American History Liberty Lesson: The Iron-Jawed Angels

 

"STAND" by sculptor  Barbara Grygutis - Lexington, Kentucky, unveiled in 2020

In line with my post below, we continue with discussion of the true definition of freedom and liberty, as opposed to current, falsely entitled belief, as part of a series ahead of Independence Day. 

(I call it Independence Day intentionally instead of the 4th of July because Independence Day is about the right to dissent, resist, criticize, and peacefully protest the government and those in power  - and it is built in to the American fabric since this country's inception.

In fact, one might say it is unpatriotic and anti-American NOT to do so when you feel strongly. 

HOWEVER - don't get it twisted - because again, freedom and liberty aren't just about your individual rights - freedom and liberty are about equal rights for everyone in society, including the right for the rest of society to be protected from you.

Freedom and liberty are about having the right to vote and have a voice (even in dissent), the right to work and be paid, and in extreme cases, simply the right to exist in a society despite being different in some way or a minority - regardless of your gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, physical or financial status, or political party - without being harrassed, imprisoned, enslaved, beaten or tortured, or being executed.

Now - before I continue and explain the title of this post, allow me to explain the impetus  - a conversation with a friend about tattoos. 

She was excited about getting a new tat and asked me how I felt about them because some people look down on them?

I told her to F what people say, getting a tattoo doesn't mean you're a bad person  - I loved them and would get one, but I've never had the extra money! 😂

In fact, traditional Pacific Islander tattoos are beautiful symbolic "photo album" of their family history and important events, which I think is beautiful.

If I got one, it would be just one, I wouldn't put anyone's name or dates in there because then I'd have to change all my password combinations! 😂

I'd also do something symbolic and in a place less obvious, because I don't want to have to explain to total strangers something so personal - that though something or someone is with me at all times, not everybody has to know about it or what it means, right?

In fact, I know the one I'd get (which I planned on getting for my 40th birthday, years ago, but like I said, never enough extra money!)

However, if you're reading my blog and care enough about what I think and how I feel, then I'll tell you what it means.

So I would have a tattoo artist create their conception of an Iron-Jawed Angel, after I either told them the story or they saw the movie.

So for those unaware, the Suffragette Movement - giving women the right to vote - was moving very, very slowly - like 50 years too slow.

That is when little spitfires Alice Paul and Lucy Burns decided to push things along, against the wishes of prominent suffragettes at the time.

They formed the Women's National Party and decided to stand silently in front of the white house holding banners which cleverly contained exact quotes of President Woodrow Wilson's words regarding freedom.

The press coined them as "Iron-Jawed Angels" - little tiny women who stood silent and dignified like statues, their banners asking for the right to have a voice.

It was especially clever to use the President's words about freedom because you can't claim they are  traitors, as many try to do when you protest, if you are essentially throwing the president's own words regarding freedom back at him.

Also, you can, in fact, picket or protest in front of the White House as public grounds without being accused of "trespassing" - though I wouldn't advise it with this current administration!

Because what usually happens is, the powers that be will find some way to flip it back on you and demonize you, having you arrested or worse, even though you are doing nothing criminal and exercising your right to dissent in a peaceful, even silent manner. 

And that's exactly what happened - when Alice Paul began to actually speak in front of the White House, after being ignored for months, though standing silently, rain or shine.

Alice began reading aloud President Wilson's words from paper, then crumpled the paper and threw it into the barrel fire they were using to keep warm - and men AND women standing around began to grab at their banners and then the women themselves, dragging them off.

It was the suffragette women who were arrested, of course, not their attackers - and the charge was "obstructing traffic."

Before I continue, I need to make one thing very clear that I wasn't aware of until later, and that is that though the movie shows women of color standing at the White House - that unfortunately did not happen. 😢

Because Alice Paul asked Ida B. Wells to walk at the back of the march in 1913, not due to her own racism, but due to optics and others racism, she thought it was too much too soon.

Of course, Ida B. Wells refused - calling out Alice's own hypocrisy regarding liberty - and thus has her group stand alongside in the crowd at first, then join the white women in the March alongside them, directly defying Alice Paul's instruction.

(Go Ida B. Wells - LOVE her!)

Once again, American hypocrisy becomes evident in the demands for  equal liberty and justice for all, while still ignoring marginalized and minority groups - "freedom for me, but not for thee."

Regardless, Alice and Lucy's National Women's party and protests continued, and then society does what they do with women who won't be silenced -  threw them all in a mental prison asylum.

At this point, Alice organizes a hunger strike like Gandhi (also in old Irish tradition, which she explains here) and refused to eat - at which point, they strap her down and force feed her.

The psychiatrist assessing her pronounced her sane (based on this interview) - and although he told the government officials, they refused to release her or the other women.

When one of the other women sneaked a note to her husband about that event, he gave it to the press and their was public outcry - and boom, a few months later, women have the right to vote!

(Then, of course, the other disapproving suffragettes pretended to have supported them the whole time! 😂)

Now, of course, I have never been arrested in my life - but there have been efforts to silence me when speaking truth including the "she's crazy" card - which is almost always the calling card of the guilty, in pre-emptive strike. to discredit anyone from listening to what they have to say  -  now employed by guilty women themselves about other women.. 

Not that there aren't genuinely crazy women in the world, but we're talking about women who attempt to speak truth, particularly when the "she's crazy, don't listen to her" card is played before the woman ever accuses, in attempt to discredit her in advance.

This is why both sides should always at least be fully heard - always.


And truth be told, by the time you've gone gone through all of that, you ARE traumatized and might genuinely be a little crazy for a while, and worse, begin to believe you are crazy and that you deserved it - and you may even self-silence out of fear.

