Male privilege = getting my attention or else!

Last summer, on a warm August morning, I walked my son over to his day camp at the community center down the street. I did this every weekday morning that I was in the country and we usually took a shortcut through the playing field.

On my way back I was listening to music on my headphones and I walked past a guy who was just hanging out. He was old, at least 65, on crutches and had a cast on his leg. As I walked past he started shouting the "hey baby" crap at me. I could hear him over my headphones but I ignored him. He started to chase after me ON CRUTCHES when I didn't respond. He started yelling shit like "bitch you shouldn't be shaking your ass if you don't want attention" etc.

I turned around, pulled my headphones off and told him that if he didn't shut up I was going to kick his ass, and I absolutely meant it. He said something about how I couldn't kick his ass and how he could kill me. I laughed, pointed out that he was old and broken and walked off. I was a bit shaken up but proud that I had told him off. Today though I am really glad he didn't have a car or a weapon after reading this.

A woman was in serious condition Wednesday morning after Orange County
deputies said a man deliberately ran her over.

The woman and her friend were apparently walking down the side of the road near Orange Blossom trail and Jordan Avenue late Tuesday night when the accident happened. Deputies said the man responsible wanted their attention and wasn't taking no for an answer.

Just to make it simple- here's an easy breakdown so you can understand the problem from a male privilege point of view

1) Women are created to be attractive so that men will pay attention to them

2) All women are attention whores so they all should appreciate any type of attention they receive from men

3) Women who don't show the appropriate amount of respect when receiving attention from men (i/e dropping to their knees and offering a blow job or at least flashing their tits) are teases even if they weren't trying to get any attention at all. If they didn't want attention then they shouldn't have left the house.

4) Teases and whores deserve what's coming to them. They were asking for it.

Most guys don't get how unnerving it is to be yelled at by some stranger. They think that like in publicity- all attention is good. But being yelled at by some stranger or even just having some random guy on the street tell you to smile are not the same thing as having a friend or acquaintance compliment you on your dress or hair or shoes. One action is part of enhancing or creating a social bond between equals, the other is one person turning another into an object for their own gratification and not for the benefit of the person being commented on.

Add the ever present threat of violence that women are warned about everyday from the time we are old enough to know we are different from boys, and this kind of harassment is enough to make me want to get a concealed weapons permit.

For Wonder

Because she wanted another cartoon.....

It's the Progress Stupid

Hello again all! There hadn't been much activity here so I have not posted anything of late. Nice to see that the spirited (haha) conversations continue.

Many of you know I am authoring a book tentatively tittled 1648: An Astrological History of Europe from the Renaissance to the Victorian Age. I can say with 100% assurance that the period between Neptune-Pluto alignments, approximately every 495 years, offers a more precise way to divide history into manageable portions than the more arbitrary ones of five hundred years etc. I am also finding that the Neptune-Pluto divisions also coincide with the familiar terms of the Middle Ages, The Bronze Age, etal. These divisions gives us the current "wave" (my term) beginning around 1892 and ending in 2384. We are in the first phase or quarter of that wave.
For a long while I had trouble classifying what this wave means. The problem is typically postmodern, too much information instead of not enough. Many of the candidates included global warming, globalization, the new power of women, integration of minorities into the mainstream, how to define religion in a post-modern world, etc,. All of these help define the issues we know face. But the more I ponder them, the more I conclude that these represen symptoms rather than the actual condition. But, seeing them this way lead to a more universal truth: it is the progress, stupid!
Until the last wave, 1398-1892, progress was NOT a given. Indeed, a purposeful march toward progress, the assumption that humans could use their minds to improve their conditions, was shunned as counterproductive and wasteful. Religion also cast a heavy shadow as human-centered progress removes God as the main factor governing our destinies. However, since the damn broke during Age of Reason, human generated progress was assumed as a given. But as we know, progress giveth as much as it takes away.
It is my contention that we have progressed beyond our abilities. What I mean by this is best seen in the climate change scenario, but applies to other issues such as demographic imbalance, income distribution and globalization. Machines gave us abilities to produce ever faster, stronger, more productive, bigger (ands smaller) machines. Science helps us live better and longer. At the same time, we have brought ourselves to the brink of ruining the planet by overpopulation and various forms of pollution. I.e, we moved to quickly without determining the consequences. Now, we cannot return to old ways, but cannot continue with our current path. Something must be said for the old attitude of seeing progress as counterproductive and wasteful.
If my Neptune-Pluto wave model holds true, then this is the first wave than began with human-based progress as a given. The first phase of any wave deals with defining what the overall means. My opinion is that we need to define what human-based progress really is. If whatever we do brings us closer to our overall demise or global destruction to the point of making most life untenable, then is it really progress? The answer seems to be a resounding "NO".
Then if "progress" really is not progressive, what is it? No, there are no simple answers, but not attempting to answer the question is even less progressive.

