It seems impractical to deliver fuel from the air, but other things people need in the Northeast, why not?
Maybe people would know to expect it, and be armed and organized enough to fend off punks as the packages parachute in. Didn't they do that in Berlin or somewhere like that? They've done airlifts elsewhere.
They can go back to more organized distribution later. For now, just get things there that are of use and needed.
Strange how you hear about mayors and governors in this thing. Guess they figured out that FEMA is not what you call a first responder, or in most cases, a simple, easy uncomplicated responder.
The whole storm issue brings home the fact that we are living in a world which has very few Plan B's in effect. That is not the best way to do things. The more situations in which you have a plan B should A go south, the better off you are. Knowing the priority of those is a function of wisdom or good sense. I have no methodology on that. Having good sense may be my weak suit much of the time.
Oddly enough, one of the people who preached redundant systems, and had an influence on my in that regard, was a guy who had built ultralights and crashed them. Not on purpose. He explained one or two of his crashes pointing out how dumb he was not to have built in redundant systems for holding the thing together. Something happened to one fitting holding one cable. Adios.
The broad concept seems wise. But we just don't tend to build things that way. Not cities, not cars, not means of support. Most people. I try to avoid "we" talk. I'd rather confine my assumptions to a less cozy arrangement. Whenever I hear the reply: "Aren't (or don't) we all?" I can never agree and say "we all sure do/are".
No. I say, "I don't know what we all." And that, in itself, should have won me a position as Nobel Laureate, but they didn't even put it to a vote. If that isn't peace prize stuff, what is?
It will be an interesting month. It is possible the main elections will be fought for weeks or months. Fortunately there are time constraints which may even stifle the lawyers who'd love to make the case their life's work, for decades.
Monday, November 5, 2012
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Mass Hysteria
When the Beatles first hit the scene I saw the first example of how mass hysteria operates. It was upbeat and fun. Girls wetting themselves screaming. What guy wouldn't want to be the object of that? Well, when you look on the practical side, maybe not. But the point is it comes on like a tidal wave through a culture and despite mounting signs that the object of adoration is not the Second Coming, many people still hold to their devotion. Most likely they don't want to feel foolish by acknowledging that the king has no clothes.
[I'll admit, I'm one of the unsophisticated who likes the early Beatles better than the final Beatles. I'd never heard anything like it. It was upbeat and innocent I guess. And often it purely kicked ass---in my mind, being the simple sort.]
All that is fine when it comes to fads and music. When it comes to people who have armies at their disposal, then that is another matter. Many dictators have ridden for a time on that wave of hysteria. Once the image is established and momentum goes in their favor, they can do almost anything, no matter how oppressive to some, and still maintain support.
Is that the case with our president? I don't really know. I do know there was a lot of mass hysteria in 2008. I personally know people who had a religious reverence toward the guy, and still do. If someone else smokes, they are awful evil people polluting the planet, in the eyes of one dovotee I know. If Obama smokes she ignores the fact and if confronted, offer excuses about the heavy burden he carries and how it is cute or something. There are those whose adoration knows no bounds.
Many of the ones who had unrealistic expectations, like that he would make gasoline cheap and maybe pick up the tab on the mortgage, are probably less enthused now.
It is illustrative of the dangers to society when people view public figures as if they are somehow more than human beings. The entertainment industry thrives on that bigger-than-life image. The danger in real life is that people sit still and allow these super humans to usurp their rights and freedom a bit at a time under the assumption that they know best. They are smarter and they are fighting for me. People believe that. Sad but true.
So, this time around, rather than threats of parties getting out of hand after the election, we have threats of violence if the fallen angel is denied his halo. I think the fun has largely gone out of believing one person is going to make it all better using other people's money. They wanted a smiling king who could act cool and talk jive as well as Harvard lingo. They never learned that we do not do royalty in the USA, and we don't do it because we got very sick of it over 200 years ago. It violates the precept of the natural rights of man. We aren't all equal under the law if we elevate some to the level of royalty.
But, I forgot, under different names, that has already been done. For example, we allow elected officials to create a healthcare scheme which forces people to buy insurance or suffer penalties while exempting themselves. They are exempt from many other rules as well.
Maybe it is another example of mass hysteria of a different sort that people keep going along with what doesn't work. If the way things have been approached did work, we would not be fighting forever wars, like Afghanistan, and we wouldn't have areas overrun by gangs, and people would not be graduating high school stupider and stupider each year. Those things don't just happen by accident. The direction of the show plays a big part in the end result.
Lately, ours is a play which was written by someone in an opium dream and directed by Jerry Springer. Not so good.
