Thursday, January 30, 2025

DC Plane Crash ...

 

I don't know much about the airspace in DC, and I understand that it's a congested area -  but I still have a lot of questions about how this happened, the first of which being -  what was an Army Black Hawk, our premier, multimillion-dollar combat helicopter, even doing in an overly congested commercial airspace? 

So according to the NYT, here are the flight paths of both when they collided ...




Then looking at a Google map,  I've circled commercial versus military air fields in DC.

Those circled in red are military - Ft. Andrews/Meadows Field to the southeast, the FAA Potomac further south (and slightly southeast), and the helipad near the White House.

Those circled in blue are commerical/domestic - Reagan National near the WH helipad, Dulles International to the west, and several private, commercial/domestic air fields.

(I originally posted the screenshot without the circled areas, but have replaced it now.) 




I don't get it.  


Why was the helicopter pilot going straight down the Potomac into a commercial airspace, when he could've gone to the east to Ft. Andrews/Meadows Field or the FAA Potomac?


Was he taking the scenic route or-?

That, by the way, would not be uncommon, I was just told.

In fact, my former Army ranger husband has done just that - ridden along in a Blackhawk, down the Potomac, for the scenic route/joyride experience, back to base. 

I get it -  woo hoo, follow the river, all the pretty lights -  you're flying aces with top training, trained to dodge anything in a split-second - and yet not very safe or smart.

But then who ever said Army men don't like dance with danger?

Okay - but this is how civilians can get killed, my good men.


Anyway ...

Pete Hegseth, US Secretary of Defense, care to answer that question?

Mr. Secretary of Defense, do you copy?

Pete?

Peeeetyyyy?

Helllloooo?


Oh, never mind - though everybody else has chimed in, including the Sec of Transportation, even the dog-killer, Kristi Noem, of the DHS, I forgot that Pete's probably still sleeping off his hangover.

Somebody call the escort service he used, then, maybe one of the girls can wake him up.


Now - I am NOT suggesting a conspiracy -  I'm suggesting that I don't understand why the pilot took this airpath, that's all.  

It just seems that good common sense would tell you not to go straight down the Potomac into an already-congested commercial airspace, but obviously, I'm not a pilot and maybe there's good reason?


I mean, dang, if congested airspace is that much of a problem, then we don't even need a war overseas to crash a multimillion-dollar combat helicopter, just send them to the DC commercial airspace?


Regardless, I'm very saddened by the loss of the young figure skaters, their coaches, and their families.

I understand that the area is congested, but things like this shouldn't happen in this day and age ðŸ˜¢


________________________


PS - Trump just blamed the plane crash on diversity/inclusion/equity policies and Democrats creating incompetent air traffic controllers at his afternoon WH Press Conference.


HAHAHAHAHAHA! 😂😂😂

Oh, he was serious.


Yeah, um ... how exactly is THAT, Trump?

Are you insinuating the air traffic controllers have people of color and are therefore incompetent?

WHAT ABOUT  WHY THE PILOT WAS FLYING A COMBAT BLACKWHAWK HELICOPTER THAT LOW IN COMMERCIAL AIRSPACE? 

Sigh.

All I know is, I would never want to be an air-traffic controller - that has got to be one of the most stressful jobs in America, whatever your color of skin or sexual orientation.


Regardless, glad I wasn't the only one that noticed Pete Hegseth appears to be curiously silent and  MIA - because the press asked Trump the same thing at the early-morning WH press briefing.

Again, would someone call the Escort Service that Petey used and have one of the girls wake him up out of his drunken/coked-up stupor to address this, please?











Wednesday, January 22, 2025

"It Can't Happen Here" - When Fascism Comes to America - Sinclair Lewis

 



So pardoning dark-web drug traffickers and January 6-ers (not just nonviolent offenders, but the violent ones, too, who assaulted police officers with baseball bats), getting rid of diversity in government, making illegal the children born here of illegal immigrants  ...  allllrighty.


I don't know why people are acting surprised, that's what he said he'd do?

Except he DID say he wouldn't pardon violent Jan 6-ers, but then did anyway.


All of these things Sinclair Lewis predicted in the 1930s - not because he's psychic, but because he's smart.


Perhaps you have heard the quote "When fascism comes to America, it will be carrying a cross and wrapped in an American flag," attributed to Sinclair Lewis.


It's a great quote, and it sounds like something Sinclair Lewis would've said in his book "It Can't Happen Here," - but unfortunately, he never literally said it - that's just the synopsis gist of the book. 


The book is about a crass, callous, conscienceless, "Christian," corporate lackey of man, who is voted in as President of the United States,, but becomes a dictator, promising a return of "traditional" American values, ousting immigrants, executing and interring his political enemies, protestors, minorities and the free press into concentration camps, enacting a federal police force called "The Minute Men" to enact these "edicts," as well as the federal government is now essentially financed by corporations.


It was written in the 1930s as Lewis was watching the rise of fascist regimes in Europe under Franco, Mussolini, and particularly Adolph Hitler, and it's written as a cautionary tale about how when fascism came to America, it would look differently than in Europe - and thus, people might actually vote for it. 

