Monday, December 20, 2021

The Ineffectiveness of Fences in Modern America, Pt 1

 I grew up in an isolated, semi-rural smaller town on the outskirts

of Tampa. Access to the Big City, but not a lot of influence in my 

daily life. We lived in a lower middle-class subdivision filled with

fairly average Floridians of varying degrees of 'Country.' My mother's

family were literally farmers and cowboys. Both parents had been poor. 

So when I moved to a small, rural, Southwest Georgia town...I really 

thought I was prepared for what to expect.


I had never been more wrong in my life.


And that ever-alarming wake-up call was being received before the 

events of a black man being elected President for the first time...

Before he was re-elected.

Before it looked like a woman might win the highest office in the land.

Before a hurricane decimated the town.

Before the housing market imploded.

Before social media became the dark corrupting force it is today.

Before meth addiction crippled the area.

Before our economy and job market died..

Before right-wing fascism exploded onto the scene unapologetically.

Before "Black Lives Matter" and "Defund the Police" were a thing.

Before people started questioning the legitimacy of elections, even as

they attempted to steal them for themselves.

Before a global pandemic hit even the sleepiest corners of America.

Before violent insurrection was attempted at our country's seat of power.

Before we had a fully-imbedded media circus that could convince half

the country no such event had occurred.


Each and every one of those developments increased the challenge

of living in an area that is hospitable only in the brochures and when they

desire your dollars. But now a once-tolerable challenging area has become

another beast all together. Open hostility, targeting folks for abuse, allowing

injustices: These are standard descriptors for a small town where the ruling

majority have political ideations that don't bode well for the rest of its residents.


As a gay man, I have faced plenty of obstacles and outright hatred 

living in the South all my life. The Bible Belt's emphasis is on "Use the 

Good Book to justify your prejudices and small-mindedness," not on

"Follow the word and life of Jesus as a guide for how to live YOUR life."

I never thought that my sexual orientation would still be an issue 5 decades

later, nor did I imagine that my political or religious affiliations would be 

used as justification for severe mistreatment, targeted abuse, or willful

withholding of services.


But you live...and you learn.


 

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

The entire problem with 
the 'good guy with a gun'
myth is that EVERYONE
thinks of themselves as 
a 'Good Guy.'

Everyone.

Including Donald Trump,
racist police officers, 
unstable meth heads, 
rapists, criminals, Nazis,
and every other vile
creature on the planet.

Subjectivity rules--and
those who least have control
of their faculties or Reality
usually think they're most
in control.

'Common sense' on gun
safety can not be decided 
by people who have a proven 
history of not having 
common sense.

End the GOP & NRA
love affair: Protect
American citizens.

***

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Have a "Merry Saturnalia!"

Jeez-us! Doesn't this look like so much more fun??

Well, it's not quite Thanksgiving, which means
it's well past time to start talking about Christmas!

And if you listen to Fox News or 'The Occupant,'
you know that there's a "War on Christmas!" (see also
'War on the Wealthy,' 'War on White People,' and 'War
on Men.')

This year, let's just circumvent that whole false narrative
and celebrate the original 'reason for the season,' the
festival of Saturnalia! That blessed Roman Holiday (no,
the movie was not based on it!) with feasting and gift-giving
and general merriment, also centering on a sacrifice!
(See? You're already celebrating Saturnalia as a Christian--
you just didn't know it!!)

Yeah, but then those pushy Christians came along, and as
they often do, decided their beliefs superseded everyone
else's. Surely you remember that from the Bible?
        Fullofshiticus  3: 2-4: "For whosoever believeth in Him
should worry not about living in accordance with His principles,
but instead, make an annoying ass of themselves and generally
be a party pooper. Authoritarianism wins a lot of friends!"

So, technically there isn't a War on Christmas since it 
wasn't the original injured party! In fact, if you're the one
doing the white-washing and appropriating, do you get to
be the 'injured party?' Something about that Bible and the 
sense of entitlement its pseudo-believers manifest!

Anyway, after the Christians took over Rome and started
eliminating all the good cultural aspects like they're wont to
do, they changed the festival to worship their fake deity
instead of the fake deity it used to honor. They even moved
little baby Jesus' fictional birthday from 2 months later so
as to make the transformation seem legit!

(Cuz--SPOILER ALERT!-those Bible folks have been
knowing their way around some edits and rewrites for a
hot minute, y'all!)

Jesus was all about the anal-retentive control mechanisms
exhibited by the modern evangelical movement, home of 
'homosexuals leveled my trailer with high winds' and 'cain't
we just elect our sex perverts in peace?'

