I’m not sure I’m trying to communicate a message. I’m just trying to be part of the movement away from the unacceptable present. —Wole Soyinka
The world gets a giant middle finger for all the nonsense it has generated as well as a shit load of unnecessary pain.
I am not a happy camper. In addition to dealing with eight tornadoes hitting the area on Wednesday and flooding in our own yard yesterday, most of the rest of the world seems to have come off its hinges with actions and events that are wholly unacceptable. Making matters worse, the biggest failures of the week are not merely unacceptable for their own anti-human deviance but are indicative and symptomatic of much larger problems that we’ve attempted to address before.
Maybe I should just stay away from the news. Reading through my feed every morning makes my blood pressure soar even before the normal frustrations have a chance to piss me off. I find that too often I’m already in a terrifying mood before I get to my second cup of coffee. That situation on its own should be unacceptable, but it is becoming a daily ritual: Drink coffee, read news, lose temper, make more coffee. I swear, if it weren’t for the coffee I might do something dangerous.
Instead of directly endangering lives, though, what I’m doing this morning is attempting to exorcise these demons of society by exposing their unacceptable behavior loudly and publicly. We’ve seen more than once this week where social media backlash can turn into genuine dissent that results in positive action. We need more of that. If yelling and screaming make a difference, then I’m ready to participate. Here are the most unacceptable issues.
Complete Ignorance
Offender: Michelle Backman. Why anyone still puts a microphone in front of this woman’s face is beyond me. The pandering crackheads over at Breitbart News (a misnomer from the beginning) are responsible for the latest tirade. The level of ignorance shown is unacceptable on its own. What’s scary is that there are millions of people who actually believe this nonsense. Here’s what she had to say this time:
“I don’t think all of the suffering of African-Americans during the period of slavery can ever equate to what’s been done to white conservative Americans in the past 8 years …”
Yes, she actually said that. She is of the opinion that giving everyone else in America what white people already had is somehow oppressing white people. You and I both know that’s a goddamn lie, but it’s one that keeps being repeated over and over and over. White people are not victims. They probably deserve to be, but they’re not. It’s time to push back against this claptrap and put an end to such unacceptable behavior.
Religious Criminality
Offender: Bishop Ken Adkins. Like so many right-wing pastors, Adkins has been very vocal against LGBT rights. He is on record as saying that Orlando PULSE victims “got what they deserved.” That right there tells you this is not a good person, despite his self-anointed title. What we found out this week, though, is that the Bishop has a thing for molesting children. The press release from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation was tweeted by a Jacksonville news outlet:
#ANjaxBREAKING: Controversial #Brunswick pastor Ken Adkins arrested for alleged child molestation, per #GBI. pic.twitter.com/BPzShmeZuU
— Russell Colburn (@RussellANjax) August 26, 2016
In addition to the Bishop’s actions and words being unacceptable, what gets my goat is that THIS KEEPS HAPPENING and no one is doing anything about it! How many more times are we going to endure headlines like this before we start looking more carefully at the men behind the pulpit (and yes, it is exclusively men who have been the problem)? Sure, it’s only a few bad apples, but those apples keep poisoning barrel after barrel of innocent children. While the Catholic church has its own mechanism through which such behavior is supposedly handled (though there are plenty of questions there, jackasses such as Adkins have no oversight, no one to whom they are accountable. This is unacceptable. PASTORS MUST BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS! We cannot allow more children to be placed at risk.
Male Domination
Offender (this time): France. France’s prohibition against women wearing the burkini on public beaches is an example of how social media can actually do some good. After more than a week of pressure, France’s Supreme Court overturned the anti-burkini laws that were in place. The problem is that the attitude behind those laws hasn’t changed. In fact, Nicolas Sarkozy announced his bid for President yesterday by insisting on a national ban on the garment.
While the attitude of male domination is unacceptable in of itself, the whole thing about men trying to tell women what to wear, and then turning around and shaming them, has gotten out of hand. We’ve been putting up with this nonsense far too long and it’s time that men, again, were called out on their behavior. I’ll be honest, women have been saying something for a long time. What we need are more men standing up and calling each other out in this shit. I find this behavior offensive and any man who has an ounce of respect for women should not tolerate it.
