The Limits Of Solidarity
There is a popular internet feature, I am Adam Lanza’s Mother. It is about the nightmare of having a son with mental issues. No doubt the writerlady had good intentions.
“I am sharing this story because I am Adam Lanza’s mother. I am Dylan Klebold’s and Eric Harris’s mother. I am James Holmes’s mother. I am Jared Loughner’s mother. I am Seung-Hui Cho’s mother.” Actually, with all due respect to your unpleasant situation, you are not the mother of those other six men. You are the mother of “Micheal”.
We will probably never know what set off Adam Lanza. We do know that Ma Lanza owned guns… in fact, it was her guns that were used in the rampage. She was not the type of person to be denied legal ownership of deadly force. It turns out that this weapon worked well when turned on her.
The odds are that all five of the men listed above took a different path to their day of destiny. It is tough to tell what could have been done. It would have been tough to tell the difference between them and other young people with problems. It is always going to be tough to guess, in advance, who is a killer, and who is a harmless jerk.
It is not known where the concept of saying “I am ___” got started. Presumably, the intention is to show solidarity. You might want to say that the person in the blank is a human being just like you. It is a good idea, sort of, but it gets worn out when you claim to be six different mothers.
A while back, the phrase of the day was “I am Troy Davis.” The Davis case lasted for 22 years. This is not the time to revisit that case. The point is, the people who wore T shirts saying “I am Troy Davis” are still alive today. Solidarity only goes so far.
Pictures are from The Library of Congress.
Chapter 39
Chapter 39 is a turning point of Still Life With Woodpecker. Many stories have a moment like this, where the lead actor, and the lead actress, become *buddies*. In this case, Princess Leigh-Cheri was going to turn Bernard into the police. He had set off dynamite at a do gooders conference, and caused mayhem. However, the two took legal drugs , went to a boat, and did what men and women usually do at this point of the story.
When she is leaving the boat, Princess Leigh-Cheri looks for her panties. It seems as though a mongoose found them, and ate them. This happens in Tom Robbins books. In Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, a foundation garment becomes a nylon flavored cookie, from the oven of a goat.
One of the spotlight speakers at the do gooders conference, and the hero of Princess Leigh-Cheri, is Ralph Nader. He was speaking at the conference while PL-C was falling in love on the boat. Yes, a few drinks, and a night in bed, and the young lady was in love. Meanwhile, Ralph Nader steps in the mongoose-produced panty pudding. He did not see it coming.
This is in tune with the Ralph Nader story of 2000, 20 years after the publication of Still Life With Woodpecker. By then, RN (wikipedia shows no middle name) was reduced to running for President. Few took him seriously, but lots of people didn’t take Albert Arnold Gore, or George Walker Bush, seriously. In Florida, the race between the mainstream candidates was wallpaper close. It went into legal limbo. The voters who voted for RN made the difference, and helped put an idiot in the White House.
Conversations I Am Tired Of Having
There was a post a while back, 10 Conversations On Racism I’m Sick Of Having With White People. The original started at The Chronicle, but LiveJournal is kind of weird, so a mirror image will have to do. There are comments, at the sourced post, that illustrate some of the points covered today.
I got to thinking about “10 Conversations”, and a reply began to take shape. I started a list of conversations the I am tired of having, and before you could say affirmative action, there were a dozen items. Many of these incidents have involved people of color, or POC. Many others have not. Often, the ethnicity of the other person has little importance to the discussion. Therefore, the title of this feature will not be racially specific. This monolog will probably not go viral, or even bacterial, but will enable me to express a few thoughts. Washing your hands might be a good idea when you are finished reading.
Meetings where one person does all the talking The word conversation implies that more than one person says something. Often, this does not happen. One person will talk for a while. Before person two finishes a sentence, person one will interrupt them.
This does not work. When the other person is talking, shut up and listen. Don’t be thinking of your clever comeback, but pay attention to what the other person is saying. What the other person says is just as important as what you say.
Listening is not valued in our culture. It is seen as a loss of control, a sign of weakness. It is really a sign of strength. If you are weak, you don’t want to allow the other person to say anything. Have you ever heard anyone boast about the clever things that they say to someone? Of course you have, just like you never hear anyone talk highly about himself because he is a good listener.
My question is not an excuse to make a speech. Some people have an agenda. Whatever you say is an obstacle to the message they want to broadcast. When you ask a question, some people think you are handing them the talking stick, to do whatever they want. When your eyes glaze over, they plow on, in total disregard to your discomfort, and lack of comprehension. It is almost as if they are talking to hear the sound of their own voice.
I’m not talking to you. If you are screaming something, anyone with earshot can hear you. Do not get offended if there is a reaction to your words, especially if it is subtly directed at the person you are not talking to. This applies to the internet as well, where all of humanity is *privy* to your innermost thoughts. Keep the farmyard meaning of *privy* in mind when sharing your innermost product.
