Cinco de Mayo!

It's been a tough week for blogging. But at least I saw another antique Chevy when I went out to grab a bite earlier in the week!




I am grateful I woke up this morning without any notifications of direct threats, as I did last Saturday. It is not a day I am likely to forget. Five people sent me messages as soon as I signed on, several making sure I TOOK THE SCREEN SHOTS. I obediently did as they told me to do, but I did not visit the hate-page after I initially took the shot, because I found it too unnerving.

I have spent the last week decompressing from disaster, even though I gained a parcel of new Facebook friends and radio-show listeners. At the same time, I have been extremely careful, looking over my shoulder. Is this what it's like to be well-known and controversial? Apparently so. I have been wondering if I am up for this.

I was blocked from Facebook for about 24 hrs. I am not sure of the specific reason, since all my requests for clarification were totally ignored. One of my comments was deemed "threatening"--which is pretty ironic under the circumstances (as stated above, there was a whole Facebook page threatening me physically), and my questions ("Why or how is this a threatening statement?") sent to the proverbial round-file. I have since learned that if your comments are deliberately targeted (as mine have been) and reported X number of times, THAT is what deems it offensive, not the actual content of the comment(s) in question. It's all about the clicks. The warnings and blockages are executed by Facebook-bots, not by actual people. This explains the wildly-varying standards: on one Facebook page, you can talk filth and nobody cares, but on another, a simple factual statement such as (for instance) Bob Jones University-affiliates are covering up for rape-apologists is considered "offensive."

The truth is now subject to censorship for being "too offensive" for certain overprotected, neurasthenic people to be able to tolerate. And their intolerance is what makes it "offensive."

I am suddenly reminded of a bone-chilling line in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by the legendary Philip K Dick, a line that (tellingly) did not make it into the screenplay of the film, which became Blade Runner. Paraphrasing: What proof do we have that empathy exists, asks the android, except the humans' word for it? Isn't it something they just made up to prove they have this special thing?

And the Bob Jones University-apologists similarly ask: What proof do we have that your truth exists, except your word for it? Isn't it something you just made up, to say something bad about us?

It's scary, isn't it? After all, they already say this about science and evolution, global-warming and gay people.

I've long been claiming there is no such thing as objectivity, and I think this whole debacle is proof of that. The word "offensive" is no longer about unacceptable cuss words and sexual terms; the word is now assigned to any statement that bothers you, for any reason. Whether the statement is "objectively true" is of no importance in this determination.

Empathy is next. What proof do we have that it exists? OOOPS, is that an offensive statement? BOOM, down the memory hole.

You should NOT have to read such disconcerting, disorienting notions.

~*~

I attempted a joke on my show this morning, off the cuff, and it bombed. Nobody's perfect. Better luck next time and thank you for playing!

Podcast of bad joke and other topics, is up.

And last night, saw another cool car and took another picture. My favorite color! I am not sure of the make/year of this very lovely, cherry-red beauty, but if you know, speak up.

Biographical aside: I used to work in the purty pink building, which is at the corner of Main and East North Streets in Greenville. It is now a clothing store, but was a GNC when I worked there.

~*~

Lots of interpersonal ups and downs in local Occupy groups, including mine, as well as groups in Spartanburg and Columbia. (I haven't yet checked the astrological charts, but I am sure something must be going on.) I shall refrain from bad-mouthing liberals and their inability to SUBMIT TO COLLECTIVE DISCIPLINE (Yes, Barack, I am lookin at you too) but.... well, they DO have a problem submitting to collective discipline.

Simply put, if a whole group votes that you are disruptive, stay your ass away. Is that too difficult to understand? People seem to get this concept in ANY endeavor but politics. It appears that some folks think they are just so wonderful that they deserve to be heard and listened to (including their sorry excuses) more than other people, certainly more than they have ever listened to anyone else. How does that work exactly?

In any event, I am once again reminded of my mentor, Steve Conliff, and his rule of thumb for the Yippies, that I know I have quoted numerous times previously, in this space: If you let anybody in, anybody WILL come in.

