take a delight in teasing, but forget that their language and actions can be offensive and hurting the feelings of others. It becomes bantering.

For the language it was mostly teenagers who thought when they used such ‘naughty’ words they would be considered bigger, though they forget that it is just the opposite. Worse is it when they grow up and have to make the use of such words even more bigger, because other-while they would not have such an effect any more. More and more they will loose all credibility and shall end up in a little corner of a bunch of people who enjoy themselves in bathing in such language play.

For certain posts on the net it is a pity, because the subject could otherwise earn more credit. So perhaps you may also feel uncomfortable with the message of the Couch Girl and be astonished that this could be a mother, who should be an example for her children, which would not be very promising for the future of those children and their generation.

Therefore I would like to ask you to not let you be distracted from the issue by the language use of the female writer, who wants to sound like a street-worker.

On a “Views from the couch” the female writer sitting on her couch had  a conversation the other day and is sure every girl can recall, at least once as a child, coming home and telling their parents, uncle, aunt or grandparent about a boy who had pulled her hair, hit her, teased her, pushed her or committed some other playground crime.

Years ago we did not hear so much about it, but today it has become a serious problem. I can agree with her that when some teasing took place often it was said that it meant the other person liked you.

As I mentioned above, the user of those few letter-words we better not use is also some one who has a daughter of her own. She finds it appalling that “this line of bullshit is still being fed to young children.”

She argues correctly that such way of tackling bullying is not the right way to get rid of the problem.

The teasing easily shall become harassment which shall turn out in a wide range of annoying behaviours of an offensive nature. A big problem is that the offender sometimes is not aware at first of the damage he or she is causing. Others who are around the instigator understand the behaviour is intended to disturb or upset but do themselves not want to come into focus, and find it better to join the for them most stronger one.

Lots of them do not want to know that their behaviour, which sometimes start off as a joke, becomes annoying, a bother, trouble and grows into a repetitive disorderly behaviour. Several studies have proven that the language used at home, with the environment people grow up, plus peer abuse can also have a lasting impact on victims and/or create abusers.

File:OperationRepo.jpg

The figures in the picture do say already enough and do let us understand why they use such a language and how they behave - which is really an unacceptable behaviour, but being presented as normal and good fun

The media seem to bombard their viewers with programs were it seems the normal way of behaviour, like in series as in the American television program “Operation Repo“  that depicts the world of car repossession with a team that portrays fictionalized tales of repossessions from California’s San Fernando Valley, and other similar ‘truTV’ shows filmed in a cinema verité style. In some teenager shows or series about school life the bullying is presented as something that happens everywhere and is something we just have to take as it comes. It is all presented as the most normal thing.

Today’s generation of teens and twens finds it normal to us a lot of four letter words which asks in a vulgar way to have sexual intercourse, or refer to excrements, or to play around, and that is also what they do like to do a lot, and enjoy watching and talking about. It even seems to be a sport to boast with the amount of girls they could take in their bed. The sport to brag has taken on such form that it seems to show a very unhealthy community, where we do find lots of divorced and unhappy people. Some men switch partner as they change daily their pants.

Worse is now that some, who could be called “perverts” like to present such annoying behaviour and language as the most normal thing of the world. Some try to tell the parents and the children that being verbally and/or physically abused is an acceptable sign of affection. Also in offices they do want to let believe the others that it is a sign of affection. Perhaps, yes it is a sign that they missed a lot of affection in their life, but the ‘avances’ they want to make they certainly do it in the wrong way.
They create an unpleasant or hostile situation for especially by uninvited and unwelcome verbal or physical conduct, and are enlightened whit their position to be able to be in charge. Clearly it is a matter of wanting to be in control and to have power.

The environment should recognise such signals and should not let go. They should react appropriate on it, because in the other case it escalates and becomes worse.

The posters and certain articles in youngster magazines and in the adolescent and adult media belittling the current attitude are creating the possibility of a bigger deformation of a required social attitude for a liveable community.

The writer of the article Thank Me For Punching You in the Face has good reasons to urge her readers and those who bring out such flyers and posters not to go mad at those bullies, to rethink their parenting strategy.
She writes “If you try and feed MY daughter that crap, you better bring protective gear because I am going to shower you with the brand of “affection” you are endorsing.”Clearly she seems only to be concerned about “Her” daughter, but she forget that such an attitude of “laisser fair” has come of the slack pose the community is taking to how people speak to each other and how they treat each other. It is all connected with each other, the way of speaking and they way of showing respect to others.

Taking as elder a disrespect attitude and using taboo words as if common words takes away all boundaries and sets open all gates. The loose behaviour, mouth and body language, the going adrift made that several humans break from the moorings and got in the for them unrestricted world of pleasure and materialism, not having to worry about others.

Those gone adrift do not find themselves gone astray and demand from others to accept their way of life. They even demand that we should teach others their way of talking and living and decided that we should start teaching our sons and daughters to accept being belittled, disrespected and abused as endearing treatment.

“And we have the audacity to wonder why women stay in abusive relationships?”

“How did society become so oblivious to the fact that we were conditioning our daughters to endure abusive treatment, much less view it as romantic overtures?”

Above I gave already some answers and de want to point out that it is also a matter of education and upbringing as well by the parents as by the teachers or educational personal.

Having free sex and free drug use, as well as free use of time, money and noise (music), creates environments where people are confronted with all sorts of violence (noise, vocal violence, intimidation, battering, etc.) Being confronted with ‘gratuit’ violence on the screen, often more words and actions get in the house than we would tolerate from our real life visitors in the house.

Lots of people would love to keep them away from their kids until they decide to teach them respect and boundaries, but do not want to be a good example themselves for their own or for other kids and other adults. How can you demand respect if you are not giving it yourself?

Harassment Unsolicited Unwelcome Humiliating Threatening Actions

We should give clear signals to the community in which we want to live: that teasing or harassment by a male or female classmate or not just okay. We should let the community know that disrespect is never acceptable. that also includes dis-respective language as well as dis-respective behaviour.

It is of no use to start learning your kids words like ass-hole though ass-holes are at the moment a big nuisance. Many actions of dull people wanting to be more important by use of their language or by making certain movements (sign-language) and actions should not be any longer tolerated in our community.

Unpleasant actions should be cut of from the root, and elders should be in charge to control it and to quieten it from the start.