It's fun to be in accord with all the neighbors and the cool kids on the block, but sometimes people convince themselves to hop on the bus without noticing the destination sign on the front says Idiotville.
This applies to much of life.
What can you do? Enjoy the ride and run stuff over only when necessary.
Which one of the above will you elect president?
.
.
[I'll admit, I'm one of the unsophisticated who likes the early Beatles better than the final Beatles. I'd never heard anything like it. It was upbeat and innocent I guess. And often it purely kicked ass---in my mind, being the simple sort.]
Is that the case with our president? I don't really know. I do know there was a lot of mass hysteria in 2008. I personally know people who had a religious reverence toward the guy, and still do. If someone else smokes, they are awful evil people polluting the planet, in the eyes of one dovotee I know. If Obama smokes she ignores the fact and if confronted, offer excuses about the heavy burden he carries and how it is cute or something. There are those whose adoration knows no bounds.
Many of the ones who had unrealistic expectations, like that he would make gasoline cheap and maybe pick up the tab on the mortgage, are probably less enthused now.
It is illustrative of the dangers to society when people view public figures as if they are somehow more than human beings. The entertainment industry thrives on that bigger-than-life image. The danger in real life is that people sit still and allow these super humans to usurp their rights and freedom a bit at a time under the assumption that they know best. They are smarter and they are fighting for me. People believe that. Sad but true.
So, this time around, rather than threats of parties getting out of hand after the election, we have threats of violence if the fallen angel is denied his halo. I think the fun has largely gone out of believing one person is going to make it all better using other people's money. They wanted a smiling king who could act cool and talk jive as well as Harvard lingo. They never learned that we do not do royalty in the USA, and we don't do it because we got very sick of it over 200 years ago. It violates the precept of the natural rights of man. We aren't all equal under the law if we elevate some to the level of royalty.
But, I forgot, under different names, that has already been done. For example, we allow elected officials to create a healthcare scheme which forces people to buy insurance or suffer penalties while exempting themselves. They are exempt from many other rules as well.
Maybe it is another example of mass hysteria of a different sort that people keep going along with what doesn't work. If the way things have been approached did work, we would not be fighting forever wars, like Afghanistan, and we wouldn't have areas overrun by gangs, and people would not be graduating high school stupider and stupider each year. Those things don't just happen by accident. The direction of the show plays a big part in the end result.
Lately, ours is a play which was written by someone in an opium dream and directed by Jerry Springer. Not so good.
It's fun to be in accord with all the neighbors and the cool kids on the block, but sometimes people convince themselves to hop on the bus without noticing the destination sign on the front says Idiotville.
This applies to much of life.
What can you do? Enjoy the ride and run stuff over only when necessary.
.
.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Official Endorsement
After careful consideration, and much soul and/or sole searching, I have decided to endorse a candidate in this election. I already voted, and couldn't have voted for him anyway. His congressional district is in San Francisco.
So, if you live up there and are tired of making Pelosi rich, vote for John Dennis. I think he's a libertarian. Or maybe he's doing like Ron Paul and running as a republican but thinking more like an individual freedom-valuing honest person.
That is my only recommendation. To try to influence the prime time events would be to drive people away from my choices.
Then again, if you don't vote how I say, I will cause mayhem somewhere nearby, and you'll be sorry. So just do as I say and we all live happily ever after.
You'll have to guess what I would say if I were to say because I'm not saying at this time or in this venue. In other words, if you don't know I'm not going to tell you.
Yikes. That brings back memories of the kind of answers my questions brought, within my family. I learned to learn by listening while not being involved in the discussion. And I learned not to ask questions. Or tell, for that matter. It was Don't ask, Don't Tell!!! How bizarre.
So, if you live up there and are tired of making Pelosi rich, vote for John Dennis. I think he's a libertarian. Or maybe he's doing like Ron Paul and running as a republican but thinking more like an individual freedom-valuing honest person.
That is my only recommendation. To try to influence the prime time events would be to drive people away from my choices.
Then again, if you don't vote how I say, I will cause mayhem somewhere nearby, and you'll be sorry. So just do as I say and we all live happily ever after.
You'll have to guess what I would say if I were to say because I'm not saying at this time or in this venue. In other words, if you don't know I'm not going to tell you.
Yikes. That brings back memories of the kind of answers my questions brought, within my family. I learned to learn by listening while not being involved in the discussion. And I learned not to ask questions. Or tell, for that matter. It was Don't ask, Don't Tell!!! How bizarre.