And yes, they do. The confused, the argumentative, the power-tripping, the lecherous, the whole Hee Haw gang is present and accounted for. I always take their presence as a given. I can easily accept these people, if they are aware of their personality-issues, as I am (mostly) aware of mine. I want people to cut me slack, so I cut others slack, too. But I notice many of these people do not think they have any personality-issues, in fact, they think they are just peachy-keen and wonderful. Unfortunately, that is often where the liberalism comes in: they have been believing their own press. They believe they are compassionate, aware and kind, just because liberals are said to be compassionate, aware and kind. (By contrast, radicals never get this kind of good press; radicals are dangerous, crazy, insane, outside agitators, etc.) Thus, when these folks go off the rails, you also have the attendant spectacle of other liberals going into catatonia: But I thought he was... NICE!

And there is often no evidence that this person was EVER "nice"--except that they agreed with us. We tend to assume a lot about the people who agree with us: they MUST be good, since (it goes without saying!) WE are GOOD!

Maybe the operative difference is, I don't think I am particularly good. I try, but I fail repeatedly. Thus, I assume others are trying and failing, repeatedly, all the time. And as we know, passing the kid who has consistently failed is ultimately a mean thing to do and sets them up for more failure. So it is with people who repeatedly fail us.

At some unavoidable juncture, it is time to send them back to Decency 101, that class they obviously missed. We tolerate their continued failures at our peril.

~*~

Greenville Occupiers, bringing the radicalism! Yeah!







There will be an Occupy Picnic in McPherson Park this afternoon, 3:30pm, be there or be square. General Assembly is tomorrow at 2pm in Bergamo Square; Main and Coffee Streets, across from Coffee Underground... which is especially handy for quick coffee-junkie fixes, also a very good refuge for bad weather, which has only happened a couple of times.

Bergamo Square is currently under construction; it will soon be the home of some monstrous new building, currently given the ominous title of PROJECT ONE. (Wasn't Kampuchea named that by Pol Pot?*) It is growing fairly enormous by the day, and we usually picket right in front of it.

The Greenville Antiwar Society used to have our yearly candlelight vigil exactly where the construction is now, but the small building with two giant flights of steps (where I took this photo from) is now gone.

Since we are standing there with signs, several people have asked us if we are protesting the construction.

They seem disappointed when we say no.


*Correction, that was THE YEAR ONE. I always get capitalism and communism mixed up, sorry about that. ;)

Yes we can get out of Afghanistan

Greenville Antiwar Society candle-lighting

March 22, 2009 - Sunday evening, members of the Greenville Antiwar Society marked YEAR SIX of the Iraq war, with our annual commemorative candle-lighting in Bergamo Square, downtown Greenville, South Carolina.

Members of GAS lit 4260 candles; each candle bears the name of a fallen soldier. The beaded structure in the center contains approx 700-800,000 small beads, representing the Iraqi dead.

BRING THEM HOME NOW!

~*~

If I knew the way, I would take you home

I am attending our yearly commemorative candle-lighting tonight, for the thousands of American dead in Iraq. It is YEAR SIX of the Iraq War. Do you believe? YEAR SIX.

I find I do not want to go; I find the sight of all those candles (one for each soldier) simply stunning (not in a good way) and almost utterly overwhelming. What possible good could come from thousands of dead enlisted personnel; thousands of once-alive, vibrant young souls?

Why are we still in Iraq, again?

Depressed, confused, talking to God (okay, arguing!) and feeling the futility of it all. And yet, giving up is not an option. I have never known how to do that. (See previous post: I have 4 Virgos in my astrological chart!)

As Deadheads know, there is only one song for these occasions.


~*~

Ripple (Robert Hunter/Jerry Garcia)


If my words did glow
with the gold of sunshine
And my tunes were played on the harp unstrung
Would you hear my voice
come through the music
Would you hold it near as it were your own?

