Dig a deep hole beside the river, and sh*t in it and she'll be right mate!
Seems to be the Whitebaiter's Way here in Southland, according to the responses I've heard so far to the regional council's call to stop the practice. Whitebaiters, it seems, don't see the need to change their old habits. A long-drop has served them well for decades, so why all the fuss now? Just get on with your real work, they say to the council, of keeping cows out of the river, and well get on with our fishing. And other practices.
It's long been a matter of local debate; where do the whitebaiters who camp beside our local rivers for weeks on end, go. Some must have chemical toilets, perhaps, but what of the others? Seems a long drop is the preferred option but it's not one that complies with the rules designed to keep faecal matter out of the waterways. The baiters must have kept mum over the state of their waste disposal for a long time now, knowing that the details of how and where they go wouldn't find favour with those who live downstream but word's out now and with the season approaching, there'll be more in our papers on how the fraternity plan to clean up their act.
What interests me most is the belief that long drop users in all situations seems to have, that it's somehow a natural process akin to making compost. There are serious holes in their argument, not the least being the cold temperatures experienced at the bottom of a deep hole in the clay, the scarcity of earthworms at that depth and the nearness that bottom has to the water table.
Still, it seems the days of the stinking long drop are numbered, though the baiters look as though they won't go down without a fight!
6 comments:
Robert, I'm really enjoying your photography and accompanying commentary. Some of your images are strikingly beautiful.
Just so you know, there's pleasure being gained from your posts. And from your honest angle on things political. I used to comment at Laughing Stock but that place is devoid of anything approaching worthwhile. INV2 is disingenuous and dogmatic. He flies in the face of reason and evidence so has nothing positive or relevant to contribute. I think the net is closing in as to his identity which will be hilarious when my people in Wanganui approach him with cameras! I've made a sound decision to end contributions to that conservative right wing blog. But I'll keep an eye on it. It's places like that which throw up nutters who act on their deep seated fear and hatred every now and then, in the name of right wing christian conservatism usually.
Jeremy
Your post is well timed and reflects my own thinking (and timetable) uncannily well.
I too have pulled the pin on INV2 for the same reasons you cite. The phrase 'intellectual dishonesty' kept presenting but after reading The Authoritarians I gained some measure of 'sympathy and understanding' for his plight - and am granting him the 'he knows not what he does' pardon.
I'm presuming that you were, in various hilarious guises, Santa's little helpers and fought a similar 'battle' to my own at KS. I laboured under the illusion that sunlight was the best disinfectant' etc and that provocation would expose the hypocrisy to even the hypocrite but to no avail - I think I hardened his resolve. If you are/were those manifestations, I congratulate you - you're talented and I laughed aloud many times.
Where to from here? Seeking to change those who are concreted into their position has lost all of its allure for me. I ought to have learned from Kiwiblog, but it was too much fun (initially) and too sick (eventually).
All suggestions gratefully received :-)
ps good luck with your investigations - I await your findings with interest.
Steady on Jeremy. Rg will get - ah! I just see, has, taken you to his 'bosom'.
In Wanganui today so will keep my eyes open!
Rg, having BEEN a user of the said 'longdrop' many years ago I implore you on two counts to proceed.
First: with caution, for, not being privy to a white-baiting posy I rely on the said white-baiters to satisfy a barely containable urge to devour the product of their (whitebaiting) labours.
Second: with haste, for being a caravanner who is - the van that is - self contained, why cant a whitebaiter BE!!
Fred - criticising whaitebaiter's habits is a risky business I know. I got my first public roasting for having said 'white-baiting should be banned' in an interview with an over-zealous journalist. In fact, it wasn't what I said, but whatever, it was game on!
I imagine you enjoy your whitebait and expect them to be faecal-free, as you should. The pit toilet falls well short of ideal on so many counts and I'm willing to stand up and say so. I agree that there are easy solutions, your caravan loo does it well but of course I'm a fan for compost toilets - the elegant solution to going away from home.
Enjoy Whanganui - take care though, they have some very strange laws in that city and the occasional odd pastor to boot.
How close are the long drops to the river?
I'm not sure that chemical toilets are a good solution (if you'll pardon the pun). That shit has to go somewhere (and I don't mean the faeces).
Composting toilets are the go!
Loved your 'solution' allusion wildcrafty - I hear it everywhere and usually no one else seems to pick up on it. Have to be careful though:
Solute, solvent and solution aren't the same thing!
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