Just when you thought Safety couldn’t get more delusional and more out of touch with reality, we get this:
Of course, this from the safety world that has no idea of semiotics, that supposes a punching fist on a brick wall is about care or a stiletto is the symbol for women and safety. Don’t you know, believe the impossible the safety way (https://safetyrisk.net/believe-the-impossible-and-speak-nonsense-to-people/).
I’ll let you in on a little secret, you can’t make a symbol mean what you want, when it has a history of the opposite. Just imagine if someone told you a swastika was a symbol of love or that KKK represents compassion for black people.
A study of semiotics (https://www.humandymensions.com/product/spor-and-semiotics/) demonstrates that many of the symbols used in safety are dangerous (https://safetyrisk.net/why-reason-is-un-reasonable/). Many of the symbols used in safety are counterproductive and laughable (https://safetyrisk.net/hopkins-dekker-on-reason-and-other-laughs/). And, the joke is on Safety.
We see in this silly post the effort to anchor care, relationships and inspiration to a hat that represents: corruption, criminality, cultic propaganda, violence and paedophilia (https://theconversation.com/trumps-changing-stance-on-epstein-files-is-testing-the-loyalty-of-his-maga-base-261406). You can’t make symbols mean what you want (https://safetyrisk.net/semiotic-matters-and-semiotic-influence-in-safety/ ).
In Australia and Canada in the last elections, anchoring to the cult of MAGA brought two unexpected election wins. The cult of MAGA is discussed in detail in the latest book 51 Stories in Culture, To Live and To Be (Pp 218ff) (https://www.humandymensions.com/product/spor-and-semiotics/ )
This is the industry that states what is by what it isn’t and, the more Safety anchors to nonsense, the more it becomes laughable.
A call for greatness is an admission that it hasn’t been great and then wearing some dumb hat as if something will change is the symbol of lunacy. The only way to improve safety is to change the methodology and methods of safety. Wishing is NOT method, red hats are NOT method, slogans are NOT method.
What this post on Linkedin represents and symbolises is an inability to think, an inability to understand semiotics and an inability to connect with reality.
If you are looking for a methodology and method that actually helps humanise safety and anchors to caring, helping, relationships and moral meaning, you can come to the SPoR Convention in Canberra next month and learn a bit about critical thinking (https://spor.com.au/spor-convention-2025/).
Prof. Robert Long
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Matt Thorne says
Amazing. Even in his own country where there is a binary political lines deeply embedded into society, surely he must realise that his message is going to alienate at least a third of the people. ( If we measure that by election results only)
Did AI write this?
Rob Long says
Matt, I think you are giving too much credit to AI. The absurdity of this is breathtaking. I know, next step – pedophile safety!