Race Relations yet again

     Strained Race relations in America are at an all time high.

    I guess my only take away from this video is this, the black woman accuses the white woman of calling her a "N!@@#R". And did speak THEE Offensive Word to the Police Officer. I do absolutely believe that if the police officer had spoken THEE Offensive Word back to her even in an only quoting her for his note taking record manner the black woman would have had that Police Officer put on trial, in a Kangaroo Court there in the parking lot, put in jail fired, publicly excoriated, paid for his wife's inevitable divorce, blm would have held a daylight candle light vigil and the Right Reverend Al Sharpton himself would have flown in on his private jet then a rented helicopter to that very parking lot with his personal podium in tow with in minutes of the police officer's arrival, to decry the racial bigotry brought on by the systemic racism throughout America that was without cause perpetrated upon this poor lost lamb of a woman who did nothing What-So-Ever to incur the unbridled Wrath of this Viscous and Hateful, white-Supremacist, Neo-Nazi, Fascist, white woman and the verbal brutality of the Police Officer. blm would have firebombed that Starbucks and the neighboring businesses and special attention paid the white woman's house, but not before making certain that the entire family was securely locked inside. Those incidents would have been calked up as poor gas line maintenance. Both the officer and the white woman would have had their faces splashed ALL over EVERY available media outlet with in the hour. Because the white woman and the Police Officer had used THEE offensive Word that shall not be spoken, by anyone other than a black person. 

    How is it possible that in black culture and in the black community N!@@#R can be and is freely thrown around like candy at Halloween, but WOE betide any poor fool outside the black community and culture that drops THEE N Bomb. Even F@&K is more acceptable than N!@@#R in any and every setting. Even President biden drops the F bomb on hot mics on the regular, or at least he used to. I think he has forgotten that word along with his name. Whip out the "F"word and nobody bats an eye but drop THEE "N" Bomb and things take a decidedly dark turn and 

                                        RIGHT NOW

    How is it possible that black culture and the black community has fought for decades to Erase THEE "N" Word from the GLOBAL vocabulary but somehow this same said black culture and community retain 'Ownership' of THEE "N" Word for their own use and as a stylized shield against any one who dare utter it even under their breath like it is some heinous action on par with the Holocaust?

    This is a similar bit of video, and so is this, and this. The number of these videos is staggering. It is this sort of thing that makes it so very difficult to not be a racist. I don't understand the entitlement that is on display in these videos. I do believe that the Proposition 47 has really moved this entitlement right to the heightened new level especially in California. This is a better video by Amala Ekpunobi who takes the time to break this down really well as she usually does. She produces great content. I highly recommend her work.

Black Language

     AAVE This is a new thing that I heard last night. African American Vernacular English.

    I just had a look at this WIKI page on the phenomenon that is the AAVE. The way I saw it yesterday I thought it was just a word substitution thing. Holleeee Shiiiiiit was I Wrong. It is literally a whole other 'side' language, I guess is how I would say it. In the same way that English 'appropriates words from other languages. There are entire sections devoted to new ways to treat both Vowels and Consonants and accent. Its like English but not English. Its like English for Dummies. Its lazy English. And it seems that that black culture and the black community have laid claim to this new bastardized form of English. When I first learned of this new phenomenon [I say new as I understand it it is not too terribly new] I know that I am sounding like I am coming down harshly on this new language, because I am. The Black community has been making these same excuses for the laziness of black students in schools for quite literally DECADES. I am old enough to recall when the first go-round of this was 'popular' Back in the early 70's came along an English 'language equivalent' called Ebonics.  And I doubt that is the first occurrence of this sort of thing.  It was basically the same thing. It is prison speak that was taught at home and was being used in school by recalcitrant black students who Actively Refused to learn ENGLISH. I resist using the phrase Proper English. English is a slippery language. It morphs and evolve over time. Some times for the good and sometimes NOT. And the Oakland school district was considering or maybe even did pass some sort of ordinance that would allow black students to speak and write in this Ebonics language so that the teachers could pass these same lazy recalcitrant students up through the grades and eventually matriculate them out of school with 'actual' diplomas. High school diploma's that are supposed to be a short form employment application qualifier. The 'diploma' is supposed to certify to a potential employer that the student bearing this would be diploma has passed with some level of proficiency the general course load for a high school student. That being that this student should be able to read English, speak and understand English, be able to add, subtract, multiply and divide. And at some level under some little bit about American history and hopefully some little bit about world history. At a Bare Minimum. Minimum! But the school board felt that it was somehow more important that the students be able to "articulate" their thoughts and ideas by using this new language of ebonics. And while I agree that the students should be able to "articulate" their thoughts and ideas must at least some weight must be measured in how well this student can articulate their thought and ideas to through the use of actual English not a criminalized version of English. Employers that may not be the least bit familiar with the the 'language' that is Ebonics. A high school diploma is supposed to be at some level like a drivers license. You should be able to take you diploma to any state in  the Union and have this diploma be understood to mean the same in Oakland California as it does in Des Moines Iowa. While I don't actually know about the demographics of Des Moines Iowa I do not think they will have any Ebonics/Jive Translators readily available. I surely do not even know what 'June Cleaver' was saying there. Maybe Jive is some sort of dialect of Ebonics or maybe Jive is a 'language' unto its self or maybe AAVE is just some downstream codified umbrella under which both Jive and Ebonics hide. Ebonics must be a real thing because my spell checker knows it.

    It has been decades since graduated from high school and I do agree that English is tough to learn. I couldn't "Diagram" a sentence to save my life. And I sure as fuck do not know what the pluperfect tense of the verb go is. Or even what that means. But I do believe that I can string together a fairly coherent sentence and cogent and argument. On the list of the most difficult languages to learn it didn't even make the top ten.

    There are So many rules and So many exceptions to all of those rules. And it seems that many of the rules that they beat into you along with their accompanying exceptions are not as hard and fast as was taught. For instance the use of the words And and But to start a sentence. As I recall that was a big no no. But as it turns out maybe not as rigid as they would have has us believe. I hated my English classes. There was one point where my teacher was asking the class why the writer of the "Great Gatsby" might have been using the word and I shit you not the word "it" in this sentence whatever that sentence might have been and how it might have changed the entire passage had he chosen to use a different word. I about silently shit myself. As I read that passage there was NO other word that could have been used there in that sentence in that context. But who am I to crab. I don't have a Masters in English Literature. I couldn't understand how that book and others like it had become 'American Classics' and that they must be studied in perpetuity for their scathing insights into the American psyche. "The Great Gatsby" and "A catcher in the Rye" and "Grapes of Wrath" and "To Kill a Mockingbird". To be fair something clicked for me with "to Kill a Mockingbird" I did enjoy reading it. But that didn't mean that I understood any of the underlying subtle subtext being 'taught' to us about race relations in the south in the Year of Our Lord 1936. But somehow I found it to be a good story. I really hate it when 'professors' get all high and mighty about what the story is 'Really' about. Cant a story just be a story? [Spin this video out to about 4 minutes to see the message] But does there have to be a 'Message' in everything? Cant an Orange just be an orange?