Those in charge should try to help others to see what is an accepted behaviour in contemporary society, and should learn them how to deal with those “assholes” they will encounter throughout their life.

It is no use to use yourself verbal incorrect words trying to tell your daughter to know that if someone is verbally harassing her, she should tell the teacher and if the teacher does nothing, she should tell you, when she herself gets the impression you are using the same weapons as her offender. Children should not be expected to handle bullies on their own. Kids need to be taught that bullying is unacceptable. And because bullying often happens in peer environments, this message has to be reinforced and supported on all levels – at home and in school.

Parents, teachers, and even paediatricians must become more adept and sensitive at identifying possible victims and bullies. The adults who are in a position to intervene on behalf of the victims must band together to take power away from the bully. An important step is identifying and stripping the bully of his or her power because bullies themselves are skilful at avoiding apprehension or punishment. Thus once a bullying situation is revealed and identified, adults must: act immediately and show that such a asocial behaviour is not tolerated in a civilised community. They should trust the victim and give it also the feeling that it can trust them. Furthermore they have to take a strong stand and be consequent in their reaction and in their own behaviour. In case parents do not monitor their own behaviour and aggression they loose all credibility by the victim, and by other persons around. Parents should have the first and last word about acceptable behaviour and present themselves also an acceptable behaviour.

Youngsters should receive clear signs, and it are the adults who should give The example. If they can not keep to certain borders, how should they themselves and the youngsters around them?

In any case, for sure, everybody should know that if someone physically touches a person in the wrong way they have to tell the teacher or other higher placed persons. But we may not underestimate the psychological harassment as well. With words people can do a lot of damage, and this has to be finished as well.

The idea still gets around that boys should have the only right to defend themselves and “if  sons came home crying because another male classmate was pushing them, pulling their hair, hitting them or calling them names,” some  “would bet dollars to donuts they would tell him to defend themselves and kick the kid’s ass, if necessary. They sure as shit wouldn’t say, “he probably just wants a play date”.”

Boys or girls can be victim of harassment and none of them should be allowed to  sit quite in a corner to deteriorate under the psychological and physical damage. We all have to teach our sons and daughters to accept nothing less than respect.  But we ourselves should in every instance show that we ourselves also do have that respect and should earn that respect.

As the writer correctly mentions: “I can’t teach my daughter to respect herself if I am teaching her that no one else has to respect her. I can’t raise sons that respect women, if I teach them that bullying is a valid expression of affection.”

So we do have to be careful to come up with certain little “secrets” but also be very careful how we handle things when something went wrong.

We may never forget that we have to be the example for the next generation so that they on their term can be again a worthy example for their next generation.

The world around us gets always younger and younger. The babies from yesterday are pushed aside by the class of today. Our behaviour and our language shall determine how they are going to speak and going to treat others.

Like getting older is an experience only to be discovered in relation to others, we are able to give some direction in the cause of the future generations, and we should take it conscientious and not trifle with it.

The abandoned life of the materialists now should get to see that there are more important values that all those gadgets around us. Respecting the more important values of life they shall enjoy more the value of having respectful people around them.

Let us never loose sight to forget nothing venture, nothing grain, as you saw , so shall you reap.

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    Bad words show disrespect to those being spoken to and a total lack of self-respect. The one who stays away from filthy language is not being a prude or old-fashioned; rather he /she is a Mu’min and a follower of the one with the best manners ever…that is, the Prophet.
  • You Didn’t Thank Me For Punching You in the Face (pinkatenchanted.wordpress.com)
    Never ever give false impressions to young children, because we are actually distorting the shape of their future.
  • Parenting Solutions: Teased (education.com)
    Can’t handle it when friends poke fun, is overly sensitive to verbal teasing, often overreacts to playful banter, feels picked on
  • Right, Wing-Nut! (jerseynut.blogspot.com)
    There has never in the history of the world been a people better mannered and less inclined to insulting acts of prejudice than today’s Americans, yet we’re supposed to believe that the nation is seething with “harassment” and “discrimination,” women being groped in every business office and crosses burning on every lawn.
    +
    Isn’t denial of the existence of sexual harassment now harassment in and of itself?
  • Tips for Parents: Teasing, Bullying, and the Role of Friendships (education.com)
    Often, I think we expect really bright kids to act their intellectual age and forget that deep inside they really are kids. This becomes even more of an issue when we grade accelerate.” Children who had problems with friendships prior to being accelerated may be at increased risk for them after acceleration.
    +
    Boys engage in bullying about three times as much as girls and usually bully in groups. If the victim is an unpopular child, bullying groups are joined temporarily by others. I list steps to detect bullying in my Good Friends book that involve getting the school involved. Girls have a subtler form of bullying called “relational aggression” defined as girls who: (1) exclude others from their group out of anger, (2) tell children they will stop liking them unless they do what they say, and (3) ignore people when mad at them.
    +
    If rejection has been a recurrent problem among same-age same-sex peers. This may indicate that there is something the child is doing that is violating “the golden rule” making him\her little fun to play with. Rejected children are viewed by peers as domineering, bossy, intrusive, or critical.
  • It’s not cute. It’s abuse. (bluejaysway.wordpress.com)
  • You Didn’t Thank Me For Punching You in the Face (denaliwinter.com)
    Being mean to someone because you like them is unacceptable and a poor excuse for being an asshole. We need to teach children this from day one, not drill this bullshit into their little heads and expect them to grow up and magically learn to respect each other and themselves.
  • Curse Words (socyberty.com)
    When a person chooses to eliminate curse words from their vocabulary, they do so because of the meaning of those words.  However, I am a bit baffled by why some of these people choose to use substitutes for these words.  Do these words not have the same connotations as the curse words that you try so hard to avoid?  For example, many people may say “darn” instead of damn.  I see absolutely no difference when you simply replace the curse word with darn.
Geplaatst in Upbringing and Education, Welfare and Health | Getagget , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Plaats een reactie

Premiere Plus

Posted on februari 16, 2012 by

The Cuban born Carlos Acosta (born 2 June 1973) of mixed Spanish and African heritage and long-limbed Royal Ballet Principal Zenaida Yanowsky (born 23 December 1975, Lyon, France) descended from Russian aristocrats (last seen as a stylish Utah longhorn ram in David Bintley‘s 1988 ballet Still Life at the Penguin Café in March Royal Triple Bill) are going to be seen in an intriguing mix of modern and classical ballet. What I saw from the works to be presented looked very nice.

