26 Weeks

I'll be honest.  I've been noticeably decompressing.  I'm trying to sift around the mess of our nation the last four years and find an appropriate analogy that doesn't rocket into hyperbole or underscore what's already known.  Yeah, racism has been around.  Homophobia, Xenophobia, Islamaphobia.  It was just sort of neatly tucked away in a jumbled mess under the bed.  "All dressed up with a dirty neck", as Erma Bombeck would say.  The bed was pulled away from the wall and it was sort of kicked out like Legos and Jacks underfoot.  And instead of having a new opportunity to see these issues in the light, the intolerance and ability to celebrate and rejoice in it - no matter how small a portion of the population- was enough to spoil the entire batch.

4 years and I think I was just being hopeful and helpful.  I guess if I've grown in any respect, it's in how vocal I think I've become in person and on social media.  Again, it's not an activity I probably would have engaged in as much would my folks still be here, but 2016 was sort of that perfect storm of losing my family and the Trump administration showing up.  And we were all worried at how bad it would be.  And when it got bad (and worse) it became a struggle to not just try and open yourself to advocacy but see how those people in charge would just try and stop you from making the change.  In broad daylight.

Losing our role models along the way has been hard.  Seeing the distance between a progressive, hopeful nation with problems but struggling to help others understand sort of have the rope cut so that the powers that be could watch you at the bottom of the ravine while they held the rest of the rope at the top.  I guess it felt like we didn't just move backwards, but when we tried to grip the identity- to plant ourselves and say "YOU MOVE" all the cliches and linked arms failed to do a single thing.  Every Facebook memory of the last 4 years has contained a drop of the venom that stained our nation.  

I hated it.  I hated how hard I had to become to deal with people who were...not happy...but pleased.  Smug. Righteous?  I hated having to watch Republican lawmakers acting on their constituent's behalf sprint to make the kind of embarrassing legislation that may have made Reagan blush- all because they didn't know when their bubble of fortune was going to burst.  

As of today, after weeks of garbage litigation and bluster we're finally seeing the light in the form of Trump's half-ass go ahead to start the transition to our new leadership.  It's full of names- competent and educated names without secondary objective's meant to enrich themselves and the President.  It comes at a time when it feels like we're in the middle of the most unknown and frightening chapter in American history that doesn't revolve around a war.  

Because holy shit.  We need to get this pandemic under control.  And holy shit spending 4 years trying every form of pleading, cajoling, taking a kind an lighthearted approach to people to hopefully help them understand concepts of systemic racism is so much fucking harder when the Chief Executive makes his fan club feel super okay with it.

Here's a snap from 2016.  Back when the arguments got flipped back to "No, YOU'RE actually the racist for SAYING I'm racist and this WOULDN'T be a problem if you didn't go LOOKING for RACISM everywhere."

Yeah.  The conversations are going to be hard.  And gods know it won't be solved by the time this administration heads into another election year.

Eyes on the prize.  Fucks like the kid who killed 2 protestors are getting sprung by Mr. Silver Spoons and Mr. Pillowfuck who help crowdfund bail, while Black people are *still* incarcerated for slinging weed.  It's a problem of white supremacy that's not going anywhere, so it's best to start high and break it apart so shit doesn't keep raining down on you.  And oh look.  That's what America did.  

It'd have been nice if it didn't take the incompetent mishandling of the pandemic to get here.  It'd be nice if racist cops hadn't killed Breona Taylor.  Or George Floyd.  

A good article intercultural competence is right here. 

25 Weeks and?

 Sorry, followers.  I'm pretty fatigued and have been having some pretty intense internal conflict as to whether or not I should vacate social media permanently- wondering so much as to how much energy do I want to spend trying to export 12 years worth of pictures (or will I miss them?  So many have drunk mugging faces from me.) and how something that seemed so goddamn benign in 2008 turned into such a weird monster.

I can't attribute either of these since I'm paraphrasing them, but I read a quote that said "If you think about how quickly Facebook destroyed civilization since it's beginning just over a decade ago, it's really impressive." and the other was about how something designed with an algorithm designed to "connect you to people with the same interests".  Which made ME jump to "Oh sure.  'If you LIKE the confederate flag, then you'll LOVE!' dot dot dot."  Hell, it probably started with the "Dukes of Hazzard" fan page and figured out people who were spitting fire when the series was pulled due to glamourizing the symbol of a time in America when the Confederate States, like, wanted to own people as property.  

Which, weirdly, to me?  Seems really bad.  And the magic of social media starts assaulting you with page recommendations and next thing you know we're arguing whether vaccines are valid, organizing criminal activities against elected officials, and spending the last 4 years- whether you supported the asshole or not- swirling around soundbites screaming about how you CAN'T believe that asshole LIED again...with other people defending him.  (I'm in the former camp, btw.  And along with being able to socially interact with people while seeing their faces IRL without seeming weird, I have the hardest fucking time with coming to grips with people who- by crowing their support of him- kind of outed themselves as being tolerant of racism, homoph...you know what?  If you're a human being who gives a shit about other human beings, I'm just going to keep the faith and presume you're not.

And I guess that's where my naivety got the best of me and the damage was done.  I don't know if I'm worse off in knowing all of that, or if  being ignorant and playing along for the sake of family gatherings was living a life of even simple advocacy.  

Likelier still, Trump would never have become president without social media.  I'd die on that hill.  And that hill is going to still be around for the next few election cycles.  So do I even want to bother any more?

Maybe save the gram.  Or Twitter for an adrenaline shock of outrage.  See what other form of energy I can direct all of (gestures outward) this anxiety into.  Because it's been 25 weeks since George Floyd was murdered by members of the Minneapolis Police Department.  People are complaining about the crime.  The City Council said they'd fix everything and the police, but can barely pass a referendum to ask for more money for more cops.

And we're in Winter.  And in a pandemic.  And there are just so many things I'm saying now that *could* have been mitigated before any of them happened, and knowing why after the fact doesn't make me sleep any better.

So now what? Week 24

I've never been in the habit of gloating.  Something about the smug, self-righteous nature of it, adding insult to injury always felt super disrespectful to me.  