     So, yes English is tough. But so is life. And in order to get along in the world and in life there some basic tools that one needs to have. In America Good and Proper and English is an important tool. And teachers who are letting students slide by in English by teaching Not English but what ever AAVE represents as a language are doing their students an incredible dis-service.

    It seems odd to me now though that the 4B Movement is getting so much airtime these days. It is nothing new. There is literally  nothing new under the sun. Lysistrata was written millennia ago and told the same basic story. Only now that the entire global population is on the verge of collapse we really cant afford this sort of disruption. South Korea, where 4B originated is experiencing population collapse that make the Black Death, Great Plague look like a summer allergy season. Apparently women who were already upset with the state of relations between men and women were "triggered" by the election results and are now shaving their heads stopping wearing makeup and what ever else they can think of to make themselves repellent to men. Given the state of the Mano-sphere that really isn't going to accomplish much. Lots of men have 'quit' women or moved overseas.   I don't know what bit of chaos in my brain thought this was a salient point to make with regard to AAVE, but there it is and I digress, again.

American History; Slavery

     American History

    American history as it is being taught in American schools is a total SHAM. It is a Guilt induction indoctrination passed down from the Marxist college professors. I say that because the University system has a hard-on for America and want to tare it down mind by mind by mind by mind. And they are doing that by selectively teaching the Crappiest parts of American history. I say Selectively because they sort of gloss over the Revolutionary War and certainly only give the War of 1812 a chapter or two. There is Very Very little taught about the involvement of the French in the Revolutionary and 1812 wars. While the Revolutionary war was a pivotal time in American History, the war of 1812 was more consequential. I don't recall to much about the Spanish American War nor any of the other wars that went on in  America.

    Heck so much is given over to how horrible white people were to the black population of slaves. And by definition if you were a black person in America during that time you were by definition a slave. There were No black business owners, no black farmers and no black land owners and sure as shit no black slave owners. But oh Contrare there were in fact very successful business owners, black farmers, land owners and slave owners.

    The primary focus of American History as taught in high school is about how SHITTY America is. They teach that Every and Only White men owned slaves in Southern State of America leading up to and during the civil war. There is no balancing taught about how many Black men owned slaves. There was no balance taught about how few actual slaves there were. They do bang-on at GREAT length about how brutal and horrific slave owners were to their slaves. There is NO balance about how that the world has ALWAYS known slavery. The way they teach it they would have us ALL believe that the only people that were ever enslaved were black people. and they would have you believe that slavery only ever existed in the Southern States of America and they would have us ALL believe that the Civil war was ONLY about slavery. This is being taught through the lens of Marxist Victim hood. There only two states of being according to Marx. You are either an Oppressor or you are a Victim.There is No in between. Its a very binary view of the world. And it is the obligation of the victimized to throw off the Oppressor by any means necessary. And sort of by definition Marxist definition the victims only means available is through violent over throw. And again by definition again Marxist definition the violence was due penance or retribution for the oppressors oppressive ways. Sort of a Yoda-esque statement. "No. Try not. Do, or do not. There is No try." With Marx it was always very Binary. Which id sort of odd when you think about how everybody these days is throwing off the idea of "Binary". But are falling all over themselves embracing Marxist ideals. [Watch this video. It is some of the most illuminating 30 minutes you are ever going to experience.] Thank you so much "College Educators".

    [Sidebar; I noticed in Dead-pool II that on the wall of the Xavier's School for Gifted students has a framed portrait of Carl Marx on the wall.]

    Seen through this lens everything is oppressor and oppressed. And seen through a new set of lenses called Presentism Everybody back then should have known better and done better. Abraham Lincoln statues are being torn down because somehow some way he was a fuck up So too was George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Fuck ups the lot of them. And sure as shit tear down ALL that is southern culture. Robert E Lee, Gone. The Confederate Flag, Gone For Sure. This in response to the killing of George Floyd. the WIKI page displays it as a murder because the entire world dropped down on the case against Derek Chauvin. The entire city of Minneapolis was on fire. Black people were burning everything and anything that could burn. And the mayor did NOTHING. He let it burn. And that was one of the pivotal moments in the blm movement. But I digress.

     Similarly they do not teach about ALL OF THE OTHER SLAVERY going on in the world. Colonial America did NOT invent slavery! Colonial America does NOT hold the patent to nor the copyrights to slavery. But the way it is taught  you would certainly think so. They teach how horrible it was to be a slave picking cotton in the brutal heat of the south until your fingers bled. No doubt a miserable condition. But did they ever teach about the conditions of being a Galley Slave in a They did and do NOT. For a galley slave picking cotton in the South Georgia sun would be an All inclusive Club Med Vacation in comparison. Being a galley slave was quite literally like rowing your way right through Satan's Ass-hole.

    Oh and lets not forget the entire History of the Jewish people. They have almost not ever not been enslaved by somebody, some where at some time. The Bible is Replete with stories of Jewish slavery. 1948 Israel was created. I imagine that to this very day there still Jewish slaves.

    They do Not teach that there was Vast Tribal warfare and subsequent slavery going on in Africa long before America or France or Britain or Spain or Portugal or Holland or, or, or got involved. The movie that Viola Davis is OH SO Very proud of. What that movie did NOT tell about was that tribal Warrior woman she brutally enslaved thousands of her tribal neighbors and was a Big part of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. That trade was ostensibly with America. Did the move mention that. OH Heavens NO. That would be 'off topic' and counter to the WOKE narrative being PUSHED by All of hollywoke. She was able to abdicate this 'responsibility' by calling it entertainment and not a documentary. And I believe in that argument. And slavery was and is not to this day about race. It wasn't then isn't now and has NEVER been about race. Its about Power. If one group could over power another group they would make slaves of the weaker group. Central American tribes people have been involved in slavery for as long as the Meso-Americas have been civilized. The Mayans, the Aztecs, the Olmec, Nobody was exempt. And that doesn't account for South America and the Peruvians. They famously had coca leaves to chew on while going about their Fierce battles and slavery stuff. The Indians of America were also slavers. Tribe on tribe slavery was very prevalent. Us poor old American white guys are but bit players in the overall scope of slavery as an institution. But us poor old American white guys bare ALL the weight of that sin against humanity. I do hear that British history lessons is much the same. British history is taught that the Brits enslaved the entire population of India and everywhere that their empire would reach. But in the view of the rest of the world the poor old American white guy is the Absolute worst offender.