And now that Christianity is a dying religion, along with all
the trappings of the church (misogyny, racism, homophobia,
male privilege, absolutism, hell-fire, etc.) there's a reformation
movement afoot to reduce the stranglehold religion has on 
public events and customs. So of course the thieves of the real
'Christmas' are feeling threatened, given that their deity is only
omnipotent and omniscient (allegedly!) and surely needs their 
fervent, frothing-at-the-mouth assistance to aid him in keeping
his ill-gotten gains.

(See, the pyramid scheme only works if you continue bringing in 
new investors.)

Hence the manufactured 'war on Xmas' designed to paint Xians
(once again) as poor, suffering, victims of outsiders' hostilities--
based solely on said outsiders' jealousy over their connection to
Jesus--and simultaneous 'lack of understanding' as to how it all
works!

But the 'War' is as fictional as the super-powered zombified white
dude that Christmas' defenders purportedly worship.

These fascists want to get indignant over the natural progression
towards a pop-culturized, generic, non-religious celebration!
As if they are owed something beyond redemption and eternal
salvation! (allegedly!)

And it's a pretty shitty thing to want to fight for, anyway! I mean,
come on! Only right-wing nutters would want to steal a happy 
day of festive celebration from children who look forward to it
all year long, and make it about a mind-controlling cult that uses
terror on young children to indoctrinate them into worshipping
an invisible policeman! "But he loves you SOOOO much!" Yeesh.

Frankly, Jesus kind of sounds like a dick in these guys' take.

So, don't be fooled by the blustery level of insanity employed
by your inappropriately-political coworkers or your pushy,
neurotic aunts and uncles. Don't let your sociopathically-obsessed-
with-homosexuals neighbor get it twisted for you. (Besides-- 
everybody knows that the more verbally aggressive and crazed 
someone is, the less viable and credible their argument!)

The only war going on this holiday season is the war being waged by
hyper-politicized so-called Christians (CINOs) trying to tear happiness 
and calm out of your child's cold, dead hands!

Don't let them keep putting the 'Christ' in Saturnalia! It's time to 
take a stand against these dirty, thieving heretics! 

When they say "Merry Christmas," we say "Keep Saturnalia 'Christ'-free!"

(Or if you really want to fuck with them , just whisper "Hail Satan!" and smile.

***************************************



Monday, November 13, 2017

"Why didn't they say anything before now?" part Two






"Why didn't they say anything before now?"

First, let's address the obvious: people really shouldn't
assume that's the case--that victims of sexual assault
and harassment haven't said anything before now. They
might, in fact, not have held a press conference or released
an official statement, but that's not the same as 'not having
spoken up.'

Or maybe they did say something, 'officially,' that got
ignored like all of these 'claims' and 'accusations' have
been for decades. Their stories buried at the back of the
newspaper, or reported on as absurdity and their character
attacked as their claims were dismissed. Or perhaps they
received no coverage at all as people ignored what
was happening completely.

People did speak up.


When you start searching the web for stories about
certain actors, producers, senators, Presidents, take a
close look at when the earliest mentions are. When the
lawsuits were filed or settled. Pay attention to the mentions
of earlier charges or stories surfacing about the same
person. They're out there.

And look at the articles that are readily available on some
of the current perpetrators hiding in plain sight--the ones
that producers and executives and networks and studios
are not casting out and distancing themselves from.

These 'worst kept secrets' include "X-Men"'s Bryan Singer
and DC Comics' editor Eddie Berganza to name just a few.
(Note: Just in the time since I started writing this piece,
DC Comics issued a statement regarding Berganza being
suspended, and coverage generally makes it sound that
this is some swift response to new allegations. It's not.
Check the date of the original article --linked above--and
read the detail of when complaints first emerged. These
companies are only trying to run P.R. on  this. And, he has
not been fired. For all we know, this is just a smokescreen
to tame the protesters who were calling for action.)


Anthony Edwards' recent revealing piece about his serial
abuse at hands of Gary Goddard was shocking to the public but
Goddard's long-term abuse was rampant in the industry, and
known by many. They hide in plain sight--because power and
privilege have allowed them to do so. Because people have
allowed them to do so. Never underestimate the evil that is done
in the name of protecting money.

But back to the most important matter at hand; the survivors
of the abuse. Those who were lucky enough to survive, at least,
because not everyone is so lucky. The connection between
survivors of sexual abuse and suicides (see Medscape article here)
are frightening. And that doesn't take into account the suicide
attempts by people we don't know about having suffered abuse,
it doesn't take into account the emotional and physical hell
of dealing with the fallout of abuse, and it doesn't address the
myriad of other self-destructive behaviors and coping tools
that victims who can't make sense out of what happened to
them suffer.


And all the while, predators and perpetrators go on,
oblivious and care-free, succeeding and not considering
their actions. (And truthfully, if some feel excessive guilt
and shame over what they did, it matters not one iota.)