I'm also not alone in saying, again, that if you are a Republican or "right leaning" or whatever I honestly (at this point) don't care.  The elected individual in the Oval Office was unfit, unsuited and unqualified for the job.  At stake was a sense of decency and integrity.  While we get battered by a pandemic, calm and clear leadership *must* prevail.  The idea of political affiliation as a dogma is almost quaint.  

And still, as it was pointed out to me last Wednesday by a- wait- former high school classmate- it is *I* that is sowing division by lumping the supporters of the 45th President into a large group of *racist/xenophobic/islamaphobic phobby phobby oxen-frees*  

As it's been further pointed out, the THEY of the Republican/Right-Leaning are feeling ATTACKED and have ONLY felt like it's the LEFT who is acting awful and beligerant and well now THIS is why I NEVER Talk about POLITICS on FACEBOOK because it's like you get CANCELED and NO I DON'T do a TWITTER because THAT'S EVEN WORSE!

That's the biggest crock of horseshit I've heard in 4 years of reading daily horseshit from the Commander-In-Chief.  Since/If you're not listening, I hope you'll understand that I'm coming to you from a place of love.  In fucking fact, I don't know if it's just the fact that you're suddenly *feeling* the umbrage of Democrats and the voices of oppressed people and that's it's gotten somehow worse because, I don't know, asking nicely hasn't seemed to work all that well so there's been some shouting.

There's been some protesting.  There's been some dissent.  From day. One.

As the aforementioned high school chummy pointed out, playing Devil's Advocate (seriously.  That's SUPER fucking helpful and REALLY drives your point home) 78 million voters showed up for the guy, and am I *really* calling them all racist?

You. (Clap) fucking (clap) bet.

Here's the thing- and it's worth repeating every week so I hope you can take this to heart so I don't feel like a broken record.  Left.  Right.  Democrat.  Republican.  If you are white, you should kind of already know where this is going, if you're white then you're pretty much winning the lottery every day from a race standpoint.  And because racism- not patriotism or George Washington- slavery is the backbone of our nation and even stooped and bent it is still the pall that washes over us.  45 gave people, who tire of hearing about how bad white people are, a reason to stop having the conversation.  In fact, tried making it ok to consider a "Great America" as one that favors you in your whiteness.

Fuck, look, we benefit as a society from the oppression of people of color.  That they turn up in droves when the call to unite our country is made, and do so with grace and dignity and a love of the country is what really unites us.  You know what doesnt?   A chode for a president who fosters unease and fear because *that's how he learned what's successful*

And it isn't leadership.  It doesn't unify.  And that there are people in the nation that just don't care is heartbreaking.  That you are in love with your abuser and vote against decency and unity while crowing for it is...I mean, it's frustrating?  

But at least it won't be 4 more years of reading about a President who makes insane (Insane.  IN. FUCKING. SANE.) Proclamations via Twitter.  

Anyway,  SIDE note- I drank for the first time in many many many months on election night which was wasted since the winner wasn't announced.  I spent the next 4 days recovering (I'm old) and then partied it up after there could be no question as to our next president on Saturday night.  

You want to go on and say "Hey, can *I* say he's not MY president, then?"  Well yeah, that's your fucking right.  It makes you sound like a chode, since the reason people said it in the first place is because a Trump presidency wasn't just a step away from normalcy and decency, it was a weighted fucking dive.  And what will be in a few short years, looked back on as one of the darkest times in our nation's democracy.  Segregationists fought FOUGHT tooth and claw for their RIGHT as AMERICAN CITIZENS to keep schools separate.  We looked back in our civics classes and used those examples of changes that needed to happen.  That we stepped back into that era, when America wasn't so great, should be a cautionary tale.

78 million voters are okay with that.  Were okay with daily lies.  With racism.  So, I guess if you're married to the direction ("Right") maybe you should consider a divorce.  Being progressive is, at it's heart, about progress.  Not about giving flat earther's and anti-vaxxers a pulpit to well-actually the tits off the rest of us.

RIP George Floyd, 24 weeks on.  The world will have it's eyes on you.

Election Day Post- VOTE

 

 I'm pretty sure in these last few hours before the polls open I'm not going to change anyone's mind.  I want you all to vote- democrat, republican.  I mean it.  I LOVE voting  I LOVE the process, and while this whole election season has been stressful I LOVE how excited and involved democrats get about voting.   And none of this will matter after tomorrow night, anyway.  I might even have celebratory drink.  Lord knows, I'll need one either way.

 

 As it stands, I get a whopping 6 views from people who either forgot to subscribe, click the link on social media, or are (bless their kindness) genuinely okay with reading the grammatical nonsense a guy who throws words down without much time to proof read much less condense into a palatable and relatable article.  It's not my journal, y'all, but I have *things* that needs said.

And since a lead in photo increases my viewership by 2-5 peeps, and because it had to do with a LONG rant I had previously written for today comparing sports fans to party line voters that I chucked- I kept the picture of Case Keenum.* during his one-good-year here from an old stock photo.  If my lead in picture has to do with my family or (specifically) my daughter?  I'll get 20-25 people reading.  So let me thread carefully this since I have everyone here:

I have had one solid saving grace in my life that has been both a constant to me.  One that I cherish and would protect until I was unable to crawl and that is my family.  In 4 years, I have been married to my rock, and we have traveled and grew together with our experiences- and planned and fought and scraped and journaled and fooled around, and lost a baby, before bringing into the world our Izzy.  We've managed to fulfill ourselves theatrically here and there.  We've watched Rachel's family and even some of my own family grow and to me- these are the most precious and dear things in the last 4 years.

 That's where it stops.  Full stop.  End.  Doneski.  