Darcey Bussell, curtain call for Theme and Variations

Darcey Bussell and Carlos Acosta during the curtain call for the ballet Theme and Variations.

In 1992 and 1993 he was a member of the National Ballet of Cuba under the artistic director Alicia Alonso, rising to principal dancer in 1994. Since 1998 he became a permanent member of The Royal Ballet and was promoted to Principal Guest Artist in 2003, a rank which reduced his commitment to the Royal Ballet, enabling him to concentrate on a growing schedule of international guest appearances and tours which he’ll did well out of it.

Premieres Plus combines Carlos Acosta his outstanding classical technique, which could recently also be wondered by 45000 spectators at the O2 where he gave a marvelous performance of McMillans Romeo and Julia, with some of the most celebrated works of recent years. The night includes Russell Maliphant’s masterpiece “Two”, originally created for Sylvie Guillem.

Will Tuckett’s “On Before”, originally created for the Ballet Boyz’s Billy Trevett and Royal Ballet principal Zenaida Yanowsky, and now performed for the first time by Carlos and Zenaida to John Adams’s masterwork “Christian Zeal & Activity”.

Those who did not have had the chance to see him perform should perhaps hurry. Because Acosta has pain in his hips and has had repeated surgeries on his right ankle. He also uttered already that it could be that his time to retire has been looking around the corner. Now aged 38 and living in London, he feels he has “maybe three more years” before he will retire.

“I still think I have what it takes, but sometimes it’s difficult to know when it’s the right time, I think I still have the quality people like – but it’s not very far away now.”

“Ballet has been like being married for 30 years, and then for some reason life takes you on different paths, but you still have the memories of the woman you love – that’s me and ballet.”

This morning he also said he was really “out” after he had done his manage at the O2 on June the 17th. The stage being so huge and demanding so much of the body to cover it all. “you have five scenes and you dance almost until you drop dead.”

The crippling physical effort of becoming a ballet dancer, the slog, the agony of injuries, the rivalries and bitchiness are vividly evoked in Acosta’s fascinating story “No Way Home” which is published by Harper Collins. Despite terrible home-sickness, loneliness and low self-esteem, Acosta won every possible student medal and award. Snapped up by various ballet companies, he travelled to Europe.

Cover of

Cover via Amazon

The Book will be available for order via the website at a reduced price of £17.99 (including standard UK first class delivery). They shall have 50 signed copies of the book for those who get their orders in early (first come first served basis). (Please check at Carlos’ site)

If you wish to see Carlos in person, he will be signing copies of his autobiography – No Way Home – at Hatchards Bookshop, 187 Piccadilly, London W1 between 1 and 2pm on Tuesday 9th October, and at the Royal Opera House Shop in Covent Garden, London WC2 between 3.30 and 4.30 on Saturday 13th October.

For those out of London, Carlos will also be appearing at the Cheltenham Literary Festival on Sunday 14th October in conversation with A C Grayling at 4pm and will be signing copies of his Book afterwards. For full details of the Cheltenham Literary Festival go to http://www.cheltenhamfestivals.com/whats_on/literature_festival.html

On top of many prices he can write Cuba’s National Dance Prize on his palmares, in recognition of his fruitful career, and for being “a genuine example of an artist who loves the revolution” – in the words of the president of the jury which awarded the prize.

When he retires he and his British fiancée plan to move to Cuba, and he may start his own dance company. The choreographic parts he did himself , which I saw, looked borrowed from other contemporary choreographers, but he made nice choices.

Written 2011 July 12

Related articles
Carlos Acosta in Requiem

'Now, how shall I end chapter 3?' … Acosta has been writing between performances, here in Requiem at the Royal Opera House. Photograph: Tristram Kenton for the Guardian

2012 February update

  • Carlos Acosta: from the ballet to the galley proof (guardian.co.uk)
    Carlos Acosta is more accustomed to en pointe than penpoint, but the world-renowned Cuban ballet dancer has written his first novel in between performances around the world.
  • Romeo and Juliet, Royal Opera House, Seven magazine review (telegraph.co.uk)
    Tamara Rojo and Carlos Acosta have been cast together as Shakespeare’s lovers for six years now, and while the fit is as perfect as ever, there’s something slightly ‘‘married’’ about the great pas de deux, which offered none of the grabby desperation one sees in the thrilling early days of a partnership.
    +
    Acosta partnered beautifully but his playing only really caught fire during the fight scenes. And although he leaps as softly as ever, his dancing has a slightly energy-efficient look to it.
  • The Dream/Song of the Earth – review (guardian.co.uk)
    MacMillan’s genius in Song of the Earth is to choreograph on a grand, tragic scale and in small, human detail alike. On Wednesday night, the opening male ensemble was unforgivably ragged, suggesting momentarily that the Royal had lost this ballet. But then an alchemical reaction took place on stage: the dancing found a heart-stopping clarity, from the pin-wheeling lifts and playful Chinoiserie of the third song, to the austere geometric logic of the large ensembles. The two male leads developed a harrowing dramatic opposition: Rupert Pennefather as the sweet hopeful lover, Carlos Acosta a half benign but implacable Messenger of Death. And caught between them, Tamara Rojo carried the entire ballet in her body, moving from delicate girlishness to fierce anguish, and finally to a totemic image of resignation.
Geplaatst in Culture, Dans | Getagget , , , , , , , , , | Plaats een reactie

Reli-Quote 500: de bestbetaalde voorgangers

Posted on februari 14, 2012 by

Reli-Quote 500: de bestbetaalde voorgangers.

Wie het nog niet wist of geloofde kan het nu in de media vinden.

In Amerika is een soort Quote 500 van de bestbetaalde voorgangers gepubliceerd. Een modaal salaris van 30-40.000 dollar, waar de meeste katholieke priesters en protestantse voorgangers het mee doen, is voor losers, volgens Goed Gelovig.

De gegevens laten ook wel zien dat die predikers die het meest geïnteresseerd zijn de dollars te laten rollen ook wel niet altijd met een zuiver leitje zitten. Velen er van blijken ook handige fraudeurs te zijn.