That is, until you heal.😊

You still double-check yourself before you wreck yourself, and you can't get defensive/freak out about it, even though it's a trauma trigger - but you stand firm to your truth regardless of what others think, believe, or say.

But Alice Paul - flawed and blind as she may have been regarding racial freedom - never doubted herself or her own sanity or that what she was doing was necessary for society to stop ignoring and pretending on behalf of a better, healthier, fairer society.

Thus, if/when I get a tattoo, it will be of an artist's vision of a small group of iron-jawed angels - and mine will include depictions of women of ALL races.  😊

If that proves too complex for a local tattoo artist, then they can instead tattoo the statue artwork of Barbara Grygutis called STAND, which stands in downtown Lexington, which instead of depicting any particular women or race, depicts 5 early 20th century suffragettes in metal - with lace floral pattern cutouts, symbolic for the female capacity for possessing both strength and softness. 😊

So .... if someone I know well asks me, I will tell them the more personal aspects - but everyone else will get the standard "suffragettes" or that it's based on the movie, "Iron-Jawed Angels" about Alice Paul and Lucy Burns 😉

American History Liberty Lesson: My Uncle BS Story ...

 

I have told this story many times on here before, but I promised my uncle I'd tell it whenever I thought of it, and while watching the movie "Eleanor the Great," I thought of it.

(BTW, great movie - it's about a woman who had been best friends with a Jewish woman who had survived the holocaust for 70 years, who recently died, who ends up telling her friend's untold story she'd never told anyone as if it happened to her -  which sounds like a horrible thing to do, but if you watch the movie, you understand why.)

So first, I need to explain that Uncle Gene wasn't actually my uncle, he was my grandfather's half 1st cousin - we just called him "Uncle" Gene because he wasn't much younger than my grandfather.

Also, in 2022, after a DNA test, I discovered that I'm actually not genetically related to any of the people I'm about to discuss, but that's another crazy story! 😂

Regardless, I grew up thinking I had no aunts and uncles or first cousins because my parents were only children, so I took all the aunts and uncles I could get! 

Secondly, I need to explain why I call him Uncle BS.

I started calling him that after Southern comedian, Tim Wilson (now deceased), referred to one of his uncles as Uncle BS, and that everyone in the South has one.

So an Uncle BS is your Southern storyteller uncle, who completely makes sh*t up, either to make you laugh or because he's crazy or both. 😂

He would tell me all kind of crazy stories, while growing up, like the reason the Kamikaze pilots crashed into Pearl Harbor was an accident - they crashed because of my Aunt Urpha's pineapple upside-down cake! 😂

He said she sent them her cake as a peace offering and they tried it on the planes and it was so good they forgot what they were doing and crashed into Pearl Harbor! 😂

My grandpa, Pap: "Careful, Mule, you might step in something your Uncle Gene dropped." 😂

("Mule" is my Southern nickname but not for the reason you think, also another story.)

 

Uncle Gene: "May God strike me down if that ain't true, Orville" - with a wink and his fingers crossed behind his back 😂

 

Pap: "Well, I'monna stand over there by that tree, then, it's safer - 'cause ain't nary a word of that is true, Gene,  'cept how good Urpha's cake is." 😂

Now - when I've told that story before, I've used the actual racist language he did exactly, because that's the way he talked and it bothered me to no end, which is exactly why he did it - he was like a little boy, like that, did things for shock value to get a reaction - right up until the story I'm about to tell. 

Unfortunately, that aspect was completely missed on telling this story previously, as was the entire point of the story - I wasn't glorifying his language or giving it a platform, I was illustrating how he did it on purpose to get a rise out of me as a liberal young Social Work student. 

So I won't do that again so there's no misunderstanding  -  but it suffices to say he had a habit of calling different groups by derogatory and even racist names - like Limey for British, Krauts for Germans, Japs for Japanese, Pollocks for Polish, WOPs for Italians, Wetbacks for Mexicans -  and worse -  you get the picture. 

He never used the N word for people of color, but he used another  racial slur nearly as bad.

So he'd use these derogatory terms and I'd scowl at him, even leave the room - then he'd come kiss me on the cheek and say "Just messing with ya, ya Commie Pinko, I love ya."

It was hard to stay mad at him when he did that lol.

The very last time I heard a story by Uncle Gene was in 2007, when my grandmother had terminal lung cancer, and he died not long after - but this one was different.

He joked around for a while, as per his usual, but became uncharacteristically serious, I'd never seen him like that. 

Out of nowhere, he told the following story - which sounds like BS, but I think this one is actually true -  both because I'd never heard this one before and because he cried when he told it, which I'd also never seen - one time only, not long before he died ... 

Uncle Gene: "You know, Mule, I used to call people stuff to get a rise out of you, but I didn't mean it. We was trained to talk like that during the war, so we wouldn't feel bad killing people, I know that. I've always known that. But that ain't how I really feel ..." 

 

"When I was a GI in Poland, I will never forget how them Jewish people were on the day we liberated them from that factory. Chrystal, they was SO happy. You think you know joy, you ain't never seen joy like that, with people freed." 

 

"They couldn't speak English, only Polish, but we understood each other. They was so grateful they got down on their knees and kissed our feet and cried until we told them to stop, we ain't gods, just soldiers trying to do the right thing." 

 

"Then we danced and sang together. They offered to cook for us, but they was rail thin and had no food, they was like the walking dead.  So we shared what little we had with them. You ain't never seen anything like that, just pure joy."

 

"Later, we was trying to eat and drink and be merry and all that bullshit, but it was hard, celebrating, because there was a big stone Nazi swastika bolted over the doorway of the factory, just hanging over us like a dark stormcloud."