Happy Birthday, Happy Blogiversary, and a Fuck You Very Much all at once

Today is my birthday. It is also the anniversary of this little adventure called The White Papers.

It is also the 4th year of the Iraq war. The paranoid conspiracy theorist in my head still thinks that part of the reason for starting the war on my birthday was so that the neocons could get one more giant dig into a progressive. But I'm not really that important.

So it's four years into this pointless and badly planned war and no one seems to have any idea what to do about it. Surging is pointless, we don't have and can't commit enough troops to turn Iraq into the lock down, high security prison state that Bush dreams of. If we stay the course then the horrible bloodshed will either maintain its current intolerable level or, much more likely, get worse. And if we pull out, completely leave Iraq to its own devices, then there really will have been nothing gained and much lost after four years of horror and blood.

But pulling out is the only way for Iraq to find its footing and eventually some peace.

The current powers that be, namely Bush and Cheney and their foaming mouthed sycophants, still think we are a country capable of creating puppet "democracies" like we did in Latin America for most of the last century. But not this time. There was no real "Big Man" in Iraq like there was in Chile with Pinochet. Well, there was and we helped put him there, but recently the Iraqi people had their former leader executed.

The Iraqi people need the Americans out so that they can create their own government, be it a democracy or theocracy or flat out anarchy. It is not our place to force a government of any kind on Iraq. One of my favorite quotes is that "Democracy through tyranny is still tyranny". By imposing ourselves and our politics on Iraq we are the worst kind of tyrants- ineffective. If we could justify our presence in the country by showing that the Iraqis are now safe from violence or ethnic divisions, that they are free from the starvation and shortages that they suffered under Saddam because of the embargo, that they could even walk out of their houses everyday to go to work or school, then maybe we could justify staying in the country to promote peace. But everyday life for Iraqis becomes harder and we are the cause.

So we must pull out. It will cause a power vacuum, it will increase violence in the short-term, and every death that follows our leaving will be just as much our fault as the deaths that are caused by our being there. But the Iraqis will then have to deal with each other without the excuse of the Americans as occupiers to continue the violence. Without us there, then the influence of Al Qaida (that only exists since we have invaded Iraq, not before as the foaming mouths will have you believe) will diminish.

Iraq needs a chance to organically develop a leader to take charge of their country and as long as we are there that WILL NOT HAPPEN. Anyone who works with the Americans will be suspect as being a puppet, anyone who works against the Americans will be fodder for our troops. The Iraqis must have a chance for a strong leader to develop the support and organization needed to drag a country out of civil war. It will be bloody, it will most likely be another dictator, and the Sunni minority will probably be the biggest losers. But it is up to the Iraqis to fight or accept that. All we can do at this point is throw money at the infrastructure of the country that we destroyed (and not put that money through government contracts where palettes of money disappear like political Latin Americans in the 70s).

We have failed the soldiers of our country by putting them in harms way for reasons based on lies. We have failed the people of Iraq by taking them from a dictatorship that they knew to a bloody civil war where no one is safe. Saddam was certainly not a saint, but I am pretty sure most Iraqis would prefer a false sense of security over perpetual war. We must admit our hubris and withdraw.

other side of the world

I have to say that its a bit strange being on this side of the globe. I think that we all get these romantic notions that things are better here or there because they're there and not here and there are so many problems with here and none that you can really focus on there. That is, of course, until you're there and then you also realize that they've got problems as well.

It all makes sense in the head, seriously it does.

Since this is my first real post from abroad, I figured it needed to be wordy and deep or just wordy. As someone once told me about opening bands, "if you can't be good, be loud". I plan on being plenty loud. How can I not? I'm in the UK and if they're anything they're about the subtle humor vs the American "pie in the face" kind. They suffer awful weather graciously. Wear monkey suits when they go to their day jobs and in general, are fairly pleasant even when they don't need to be. Generally speaking though, humor wise, I prefer a mix, sarcasm and slap stick, yes, there is room in my comic universe for both Carrot Top and John Stewart.

I will say that the news here is about a thousand times better than what you get in the states, if for one simple reason, I can turn on my teevee and watch Al Jazeera and make my own opinion about it vs having that opinion made for me by cable marketing execs who fear the fallout of rightwing wacko conservatives who get their noise from the Big Dick's secret bunker. And strangely enough, I like Al Jazeera. A little more mid-east focused than I'd really care about but you have to figure that'd be the case with a station that is based in Qatar. Otherwise, its clean (no waving flags or 18 different news banners going off at the same time or crazy graphics) and professional and unlike the Dick's secret bunker, it is quite balanced.