Since 2016, my mom passed away.  I cut loose family that had proven untrustworthy and unapologetic in their graft which meant the loss of my being able to spend time with my niece and nephew.  Then through voter apathy, controlled fraud/racism/voter manipulation, and foreign influence we were presented with a toxic drunk driver to helm the ship.  Then I lost my beloved job of 5 years due (after being told- by said family- I spent my life with my hand out) to a massive restructure and was adrift while experiencing the aforementioned miscarriage.  Filtering through family records I made some discoveries about mom and dad that affected the lens with which i viewed them. From listening to friends experiences I discovered my own culpability regarding privilege and benefiting my entire life from systemic racism.  I stopped spending time with my best friend who grew bitter and toxic and was beyond kindness and reason.  Karate, a part of my soul and zen- closed it's doors.  I went to counseling, I had open and honest communications with my wife, I found my drinking and eating was stress-triggered, my blood pressure and cholesterol were dangerously high, I started feeling isolated and removed from pretty much everyone.  I reach out.  I'd talk.  And then? There'd be gaps of silence.  

Through my wife's pregnancy I was able to find new people and new work, before taking a brave leap and finding a newer job which- to be really real- wasn't what I was expecting and was incredibly challenging and defeating every.  Single.  Day.  I love my family.  We persevere.  We keep saying we are okay and we calm ourselves with gratitude.  We talk.  We press and head toward a new year.   More stress.  The baby is dangerously sick.  My wife and I both get dangerously sick.  As I struggle to walk up and down the stairs, I'm reminded that we are also talking about moving.  I worry.  I stress.  Money becomes more of an issue.  "If my family hadn't screwed us over..."/"We can't keep going back to that".  

Suddenly we're in a pandemic.  A slow creeping panic as we wonder if we're going to have jobs.  If we'll need to quit to take care of our kid full time.  My wife is navigating benefits and a workplace from home that is simultaneously addressing the needs of the staff in the time of COVID.  My job begins the cycle of "are you being productive at home?" which increases the need to PRODUCE and places new strict and stressful overbearing measures as I work at my dining room table- the top of which I haven't seen since last Winter.  

George Floyd is murdered by police 23 weeks ago at the start of Summer which casts a pall over the entire city.  Crime, *violent* crime increases in patches.  I feel most of my days are convincing people that there are legitimate and nuanced reasons for the increases and ("No, we're not moving out to the suburbs"/"Well I think you should.  It's really bad, Mike"/"Says who?"/"Says me"/"The only people who think the Twin Cities are no longer a vibrant and beautiful place to live are from Albertville and or are racist")  

There's still a pall. There's still death from pandemic flu.  I still haven't hugged anyone outside of my bubble in 8 months.  I have my wife, and her family, and this is our continued source of gratitude.  We could be alone.  Our kid could be 7 and missing their friends.

There were still pictures on social media of party after Halloween party.  Inside.  Bourbon street in New Orlean's was packed with revelers.  

And 4 years after the last election, there seems to be a person who's still on the ballot who- while not the cause of my unemployment (directly, but it's the 2nd sitting Republican president who's lorded over the nation while unemployment rates are skyrocketing) or personal medical travails (directly, but after four years of dealing with people who seem to think a lack of character, morals, integrity, and values much less a toddler's grasp of piloting the space shuttle when it comes to understanding their job.  Especially when part of your job is understanding how the country works and, well, you have people as resources who can answer questions you don't know pretty quickly)

He won in 2016.  He road the crest of Obama era job restructuring and maintained it without plunging us downward immediately.  While that was happening, he fostered a nation that shook free the cover from prejudice and racism which gave his followers *permission* to be racism.  *Permisssion* to hate and heckle.  What started in 2008 with Obama's election after 8 terrifying years beholden to a crumbling national infrastructure and economy brought on by a Republican backed Congress and terrorist act was beginning to finally place our country on firm footing.  

He ruined it.  He's ruined our country.  He's taken every opportunity to wake ME up with new lies every single day.  Every day.  And I'm so fucking tired of it.  When it comes to acknowledging racism, systemic or otherwise- to acknowledging a world that has mistreated and victimized BIMPOC citizens, women, Trans-individuals, people suffering mental illness...I have ENERGY to ADVOCATE for them.   I have STRENGTH to fight fascists and racists with my bare hands.  I have EYES to roll at people that hunker in their forest bunker because THAT is where they will STAY like that Japanese soldier on the island who didn't know WW2 was over.  

What I can't do is any of it when what was "good enough" for Republicans at their lowest and most contemptible allowed for them to sink lower and accept Donald Trump in a position of power.  It has taken away my ability to consider reasoning or reaching across an aisle.  It has robbed me of my grace and sympathy for their lack of growth and ability to flex with the changing times.  I cannot listen to my own family use racist language, share Infowars or Blaze videos or Fox News as gospel.  The din of Twitter is not something I can hide from as it provides me with the knowledge that These are Those In the World Who Have Forfeited Sense.

And these people will be running the world I am desperately trying to raise my kind to be a kind a decent person who will love her father. 

Here's the starting point.   Please vote:

 

 

 

 

 

(*It was, if I'm being honest, REALLY funny.  I think present day Viking fans with their perpetual annual loyalty is admirable.  Until MF'ers started going from their armchair knowledge to straight up toxic shittiness.  I was talking to friends about the waste of investment Kirk Cousins was, and how Keenum had a pretty good season here and made a point to say he enjoyed Minnesota and hoped he could grow with the team before BOOM the check book is out and we have a new expensive fucking quarterback who is useless as an asshole on my elbow.

I was "Well-Actually'd" by these bruhs telling me "Well and just HOW is Keenum doing NOW? " like they magically 8-Balled motherfuckers career trajectory after being honked from the Vikes after a successful season and STILL doesn't rationalize an overpriced useless QB when we STILL perpetually lose in our GORGEOUS NEW stadium and the fans STILL get rabid and are finally- after 50 years- maybe kind of seeing the cracks in their stupid fuck armchair arguments since the door slam is NO SUPERBOWLS EVER FOR THE VIKINGS...That and I mentioned we probably could have gotten Kaepernick for a STEAL if the Vikes would have been brave enough to take a risk at an in-prime solid QB with good leadership skills but NO he's got BAGGAGE and this is why they fucking fail.

