BULLYING

Periodically we hear about Bullying and the commentators in general accuse the aggressors and question if the schools did that they should have done. The question is if they took measures in order to identify the problem.
Of course if we are a normal person we have to condemn this behaviour.
But on the other hand, many times I ask myself if the commentators analyse the problem in the right way.
Actually, they give their opinion in the way that the aggressors have to be punished and the law or the teachers have to be harder on him.
But this is common sense. Bullying always was, consequently aggressors and victims, too. To be harder for the aggressors is normal.
The problem is the protection that they want to have for the victims. It’s so much protection!
The victims have to learn to defend themselves. It’s important. During their lives they will not always have a person that will help them.
In my opinion, we have to put our efforts together so the victims get stronger and fight against the aggressors. Life is hard, and protect the victims isn’t the best way to help them.
Last Friday I watched on TV a “Private Practice” episode and one of the themes was bullying.
The Mother was protective but the doctor had a different opinion. Bullying, till that point, is the best way to learn how we have to self-defence.I practiced bullying and I was victim of bullying. I had no problems. It didn’t affect me.

AVOIDING FATE

I don’t know why but I believe in Fate.
What is Fate? Can we change our Fate?
Many Times I say or I hear: It’s their Fate? But is it?
I’m not a philosopher, but Fate is something we can’t control (or may be you can, who knows?)
When we think that something will have high probability of happening and we take measures in order to avoid that it happens, which of them is Fate?
Was it Fate to avoid the problem?
It’s very complicate!
I’m going to speak about myself. In general I don’t believe in anything that I can’t control as is religion. Things happen because they have to happen!
But I believe in Fate! I can’t control Fate but I need to believe in something I can’t control, and
this is Fate!

IN PRAISE OF SLOW

In the last twenty years we have been seeing a rise of urgency in order to solve problems.
In fact, today everything looks urgent.
I think this behavior began with the increased development of new technologies.
The mobile phone and the computer gave us more power control about everything and bring us the capacity, or the idea that we have the capacity, to solve all the problems as quickly as we want, because by mobile phone we are there all the time.
In certain situations I understand that this novelty brought us the capacity to deal with matters immediately.
But sometimes, maybe a lot of sometimes, these new devices bring us the sensation that everything is urgent.
A dangerous and common situation happens when people answer the phone when they are driving. Nothing justifies answering the phone when we are driving. It's dangerous and there isn't justification for this behavior.
On the other hand is our health, thanks to us, because stress could bring us heart problems.
In our job nowadays we can work everywhere and whenever we want. It is sometimes good because we can solve certain situations, but the majority of times I think it isn't a good solution, because we can't rest. And rest is essential for our health.
For the future, we need to find the balance between always being connected and rest.
It will be essential.

Friends for rent

I recently read on a magazine that it is possible to rent a friend over the internet. Yes... rent a friend!

My jaw dropped when I read it. At first I thought it was some kind of virtual friendship but it isn't. It works with real human contact.

People use this service for different reasons: they have no close friends (anymore), they are away and alone in a country (like visiting) or even when they need to go to a dinner party and have no date.

People pay by the hour, spend some time together and then say goodbye and thank you.

Now... are we realising we really need human touch and social lives or are we facing friendship in an unattached fashion?

Royal Wedding

Honestly, for me, the situation is so stupid that I don´t understand people.

Throughout the Salazar dictatorship we knew that people liked football, fado, Fátima or in general, religion, and this was a way of forgetting difficulties.

But then we really had difficulties! We didn´t have social security, good pensions, good medical assistance, and so on...

But today we like to “in”. Why religion?

Nowadays, it´s so nice to know news about kings, jet-set, TV presenters, etc.

What crisis? We have subsidies! We don´t need to work, the welfare state takes care of us! They have this responsibility!

But my questions are:

where is our responsibility a citizen?

As a father?

As a boss?

In general there are no responsibilities. People live in the clouds!

Again about crisis: on TV I only watched people complaining in the Algarve, saying that this year they will have to save money because things are bad, bla, bla, bla,

But they are on holidays (that week I was working!) and spending money, and they are in the Algarve! How can they be so ridiculous?

But they had been complaining!

In my opinion, in reality, and in general of course, until now people in general didn´t feel the crisis!

Until now the welfare state had been solving difficulties.

In public administration less 5% in wages over € 1.500,00 is not important. These people earned a lot of money during many years (they don´t know why) and they never worked as private workers. This is reality.

Now the pensions over € 1.500,00 will be reduced in 5% on average.

What´s the problem? € 1.500,0 is a good pension! And most of these people that have this pension amount, didn´t have any difficulty in order to have it.

In general these pensions are a bonus! A bonus directly from private pockets to public workers' bank account.

Because of that, actually, presently, we don´t have a big crisis.

We only have a public deficit. We only need to reduce the public administration expenses.

On the other hand, for me, the main challenge is to create conditions in order to have a big growth in the future.

Reduce high pensions: go ahead!

Reduce politicians' jobs: go ahead!

The Royal Wedding - Really?...

Dear gentlemen,

buried in a deep financial mess, as we are, I found our four regular TV channels broadcasting a Royal Wedding from another country and opening the News with it. What happened to the concerns about our situation and how we are being helped (if we are indeed) by IMF? Second place they have been thown, so it seems.

Bother us not crisis, for we have a wedding to watch! But... wait a minute.... we are not British! So what? Being an ostrich once in a while is part of our national conscience, or didn't we (all) go to the Algarve on holiday?

Cynical and sarcastic I know, but this post is to spice you into writing. How do you read this "Royal Wedding Fever"?

Incompetent Politicians

When I think of our economic and political situation. Sometimes I´m optimistic but sometimes I´m pessimistic.
I get pessimistic specially when I hear our politicians or some other important people: all of them give us their opinion but they are always the same: we have to change, we have to cut down on expenses, and so on… but some (or all!) of them depend on state payments, through pensions, contracts, among others.
But when we heard the President of the Republic in his acceptance speech, forget his responsibilities over the last 25 years, honestly I got angry!
We only need to think of the last four years: why doesn’t he do something, using his words, of course?
That speech arrived at least three years late.
But worse! In his Facebook page he called our attention to some journalists that made a wrong interpretation of his intentions!
It’s amazing! Such lack of competence for the job! How can the Portuguese people vote in these men?
I know: we didn’t have better! This is our main problem: we don’t have an honest and hard-working man that instead of thinking of his position, thinks of the country.
On the other hand we are less demanding and we lack of economic knowledge. We have bad habits regarding our personal financial management.
It’s true that youngsters don’t have a good future in the horizon but it’s also true that youngsters have never before had such a good life.
They are always complaining (as their parents). A few days ago I heard in a restaurant that the Portuguese people only complain for two reasons: about everything and about nothing).
But we have to understand: they learnt this behavior from their parents. In the last 25/30 years we got the used to the state taking care of us.
Right now we are discovering that this is not true. We have to work and to take care of ourselves. For the future I think that we need to take these steps. They are called steps, but they are essential in order to change the mentality of our State