Songs I've Avoided
My feeling about some instrumentals is that unless you can play it as well as the original, they are to be avoided. It depends upon the piece, of course.
Two such items on harmonica would be Orang Blossom Special and Whammer Jammer; both are performances I admire. OJS never actually appealed to me as a tune, other than Charlie McCoy's deft handling of it. He played or plays killer harp. I guess he's still kicking--don't know.
Whammer Jammer belongs to Magic Dick. Trying to cover such a tune by a guy with such a name, well, I feel one must be prepared, whatever that may mean. I've yet to hear anyone do that instrumental up to the standard he set. Even he doesn't play it quite as well any more. But you've rarely seen a more perpetually happy musician, ever. I saw him a few years back at the Blues Awards---I was photographer's assistent, on assignment for Rolling Stone--and afterwards, out by the curb, he and his cronies were in a tour bus and asked me how to get to I-40. That's right, I got a coat hanger from them because I locked my keys in the car.
Anyway, I've been asked and encouraged to do those tunes and managed to escape until now. It looks like I have to learn OJS. Les, the guitar/harmonica/etc. old time country and whatnot player, played that tune and pulled me up there. I was lost because I didn't know how it even worked. I did a little but it was a poor showing. Les blew it out of the park--or knocked it. I was impressed.
But it made me determined to learn that song. I am still just not much on a certain strain of country and bluegrass. I like some of each, most of which doesn't need me playing. Unless I played something else or suddenly developed a blue grass singing voice. They have some great vocals. I haven't always known that.
===============================================
Two such items on harmonica would be Orang Blossom Special and Whammer Jammer; both are performances I admire. OJS never actually appealed to me as a tune, other than Charlie McCoy's deft handling of it. He played or plays killer harp. I guess he's still kicking--don't know.
Whammer Jammer belongs to Magic Dick. Trying to cover such a tune by a guy with such a name, well, I feel one must be prepared, whatever that may mean. I've yet to hear anyone do that instrumental up to the standard he set. Even he doesn't play it quite as well any more. But you've rarely seen a more perpetually happy musician, ever. I saw him a few years back at the Blues Awards---I was photographer's assistent, on assignment for Rolling Stone--and afterwards, out by the curb, he and his cronies were in a tour bus and asked me how to get to I-40. That's right, I got a coat hanger from them because I locked my keys in the car.
Anyway, I've been asked and encouraged to do those tunes and managed to escape until now. It looks like I have to learn OJS. Les, the guitar/harmonica/etc. old time country and whatnot player, played that tune and pulled me up there. I was lost because I didn't know how it even worked. I did a little but it was a poor showing. Les blew it out of the park--or knocked it. I was impressed.
But it made me determined to learn that song. I am still just not much on a certain strain of country and bluegrass. I like some of each, most of which doesn't need me playing. Unless I played something else or suddenly developed a blue grass singing voice. They have some great vocals. I haven't always known that.
===============================================
Friday, November 2, 2012
Around Here
It is hard to see her in the top photo, but here's the rock lady with the hooded cloak. I always see her when I am at that spot. She looks holy and mystical but shows poorly in photos, like a vampire. But she is not of that ilk. So, that's my go-to angel in tangible form.
Here's another spot nearby where I've seen eagles soaring. Maybe I should say eagle since I normally only see one at a time.
These are spots I visit to hide from confusion.
Looks like some people have posted youtube video of some of my adventures in music land. Mostly they aren't so good because I don't do it right. But one of them labelled me "one of the best harmonica players in San Diego". That was cool to see. Safe bet not to label me the best.
My Odd Life
It is always a thrill to get a package at the post office. Just like the tooth fairy or other magic give-away artist, someone leaves a special key in my PO Box. I then take it to the proper package locker and open it up. Once you put the key in and use it, it won't come out. That way they foil would-be cheaters and trouble makers.
Today I received a package from a little known movement which seeks to ensure Obama's election by replacing Joe Biden with Vladimir Putin. They sent me a fabulous mug, and a very classy bumper sticker.
I'm uncertain as to the connection between me and the message there at Obama-Putin. I do see the wisdom of their suggestion.
Anyway, I'll bet few others have these commemorative election items. It will confuse future generations because it will be all that survived. They'll conclude Obama Putin must have been a company that made cups and bumper stickers.
So, there you have it
All this is really the result of the ugliest ceramic mushroom ever made, and its journey on the ping pong ball path of being re-gifted each Christmas for a few years, and only between two people. It may have been cursed, or blessed, I couldn't tell. It was smiling, I'm pretty sure. Like Chuckie.