 

"So me and 3 of my buddies, we climbed up there and unbolted that nasty thing. We worked on it all night. And you know when we finally got it, right before dawn, that thing crashed down in a million little pieces. A million little pieces, Chrystal."

 

(He teared up at this point.)

"You never saw the like of cheering and dancing and singing and celebrating. A million little pieces."

 

"I don't know why I told you that story, I'm sorry. But this one's actually true lol. You won't find it in any history book, but it is. It took us all night to do it, we had no explosives left." 

"I guess when you near the end, you just want people to know the good you done once, the price of freedom, you want the young people especially to know what we done. What freedom really means. How many had to pay for it with their lives."

 

Me:  " Uncle Gene, you DO have a heart, after all" - 😉 - winking and placing my hand on top of his and giving his hand a playful little shake.

 

Then I stood up and stood behind him sitting, putting my arms around him, and said ...  

"And I believe this one, I've never seen you like this! And I promise you I will tell that story whenever I think of it, okay? Everyone will know. And THANK YOU for what you did for them and for us."

"Hey, not bad for your 'commie pinko' niece, eh? I love ya" - and then I kissed him on the cheek, as he had me, so many times. 😂

He laughed through his tears, and patted my arms around him  - is there any better emotion than laughter through tears? 🥹

Of course, this was back when Republicans and Democrats mostly just teased each other, rather than any politician encouraging others to distrust, fear, and even hate someone because of their political party, using propaganda and false accusations which are believed blindly.

Now - I understand that many old wounds have needed to come to light for a long time, rather than us continuing to pretend, continuing to ignore them, in our society, I do - and that process isn't easy or comfortable, but it is necessary.

But I also miss a time where we just politely disagreed and could do so while still feeling love for each other, rather than utter disgust.

I'm hoping that one day, all lies will be exposed, all truth will be revealed, and that those wounds will finally be addressed and finally healed  - and then perhaps we can return to that someday.

Most importantly, most of us can't remember a time in our lifetime that we've engaged in a a war for honorable reasons - to truly fight for freedom rather than over conquest of land or oil, misguided meddling in other countries' political or religious affairs, or even simply as distraction from our own misdeeds.

We throw around the word "freedom" today selfishly, from an entitled perspective, in terms of our individual rights, having no true idea of what that really means because we have no true frame of reference.

Thus sometimes, I think we need to be reminded of what freedom really means. 

True freedom is NOT the right not to wear a mask or not be vaccinated during a global pandemic.

It is NOT the right to own an assault rifle as a civilian, when a pistol or hunting rifle/shotgun works just as well, if truly intended for self-defense.

It is NOT about the right to not be properly trained or background-checked for crime or mental illness before owning one.

It is NOT about having the right to be a rude, racist, bigoted, false-accusing, lying, propaganda-spreading, intentionally inflammatory A-hole. 

In fact, true freedom isn't about your individual rights at all - it's about equal rights for everyone - which includes the public's right to be protected from you and being the target of your irresponsible, hateful, selfish behavior.

True freedom is about having equal right to speak, vote, be paid for work and even criticize the government or those in power - and in some cases, just exist - despite being different than the majority due to color of skin, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, financial status, or political beliefs - without fear of harassment, imprisonment, forced labor, violence and torture, or death because you disagree or are different than the majority.

Yes, with that comes the fact that you DO have the right to not wear a mask or vaccinate - but the public also has the right to not be exposed to your being especially susceptible to a deadly, highly contagious virus because of your refusal.

Yes, you DO have the right to bear arms to defend yourself - but the public also has the right to be protected from you, especially if you're not trained and haven't proven yourself responsible first. 

Yes, you DO have the right to freedom of speech that doesn't incite violence - but I'm pretty sure our forefathers intended that to mean the right to criticize government leaders and those in power, particularly despotic and tyrannical kings -  NOT the right to be a rude, racist, bigoted, falsely-accusing, propaganda-spreading A-hole.

If you want to abuse the right to freedom of speech to say things you know are hurtful and wrong, feel free - but never forget that you didn't pay for that right, others did, with their lives - and THIS is how you choose to exercise it -  wasting it on sowing seeds of fear and hatred?

So unfortunately, my uncle was right - we've become a nation of spoiled brats who throw around "freedom" having a child's idea of what that really means, throwing tantrums if we don't get exactly what we want, though what we want may not be good for us or anyone around us.

Thus, take this story as intended - reminding you what freedom truly means - and the price our grandfathers, great-grandfathers, uncles and great uncles had to pay for it.

______________________________________________

PS

I just wanted to add the last time I saw Uncle Gene was actually at my grandmother's funeral, right after the interment at the cemetery.

There was a lot of gossip going around, started by my sister - but 5 family members bypassed my older sister completely and made a beeline straight for me - my 2nd stepcousin, Annie, and her son, Corey (whom I used to babysit), my 2nd cousin, Bobby -  and Uncle Gene and Aunt Urpha.

I was floating around in a sort of grief and trauma bubble, but they made it very clear they stood with me, practically circling around me like adult elephants in star formation, protecting their baby! 😂

That is because those people really knew me -  they knew the lies  going around were started by my sister over the will - and they knew that because they visited often and called my grandmother every day - and my sister was nowhere around during until she died.  

So they held onto me in bear hugs and almost didn't let me go - isn't that great of them? 🥹

I could feel the love and defense of me coming off of them, which I never really had in my immediate family - flawed people, maybe - but had hearts of gold, unlike many others in my family. 

Sad, though, because only one of those people is still alive -  Annie's son, Corey - and I understand he's doing very well for himself now, which warms my heart. Sweetest little boy ever, he was 😊

 

PS - Case in point - Ken or Kyle (AKA a Male Karen) ...