My funny was that the Vikes leadership is fucking Borat, right?  And the conversation is "Ok.  How we make the Vikqueens wing this super bowel?"/"Well, we need 4 big guys who can stand there and keep other guys from tackling the quarterback.  It seems we never give the quarterback enough time to do anything.  Ever." /"Ok.  Maybe we spend MORE money on quarterback and get new uniforms? HIGH FIVE!"

Was my joke.  Which isn't a joke.  Move'em to Texas already.) 

 

Both Sides week 22

 I had a really, *really* long post about the both sides conversation.  It was fairly topical in lieu of the WSJ article about how two Pennsylvania neighbors with opposing political views stay friends.  (It's the WSJ so of course they want you to pay for it.)  I also had some friends who are writer's and can articulate with more eloquence and grace than I about speaking points you frequently see batted back and forth which laid the groundwork for a calm transition after election day.  It's free, so I'd recommend giving it a read if you have the time.

In the last week, though, we've had the final debate and an appointment of a new Supreme Court Justice and while I originally wrote about my parents, and the importance of what I learned from them and how foundationally-speaking we're all sort of alike and the party-system sort of sets us up for failure (and has, deliberately) for the better part of 25 years.  Here's what it boils down to, and if you are a well-meaning person with a social media presence who, shall we say, veers right then this next part is for you especially because I'm going to give you the bottom line.  

It's been, in my experience, that people who lean conservative are those that post something like *There is SO much HATE coming from BOTH sides"* with particular emphasis on capitalizing specific parts of THEIR posts.  (I'm not a fan)  It's usually followed by a rejoinder that we are all human beings or (occasionally) a copy and pasted list of the GOOD THINGS the PRESIDENT has done for our country.  Or maybe it's a feel-good video, or whatever.  To help you understand in the same way when you tell someone to CALM DOWN they generally do the OPPOSITE? 

From a social media (and, by extension, how you really feel)  If you are posting about both sides being culpable in spreading discord what you're (really) asking the other side to STOP TALKING ABOUT POLITICS MY GOD I HATE ELECTION YEAR SO MUCH!

Since I lack the grace of my friends up there and with kind regard to people sharing the Pennsylvanian version of the Capulets and Montague's having a pot luck.  Here's where I think the actual division lies.

1) Donald Trump is a garbage human being, unqualified and unfit to lead the nation and exemplifies a list of terrible qualities that shine like a lighthouse directly into your bedroom.   There's no escaping the non-stop barrage of awful that is either repeated, you are reminded of by the news cycle, and- this is important- to have to constantly listen to people defend him...not just stupid attendees of his super-spreader dog and pony shows, but who defend him...is ultimately such a frustrating exercise that it causes the more base instincts to be displayed.  Like anger?  Like anger.

2) The modern GOP playbook is rotten and manipulative and people that still think they are acting in their best interests as citizens are similarly frustrating.  And to refer back to point one?  You are supporting an individual that falls so beneath the ideals of common decency that it's no longer fathomable to think you care about the hopeful ideals of democracy.

Ok?

To qualify this-  Democrats aren't outside the realm of deep and harsh criticism and I'm certain there are people who would be quick to point this out by way of defense.  But at least I know them.  All of them.  And I'm still aligning with *My* side.  It's that self-awareness that adds to the frustration.  We know about Obama's drone record.  We know what Biden did with segregationist senators.  It's been news and public record.  Fuck, we can't even agree to a candidate any more unless it passes a purity test and matches an imaginary ideal.  

To listen to the *hate* coming from the *right* ends up being a regurgitated broken record of Fox talking points.  And if you can't be divested from the realization that it's an *entertainment Cable News Channel* that's designed specifically to provoke like a haunted house tailored to YOUR fears, then we can't keep talking.

IF YOU ARE STILL HERE- I get it.  "Politics" as is pushed in your face every day is like a boring game of air hockey where the goal is taped shut and it's *click* back and *click* forth in an obstinate wheel of uselessness where shitty laws (BY THE RIGHT) that benefit corporations and the wealthy and disenfranchise those in need get slipped through the big noisy fights.  Those used to be hush hush while you were watching the latest news, but they end up invariably doing the most damage.  HOWEVER since about 2009, there's been no hanging on pretense.  And since the RIGHT has chosen to actively be nasty in PLAIN SIGHT with their politics...the abuse has become business as usual.  And when you grow accustomed to it or just figure that's how it's going to be?

It's probably pretty jarring when all the lefties start saying "Enough is enough" or "this is bullshit".  And of course, Amy Coney Barrett- a yet untested and incredibly unqualified individual that went up for 2 weeks of hearings and said a whole lot of nothing about a whole lot of stuff she's on record as previously saying just got nominated.   So now, when I think of my daughter.  My baby girl.  And whoever she wants to grow up to be- boy, girl, non-fucking-binary.  That's my kid.  MY fucking KID.  And that someone might get to rubber stamp legislation that says she can't control what goes on with her own body?  Or marry who she chooses?  Or use whatever bathroom?

Hey, at least when your kid starts figuring shit out it would affect your daughter too.  So, equal opportunity.  And HEY!  White dudes!  We won the LOTTERY!  WOOHOO!!!

Sorry, gross joking aside- I do have anger and hate about the following.  (I can talk about it.  Or not.  It's not like this uncontrollable fit. ) But if you want to vote for TRUMP and think you lean RIGHT then you support:

Kids in cages, White Nationalists, a President who has lied (on record) about the severity of the pandemic and continues to do so (after re-configuring the pandemic response team in 2018) and who averages 50 false claims (lies) a day.  Who is crass, uncouth, and lowers the bar with every public appearance.  Who is unfit to lead.  Who is in debt to foreign entities that place him at risk of endangering our nation.  Who frequently flies in the face of the constitutional resraints meant to provide balanced leadership.  Who is, unrestrained and unable to rally and unite our nation.  

If you still want to vote for him after the first two?  If those are "meh", then honestly you aren't just a conservative or even a Republican and I think you need to have a lot of self-reflection time.  Because what that makes you is a pretty disgusting judge of character.  

But whatever.  He would sexually assault women whenever he could and that's what his fame taught him.  Not grace.  Not humility.  Not gratitude.  And I went to high school with a BUNCH of people who have DAUGHTERS who are super okay with that.  Not a deal breaker.  