    There is NO education given about the slavery going on in North Africa. The Barbary Coast. Those Pirates took and made slaves of everybody they could catch and concur. Principally White British, Spanish, Portuguese  ANYbody sailing just about anything in the area. The Marine Corps Hymn talks specifically about "The Shores of Tripoli" That was the very heart of the Barbary Coast. The Epicenter of Piracy and slavers.

    And they Certainly do NOT teach about modern day slavery. Slavery is a thing of the past. All white people in all of America had to be 'put down' to rid the world of the surge of the white mans propensity to enslave black people. But there are more slaves today at this very moment, in THIS as you read this moment [estimated 40 million] than were EVER enslaved in the whole of the 218 years of Colonial American slavery. EVER! [estimated TOTAL 10 million]And most of today's slaves are women. Sex slaves. Eastern European village women duped into thinking that they can make it in Turkey or some other Muslim nation as waitresses or other service industry positions. Positions yes, just not the ones that they were sold.

    Ms. Crockett seems to have skipped much of world history in her quest to achieve her business degree. So I get BENT when people like Ms. Crockett Bangs-On and On and On, on the congressional floor Wasting Everybody's time [She does however like to criticize those who are NOT her who waste tax payer money] and MONEY about black Oppression in America. How only black people are and have ever been oppressed and sort of by definition in her argument by white people. [She herself does NOT seem to have been the victim of any oppression] Its Always White on Black Oppression. There is nothing else. No other race has ever been oppressed besides the black people. And she rails on and on about it and it not like the rest of the members in this meeting don't know this but it is incumbent upon her and her alone because she herself is a black woman to for 40 minutes remind everybody that they should hang our white people collective heads in shame for the actions of people 200 years ago. And that All white people should operate from a position of shame and guilt, Forever.  But this assertion by Ms. Crockett feels like a not so thinly veiled black on white oppression. And that the magnitude of these sins mean that ALL white people will forever and in  perpetuity be guilty and that we should never forget it and should the need arise she will be OH SO happy to re-re-re remind us of our inherited sin. A sin that can NEVER be washed form the collective hands of ALL white people everywhere. EVER!

Cultural Appropriation

    Cultural appropriation.

        This was originally going to be a shorty little nothing of a throw away essay until I found this...

                                            'Debunking Cultural Appropriation'

[Update. After ruminating on the subject of  Cultural appropriation I believe that Cultural Appropriation a bit of a misnomer. It seems that all those who are upset by this Cultural Appropriation are upset because those doing the Appropriating are some how misusing their bit of culture. It seems to me that Cultural Misappropriation is the more apt and fitting and correct descriptor. It had me thinking that there might be a case to be made for the act of Cultural Dis-appropriation. I had the idea in my mind but over the course of the evening I lost it. Such is the case with old farts I guess. If I figure it out I will update. I was watching a show on the Netflix that I highly recommend "Black Doves". But in this show there is a black man in London England wearing a sweater printed and maybe woven in with some Indian Blanket pattern. Is this individual guilty of cultural Appropriation? Misappropriation? Cant he just be wearing it because he thinks it pretty and colorful without having to get into all the subtle nuance of what is or is not acceptable to the Indian tribes back in  America? Of course this was a show and so some show-runner/costume designer is responsible for the shirt, sooo... ]

     [ This was the throwaway part of the essay. I keep hearing more and more about 'Cultural Appropriations.' And how the black community is bent because white people are mimicking black culture. I am no expert on black culture by any means, but I do see an awful lot of black women sporting 'Straight Blonde Hair'. Certainly this is not endemic of any Black Culture at all. Black people with green eyes and other similar coloration pasterns are the result of mixed race coupling and general genetic weirdnesses. I don't mean to imply that those with the vitiligo condition are in any way weird. I look forward to your cards and letters. Are those individuals afflicted with green eyes and lighter skin ostracized by the rest of black culture? I hear some black people referring to white hoods and thugs as 'Wiggers.' These Hoods and Thugs are mimicking the Worst of black culture. Which is crumby because this culture gets the most attention because it it the most sensational and hurtful to black culture as a whole.]

    This woman is attempting to "Debunk Cultural Appropriation". I disagree with her on virtually every point.

        Her first point regarding cultural appropriation is "You are just looking for something to be offended by". in my opinion she deflected that argument with a non-answer. When she dredges up the Tried and true and now Fucking old "Marginalized Communities' argument. This is simply "WOKE Speak' for Whitey is oppressing us yet again in new and more offensive ways. That doesn't debunk anything. SHE IS truly looking to be offended. The Corn-Rows hair style did not originate only with the black community. Many cultures developed that hair style independently of black culture. So I disagree with her assertion that the black community 'Owns' the rights to and holds the patents and copyrights there to the corn-row hairstyle. The black community has certainly used it most recently, frequently and artistically. The fact that an individual was fired for styling their hair in corn-rows, to me speaks to the individual's aggressive attitude about their hairstyle. I don't know the specifics of this particular action but I can not imagine that any company fired an individual with out some sort of communication about the hairstyle long before the firing took place. This individual didn't walk in one day with corn-rowed hair and get fired upon setting foot through the door. HR was certain to have been involved on multiple occasions. In a business environment that style of hair might have been too aggressive at the front desk. No company would fire an individual for such a thing as hairstyle and open themselves up to a wrongful termination lawsuit. Having your hair corn-rowed off the clock is none of the companies business. Celebrities corn-rowing up their hair for public appearances is up to them, but they obviously do so at their own risk. And I don't even have to imagine that celebrities who do corn-row their hair for edgy styling looks are called out for it and do it at the risk being forced to make some form of  apology or preform some other act of contrition. The terminated individual may have looked 'too edgy' or aggressive for their position at the company. They may also have even been to aggressive or otherwise militant or otherwise unfit for the job. This individual may also have had a chip on their shoulder regarding White Supremacy or some such thing. Just like its not likely that Hooters is going to hire men or obese women for their restaurants. They have a business model and business image and brand to maintain.

    Her second point is that the appropriaTOR 'Must' have respect for the appropriaTED culture or piece of culture. Why is that a prerequisite for getting a tribal tattoo? Are the only persons 'legally' able to get tribal tattoos Maori tribe members? A tattoo is a deeply personal thing especially if you are going to be sporting that tattoo on your neck or face. By the way neck and face tattoos just scream DON'T HIRE ME! Is her next argument going to be against using sex to sell clothing, or cars, or jewelry, or perfume, or movies, or booze, or anything that can be sold, sex will sell it better, faster more often and for more money. Who exactly 'Owns' sex? Which culture holds the patent and copyrights to sex? Certainly the Maori tribes may have created the tribal face tattoo. And their tattoo work certainly have great personal and tribal significance, in their tribe, no argument. But slapping a face tattoo on a model selling sunglasses is no different than having a half naked woman selling the same thing. Go to ANY car show anywhere in the world and you will see pretty women standing next to the next big thing in the automotive world. Look at any beer ad. Every ad using sex to sell a product is stripping the individual model of their personality and humanity just to sell the whatever. Is that culturally appropriative or oppressive? Or both? Is that going to change? NO it is not.