Editorial cartoonist Anna Telnaes of the Washington Post has been all over this issue for a while and no one has been paying attention. Yesterday, the Post published several of her cartoons on the subject to Twitter. Here are a couple that really define the problem:
Men: Stop telling women what to wear https://t.co/eHdQ7kPq4y #BurkiniBan pic.twitter.com/zG5l6wrbW5
— Ann Telnaes (@AnnTelnaes) August 25, 2016
(8/8) Cartoons from the archives #letwomenwearwhattheywant #WomensEqualityDayhttps://t.co/dy5voIinKa pic.twitter.com/22v8f5shDq
— Ann Telnaes (@AnnTelnaes) August 26, 2016
Women have been saying something for over 100 years. It’s time men not only started listening but started changing.
A Preference For War
Offenders: the United States and Russia. Let’s be honest: the two super-powers started the mess in the Middle East by interfering with their politics back in the 1950s. They have done a good job of keeping that region in turmoil ever since. This week, they had a chance to stop the nonsense. They didn’t. That is unacceptable. After all this time, leaders of both countries are afraid to do anything that might put the other in a positive light. The US belittles Russia. Russia degrades the US. They could end the violence in Syria. They could keep refugees from having to flee. But they’re not. Instead, we get quotes like this one from US Secretary of State John Kerry:
“We don’t want to have a deal for the sake of the deal. We want to have something done that is effective and that works for the people of Syria, that makes the region more stable and secure, and that brings us to the table here in Geneva to find a political solution.”
Anyone else want to call horseshit on this? They’re not interested in lives. They’re not interested in war. Instead, both countries are trying to make themselves look good to their allies. There is absolutely no concern for humanity in anything either leader has said. This is unacceptable and we need to make a LOT of noise to get the nonsense to stop.
Using Children For Terror
Offender: Daesh. First, they sent a child to a wedding with a bomb strapped to his chest. 50 were killed, mostly other children. This week, the band of idiots released a video showing children executing hostages. No, I’m not linking to the video. No one should. This nonsense is unacceptable at the very highest order. As unacceptable as terrorism is on any level, using children to commit their despicable acts is beyond inexcusable.
Here’s the thing: bombing Daesh back to the stone age, as some of our own right-wing radicals have suggested, doesn’t solve the problem. If we want to stop Daesh, we have to stop giving people a reason to want to join them. We have to stop marginalizing Muslims both here and around the world. Daesh is already using the rhetoric of the Republican presidential candidate in their recruiting efforts. They see the world as us against them, that we are trying to eliminate their culture and replace it with ours. They look at our 60+ years of constant interference in the region as an imperialistic power grab.
As much as we abhor their tactics, we cannot fire with fire in this instance. At least, not yet. When we bring Muslims into the Western mainstream with acceptance and inclusion, we take away Daesh’s power. When we support real Muslims, not the wannabes who strap bombs to children, we give them strength to stand up and fight against those who usurp their religion. There are enough moderate, peace-loving Muslims in the Middle East to drive out radical terrorism completely. We must support them, not just with weapons, but by welcoming to participate in the world alongside us. Until we do, more unacceptable acts will happen.
Speak Up
I’ve had my turn at yelling and screaming. Now it’s your turn. We’ve seen that mass public pressure can have a positive effect on world events. You have to say something. Share this article. Tweet your displeasure. Make your voice heard. Your options are many. Find a way.
Morning Update: 10/03/24
We are running more than an hour late this morning. Neither of the kids has school again until the 14th, so there’s a high probability that we’ll be sleeping later during that time. The dogs don’t seem to mind, though the cats put up quite a fuss. Of course, the cats put up a fuss even when I’m on time with their food. There’s no way to win that battle. Ever.
Most of the food we lost during the power outage has been replaced, thanks to the generous help we’ve received from family and friends. The challenge now is finding the energy to cook anything. Kat warmed up a frozen quiche for dinner last night, which was delicious. And there’s a pork butt she got for 99 cents a pound that should be ready to slow cook. The issue will be on Saturday when she’s not here. I went to bed before 7:30 last night and had no trouble sleeping for 12 hours. I’m still tired this morning and am looking forward to my first nap. I tried testing my endurance yesterday by not taking any naps until after 3:30 in the afternoon, but given how tired I still feel this morning, I don’t think I can regard that test as successful.
Tomorrow is my first oncology appointment in over four months. I’m assuming that my white blood cell count is going to be down, my sugar should be back in a reasonable place, and everything else should be normal. The fatigue is going to continue being there and only time will tell whether it will linger after I go off the chemo in March of next year. Perhaps I’ll get lucky and not have as many health issues for a while. Given our family history, though, I’m not betting on it.