Zulk een nieuwtje valt dan ook lekker in de smaak van Goedgelovig Nederland dat een initiatief is van een groep bekende, minder bekende en anonieme columnisten van breed-kerkelijke huize die zich het Dwaze Zaken Collectief noemt, naar het bekende Amsterdamse kunst-eetcafé ‘Dwaze Zaken’, waar we bij tijd en wijle graag een schuimend biertje nuttigen, terwijl ze het ‘gristelijke’ wereldje satirisch beschouwen.

De Belgische voorgangers noch de katholieke priesters zullen hun portemonnee zo gevuld kunnen zien. Voor hen, die het goed menen, mag er wel hard werk in de la liggen, terwijl de beter betaalden lekker knus in hun gouden paleis mogen zitten en de geruchten in één oor binnen laten om het in het andere buiten te laten.

Goedgelovig Nederland bekijkt de petitie die overhandigd is geworden aan de Vlaamse bisschoppen als een haast wanhopige daad, en waarschijnlijk tegen beter weten in, een gepleit voor een kerkhervorming.

Maar hun lezers halen ook aan dat een nieuwe hervorming voor Evangelisch Nederland, waar erg veel mis is, ook geen overbodige luxe zou zijn . Al zijn daar de problemen van andere aard.

Flipsonius denkt dat de vliegenmeppers uit zijn op een dialoog.
Hij herinnert zich een sociologische theorie, die er op neer komt dat mensen gaan radicaliseren (en in opstand komen) op het moment dat ze gefrustreerd worden na een periode van verbetering van hun aanvankelijk beroerde situatie en zegt: “In dit geval zie je dat de RKK net een stabiele conservatieve koers aan het varen was na roerige decennia vol controverses. De nieuwlichters en oproerkraaiers waren buitengewipt (op z’n Vlaams gezegd) of hadden zelf de kerk verlaten. De conservatieven hadden de wind in de zeilen. Tja, en dan krijg je die onthullingen over pedopriesters en machtsmisbruik, loopt de kerk nog verder leeg en komen er weer discussies en petities en roep om verandering. Het is echt griezelig en vermakelijk tegelijk om te zien hoe ze zich bezighouden met het afstoffen van allerlei archaïsche artikelen uit het Kerkelijk Recht om die ontwikkelingen de kop in te drukken.”

Of die betaalde dominees en priesters echt wel tijd kunnen, willen maken, hangt te bezien. Spottend laten zij een gesprek lezen tussen dominee Pietersma en hun redactie waarbij de dominee aan geeft dat hij een goed gevulde agenda heeft. Daardoor kregen zij op hun eerder gebel telkens geen gehoor.

“Maandag vergadering over het Manifest van Eenheid zonder verlies van Eigenheid, dinsdag denktank van het bijbelgenootschap en overleg met collega-predikanten. Oh…!”

- “Ja?”

“Dat was ik alweer vergeten. Die woensdag word ik voor de krant geïnterviewd over het feit dat ik hier alweer 18 jaar dominee ben. Mooi hè? 18 jaar alweer. Ik weet nog goed hoe ik hier begon. Wel een beetje een jonge hond, hoor. Maar vol enthousiasme. Ja, het is ook zo’n mooi beroep!”

- “Ja? En wat vindt u er zo mooi aan?”

“Nou ja… het contact met mensen, hè, en de kansen die je krijgt om het evangelie door te geven. Prachtig! Maar ik zie dat ik nu toch echt moet gaan, dus weet u wat? Ik bel u volgende week even terug en dan kijken we eens rustig of we een afspraak kunnen maken. Goed? Nou, dag hoor.”

- “Ja… dag…”

De vraag bij dat artikel is dan of we de kerken moeten ont-managen? Minder synodes, dominees moeten geen stukken meer schrijven, geen spreekbeurten meer houden? Alleen nog maar bezig gaan met de eigen gemeente. Of is de boodschap dat dominee zijn een ontzettend zware taak is en dat een beetje gemeente eigenlijk behoefte heeft aan minimaal twee betaalde full-time krachten?

Of dat je als gemeentelid voor een pastoraal gesprek misschien maar het beste naar een ouderling kan gaan? Of gaat het juist over de dominee die zo enthousiast begon in een gemeente en na 18 jaar zich vooral met andere dingen bezig houdt, en is het dus een pleidooi en oproep aan dominees om na maximaal 10 jaar van gemeente te switchen?

In ieder geval zijn er te weinig kandidaten voor ambtsdragers en in het katholieke front zo wel als het protestantse moet er op toe gezien worden dat diegenen die zich actief willen inzetten dat ook daadwerkelijk zullen kunnen doen.

> Een afspraak met de dominee

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Aanverwant kan u vinden:

  1. Een Manifest voor Gelovigen
  2. Publieke overdracht van Manifest Gelovigen nemen het woord
  3. Manifestanten Protestant of Katholiek
  4. Manifest tot protestantse kerk
  5. manifest “Gelovigen nemen het woord”
  6. Manifests for believers #1 Sex abuse setting fire to the powder (christadelphians.wordpress.com)
  7. Manifests for believers #2 Changing celibacy requirement (christadelphians.wordpress.com)
  8. Manifests for believers #3 Catholic versus Protestant (christadelphians.wordpress.com)
  9. Manifests for believers #4 Eucharist (christadelphians.wordpress.com)

 

 

Geplaatst in Christendom, Financiën | Getagget , , , , , , | 1 reactie

Publieke overdracht van Manifest Gelovigen nemen het woord

Posted on februari 14, 2012 by

Zoals eerder aangehaald hebben de laatste maanden enkele manifesten het levenslicht gezien en konden ze de geloofsgemeenschap in beweging brengen om woord en wederwoord soms hevig te laten verlopen.