 

A few weeks ago, at about 11:00 p.m on a Thursday night, I heard a big ruckus outside and went out on my balcony to see what was going on, because I'm nosy like that, I guess?  😂

So because we have such little parking, our apartment complex has contracted a towing company, supposedly to tow non-resident visitors who park here.

But do they actually come on the weekends and tow people visiting without stickers preventing actual residents from parking?

No, they do not.

Instead, they tow actual residents with residency stickers on their windshield, whom they claim parked "illegally."

Their obvious rationale being, of course, that they know the addresses of the residents and can bill them more easily than random parkers, you see. 😉

We've never been towed, thank goodness - but it is usually residents towed. 

Below is an example of the "illegal" parking according to the tow company.

No, it's not the Chevy Charger parked on the white parking line (although if the tow company came by, he'd get towed for that, too).

It's the unmarked area circled in red.

As you can see, there's plenty of space for a car between that last  white parking line and the "maintenance parking only" sign a few yards away. 

You can also clearly see that there is no handicapped parking spot in front of that building, but there is one in front of our building. 

Thus, there is an older couple who lives in that building and parks there, his wife being handicapped and having all of the appropriate stickers and tags - and no one cares that they do. It's well known to just be "their spot" and none of us park there because of it.

Also, it's the only free spot for people moving in with moving trucks - and just 2 days after this event, the same towing guy came back during the day and started to tow a Ryder moving truck with its hazard lights on, until the father of the college student moving in came out and started yelling at the guy that he had office permission  to park there, to call them and check.

That time, the office was open, so they told towing guy to stop.  

(Mind you, literally 2 spaces down from this spot was an old Toyota Camry that belongs to no one here, with no sticker, parked there for 2 days that he ignored.)

In other words, Towing Guy is an A-hole. 

So he starts to tow the car of the older couple whose wife is handicapped for being in that "unmarked spot" at close to midnight on a Thursday.

Everyone in that building - and I do mean everyone - came out to yell at the guy to stop, she's handicapped and has nowhere to park. 

The guy whose wife is disabled got really mad and said "Dude, I'm gonna sue you, if you do take it, plus you raked the front of it across the ground when you put it on the truck, to the point we saw sparks. If there's damage to my car, you're in  double trouble."

The problem was - tow truck driver thought he said "SHOOT you."

(To be honest, I wasn't sure myself at first, from up on the balcony, until he said it again, several more times, and it was definitely "SUE you")

So I'm just standing on the balcony observing, and I notice the tow truck guy is just sitting there in his truck with the windows rolled up scrolling on his phone, with my neighbor's car on the back of his truck, but doesn't leave -  which is only escalating things.

So I'm thinking to myself "Just take it and go, then, why you just sitting there still, letting it escalate?"

At this point, my spidey senses started tingling that there was something racial about this that I couldn't quite put my finger on, other than this truck driver was a white redneck with a Trump sticker and almost all the residents of that building are black. 

So then I proved it was racially motivated.

How?

I tested it.

I went down there to my neighbors and asked them to let me just try to talk to the driver for a second to de-escalate it.

When I tapped on the window, he smiled and rolled it down for me, right away!  😂

Three guesses as to why white redneck tow truck driver with a Trump sticker opened the window to talk to me VS. the rest of my neighbors in that building, who are almost all black  😂

So I asked his side of things. 

He said he called the police on them because they threatened to shoot him.

I told him I thought he said that at first, too, but when he said it 3 more times, it was clear he said "sue." 

I then said I didn't know if calling the police was necessary because I think he may have misheard him PLUS it was clear he had no gun anyway, he was wearing nothing but boxer shorts because he'd been in bed lol.

I said to maybe just take the car and go, rather than call the police over threats he can't prove and may have misheard -  because all that's being accomplished by sitting here in his tow truck, with their car on his truck, is escalating it.

Also, I was thinking "If you truly felt threatened that someone was going to shoot you, why would you just sit in your car and scroll on your phone until the police arrived instead of just leaving and then calling the police?" - but I didn't say that lol. 

Regardless, this conversation did indeed result in a brief reprieve of my neighbors yelling at him, and then sure enough, the police that the tow truck driver had called arrived - 2 white cops, male and female.

 I turned around then and said to my neighbors "Heads up, y'all, he called the cops, - that's why he's still here."

However, I was pleasantly surprised - I stepped back and let my neighbors talk to the cops who DID listen to them about what had gone on and they were honest and admitted to threatening to sue him.

The cops then walked over to verify the spot wasn't clearly marked, that his wife was handicapped and did have the appropriate stickers on their car,  and that there was no handicapped spot for that building for them.

So then cops said "Yeah, these guys are predatory, They don't care what the rules are, they just want their money and will tow you if you so much as park too far over on a line. It's really a civil issue, I'm not sure why he called us or why he's still sitting here."

Then the female cop knocked on his window -  with the driver still in it, still claiming he felt unsafe - so he rolled his window down and started to go into how all "those people" were "threatening to shoot him." 😂

Lady cop just held up her hand and said "Sir? Enough. I don't know who said what, I wasn't here, but no one has a gun.  This is a civil matter. You can go. Take the car and go, then, there's no reason for you to be sitting here escalating it.."

THEN I chimed in and said "I think this was all just a big misunderstanding. As you can see, this spot isn't clearly marked. I also think the threat to sue was misheard as shoot, another misunderstanding. I think it just freaked him out."

Big bad redneck tow truck driver said "I'm NOT scared!!! I was unsafe! I have to deal with this all the time, I call the cops all the time!"

Lady Cop just says "Yeah, we know. You can go."

