I have spent considerable amount of time trying to understand the current political situation.
I am a Liberal. Although that term has been used as a term of disparagement by the ultraright it is actually a compliment.
I have family and friends that are conservative. Some of them are even intelligent, have degrees abd everything. So I really do not understand how they can be so fanatically devoted to the ignorant piece of slime that currently occupies the White House. He isn't capable of making a coherent statement, is completely ignorant of History, world politics, and other peoples feelings. He has abused or mocked women, minorities, the disabled, anyone from another country, anyone who is not white.
How can relatively normal people forgive the many flaws of this egotistical flawed narcicistic moron.
I meanI have actually thought about this.
I have come to the conclusion that they lack empathy. They are incapableof puting themselves in someone elses shoes, of seeing things from someone elses point of view. People fleeing from political opression and worse are "drug dealers and criminals". Women are rated by their looks and if they should dare take him to task are "nasty women", and if you are famous you can "grab them right by the pussy".
The rest of the world looks at us and says "Is this the bes they can do?"
I wonder the same.
Tuesday, June 30, 2020
Monday, June 08, 2020
Life's a Riot
Living out here in the woods of the Olympic Penninsula, I have become more of a spectator than a participant. And for the most part that is fine with me.
The present state of things has been a long time comin'. Under the current administration, the reality of racial inequity has become all too obvious. I w that good can come from all this turmoil. There are valuable lessonsoleheartedly approve of the protests, but not the riots and looting. Although it can be hard to separate the two since they happen together, it is neccesary to separate the two.
Back in the dark ages of my teen years, I marched in civil rights marches, got tear gassed, and really thought I was part of the solution. It saddens me that things have not changed all that much. Sure, the whites only drinking fountains are gone, and the black vote has become a political f wind up dead at the hands of police for imaginary or minor offenses. The protests are appropriate. Unfortunately the criminal elements of society use the protests as a platform for riot and looting.
That's only half the equation. The response from authorities is the other half. The response of the police is is either nonexistent or disproportionate. The authorities must recognise the right of the participants to demonstrate, and ideally demonstrate solidarity with the protestors. Too often the response of the authorities creates an atmosphere of us versus them, The key is communication, on the street level. Listening to stuffed heads spout platitudes isn't going to get it. Person to person, one on one communication is what it will take to get people to recognise their similarities, not emphasize their differences. I don't know how that looks, but there are much smarter people than me out there that should be able to figure the details out.
On the other end of the spectrum, you have the incident at Forks.
A racially mixed faminly traveling in a converted school bus, travilled from Spokane to the Olympi penninsula to go on a little camping trip. Some moron in Forks decided they were ANTIFA activists com to riot and loot. The total lunacy of this escaped them. So thay hazed them out of town. The family set up to camp for a couple of days, A group of misguided teens with chain saws and felled a bunch of trees so they could not get out.
It is an embarassment to everyone who lives out here. The whole thing sounds like a cheap episode from some second rate made for tv show.
It is possible that much good can come from this. If people do not recognise the legitimacy of the protests, the next ones will be more violent, so it is in out own best interrest to act now.
The present state of things has been a long time comin'. Under the current administration, the reality of racial inequity has become all too obvious. I w that good can come from all this turmoil. There are valuable lessonsoleheartedly approve of the protests, but not the riots and looting. Although it can be hard to separate the two since they happen together, it is neccesary to separate the two.
Back in the dark ages of my teen years, I marched in civil rights marches, got tear gassed, and really thought I was part of the solution. It saddens me that things have not changed all that much. Sure, the whites only drinking fountains are gone, and the black vote has become a political f wind up dead at the hands of police for imaginary or minor offenses. The protests are appropriate. Unfortunately the criminal elements of society use the protests as a platform for riot and looting.
That's only half the equation. The response from authorities is the other half. The response of the police is is either nonexistent or disproportionate. The authorities must recognise the right of the participants to demonstrate, and ideally demonstrate solidarity with the protestors. Too often the response of the authorities creates an atmosphere of us versus them, The key is communication, on the street level. Listening to stuffed heads spout platitudes isn't going to get it. Person to person, one on one communication is what it will take to get people to recognise their similarities, not emphasize their differences. I don't know how that looks, but there are much smarter people than me out there that should be able to figure the details out.
On the other end of the spectrum, you have the incident at Forks.
A racially mixed faminly traveling in a converted school bus, travilled from Spokane to the Olympi penninsula to go on a little camping trip. Some moron in Forks decided they were ANTIFA activists com to riot and loot. The total lunacy of this escaped them. So thay hazed them out of town. The family set up to camp for a couple of days, A group of misguided teens with chain saws and felled a bunch of trees so they could not get out.
It is an embarassment to everyone who lives out here. The whole thing sounds like a cheap episode from some second rate made for tv show.
It is possible that much good can come from this. If people do not recognise the legitimacy of the protests, the next ones will be more violent, so it is in out own best interrest to act now.
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