Een eerste opgemerkte petitie was die ‘voor een geloofwaardige en bevrijdende kerk’. Deze kreeg ook weerstand van de conservatieve Katholieken die vroegen niet in te gaan op de contestatie tegen de traditionele geloofsverkondiging en het ondergraven van het pauselijk gezag. De samenstellers beoogden binnen de huidige kerkcrisis, een bescheiden bijdrage te leveren aan het elkaar vinden van kerkbetrokken christenen. Hen was het opgevallen dat de met het geloof begane mensen zich stilaan eenzaten begonnen te voelen en dat het daarom belangrijk was om hen te laten aanvoelen dat ze niet alleen staan in hun christen zijn, in hun verlangen naar een geloofwaardige en bevrijdende kerk,  en dat het er op aan kwam om de krachten te bundelen. Eveneens wilden zij  een taal geven aan de oorspronkelijke motivatie van de kerkgemeenschap die we telkens opnieuw moeten integreren en beleven. Zij overhandigden de petitie op kerstavond aan de Vlaamse bisschoppen met een tweevoudige bedoeling: (1) bemoediging: zoveel mensen willen een evangelisch geïnspireerde kerkgemeenschap, een meer authentieke kerk en (2)  aansporing: om werk te maken van de beloofde denkoefening rond macht in de kerkgemeenschap. Eind 2010 ondertekenden 6.800 gelovigen dat signaal ter bemoediging in volle pedofiliecrisis. Vele feiten die naar boven kwamen, zijn vreselijk en de kerk onwaardig.*

Meer recentelijk waren er petities ‘tegen de seculiere dictatuur’ met zo’n 3.000 handtekeningen, tegen de onttrekking aan de eredienst van de Brusselse Sint-Kathelijnekerk met ruim 6.100 ondertekenaars en op het manifest “Gelovigen nemen het woord” ** volgde de tegenactie “Gelovigen aanvaarden het woord” met een 200 ondertekenaars en “[On]gelovigen nemen het woord”***. Ook in Nederland konden enkele manifesten niet uitblijven. ****

Eindelijk kwam het deze week zo ver dat het reeds veel besproken en ophefmakende manifest “Gelovigen nemen het woord” door een delegatie van de Werkgroep Kerkenwerk donderdag 9 februari, in Mechelen werd overhandigd aan de Vlaamse bisschoppen.

Het Manifest “Gelovigen nemen het woord” met een namenlijst van de ondertekenaars wil aan de kerkelijke gezagdragers in België een duidelijk signaal geven en doet een oproep aan de Vlaamse bisschoppen om door hervormingen de impasse te doorbreken waarin de Kerk in Vlaanderen is terechtgekomen.

Opmerkelijk is dat van de 8235 gelovigen die het manifest onderschreven, hoofdzakelijk via het internet, sommigen ook schriftelijk, vele, maar niet alle ondertekenaars hebben aangegeven op welke manier zij bij de Kerk betrokken zijn. Daaruit kan worden afgeleid dat ten minste 304 priesters, 41 diakens, 184 pastores, pastoraal werk(sters) en parochieassistenten, en 89 religieuzen het Manifest ondertekend hebben, naast honderden mensen uit de onderwijs- en universitaire wereld en tientallen verantwoordelijken van christelijke geïnspireerde bewegingen en organisaties. Bovenal hebben een paar duizend ondertekenaars aangegeven dat zij op een of andere manier actief zijn in een parochie of een christelijke beweging of organisatie.

Ik vind het mooi zo te zien dat er toch nog veel Belgen blijken begaan te zijn met het Woord van God. Natuurlijk gaat het hier enkel om de bekommerdheid van het Rooms Katholieke Geloof terwijl er een algemene malaise in het Christelijk Geloof is. Maar het is niet slecht dat de onderschrijvers van het manifest ook eens hun oor te luisteren hebben gelegd bij de andere gemeenschappen van het Christendom. Hiervoor worden zij echter wel hard op de vingers geslagen door de conservatieve achterban van de Rooms Katholieke Kerk (RKK)

In mijn discours in mijn ecclesia (= kerkgemeenschap) ga ik op vele punten van het manifest dieper in, en verwijs u daarom ook graag naar die uiteenzettingen (in het Engels)

St-Romboutskathedraal3

St. Romboutskathedraal (Mechelen)

Het Manifest is overhandigd aan de bisschoppen van Brugge (Jozef De Kesel), Gent (Luc Van Looy), Hasselt (Patrick Hoogmartens) en Mechelen-Brussel (André-Joseph Léonard), en de hulpbisschoppen van Brussel (Jean Kockerols) en Vlaams-Brabant en Mechelen (Leon Lemmens). De bisschop van Antwerpen (Johan Bonny) was wegens een buitenlandse opdracht afwezig.

Na de overhandiging van het Manifest en de namenlijst van de ondertekenaars, konden de delegatieleden het initiatief ruim toelichten. Ze wezen erop dat het uiting geeft van een oprechte bezorgdheid voor de toekomst van de Kerk in Vlaanderen — en Kerk die nodig is en blijft om het Evangelie en de christelijke boodschap te verkondigen, te beleven en in concrete daden van zielzorg en mensenzorg om te zetten. Die grote bezorgdheid wordt spijtig genoeg onvoldoende begrepen door bepaalde conservatieve Rooms Katholieke groeperingen, terwijl de Charismatische Katholieken (waartoe het koningshuis behoort) zich opmerkelijk stil houden.

De grote respons en, vooral, de kwaliteit van de ondertekenaars tonen aan dat vele kerkbetrokken en kerkactieve gelovigen die bezorgdheid delen en de noodzaak van kerkelijke hervormingen onderschrijven. Alsook geeft het aan dat het hoog tijd werd dat er actie wordt ondernomen en over de gehele zaak met alle betrokkenen wordt gedebatteerd.

De vertegenwoordigers van de Werkgroep beklemtoonden dat centralisatie (door vorming van parochiefederaties en/of pastorale eenheden) geen structurele oplossing biedt, maar de kwantitatieve achteruitgang veeleer in de hand zal werken. Zoals ik reeds eerder in sommige van mijn teksten op verscheidene websites aanhaalde heeft die federatievorming de kerk eerder verzwakt dan nieuw leven in geblazen. Het centraliseren heeft niet voor meer stevigheid gezorgd maar heeft de parochianen nog verder doen afhaken door het minder verbonden zijn met een ware geloofsgemeenschap die voldoende in de noden van de gemeente kon voorzien. In sommige dorpen is er bijvoorbeeld nog maar één eucharistieviering per maand in het eigen dorp. Indien de mensen meer naar de communie moeten gaan dan moeten zij naar een andere kerk gaan is de huidige gedachte van de RKK.

