Hippies, Wi-Fi and Martin Luther King Jr.
New Year's Eve is a time for remembering that, while we live in an age of flux and uncertainty, some things never change. Such as the "electrosensitivity" brigade and their charges against Wi-Fi. Certain residents of Glastonbury have hit the news in recent days, claiming that the town's public Wi-Fi network is mucking with their chakras.
A visit to the Glastonbury Why Wi-Fi Campaign website is most illuminating. Kicking off with an MLK quote ("Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter"), the site trots out the usual references to cities that have closed down their public Wi-Fi, claiming that this occurred because Wi-Fi is dangerous. As opposed to reasons more closely aligned with cost (the usual factor, most notably in the demise of Earthlink's Philadelphia experiment) or, say, pressure from groups like the Why Wi-Fi campaign.
Thankfully, the mood is lightened with some poetry (just opposite the "The important thing is not to stop questioning" Einstein quote), in the form of Jackie Edwards' "Lap (Top) Duncers" (abridged). My favourite three verses are these:
The Wi-Fi makes my husband sick He can't sleep in his bed. So, a bed-sit out of Glaston is Now where he rests his head!
Do we really need it In our lovely Somerset Town? It's certainly making some folk sick And causing me to frown.
Access to the internet, At Hotels where they stay Is all the Wi-Fi tourists need To help them on their way.
Quite.