And what we know he did say is this: 

 “But he saw too that in America the struggle was befogged by the fact that the worst Fascists were they who disowned the word ‘Fascism’ and preached enslavement to Capitalism under the style of Constitutional and Traditional Native American Liberty.”



Note he said that in America, the fascists will always disown the word "fascism" (or deflect off it), instead calling it Americanism or patriotism.


And from another book by Lewis, called "Gideon Planish":

 “I just wish people wouldn’t quote Lincoln or the Bible, or hang out the flag or the cross, to cover up something that belongs more to the bank-book and the three golden balls.”


(The 3 golden balls mean essentially pawn shops, which were also moneylenders, during his day)


The closet quotes scholars have ever been able to find are these quotes from others, one of whom cited Sinclair Lewis: 


James Waterman Wise, Jr. in the Christian Century (Feb.5, 1936):


"If fascism comes, he added, it will not be identified with any “shirt” movement, nor with an “insignia,” but it will probably be “wrapped up in the American flag and heralded as a plea for liberty and preservation of the constitution” 


Another version is from Halford E. Luccock, in Keeping Life Out of Confusion (1938):

 

“When and if fascism comes to America it will not be labeled ‘made in Germany’; it will not be marked with a swastika; it will not even be called fascism; it will be called, of course, ‘Americanism.'” 



Harrison Evans Salisbury in "The Many Americas Shall Be One "(1971)

“Sinclair Lewis aptly predicted in It Can’t Happen Here that if fascism came to America it would come wrapped in the flag and whistling ‘The Star Spangled Banner'” (29).


(This was the quoter's synopsis of Lewis's novel)


All great quotes and warnings from days gone by of what a fascism dictatorship would look like in America, that it would be sold differently, in that it would be hiding behind the false pretense of Christianity and patriotism, and thus people would vote for it, with  only some to realize it it too late. 




Tuesday, January 21, 2025

A Million Little Pieces ...

 

After watching the movie "A Real Pain" about two young Jewish cousins, who couldn't be more opposite, visiting Poland on a heritage tour which included concentration camps - then watching Elon Musk give the Nazi Salute twice (see below post), I feel the need to tell my uncle's story once more.


So he wasn't really my uncle, he was my grandfather's cousin, but 15 years younger, yet we called him Uncle Gene anyway.  Actually, after a DNA test recently, they weren't related to me at all, but that's another story. 

For all I knew at the time, he was, and considering both of my parents were only children, I longed for aunts and uncles and cousins, so my great aunts and uncles and cousins were there.


He was also my Uncle BS. You know what an Uncle BS is? 

At least in the South, it's that uncle that tells crazy stories you know aren't true to make you laugh, a Southern storyteller.


He was a WW2 vet and cussed like a sailor, much to the disdain of my grandmother.

When he found out I was a liberal Democrat as an adult, he'd say things trying to get a rise out of me, sometimes racist stuff even - then he'd call me a commie pinko and kiss me on the cheek at the same time.  😂


But once, in 2007, not long before he died, he told a very serious story.  He was uncharacteristically serious like I'd never seen him before, and I know this was a true one because he also shed tears at the end.

He said this: 

"So we was in Poland and freed these people from a factory.  You have never seen what people are like when truly freed from captivity, so much joy and gratitude.  They was skin and bones, like dead people walking,  But they hugged us GIs and danced. We couldn't even speak the same language, but we understood each other." 

"Matter of fact, I'd almost almost forgotten what joy was, but them Jewish people reminded me what it was like to feel joy, and for what we was doing this for.  We built a bonfire and shared a meal and danced and sang with them, shared what food we had."

"But we all kept looking up over the factory door, this big stone swastika bolted up over the door, hanging over us like a dark cloud.  So you won't find this in the history books, but we wasn't the only ones who did things like this, but me and 3 of my brothers climbed up there and worked on unbolting that thing all night, until just before morning, we got it unbolted."

"That thing came down in a loud crash and busted into a million little pieces, Chrystal.  A million little pieces."

 

(He teared up at this part, which I'd never seen him cry before.)

 

"It woke everyone up and the survivors and GIs just clapped and cheered, then sort of stood over the pieces in silence, remembering the dead along the way."

"I know I tell a lot of crazy stories that ain't true, but this one is.  I don't know why I'm telling this story now.  Maybe it's because your Granny has cancer.  Maybe it's because I don't know how long I got left, either. But I just want someone to know that despite all my bad parts, I know I can be a real son of a bitch, what I done good.  To remember. Will you remember? Please remember what we done? "


I came over and put my arm around him and said "I will, Uncle Gene, I promise.  And thank you for what you did, for those people, for Europe, for the world. Now - will you take a kiss from your commie pinko grand-niece?"  😂


He laughed through his tears and I kissed him on the cheek and hugged him.


I'm keeping that promise, Uncle Gene, don't worry 🥲

I'm especially reminded of it now, when unfortunately within our own country now, I'm watching so many people trying to glue those million little pieces back together, whether they realize they're doing it or not 😢



Elon Musk's Nazi Salute

I didn't watch the inauguration, but read the news this morning and ... sorry, GOP, but that was an unmistakeable Nazi salute.

And in case you thought it was a still shot, watch it live, and just listen - he even gave a little purposeful "umph" when he did it.