Hehehe - and Amen! 😂😂😂

Then one of my neighbors in that building yelled down from her balcony "Yeah, Bye! Don't come back until you do your job right, on a Saturday night, towing people who don't even live here, instead of picking on poor old handicapped people who do!"

😂😂😂

Love her, she's hilarious!

The cops even stifled a laugh with that, because it's true.

My neighbors notified the apartment manager the next day, whose hands were tied from helping them get their car out of impound because the spot really isn't clearly marked and thus had no basis for argument - but you can bet it's on her work calendar to mark now!

(I also think she should start keeping track of how many residents are towed versus others and tell them she is, and if there are too many residents, she's switching companies, but that's just my opinion and no one asked lol.)

The maintenance guy was actually mad this happened to them, that old "maintenance" sign is left over from old management,  they didn't park there anyway, they parked in between -  and he's not there at midnight on a Thursday night fixing stuff anyway and doesn't care if anyone did park exactly in that spot.😂

Because these are really nice people, very kind, no trouble at all, very quiet, mostly older people. They were just mad he was picking on this old couple, who have both the required proof-of-residency and handicapped stickers/tags. 

Now - the situation in the below post was NOT racial, but it does show you how men can be just as Karenish as women, if not worse to call the police over nonsense.

And the guy from that post's entire point was she should be calling the police instead of asking who to call about her situation on Reddit as the "rational" thing to do.

Um - not always. And the moment she did that, she'd be labeled a Karen, guaranteed.

What Would YOU Do?

 

So I rarely comment anywhere anymore, unless it's to leave a positive review. 

I do have a Reddit account, but I mostly just read about local things going on, when they come to my email.

However, today, a lady in my area said she witnessed a guy slap the crap out of his dog, while walking her dog.

She reflexively said "Please don't hit your dog."

The white guy in his 50s, wearing a blue SEC ball cap, then went off on her, name-calling, etc.

She just walked away. 

Then he came up behind her again, starting it up again, threatening her.

She just took a picture ... then ran away.

She was asking Reddit which agency to call on the dog's behalf for sure, wondering if the police was also appropriate for her as well. 

Honestly, other large cities have the ASPCA and actual officers, but we have only the Humane Society and I'm not sure what they do.

If I witnessed that, I would likely call my vet and ask, which is what I recommended.

I also might consider calling the non-emergency line of the police if he was truly threatening towards me, but likely not (as long as he didn't actually follow me home).

I started reading through the comments for other suggestions, not knowing for sure myself.

Of course, some misogynistic A-hole had to start trouble and tell her the "rational" thing to do would be to call the police rather than ask a bunch of strangers on the internet, and spent several paragraphs mansplaining that in snark.

Then of course a couple of other dudes piled on, talking about how stupid she was to say anything - both to the dog-slapper and on Reddit - you know, the usual misogynistic shit.

So I'm thinking to myself ...

Nice. 

You know what? You don't know how long she's lived here or how many people she knows here in town yet, what a welcome, "Southern Gentlemen?"

(More proof that "Southern charm" is an illusion myth.)

The truth is, I've lived here for years and even I don't know which agency to call.

And yes - though they're right that saying anything to him at all to a guy like that was NOT wise - when something like that happens right in front of you, harming a smaller innocent - it's just a reflex, especially as women, to say "Please don't" - and sometimes it's putting yourself in harm's way to save them!

Thus, not being in the best mood due to a couple of things - not school or work, somebody frustrating from the past - I decided to do something unwise myself - almost as unwise as the OP telling the guy not to hit his dog, I admit.

Not because they have any idea who I am or would come after me in real life -  but because I should have learned, by now, that standing up for other people being piled on or bullied (online OR real life) only makes YOU their new target - best to approach the victim instead (which I did).

And twice, decades ago, I've actually seen the initial pile-on/cyberbullying victim hop on later against YOU after you became the new target for standing up for them -  so happy the heat's off them now, and that they now fit in with a bunch misogynistic bully losers and their immature, enabling cackling hens.

Congratulations! What a prize!😂

At that point, you're thinking "Why the hell did I waste my time and stand up for you, then, when you're clearly just as character-deficient and completely lacking in any discernable integrity as they are?" 😂

So you just never know who you're defending anyway, unless you know them in real life.

However, this situation was pretty clear - and what is also true is that back in the day, I sometimes had the ability to legitimately put a stop to trolls attacking/piling on people, by just making them look incredibly stupid, because they're usually not very bright. 😂

I stopped doing that many years ago,  because ... it's the internet, and that's what people do on the internet. 

It's apparently how people prefer to behave on the internet when they're anonymous, act like a bunch of unevolved chimps, rather than exhibit basic human decency.

It has truly become the bathroom stall wall of the world 😂

I really can't stand pile-ups on people, or people just attacking someone who simply asked a question. I admit, it's a flaw of mine  - it's hard for me to walk away, but I have learned to. My mom said I've been like that since I was a child, stand up for the underdog (but when it's happening to ME, I never know when or how to lol).

But like I said, I was in no mood for it today - so I pulled out and dusted off the old fighter-for-the-underdog within me and wrote this ... 

Dude - are you the guy? lol

I think you missed the part where she didn't know the correct agency/agencies to call in Lexington in this case - which in this case, I don't know either (I'm sorry, OP).

In other larger cities, the ASPCA has actual animal officers that check on the welfare of pets, but I'm not sure the Lexington Humane Society has that?

You also forgot the part where she sounds like a woman.

Not only do we often doubt ourselves when we witness or experience something genuinely disturbing and don't report it because of people immediately calling us "irrational," such as you did, when we report anything, anywhere - but also because we don't want to overreact and be a Karen.

Because contrary to popular belief, not all women are Karens who call the police immediately - we ask the appropriate route first. In other words, we check ourselves before we wreck ourselves (you should try it).