That's fucked up.  That's ONE side.  

And the neat part is, if you don't want to or cant' vote for Biden?  You don't have to vote at all.  But remember, Biden has to be held to standards he's promised to uphold.  And you have a LOT of pissed off democrats who are hoping to right the ship for everyone.

Week 21- Cheaters Never Prosper and Like When You Do the Work For them

I had something really long and pithy planned for this week dealing with "both sides" having problems and yelling at each other on social media, and more to say on people who attempt to stay apolitical.  It was drawn out, invoked my parents, people in high school who have been disappointing to say the least- 

But as a reminder, it's not you:  It's literally Donald Trump.  

The rot happening inside the GOP started, btw, with Newt Gingrich re-writing the playbook on dirty politics in 1995.  He *hated* Bill Clinton, and as speaker of the house - the only people he had a lower opinion of than the democrats were just...people in general.  He likened them to zoo animals.  (I'm not shitting you) And as is customary of evil villains and plans in the making, he created a new playbook by which to reframe liberals as "enemies" and not merely opposing political idealists.  

So, as another reminder:  In 1992, Just after 12 years of a GOP led executive branch, during which time we talk about the Cold War ending (hint- it didn't, really) AIDS as a pandemic causing mass panic and hysteria against GLBTQ folks (which was ignored) a MAJOR GULF WAR that ended in...really nothing.  Super Anti-Climatic.  But at least we, as American citizens, were constitutionally free to express ourselves by being able to unironically wear and display our flag.  (Well, "burning it" was protected.  Old school "consitutionists" will remember it was not appropriate to "wear" items with our flag.)- The last two big issues during these 12 years were the absolute destruction of the middle class in the form of trickle down economics (and easing of corporate restrictions enabling the current dearth of hyper-wealth in major corporations and some awful destruction of natural resources.  This was all facilitated by that oft bandied/little understood player "the lobbyist" which, sometimes illegally, to get what they want via Congress?  Made cash "donations" to individual congresspeople in order to make sure guns and smokes and drilling were still peachy and corporations received boo-too tax breaks)...annnnnnnd?  Anyone?    

Gold star if you guessed the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine which meant Fox News could peddle grade-A horror to the stay at home racist who believed there were armies of welfare recipients with 8 kids eating steak and lobster.  Worst still, after all that goddamn beautiful Americana of 12 years and the complete ruination of the the middle class shitheads too stupid to be born earlier- A pot-smoking saxophone playing hippy philanderer with questionable economic ties was elected President.  A goddamn democrat.  

Besides draconian weed laws and incarceration mandates that directly impacted the Black Community and caused an increase in violent oppression against POCI communities, and a stupid AF scandal in which the sitting president power-played an intern in a gross display of manipulation before lying to the public...He didn't do much.

It was all still too much for Newt.  His playbook essentially was to create new verbiage for Republican Congresspeople seeking re-election.  In it, you'd use terms during campaigning and in your literature to paint your opponents as "radical", "leftists", who were trying to force change by catastrophic spending of your tax dollars.  That dog-whistle terms when discussing crime, law &order (read: "Black People") was just part of the underhanded trickery.  And shit's worked, because..well...look where we are now.

Anyway, I didn't mean for this history lesson to drag on- but it's the patented (maybe?  Newt wrote it) and deliberate manner with which Republicans chose to manipulate you so that- barring a catastrophe like 9/11- you didn't have to worry about the changes happening around you.  You just let your elected official do it for you.  If you had only a smidgen of comfort you were entitled to it, by God, and they wouldn't let another nickel go to paying for someone else's education.  (Which was originally meant to have a majority be state-funded so more students could afford college.  Well, make it more expensive and colleges could get wealthier and itttttt would be harder for BIMPOC people to attend and there's more racism and FUCK YOU!  GO TO COLLEGE FOR FREE, HA!  WHO PAYS FOR IT?!!"  You do, dickmunch.  We all do.  That was the original point.)

Well change happens with or without the consent of conservative voters, so now we're facing another election year on the heels of the last one that didn't go over like a landslide but was more or less led by a charge of previously mentioned issues (voter disenfranchisement, targeted campaigns to dissuade BIMPOC voters from voting for Democrats...the goddamn cheating Russian's who just had to say "Well Actually" or "Emails:" and they fucked over millions of American voters who were hungry for disinformation.)

And now, they're straight up stealing ballots.  So, the TL/DR version is this-- don't listen to shit.  Ask a friend for help who you know has already successfully voted if you haven't already.  Fake ballot boxes have been set up, mailed-in votes have been detained, and people have been getting sent fake voter forms from GOP sources illegally in the hopes that if you're too confused to vote- maybe you'll sit this one out.  

Seriously.  If the bar was any further underground, we'd have to call Roto-Rooter to get it out of your sewer pipe.  Cheating.  They can't even trust the shitty system they created, and if that doesn't tell you as a "Right Leaning" voter it has nothing to do with where you sit ideologically or politically and EVERYTHING to do with controlling the narrative.

21 weeks since George Floyd was murdered by cops.  We can start to do some real work toward changing the future for young BIMPOC people by helping them see they have a voice at the ballot box.

Additional Reading:  

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/11/newt-gingrich-says-youre-welcome/570832/

Hi. Don't matter what the paper's saaaaayyyyy VOTE

Hello.  It's Monday, October 12th.  Indigenous People's Day.  And it's been 20 weeks since the murder of George Floyd, and in the interest of keeping you apprised of current events- they granted the officer who committed the murder bail, and a free pass to someplace nice to cool his heels before the trial.  Where?  Well, it's been hidden from the public out of safety concerns.  Because WHAT?  What does a cop need safety concerns for?  Retribution?  Cops are the GOOD GUYS?

If my sarcasm doesn't feel genuine, let me please explain that there of course, many overcrowded prisons which are also underfunded yet STILL managing to make people incredibly wealthy that are filled with (pssst BIMPOC) people who couldn't afford to pay for bail or didn't have the privilege of having someone pony up bail for them for their (predominantly) non-violent crimes.  Guess who promised a contract to one of those for-profit prison builder's?   Anyway, it's speculation but my speculation is that a certain shitbrick on the Union passed a cup around to ensure bail was secured.  It's fuckery.  Angering fuckery.