And he did it twice - so it wasn't accidental.

Well, what would you expect from a wealth-born South African who grew up during apartheid?

I guess some feel safe to flout that salute openly now.

And don't try to hand us that nonsense that it's the Roman salute - the Roman salute was open, relaxed fingers, rather than tightly together, and they did not hit their chest first. 

And people born in the last century know exactly what that is - it's a Nazi salute - twice.

I cringe for still-living WW2 veterans.

I dare you to do that in front of a WW2 veteran, I bet they could still whup your ass.


And all he has to say about it is to retire the Nazi jabs because they didn't work during the election?

That doesn't mean it wasn't a Nazi salute - it just means he thinks people don't care.

He may not be wrong.

Because no matter what you may tell yourself about why you voted for Trump, when Nazis and the KKK also supported your candidate, that should tell you something ... but even if it did now, it's too late.

SMH





Monday, January 20, 2025

Just Another Day ... But Without TV ...

 

A text went out over the weekend from a work colleague of Mark's who shall remain nameless, but over 200 people agreed - no TV today.

Though many people have normalized this abnormal, criminal president - we will not. 

(Having said that, you'd be surprised how many in public schools voted for him, despite his threat to do away with the Dept of Ed, which would mean they'd have no job anymore.)

It's not that we're sticking our heads in the sand, it's that we have realized there are thing we can control and things we can't, in our society, but we will always refuse to normalize lack of empathy and power abuse.

Thus, though Dave Chappelle has become very tone deaf  gotten on my nerves, the past few years (not uncommon for aging, wealthy comedians who forget what struggle was like, which provided some of their best societal satire), he said something at the end of his SNL monologue - which was the longest in history - that was passionate and heartfelt, like I've never seen him do before. 




He said "The presidency is no place for petty people, so Donald Trump, I know you watch the show, so remember, whether people voted for you are not, they're all counting on you.  Whether they like you or not, they're all counting on you.  The whole world is counting on you.  And I mean this when I say this, Good Luck.  Do better, next time.  Please, all of us, do better, next time.  Do not forget your humanity. and please have empathy for displaced people, whether they in the Palisades or Palestine."  


Now - I could've done without his likening the storming of Normandy to a war on famous people like Diddy, or the trivializing Diddy's behavior into youthful mistakes gone on too long, rather than calling it what it is - sex trafficking, power abuse, assault and rape. 

But the bit about him genuinely not knowing about Diddy's freak-offs and trying to figure out why he didn't know (was he too ugly to be invited or because he has chronic "snitch" face?) did made me chuckle.

So he can still can make me laugh, on occasion, just not like how he once did, as he's gotten older.  As I said, I don't know what happens to famous comedians as they get older and richer - I think they just grow out of touch with the real world everyday American struggles and start to behave like old men and armchair warriors, who never leave the house, who's only excitement is scaring themselves daily  over nothing burgers by watching Fox News.


I mean, his show used to make me laugh so hard I cried, in the early 2000s!

But now, he gets on an unpopular subject and just will not relent, actually digs in, which is losing him not only his following, but laughs, and yet he doesn't care now that he's got money.


Now, I get it that comedy isn't necessarily PC, but if you're going to go that route, your non-PC jokes better at least be funny and playing for the guilt-laugh or there's no point. 

And if you're perpetuating stereotypes and fanning the flames of fear and hatred - then you might want to rethink it?

Because the point is to laugh.


But he said he was tired of being controversial, so when Lorne Michaels asked him to do the show since before the election, he refused - but the moment he said yes to doing it right before the inauguration, LA burst into flames 😂



Friday, January 17, 2025

David Lynch

 Filmmaker, artist, photographer, writer, musician, and the master of metaphor and allusion ... is dead at 78 😢




I remember when Blue Velvet hit the screens in the mid-80s, and most people in suburban Cincinnati, where I lived at the time, were like "Huh ... weird."

However, my friends in my Gleek/artsy circle got it.  He's not just telling you a story, he's alluding to what's underneath, the bigger picture, through artistic expression, ambience, and music. 

Then in 1990, when Twin Peaks came out, people were still like "Huh ... weird" - and yet still watched it because it was also a murder mystery.

And it was funny, in an odd, random sort of way.

My little sister and I thought the stuff that came out of The Log Lady's mouth was especially funny, though I don't think she was meant to be, or I'm not sure - she was meant to be crazy, but also turned out to be very psychic.

Sometimes, out of nowhere, my little sister and I would just go "Shut your eyes or you'll burst into flames ... goodbye," the way  the log lady did, just to crack the other one up, it was so random.

Some people found him too scary or disturbing, at the time, but in the end, good always keeps evil at bay.

In fact, his daughter, Jennifer Lynch, also a filmmaker, has often told the story of when she picked up the book "Helter Skelter" to read about the Manson murders at too young an age, her dad said something like:

 "Okay, before you read this, we need to have a talk. You need to understand this difference - so there's good and bad, dark and light within all of us - and then there's evil.  The human behavior that you're reading about in that book and what they did is pure evil.  Make sure you know the difference between dark and evil, and never, ever encourage evil in your art and influence."


And though we may not realize it, we still see his effect on film today.