And lastly ... so you took the time to answer someone asking asking a question on the internet with several paragraphs of snark about people who ask questions on the internet.

Which of your presented categories of wrongful, inappropriate internet usage does THAT fall in?

Gee, it's a mystery why truly non-Karenish women who see or experience something genuinely disturbing and/or illegal don't automatically call the police and ask others what the best route is first, , isn't it? 

Certainly NOT because they know they'd be told told they're "irrational" or dismissed as a Karen or anything! 😂

Not going back, I said my piece and that's it.

I know, stupid idea - but I felt better?  😂

Seconding An Open Letter by a Former Medical Transcriptionist

 

I came across this open letter today to a Health Information Management publication called "For The Record" written by an older MT, lamenting the transition and eventual loss of the medical transcriptionist jobs. 

I could've written this letter myself, it's so accurate - and very difficult to explain to prospective employers and must sound hard to believe, but it's all true. And try explaining it and still sounding positive lol. 

She's also lamenting the lack of contractor-protection legislation or unionization and lack of pushback from the only official transcription association that exists, the AAMT association (who did nothing for MTs anyway, but give guidelines.)

I had to screenshot piecemeal style due to its length ...

She covers the loss of benefits and pay cuts (to pay-by-line typed) starting with offshore outsourcing in 2006, the transition to voice recognition in 2007 turning us into editors at half the pay, the feast-or-famine workload - and even since this article was written in 2016, you're now lucky if you make even $15K per year, such that you have to piece 2 or 3 contracts together (or do temp jobs and/or wait tables as second and third jobs, which at most, you'll make 30K).

The only things she didn't mention are the advent of AI making us almost obsolete without even editing (despite the fact that it is not ready), the predatory/scam nature of some companies and fake job ads, knowing some are desperate.

And though most reputable schools stopped teaching medical transcription, there are still some unethical ones taking people's money knowing full well there are no jobs!

One of the biggest challenges I personally have faced in the last 5 years was the difficulty in obtaining prior references prior to my current job for the last 6 years, despite leaving on good terms and being a top producer/quality.

Many companies have gone under or have transitioned to other business interests (like legal-only transcription with prior experience) and have all new staff.

And as far as coworkers, we were subcontractors - so we were lucky if we even knew who are coworkers were - we usually just QA, trainers, and management! 

And sometimes, with those who became sweatshops, they don't care enough to respond to reference requests, even from official written requests from prospective employers, despite you  being a top producer and top quality!

This ends up looking shady on you, and you can't prove you were, because they won't even respond because they do not give a shit.

Also not mentioned are the unprofessional emails in all caps that began to appear around 2009, demanding us to hop on outside our shifts and do mandatory OT, though you don't get paid extra for OT as contractors.

I always did this, btw, but after all the pay cuts, you'd still only make a whopping total of about $350 a week maximum even with OT, at such low pay.

But my favorite were the constant broadcast email threats, also in all-caps and exclamation points, that the account could be lost for errors. They never seemed to get it that we don't need our job threatened to take them seriously, nor that this idle threat only works for so long, not to mention that level of perfection for pennies is  just absurd.

As Theresa mentions, only about 25% of doctors even read their own reports back (good luck with that with AI, docs), so if they actually them and complain, I can assure you, it's never because you put an extra period at the end of a sentence!

But the absolute worst was when a few of the companies began policies of actually docking your pay for even minor errors, so that they MADE money off of you!

Lastly, likely not mentioned because this letter was written in 2016 - any jobs left in the last 10 years became so scarce that people became so cutthroat and bullying, even willing to sabotage others' work -  particularly new people, especially if they were good. 

Even with the few hospital jobs left that paid hourly, people had become so accustomed to this overly competitive behavior that they can't stop behaving like that, even when it's completely unnecessary!

It wasn't like that for my first 10 years in this field - it became that way as jobs and work grew scarce. 

In other words, most of the jobs left - BUT NOT ALL - have people who lack any discernible integrity or maturity whatsoever.

Good people - meaning not just productivity and quality wise,  but maturity and integrity wise as well - are usually bullied out or never make it into QA or the "Clique of Mean Girl Management" - and don't want to.

(Again - NOT ALL - I love my boss for the last 6 years, but we were finally replaced completely by AI  last fall. They'd apparently been testing it for a year or so, then took over. Every few months we'll get spillover, but that's just one or two jobs)

Aside: For the record, when I did make it into QA, I saw/heard my fellow QA people admittedly bullying newbies for even asking a question, especially if they questioned a score (though they were often correct).  They would expressly call them "stupid new people."

One of those times, it was racially motivated.

This, of course, turned my stomach and I didn't participate - and 2 times, I actually stood up for those people whom they bullied on the company forum. 

You can imagine what happened -  I found myself their new target, so lesson learned (finally) - approach the victim, don't take on the bullies!

A couple of times, I was directly bullied myself - not because I stood up for new people or those of a different race, but just because they didn't like me or my politics (which I never spoke about it at work, only written here) - OR - because I was actually good at my job and well-liked, and they were overly competitive. 

BTW, if the aforementioned is still reading here, as I know you did at one time - I was never, ever "trying to make you look bad" or after your job NOR was I trying to get in management - I felt lucky to still have a job in this field and was just trying to do my best to show gratitude. 

Also, my budding friendship with our manager was genuine, not a ploy - THAT bothered you more than how well I was doing, didn't it?

For the record, I never told her OR said a bad word about you to her until the day I left. (YOU, on the other hand ran your mouth the entire time - dishonestly.) 

Because I learned in my 20s that you can't control what people believe and it's selfish to try and put people in the middle. (And usually, the one loudest mouth/with the most power/been there longer wins despite truth anyway.)  