    Her third point is that if the corn-row-ee doesn't find it offensive to corn-row their hair and their appropriated culture friend doesn't either. But that friend doesn't necessarily represent the whole of the culture who 'owns' the rights to use or withhold the use of the bit of appropriated culture. Does the black community as a whole 'Own' the corn-rowing hairstyle? Is she making patent or copyright infringement argument?

    Her next point is about the miss-use of a bit of culture. Her example is a thing that Katy Perry did on stage. Did she get Bent because an idiot singer and choreographer goofed the styles and actions for the sake of a stage performance? I don't know anything about this Particular stage show of singing and dancing but I do know that there hasn't been a music video or stage performance that hasn't gotten something wrong culturally somehow someway at some time. Heaven forbid that they use the incorrect kimono colors or styles, or makeup or incorrect historical time period hairstyle. Does the stage performance coordinator need to do a DEEP Dive into the cultural history of every single move made on stage as well as the makeup and hairstyle and dance step? Bollywood dance style is often depicted on stage and in movies NO one can argue that every instance of Bollywood depicted everywhere anywhere for public consumption must be 'pitch perfect'. There hasn't been an action movie, ever, that Absolutely adheres the exact martial arts style in an action sequence. NOT ONE. Not even the late Great Bruce Lee was immune to this type of appropriation. Is she insisting that every stage presentation and movie have a cultural appropriations coordinator, liaison and advisor, onset director and choreographer and executive producer on set to be absolutely sure that John Wick uses perfect what ever martial arts style he uses forms at all times, and doesn't make a single misstep for the sake of an imagined 'Cultural Appropriation Police'? Did the imagined 'Martial arts Defamation League' ever have anything to say about any Martial arts action movie ever made? Certainly there are now YouTube critics popping up all over the place critiquing the John Wick movies and Top Gun movies for accuracy. But those action sequences are NOT for educational purposes. The Movie makers are not pro porting their movies to be some kind of accurate in Any Way At All. It's Entertainment. Or what passes for entertainment. Nor did the Katy Perry stage people either. You do not go to a Katy Perry show to be educated. Its just a Song and Dance show. I am certain that the Katy Perry dance choreography people didn't sit down and say "you know what would be deeply offensive to the entirety of the Asian community".

    Her next argument is that if you walk on stage with a floor length Chieftain Head Dress with a leopard print bikini and assorted turquoise bangles bits that some how you are somehow OPPRESSING some Body or some Culture. How is this an act of oppression exactly? Does this get-up cause any Individual or any Culture financial harm? Does it set the cause of Indian relations back 100 years? Does this stage show somehow inhibit somebody's ability to get a job? The only thing I see here is that who ever threw this get-up together probably did so after a weekend bender involving copious amounts of absinthe and some fun mushrooms in their vegan salad. People who who tune into or attend this sort of show certainly know that is not for educational purposes. Oh and that designers have Really bad taste. And was the model that was 'forced' to ware and parade around on stage being Oppressed? If you look at the Fashion industry as a whole their creative muses are pretty fucked up. If anybody is being oppressed its the models who have to go onstage wearing these hallucinogenic nightmares on stage and in public with a straight face or rather the grim face of abject disrepair. Fashion designers have been dropping ACID for decades. And it shows. Wacky Yes Oppressing NO.

    I am not totally certain what her next argument is. It seems like she is balling up cultural appropriation with cultural assimilation...   How is Farrell wearing an Indian head dress on the cover of Elle magazine an issue? Goofy maybe. As I said before Most Fashion is goofy or edgy by design. Why should Mr. Farrell have had the "Much Deserved Flack" delivered to him such that it caused him to deliver an apology and to whom was this apology addressed? Did Every body get the memo? Were they all appeased? I doubt it. Because once you make an apology to one group you are certain to omit some crucial piece of information that will lead those intended to appease to conclude that you are neither sincere or apologetic. Every time any Body, does any Thing, any Where, at any Time, Ever at all anymore Without the help of some Cultural liaison they must be prepared to deliver an apology or make some other act of contrition to appease the Deeply Offended party or parties and there ALWAYS offended parties. ALWAYS. Nothing is exempt. If for instance Mr. Farrell should step out sporting a French Barret but has it on wrong, however that might be, does he need to be ready to apologize for that goof as well? Does this goof rise to the level of a Gaff? I think biden has an absolute Death GRIP on Gaffs. In fact by now if you look the word Gaff in the Miriam Webster Dictionary you should see a picture of biden. Is that goof going to cause an international indecent? Is the French Nation going to go to Def-con 1 because of this? I doubt it because the French people are too busy with a collapsing government and an out of control Muslim population setting fire to some part of Paris or another. Again do the photo shoot people now need to have some sort of All Knowing Cultural Attache, Cultural Liaison on site to clear this with the Tribal Leaders or whoever to be sure this was officially approved by who ever approves such things? Did Mr. Farrell have an Apache bead band with Arapaho feathers in? Was he saying that this was a Nez Peirce tribe head dress when in fact it was a head dress representing the Pottawatomie tribe? Was he making some derogatory political reference with regard to this Indian Nations? Are you going to call out General motors for culturally appropriating the names Pontiac and Cadillac? Is the Use of those names going to cost General Motors some billions of dollars in reparations to the families of Chief Pontiac and Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac? What exactly was the issue. So now Farrell isn't allowed to Ever dawn an Indian head dress because he is not an Indian? What about that goofy hat that he wares. Isnt that culturally appropriated from some other culture? Have we come to the point that only Mexican actors can play in Mexican rolls in movies? It is my understanding that the actor person that plaid the Indian person in the TV show Yellow Stone was not in fact Indian. Neither it seems that one of the women actors playing a roll of an Indian. Are Only trans people able to play trans rolls in movies? Are we really there now? And now there is complaining because a BROWN Mexican playing a Mexican roll. This TOTALLY Smacks of Victim tribalism. Apparently there is much furore about his skin color. This actor calls out "Colorism" A new word for me, a new victim tribe. In this article there is talk about the Spanish Oppression of the Meso-American tribes in colonial area Mexico. I don't think there is a square inch of acreage on the planet who's peoples have not been subjugated and or oppressed by some other group of people at some time or another. And now WE ALL must wear the Cold Wet blanket of guilt for our ancestor's misdeeds. How long until this ancestral guilt can be laid aside. Can it ever be laid aside? I don't see that happening anytime soon. Not with the wave of Guilt Culture we are now riding. Oh can I say wave and riding in the same sentence with out offending the Native Hawaiian population? Because as we ALL know they invented surfing and as such 'Own' surfing. And the White Menace has appropriated that bit of culture as well. Now disney has entered the fray with their total re-imagining of the Classic "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" 'Little people'. There is also much talk about Dwarfs 'Little People' playing the titular characters in the Disney live action remake of Snow White. disney side stepped this whole problem by simply writing the Dwarfs 'little people' right out of the picture with the stroke of a pen. And replaced them with the seven Magical Creatures. But there was SO MUCH push back on that topic too the point that disney dropped all the 'Seven Magical Creatures' from the movie and inserted Crappy CGI Dwarfs 'Little People'. But WE White People daren't  address the brown elephant in the room, Snow White isn't White. Apparently Snow White's name Now comes from the idea that Snow White manage to survive a Blizzard or something. Nothing at all related to her skin color. And now we are learning that SNOW isn't even actually WHITE. If the White culture or community 'Leaders' whoever they are were to ever dare to make mention of this publicly and on the record who ever that poor slob might 'have been' would be canceled right out of existence three generations past, present and future would simply be erased.