Its a hand-me-down
the thoughts are broken
Perhaps they're better left unsung
I don't know, don't really care
Let there be songs to fill the air

Ripple in still water
When there is no pebble tossed
Nor wind to blow

Reach out your hand
if your cup be empty
If your cup is full
may it be again
Let it be known
there is a fountain
That was not made by the hands of men

There is a road
no simple highway
Between the dawn and the dark of night
And if you go
no one may follow
That path is for your steps alone.

Ripple in still water
When there is no pebble tossed
Nor wind to blow.

You who choose to lead must follow
But if you fall
you fall alone
If you should stand
then who's to guide you?

If I knew the way, I would take you home.


~*~

Do yall have any idea how many versions of this are on YouTube? Maybe hundreds.

This one is particularly nice in that you can hear the audience singing along.



Ripple - Grateful Dead

BRING THEM HOME NOW!

As I wrote on Monday, the Greenville Antiwar Society candle lighting took place on Sunday night, downtown at Bergamo Square. Below are some photographs of the event, which I am sharing here as my contribution to the Blogswarm Against the War.

In the center, there is a beaded structure, representing the Iraqi people--hundreds of beads symbolize the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi dead. It would be impossible to light a million candles, so this is the best we could do.

Every candle bears the name of an American soldier that has died in this needless, senseless, evil brutality. Their names, ages and dates of death are listed. Of the candles I personally lit, the youngest was 19, the oldest 28. There are 3988, total.

The sheer number of names is overwhelming. Each small, flickering light--a life that has been extinguished.

In the sixth photo below, activists are singing the old Civil Rights hymn, This little light of mine/I'm gonna let it shine.

Yes, we have to do that, as hopeless as it sometimes appears.

Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

And as another poet once wrote: We all shine on, like the moon and the stars and the sun.

We must light the way with truth.

~*~

Odds and Sods - Irish brawlers edition

Last night, I attended the Greenville Antiwar Society's candle lighting vigil in Bergamo Square, downtown. This commemorates the 5th year of the war, and every candle bears the name of a deceased American soldier.

There are now 3988 candles, total.

We've been doing it five years now, and the candles just increase. It's so beautiful, one woman said to me, but how sad every candle represents death.

I'll be posting more photos on the 19th, for the Blogswarm Against the War.

~*~

In the New York Times, Maureen Dowd writes the following:

If only they could see things as the president does. Bush, who used his family connections to avoid Vietnam, told troops serving in Afghanistan on Thursday that he is “a little envious” of their adventure there, saying it was “in some ways romantic.”

Do you BELIEVE this guy? (((shakes head in dumbfounded amazement))) I mean, what can one SAY??

~*~

I've just been listening to a self-defined feminist caller on C-Span berate lefty bloggers for criticizing Hillary. Is there no end to this???? Are we NOT ALLOWED to choose another candidate?

And speaking of feminism, are we allowed to point out that much of the "experience" HRC is nattering on about, was as FIRST LADY, an UNELECTED position?

Speaking of Hill, I just got an email from ((dramatic pause!)) ELTON JOHN! Yes, I'm pretty special to rate emails from VIPs, you are thinking. But no, it's just a mass-mailed invitation to Democrats to go to a pro-Hillary concert at Radio City Music Hall; tickets range from $125 up to $2300. If you raise over $10,000, you are invited to a special reception with Elton John and the Clintons. (Doncha love how they say "the Clintons"--while denying they are using Bill's popularity to whip up support for HRC?) I wouldn't be too interested in partying with policy-wonk Hillary, but of course, one can only imagine the parties Bill and Elton have been to; those might be some jolly fun!

~*~

Left: Also, last night, I saw local band SONIC MARVEL at the Gathering Spot (affectionately known as the G-Spot, by locals).

And on a personal note, speaking of the luck of the Irish, my beautiful almost-red-headed grandbaby (age 2 1/2) has chicken pox and an additional ear infection. :( I miss her SO MUCH, I'd gladly nurse her back to health with nary a complaint or hesitation.

Please send all positive thoughts to the Texas Hill Country!

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Listening to: Stiff Little Fingers - Alternative Ulster
via FoxyTunes