Recently, I just watched "No Good Deed" on Netflix, made by the same filmmakers/writers that did "Dead to Me" - which I've often said is the show I wish I'd written, as a once aspiring screenwriter - it's a master class in screenwriting (at least the first season was).

So during "No Good Deed," when they wash their hands, then take the camera down the sink drain, out into to the sewer, showing you all the filth along the way?

Totally a David Lynch.

Brilliant, brilliant man - RIP, David Lynch



Thursday, January 16, 2025

Just Checking In ...

 

It's been a minute, but all is well!

My BIL and family in LA are all doing well, at present, house still intact, but still watchful, right?

Other than that, I've been super busy!

Since January can be icy/snowy/cold, it's usually my organization month.


And can I just say - as much as I love my old boss and what I did, since it was contract work, it was often either feast or famine - how much I love my new job, having regular hours and regular pay and varied responsibilities?

As a result, I'm actually excited to start each day, which I haven't felt in 20 years!  😊

I'm told it will take about a year to learn everything, which is fine by me - I love learning and I love researching things, because I'm a huge nerd 😂

In fact, researching is my favorite part of medical transcription, and that is largely what I do with this job - problem-solve any issues that arise, both medical terminology and technology-related -  which makes me an even bigger nerd because most MTs hate having to research stuff.

I get that, if you're on production pay and you get paid by the line, you just need to get it done quickly, but still maintain quality, so it's a balance.

But researching was my favorite part of being an MT, to the degree that I could sometimes go down the rabbit hole trying to find an answer, and I've had to learn when to just move on!

With transcription rapidly being replaced by self-editing, voice-recognition software and AI, I am super grateful for this opportunity, because part of our job is also finding out why things didn't upload tech-wise, etc.

Also, we're on a global team, which I love!


I just hope I'm learning fast and meet expectations, right? 


Though we still likely will be replaced by AI one day, we all know that, I'm crossing my fingers that day isn't before I retire or even in the next year or so!

However, being that part of my job is to also resolve tech glitches, etc., I'm hopeful that we will still be needed in some capacity, at least. 


Otherwise, regarding current events - trying to "conquer" Greenland and the Panama Canal, possibly using military force - WHAT?

Since we are trillions of dollars in debt, with what money are we going to "buy" these placesf?

And possible use of military force, what the ???

No wonder he's a fan of Putin - who also risks young people's lives by engaging in unnecessary conflict and/or invading small countries, just to be "conquerors" and government-own things, like a bunch of medieval feudal lords - instead of work out better trade deals and buy rights to resources?!?


And Pete Hegseth.

*Sigh*

Well, if he IS confirmed, let's all send him  3 blowup dolls and a case of vodka as a congratulatory gift. 😂

(Just KIDDING! Nobody really do that, please.)


All right, just checking, but  yes - all still douches!  😂


And they really might want to reconsider calling themselves "conservatives" when it comes to big government and spending, just saying.


Otherwise, so I'm not necessarily sticking my head in the sand, but burying myself in work and the people I love, rather than worry about things I can't control, right? 




Thursday, January 9, 2025

LA Fires ...

 

... my brother-in-law is finally evacuating today - whew!

They're okay, but yesterday, we all bombarding him with texts saying "Getttt outTTTT!"

My particular text said the above as well as "You have insurance.  Grab your pictures, grab some clothes, go.  Ya know, I learned from the hurricanes in Florida that if you wait until they call an official evacuation order for your area, it's too late.  Then you'll be stuck trying to get out in LA traffic.  Next we'll see you all on the news, like climbing a rope ladder dropped from a helicopter, from your car on the Santa Monica freeway, and nobody wants THAT. Save the pug!"😂

(They also have a pug, like us)

 Of course, this is no laughing matter -  just trying to give him a smile. 

He wouldn't budge, despite everyone pleading with him to go, then finally, late last night, though the Santa Ana winds had died down for a bit, they packed their car, ready to go this morning.

Be safe - love you guys.  In the end, it's all just stuff - take who and what's most important, leave the rest behind - love you. 💓



Sunday, January 5, 2025

Snowstorm Movies ...

 So we're experiencing the beginnings of a snowstorm here, and yesterday, after taking all my decorations down, grocery shopping, and getting firewood, we watched the rest of the 2nd Season of Squid 2, which doesn't end, actually, or it ends on a cliffhanger - to be continued in the final season sometime in 2025.

So we're ready to hunker down and watch movies. Other than Squid Game 2 and The Old Oak, we also just watched Smile 2, after thinking the first Smile was a pretty good horror flick.




However, as usual, IMO, the sequel was ... very disappointing. 

This time, I do NOT agree with the critics, though I often do.

It could have been good - but when you can't determine what is real and what isn't to the point that you almost stop caring, it's not a good film overall.

And the ending?

*SPOILER ALERT*

A famous Lady Gaga type of person kills herself (or is killed by the demon inside) on stage, so now the world is infected - what?

Where are you gonna go with that?

Because now you've infected everyone, the world.

I hope you have a plan - because otherwise, you've written yourself into a corner, haven't you?

What's gonna happen in Smile 3, aliens come down and are infected by the demon? Bigfoot? 

Sigh.

Unless - the ending was a hallucination, too, is the only thing I can think of.