Conversations should be with people. If you are a business, and you want to tell me something, send me a written message. Please refrain from using robocall machines. I feel very foolish talking to a machine, especially one that doesn’t understand southern english.
You don’t have to shout. The amount of truth in a statement is not increased by the volume of expression. If you are standing next to me, the odds are I can hear you in a normal tone of voice. If you are across the room, come stand next to me, rather than shout across the room. If your normal tone of voice is shouting, then you have a problem.
The same principal goes to controlling your temper. When you choose not to control your temper, you show disprespect to yourself, and the person you are talking to. There is no situation that cannot be made worse by angry speech.
Privilege Racial polemic is getting more subtle these days. We are not quite post racial, although there are rumors of a PostRacial apartment complex in Dickhater. The phrase that pays these days is Privilege. This is always something owned by the group you do not belong to. Last summer, I heard this quote in a discussion, and nearly fell out of my chair.
From the N word to POC. Labels for groups of people can cause problems. I have expressed myself on the N word before, and don’t have much to add. As for POC, that is even sillier. Colored people is an insult, but people of color is preferred. I am sure some of you have a terrific speech to ‘splain this, but I am not interested. My neck may be red, but that is a color. PWOC is an insult to my humanity, whether you are talking to me or not.
This is getting longer than the attention span of many readers. It might be continued at a later date. If you can’t say anything nice, say something about race. Pictures are from The Library of Congress.
Banished Words
JOB CREATION GURU downloaded BONELESS WINGS onto his BUCKET LIST.
His dog, YOLO, has a TRENDING PASSION for the SUPERFOOD.
JOB CREATION GURU will DOUBLE DOWN,
and KICK THE CAN DOWN THE ROAD,
over the FISCAL CLIFF.
SPOILER ALERT: Banished words courtesy of Lake Superior State University.
Pictures are from The Library of Congress. This is written like David Foster Wallace.
Spell check suggestions: YOLO: SOLO POLO YOLK ~ SUPERFOOD: SUPERFLUOUS.
Doing It
the lady caller on the radio show said
“even married couples are doing it “
she meant having babies
while expecting society to help pay the bills
pictures are from The Library of Congress.
Thou Art That
It started out as joke comments. Thank G-d for secular humanism. ~ You’re welcome. PG got to thinking, and wondered what the punch line was. Is there a difference between G-d and man?
In “Zen and the art of motorcycle repair” the author contends that the division of G-d and man, subject and object, is the dirty work of Aristotle. PG is not philosophically grounded enough to know, but suspects that unity is better than division. Is the earth a unified whole, “thou art that”?
Now, the truth just might be that G-d is separate from man. While unity may sound appealing, it might not be the way things operate. Just because a belief makes you happy does not mean that it is true. Let no man bring together what G-d has rent asunder.
If there is a division between G-d and man, then where does the boundary lie?
Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”.
This is a repost. Is it art?
April Glaspie Meets Saddam Hussein
Juan Cole at Informed Comment posts today about a document release from Wikileaks. The document is a cable sent by April Glaspie, the ambassador to Iraq, about a meeting with Saddam Hussein on July 25, 1990. This was shortly before his invasion of Kuwait.
In 1990, Iraq was recovering from a horrendous war with Iran. That war started Sept. 22, 1980, when Iraq invaded Iran, possibly with encouragement from the United States. (At the time of this invasion, Iran was holding Americans hostage in the American embassy. The United States was not pleased with Iran.) Iraq failed to get a quick victory, and the war became a bloody quagmire, with hundreds of thousands of casualties.
In 1990, Iraq was rebuilding, and Kuwait was flourishing. Oil was being over produced, driving down the price. Kuwait was accused of “slant drilling”, i.e. drilling under the border, and stealing oil from Iraq. At one point, a meeting was held between officials of Iraq and Kuwait . “Saddam…sent his foreign minister to Kuwait to meet with the Emir Al Sabah, the former leader of Kuwait, to try to resolve some of the… issues” between Kuwait and Iraq, Piro will recall. “And the Emir told the foreign minister of Iraq that he would not stop doing what he was doing until he turned every Iraqi woman into a $10 prostitute. And that really sealed it for him, to invade Kuwait.”
On July 25, 1990, Saddam Hussein summoned to American Ambassador, April Glaspie , to a meeting. The cable is Ms. Glaspie’s account of the meeting. PG cannot see a green light for invasion in this account of the meeting. Many say Ms. Glaspie could have made much more explicit the dire consequences of invading Kuwait.