Putin would have destroyed it from the get go. Then he would have found the person who made the mushroom and made the problem go away.
I wonder what would happen if you had a poster in your yard for Obama-Putin. People would assume you are interested in Russian politics, and support Putin, and that you support Obama here.
Or they may think, hmmm. Maybe they'll give me something if I vote for them. Who's Putin? I thought it was Obama and Joe Bitin. Maybe it his name's Joe Putin.
Regardless of all that, Vlad knows how to bring in the vote, so maybe that would have been a good move. Too late now, I think.
This mug is going to be worth big bucks five or ten years from now.
Today I received a package from a little known movement which seeks to ensure Obama's election by replacing Joe Biden with Vladimir Putin. They sent me a fabulous mug, and a very classy bumper sticker.
I'm uncertain as to the connection between me and the message there at Obama-Putin. I do see the wisdom of their suggestion.
Anyway, I'll bet few others have these commemorative election items. It will confuse future generations because it will be all that survived. They'll conclude Obama Putin must have been a company that made cups and bumper stickers.
All this is really the result of the ugliest ceramic mushroom ever made, and its journey on the ping pong ball path of being re-gifted each Christmas for a few years, and only between two people. It may have been cursed, or blessed, I couldn't tell. It was smiling, I'm pretty sure. Like Chuckie.
Putin would have destroyed it from the get go. Then he would have found the person who made the mushroom and made the problem go away.
I wonder what would happen if you had a poster in your yard for Obama-Putin. People would assume you are interested in Russian politics, and support Putin, and that you support Obama here.
Or they may think, hmmm. Maybe they'll give me something if I vote for them. Who's Putin? I thought it was Obama and Joe Bitin. Maybe it his name's Joe Putin.
Regardless of all that, Vlad knows how to bring in the vote, so maybe that would have been a good move. Too late now, I think.
This mug is going to be worth big bucks five or ten years from now.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
They Promised to Loot
Coney Island looters. Nothing brings out the part of humanity we can do without like a hurricane. Just hang by the stores when the floods and high winds recede.
They must figure the cops can't get to them. I wouldn't want to risk being on the bad side of NY cops. Large people who don't care for pesky mischief, is my impression.
They must figure the cops can't get to them. I wouldn't want to risk being on the bad side of NY cops. Large people who don't care for pesky mischief, is my impression.
We've got people who are either incredibly stupid or really believe their rationale for this theft. Or both.
Here's a choice quote from a proud looter:
"Look, they've been looting our wallets for too long," said a young male who claimed he helped himself to a TV at the Rent-A-Center.
“It's about time we start taking this sh—back," the youth, who identified himself
as Jesse James, told the Daily News
as Jesse James, told the Daily News
One difference seems to be that when the store loots his wallet, he is voluntarily trading money for goods. In this case, the store is not a voluntary partner in the transaction. Drop Jesse in the ocean a couple of miles off shore.
The only reason people spout such tripe is because they get hints in media and politics that their sorry hatred of anyone who has built something is righteous and reasonable. They know the are just leeches but as long as people will pretend otherwise they'll milk it for what it is worth.
Jesse should have been shot right there. End of problem.
Perhaps if the education system and a lot else had been managed and designed properly, young Jesse would have a clue regarding economics, morality, and freedom. That takes more than public education but it is a start. Teaching people they are victims and that one person's wealth makes others poor is not a good solution. And that is the idea being promulgated by numerous politicians, most schools, and general scuttle butt on the street.
Good thing it is so hard to own firearms in NY, otherwise shop owners and such might have been in the mood to shoot people wrecking what they've built even more than the storm has. And that would be so terrible. How do cold heartless people like me expect these disgruntled consumers to get their revenge?
Perhaps if the education system and a lot else had been managed and designed properly, young Jesse would have a clue regarding economics, morality, and freedom. That takes more than public education but it is a start. Teaching people they are victims and that one person's wealth makes others poor is not a good solution. And that is the idea being promulgated by numerous politicians, most schools, and general scuttle butt on the street.
Good thing it is so hard to own firearms in NY, otherwise shop owners and such might have been in the mood to shoot people wrecking what they've built even more than the storm has. And that would be so terrible. How do cold heartless people like me expect these disgruntled consumers to get their revenge?
Monday, October 29, 2012
A Darwinian Opportunity
My feeling on the matter of private firearms, home made weapons and looting is this: while maybe not making it mandatory---any shooting, destruction or battering of looters should be lauded. No stupid trial or hindrance should be forced on those who shoot those who use storms to rob the community, whether they be invading homes or business.
