I think I have it figured out: we’re not in a simulation or alternative reality, we’re in a DC Comics’ Batman episode. The Penguin has managed to become president of Gotham, which is not just a city now but an entire country and his first act was to pardon all the other criminals sitting in Arkham. He then gets rid of law enforcement officials so that he and his friends can’t be arrested again. Drugs and weapons can freely enter the country and can even be ordered directly through the dark web! He sits on his throne and refers to this as the ‘Golden Age of Evil’ while dangerously playing with the Sword of Damocles.
Just like in the hit spinoff series, ‘The Penguin,’ Batman is nowhere to be found. Disappointing, isn’t it? We grew up thinking that a rich heir to his billionaire daddy’s fortune would become the dark-winged vigilante that brought justice to the world. Instead, the billionaires are all over in Davos slapping each other on the back. Has DC Comics been lying to us this entire time or did they just hire a new set of writers?
The truth is that no billionaire is coming to save us. Billionaires are how Felonious Punk made this rise to power in the first place. There’s no Alfred pulling strings down in the Batcave. Lucious Fox isn’t tinkering around with interesting gadgets that manage to stun but not kill anyone. If we’re going to get out of this mess, we have to do it ourselves and we can’t expect the police, the Justice Department, or anyone else in government to help us. This is all up to you and me. The gloves have to come off. There are no rules.
One of the first questions we have to ask ourselves is, “Who’s going to save Anne Frank?” White America has been fascinated with the story of the Jewish family hidden by friends and ultimately murdered by Nazis for nearly a century. What we’ve never dealt with, however, is how we would respond to a similar situation. It’s time to have that conversation. If ICE comes into your church building, are you going to stand in their way? If they come to your child’s school and interrupt their class to take away their best friend, will you intervene? If your next-door neighbors are targeted, will you hide them?
If you say you would help the Frank family but won’t lift a finger for an immigrant family now, you’re a fucking hypocrite and a bad person. I don’t want to know you. I don’t want to see you. Go away. Do we not have a moral responsibility to humanity to protect those prosecuted by evil? Or are we too fucking blind to see the evil standing right before us?
Dear citizens of Gotham, the time has come to write your part. What are you going to do? Are you going to linger in the shadows, a faceless part of the crowd? Are you going to huddle around your fire and deny access to anyone else who’s shivering in the cold? Or are you going to help those who are targeted, give voice to the marginalized, and do what you can to foil the plans of Felonious Punk and his henchmen?
Temps are cold enough this morning that the kids’ school has declared this an e-learning day. The whole concept of e-learning is that you don’t have to be physically present to learn and do something positive. Dear US citizens: this is your e-learning day. Login. Take a good look at the assignment, and then get it done. You already have everything you need.
And if you need one, coffee is the universal antidote for everything.
Wednesday, January 22, 2025
What Would Batman Do?
For a long time, there have been people, almost smart individuals, who are convinced that we live in either a computer simulation or some other type of alternative reality. Most days, I roll my eyes at such ideas. How can we discern a fake reality when we don’t have a grip on true reality? But then, I started looking through the news this morning and I have to admit that something feels off. There’s snow on the water tower at Pensacola Beach. New Orleans’ Bourbon Street is covered in a white powder that didn’t come from Mexico. The first headline I see? ‘[Felonious Punk] pardons founder of Silk Road website.’ Just down the page from that was ‘Punk fires heads of TSA, Coast Guard and guts key aviation safety advisory committee.’
I think I have it figured out: we’re not in a simulation or alternative reality, we’re in a DC Comics’ Batman episode. The Penguin has managed to become president of Gotham, which is not just a city now but an entire country and his first act was to pardon all the other criminals sitting in Arkham. He then gets rid of law enforcement officials so that he and his friends can’t be arrested again. Drugs and weapons can freely enter the country and can even be ordered directly through the dark web! He sits on his throne and refers to this as the ‘Golden Age of Evil’ while dangerously playing with the Sword of Damocles.
Just like in the hit spinoff series, ‘The Penguin,’ Batman is nowhere to be found. Disappointing, isn’t it? We grew up thinking that a rich heir to his billionaire daddy’s fortune would become the dark-winged vigilante that brought justice to the world. Instead, the billionaires are all over in Davos slapping each other on the back. Has DC Comics been lying to us this entire time or did they just hire a new set of writers?
In this episode, the Felonious Punk Penguin, like any comic book villain, is testing his powers to see how much he can get away with. He starts by removing the Constitution and other founding documents as well as information about preceding presidents from the White House website. A handful of people grumble online, but not enough to bother him. Next, he eliminates traditional places of sanctuary such as churches and schools, opening the door to anyone being arrested anywhere. His administration directs all federal diversity, equity, and inclusion staff to be put on leave, making sure marginalized people stay marginalized. Police investigate whether foreign actors are paying for antisemitic crimes in Australia. Could this be the work of the Felon’s henchmen?
The truth is that no billionaire is coming to save us. Billionaires are how Felonious Punk made this rise to power in the first place. There’s no Alfred pulling strings down in the Batcave. Lucious Fox isn’t tinkering around with interesting gadgets that manage to stun but not kill anyone. If we’re going to get out of this mess, we have to do it ourselves and we can’t expect the police, the Justice Department, or anyone else in government to help us. This is all up to you and me. The gloves have to come off. There are no rules.
One of the first questions we have to ask ourselves is, “Who’s going to save Anne Frank?” White America has been fascinated with the story of the Jewish family hidden by friends and ultimately murdered by Nazis for nearly a century. What we’ve never dealt with, however, is how we would respond to a similar situation. It’s time to have that conversation. If ICE comes into your church building, are you going to stand in their way? If they come to your child’s school and interrupt their class to take away their best friend, will you intervene? If your next-door neighbors are targeted, will you hide them?
If you say you would help the Frank family but won’t lift a finger for an immigrant family now, you’re a fucking hypocrite and a bad person. I don’t want to know you. I don’t want to see you. Go away. Do we not have a moral responsibility to humanity to protect those prosecuted by evil? Or are we too fucking blind to see the evil standing right before us?
Dear citizens of Gotham, the time has come to write your part. What are you going to do? Are you going to linger in the shadows, a faceless part of the crowd? Are you going to huddle around your fire and deny access to anyone else who’s shivering in the cold? Or are you going to help those who are targeted, give voice to the marginalized, and do what you can to foil the plans of Felonious Punk and his henchmen?
Temps are cold enough this morning that the kids’ school has declared this an e-learning day. The whole concept of e-learning is that you don’t have to be physically present to learn and do something positive. Dear US citizens: this is your e-learning day. Login. Take a good look at the assignment, and then get it done. You already have everything you need.
And if you need one, coffee is the universal antidote for everything.
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