So Mark and I were talking about what is so scary about this series - and it's the soul-less, evil smile itself.

If you've ever been unfortunate enough to actually see a psycho smile like that, it's likely the scariest thing you've ever seen.

So we talked about whether we'd ever truly seen someone smile like that - like Jack Nicholson at the end of "The Shining" on steroids.

(In fact, Jack Nicholson's son, Ray, is in the film, channeling his dad's famous evil psycho "The Shining" smile.)




And I'm not talking about fake smiles, I'm talking about evil smiles.

I'm also not talking about mischievous grins.

Like when you say to your old-enough-to-know-better child, "Don't you pour that cereal bowl over in the floor" or "stop messing with your sister"- and they give you a mischievous grin and do it anyway 😂.  That's just normal boundary-testing.

I'm talking about a truly evil, psycho smile.


Mark said he has in the military a few times, but even that was rare - most just looked desperate - either fear or rage -  but actual evil smiling was rare, but he had seen it - and not just from the people he was fighting against


I've seen the "power smirk" on a few people, which some might call evil, when abusing their power over you or others - but a truly evil smile?

Only once.

So in the mid-90s, I was sitting at a red light, trying to turn left, where Pasadena Rd meets Clays Mill Rd, right in front of the Lexington Assembly of God church.

You know how you can feel someone staring at you?

I looked over to my right and some 60-year-old dude in a red Toyota sedan was just staring at me with a smile like this ...




Except - the guy was like 60, grayish with sunken eyes, like he had lung cancer or something.


Holy Mother of God, what the ???

What IS that, is that even human? 

Nope ... Boy, bye!😂


I immediately got chills/shuddered,  then put the pedal to the medal, despite the red light, and quickly drove away as far and as fast as I could! 😂

That's the thing in these movies - why do people wait around to see what will happen next? 😂

I don't know, maybe they're in shock, but if you ever see a smile like that -  like you're both stuck in the Andes after a plane crash and you're dinner, but you're not -  you better "nope" it right outta there! 😂

And it wasn't someone just messing with me -  why would an unhealthy-looking 60-year-old feel like riding around town with a smile like that just to frighten people for fun?

Later, I was like "Did that really just happen?  Did I fall asleep at the red light or something? Am I losing my sanity?"

No - I can't even fall asleep in the backseat or on a plane, or even my own couch, due to an anxiety disorder - unless I have a fever or when pregnant, but I wasn't - and though I have PTSD, I have never  actually hallucinated anything in my life.

I've seen a lot in life, I'd never seen anything like that.

I have no idea what his deal was - all I know is, I've never seen that kind of smile before or since - except in the movies!







Saturday, January 4, 2025

Ken Loach's "The Old Oak"

 


In recent years, I have tended to get reflective, around New Year's, and I always like to do something inspirational on New Year's Day, I guess because I'm a cornball 😂

(Hey, considering much trauma in life, I've earned the right to be a cornball - it's better than becoming bitter,  right?) 


Now when I say inspirational, I mean a foreign film or documentary telling me a good story, often at least somewhat based on a true story, rather than some Hallmark fantasy - and not a "me against the world" story, but more a communal hope story of a group of people pulling together.

Considering New Year's fell in the middle of the work week, this year, with just the one day off, it was prime time for inspirational movie-watching - "The Old Oak" from filmmaker Ken Loach, which is actually the result of a combined filmmaking effort from Great Britain, France, and Belgium.


But before I get to that, we had previously started watching Squid Game 2, which is not only social commentary of the wealth inequity in South Korea, but of the world itself -  especially in societies where the balance between capitalism and government oversight has shifted too far one way versus the other.

In South Korea's case - and ours, in the U.S. - we are beginning to offset that delicate balance, leaning dangerously close to laissez-faire capitalism run amuck and us all becoming slaves to corporate debt with no consumer protection or labor protection.

And yet we continue to vote for it, with the false hope of the American dream or breaking the glass ceiling with our rugged American individualism, smarts and strength, and that once corporations and the rich get what they want, it's magically going to "trickle down" on us, which has never once happened at the federal or international level, people are too greedy.


And we're so easily distracted that we're actually voting for more of the same, too, with issues designed to distract, pulling at our heartstrings or motivating through fear - immigration, religion, abortion, gender issues.

Great, so ... let's imagine a place where we don't have abortion at all anymore, there are no unisex bathrooms or sports teams where transgenders can go and they can't change their gender, i
mmigrants can't come in and "take our jobs" or "commit violent crime" ...

Meanwhile, your job has actually been replaced by either AI or cheap Chinese labor instead of immigrants.

You fear going to virtually any public place or business where  people gather, to possibly be shot by a multi-round AR-15, blown up, or run over  - by a U.S. citizen.

Babies are being left in dumpsters and unwanted-child church boxes (which is already on the rise in some states).

You can't afford to see the doctor or your medication. You're in debt up to your eyeballs and your house is foreclosed upon.  

Because the Department of Education has been done away with, you can't afford to go back to college to improve your situation, and your kids can't even attend public school anymore, only rich people can do these things.

So now you, and your family,  huddle together in vans down by nearly dried up, polluted river.

Who are you going to blame and what are you gonna say,  then?