Some say, "Oh but is it worth a life over material things like laptops and TVs?". Yes. Those lives are a detriment to the rest of the living, and if it is known that you can shoot looters in the act with impunity then maybe only the dumbest and most worthless of looters will go down.
I'm almost certain you can't make a case that the world is a better place with those creeps in it.
If this topic comes up and they hear my view, I wonder if they'll want me on a jury when I go Wednesday for jury duty. I suspect not.
Some say, "Oh but is it worth a life over material things like laptops and TVs?". Yes. Those lives are a detriment to the rest of the living, and if it is known that you can shoot looters in the act with impunity then maybe only the dumbest and most worthless of looters will go down.
I'm almost certain you can't make a case that the world is a better place with those creeps in it.
If this topic comes up and they hear my view, I wonder if they'll want me on a jury when I go Wednesday for jury duty. I suspect not.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Wondrous Things
That which induces one to wonder is wondrous. Among the many things which were stimulating wonder and investigation was the Electoral College. I wonder why I didn't apply for that school when I was thinking of applying to colleges and universities. The truth is, I only got one app sent, maybe two. Auburn wanted something more which I ignored. I applied there and FSU at the beginning of my senior year. FSU pretty much automatically said ok due to test scores. I was clueless.
Some schools expect some level of overall gpa. If you have a year to go, and you aren't making super grades now, seems wise to withhold admittance until the book is closed. So, I took the easy way. In-state school that is the greatest distance from Miami. Too bad all wisdom ended there.
Anyway, I've never set foot on the Electoral College campus. However, I hear some talk about people who want to do away with the institution. This is where freedom gets tricky, and democracy, over valued. Pure democracy is certainly not a high virtue, it just is. You have to limit what the collective can inflict on the minority.
Both the Senate and the Electoral College are hedges against the tyranny of the majority. That is what it is called when freedom of the few is restricted by the many, even if it doesn't infringe on them. The first premise to get is that the USA is a democracy in a republic. A constitutional republic.
That means there are preset limits and parameters set which are supposed to contain those with power lust. It's a losing battle but it does slow them down a lot. Over time, it slows them less.
Anyway, there is a wisdom to weighting some power by geography. For one thing it more evenly gives voice to a variety of the subcultures in this country. I can tell you that Miami and small town Wisconsin are worlds apart. A native of either would experience sever culture shock if he found himself in the other's town. For me, moving to North Carolina was a huge cultural adjustment.
Eventually I learned the language and even spoke it. Maybe I adapted because I had decided I liked NC and the people and that was that. I absorbed some of the culture, but a real southerner can tell I'm like southern lite. Miami left my bunch with no real sense of a culture. Miami was never quite like the heartland even before it became majority hispanic. We spoke english, which may have created a bond with America, and most of Miami was from NY and the midwest--interesting mix. New Yorkers had a bad stereotype going for them back then. Apparently there were plenty of volunteers to keep the reputation going.
A direct election based on total popular vote could result in a few big cities, primarily coastal, having control. It could leave some very diverse, long established sub cultures out of the sphere of influence altogether. As much of this country that is federal land, who wants their landscape controlled by a few cities which are very different from your town?
Anyway, I wondered about that but see it as a kind of safeguard. Even if the guy who wins gets fewer popular votes, and that turns out to be the current neo-bolshevik, I won't change my tune about that fine place of higher learning.
I have a friend who thinks replacing Biden with Putin would be just what is needed to fend off this Romney fellow.
I forgot what else caused me to wonder, drat!
It seems I end up with people playing music everywhere I go. Another little party and the people all end up playing. That is mostly what gets me invited, I think, although it goes beyond that after awhile. It seems I am somehow a fixture in this ongoing network. I meet some interesting people this way. It puzzles me, though, whatever 'it' is.
I've never seen so much bluegrass and country as out in the sticks California. That's why they call it country and western. I'd never given much credence to western part. Now I understand.
It is good.
I hope that storm doesn't mess up your life or your stuff.
Hmm...a few of these musicians have the means and expertise to possibly hash over some of the ideas I've had in the late 70s. The times have almost caught up, except government subsidizes their cronies while people like me would just deal with the market. I have no excuse for never following up on this. I found the burn came from unexpected places so the one I did follow awhile was abandoned in confusion. It worked, at least.
Maybe this accelerated rate of meeting those who would get this stuff, and know the flaws, is not a mistake. Maybe it is one of those new saints delving in the affairs of man. Saint Poccahontos. Maybe her holiness spells it otherwise. I'll learn the right way so that this encouraging trend continues.
.
.