Zij vergeten echter dat er in hun gemeenschap niet zulks een geloof heerst als in bepaalde andere Christelijke groepen. In mijn geloofsgemeenschap is een verplaatsing geen abnormale zaak, om samen het geloof met elkaar in gemeenschap te delen als broeders en zusters in Christus. De kerkgemeenschap die ik leid heeft zo haar regelmatige diensten in Heverlee, Mons, Brussel stad en elke drie maanden een dienst in Parijs stad. Onze gelovigen verplaatsen zich dus soms meer dan 600 km om een dienst bij te wonen, maar dat zie ik niet zo vlug Katholieke Belgen of Nederlanders doen. In België zijn er ook zeer veel naam Katholieken waaronder heel veel mensen die eigenlijk niet echt geloven maar wel hun kinderen laten dopen, hun eerste en plechtige communie laten doen, trouwen voor die Katholiek Kerk en een rouwdienst laten doen. Dus enkel voor hun ‘grote gebeurtenissen’ in hun leven hebben zij die kerk nodig uit traditie. Indien een bepaalde priester hen niet aanstaat gaan zij niet bepaald een dorp verder of zich nog verder verplaatsen om een dienst te vinden die hen bevalt.

In België heerst een heel ander mentaliteit, daar moet de kerk naar de gelovigen komen en zijn het niet de gelovigen die naar de kerk komen.

Esperanto-meso Bruselo 2011-12-04 (Peter Knauer) 1

Duitse Katholieke priester en theoloog Peter Knauer die een mis opdraagt in het Esperanto in de kapel van de Foyer Catholique Européen in Brussel

In de Rooms Katholieke Kerk hangt men ook nog eens vast aan het celibaat en de patronale institutionele heerschappij. Al jaren ziet men in de RKK de moeilijkheid om bepaalde zaken uit handen van de priester te geven. In de Charismatisch Katholieke Kerk daarentegen laat men wel meer inbreng van de kerkganger toe. Daar wordt er juist een actieve gelovige verwacht, maar zulk een actieve geloofsbeleving maakt vele Belgen bang. Toch zal de RKK wegen moeten vinden om mensen die bekwaam en gevormd zijn, en die bereid zijn zich te engageren, bepaalde taken toe te vertrouwen. Hun bevestiging of aanstelling in een “mandaat” is belangrijk, zowel voor de betrokkenen als voor de gelovigen, voor sommige mensen, alsook voor de samenstellers van het manifest. De Werkgroep Kerkenwerk wil samen met bisschoppen naar zulke wegen zoeken. Nochtans is het priesterschap, zoals het nu in het katholieke geloof wordt voorgelegd in de westerse wereld, helemaal niet volgens de Bijbelse voorschriften, maar een puur menselijke instelling.

Namens de bisschoppen dankte aartsbisschop Léonard de Werkgroep voor het “weliswaar kritisch maar toch kerkelijk initiatief”. Uit de gedachtewisseling die daarop volgde, bleek een gedeelde zorg voor de lokale kerkgemeenschappen in Vlaanderen. De bisschoppen toonden zich bereid het gesprek hierover voort te zetten.

Het verlangen naar verandering dat uit de tekst spreekt, laat de bisschoppen niet onberoerd. Volgens hen zoeken zij ook naar vernieuwing en grotere authenticiteit, in trouw aan de Schrift en aan de geloofstraditie van de kerk. Maar de burgers konden tot nu toe daar nog maar weinig van merken. Alsook leek de laatste maanden de kerk ook totaal vervreemd van de wereld en leek hun reactie op de vele seksschandalen helemaal wereldvreemd en een Christen onwaardig.

Christadelphian Ecclesia bijeenkomst te Heverlee

De Belgische machtshebbers van de RKK beseffen dat de situatie die we vandaag als kerk meemaken niet comfortabel is. Van pastorale verantwoordelijken wordt heel veel gevraagd. Zij vragen zich wel niet af hoe het komt dat zij niet meer de maatschappelijke positie noch de impact hebben die ze vroeger wel hebben gehad. Vreemd genoeg mag hun kerk op financieel vlak nog het meest comfortabel begunstigd zijn. Zij met de erkende protestantse en islamieten krijgen een maandelijkse wedde uitbetaald door het ministerie van justitie. Andere godsdienstbewegingen, zoals de Christadelphians bijvoorbeeld moeten het stellen van onbetaalde kerkleiders en predikers die hun inkomen moeten verzorgen door in de burgerlijke wereld een job te voorzien, al was het voor enkele dagen.  Vele van die predikers moeten zich volledig ontdoen van hechting aan materie en volledig bereid zijn om zich over te geven aan de verspreiding van het Woord van God. Het gehele predikingswerk van de Getuigen van Jehovah berust zo ook uit de volledige overgave van de geloofsgenoten voor hun geloofsgemeenschap. Zulk een overgave vind men niet makkelijk bij de Rooms Katholiek Kerk. Maar er zijn toch nog enkele gepassioneerde mensen daar te vinden, die eigenlijk veel te weinig kansen krijgen om mee hun kerk op te bouwen en het geloof verder te verspreiden.

De bisschoppen hebben de idee dat zij heel veel inspanningen doen  om het evangelie dicht bij het leven van de mensen te laten aansluiten. Hiervan zien wij echter heel weinig van.  Ofwel houdt dat in dat zij dat enkel doen voor de eigen geloofsgemeenschap, maar dan kunnen deze enkel demografisch gevormd worden en zullen zij vlug verminderen doordat er meer sterven dan geboren worden. Wij horen of zien weinig katholieken getuigen, en nog minder priesters of hoger geplaatste geestelijken dat doen. En indien zij in de media komen is het steeds om eerst misstappen te ontkennen om ze daarna schoorvoetend toe te geven en toch nog trachten te verdoezelen.

Vast staat wel dat het in een samenleving waar het seculier levensgevoel steeds groter wordt het zeker niet gemakkelijk is om mensen tot het evangelie te brengen. Het is eveneens niet eenvoudig om de mensen in het geloofsleven te motiveren en hun ook actie te laten ondernemen.

Zij zeggen: “We begrijpen de pijn en de onmacht bij velen. Hoe kunnen we het evangelie zo verkondigen dat het hart van de mens van deze tijd erdoor geraakt wordt? Dat is de vraag die bij ons allen leeft en die onze grootste uitdaging blijft. Structurele hervormingen of aanpassingen zullen daar niets aan veranderen. Toch kunnen ze ons helpen. Daarom begrijpen we dat de geleidelijkheid van deze hervormingen het geduld op de proef stelt. Maar de evoluties in onze maatschappij zijn zo fundamenteel dat ze tijd en onderscheiding vragen om te zien wat in deze kan en moet gebeuren.”