The transcript of the meeting has been declassified for some time. It is available on the website of the Margaret Thatcher Foundation. It is worth noting that this transcript is not sworn testimony, and could contains lies and mistakes. It is also the POV of Ms. Glaspie, and Mr. Hussein may have gotten a different idea of what was said. Perhaps, to Mr. Hussein, it was a green light for an invasion.
The invasion of Kuwait, eight days after the meeting, on August 2, 1990, set in motion events that affect us to this day. A coalition was formed to drive Iraq out of Kuwait. There was talk of going to Baghdad and deposing Mr. Hussein at the time. The military action stopped after driving Iraq out of Kuwait, reportedly at the request of Saudi Arabia. Twelve years later, the United States attacked Iraq, and drove out the Hussein government. We are still there.
Historycommons.org has a timeline with a wealth of information about the progression of Saddam Hussein, from ally to next Hitler. The comments section for the post by Juan Cole at Informed Comment is the source of several links in this story, and has a lively commentary about this matter. This is a repost. The wikileaks links have been deactivated.
Serif
This feature is about the serif. That is the thingie at the ends of a letter. The serif keeps the T from falling over. The serif recirculates the essence of the s. The serif increases the vowelness of a,i, and u. O and e and in the word vowel, and need no further glory. Little i is so puny it gets a tittle on top.
Some say the serif is old fashioned, and will be sent packing in the future. Maybe this is the case. One typophile tells of Roman stonecarvers being guided by painted on letters. The end of the stroke was bigger than the beginning, so the carver made the bottom of the letters bigger.
A graphic designer, with the nickname Helvetica, told PG something about serifs. Studies show that serifs guide the eye through text, and make it easier to read. One gentleman reviewed studies, both pro and con, and decided that sans serif is just as readable as serif.
The Fatal Wallpaper
You will be able to read, and enjoy pictures, after you finish this. Unless you are very sensitive, in which case you have should not read blogs. There are possible exceptions. You might be at work, and have your boss kill you because you are not working. You might read something that amuses, and choke on a ham sandwich. You might read this on a mobile device while crossing the street, and not see the bus. The odds of those things happening are slight. In all probability, you will survive this post.
Rhyme Zone has a survive page. If your eyes still work, then you win. RZ lists 21 words that rhyme with survive. The original list had 53, but 32 of those were combinations using one of the surviving 21. These words that jive with survive are alive, arrive, chive, clive, clyve, connive, contrive, dive, drive, five, hive, i’ve, jive, live, revive, shive, shrive, skive, strive, thrive, and vive.
Jive may the most dangerous of the survivor rhymers. PG fondly remembers a Sunday School lesson. “Boys, I’m going to tell you about that jivvy music. First, you start listening to that jivvy music. Then, you go to places where they play that jivvy music. Then, you start staggering home drunk.”
RZ has a quote, from Oscar Wilde, about survival. “”One can survive everything, nowadays, except death, and live down everything except a good reputation.” Mr. Wilde proved the truth of this, in a Paris hotel. He is reputed to have said “Either that wallpaper goes, or I do”. The wallpaper won.
Willie the Shake is another well spoken Englishmen. He did not live to see Mel Gibson play Hamlet. In Sonnet LXXXI, it is noted “Or you survive when I in earth am rotten”. This was many years before the Sex Pistols, and Johnny Rotten, had a brief moment of glory. Sid Vicious did not survive, but his reading skills were limited.
Pictures are from ” The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”
Happy New Year
This is a repost. Part two is a recycled email. Thank you Ed. The pictures are Union soldiers, from the War Between the States. They are courtesy of The Library of Congress
One thing that is accepted without question is the year starting at midnight on December 31. That is, in some cultures. Jews have a new year in September, China celebrates some time in January, and the fiscal year is whenever the bean counters say. If you ask google “why does the year start january first”, you get 436m options.
The earth runs on a cycle, based on it’s annual trip around the sun. The winter solstice is the longest night of the year, and in many ways the logical end of the year. The celebration of Christmas, a few days after the solstice, is not a coincidence. The question today is, why do we start a new year a week after Christmas, or ten days after the solstice?
The top ranked answer at google is from catalogs.com. They talk about Julius Caesar and Pope Gregory XIII(13), but never quite say why January first is the big day. It does end on a helpful note: “Calendars are a way that grownups organize time, but clearly not all grownups do it the same way. Happy New Year, therefore, whenever it happens for you.”
Lifeslittlemysteries continues with the talk about Caesar and the Pope. It is noted that January 1 was the day that Roman officials started their term of office. In England and her colonies, the new year was celebrated in March until 1752.
The rest of the google results do not look promising. PG does not know the answer to this.
How long have people celebrated the turn of the year? Celebrating the New Year is a tradition that dates back nearly 4000 years. If you had lived in Mesopotamia and Babylon 4,000 years ago (c. 2000 B.C.), you probably would have celebrated the new year in mid-March, at the time of the Vernal (Spring) Equinox. If, however, you were an Egyptian, your new year began with the Autumnal Equinox and the flooding of the Nile. If you were Greek, the Winter Solstice began your new year.
