Well written Tanveer. But first let’s get the bad stuff out of the way. It’s not much so bare with me.

I have had some experience with Psychiatrists & Councillors. Some good, some bad, it depends on who you get. Some very old ones are stuck in the 1800’s still. Some young ones have a more modern approach & its all “the man’s” fault. Well, that’s what it said in the text books at Uni. Mostly what you get is, “Ah hum, & hooow do YOU feeel about that.” Scribble, scribble. That’s when most men want to get up & just walk off. Most of the text books used at Uni are Froid & Cant, etc. 100’s of years old & from a completely different era in history. They have very little relationship to people in today’s society. Men want their problem fixed. The current thinking is to just listen. Men need direction. There is an interesting Video out called, “The Nail.” That explains the problem perfectly.

http://vimeo.com/66753575 Watch the video before proceeding.

I belong to my local Men’s Shed. It’s a great place to go & be with like minded people & share what skills we process. We discuss problems occasionally. Things that might be troubling us & eventually find a valid solution. (Note, “Find a valid solution.”) No Political Correctness involved. We haven’t seen much in the way of younger members but we do Mentor some of the wayward kids from the local schools. Some of these kids just need a good kick up the proverbial; some are willing to take note of Senior “No BS advice.” Some unfortunately are just beyond hope.

Ours is only a small shed with limited capacity. We have been promised a New Shed for the last 4 years. As yet nothing. There is a need for more support for Men’s Sheds to help men through their mental problems.

cont,

Cont
I first heard of the Men’s Shed about 10 years ago. I got an email from the WA Vietnam Veterans Association telling of a few Veterans that were sick of sitting around in the Annex like old women crying in their coffee & councillors & the “Ah Humm” attitude. They wanted to actually do something positive. Hence the Men’s Shed. I thought then, “What a great idea.” I didn’t hear anything about it until I moved to my present location in SE Qld. Naturally I joined immediately. I’m handy with mostly Metal & Electrical & I have a well kitted out Shed for, “Anything my wife tells me she wants done” as I’m fairly inventive. Plenty of Woodwork of course.

Juliar announced $15m to help the redundant Ford workers find work. The Qld Rail did this about 15 years ago. What a sham that was. These trainers certainly know they’re on a good wicket. It was $200 per person per day at 20 in a class. You do the maths. Was the training any good? Duh_No! What did it consist off? How to get a job. How to go to an interview. How to dress. How to do up a resume. Etc. No skills retraining. Anyone can set themselves up as a trainer. It’s Government so your bid has to be ridiculously high otherwise you won’t get a look in.

Taneer states that most men will find themselves in a very different world. Will this $15 m train these men in new skills allowing them to cope with this very new world? I doubt it. It will be the same as we got in the Railway.

cont

Cont
There is nothing wrong with change. I, in fact, embrace change. Out of change comes rebirth. The canfields in the 60/70’s went from harvesting by hand to Mechanical Harvesting. Cane Cutters were out of work. The upside was that kids leaving school got apprentices in the Engineering Trades, repairing the Harvesters. They weren’t labourers any more, they were Tradesmen. The kids stayed in town instead of going off to the Cities. Most men adapted but there were a lot of suicides. No counselling in those days & no retraining.

Taneer states that it’s bittersweet for his job. Who can afford the luxury of seeing a psychiatrist when you’ve got Bills to pay & no job? Especially at $180/h a secession.

Alvin Toffler in “Future Shock” forecast all this change 30 years ago. I never did get around to reading the sequel. Toffler outlined in his book the need to be able to adapt to constant change.

I take it that in some Men’s Sheds where younger men are turning up they are looking for positive outcomes. Maybe men, that dropped out of school, & now realize that they need to settle down, get an education & some skills. They come to the Men’s Shed. A place where they’ll get no Political Correctness, & hopefully a no nonsense solution to their problem from men who won’t buggerize around with fancy niceties