As to her argument about Assimilation. If this woman was so moved to move to France because of her fondness for the french Culture she would certainly voluntarily and eagerly assimilate to the french culture. I know the natives would be to very forgiving for her Not learning the language in a damn big hurry. The french are damned unforgiving on that sort of thing. If you move to France because you like the culture then it follows that you would 'Assimilate' into the French culture. BECAUSE you liked the culture. You wouldn't move to France and try to remake it in your image and likeness. Much like the Muslims are doing ALL Across Europe at this very moment. The same goes for America. You have moved here its because something about the American culture appealed to you. Not just the Coke a Cola and Levies. When Ellis island was in operation 5000 people a day came to 'Make it in America'. They Assimilated. They learned the language they started companies. With out the help of the Government. For the most part the early immigrants assimilated. Yes there were Ghettos of Italian and Irish and Jewish and Chinese communities. Most major cities have a China Town or a little Italy. But I am absolutely and deeply offended by immigrants, any immigrants, coming to America by what ever means and choosing to purposefully and willfully NOT assimilate. If America is where you want to live why then why do immigrants feel the need to 'Bend' America to their own image and likeness? To force the DMV to have on staff a half dozen or more translators and to have reams of drivers license manuals in EVERY language imaginable available. You came to America. You knew what America was about. You knew that the principal language in America is English. With All of that fore knowledge you came here any way. I do not expect that you as an immigrant should shed ALL of your cultural history. Not at all!  Celebrate Cinco de' Mayo, Both of them. BUT DO NOT fly the Mexican flag above the American Flag. AND DO have the courtesy to adopt the American culture as well. The new wave of 'Visaed-up' college students all across America chanting "Death to America" ARE Absolutely Despicable and ABSOLUTELY must be Deported with Extreme Prejudice, Double ASAP! Along with every immigrant that has crawled under or over or around the boarder however where ever when ever they broke the immigration laws. Those are federal laws. If I break the speed limit and get caught I am held accountable. But if you do 'move' to America you are given the advance to Go card and collect $1500.00 a month tax free. Have interest free loans for the purposes of starting businesses made available to you and have no cost counselors available for the purposes of setting up and establishing your company. And are welcome to all the free medical and free education and so many other freebees just because you made it across the boarder. When local community governments are beset with waves of immigrants legal or otherwise they are CRUSHED by the unbalanced cost of providing all the mandated handouts that they must apply higher taxes to those who are actually contributing to the local economies by paying the taxes that pay for all of those freebees. And the newly arrived immigrants are exempt from these taxes. Unlike us poor Born here in America Slobs who are taxed to death and have no free medical, and higher education is as we ALL know prohibitively expensive even to the point of a Massive Government Bail-Out.

So further along into this argument she seems to say that you must have permission that you must first be "invited" share in the Hindustani culture to get your hand hennaed- up. You cant just go all willy-nilly and appropriate the bits and pieces of a culture to fit your own personal aesthetic. You have to first get an official engraved invitation by some state recognized representative or relative or friend of a friend of the Hindi culture you intend to appropriate before you even think about getting your hand painted with henna. Barring that she seems to saying that Anybody and Everybody wanting to have henna on their hand or hands they must first read up on the history and particular sect that is representative of the henna style you are interested in having on your hand. Then you must fly to the region where that henna style is prevalent, get permission from some local indigenous person, you should also have some sort of spiritual ritual Ora reading done to determine the exact pattern of henna to be applied to your hand, learn to cook the food of that region and even learn to read, write and speak that language and specific dialect. You cant just just splash some henna on your hand without proper 'Clearance'. Or else risk offending some unknown sect of Hindustanis who will come to your home in the middle of the night and gang rape you to near death. You must also 'Apply' for a Cultural Impact Study and be granted some form of waiver and be given an Official Culturally appropriations committee card declaring this cultural waiver before you can go about in public lest you offend a person from India and not be able produce your credentials on the spot or in some YouTube 'Outing'. Similarly she seems to be sayings that if you have a desire to get your hair corn-rowed-up you must first fully immerse yourself in the culture which ever culture is representative of the corn-row you style you want to have done. And by the sound of it she would insist that the stylist who does the corn-rowing be an officially Sanctioned, State Board Certified, Representative of the culture of the style that you are 'Applying' to have performed on yourself. You Cant just get any old corn row applied to your head. and as I said before black culture doesn't 'Own' or have any copyright nor patent on the corn-row hairstyle. 

And as long as I am banging on about the appropriation of a hairstyle, hairstyles seem to me to fall into a category of artistic expression. Does every would be artist trying their hand at the Cubist style of painting own some dues or reparations to the Family of Mr. Picasso? Did Mr. Picasso actually create the cubist style. Or did Mr. Picasso appropriate the cubist style and get famous for it on the shoulders of some other artist? Without cultural appropriation at some level all artistic endeavor stops dead. Somebody somewhere is about to develop the next big thing in art but was "Inspired" by some other artist who came before.

And as long I am banging on about artistic expression What about The Great Mr. Weird Al Yankovic. Jesus God ALL Mighty. His song "Jerry Springier". Is Parody now and forever and retroactively forbidden? It seems so in California. Well maybe not, but still the governor did try. Did Mr. Yankovic need to seek the help of a cultural liaison for the Amish Paradise song, or the Black cultural officials for the song White and nerdy, or the officials of the "Plus Size Cultural affairs department" for the song Fat? Where does this sort of cultural offensive avoidance end. Did the Village People have to make some apology for their band's mere existence. After all they appropriated a BUNCH of Cultures. Or did they get a pass because The band themselves were made up of a marginalized group?