Who set January 1st as the beginning of the year? Julius Caesar was the first to set January 1st as the New Year. Caesar did so when he established the Julian calendar. The Julian calendar, named for Julius Caesar, decreed that the new year would occur on January 1st. Caesar wanted the year to begin in January since it celebrated the beginning of the civil year and the festival of the god of gates and, eventually, the god of all beginnings, Janus, after whom January was named. (It was said, many years later, that the only thing the Julian calender is good for is writing checks.)
Where would you celebrate Hogmanay on December 31st? Scotland is the home of Hogmanay (hog-mah-NAY), the rousing Scottish New Year’s celebration (the origins of the name are obscure). One of the traditions is “first-footing.” Shortly after midnight on New Year’s eve, neighbors pay visits to each other and impart New Year’s wishes. Traditionally, First foots used to bring along a gift of coal for the fire, or shortbread. It is considered especially lucky if a tall, dark, and handsome man is the first to enter your house after the new year is rung in. The Edinburgh Hogmanay celebration is the largest in the country, and consists of an all-night street party.
How is the New Year rung in by the Japanese? The new year is the most important holiday in Japan, and is a symbol of renewal. In December, various Bonenkai or “forget-the-year parties” are held to bid farewell to the problems and concerns of the past year and prepare for a new beginning. Misunderstandings and grudges are forgiven and houses are scrubbed. At midnight on Dec. 31, Buddhist temples strike their gongs 108 times, in a effort to expel 108 types of human weakness. New Year’s day itself is a day of joy and no work is to be done. Children receive otoshidamas, small gifts with money inside. Sending New Year’s cards is a popular tradition—if postmarked by a certain date, the Japanese post office guarantees delivery of all New Year’s cards on Jan. 1.
Who were the first with New Year’s resolutions? It is believed that the Babylonians were the first to make New Year’s resolutions, and people all over the world have been breaking them ever since. The early Christians believed the first day of the new year should be spent reflecting on past mistakes and resolving to improve oneself in the new year.
You can appreciate the Buddhist tradition when you see the timber slung on ropes used to strike their huge temple bell/gong. Some have a huge bronze bell as we are used to seeing, and others have a large round heavy symbol/gong. Smaller temples have, as you might imagine, smaller gongs and will have one or two strikers for the gong. They swing hammer like (as in sledge hammer) items to strike the gong. I’m sure this is what started the heavy drinking associated with their New Year. If you have ever lived close enough to hear these things with their long reverberations you’ll understand after the first few you ‘re ready for a belt. May you all have a health filled and prosperous New Year, Ed
From The Heart Of Atlanta To Tyler Perry
There is an old saying, what goes around comes around. When you sow the wind, you reap the whirlwind. The thing is, it is not always obvious what is payback for what. Moreton Rolleston Jr. filed a lawsuit to have the Civil Rights Act declared unconstitutional.Forty years later, a Black man, built a mansion on the site of Mr. Rolleston’s home. The fact that this Black man earned his money by playing Black women, in movies, is icing on the cake.
When the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964, Moreton Rolleston, Jr., owned the Heart of Atlanta Motel. He filed a lawsuit, trying to have the law overturned by the courts. The case went to the Supreme Court, which upheld the law.
The legal justification of the Civil Rights Act was a law giving the U.S. Government the right to regulate interstate commerce. Mr. Rolleston argued that this use of the commerce clause went too far. “‘The argument that this law was passed to relieve a burden on interstate commerce is so much hogwash. It was intended to regulate the acts of individuals.’ If the commerce clause can be stretched that far, declared Rolleston, ‘Congress can regulate every facet of life.'” (PG supports all citizens having the right to housing, education, etc. He also wonders if we are on a slippery slope. The government keeps taking more and more freedom away.)
In 1969, Tyler Perry was born. From humble beginnings, he has been incredibly successful. His signature character is a woman named Madea.
In 1985, Mr. Rolleston was involved in a real estate deal that went sour. He was sued. In 2003, Mr. Rolleston was evicted from his Buckhead home. (Go here for details). In 2005, the propery was sold to Tyler Perry. When the source story was written in 2007, Mr. Rolleston had sued Mr. Perry several times, claiming that it was still his property.
Apparently, Mr. Rolleston , who was disbarred in 2007, is still alive.
HT Millard Fillmore’s Bathtub.. Pictures from The Library of Congress. This is a repost.
Jesus Leave Me Alone
Jesus, leave me alone.
You poison faith with the plan for life after death.
Stop your bleeding. Get along with your neighbor.
Tell people to find another way to G-d.
You are obsolete.
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