Dai Smith
Well, now there's a surprise. Alun Pugh chooses Dai Smith, the attack-dog of Welsh Labour's Kulturfampf as the new head of the Arts Council of Wales. Welcome to the new Labour Brit Nat Crachach!
The man who's made his name and identity as an ethnic Welshman who can't/won't speak Welsh is now in charge of culture in Wales - that's culture in both languages.
How can a man who speaks only one language be responsible for culture when such a substantial part (and budget) of the Arts Council's money goes towards Welsh-medium events? What would Smith say if a non-English speaking person was appointed to the job? But then, English is a proper language and Welsh is a conquered language which has no interesting out-put or contribution.
How can Smith appreciate a play in Welsh? How will he cope if some scandal arises, say a libel case or plagiarism? We look forward to seeing him snivelling on the National Eisteddfod field amongst all those middle-class Welsh-speakers that he gives the impression of not enjoying their company. Will he be able to laugh or enjoy a sketch in Welsh at the Urdd Eisteddfod? At this year's Hay on Wye Book Festival he'll only be able to give any kind of view on books in one of the languages, which sort of says it all.
The man behind another Labour initiative, Library of Wales (which, again publishes no books in Welsh, shouldn't that be English Library of Wales then?) now holds more power. Library of Wales has Smith's stamp all over it - even the socialist realism promotion posters!
I'm not calling for an ethnic Welsh-speaker to get the job, just someone who speaks Welsh. He or she could be English, Irish or any other nationality. Smith as a British nationalist obviously believes the Welsh language is below him. That as part of his identity he is an ethnic Welshman who won't learn Welsh - two languages for Welsh-speakers, one for Dai Smith. Welcome to the Labour crachach. Welcome to English-language nationalism.
Smith isn't the head of the Arts Council of Wales he's the head of English languages Arts Council. In Smiths colonial eyes, there is only one interesting culture in Wales, and that's English language culture. If he thought otherwise he's had made the effort to learn Welsh as his boss, Alun Pugh has so commendably and ably done so. As it is, and as Smith is an intelligent person, we must assume that Smith couldn't be arsed 'cos he has such a low opinion of Welsh. And now he's in charge of culture. Get ready for more socialist realism.
Performers, writers and artists who work through the medium of Welsh should campaign against this appointment. It's an insult to their language, culture and profession.
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2 comments:
Nicholas
An excellent analysis of(now needs an "into") the debauchery and promiscuousness(read what you will into that word) of the Welsh Office and some officials within the Arts Council of Wales.
The transparent and outrageous slight of hand in which they are attempting to communicate to the public is quite obviously intentional ..The redactors rewriters)
are poised for action
This is where all Welsh people(not all apparently) that are concerned and possibly apprehensive of what the future may bring ,set about investigating the rationale that brings policies like this to the table..
That the policies are there ready for discussion and possibly implementation is important but not necessarily the 'most important',else the repetition of this kind of cerebral thinking normalise itself and will just perpetuate itself into political mythology
Having read very recently(only because of fatherland interest) articles regarding ..The Arts Council of Wales.....Smith as the research chairman for Cultural History of Wales at Swansea Univ. and apparently the series Editor in the Library of Wales(O'h my God)..
I can FEEL(and smell) the agendas (orders of business) pushing their ugly heads to the surface...
This is where the investigator must allocate his/her human resources purposely and strive for satisfaction..It is not easy and demands discipline.
To break the "surface" of this little "black op"..I estimate ,15-40 hours of Googling.... Telephone..... and National and Local documentation research(Political and Corporate..distinctly Corporate) ....
Knowing and/or having an inside source is invaluable,particularly if there is a "whistleblower" available....
It is extremely difficult for an individual who has to place food on the family table to perform that which is required,so that the conspiracies of the 'bag guys' are exposed.....
However,four dedicated 25 year-olds(say)with an IQ between 85 and 130 co-ordinated amongst themselves working from four different angles toward the target centre would BREAK the back of a 'story' ..such as this one.
You will find throughout the Net,stories and articles and opinions by the millions that lead absolutely nowhere,just seizing that point in time....yet the truth is screaming for its capture.
I don't know if you have ever heard of the famous/infamous(depends on the listener)... Welsh Historian, Alan Wilson and his English associate ,the Genealogist...Baram Blackett....
Well they have been rejected,aggravated,smeared and threatened by the very same people that are/have currently pushing the Dai Smith nomination and election.......
The "Benefit all Wales" ecphonesis (an emphatic and evil rhetorical device) is the elitist Welsh/Anglo-Saxon version of American Capitalism..That is the "wealth filtering down to the people " psychological approach..which has corrupted and bankrupt a very worthy and once proud nation..US of A.....Far greater than plain greed ....AVARICE.
Left alone.. unchallenged...it will materialise and morph into the status quo "philosophical approach" ..a given...
When one normalises ANYTHING beit perversion..pornography.. genocide.. assassination.. murder..or say, even an evil religion....people are then being conditioned and all the attributes that normal parenting has endowed to its kin is corrupted, subverted and defiled....
Case in point is the traumatic adjustment to 'normal' life that the Brits..Canadian and American kids are experiencing on returning from Afghanistan and Iraq...The conditioning starts with an apparent harmless 'thing' like Nintendo..Has anybody ever wondered why such emphasis and billions of pounds/dollars have been invested in such "GAMES" ....Sony..Apple and MIcro$oft particularly.
As an Engineer,I can see quite vividly the "WASTE" of technological knowledge and time that has been thrown so rapidly at these commercial projects..
Can one envisage the breakthroughs in ALL OTHER DISCIPLINED technologies if greed was not the common denominator.. be they in the fields of medical research..knowledge based skills and fun games.. nano-electronics...space exploration...environmental understanding...and further research into the offshoots of research itself..
Again Nicholas ,I commend you on an excellent article illustrating on how the tail is still wagging the dog and hopefully there are many more 'Khymmrics" :-) out there that will help you break the back of this obnoxious piece of filth
I will post it on my blog for all to see...with some pics of course:-))
Thanks again
Troedyrhiw
http://www.troedyrhiw-greenmeadow.blogspot.com
Just a little suggestion: should blind anti-Tory prejudice not have swayed Plaid(Cymru)when the coalition was being discussed, perhaps this job would have gone to a Welsh-speaker - or at least to someone who is not anti-Welsh. The Tories have consistently been more pro-Welsh (and pro-indepence, for that matter) than Labour (and, dare I say it, than Plaid ...). This is a deeply worrying appointment. Welsh, and our Welsh-language culture, needs support at the moment, largely because the influx of non-Welsh-aware incomers has not been restricted. (I could be regarded as an incomer, though Welsh, but I have now learned Welsh - so, yes, it is possible!) We need to protest. Because this will happen again and again with Labour in government, and while Plaid is so weak.
Jen, Ceredigion
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