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Soylent Apathy is....PEOPLE!!! *caution, spoilers*
Quickly, I'd like to mention that my signing over the weekend was a ton of fun. I didn't expect any of my local peeps to make the drive, so it was cool that some of you did. Had a swell time reconnecting with my old college friend, and meeting his wife. Sold some books and CD's. The CD was indeed, ready on time, though the mixes themselves are not as loud as they should be. So when these 30 or so discs are gone, I'll be remixing--and of course, remixing before the podcasts begin.
I've been meaning to write a rant about something. Despite the fact that Obama has still not tried to take anyone's guns or murder anyone's grandmother, people still can't seem to shut up about all the things they're frightened of. The Patriot Act didn't scare them, but the prospect of poor people causing longer wait times (not for emergency or life-threatening things, but for annual physicals and such) is arma-fucking-geddon. People are actually stock-piling weapons, yelling racial or homophobic remarks at members on congress--and their families! People have brought high powered weapons to Obama's appearances, (and can I just mention that Mozilla's spellchecker does not recognize Obama, but has no problem with McCain. WTF?) and not getting arrested or tackled by secret service.
People act like it's their god-given *snerk* duty to disrupt town hall meetings, completely forgetting that the last president wouldn't even allow people into a town hall meeting unless they (and I'm not joking here) signed a loyalty oath. How very American. And for what? To make sure poor people can't go to the doctor. When did it become awesome to deliberately subvert the goals of the POTUS? Isn't that treason? How is it not? Again, the excuse people give for this madness is that they're "frightened" of what Obama will do. *cue Glenn Beck crying like a bitch*
Speaking of Mr Beck and his ilk, the fact that none of his so-called facts are verifiable is because he's pulling them out of his ass. It's NOT because he's the only one who's not afraid to tell it like it is. I'm not even a Christian, but this "social justice" nonsense and telling people to leave their churches is absurd. (Not to mention, if someone says something you disagree with, the solution is not to run away from them--it's to talk that shit out.) You'd think that when these people blatantly contradict themselves, that people would notice and hip themselves to the fact that they're full of shit. Rush promised to leave the country if health care passed (to a country that already has national health care) but here he still is. Can people really not recognize that these are braying asses weeping crocodile tears over nothing while lining their own pockets? Make no mistake, I'm not just upset because some asshats have shows and use them to espouse fear, racism, classism, homophobia, or just plain crazy talk. But the fact that so many people hear these clowns and not only nod and smile, but arm themselves and take to the town--it's terrifying. Terrifying.
So that's what scares me. Have you guys seen Soylent Green? Yes, the soylent is people. But for me, one the the scary future things is that most people don't have homes in the film. They sleep in the street, and the people who walk by them to go to their homes either totally ignore them, or rush past them in a hurry because they're afraid of getting robbed, careful not to make eye contact. You know, the way many people (don't) look at the homeless now. I'm afraid that we're turning into a country of people who blame victims of poverty and discrimination for their own plight. I am terrified at how many people dismiss the very real divide between haves and have nots in this country. A large number of people would rather shame, villify, or blame the poor--assuming they aren't trying very hard, than figure out a way to help people be less poor (or even help less people be poor.) Obviously, it's easier to assuage guilt over choosing to buy a pack of smokes or a $5 latte instead of helping someone hungry, if you've already decided that said hungry guy wouldn't be in that plight if he wasn't so lazy. Now this has extended to the point where tons of people are actually using threats and guns to advance the notion that poor people, brown people, gay people, or whomever else is not a Christian Republican, doesn't deserve anything they can't pay for with the money they make at their jobs--if they are lucky enough to even have jobs. Oh, they're mentally ill? Probably faking. They were born addicted to crack? Not my problem, some people shouldn't breed, but I'm not paying for their birth control. Oh, they've been abused, or homeless, or sold into prostitution? Too bad, they need to get over that shit.
Maybe I'm scared shitless at the idea that we're becoming a country that mocks intellectual curiosity and promotes fear and scorn of anything progressive. Maybe I'm horrified that these days, smart people are considered stupid. Maybe I'm disgusted that concepts like organic food, reading for pleasure, arts appreciation, inclusiveness, or diversity are seen as "pussy faggot commie shit." But guns, war, beer, sports, homophobia, and pushing back with violence are suddenly what every good Amer'can should be doing--lest they be called an arugula eating muslim.
I'm a little bit scared that while most of the people reading this are nodding in agreement, or deciding which specifics points they disagree with, some are not. If enough people do read it, you can bet at least one of them will think I should be shot or deported for these views. But dammit, I'm not going to arm myself because of a little fear. I'm not arming myself until the zombies come. Then again, I've hear FOX viewers called zombies on several occasions. Maybe I've been preparing for the wrong kind of holocaust all this time...