The effects of Hurricane Helene are grim. Grandparents were found hugging each other after a fallen tree killed them in their South Carolina home. We’re only going to see more stories like that. The Shock of deadly floods is a reminder of Appalachia’s risk from violent storms in a warming climate. Under pressure to control housing costs, Republican lawmakers rejected standards meant to protect against disasters, That could be an election issue, but chances are high that many people affected by the hurricane won’t be able to vote as towns are not likely to have recovered sufficiently by November 5. FEMA aid is arriving, but some people are still on their own. A lot of the towns and villages in the Appalachian Mountains were remote, accessible by roads that no longer exist. Getting any aid to them is almost impossible.
Florida communities hit three times by hurricanes grapple with how and whether to rebuild and while that has long been a valid question, the increasing intensity and frequency of storms pushes more people to move away from the area. For those along the Atlantic coast, now is not a good time to return. Hurricane Kirk could cause dangerous surf conditions along the US East Coast, especially the barrier islands, many of which still lack any connection to the mainland. This is the reality in the US now. We might as well start planning for these events so that we’re not so horribly affected by them. Hurricanes like Helene are deadly when they strike and keep killing for years to come. Hundreds of thousands of deaths related to these storms occur for many years after anyone stops paying attention. We may think we’re not at risk, but we’re wrong.
Politically charged headlines, especially those related to Israel, Iran, Gaza, and Jordan, are pretty much the same as they have been the past two months. Am I the only one who’s tired of them? With the refusal on the part of leaders to agree to a cease-fire, I’m ready to throw up my hands and let whatever is going to happen, happen. We’ve tried to encourage peace, yet innocent people are still dying. If there’s anything we can do to stop the stupidity, no one’s doing it.
Meanwhile, Condoms aren’t a fact of life for young Americans. They’re an afterthought. With workable AIDS medications now available, much of the fear that pushed condom use has disappeared. Never mind that all those other nasty STDs are still out there and still a problem. Syphilis, anyone? Wrap it up, kids.
Mormons push ahead with global temple building boom despite cool reception in Las Vegas. This continues the pattern of religions going where no one wants or needs them. Of course, religion always argues that they are needed, that there are souls to be saved, but centuries of data would indicate that society is better off without them. All of them. We need to tell them to go the fuck away.
The Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday that it would ban the import of goods from a Chinese steel manufacturer and a Chinese maker of artificial sweetener, accusing both of being involved in the use of forced labor from China’s far-west region of Xinjiang. This may affect some construction costs and the price of zero-sugar products, which are already too fucking expensive, but it’s past time to call out China on its long-standing slavery issues.
State and local election officials have made so much progress in securing voting, ballot-counting, and other election infrastructure that the system is more robust than it has ever been, said Jen Easterly, director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. As a result, she said, there is no way Russia, Iran, or any other foreign adversary will be able to alter the results. Make no mistake, efforts like this, and the fact they’re being made public, are a direct result of challenges to the 2020 election. No one interested in an honest outcome to the election wants to repeat that disgraceful experience. Yet, Republicans have been setting the stage for the past four years to challenge elections even in places where the outcome doesn’t affect the final vote count.
US school-entry vaccination rates fall as exemptions keep rising. This is just stupid. The vaccination works, you idiots. Stop putting kids at risk.
Iranian state media says at least 26 people have died after drinking alcoholic beverages that contained toxic methanol. Accident? Probably not.
Look, the world is not in a good place right now. Civilization stands on the brink of collapse with the elevation of risk factors we don’t even talk about. Headlines such as “Putin Keeps Threatening to Use Nuclear Weapons. Would He?” only touch on one of the critical areas that could prove devastating for all of us. Business owners and foreign governments are preparing for bigger trade wars if Donald Trump is voted back into office. This would result in a level of inflation that many people around the world can’t overcome. In a Cat-and-Mouse Game, Russian Oil Tankers Are Flying New Flags. Someone’s always looking to skirt the laws. We pay the price. Literally.
What can we do? We can vote, but even that has a limited effect. We can’t control the actions of other people. Passing laws only works if people obey those laws, and what we’ve seen in the past ten years is that too many people, especially politicians, are just fine breaking those laws.
Look for the things that make you happy. Do them. To hell with the consequences. I have dogs and people that love me. Hamilton spent much of last night with his head on my chest. Do you have any idea how great that made me feel? Sure, the entire bed is covered in animal hair, but that seems a small price to pay for the happiness that comes with their presence.
And there’s coffee.
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