But people did speak up, Roy Moore.

People did tell what happened to them. I'm speaking to
you oh-so-religious GOP members who
defend and cover up for sexual predators like Dennis Hastert.

Many told friends and family. They told spouses in efforts
to explain why there were issues between them. People were
told, and it's insensitive to assume that they were not.

But what do you do when police are not interested, and don't
take your accusations seriously? Or what about the fact that
police are also responsible for their own covered-up assaults?

What about the bosses who cover it up, worried about the
brand being tarnished or a company's liability, legally? The
fear of bad public relations is of concern to people far more
than the well-being of those in their care (see also 'Catholic
Church,' 'Southern Baptists,' 'Scientology.')


There is a definitive atmosphere of  maintained silence that
surrounds sexual abuse. We as a society have formed it, fostered it, 
reinforced it, and all the while keeping mum about even the
details of doing so. Because it isn't just the victims who were quiet;
It's the people who knew something but said nothing. It's the
people who glossed over it, said it was none of their business,
didn't want to "ruin a 'good' man." It's the concern for the 
welfare of wealthy, powerful citizens over the welfare 
of the most vulnerable among us.

The victims knew.
The perpetrators knew.
The people who covered up for the perpetrators knew.

There's the matter of fear being a factor in keeping people
silent when there hasn't been open discussion. Fear of loss of
an income, fear of physical retaliation, fear of a ruined reputation,
fear of being blamed for what happened, and just plain fear of
something that is so deeply personal and disgusting being made
a public matter so that people are discussing it and debating it
and critiquing things like 'what they should have done in response
to their own sexual assault.'



Silence also results from trauma. People block out or ignore
what is too painful to process or deal with directly. No one
likes to think about horrible, uncomfortable things. Think
about perhaps a time when you noticed something on your
body--a nodule or blemish--and kept brushing it off because
you didn't want to consider the implications of what it meant.

Trauma affects everyone differently. Every single survivor of
sexual abuse/assault is their own unique individual self, and
there are as many different ways to respond to it as there are
people who have lived through it. And there are equally numerous
means of how people are abused; It isn't a cookie-cutter pattern.

So there are a lot of factors behind such a seemingly simple
question as 'Why don't people speak up sooner?' but the bottom
line is that it's no one else's business nor is it their place to
judge. A survivor's job is not to worry about trying to meet
the demands of armchair detectives and voyeurs.

Silence on the matter is a natural phenomenon, and not, as the
squeamish (or is it just cynical?) would have us believe, 'proof'
that nothing happened.



We live in a rape culture. That isn't just a buzz word. It isn't
some new faddish tagline produced by millennials. We're just
now getting to a place in our society where we are experiencing
true transparency and willingness to broach these matters that
have always been with us. What once was considered 'business
as usual' is now understood to be unacceptable, and as people feel
empowered to assert that what was done to them was wrong, we
will continue to see people come forward.

And the amount of time since the occurrence of abuse should
not matter. The doubting of accusers based on the length of time
it's been since they were attacked is another example of rape
culture; A deflection of the wrong-doing itself and severity of
actions, and a focus on blaming the victim and discrediting him
or her.

This IS rape culture: We are a society that has heard case after case
after case of rapes--they've filled our headlines for years--and the
reaction has been pitifully tepid. It's become such a regular event
that we have become as desensitized to it as we have mass shootings.
If it's someone's silence you want to be concerned with, focus on
modern American society's desire to block out an epidemic of rape
behavior and accept it as the 'new normal.'



Another high profile case in recent years that was reported on
the same way one would discuss wedding plans was the court case
of Kesha and 'Dr. Luke.' There was no outrage, no discussion of
the prevalence of assaults in the music industry, nothing but dry
reports on it as business of the day.

Here are just a few other accurate reflections of what a rape
culture looks like.






And it just goes on and on and on--from dropped cases to
intimidation of claimants to inappropriate comments from
dinosaur judges to ridiculously weak rulings and sentences
even when rape is clearly proven.

This doesn't even touch on the G.O.P and their infatuation
with women's uteri and what needs to happen with them
in regards to rape. Laws granting women's rapists rights as
a father? Are you fucking kidding me? This is not a plot from
a movie but it is surely a horror show. And these insane laws
get passed, all the time. Normalized. Just another day.

That, is rape culture.



Silence is maintained in service to maintaining a career, out
of pure desperation and need for financial security. In all
arenas of power (entertainment, government, church, etc)
the communities are very connected. And if you get blacklisted
or blackballed by a powerful person because you dared to try
and out them as a predator, that's it--game over. One phone
call or leaked comment to the press can ruin everything. That's
the power of connected people.