But believe it or not, even though you literally scared the shit out of me that day, I actually really liked you up until that point!

But let me also say this - even though you weren't honest?

As long as you never did it again to anybody else as a result my leaving, then I'm happy 😂.

Back to the letter, I am hoping the person who wrote this letter - and the hundreds of others in this situation - was able to transition to something else, despite her age, particularly since she had an associate HIM degree.

I have transitioned to become a cancer registrar, currently in school at UC and have a 4.0 GPA!

In 6 months, I have not seen or heard even a single rude, overly competitive, or bullying word from anyone towards anyone else, online or otherwise - everyone is genuinely encouraging and supportive of one another. 

And I just recently connected with our official state cancer registry, the Kentucky Cancer Registry, about membership and job outlook - and even though I discovered there's no state membership association, they were kind enough to meet with me on Teams about career goals and how they could help!

I almost fell out of my chair, their eagerness to support my new entry into the field, it's been so long  - so long that I had begun to think I must deserve being treated like I was in transcription, in the end.

I'm sure not everyone in this field is this kind, but most of them really are - they're a team, not sitting in silos trying to pull others down to lift themselves up, like crabs in a bucket.

I wish I had done this years ago!

Also, there are associations both regionally and nationally, as well as national funding sources for the cancer registries themselves, covered by both by federal and state cancer law.

They advocate for us and have even done studies about the work done and staffing needs - and they will push back if anyone tries to implement to a total AI takeover, because though AI can honestly be a great tool, it should never replace human review (at least not yet, it's not near ready).

The only catch is - I will be 59 when I graduate. 

I have already had THIS said to me 2 times on prior interviews for other jobs:  "You don't fit the culture."

Since I openly embrace diversity and inclusion, I finally figured out what this means - it's the new codespeak for 'you're older than everybody else."

Maybe -  but I get along with the younger students very well, considering my sense of humor, plus keeping up with pop culture. 

I still have a very sharp, fast mind, evident by my 4.0 GPA, being Dean's List and in Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, and I am at the top of my class compared to many of those younger students.

And I'm thin and healthy - though you can clearly tell I'm in my 50s, I don't look 57.

And I don't go out as much or party, so no missed work due to hangovers etc. - in fact, no missed work at all.

And I figure because there is a shortage of Cancer Registrars currently, particularly certified ones, certifications make that age discrimination argument a little bit harder for prospective employers, right?

I wish Theresa and the others well - and cross your fingers for me! 😃

Stay positive, stay sharp, and never lose hope at whatever age, right?

(Feel free to remind me, on days like today when I forget lol).

Obama Center Opening - Happy Juneteenth Weekend!!!

I finished my last assignment, and my final exam module opens today, but just wanted to say how excited I am the Obama Center opened this weekend and how much I loved, loved, loved Michelle Obama's speech, bringing him almost to tears, speaking as if giving a heartfelt. soulful sermon we've all needed - how much do we love Michelle?

 

How much do we miss the Obamas?

For those saying it's a monument to himself like Trump, you don't get it - sure, it has his name on it, but it's a place of hope for those struggling, built on Chicago's South side, opened intentionally on Juneteenth - the holiday where we celebrate the Emancipation Proclamation and freedom from slavery.

Everyone and their brother was there, including all of our last 4 presidents who were at least somewhat sane - including  George and Laura Bush.

In fact, the only absent "celebrities" were Trump himself, Vanilla Ice and Milli Vanilli - the only 2 remaining "musical acts" from Trump's now scrapped America 250th concert? 😂

There were originally many artists from both sides of politics because it was initially advertised as nonpartisan, but then Trump decided to claim America's 250th birthday as his own rally, and people from both sides began dropping out.

That's a shame, really - we can't even celebrate America's 250th birthday without Trump making it about himself! 

Otherwise, I gotta say, though, as excited as I am about this - not a fan of the building design, but love the concept? 

Mark and I were talking about the programs and interactive exhibits there for the kiddos, then started joking about why stop interactive exhibits just for the kids?

Why not have a pie-throwing contest or laser tag, featuring giant  light-up MAGA-famous politicians, like 10 points if you hit one in the face? 

50 points if you hit diversity-hating Pete Hegseth in the face (who just removed all people of color and women from the military promotion list without explanation) - 100 points if you hit Trump!  😂😂😂

JUST JOKING, of course, and the Obamas would never encourage  such a thing - or do something tacky like - oh, I don't know, hold a UFC fight on the White House lawn? 😂

But I digress - love and miss you, Obamas - congratulations on the new center!

FCPS Drama Updates ...

 

It is finals week for me, so I've had less time for blogging until now while taking a short break.

FCPS has been desperately trying to stay out of the news, and yet they just can't help themselves - particularly Dr. Liggins himself. 

We have a new Athletic Director hired at UK, a gas leak at a retirement community sending 21 people to the hospital, and some tornadoes in the state -  and yet FCPS cannot help themselves from being front-and-center news every couple of days.

What's happened since my last post?

Again, I am posting only what has been publicly reported in the Lexington Herald Leader, with links to the LHL articles. 

For starters, Ann Sampson-Grimes - the FCPS budget director who was placed on unpaid leave without being given a reason, after she wrote Superintendent Liggins, Assistant Superintendent Barber, and CFO Jackson an email in mid-2025, warning them that the budget was in peril and would fall by 2026 if actions weren't taken (which it did) - has now filed a second lawsuit. 

The first lawsuit was filed under the Whistleblower Act against Dr. Liggins personally and the school board for retaliation, after being placed on unpaid leave after sending the budget warning emails.