If you wanted to know something about the for-profit prison system, I didn't even use the pay-to-read NY Times article showing the depths of concession's 45 made for his donors in order to curry favor and more donations.  It's from Fox Business, and those contracts are meant to make people wealthy by building cheap boxes with bars for not-white prisoners.  Look, just re-watch "The Shawshank Redemption" if you wanna know how that kind of backdoor profiteering looks in a FICTIONAL STORY and not IRL.

In case you*do* have a subscription (and at $99 a week for digital, it's a lot.  I get it.  I did it right after the election of 2016 when the first wave of the "war on fake news" happened, and haven't looked back.  I used to tease an old girlfriend for her habit of lounging in bed on a weekend reading the Times, and now I find myself glued to the daily briefing.  And with bombshells like Trump's taxes and just the other day, showing how he refilled the swamp by profiting from the presidency...which, as you know, is ill-fucking-egal...I mean, did you want to know how this asshole should fry in jail.  That he built.  

And here in the Twin Cities...someone passing bad checks gets murdered?

 

Toward the election-

So as more and more citizens vote absentee this year (A number that is up, obviously, due to public safety during the pandemic), the polls will likely start to give American's an idea of who is legitimately winning earlier.  No more needing to stay up late, as it is entirely possible numbers and projections can and will be made showing who the next President will be before the actual election day.  I bring this up, because you will also start to see a winner and a loser, and so far the numbers indicating who the loser is points to the person who was the loser back in 2016- however, as we know due to graft, a carefully orchestrated campaign to dissuade voters of colors put on by Cambridge Analytica, Russian Interference, a batshit Electoral College system giving more weight to voters in smaller/less-densely populated areas which tend to skew Republican/Conservative versus urban/Cities which tend to favor progressivism, and an absolute abundance of outright fiery racism and sexism...

And well, here's to the last 4 years of my ulcer and mental health deterioration and loss of foundational trust in our unstable institution of governance in the United States.  I guess it didn't pay to be patriotic with a big heart and giving a shit about other people when the racists who think a lady shouldn't run the country and a bankrupt sexual predator with no integrity or experience with foreign policy is THEIR FUCKING GUY.

Anyway, the one thing I want for my 7 readers to do is still vote like there is a cannon aimed at your home or your job is on the line or your kid is sick or your best friend who is GLBTQIA or spouse who is Black or I'm running out of analogies.   We're not going to survive as a country at this rate.  And the hyperbole is not hyperbole any more.  Trump is the asshole who learns their house is being foreclosed and decides to trash it.  

The newsrags are going to start focusing on an eventual winner and eventual doesn't secure the nomination any more than my good thoughts will.  He needs buried in votes to prevent any possible repudiation.  And I want you to be the one's to bury him in them.  Vote.

I want to bring this up because if we've come to expect anything from the White House and...*him*...it's how scorched Earth batshit they get when the shit hits the fan...(which it has for four years on the daily, and within the last month at a breakneck pace.)   With him sick and desperately trying to show how tough he is, and while he is incapable of talking and Tweeting at once, he's going to start dropping whatever decorum he has and start getting crazy nasty.  (If you're digging so goddamn deep that you have your staff threaten to release damaging information on your LAST political opponent from FOUR YEARS AGO...you're only slightly in trouble.)

I leave you with an image or a thought I keep coming back to when I'm out on my morning constitutional.  There's a line in a book about someone so tough they fight like a cornered bear.  Then I kept thinking "fighting like a trapped animal?  Like a caged animal?"  (If you've ever caught a beastie that did NOT want to be in a live trap, you'll know it's a pretty terrible image.)  On further reading, there IS an attribution to an Indian Cricket team that had a rally or something along the lines of "Fight like cornered TIGERS!" But goddammit, a Tiger is a noble beast and *I* was born in the year of the Tiger and fuck that noise there has to be something...OH! THANKS GOOGLE!

The original term was "fight like cornered rats".  Much like the sister phrase "Rats on a drowning ship", it was intended as a slight (in aulde Englysh...whatever.) and personally I prefer the image of the rat scurrying and trying to get out with no where to go.

Still.  They can still bite ya.  And leave an infection.  And with all the shit that's happened on this inept fuck's time in office, we have so much cleaning up and healing to do already.

Week 19

 19 weeks since George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis Police officer’s. On camera. 

 (Pictured:  Cartoon of an iceberg, with the tip being racism caught on camera.   I'm happy to provide a further explanation of what this means in the comments)

 

It'd be nice if we could expedite the prosecution since it would appear to be airtight.  It'd be nice if this was some kind of guarantee.  Instead, we're stalled on meaningful change or even the simplest performative act by the prosecution:  "We will ensure justice for George Floyd"

Also, 

 

(Pictured: Screen grab of a Tweet, informing you that if you've been swept up in the national election news cycle you may have missed that D Cameron- KY Attorney General and Trump stooge admitted the only charge admitted was the one the officer was eventually charged with:  Wanton endangerment.)

If I need to remind you, Breonna Taylor was murdered by cops performing a no-knock warrant who fired into the apartment of her boyfriend, killing her while she slept.  She didn't even get the benefit of the officers being charged with involuntary manslaughter.  D Cameron gave the officers the options of their oopsie being not considerate of the neighbors when they went in guns a-blazing.  And of course they took it.  

This is the world we're in.  You're being screamed at, shouted at, having signs held up and protests held all but begging you, my fellow white people, to see.  To *try* and understand.  To do the bare minimum and uncover your eyes and face what has been happening for 100's of years.  For 400 years.  Are you able to listen and stand up?  Recognize and acknowledge the pain?  

Because last week, the person holding the highest office in the nation did not denounce racism.  And that is an incredibly dangerous and horrifying prospect for our future.  