Daarop zou ik hen graag waarschuwen dat zij best niet te lang wachten en zeker niet te veel tijd nemen, want volgens mij is hun kerk in Vlaanderen aan het dood bloeden. Zelfs op voor hen hoogdagen zoals Kerstmis kan men kerken vinden waar niet veel gelovigen aanwezig zijn in de middernachtmis (als die er nog bestaat) of in de kerkdienst op die feestdag.

De Belgische kerkelijke macht zou blij moeten zijn met de uitlatingen van die bekommerde gelovigen. Het manifest geeft hen ook de gelegenheid de positie van de Rooms Katholieke Kerkgemeenschap te verhelderen.

Doordat sommige elementen, zoals de kwestie van woorddienst op zondag, een diocesane aangelegenheid zijn zou men kunnen vermoeden dat het juist heel makkelijk moet zijn om tot een aanvaardbare oplossing te komen om meerdere geïnteresseerde gelovigen aan te spreken en te motiveren om er echt iets van te maken.

Natuurlijk zijn er ook aangehaalde zaken welke op hoger hiërarchisch vlak moeten bedisseld worden. Het kerkelijk ambt en het priesterschap, zijn een aangelegenheid van de wereldkerk en daar kan men niet zomaar een Belgische oplossing naar voor schuiven. Wij zijn wel het land van het surrealisme en de politiek kent van zulke wanten, maar op kerkelijk vlak hangt men hier vast aan het Vaticaanse conservatisme en super heerschappij.

File:VilvoordeChurch.jpg

Grote Kerk - Katholieke Kerk te Vilvoorde (Vlaams Brabant)

De bisschoppen beweren in kwesties die raken aan het persoonlijke leven van mensen, dat zij een respectvolle, pastorale houding bepleiten. Nochtans kan men op het vlak van de erkenning van het vrouwelijk geslacht niet zien dat de RKK deze gelijkwaardig aan de man opstelt. alsook hebben zij in hun systeem ook een hele machtsstructuur waarbij de één boven de ander staat, terwijl in de Kerk van Christus iedereen gelijk zou moeten zijn. Meer nog, diegenen die werkelijk een volgeling van Christus Jezus willen zijn zouden zich onderdanig moeten opstellen en ten dienste van de gemeenschap moeten staan. Jezus rade iedereen aan elkaar aan te moedigen en vertelde ook zijn apostelen dat geen een hoger in rang was dan de ander en zij allen in eenheid met elkaar moesten leven.

Toch geven de bisschoppen toe: “Al is niet elke levensstaat gelijk, toch is niemand minderwaardig, want een mens is altijd meer dan zijn daden en dan de situaties waarin hij verkeert. De kerkgemeenschap ten slotte, opgebouwd rond Christus en zijn evangelie, wordt gezonden naar alle mensen. Ze neemt die missie op vanuit een vitale kern die leeft vanuit de eucharistie. Want daar gebeurt de verbinding van de ranken met de wijnstok (Johannes 15, 5).” En zeggen zij verder: “God heeft alle gelovigen, elke gedoopte, broodnodig om zijn liefde aan de wereld kenbaar te maken.”  Daarom roepen zij ook hun gelovigen op om samen werk te maken van een kerkgemeenschap die zorg draagt voor haar identiteit, trouw aan de zending die ze heeft ontvangen, een kerk die open en toegankelijk is voor iedereen, met een ruim hart voor alle mensen.

Indien de RKK in België nog iets wenst te betekenen over enkele jaren zal zij hoogdringend er werk van moeten maken om goed te luisteren naar haar achterban, naar diegenen die het dichts bij het volk staan en zij die de basis van de Katholieke Kerk vormen.

Mark Deweerdt wijst er namens de Werkgroep Kerkenwerk op dat er met dit manifest “een breed platform tot stand kwam van kerkbezorgde – zowel gewijde als niet-gewijde – gelovigen die de impasse waarin de kerk in Vlaanderen is terechtgekomen niet langer lijdelijk willen ondergaan en op hervormingen aandringen”.
Het initiatief vertrok vanuit een oprechte bezorgdheid over de toekomst van de kerk in Vlaanderen. Het treft Deweerdt dat naast bekende gelovigen vooral veel mensen ondertekenden die “week in week uit aan ‘kerkwerk’ doen in hun parochie”. Daarom ziet hij het manifest als een “schreeuw uit het hart van veel geëngageerde gelovigen”. Hij waagt het de vraag te stellen: “Hoe zou het zonder hen met de kerk in Vlaanderen gesteld zijn?”

“Priesters raken overspannen door het vele werk en plaatselijke gemeenschappen worden losgelaten, maar als er levende gemeenschappen zijn en voldoende mensen die daarvoor willen instaan, waarom talmt het beleid dan om die te mandateren?” zegt Jan Coppens, pastoor in Erpe-Mere. Maar hij is niet alleen die zich die vraag stelt waarom het beleid niet ingaat op de bereidwilligheid van die vele gewone burgers die zich willen inspannen voor hun geloofsgemeenschap. Zij moesten blij zijn dat er zo veel mensen kerkelijk werk willen doen.

Het blijven vasthouden aan menselijke regels en dogma’s die zijn ingevoerd op in vroegere tijden bepaalde orde op zaken te stellen zijn niet meer toepasselijk voor vandaag.  Daar zal de RKK moeten leren om nu ook met de tijd mee te gaan zoals er toen in de vorige eeuwen bepaalde begrenzende stappen waren ondernomen, zullen zij nu open makende stappen moeten ondernemen.

Het Rooms Katholieke blad Tertio zocht ook naar een reactie bij de ondertekenaars van de tegenactie Gelovigen aanvaarden het woord. De opgebelde paters wensten niet met naam en toenaam te reageren. Een van hen gaf als commentaar: “Als gelovige kan ik dit niet ondertekenen en ik veronderstel dat priesters, diakens, godsdienstleerkrachten, theologen en pastores die minstens 3 jaar daarvoor studeerden, weten waarom sommige zaken in de kerk niet kunnen. Als ze het niet weten, dan is het onze taak het hen – opnieuw – uit te leggen. Dat is het gepaste antwoord op dit manifest, dat trouwens aantoont hoe erg het gesteld is met de kerk en de priesters in Vlaanderen die al decennia lang een koers varen, los van Rome. Voor mij is dit manifest een radicale aanval op het Tweede Vaticaans Concilie dat de kerk ziet in eenheid met de paus van Rome. We verkeren in een crisis omdat de priesters zelf niet meer trouw zijn aan Rome en het Concilie. De uitweg uit de crisis ligt daarom in meer trouw aan de kerk.”