Some schools expect some level of overall gpa. If you have a year to go, and you aren't making super grades now, seems wise to withhold admittance until the book is closed. So, I took the easy way. In-state school that is the greatest distance from Miami. Too bad all wisdom ended there.
Anyway, I've never set foot on the Electoral College campus. However, I hear some talk about people who want to do away with the institution. This is where freedom gets tricky, and democracy, over valued. Pure democracy is certainly not a high virtue, it just is. You have to limit what the collective can inflict on the minority.
Both the Senate and the Electoral College are hedges against the tyranny of the majority. That is what it is called when freedom of the few is restricted by the many, even if it doesn't infringe on them. The first premise to get is that the USA is a democracy in a republic. A constitutional republic.
That means there are preset limits and parameters set which are supposed to contain those with power lust. It's a losing battle but it does slow them down a lot. Over time, it slows them less.
Anyway, there is a wisdom to weighting some power by geography. For one thing it more evenly gives voice to a variety of the subcultures in this country. I can tell you that Miami and small town Wisconsin are worlds apart. A native of either would experience sever culture shock if he found himself in the other's town. For me, moving to North Carolina was a huge cultural adjustment.
Eventually I learned the language and even spoke it. Maybe I adapted because I had decided I liked NC and the people and that was that. I absorbed some of the culture, but a real southerner can tell I'm like southern lite. Miami left my bunch with no real sense of a culture. Miami was never quite like the heartland even before it became majority hispanic. We spoke english, which may have created a bond with America, and most of Miami was from NY and the midwest--interesting mix. New Yorkers had a bad stereotype going for them back then. Apparently there were plenty of volunteers to keep the reputation going.
A direct election based on total popular vote could result in a few big cities, primarily coastal, having control. It could leave some very diverse, long established sub cultures out of the sphere of influence altogether. As much of this country that is federal land, who wants their landscape controlled by a few cities which are very different from your town?
Anyway, I wondered about that but see it as a kind of safeguard. Even if the guy who wins gets fewer popular votes, and that turns out to be the current neo-bolshevik, I won't change my tune about that fine place of higher learning.
I have a friend who thinks replacing Biden with Putin would be just what is needed to fend off this Romney fellow.
I forgot what else caused me to wonder, drat!
It seems I end up with people playing music everywhere I go. Another little party and the people all end up playing. That is mostly what gets me invited, I think, although it goes beyond that after awhile. It seems I am somehow a fixture in this ongoing network. I meet some interesting people this way. It puzzles me, though, whatever 'it' is.
I've never seen so much bluegrass and country as out in the sticks California. That's why they call it country and western. I'd never given much credence to western part. Now I understand.
It is good.
I hope that storm doesn't mess up your life or your stuff.
Hmm...a few of these musicians have the means and expertise to possibly hash over some of the ideas I've had in the late 70s. The times have almost caught up, except government subsidizes their cronies while people like me would just deal with the market. I have no excuse for never following up on this. I found the burn came from unexpected places so the one I did follow awhile was abandoned in confusion. It worked, at least.
Maybe this accelerated rate of meeting those who would get this stuff, and know the flaws, is not a mistake. Maybe it is one of those new saints delving in the affairs of man. Saint Poccahontos. Maybe her holiness spells it otherwise. I'll learn the right way so that this encouraging trend continues.
.
.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
AP Racism and Freshman English, FSU
Having lived in what some would term diverse communities for much of my life, I observe with sadness and scorn the many stories I hear and see about racism. In Miami, during the 80s and 90s, my condition of birth was shared by a minority of citizens.
What I found was that since Cubans were considered a minority in federal terms that they found it relatively easy to discriminate on any basis which suited them. It is human nature, to a point. Not that I didn't have plenty of Cuban friends I did. I liked their coffee and much of the music, etc. But life is life.
One work experience was rife with sexual and ethnic discrimination. I was one of the very few white males (few males of any stripe) in the place, and they took their shots. I did not pursue legal recourse or any of that, although I probably had a better case than many I've seen in the news. Hey, if they didn't want what I had to offer I could go elsewhere. And I did. So, bully, woman, hispanic. She did seem a little underhanded but I believe she seriously regretted it by the time I left. OK. Not to the point.
Still not to the point; I was just thinking that I bring out strange things in women. I must learn to harness this somehow. If I could learn to direct their reaction to something less dramatic than homicide.
Now the AP has a story about some university guy's study showing explicit and implicit racism. It mostly focusses on white against everyone. I tend to think this is a thing which has a kernel of truth and a bushel of BS.
When you have a culture in which young people who don't act like punks are ridiculed for "acting white", would you say that is a racist phenomenon? I would.