    Does the cultural appropriations and oppression and offenses know no bounds? Is NO Body safe? Certainly black people seem to be exempt because they are a minority. Us poor white folk aren't even able to claim some fun new whizzy cultural moniker. The black culture and community have changed their names several time over the years in some attempt to throw off the moniker imposed up on them by the White Man, starting out as Black then Negro then Black again now African American. And those are the changes that I am familiar with. Who pushes for these changes? Who gets to approve these changes? And the term "Man" is an out growth of black culture. As in "Hey Man How are you doing?" Black culture threw off the reference 'Boy' imposed on them by the White man and started using Man in its place. Are we all going to be held accountable for that bit of cultural appropriation? Is that cultural appropriation or appreciation or oppression cultural insensitivity or what?

    I recently watched a shorty obscure YouTube video where a black man was talking about the cultural currency that black people have held for Years. Guilt currency. He said that this currency was about to be used up. I couldn't agree more. I cant find it now either because it was erased by YouTube because it was too inflammatory or because I don't recall how search for it.

    As always I look forward to your cards and letters.

 

    A few days ago, shortly after the Daniel Penny acquittal the blm [I purposefully don't capitalize blm because I have less than no respect for the organization.] leaders were all the worst way up in arms. One 'gentleman' went just about as far as you could go with out actually saying it out right that Black thugs should become 'Vigilantes'. Ostensibly to Choke out some white people in retaliation for the Daniel Penny acquittal.

    It is sort of unfair that these examples of Black Culture are the examples that are splashed all across the media. Every news outlet covers it fore their very own agendas. Fox might show it as an example of how violent blm is. ABC might show it as an example of how black people are still being oppressed. Neither is fair to the bulk of Black culture. Yes blm is a violent and riot instigating organization. And yes they feel justified in their violence. and yest they manage to mobilize Lots of angry black people to their cause. Even though the majority of black America likely doesn't feel this way. But I will admit absolutely that blm and their riots scare the ever-lovin'-aspirations out of me. When the black community wants to absolutely positively needs to scare the ever-lovin' aspirations out of white folk blm is the go to dis-organization.. And their demonstrations and riots and calamitous actions only to serve to reinforce this feeling. This feeling of fear of and dislike for black people and black culture and the entirety of black community.

    I said that to say this; After watching a couple of news reports showing these sorts of reactions I was just about to step right over the edge of the 'Racist Cliff'. All then toes were hanging over the edge ready to take that step to becoming a 'Card Carrying Racist'. Then I stumbled upon this YouTube channel. Amir Odom. This particular video link is perhaps not what is what saved me but he really should be the 'Face of Black Culture'.

 

[Update; I am afraid the even Amir Odom's YouTube channel aren't going to do it.]

.....     but I digress     .....     as I am apt to do

Race Relations... yet again

     Race Relations.

    So here we are again with yet more Race Relations / Racism in the news. The Daniel Penny acquittal has all manner of blm 'Officials' in a dither. As I understand it this woman I cant find her name anywhere being interviewed is a leader of the blm. I don't know how many blm leaders there actually are. It seems that the blm leaders have taken over for al sharpton with their ability to be in front of a podium when there is a black person who has been wronged. My mistake big al can be found here As I mentioned before no matter the offense. As I understand this situation there was a drug addled homeless man, jordan neely on a New York subway car yelling at and threatening the riders on the car. At some point a Mr. Daniel Penny stood up and took action. He subdued Jordan Neely with a choke hold which contributed to his death. This blm leader woman is contending that the whole of the jury is/was racist by finding Mr. Daniel Penny innocent. She would seem to be saying that the whole of New York is racist since the jury selected for this trial is made up of New Yorkers. I don't pretend to know the intricacies of the situation. I am trying to keep from getting consumed by the news or what passes for news any more.

[UPDATE]   In the video where in the blm man is calling for there to be "black vigilantes" vigilantes who would fight against white people and 'arguably' to choke OUT any white person that any black person feels is 'oppressing' them. This blm man is opening up the scope of the need for actual physical self defense to repel an actual act of violence as apposed to some nebulous notion of oppression. There is a HUGE difference between standing up to an individual who is openly threatening the lives of people, on a subway car, a closed and confined and a place where, if Mr. Neely were to start to make good on his threats to kill the individuals would have no opportunity to escape, and the very nebulous idea of Oppression. Oppression is in the eyes of the beholder so to speak. Which opens the idea of 'physical self defense, vigilantism' for an action as slight as a stare, a glare or even the rolling of eyes all the way up to calling the offended black person some out of pocket derogatory 'name'.   Which brings up another bone of contention for me but that is an other essay entirely.   But ANYTHING that falls even remotely SHORT of screaming threats of violence and death right in their face, especially in a confined and contained space with no easy avenue of escape, Not So Much. I do hope that blm will someday be found to be accountable for 'inciting' violence. I hope that the corrupt organization of blm will be forced to dissolve and all those persons who are living high on the blm monies be incarcerated.

    But At what point do WE declare that WE the royal/collective WE have the right to defend ourselves. When do we allow that it might be beneficial for a citizen to step in and take action when NO Police or other institutional authority is near enough to preserve life or property. When do we allow ourselves to be free of the Systemic institutional Guilt that pervades America now. According to blm Every White person must be caused to be at risk of theft and bodily harm because of this thick cloud of Guilt. All but the black person must shoulder this guilt and hang their head in shame. Because everybody but black people have oppressed the black person. I am not advocating for rampant vigilantism. But this blm leader does call for vigilantism. It seems odd that this and all of the blm types decry the oppression of the black man but somehow they are dressed much better than I am. I do, however, declare that there must be some level of "adequate" public protection. In the wake of the crazy notion that WE need to de-fund the police some other authority needs to take their place. The blm types are advocating for the de-funding of the Police but that only serves to exacerbate situations like this. When We can no longer feel safe or protected because the Police have been de-funded what is the blm's answer to this? The WE on the subway car should have just sat by while jordan neely continued to make threats of violence waiting for neely to make good on his threats? What would have been the scenario if neely had indeed made good on his threats and injured or killed someone on that subway car? Would the injured or the family of the dead victim had any recourse in the eyes of the Law or more importantly blm? Would blm be made to pay for neely's victims hospital bills or in the event that his victim died, what then? How would blm stand on that situation? Or would they just throw up the same tired old excuse, that it is 'society' or the 'systemic racism' in America is to blame and that neely was not culpable of any wrong doing because of his race? In the eyes of the blm people are ALL black people innocent by dint of race? It sounds like blm is advocating for a complete separation of the races. Jee where have I seen that before? It seems to me that some very Good people stood up against this very sort of separation not too long ago. Maybe I am missing something here.