"Well, thank God there's no abortion, transgender people, or immigrants, and that I have free speech and ma gun, B'God, Trump and God gonna bless me for that."

I don't think ya will. 

Trump is going to protect corporate interests - not you.

Also, IMO, God often does not rescue us from the consequences of our own selfish stupidity.


Regardless, both shows hung on me for different reasons?

Actually, the same reason but different outcomes - finding hope despite desperation.


I haven't finished watching the second season of Squid Game yet for lack of time (and its intensity), but the naked truth of both Season 1 and Season 2 is that human nature will often choose the dream of possible money and a better life against all odds and their own best interest, trying to work harder to please and entertain those in control, despite those in control having no concern for them, consider their lives as having less value, and even disdain for them and considering them all losers who if anything, just get lucky - enough to put them in survival games for their own entertainment.

Depressing, for sure - but there's already more of an element of trying to work together, in Season 2 -  which of course the powers that be will likely find a way to smash.

However, as the first winner in the first season tries to impart to the other players, all of it means nothing if you lose those you care about in the process and others suffered or were killed during the game, just so you could win, often by luck rather than skill or smarts - you might be left with survivor's guilt.


My husband and I had an interesting conversation about what we would do during some of the game's choices. 

His instinct is to protect himself and his immediate family first, the inner circle - then any more vulnerable people in the second circle -  but eff everyone else, including non-immediate family or friends - proof positive that still, sometimes that old Army/Republican mentality of deciding who is the most deserving among other people we deem to be like ourselves or not are the ones to be saved/protected.  

My instinct, on the other hand, is to protect the most vulnerable first, like me or not, family and not, but either way, more than myself -  I've already had my chance in life - and I do so even if they don't understand the decisions I made were actually great sacrifice for them that nearly killed me.

Now I said most vulnerable - not most valuable - and sometimes the most vulnerable ARE the most valuable, at least in my eyes, in terms of saving what is most important to be preserved in human behavior in society and humanity versus accumulation of wealth or strength (which unfortunately often means making decisions to step on other people to obtain that wealth).

This follows suit, though - when times have gotten tough for us financially before, the first thing he wants me to do is stop sharing so much with other people, rather than us make adjustments to our budget.


But I think of Victory gardens during World War 2.

I think of watching a community forget all of its political nonsense after major hurricanes and just made sure everyone was safe and fed - black, white, Latino, Republican or Democrat, rich or poor.


I think of my own "apocalypse" during the last recession, when transcription companies began to fall all around me, after our wages had been cut repeatedly already, no benefits or health insurance now, and after overseas outsourcing and voice-recognition/AI software -  and even McDonald's had a hiring freeze. 

I had nothing and there was no mercy or kindness to be had from those I thought were close to me, even people I had helped before - and I ended up at a homeless shelter for a few months, finally getting a job at a restaurant waiting tables for a while, then getting out. 


Don't you know, the ladies there shared whatever they had with me and each other - there was no hoarding.  There was no "This is mine I don't have enough to spare."

There was "Here, I don't want my beans, do you want some?" and "We got cake today, you missed lunch because you were working - do you want some cake?"

The only time that things got contentious was if somebody from another room wanted to cause trouble with somebody in your room or you -  then your "sisters" jumped into action - walking you to the bus stop for work to make sure no one jumped you, etc.

I call that experience now "The survival sorority" 😊


The most kindness and mercy I have ever experienced in life was from other broke or poor people, who also had absolutely nothing, and there was no "deserving" - it was "It doesn't matter - I only know that you're hungry and in need - I don't have much either, but let me share what I have with you."

Thus, I promised myself that when I was in a better situation, I would be that person that I didn't have around me (except for my friend Marian, who did what she could, but was killed by a drunk driver in 2023) - I would show others struggling the mercy and kindness that I should've received by those definitely in a better position than those homeless people were, but that scattered and avoided, when I was in trouble financially "I don't have enough to share" or simply making up reasons why I didn't deserve it to justify it, even when I had helped them or given them the last bit of what I had in the past.

And the truth was, I had made some very poor decisions in relationships prior, that's true - but so have many other people.  I wasn't on drugs, didn't drink, didn't commit any crimes - just broke - and broken.



And if anyone at work found out you were living in a homeless shelter, God help you - people make up what they don't know, their theories always including drugs or alcohol, mental illness, or just out of prison or something -  none of which were true. 

 In fact, half of the women there, at least at that time (during the recession) were working low-paying jobs, some with children, and some had a home, but it was foreclosed upon - and like me, they either didn't have (reliable) family or were told by these people "I can't" or won't - or - more often than not, simply didn't want to burden anyone else or even know, out of embarrassment.

And never mind the amount of predatory people that come your way because they know you're in a vulnerable spot and powerless, like sharks smelling blood in the water - that's a whole other post.

And yet the spirit of humanity was there in full force with my "sisters" -- the spirit of God, if you will - despite the fact that yes, SOME of the women there had been addicts, mentally ill, or just out of prison (but were going to school or working, if they could),  versus those of us who fell like a house of cards during the recession - but anyone's circumstances didn't make any difference, every was equal and everyone looked out for everyone else.


So that's where I'm coming from in life - I've already experienced my own personal zombie apocalypse and survived 😂

But believe me when I say that I've seen people go through even way worse than me, and chronically.

