With all the attention being given to the events transpiring in the northern St. Louis suburb of Ferguson it's easy to allow ourselves to be distracted by all the focus on the "Black vs. White" aspect of the ever-ongoing civilian cold war phenomenon (sometimes going full-frontal from time-to-time).

But let us not forget about all the other disenfranchised members of society:  the American Indian(/Native Americans), or the eternally-impoverished Appalachians (so much for the myth of "white privilege"), or anyone considered "odd", "freaky", or "undesirable" in any way.

"Prejudice" is not a synonym for "racism".  It means any kind of unjust or unreasonable disparaging judgment made against any individual or group.






                                          Another site to check out: www.diehipster.wordpress.com

The Officious Ones II

Picture if you will:
A couple walking down the street apparently having a heated argument, maybe with a little pushing and shoving involved as well.

And someone walking or riding their bicycle on the other side of the street witnessing their momentary conflict.  But, figuring it's a possible domestic abuse they're witnessing, this person takes it upon themselves to call the police and report this incident.

Do I have to mention the potential hazards this type of scenario could possibly pose for the arguing couple?  How a quota-seeking cop might finagle some kind of "just cause" as an excuse to make an arrest (or worse)?
Or that the motto of the police should read "To Purge Is How We Serve"?

                                I would wish that
I was custom-mentored in all the special knowledge and cultural secrets all others around me seem to be aware of that I've never been let in on

I had support and backing and recognition for any good ideas and plans I would come up with as well as for my aptitudes and abilities

I'd get all the opportunities and free passes so many people take for granted: the opportunity to make decent money, travel abroad, to have intimate relationships, to enjoy a high (or high enough) status

                                  In return I would wish that I would
Have been mature and self-disciplined when growing up

Have been somehow more knowledgable about more things

Have been more excited about life itself and had more motivation

Have been born with a charismatic personality

Have been born physically attractive instead of so ungainly


God should send me back in time with all the above elements intact so that I may get a chance to do my life  THE RIGHT WAY this time around

 

One might wonder: What makes a person like me tick?
Why is it people like me are always so condemning or mocking of other people and their ways?

First off, people like me, when growing up, constantly had the ethos of social etiquette drummed into them repeatedly.

We had strict parents who were always emphasizing "showing consideration for others", "being sensitive to the feelings of others", and "respecting the rights and property of others".
They taught us that when returning home late at night you keep your voice down when talking and close the door behind you slowly and softly because "people are trying to sleep".
They sternly asserted: "You need to show respect for others".  It was always important to "never offend anyone".

If they took us along to visit a friend or acquaintance and we would commit some faux pas like, for example, snooping through some of their belongings or, maybe, asking them a question that was a bit too touchy or of a personal nature, as soon as our folks got us alone somewhere they'd slap us around or even beat us---as if we had just committed the worst atrocity against humankind imaginable.

Fast-forward to adulthood after years of being taught "fair play", "wait your turn", and the ethos of decency, culture, integrity and responsibility---and enter into the real world:
It's all barbaric, bigoted, illiterate, corruption, a bunch of gangsters and con artists, aggressive "respectable" snobs who have privilege at the expense of others, hypocrisy galore, domineering authorities and business owners accusing us of having some kind of vague malicious intentions, and all manners of prurient mindsets who then try to accuse us of having ulterior motives of our own (or at least implying such), and all manners of the reckless and irresponsible as well.

And we're like: What the hell is THIS shit? Like we were taught all that "golden rule" stuff all in vain.
We do as we should but we get no credit for it.
We have all these people fucking things up left and right but one mistake on our part gets us crucified.

So, our response is to produce essay-style blog sites showing our reactions and responses to this phenomenon of the world in relation to our place in it.




                                             Another site to check out: www.asshatrants.blogspot.com
                                                                          ...and another one: www.beefblogonoff.com

Two weeks ago (July 20th) was the 45th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing and mankind's first step on the lunar surface when Neil Armstrong was the first of two astronauts to step outside the spaceship.

There are those who contend that this event was all a staged fabrication.  That no human has ever traveled to the moon.  It was all an elaborate hoax.
They'll point to the fact that we've yet to return to the moon or to go beyond in space as "proof" of this notion.

Personally I think the reason we've never gone back is because we actually DID successfully land on the moon, and that what we had to do in order to achieve that goal took such a big plug out of us as a society we've never recuperated from the effects of all the "Peters" we robbed to pay this humongous "Paul".  I suspect a lot of the economic problems we've been plagued with for so long originated with the expenses of that project, including: the shortages in remaining funds for social security; the highway funds reserved for road and bridge repairs; the funds needed for infrastructure maintenance; the Medicare/Medicaid funds; etc.
And no telling what the environmental effects are. The hole in the ozone layer? The dwindling fossil fuel resources?

You'll find that when something exceptional is brief or short-lived it's usually from being so high-maintenance in nature that it's creators, owners, curators and overseers eventually get burned out from the complexities involved in keeping that project going continuously or indefinitely.  (Maybe this might be what happened with The Beatles' career as a group.  Or with the old traditional top-40 radio formats of the 1950s/60s/70s.  Or with the original "progressive rock" format.  Or with the big band era, or even the progressive jazz of the 1950s and '60s.)

                     Texting While Driving
                     Selfies
Two prime examples of "Throwing Pearls To Swine".
You just can't allow the average person to have access to anything nice or classy.  All most people know how to do is bastardize or subvert whatever they get their grubby little paws on.







                        Another site to check out: www.ihopeyourbagiscomfortableasshole.tumblr.com
                                                             ...and yet ANOTHER one: www.paulmodrowski.blogspot.com