(There has been some confusion in reporting regarding who was  named in her first lawsuit - which I posted - but apparently those  initial reports are incorrect - because I have since been able to find a copy of the actual lawsuit filed HERE - no mention of Dr. Barber OR CFO Jackson.)

Her second lawsuit was filed this week, when she returned to work, but found that she had been "reassigned," which was essentially a demotion and a pay cut; again, also without being given reason.

Dr. Liggins was already placed on paid leave when this occurred.

(Momentary Subjectivity: The belief is that there are still unqualified cronies - erm, I mean, enablers - erm, I mean, supporters in leadership about.) 

As for Dr. Liggins himself, his original attorney from Northern Kentucky, Charles Massey  - unknown if a relation to former US Representative Thomas Massey -  stated that Dr. Liggins claims that he did NOT slip the fake/forged attorney threat email under Adrielle Camuel's door that was caught ON video - and instead, claims he slipped her and other employees "encouraging notes."

Once again, Adrielle Camuel -  FCPS employee and Kentucky State Representative (D)  - previously had publicly published on social media her letter to the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) signed by other Democratic lawmakers, regarding her concerns with Dr. Liggins, a copy of which you can see HERE, in my prior post. 

(FYI, Camuel and Liggins are both Democrats; thus, she felt it was important to notate that not all Democrats were turning a blind eye.)

Neither Camuel, nor anyone else at FCPS Central Office, has yet come forward with a copy of any "encouraging notes" slipped under their door.

Then today, a statement was sent to the FCPS School Board LHL from Dr. Liggins' apparently new attorney from Washington DC named Amos Jones, demanding Dr. Liggins' job back, claiming that like Ann Sampson-Grimes, he, too, was placed on leave "illegally" and to return his job to him within 4 days.

The School Board has responded that his being placed on leave was very legal and appropriate.

Just to note to distinguish between the 2 claims:

 Ann Sampson-Grimes was placed on unpaid leave without being given a reason, then demoted upon her return this past week with a pay cut, again without being given a reason.

(She believe it is retaliation for her warning letter regarding budget concerns in 2025).

Dr. Liggins was placed on paid leave due to pending investigation into the fake attorney threat to Adrielle Camuel -  a reason which was told to both him and the Lexington Herald Leader. 

Since Dr. Liggins is threatening to sue everybody and their brother - and likely will, if terminated (despite the school being essentially bankrupt now, taking out a multimillion dollar loan just to make payroll) - I have nothing further declare. 

Except to say if you can't smell the BS by now, I can't help you - AND are we sure Liggins' last name isn't actually Trump?  😂

PS - I will only add that I DO find it strange that it is 2 women that were retaliated against and threatened after whistleblowing - both of whom have provided proof (one on video) -  don't you?

Holy Crap! Here It Is, The Bombshell. I ... Don't Even Know What To Say (UPDATED)

Edited: When I initially wrote this post, I questioned how they were sure it was Dr. Liggins himself who slipped the fake/forged attorney threat under Adrielle's door - because since Adrielle's door was closed, I wasn't sure who eyewitnessed it, and then said we would know soon because there were cameras on every floor.

Welp, sooner than I thought - because the LHL stated they have obtained video evidence of Dr. Liggins doing so, posting a still shot from the video ... 

So ... the Lexington Herald Leader just reported that a paper copy of an email purporting to be from attorney Heather Gatnarek was  allegedly slipped under the office door of KCPS employee AND Democratic Kentucky State Representative, Adrielle Camuel, by Dr. Liggins himself - was falsified.

The email (see below), dated May 19th, appears to be a threat from Attorney Gatnarek that they will seek legal action against Camuel and anyone else "defaming" Dr. Liggins.

Once again, Adrielle Camuel is not just an FCPS employee, but an elected official - she's a Democratic Kentucky State Representative.

Her attorney reported it to the school board on June 5th - the Friday before Dr. Liggins' resignation letter (that he claims wasn't).

The problem with that is -  the email is a fake/forged.

Because Attorney Heather Gatnarek did not write the email, nor did anyone from her firm. 

In fact, no one from her law firm has ever met with or spoken to Dr. Liggins -  and that is not Heather Gatnarek's  email. 

Direct quote from the LHL ...

"'Heather Gatnarek did not author the email included in the article. Nor did any attorney at her firm, which has never represented or offered any advice to Dr. Liggins,” the firm wrote in a statement to the Herald-Leader."

Um ... I don't even know what to say at this point, this is seriously cray cray. 

Here is a copy of the paper copy of fake/forged email that video evidence just proved Dr. Liggins slipped under Adrielle's door, just now published by LHL ... 

PS - Go LHL report Valarie Honeycutt Spears!

As we settle into camps of who are the heroes and villians and their enablers as a result of this bombshell, don't forget Valarie Honeycutt Spears in that hero mix for reporting it in the manner she did.

I have sung her praises before, for being an old-school "just the facts" reporter who writes with no tone or bias, and she only reports what she can prove with sources, none of this "sources say" stuff. 

You can never tell what she personally believes or which side she's on, which is the way journalism is supposed to be  - and it's a remarkable feat in today's world.

More importantly, she will NOT quit digging when she knows she's on to something until she finds it!

Shall we expect the national news any day now?  😂

Because this is some genuinely crazy sh*t. 

Lastly, as I said in previous posts, narcissists come in all colors, all faiths, all genders, and all political parties - whether their last name is Trump or Liggins.

They have no true conviction to any of the causes or platforms they tout to gain power - their only true conviction and loyalty is to themselves - and they will use anyone, or do anything, to stay in power - never more dangerous and reckless than when exposure is near. 

Thus, NO ONE should be turning a blind eye to this sort of behavior for the sake of politics, the color of their skin, their sexual orientation or their faith - lest you become an enabler yourself and therefore complicit.