But as a result of this experience, as well as devastating hurricanes in Florida, I've seen people  forget all about scapegoating this group or that group for problems, and instead, pull together and help each other - white, black, Latino, legal or illegal immigrants, Christian or not, Democrat or Republican - all of that crap goes by the wayside during a real emergency.

I can also tell you that the most valuable people to me, by my definition, have unfortunately NOT been my upstanding, rich, "strong" white Christian "friends," who arrogantly and falsely claim they have been blessed because they had more faith or were smarter, stronger, or lived a more righteous life - but who also have no mercy or kindness to spare others less fortunate or with less opportunity, just trying to survive - which Christ himself repeatedly advocated for. 


When you experience something like this, you have two choices: 

1)  Wallow in sorrow and trauma too long, until it becomes bitterness.

2)  Acknowledge your sorrow and injustice, feel it - because pretending it's not there will eventually bite you in the butt - BUT - also make up your mind that you will be the person that could've made a difference for you, with other people who have it even worse.


In that spirit, I highly recommend the film we watched after starting Squid Game 2 - "The Old Oak."

It is based on a true story, but more a conglomeration of true stories, about what happened in 2016 when Syrian refugees were moved to housing available in County Durham, England  - a former coal-mining town in Northeast England.

In fact, the lead actor, Dave Turner, playing the pub owner, is actually the County Dunham fire chief, but does an extraordinary job!



Without giving away too many spoilers (though there are a few), pub owner T.J. Ballantyne is the only pub owner in a dying community after mine disasters and mine closures, who views himself as an eff-up in life, as do other people, but they still frequent his pub because it's the only one left in town.


At this point, it's important to point out the differences between a UK pub and an American bar.


In America, you visit a bar to forget your worries (or avoid them) and have fun, even drown them.  

You drink, maybe dance, maybe find a hookup for the night.

At most, when you know you can't fully erase them, you then sit alone with your thoughts over a drink to calm nerves, or perhaps you talk one-on-one with the bartender about your troubles.


In the UK, however, a pub is a local place to commune, even remember - especially for the working and middle classes.

You openly discuss current events, the day's events, and sports events (the latter being similar to sports bars), take time to remember the good old days, and sometimes talk about your troubles to feel less alone.

You celebrate sports wins and life wins together, but can also commune in your sorrow, and in some pubs, sing songs in both in celebration or sorrow and remembrance, instead of sitting along nursing a drink in isolation and pushing everyone away (that is actually frowned upon in UK pubs, not to be social). 


In this case, the pub owner allows all of this at his pub and also volunteers his time for local charity services, which include providing housing, food, clothing, and furniture for the newly arrived Syrian refugees - which is where the trouble comes in.


The locals want their people first and blame the Syrian refugees for troubles, despite trouble already finding them a long time beforehand.


Without spoiling too much for you, we discover the reason why the pub owner is charitable with everyone despite his own problems - it's because his little dog, Marra, showed up as a stray the day he almost committed suicide. 

He doesn't necessarily believe in God, at least in the traditional sense, but he believed that something or someone sent that little dog to him on the right day and that he should spend his life paying that forward.

However, his pub mates - some of whom he went to high school with - aren't too pleased with this, and actually want to use the pub's back room to organize anti-immigration events, but he tells them he can't.

The Syrian refugees he has privately helped also ask to use the pub 's back to commune together, whom he also tells no.

Unfortunately, that same little dog is killed at the hands of the new untrained pitbulls that local youth have gotten out of fear of the Syrian refugees, but it's the Syrians he was kind to that came to sit with him in his grief, not the locals.

(That is not throwing shade at pitbulls - they can be the sweetest dogs ever - and it often depends on the owners and the training.)

He decides to open up the back room to feed everyone - locals and refugees alike.

But trouble is not gone, everyone is not holding hands and singing kumbaya - because if people are looking for trouble and someone to blame, they will certainly find it, even if they make it up or create it out of self-fulfilling prophecy (like getting the untrained pitbulls) I'll spare you the end, but that's the gist.


Now before you start, with your preconceived, politically-brainwashed notions of "wokeness," watch it first, then decide.

Because the film also gives the perspective of those left in the town after the mines closed, watching refugees get housing and food, while their own children are going hungry - which is a valid point.


However, that is the point of this movie - that these problems already existed long before refugees and immigrants arrived, and that some of their own parents had been immigrants and scapegoated for problems

And the truth is, everyday people have nothing to do with corporate decisions made to exploit workers and shut down plants or unsafe working conditions that result in disaster OR labor union bosses that decide to skim off the top - NOR is it the everyday person's fault that a war is going on in their country and they're just trying to survive.


Though there will always be a few bad apples in any group, domestic or foreign, it's important to focus on the angels in the room rather than the A-holes in any group, share and empathize with trouble and trauma, focus on solutions rather than blame - if nothing else to preserve your own sanity -  remember the good and leave the rest behind.

It's about how healing and recovery from disaster and hope itself can only be found by recognizing the similarities found from prior trauma, hunger, and powerlessness against the powers that be, and to stop scapegoating this group or that one for it, which are just as downtrodden as we feel, but are likely even less powerless than we are.


