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Category: post

Cancellation: a complex mix of accountability, power, justice, anger and societal change

So, when you start a targeted move against an individual, when you stoke up social media outrage against them, questions need to be asked not just about your target, but about your own motivations. Accountability, in a community, counts both ways. And the biggest question is: is you wielding that power actually helping the people you claim to be helping? Because if it’s not, then you’re just wielding power for your own pleasure.

You’re a bully.

This is important. Very important.

Trust

Some general thoughts on the subject of trust.

Trust is, quite literally, the glue that holds society together. Without trust, every human interaction and relationship is impossible. Every societal framework is built on trust.

Money is built on trust. The trust that one can exchange a token of ascribed value for a good and then turn around and exchange it for some other good of equal value to the holder. Lose trust in any part of such a transaction and money becomes effectively worthless.

This is what we saw in the 2008 global financial crisis. Explained very simply, one very large financial institution lost trust in the value of the holdings of one or more other very large financial institutions and basically said, “I don’t trust the value of what you are using to guarantee your money” The moment that trust was lost, the entire financial system collapsed.

The Great Depression was caused by people losing trust in the stock market, banks, and other financial vehicles.

All war begins when one country/society loses trust in another. The Russians invaded Ukraine because they no longer trusted it would not join a perceived enemy. The Israelis do not trust the Palestinians and vice versa. The early United States 13 colonies lost trust in the government of England.

The rise and fall of the Roman Empire? Et tu Brute?

All of this is to point out that a loss of trust in society — trust in government, trust in institutions, trust in each other — is the cause of a break down and, if left uncorrected, end to that society. Period. There is no “but”. You can not have a society without it. Society rises and falls on the strength of it.

Consider where we are as a nation — a people — today and make of this fact what you will.

Seventeen Sweaters: “Monk” Sweater from Zara

My favorite sweater.

I’m a bit under the weather so I’m using some older existing photos for this one. You’ll just have to trust me that I’m wearing this sweater as I type this…

I call this my “monk” sweater. The reasons should be kind of obvious. It looks like something a monk in the middle ages would have worn. My wife got this for me for Christmas many years ago from Zara. Double breasted with a slouchy hood. This is another fairly warm one that works well as a light jacket by itself in autumn temperatures.

Seventeen Sweaters: Black & Brown Extra Fine Merino Sweater

A few Christmas’s ago my wife, knowing how much I loved and wore this sweater made it her mission to find similar sweaters in other styles and colors. She found three.

This one is a black v-neck model. She also got one that is the most interesting navy blue I’ve ever seen (sort of an indigo but not quite, sort of a purple but not quite, impossible to capture in pictures) and an extra fine cashmere model that may show up in a future post.

My word for 2025: Better

My word for 2024 was FINISH. It served me well. I wrote it at the top of the beginning of my goals list for every month and it kept me focused on making sure whatever was on that list could meet that word (i.e. that I would finish the things I started). It drove my days. I chose it because at the end of the previous year it felt like I had a lot of hanging threads. Things left undone.

I’ve chosen my word for the year 2025 and it is Better.

Not that the word is better or the idea for the word is better than my last one but it does feel very much like the next step and it’s a step up or at least forward.

Looking back on this past year, I feel like I did finish quite a bit. While I am feeling more accomplished because of that, I think I can do even… Wait for it… Better this coming year. There’s always room for improvement.

I also like the way “better” works as a word in so many different contexts. I can do a better job. I can feel better. I can be a better person. I can be better about some things. I better do others. There’s a fair amount I wish I were better at.

I had a good 2024. I’m going to make 2025 Better.

Seventeen Sweaters: RL Rugby Line Shawl Collar Sweater

I took a day off yesterday from the series because it was Christmas. Back at it again today with this sweater from Ralph Lauren’s old Rugby line. Pretty sure I bought this around the same time as the green pullover shawl featured previously. This has similar detailing with the leather elbow patches and woven buttons. I tend to wear this one a lot. Works well with a button down, repp tie, too.

Seventeen Sweaters: Engineered Garments Shawl Collar Gray Bouclé Cardigan

Happy Christmas Eve!

I have a busy day of making lefse and the rest of dinner for a dozen people tonight so we’ll make this short.

Today we have an Engineered Garments Shawl Collar Cardigan in a Gray Bouclé knit. It’s fuzzy. A ton of texture on this one. Doesn’t matter if I get pet hair all over it because you’d never see it (we have two dogs and three cats so pet hair is a constant in my wardrobe). Though from a bit of an upscale brand that references workwear, this really has seen some days working on old houses as I often do. Picked it up on end-of-season sale quite a few years ago now. More of a casual piece.

Time to make the lefse… God Jul!

Seventeen Sweaters: Charcoal Gray John Lewis Extra Fine Merino

Patrick wearing a charcoal gray John Lewis sweater

This is actually a story of two sweaters.

The first sweater is not this one. It is a Banana Republic extra fine merino in charcoal gray (which is my favorite color, by the way) that looks just like this one and that I’ve had for years. It was the sweater I wore all the time and took with me everywhere. If I was traveling it was likely the only sweater I packed — it was the perfect weight and color for layering and matched anything. Thin and light so easy to roll up and throw into a backpack. Plenty of warmth and versatility and worked perfectly in both dress up and dress down situations.

That sweater was a real work horse and I put it through its paces. It’s been out to dinner in Barcelona and deplaning onto a cold windy tarmac in Iceland. It’s been hiking and to Broadway shows. I would not be surprised if this song was actually about that sweater. It pre-dates me being with my wife so it’s well over 20 years old and looks like every minute of that time. I still have it but it’s really kind of beat up and stretched out and no longer looks great because of that. It looks used because it was used.

This sweater is basically a carbon copy of that sweater. We were in London’s Heathrow airport doing some shopping before our flight home. We stopped into the John Lewis shop and there, on a table, ON SALE was the exact copy of my favorite most worn sweater. Except, this sweater was Italian made and had a more flattering slimmer British cut. I may have even been wearing the BR sweater at the time — pretty likely. It was an instant purchase for me. It replaced the BR one seamlessly in that role.

I keep the BR one around because nostalgia does not allow me to part with it. That said, its travel days are long over and it’s at the bottom of the sweater drawer. The John Lewis has now severed me well for about 8 years now and still looks as good as the day I bought it.