The study uses techniques and questions which are iffy at best. It seems to go the way of my English professor at FSU. He wanted us to pull all sorts of hidden meanings and symbolism out of everything. He was very keen on homosexual symbolism. I caught on and finally wrote a paper for the class.
To write the paper I got stoned and drunk and invented every possible bit of sexual, homosexual, and maybe even trisexual context to the most inane of passages. It was to the point of absurdity. He ate it up.
I fear the same is being done with the subject of racism. Since it is tough to find outwardly and overtly in the places they look, they claim it has gone underground. That's like that cop who asked if I was going to be a good boy and admit to stealing some stuff and tell him where it was, OR was I going to act like a criminal and deny any knowledge of it.
I didn't steal the stuff. So, damned if you do or don't. It is the same thing here. According to Chris Matthews and some others, if you are not a fan of Mr. Obama's political philosophy and way of handling the job, you are clearly racist. It carries on like that in other areas but right now any of the usual political lampooning aimed at Obama is liable to be tagged as racially motivated. Maybe it even has a bit of sexual symbolism too. Maybe lesbian love symbolism, I don't know, ask my ex professor. That dimwit.
You can find prejudice and bias and racism everywhere if you choose. That does not mean that hate and unkindness lurk there, just that you can delve into the absurd they way I did at FSU.
Those crying race over and over are doing more to foster tribal disdain for others than even the KKK. They've done it so successfully that some black thugs have killed people and justified it with things we know nothing about like the shooting of a black kid by a jewish hispanic man in FL. Well, his dad was jewish I think, so he may be a druid for all I know. The point is there.
For the record, lots of people do not much like other races. At least they prefer their daughter marry only chinese, or black, or white or hispanic or arab or whatever. It is how people are. That doesn't mean they carry this all that far and seek to eliminate or even hurt the feelings of others. They usually don't.
I remember a jewish guy getting the very evil eye for bringing me into his house in high school. I remember a black guy's grandmother not so discretely cussing him out for dragging me in the door. It happens. I knew they meant no awful harm, and I figured maybe they were right--I'm a bad influence.
Oh, I should explain. The default nationality in my discussions is my own, USA American. Since the friends mentioned above were also born citizens, I did not list a continent or country in order to describe them adequately for the purpose of the story. Continentally, we were all American-Americans, even though Canada and a bunch of places are in South American and North America. It's a quiz to name which one contains Canada and Mexico. You got a 50/50 shot, and everyone in my class passes if they pay the green fee. That's what I call it, "a green fee". Save the world, pay up. You'd never guess that my teaching career started and ended on the same day.
The thing is, people in parts of California, or in Wisconsin or more homogenous places read these stories and assume all this racism must be southern white rednecks out to make trouble. Some of that may exist but nothing like they pretend. So, people outside actual interaction with lots and lots of other ethnicities form opinions about the fiction they are fed as fact.
All the while ignoring that, per capita, blacks are highly racist--far more so than whites in this century---, hispanics are more tribal than whites, and often rival blacks in their racist thinking. It is obvious and easily tested. Go walk into a predominately black area of Memphis. If you are black walk into a white area. The former has a 99% chance of being harassed or beaten or otherwise made to feel unwelcome. The latter has maybe a 10% chance of receiving dirty looks and maybe a rude question.
People know this. Yet the race thing is still played as if it is some other way. That is the reality of the here and now. Study it, search for it, make your Jesse money off of it, or maybe try to quit fueling it and pitting group against group--usually based upon condition of birth. This mythological belief system must go. Maybe one person doesn't like another or disagrees with him or her, and the whole race thing is secondary, or so far from the issue at hand that no one has thought of it.
Crying racism, even though you have to claim it is underground, is much easier than actually debating philosophy or dancing through a logical syllogism. It is shameless pandering and an attempt to discredit and squelch opposition without having to explore and win a point in discussion.
I've got no time for racism, I'm too busy being islamaphobic, and for good reason.
.
What I found was that since Cubans were considered a minority in federal terms that they found it relatively easy to discriminate on any basis which suited them. It is human nature, to a point. Not that I didn't have plenty of Cuban friends I did. I liked their coffee and much of the music, etc. But life is life.
One work experience was rife with sexual and ethnic discrimination. I was one of the very few white males (few males of any stripe) in the place, and they took their shots. I did not pursue legal recourse or any of that, although I probably had a better case than many I've seen in the news. Hey, if they didn't want what I had to offer I could go elsewhere. And I did. So, bully, woman, hispanic. She did seem a little underhanded but I believe she seriously regretted it by the time I left. OK. Not to the point.