Damme Kerk R07

Kerk van Maria te Damme met kerkhof, de laatste beschikking voor de katholiek

Die conservatieven zouden echter moeten inzien dat de onderschrijvers van het manifest Gelovigen nemen het woord juist eerder terug willen gaan naar wat er in de Bijbel staat. Voor hen komt het er eerder op aan om naar het Woord van God te luisteren. En daar ligt mijn inziens ook de juistere denkwijze: het is niet God die zich aan de Kerk moet aanpassen, maar de Kerk die zich aan God moet aanpassen. De Katholieke Kerk zou meer op het Woord van God moeten geschoeid zijn, dan op menselijke regels en wetten opgesteld door zogezegd onfeilbare mensen, terwijl volgens de Heilige Schrift niemand onfeilbaar is.

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* Lees meer over de aanzet tot nog groter terugval in de Rooms Katholieke Kerk in Manifests for believers #1 Sex abuse setting fire to the powder « Christadelphians : Belgian Ecclesia Brussel – Leuven

** Een Manifest voor Gelovigen + Manifest Gelovigen nemen het woord

*** Manifest: [On-]Gelovigen nemen het woord + Gelovigen aanvaarden het Woord naar aanleiding van de petitie “(on)gelovigen nemen het woord”
Wat Katholiek is, wordt niet bepaald door persoonlijke voorkeuren. Wat Katholiek is, is wat God, voornamelijk in Christus, geopenbaard heeft en wat de Kerk sindsdien trouw doorgeeft. >  Gelovigen ‘nemen’ het woord niet… Gelovigen ‘AANVAARDEN’ het Woord
+ Is de ketterse petitie ‘Gelovigen nemen het woord’ een complot van CD&V en NVA???
Mark Deweerdt begon zijn loopbaan als manusje-van-alles bij de Leuvense politicoloog Wilfried Dewachter. Een goeie leerschool, maar zijn echte roeping lag toch bij de journalistiek. Na een tussenstop bij Elsevier stapte hij over naar De Standaard. Het was de start van een klim naar de top, want in 1989 bracht hij het er tot hoofdredacteur. Daarna was Mark Deweerdt redacteur binnenlandse politiek bij de Financieel-Economische Tijd. Daarnaast was hij ook een tijd betrokken bij ‘Braambos’. Hij is ook lid van ACW-Herent en voorzitter van het Davidsfonds Herent.

**** + +  Manifests for believers #3 Catholic versus Protestant « Christadelphians : Belgian Ecclesia Brussel – Leuven

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Petitie 24com: Gelovigen aanvaarden het Woord + Voor een Katholiek Vlaanderen! AVVVVK

Petitie: “Voor een geloofwaardige en bevrijdende kerk” = anti-katholiek en anti-clericaal
De eenheid van de Kerk komt tot uiting in het herderschap van de bisschop van Rome, de Paus, over de gehele Kerk. Hij is immers de opvolger van Petrus tot wie Christus had gezegd: ‘Gij zijt Petrus en op deze steenrots zal Ik mijn Kerk bouwen’ (Mt 16,18). En bij Johannes horen Jezus tot Petrus zeggen: ‘Weid mijn lammeren, hoed mijn schapen’ (Joh 19, 16-17).
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De katholiciteit of universaliteit van de Kerk houdt niet alleen in dat het geloof van de Kerk overal verspreid is, maar betekent vooral dat men overal hetzelfde geloof aantreft. Of het nu de oude kerken van Europa zijn, of de jonge kerken in de ontwikelingslanden, overal treft met één en hetzelfde katholieke geloof aan. En dat is een soort garantiebewijs: als ik merk dat mijn geloof overeenstemt met het geloof van de wereldkerk, dan kan ik er van op aan dat ik me op het juiste spoor bevindt en het rechte geloof aanhang.

Petitie ‘Voor een geloofwaardige en bevrijdende kerk’
Vele leden en symphatisanten van Pax Christi Vlaanderen vinden in de persoon van Jezus van Nazareth kracht en inspiratie.  De problemen en de schandalen die de voorbije maanden in de katholieke kerk aan het licht kwamen, leiden vaak tot ontmoediging bij velen die zich inzetten in de geloofsgemeenschap of van hen die er lid van zijn. Maar dat hoeft niet zo te blijven.

Tertio Debat: Gelovigen nemen het woord

Ketterlijst met 8200+ katholieken op internet gezet
De Vlaamse ketterlijst is een reactie op de petitie ‘Gelovigen nemen het woord’ van vernieuwingsgezinde katholieken in Vlaanderen. De lijst is een resultaat van ‘een groep verontwaardigde Rooms-Katholieke vliegenmeppers, strijdend tegen modernistische vliegen in de Rooms-Katholieke Kerk’.

Brief van Anne Vandenhoeck aan de kerstster
Brief aan de luisteraars van het Braambos, uitgezonden in het Braambos, Radio 1 op 12 december 2010
 Anne Vandenhoeck superviseert aan het Academisch Centrum voor Praktische Theologie in Leuven en ze is stafmedewerker van het vicariaat Caritas in Brugge. Tot eind juni heeft ze d’er nog een benoeming bij. Die van Braambos-briefschrijver.

Bedenking ten aanzien van de petitie “Gelovigen nemen het woord”
In onze parochie en omliggende waren er priesters en gelovigen die meenden ‘met de tijd te moeten meegaan’ en zo sijpelde druppelsgewijs het vergift binnen in al die parochies. Mensen haakten af. Parochieteams werden gevormd en catechisten die niet in hun pas liepen werden buitengewerkt. (zij gaven ‘oubollige catechese’, waren ‘extreem rechts’(?) en ook ‘fundamentalist’…!)

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Aanverwante artikelen:

  1. Een Manifest voor Gelovigen
  2. Publieke overdracht van Manifest Gelovigen nemen het woord
  3. Manifestanten Protestant of Katholiek
  4. Manifest tot protestantse kerk
  5. manifest “Gelovigen nemen het woord”
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