    I am reminded of the events on the Flight 93 on September 11 2001. Should the passengers just sat idly by while the al-Qaeda terrorists crashed the airliner into what ever target they had in mind. I don't think so. The term 'Sheeple' comes to mind. I think that is not the answer.

"The Family" The real F word

    This is about Family and why I gave up on Family and declared Family to be the second " F " Word.

    This is a small part of the LONG Ugly story about how my fiance's daughters plundered my house and my life while laughing the entire time. I will on occasion be adding to this post. This is mostly for my own clarifying of the past, assuming that I ever see fit to do that anymore than has been done here.

    I have on Many, Many occasions I have been asked to forgive L1. I have been told again and again how my hating and not forgiving L1 is like me drinking poison, in the hope that L1 will die. But on one has  advocated for me and asked L to forgive me and return to me the ONE AND ONLY THING I wanted as a reminder of P. The same holds true P's other daughter L2. I get it that L1 isn’t drinking the poison of un-forgiveness because she feels nothing, no remorse, no responsibility, no guilt. Not for the $3000.00 dollars in tools that L1 stole. Not the $7000 engagement ring that Lisa stole. Nor my portion of the $800 dollar table and chair set that Lisa stole. Nor my portion of the $3000 leather sofa that Lisa stole. Not the thousands of dollars in Fine Lingerie that I purchased for your sister that L stole. Not the $7000 that I paid to move to T, so that P could be nearer to Her family nor the $7000 I paid to move to Oregon to pursue ‘The Business’. Not the $900 for her emergency oral surgery when she had a Massively abscessed tooth. Not my portion of the $5000 pool table that L destroyed. L seems to have it in mind that everything that I gave your sister, or paid for, for your sister has somehow been magically transferred ownership to L. And L ignores every financial contribution that I ever made to P. And as long as we are talking money what about the $450,000 that I just gave to P. The $125,000 as an initial buy in to ‘The Business’, that I raided my IRA for. Or the $25,000 for a failed Business show in Las Vegas and the $350,000 that P simply made Disappear. That being in increments of $115,000 at a time for continued Business money X3, which was Bull Shit. L seems to think and believe wholeheartedly that everything in your P's life was bought and paid for by P, EVERYTHING. I made your P whole on so many things that P paid for initially.  And as I go about my life, I keep seeing things missing from MY home that L stole from ME. Goofy shit like a red glass vase that I bought for P with Valentin’s day flowers in it numerous dumb ass shit like that that has little or no monetary value but…

    I know how this looks, me being petty and citing money matters. But they are significant money matters. I understand NOW why you should NEVER EVER mix finances with Love. The only reason I dredge up the financial aspect is as I pointed out above all that I wanted was the music box that I made for P.

    

    I reached my limit of patience some months ago with 'The Family' and how I came to be cast out of 'The Family' and my perceptions of having been cast out of 'The Family'. I assume you know that the principal focus my frustration is leveled at L1. ‘In the Beginning’ L1 hated me. She accused me of taking up with P for financial gain. [Given what you read above that is a laugh] L1 accused me of hanging about with P like a lost puppy. I don’t know, but I absolutely believe that I was the wedge that drove L1 and P apart so dramatically for such a long time. 

    L1 suddenly and with preamble or warning turned up Hating not only my self but her own mother, P

    Then at some point, I believe that when P and I moved T and started ‘Helping’ L1 financially and housing her offspring helped smooth things over. Suddenly I was an ok guy, barely. I had not changed. I was still not a leach on your sister’s financial situation, nothing changed. And then after P died and I went against L1’s desire to be first into P’s office I became the Devils fuckoff red headed bastard step-nephew thrice removed. When we excavated P’s things from 'The Business' warehouse and moved them to a U-Rent-M storage facility MANY of my possessions got wrapped up in this process. When I went to retrieve My possessions from the U-Rent-M storage facility L1 had denied me access to MY things. 

    Several things occurred over that summer and in to the fall between L1 and me. As you may recall I spent most of that summer in and out of psych wards all across O. At some point during this time L1 petitioned for and was granted open door unfettered access to my home for the purposes of retrieving the things that L1 and L2 deemed to belong to P and by extension the both of them. This occurred while I was interred psych ward #1. On the day that I was returned home from psych ward #1 L1 and L2 showed up on my doorstep with ‘warrant’ in hand and L1 and L2 proceeded to RANSACK my home plundering it of ALL things related to P and MANY things NOT related to P. L1 and L2 were Laughing all the while this was going on. Due in no small part to their laughing while plundering my home, at some point during this process, I became suicidal yet again, called the psych people and was taken away in handcuffs to psych ward #2. L1 stayed in my home and continued to plunder my home even after I was hauled away in handcuffs in the back seat of a police car. L2 had the common courtesy to stop the plundering while L1 did Not. And because I am STUPID, I managed to forget my keys which fell into L1’s hands. With keys in hand, she plundered EVERY storage shed and locked everything on MY property. She took from me things that were left by to me MY mother and my father. When I returned home from that month-long stay at psych ward# 2. I was locked out of my home and my cat was locked in with NO food or water. Upon finding my home, STEAM CLEANED all things related to P and many of MY things and furniture. I was off to psych ward #3 for another month. When I returned, I had to break a window to get in. At some point during this ‘Summer of love’ The dispossession of P’s cremains was apportioned out. I had received my portion of her cremains. I sat with them for some period of time, but at some point during this time I came to feel that I might be able to gain back some small level of ‘Family credit’ by returning to L1 my portion of P’s cremains. I delivered P’s cremains to L1s M attorney to have him send them to L1. Upon receipt of P’s cremains. L1 railed on about how “I” had somehow Personally flown to T and Personally and deliberately left them in the middle of GV Drive in the Middle of a T Sized rain storm where upon P’s cremains were washed down the street forever depriving L1 of said cremains and desecrating the memory of P.  After much thought I had determined that the ONLY thing I wanted back was a music box that I had made for P. The only thing out of ALL of the Improperly Plundered things taken from my home while I was NOT IN MY HOME was That music box. I asked T [P's sister] about that music box. T indicated that L1 had All of My stuff separated out in the sun room for whatever reason. That reason, I believe was so that she could clearly dispose of My things either by means of eBay sales, giving away or simply throwing them out. As mentioned before, I had asked T to advocate for me and the return of that one thing. But that was too big of an ask. It was the Only thing that I wanted to remember P by, and I felt that this music box was not too big of an ask for all that had happened over the summer.

    I was wrong.

    I found out.

    This sort of the beginning of where my desire to ‘have feelings’ regarding 'The Family' was burned away.

    The preceding is just a but VERY SMALL portion of background of my Hatred for ‘The Family.’  ‘The Family’ that is now L1.