Also, I watched this movie the day after a former Texas-born U.S. Army veteran drove into crowds on Bourbon Street, right in front of one of my favorite historic hotels in my beloved New Orleans, as well as a former Green Beret blowing up a Tesla cybertruck in front of the Trump hotel and Casino in New Orleans, for very different reasons.

Interestingly, I had heard a former Army veteran coworker just a few days before this say "This is not the country I sacrificed for" ... and I have heard my former Army Ranger husband say the same.

They may both be saying this for two very different reasons and political perspectives, but the sentiment is exactly the same "This is not  the America I fought and almost sacrificed my life for."

This makes me very, very sad - how bad have things become in our country when veterans on both sides of politics are THIS disillusioned with the way that things are going in our country?

I don't know, but I know this much - the solution will NOT be found through getting bogged down in blame and scapegoating games, which only slows down the process for finding solutions.

Not that I know what the solution is, but I suspect is has something more to do with finding common ground and similarities, because blaming and scapegoating based on differences is only making things worse. 


Sure, we can reject and partially blame politicians and corporations for pushing such nonsense blame rhetoric - but in the end, it's us that keeps taking the bait and voting for it, isn't it?

Plus, bathing ourselves every day in what's wrong with this country or the world is not only nonproductive, but it's unhealthy for both the mental state and the soul. 

Trust me when I say I have led a life of powerlessness - and you learn to live with it.

You recognize much more quickly to focus on what you can control and accept that which you cannot much faster. 

It doesn't matter what you deserve or don't - and focusing on that will only bring bitterness.

And trust me when I say there are better people who deserve even more than ourselves, who are suffering more.


All you can do is try to make the world a better place in your own neck of the woods - and rest assured, it will NOT come by deciding who is the most deserving and scapegoating and blame - all that does is make you angrier and more bitter yourself.

Kindness and mercy will not always be easy.

Some people will not trust your kindness, thinking that you want something.

Some people will think you're naive or stupid.

Some people will take your kindness and giving them the benefit of the doubt and run away with it or  even abuse it. 

As Mother Teresa said - do it anyway - let them.

And as I will add to Mother Teresa's sayings, do it anyway and let them - because in the end, that's on their souls, not yours - you did the right thing.


That does NOT mean to be a martyr or a doormat - Christ said "Love your neighbor AS yourself," not MORE than yourself.

This is a verse which I misunderstood previously in life, believing silent sacrifice and letting others run wild over you and fabricating or twisting things to justify themselves, but that isn't what Christ meant.  

Because don't forget, he also called people out - not so much for himself, but because of the way they affected other people - but he also refused to hold onto bitterness about it (which is what forgiveness is really about - it's about your soul, not theirs).

It also does NOT mean to enable anyone's bad behavior and call it "forgiveness," nor to not ever say "No" -  because that's not "loving thy neighbor" actually - but if they are hungry, feed them.  If they need clothes, clothe them.  If they are stressed, listen - despite what you think they "deserve." 


For me personally, this is the hardest to keep doing when others aren't nice in return, aren't giving you the same benefit of the doubt you're giving them, and aren't trying to find the same common ground you are, writing you off as _____ to keep doing this anyway. 

I already gave up the idea and motivation to change hearts and minds with kindness a long time ago, because it's unlikely - so I just do it because it's the right thing to do - and because I enjoy it!

But it does become harder to when your kindness gets twisted, used, or abused, or not reciprocated.

However, if you start letting their behavior weigh you down, then you become just like them, right? 


So that is my New Year's resolution - I've already got the kindness and mercy part down in general, but to KEEP doing it, despite not receiving the same in return - because that is the only thing that I have the  power to do to combat this country's strife, the world's strife - find common ground and express kindness and mercy.

If they don't want it, don't trust it, twist it, refuse to reciprocate, or maybe don't even remember your kindness/mercy, in favor of focusing on their own theories about who you are or who people in general are?

Again, that's on their soul, not yours - you're only responsible for your actions and your soul 😊






Wednesday, January 1, 2025

Remembering New Year's Advice I Received a Long Time Ago

 

... from a very wise women from India, many years ago.

I've mentioned it before, on here, and I admit, sometimes I forget 

Anyway, it goes like this:


"When life slaps you in the face, God grants you 10,000 other little prayers/wishes - but if you are so focused on the slap, will you notice?"

"For instance, if you say "Oh God, my flowers still aren't blooming and I've been so diligent!" - you may not realize it, but that's a prayer.

"When your flowers bloom a few days later, will you still be so focused on the slap that you won't even notice?"


Isn't that great? 

It's more than just being positive, more than gratitude (which is always good for the soul and helps to avoid bitterness) - it's about God not being to blame or credited for things that humans do to each other - but letting you know he's there in other ways.

I will try to hold onto that and remember, as we go into the New Year.

In fact, I have already expressed my gratitude to several blooming flowers in my life today, wishing them sunny, nourishing, happy new year - with no slaps - and I wish the same to any reading.

Happy New Year and Namaste - said not in a loosely used yoga session sort of way, but in the intended way - an old Sanskrit word meaning "Namaste" - which roughly translated actually means, "The light of God in me recognizes and pays homage/genuflects to the light of God in you."