I just got done reading a racist kid from high school drive through a comment section on  social media defending and crowing 45's praises so I'm feeling overwhelmed and disheartened.  I almost shared the picture of this kid- who thought it was fun to say 45 isn't racist and that Biden *actually* is and look at this bus segregation shit right here, fam!  So *I* thought it'd be fun to dredge up the two page yearbook spread of our entire graduating class from my high school yearbook showing the kid holding up the sign where he cleverly hid "KKK" in the corner.  It got NEWS time back in 1993.  And in case you're wondering, this fuck hasn't changed much.

Ok.  I'm not going to stop reminding you that an unarmed black man accused of passing bad checks was murdered by a cop.  Or an EMT murdered in her bed.  Or an unarmed father shot in the back while his kids were in the car, or a beloved member of school faculty murdered in his car, or a kid going to get candy, or playing with a toy gun, or wearing head phones, or or or...

I'm spending the next 4 Monday of these chinwags exhorting you to vote like your life depended on it.  Like you had the lifesaving cure to a disease.  Like it was going to save lives.  

That's what I'm going to do here for the next 4 weeks.  Do I think it's going to be a door opening with fresh air blowing through the nation of immediate change?  No.  Do I think that we have a better chance of keeping up pressure, recreating the narrative of constant oppression, and starting to make a world where our democracy and liberty for all can mean "all not just white people..."?

Yes.  Vote Biden and Harris.  If you don't like Trump and feel the need to vote Republican, you can sit this one out.  No one has to know.

 

 

Weak 18- Here be Dragons

 In the 18 weeks since George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis Police, what have you done to inform other people of the role systemic racism takes in law enforcement? 

Sleeping.  Just sleeping and trying to get some rest after her shift.  

Going for a jog.  Getting a few miles in.

Walking around your neighborhood.  Minding our own business.

Coming home from getting candy.

Complying with a traffic stop.

Innocuous tasks.  Acts of violence against people of color.  By law enforcement.  By armed citizens who see a black body and react violently.

Speaking of cops- Police officers are protected by draconian laws to prevent prosecution in the event of an officer involved shooting.  

Draconian-  (of laws or their application) excessively harsh and severe.

 

When I was a kid it was a simple equation explained to me:  In the event an officer feels there's an imminent threat of death then lethal force is justified.  Then we watched a training video of a man (Black) and the officer who was called to an armed robbery.  The black man turned around with his hand in his jacket pocket.  The man turned around when the officer demanded it and still had his hand in his pocket.  The officer fired immediately toward the center mass, killing the suspect.  The suspect was not armed, and simply had their hand in their pocket as a threat.

 

And this has considered okay.  Even if the officer fucks up and shoots the wrong person.  And it's not okay.  Because not only is a life lost that never had to end, the cop has this awful Hollywood immunity that provides them will a nearly impossible-to-prosecute defense.  

Sleeping.  At home.  The place she should have felt safest.  After helping save lives and provide care.

I'm asking you to think about this because it's never far from my mind.  Cops have been *allowed* to do this for a very long time.  It's within the last 10 years that the level of violence perpetuated on black bodies has reached an almost casual, horrible commonplace.  Are you okay with this?  I'm not.  

We need to change this.  We need to end this.  The police need to be accountable and dismantled and recreated to serve the public they protect.  

Week 17 Persistence and Change

 17 weeks since we've lost George Floyd at the hands of members of the Minneapolis Police Department.  Today is the Autumnal Equinox and the first "official" day of Fall.  All the cold days we've had in the last few weeks caused by meteorologic shifts and adjustments for cover created due to raging wildfires on the West Coast were a prelude to what the actual start of the slowdown towards Winter.   In that regard, I'd like to remind that people across the United States have been continuously protesting the death of George Floyd and BIPOC people at the hands of police now for over 4 months.

4 months.  I applaud and lift their will and spirit.  When everything is falling they persist.  

If you're wondering how defunding the police will help the recent surge in violent crime, maybe re-think what the role of law enforcement should be in addressing violent crime.  Or, FIRST, remember that the role of law enforcement (as a reminder) is:  

Deterrent: Being a patrolling body to be mindful of their surroundings and ("beat") and have their very presence act as a proactive crime repellent.  (Parking on a dark street looking for speeders, shaking down possible suspicious individuals etc*)

Active immediate involvement:   Responding to active crime scenes and situations with potential use of force.  (Calls to scenes of activity, domestic response, identified and moving suspects, fights, etc)  Reporting to crime scenes after the fact to tape off the area, interview witnesses, perform searches

Active investigation:  This is the one where someone calls in something and the cops respond to...something.  Someone calls 911 and they show up to look for that one guy in a coat.  Or that one guy passing bad checks.

Look these are generic, but the idea that the cops showing up in full body armor are going to actively be stopping crime before it happens or able to address the increase in violent crime isn't going to happen without address the current stems of what is *causing* the increase in crime.  Which is record job loss, unemployment, and the deep mistrust for law enforcement which prevents the crimes from being reported to begin with.   So, where would you like to start in addressing this?  Complain or blame people of color?   That's racist!

Yeah, it's frustrating and scary and I don't have any better answers whheeeeeeennnnn the answer is opening the economy (which we can't, because plague death) and *not* a larger and better armed militia-type police force and *is* having resources to address the community issues.  Also something that is perpetually blocked by your City Council and national legislative branch which also loves allocation a shit ton of money for cops to LOOK scarier but actually send people, sorry- BIPOC- people home after being shaken down, terrified, murdered, beaten, and mistreated...send them home to seethe and boil while white people (esp. in the burbs) can feel better about more cops being hired during Q4 and "well I NEVER go downtown any more."

Well, no one does.  Parking is a fucking rip off anyway.  Less activity or incentive to spend time in an urban center means a place that's a lot more fertile to do naughty things.  And guess what?  SHIT IS STILL CLOSED BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC.

So awesome.  Winter is coming.  And places getting by with patron restrictions and patios are likely to be proper fucked.  Remember this when it's election time and Mitch McConnell sat on a stimulus bill.  Not "Well democrats had a hand in it".  You're a fucking runt minded shit when that asshole has made himself a self-styled villain who plans obstructionist legislation and admits to it.   Anyway.