                Over the course of T's and my ‘Covert Ops’ CIA spook, NSA, Area 51, Burn eyes after reading, Nuclear waste toxicity level of communications I began to feel bullied by our talks. T seemed hell bent on convincing me of many things not the least of which is the Stock Market purchase thing. It was seemingly very difficult for T to understand my level of poverty that drove me to slowly, incrementally draw down and eventually fully divest my interest in the 'Stock Market thing'. There were several things that T harangued on me about that just made me feel bullied. I do not even recall the most of them anymore such is my desire to forget all about all of this.

                I do not wish to make T feel poorly but this next bit must be said. I believe that I am T's dirty little secret. As mentioned before T's ‘Covert Ops’ secret. You are afraid even unto and even after death of L1, as is everybody in ‘The Family.’ And even those that want to have nothing to do with L1, her son C and her daughter A2 but are still afraid of L1. You won’t even pass along a simple word document or email to My daughter A1, I don’t even know her last name, because if L1 ever found out L1 would, if you were still living excommunicate as she has me, and you fear that, and even if you were dead you would feel sufficiently badly enough that it prevents you from simply forwarding an email. Too much of a ‘paper trail.’ I do not appreciate the one-sided nature of this ‘friendship’. I do not imagine you appreciated being B’s dirty little ‘fuckbuddy. This is how I feel in our current 'friendship'. It was so difficult for me to witness that shit between T and B as was the shit with M. The years of hiding T and using T and betraying T. I was heart breaking to watch T chase after them. But T managed to rise up after and be done with them. That is how I am feeling now. I am rising up and shedding all the shitty raiment of that time. I no longer miss ‘The Family.’ I know it un-Christian of me, but I actively wish L1 et al misfortune. Lisa deserves more misfortune in her life.

 

 

I understand and appreciate T's efforts to make me whole on my family fortune that P Stole from me. I say Stole, not to be hurtful but because I can not think of any other word that adequately describes it. Just a little shy of Half a million dollars. T can NOT understand the depth of embarrassment, resentment and hurt that is wrapped up in the theft. My father worked DAMNED hard for that money My mother paid for it and so did I. He left sufficient money behind upon his passing for my mother to live a lavish lifestyle. A lifestyle that she deserved and had a great deal left over for me. I feel the bite and sting of that shame every time we talk about money or politics at any level. For me to have pissed it away on ‘The Business’ and on whatever P did with the $300,000 that I simply gave her, based simply on her word and my belief that she was an honest and honorable woman. account. If as you contend, the passed/dead are looking down on us, I KNOW that my Father is FURIOUS, FUMING, IRATE even unto getting him 'disbarred' from heaven. I was such a disappointment to my father while he lived, and I continued that trend long after he passed. Even after I was roped into the Fuck-off situation, that nearly drove me insane, that was J-W. P was Much more concerned with R’s and J-W’s safety, health and well being than mine. For years she shielded herself from me by using R, J-W and ‘The Business’ as shields. After my mother passed P was not even the least bit concerned with my grief because J-W was in a jam. A jam that could EASILY have waited for months or even years to be resolved. And yet P roped D-P. and I into moving J-W in with P and myself. P and I were not doing so very well in our relationship at this time. But that did not matter in the least to P. But P dismissed my grieving and our relationship in favor of helping poor Stupid Impossibly Ill-equipped to deal with life J-W And then there was R.

I know it un-Christian, uncharitable but I am NOT the least bit upset that L1 lost the GV house. To put a much finer point on it I am happy, Very Happy, about it. I will be made happier still when I learn, if I learn, that JW is dead. On that day I will surely drink an entire bottle of Champagne. In the one glass that I have left of the pair that I did have left after J-W manage to break its mate. The pair of glasses that your sister and I had used for so many years. The glasses are now irreplaceable because the manufacturer no longer makes that pattern. I have looked everywhere for a replacement. I have a reminder in my eBay account to alert me should one ever popup. And on that day, I believe I will smash that glass as well.

Hindsight is a real Bitch. When the hurt of feelings is finally burned away, all that is left is the ‘Facts.’ Facts as you perceive them. And as it is oft said ‘Perception is reality.’ My reality. Before I launch into the diatribe that is to follow, make no mistake that I have VERY, VERY, VERY MUCH embarrassment and shame regarding my life with P and how I treated her. As I do with all the fine women that have been in my life. But my reality is that P took me for financial ride. I wonder how hard P is laughing in heaven. And now I am living the aftermath of that ride. Now T and T's Family; what used to the ONLY family I had, after my mother’s passing, have cast me out and now I am excummunicado. I have long wondered how L1 has explained-away my excommunication to ‘The Family.’ I imagine it was so very easy for her; “SC was an AssHole in sheep’s clothing”. ‘WE DON’T,’ and by ‘We’ I mean the whole of the 'Family'. That means anyone that L1 knows that doesn’t want to be excommunicated away and uses my name as a third-rail touch-stone of evidence to all as to what happens when ANYONE who dares crosses L1, communicate with him any longer. Even my daughter A1,Under penalty of ‘Family’ death. L2 also, how has she explained Grandpa SC’s death? Did I die shortly after P? Did I die of Heart break, which would have been the gracious way but I don’t believe that about Lynn any longer, suicide, motorcycle accident or did my name simply drift away like so of a fart in a hurricane and my name was simply never mentioned again. I am a nobody. I am worse than a nobody. Not even CH would talk to me. I had the occasion to talk to him very briefly a very time ago. He was evasive, clearly uncomfortable talking to me and clearly wanted to disconnect the call as soon as was ‘politely’ possible. It was nice of him to be that polite. At the end of the call, he made it very clear that we would never talk again. I have NO Family. I am a total cast away. I am just so much jetsam in the wake of ‘The Family’s comings and goings, became L1’s comings and goings became "The Family's' comings and goings after T's mother and P died. Hell, T is nothing more than free labor in L1’s eyes. Need to move, call T. You are scarcely more than a nuisance to L1. You are less than afterthought to L1. Oh, Crap L1 forgot to invite T, Again. Surely you know this.

    K the gentleman who L1 cast out who took his time, money, energy and love for L1 as I recall it cost him $5,000 and had a headstone commissioned and placed on L1's much beloved brother's then to fore unmarked grave. The One that caused such a furious furore at Christmas that one year. P and T's mother L committed the ultimate act of back stabbing betrayal by inviting K to Christmas day and dinner. There was front yard yelling and screaming and cursing,  face slapping, the two-year-old-esque tantrum that L1 pitched. Fuck, I wonder what  have befallen T had she committed that DEFCON 1, World WarIII level of a shitstorm on Christmas Day? I imagine that T would have been immediately ejected unceremoniously from the festivities and would have been written out of everybody’s will