Still not to the point; I was just thinking that I bring out strange things in women. I must learn to harness this somehow. If I could learn to direct their reaction to something less dramatic than homicide.
Now the AP has a story about some university guy's study showing explicit and implicit racism. It mostly focusses on white against everyone. I tend to think this is a thing which has a kernel of truth and a bushel of BS.
When you have a culture in which young people who don't act like punks are ridiculed for "acting white", would you say that is a racist phenomenon? I would.
The study uses techniques and questions which are iffy at best. It seems to go the way of my English professor at FSU. He wanted us to pull all sorts of hidden meanings and symbolism out of everything. He was very keen on homosexual symbolism. I caught on and finally wrote a paper for the class.
To write the paper I got stoned and drunk and invented every possible bit of sexual, homosexual, and maybe even trisexual context to the most inane of passages. It was to the point of absurdity. He ate it up.
I fear the same is being done with the subject of racism. Since it is tough to find outwardly and overtly in the places they look, they claim it has gone underground. That's like that cop who asked if I was going to be a good boy and admit to stealing some stuff and tell him where it was, OR was I going to act like a criminal and deny any knowledge of it.
I didn't steal the stuff. So, damned if you do or don't. It is the same thing here. According to Chris Matthews and some others, if you are not a fan of Mr. Obama's political philosophy and way of handling the job, you are clearly racist. It carries on like that in other areas but right now any of the usual political lampooning aimed at Obama is liable to be tagged as racially motivated. Maybe it even has a bit of sexual symbolism too. Maybe lesbian love symbolism, I don't know, ask my ex professor. That dimwit.
You can find prejudice and bias and racism everywhere if you choose. That does not mean that hate and unkindness lurk there, just that you can delve into the absurd they way I did at FSU.
Those crying race over and over are doing more to foster tribal disdain for others than even the KKK. They've done it so successfully that some black thugs have killed people and justified it with things we know nothing about like the shooting of a black kid by a jewish hispanic man in FL. Well, his dad was jewish I think, so he may be a druid for all I know. The point is there.
For the record, lots of people do not much like other races. At least they prefer their daughter marry only chinese, or black, or white or hispanic or arab or whatever. It is how people are. That doesn't mean they carry this all that far and seek to eliminate or even hurt the feelings of others. They usually don't.
I remember a jewish guy getting the very evil eye for bringing me into his house in high school. I remember a black guy's grandmother not so discretely cussing him out for dragging me in the door. It happens. I knew they meant no awful harm, and I figured maybe they were right--I'm a bad influence.
Oh, I should explain. The default nationality in my discussions is my own, USA American. Since the friends mentioned above were also born citizens, I did not list a continent or country in order to describe them adequately for the purpose of the story. Continentally, we were all American-Americans, even though Canada and a bunch of places are in South American and North America. It's a quiz to name which one contains Canada and Mexico. You got a 50/50 shot, and everyone in my class passes if they pay the green fee. That's what I call it, "a green fee". Save the world, pay up. You'd never guess that my teaching career started and ended on the same day.
The thing is, people in parts of California, or in Wisconsin or more homogenous places read these stories and assume all this racism must be southern white rednecks out to make trouble. Some of that may exist but nothing like they pretend. So, people outside actual interaction with lots and lots of other ethnicities form opinions about the fiction they are fed as fact.
All the while ignoring that, per capita, blacks are highly racist--far more so than whites in this century---, hispanics are more tribal than whites, and often rival blacks in their racist thinking. It is obvious and easily tested. Go walk into a predominately black area of Memphis. If you are black walk into a white area. The former has a 99% chance of being harassed or beaten or otherwise made to feel unwelcome. The latter has maybe a 10% chance of receiving dirty looks and maybe a rude question.
People know this. Yet the race thing is still played as if it is some other way. That is the reality of the here and now. Study it, search for it, make your Jesse money off of it, or maybe try to quit fueling it and pitting group against group--usually based upon condition of birth. This mythological belief system must go. Maybe one person doesn't like another or disagrees with him or her, and the whole race thing is secondary, or so far from the issue at hand that no one has thought of it.
Crying racism, even though you have to claim it is underground, is much easier than actually debating philosophy or dancing through a logical syllogism. It is shameless pandering and an attempt to discredit and squelch opposition without having to explore and win a point in discussion.
I've got no time for racism, I'm too busy being islamaphobic, and for good reason.
.
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About Me
- John0 Juanderlust
- Ballistic Mountain, CA, United States
- Like spring on a summer's day
