Yep, still here.

Well, it's been quite the few weeks, hasn't it? A lot going on in the world, a significant amount of it really quite awful.

I've been, as usual, doing a lot of thinking about events. And feeling really quite sad about humanity in general.

The fact is, just because I disagree with someone doesn't automatically make me right and them wrong. Obviously, I am going to think I'm right or I wouldnt hold that opinion. Note: I am saying opinion, meaning belief, idea, my own reasoning. Clearly, my opinion cannot influence the established facts of something. For example, if I said I didnt "believe" oxygen was necessary to sustain human life, I'd be very wrong. Monumentally so. I am talking more about the often subjective reasoning in which we all engage.

Some people hate other people. Some people love other people. Some people hate that people love other people. Some people love that people hate other people. Frankly, it's all a bit odd.

I am apparently a left wing extremist. I mean, it comes as news to me too. But this is because I think things like...

Education is important and should be offered and encouraged to all, irrespective of financial status.

Healthcare is vital - both preventative and reactive. And that's for acute or chronic conditions.

I believe it is my duty to pay my taxes, to ensure that public services are maintained for the good of all - and I believe that duty falls to us all.

I believe that people make mistakes. They perhaps fall in to bad habits or they encounter less than ideal situations and may need a hand getting out of them. And help should be there, to a reasonable degree.

I believe that if you break the law, then there are consequences. I ALSO believe that there can be times when the law needs closer scrutiny because it is flawed. And that is how things are changed.

I do NOT believe that violence should ever be the first resort. That said, I am not a pacifist either. If my family or I were directly threatened, and other avenues were exhausted or closed, then yes. I believe that going down fighting would be the correct response.

I do not however believe that it is right or proper to gun someone down because of their beliefs, even if their stated beliefs did not mesh with mine - to any degree.

Because for every person out there saying what sounds to me like terrible things, there are also people out there saying things with which I agree. And I don't want to see either one being killed for it.

Those who listen to the side of an argument with which I agree are obviously, to my eyes, going to look like the "good guys". Those who listen to the alternative will be the "bad guys". The thing is, we as individuals have the choice on who we are going to listen to. And some people are wired in a way that will tend towards what I would consider "right-thinking" and others to what I would consider "broken". The spokespeople for either side of any aisle you care to walk down are not going to prevent those who flock to them from having their own beliefs and ways of behaving. These people are a focal point, a screen displaying those beliefs. Not the initial cause.

Am I telling anyone they cannot have their opinions or beliefs? Nope. There are a few I wish didn't exist, but I am sure there are some who don't see what I believe as being reasonable either.

This isn't about appeasement. It's not about being an apologist. It's just trying to understand why we humans are so awful to each other and why some always seek to escalate it. I still have no answers.

No friend to this house...

Listen, I blummin love ancient history. Greek myth is, in my eyes, just the pinnacle of storytelling.

Natalie Haynes is a stand-up classicist. She brings the history, myths, poetry, and the plays of ancient Greece to life with wit, humour, and an obvious love for the subject and opportunity to share it with others.

The latest book, "No friend to this house" is Medea's story. Now, obviously, with my background and events in my past, you would think I'd find a story about a murderous parent a little on the nose...but weirdly, in Natalie's hands, the story isn't nearly as triggering as you might reasonable expect. Well worth a read.

But then, so is Stoneblind, Medusa's story. And Pandora's Jar, and Jocasta's Children, and and and. Basically, if she writes it, it's good. Like brilliantly so. And of course there's the podcast, Natalie Haynes Stands up for the Classics.

Go, find, read, listen, enjoy :)