My kid's screaming.  And I can't focus.   Here's some food for thought-

One of these assholes is elected, and says terrible things, and signs off on terrible things.  And is just a fucking all around terrible person.  The other person?  Does the terrible things with a cold and uncaring precision that is unphased by remorse, judgement, or hypocrisy.  Just remember that.  One is a sayer that's fucking useless as an asshole on my elbow.  The other just fucking had a statement drafted and ready to hit "Send" before the news even broke of Ruth Bader Ginsberg's passing.  That's pretty fucked up, y'all.

1984 Zanewood 4th grade creative writing.

Mom kept everything.   After discarding old progress reports and report cards (I wasn't a very good student which is to say I was a B student.  Neither ambitious nor impressive, most of my feed back from nursery school to 11th grade was similar.  "Could listen better".  "Needs to check work".  "Energetic".  "Participates".

 What I remember most about this collection was that 4th grade was when writing, particularly creative writing and poetry that was structured ("Start with the phrase 'I am' and give us 5-10 descriptors" or "Tell a story from the point of view if you were an animal".  Or my favorite "What is a quality you don't like in a family or friend?"  Which is the impetus behind "The Liar" below.  Hilarious since it's been 35 years but I sure didn't listen to my own advice there.)

 35 years.  I remember the panther bit was partly because I did a book report on them the year before (*right before we had a field trip to the MN Zoo. ) party because I was a HUGE fan of the TV show "Manimal".  I obvs loved (and still love) Spidey, Dr. Who, and remember "inventing" the superhero "Starside" which, like all good make-believe non-comic heroes is basically an amalgamation of the Justice League...(He had a black cape, white shirt, and blue tights.  I dressed like "Starside" that Halloween since mom wouldn't let me make my own Ghostbuster outfit.  Speaking of...)

Matt S was my BFF from grade 4 through about 7.  Sleepovers, Dr. Who, drawing, comics, toys...we sort of liked it all.  Junior high saw the divergence of friend groups and I ended up palling with another neighborhood kid who was also in band with me- the one who was the friend who dared you to do dumb shit, talked shit about girls, owned some of the earliest hip hop albums we'd listen to, and had an older sister I fell in love with.  The crossover was that Matt started getting into Skate culture and made his own board, we watched the movies, read the skater magazines, so I was learning about Tony Hawk et.al. before it was cool.  Literally.  The only board I had was one from Target that was crap, but whaddya do.  I met up with him again early in my college career and he eschewed regular education to bury himself in computers and he did.  I've never seen anyone type so fast and have such a huge home set up, way back in 1994.  I hope he's well.

Anyway, I can also say I miss this kids bluster and make-believe lack of self-awareness.  He probably comes across as thinking highly of himself ("Gifted and Cluster is "Gifted and Talented" so we were learning concept stuff, inventions, playing with Rube Goldberg devices.  Truth is I hated it and tried playing sick to get out of it.  I always felt stupid like I never "got" the ideas before the other kids.  I only later realized I was in it because of my weird brain but I literally held a thermometer up to a light bulb to get out of Tuesday G and T class.) 

 

I took the liberty of transcribing these.  Mistakes are all 10 year old me.  I hope you find them comical and find some funny during these really dark times.  My teacher-teacher was Mr. Pheil.  He taught us the recorder.  Mrs. D-L was the other teacher.  She was Jewish, and made a point to educate us on the customs- so we learned to sing "Hava Nagila", tried matzo ball soup, and told us about the holidays.  (Happy New Year, my chosen friends!)  And when we had a field trip/camp cook out, we all had to bring a can of bean with bacon soup to add to the pot while she quietly sat on her ground mat (we all made them) and had salad in a glass Tupperware bowl. 

 

 

My name is Mike Postle.  I live in a very big house.  My best friend is Matt S.  My favorite foods are pizza, hamburgers, and steak.  My favorite subject in school is reading.  My favorite super-hero is Spider-Man.  This winter or summer I am going to make a movie called “Ghostbusters II”.  A separate class I go to is Gifted and Cluster.  I have a very high intellect.  My brain rank is number 1 and I have a very happy life.

I felt my body shrinking, shrinking…

I got as small as an action figure before it stopped.   My pet ferret went chasing me all over the place.  Well…this is hard.   OK to have my fun.  I decided that I would play on my action figure set up.  Well it was fun but all of a sudden I became large again and I broke my action figure set up.

If I was a Super Hero:  If I was a Super Hero, then I could fly like a bird.  I would be very cool.  I would be called “Starside”.  I would save the world. I would be charming.  I would always be on duty. I could climb walls.  I could shoot electric bolts.  I would be the strongest super-hero in the universe.  I would be loved by millions.

The Liar

A liar is like a fly with the wings of Satin (I meant Satan)

A LIE IS WRONG!

A liar is a person senseless without truth.

A LIE IS WRONG!

A liear is a child taking a cookie from the cookie jar.

A LIE IS WRONG!

A liar is an enthusiastic person that loves to say “not me”

A LIE IS WRONG!

A liar can sense the truth coming so he hides.

A LIE IS WRONG!

A liar can be found in a crowd of truthful people because he lies so much.

A LIE IS WRONG!

A liar is only a liar when does something wrong.

A LIE IS WRONG!

A liar can only be cured by the truthfulness of God.

That liar shall be cured.

Best fuckin' Time Lord ever, man...

My Autobiography: I was born December 25^th, 1974 In Minneapolis.  My parents are Pat and Michael Postle, and my 13-year-old brother is Steve.  I am now 10 years old and my name is _______ I live in Brooklyn Park, 6324 70^th Ave North. My favorites are Matt S, pizza, T.V., Spider-Man, Cheeseburgers, my family, Billy Joel, Doctor Who, South Dakota, soccer, hockey, baseball, and basketball. I hope to be a detective or world peace maker.

If I was a panther:  If I was a panther, then…I would be agile, I would be keen, I would be graceful, I would be beautiful, I would eat a lot, I would track things down, I would be cunning, I would grumble, I would growl, I would be black, It would be great.