Feeling kicked around. The beauty of grey. A beautiful day in the Tamar Valley.

Felt a bit kicked around today.
Today i  was accused of  - not being genuine in my committment to an important local environmental campaign i have devoted myself to for 4 years, of 'being in need of help',  irrational,  having a massive ego,  being an embarrassment to organisations i associate with,  of doctoring letters to my blog,  being responsible for wrecking someones political career (wow i didnt realise how powerful i was!), causing "the logging industry to get a bit more control of local government in Tasmania"  and i was also  invited to 'stay away' from the Tasmanian Times website.  
And thats just for starters.
Why?
Because i had the audacity to stray from the group think and turn my pen on the self proclaimed champions of peace, love, free speech and democracy in Tasmania's environmental indy media.
The slings and arrows have only served to prove the point i make that there is no difference between the rabid left and rabid right.
I have read articles on the Tasmanian Times that rage about how caucus conformity and group think, a entrenched feature of life in the big political parties which has indeed failed the communities they are elected to serve.
Yet i see exactly the same thing on the Tasmanian Times website - the go to forum for Tasmania's most opinionated greenies and lefties.
To many of Tas Times patrons there are no shades of grey.
You are either pro forestry or anti forestry.
If you are anti forestry then you must be seen to conform with the dominant discourse on the site, you must always support and never be see opposing other anti- forestry folk. You dont agree with, meet or negotiate with pro forestry folk who. Them bad. Us good.
If you stray from those unwritten rules you are reigned in and treated with suspicion or even a heretic.
Sounds like a fundamentalist religous organisation doesnt it.
Not a healthy environment for the fostering and nurturing of independent, free thought.
Grey is indeed a beautiful colour.
It is healthy for protaganists to agree on one issue and then on another day disagree on another issue  - and be seen to do so.
The deep greens in the church of the Tasmanian Times demand (and rightly so) that our politicians think for themselves, express themsleves honestly and according to their own consciences rather than being bound by party policy and the fear of being ostracised that goes with departing from the party line.
Yet the irony that is lost on the deep greenies is that they appear just as bound up by group think and the peer pressure to conform with the dominant discourse.
Having shades of grey, areas of uncertainty in your political and philosophical views is essential for those who aspire to be free and independent thinkers.
......................................

On more pleasant matters. Isnt the weather just great at the moment?
Managed 45km ride out through flowery gully and exeter today. Hardly a breath of wind and just perfect for cycling. I'm still avoiding going over the flowery gully hills through to beacy. Not to self;  - ride up the hill.
I'm really looking forward to ramping up the fitness and getting back into some racing again over summer and into next year. As soon as the river and Lake Trevallyn warms up i will take the plunge.
Hoping to get down to the East Coast next week.
ciao