I've been meaning to write a rant about something. Despite the fact that Obama has still not tried to take anyone's guns or murder anyone's grandmother, people still can't seem to shut up about all the things they're frightened of. The Patriot Act didn't scare them, but the prospect of poor people causing longer wait times (not for emergency or life-threatening things, but for annual physicals and such) is arma-fucking-geddon. People are actually stock-piling weapons, yelling racial or homophobic remarks at members on congress--and their families! People have brought high powered weapons to Obama's appearances, (and can I just mention that Mozilla's spellchecker does not recognize Obama, but has no problem with McCain. WTF?) and not getting arrested or tackled by secret service.
People act like it's their god-given *snerk* duty to disrupt town hall meetings, completely forgetting that the last president wouldn't even allow people into a town hall meeting unless they (and I'm not joking here) signed a loyalty oath. How very American. And for what? To make sure poor people can't go to the doctor. When did it become awesome to deliberately subvert the goals of the POTUS? Isn't that treason? How is it not? Again, the excuse people give for this madness is that they're "frightened" of what Obama will do. *cue Glenn Beck crying like a bitch*
Speaking of Mr Beck and his ilk, the fact that none of his so-called facts are verifiable is because he's pulling them out of his ass. It's NOT because he's the only one who's not afraid to tell it like it is. I'm not even a Christian, but this "social justice" nonsense and telling people to leave their churches is absurd. (Not to mention, if someone says something you disagree with, the solution is not to run away from them--it's to talk that shit out.) You'd think that when these people blatantly contradict themselves, that people would notice and hip themselves to the fact that they're full of shit. Rush promised to leave the country if health care passed (to a country that already has national health care) but here he still is. Can people really not recognize that these are braying asses weeping crocodile tears over nothing while lining their own pockets? Make no mistake, I'm not just upset because some asshats have shows and use them to espouse fear, racism, classism, homophobia, or just plain crazy talk. But the fact that so many people hear these clowns and not only nod and smile, but arm themselves and take to the town--it's terrifying. Terrifying.
So that's what scares me. Have you guys seen Soylent Green? Yes, the soylent is people. But for me, one the the scary future things is that most people don't have homes in the film. They sleep in the street, and the people who walk by them to go to their homes either totally ignore them, or rush past them in a hurry because they're afraid of getting robbed, careful not to make eye contact. You know, the way many people (don't) look at the homeless now. I'm afraid that we're turning into a country of people who blame victims of poverty and discrimination for their own plight. I am terrified at how many people dismiss the very real divide between haves and have nots in this country. A large number of people would rather shame, villify, or blame the poor--assuming they aren't trying very hard, than figure out a way to help people be less poor (or even help less people be poor.) Obviously, it's easier to assuage guilt over choosing to buy a pack of smokes or a $5 latte instead of helping someone hungry, if you've already decided that said hungry guy wouldn't be in that plight if he wasn't so lazy. Now this has extended to the point where tons of people are actually using threats and guns to advance the notion that poor people, brown people, gay people, or whomever else is not a Christian Republican, doesn't deserve anything they can't pay for with the money they make at their jobs--if they are lucky enough to even have jobs. Oh, they're mentally ill? Probably faking. They were born addicted to crack? Not my problem, some people shouldn't breed, but I'm not paying for their birth control. Oh, they've been abused, or homeless, or sold into prostitution? Too bad, they need to get over that shit.
Maybe I'm scared shitless at the idea that we're becoming a country that mocks intellectual curiosity and promotes fear and scorn of anything progressive. Maybe I'm horrified that these days, smart people are considered stupid. Maybe I'm disgusted that concepts like organic food, reading for pleasure, arts appreciation, inclusiveness, or diversity are seen as "pussy faggot commie shit." But guns, war, beer, sports, homophobia, and pushing back with violence are suddenly what every good Amer'can should be doing--lest they be called an arugula eating muslim.
I'm a little bit scared that while most of the people reading this are nodding in agreement, or deciding which specifics points they disagree with, some are not. If enough people do read it, you can bet at least one of them will think I should be shot or deported for these views. But dammit, I'm not going to arm myself because of a little fear. I'm not arming myself until the zombies come. Then again, I've hear FOX viewers called zombies on several occasions. Maybe I've been preparing for the wrong kind of holocaust all this time...
no subject
Oddly, my moms family was not a bunch of rednecks, though bi-polar disorder runs rampant through that side. But my mom married a guy who thought a "no nigger" rule in "his" house was perfectly acceptable. And because my mom only stood up to people who couldn't fight back--we all had to abide by that absurd rule. And of course, when I argued the point, I was called a "nigger lover" if you can even believe such a thing. Of course, now that I'm married to a (mostly) black guy...*insert end of story here*
no subject
Gah. Isn't that awful?
Your mom's husband sounds hideous, which doesn't surprise me. I wonder what he and your mom would think about your race-traitorous ways. ; )
And yeah, that's 3 paychecks away with both adults (assuming a traditional household) working. Before Reagan took over, one salary worked pretty well for the majority of people in the country. Let's not even get started on people working full-time minimum wage jobs and still needing foodstamps, etc.
no subject
no subject