And that fear of retribution isn't just financial, nor is it an invalid,
imagined fear. Beyond "You'll never work in this town again!"
intimidation is the real and frightening pattern of physical threats
that have been proven to be the stock in trade of powerful people.





Like the Fox News scandals showed us in intimate
detail, there is often an elaborate machine in place that's
designed to suppress these stories and attack the victim.

It's not paranoia if the White House Press Secretary,
in flagrant disregard of the law, uses their position to trash 
women who are accusing a sitting President of sexual abuse.

(more to follow....)

Saturday, November 11, 2017

"Why didn't they say anything before now?" part One


Several years back, Hollywood received an opening salvo in the
arena of their most-recent sexual abuse scandals as the allegations 
of sexual assaults against Bill Cosby and charges of pedophilia
against Stephen Collins were made public. (Collins was actually
caught on tape confessing and later admitted to 3 occurrences--
Cosby has always denied. See links for more detailed stories.)

Then we had the (not-surprising) revelations and accusations
against Bill O'Reilly and Roger Ailes brought in lawsuits alleging
not only a long and sordid history of abuse, but a workplace
which fostered and covered for such behavior.

And how could any of us forget how America elected (but
not by the popular vote--or perhaps even legally) the
Rapist-in-Chief, Donald J. Trump, even after a year and a half
of being exposed to his misogyny, lewd remarks, secret tapes
about 'pussy-grabbing,' and a litany of reports about sexual
assaults on women and girls?  NPR: A Full List of Accusers 


So, despite the Harvey Weinstein 'allegations' being the decidedly
watershed moment where the floodgates of "Enough is Enough"
did truly open, we the people were getting softened up for the
blow of just how many secrets Hollywood has. And although
more attention will be paid to Hollywood because of America's 
love affair with movies, escapism, fantasy, and mock-relationships
with people they read about in tabloids, the epidemic of sexual
abuse in the workplace occurs across the board.

Anywhere you have people in a position of power, you can expect 
that people are going to abuse that power. Some say "People are 
basically good at heart." I say 'bullshit.' People will try and get away
with exactly as much as they think they can get away with. So it
stands to reason that those in positions of power and privilege are
going to go hog-wild. (Just an observation, not a promotion.)



But here's where the next part of the story comes into play:
The public's response to the allegations (or as I prefer to
call them, revelations. I've only heard two people call for
'calm and restraint' in responding to these reports of abuse;
one being Woody Allen, a known pedophile/incester, and
Jeremy Piven, who is long-known for shady stuff and does
clearly 'protest too much.' His shit will be laid bare soon 
enough, I'm sure.)

The public seems genuinely surprised at several things.
* First is the shock at seeing a star they like, "Fill-in-the-blank,"
accused of something so heinous. 

* Then there is the sheer volume of the accusations that are
being leveled. (Hint: This is only the tip of the iceberg.) 
Certainly people--men in particular--are astonished at the
notion that this is such a widespread problem. (The plus side 
of it, for lack of a better phrase, being that visibility and
transparency have finally given survivors a foothold to 
speak out against this evil, and to feel connected. Now they
know they aren't alone in what was done to them. Social 
media finally contributed to the world!)

* Next is the inevitable partisan bullshit that has flared up as
people try and make even sexual assault, harassment, and 
rape about what someone's politics are. (Unless you're an 
Alabama Republican judge who raped a 14-year-old girl--
then the GOPers give a free pass!) More on Roy Moore 

* People are also confused by how widespread behavior
could go on unnoticed...and why someone didn't stop it 
once it was known. This whole 'open secret' thing has a 
lot of folks scratching their heads as they play armchair
whistle-blower. "Well that never would have happened 
on my watch!" (More on the culture of silence and tacit
complicity later.)


But the Number One question people seem to have on 
their minds in response to the tragic nature of these
revelations is simple, direct, and very telling:

"Why didn't he say anything before now?"

"Why didn't she say anything before now?"

"Why didn't they say anything before now?"

Not in a Fox News, innuendo-filled, victim-blaming,
heartless code for 'oh they must be liars' sort of way.
Just a genuine inability to relate and comprehend 
something as a disconnected party viewing the matter
with none of the emotional skin in the game.

And it's a valid question, albeit with a complex 
answer. I'll delve into that in detail next.

****************************************

Monday, November 6, 2017

Nothing Changes

Um...see my last post.

American Crazy--it just stays relevant.

#Texas
#MassShooting
#GunNutNation
#GOPcomplicity
#DifferentforWhiteFolks
#whiteterrorism
#privilege
#churchdeaths
#NRAboughtandpaidfor

The Ineffectiveness of Fences in Modern America, Pt 1

 I grew up in an isolated, semi-rural smaller town on the outskirts of Tampa. Access to the Big City, but not a lot of influence in my  dail...