It is certainly a different world here though. Yesterday there was a story concerning the controversial issue of bi-weekly garbage pickup. Basically, the news did an admirable job of attempting to tie the issue to global warming, which is now the justification for any poorly thought out policy. This is probably going to ruffle a few feathers but I don't completely buy into the man made global warming story. Don't get me wrong, I have absolutely no issues with using less carbon, recycling, etc and I can see their merits outside of a "global warming" prism but I suppose its the cynic in me. Something about this just seems too neat, it smells. But if it makes people wake up a bit and attempt to reduce their footprint on mother earth, then I'm fine with that, gospel truth or not. That having been said, a purely financial decision and an unpopular one at that was being tied to global warming so as to lower the amount of criticism for it. Cause if you just came out and said, we're not going to pick up your garbage and recycling every week because we don't want to pay people to do it, that might get a lot of people's gander up. But if you tie it to global warming, then anyone that complains obviously doesn't care about the environment and so on and so forth. Sort of like stuffing spinach farmer relief and other pork into defense authorization bills. If you veto that, well then you must hate our military.

The justification for the 2 week pickup was that most waste is food, food is carbon but "encouraging" people to not throw out as much food since having it piling up is a bad thing, then you're lowering carbon and saving the earth. This all fails basic logic when you start thinking about things like, well, the carbon from your grapes that you didn't eat would still be carbon some place else, in your rubbish bin or someone else's. Basically the only thing you've done is move it around like a bad shell game. Not only that, but there are people who seriously need to have their trash picked up, like families with kids (imagine two weeks of dirty diapers). This doesn't even begin to cover things like rats and other vermin that will more than likely thrive under such a regime, etc.

Recently, there was a new tax on flying here in the UK. It was brought in to help curb the effects of global warming or some such nonsense with respect to flying. Are the proceeds of the tax going to make the airlines more efficient? No. Are the proceeds going to making airports more efficient, either by adding new systems that would mean less taxi-ing or more direct routes to destination airports, expanding airports so that flights don't endlessly circle when there is bad weather, limiting flights so that their aren't more scheduled than safely take off or land at a particular time, etc? That'd also be a big fat no. Basically, they've just added a tax to discourage the average Joe person to not fly. But a 40 pound tax isn't going stop Joe Holiday Maker from putting off his vacation plans. A 400 pound tax on the other hand, would. But you don't see people screaming for that, do you. Why not? Because people really wouldn't fly. This is less about global warming and more about putting money into the hands of the government and then painting anyone against it as someone who hates the earth.

Anyway, I just with people would think a bit more critically about this kind of stuff. I'm not against paying taxes or anything of that nature (goodness knows I was for the monorail and I owned a car in the city) I just want the revenues for such things to basically go for the justification that was given for levying it. I mean, wouldn't it be great if the lottery revenue (I'm not sure about WA but the lottery was sold in NY for this purpose) actually went to schools? Or tolls from roads actually going to fixing the road? How about global warming taxes that actually went to reducing carbon emissions? Or encouraging people to use less of it or buy more efficient cars, lightbulbs, appliances, etc? Placing windwarms off shore or using wave energy?

Been around the world and I'm cynical. Its good to see that some things don't change. Though I do have to say that the outlook on life certainly did.

Now I wonder what those boys are doing with that new fangled Globe Theatre thing...

Fascinating.

The Authoritarians - by Bob Altemeyer

To Christians who talk like the Devil

You almost make me ashamed to call myself a Christian.

Then I remember that you do not speak for Christ.

When you go around threatening people with beatings, rape, and murder because you disgree with them politically or culturally, you do not speak for me, you do NOT speak for the church, and YOU DO NOT SPEAK FOR CHRIST.

As a matter of fact, you're acting in direct disobedience to the teachings, spirit, and example of Jesus, as well as several Biblical principles. Anybody with even a passing acquaintance with the most watered-down versions of Christianity knows this. You know it.

SO SHUT UP.

Or stop calling yourselves Christians.

If you care anything for the Gospel, retract your vitriol. Repent of your threats, and your hatred. Because you are harming this country, and you are harming the cause of Christ. What does a non-christian have to judge the claims of Christ by, but the behavior of those who profess to follow him?

However, I suspect that you care nothing for the Gospel, not the real one. I suspect you think "winning the world for Christ" means forcing everyone to act, dress, and think like your preacher tells you, so you don't have to ever think about whether you're doing right. Except that you're too lazy to even do that for yourself, so you'd rather have the government do it for you. The same government you so resent paying taxes to so that people in real trouble have food and clothes for their kids, and decent care when they get sick. REAL things that Jesus ACTUALLY MENTIONED AS HOW CHRIST WILL IDENTIFY HIS FOLLOWERS

Think i'm Kidding?

Matthew 25: 31-46 (King James Version, just in case you consider all other versions corrupt)

31When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

34Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

37Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

40And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

44Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
King James Version (KJV)

You've sold out. You wouldn't know Jesus if you tripped over Him on your doorstep, and he certainly wouldn't recognize you.