The “Idle Janie” Journal - Day 61
"Mental Health Day!"
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Photo credit: David Bryan, Saint-Germain-les-Belles, France May 2018
The “Idle Janie” Journal - Day 62
“FREEDUMB!”
Sorry not sorry, but as the great chasm between “sides” widens by the minute — especially on social media — I can’t help but “laugh out loud” at some of the memes, photos, and quotes I see floating around.
I have never been someone who laughed at those with little or no real education. I have, in fact, been an educator at times myself — and it is something I think is vital to a great nation. I also have never necessarily thought of myself as supremely intelligent or “better than thou.” It is true that I spent many years in school, and have 4 degrees (2 bachelors and 2 masters) as a result of that time spent in the academy. (As well as a hefty amount of student debt!) I guess as I waded further into the thick of religious studies, I imagined continuing on into a Ph.D program, and then eventually teaching at the university level.
But it was never meant to be, as I was always TERRIBLE at standardized tests. And to qualify for a Ph.D program, you HAVE to do quite damn well on the GRE. 4 degrees gave me a strong sense of critical thinking, but never the tools needed to pass a test where you are required to fill in multiple choice bubbles with a pencil. You see, if I am given a multiple choice question with 4 possible answers, I am more likely to be able to argue both for and against ALL FOUR ANSWERS. If there’s only ONE right answer, then I’m at a loss. I’m just not wired to think that way.
But, my friends, we are reaching a point in the miseducation of this country that is startling — one in which people are not wired to think AT ALL.
I saw a post the other day that has been circulating for a few weeks that reads, “Obama was too scared to run against Trump because he knew Trump would destroy him. That’s why Obama retired.” Obviously Obama didn’t run against Trump because the constitution allows for a maximum of only 2 terms as president — which Obama served.
There is also a photo floating around of a man wearing a t-shirt that reads, “Make 45 becomes 46 again!” How can such a short phrase be so riddled with errors???
But these issues aren’t only with so-called ignorant plebeian types of people. They reach as far up as the current administration itself. At the recent Republican National Convention, one of the featured speakers, Kimberly Guilfoyle, referred to herself as a “A first generation American.” Her mother is Puerto Rican — which is a US territory, which makes Puerto Ricans American citizens.
And a few months ago, the president’s own advisor suggested there were 18 other coronaviruses before COVID-19, exclaiming, “This is COVID-19 not COVID-1, folks.” As anyone with the ability to do a simple google search would point out, the disease COVID-19 stands for coronavirus disease 2019 — the year it was first discovered.
And, lastly, the Trump administration, which has no apparent platform whatsoever, is basically running on the argument for re-election that he will put a stop to everything that is plaguing America right now. As one meme says, “But it’s happening while he is president. He’s running as a challenger to himself. Re-elect me so I can stop all the awful stuff that has happened while I was president is a strategy I don’t think I’ve ever seen before.”
And you know what? His supporters are buying it.
Oh, and the Twitter account of Herman Cain — who died of COVID-19 about a month ago, is apparently still active, tweeting that “COVID-19 is not as deadly as warned.”
Like I said, this is all quite “LOL” — but also truly terrifying.
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Thanks for reading. If you like what you read, and want to support my fledgeling career as a writer and musician, you can drop a few bucks in the virtual tip jar. It all adds up!
Venmo: @David-Bryan10026
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Photo credit: David Bryan, Barcelona, Spain October 2017
The “Idle Janie” Journal - Day 63
“Save The Children?”
All of a sudden, out of left field, there is this national movement building, revolving around kidnapped children, supposed pedophile rings, and deep state conspiracy theories. Let me start by saying I think pedophiles are some of the most disgusting people on the planet. None of this should be taken as any kind of defense of such people.
However, that said: why is this only becoming a national outcry now? Not only is it interesting that this is only really supposedly coming to light in the homestretch of a viciously divisive election season; but in light of recent events in Kenosha, as soon as we hear about yet another unarmed defenseless black man being shot in broad daylight by white police officers, the very first thing we hear in response on social media is that the victim is a pedophile.
Then, with a 17-year old would-be vigilante driving across state lines under the auspices of protecting property to enmesh himself in protests over this shooting, and ending up shooting 3 protestors — 2 of whom died — there are immediately rumors floating around that these 3 victims were themselves perpetrators of sexual crimes, with that word pedophilia once again rearing its ugly head.
Even I got into an argument about this with someone on Facebook, lashing out because I’m tired of supposed rightwing types always rushing to discredit black men who are shot by white police, and was accused of being a pedophile myself.
So, is “pedophile” the new “communist”? Are we entering a new era of quasi-McCarthyism, in which random citizens can just point their fingers and scream “PEDOPHILE,” and then allow mob mentality to rule, administering justice with no due process?
For those who haven’t studied history, but who have heard of the Salem Witch Trials, you need to understand that this event in American history took place at the VERY end of a two-centuries long dark period in world history, in which anywhere from 200,000 to 1 million people were burned at the stake, or drowned, or hung for the charge of being in league with Lucifer. If you’ve ever seen Monty Python’s “The Search For The Holy Grail,” you’ll get a comic representation of a very real historical problem — in which accusers would lob just about any ridiculous charge at someone they feared, and it would usually stick. And innumerable lives were lost due to these trumped up allegations. Mob mentality has a long historical precedence. And it has rarely — if ever — been just or fair, and often times not rational whatsoever.
Again, I find pedophiles disgusting — as do most people. Even convicted felons serving life sentences in prison supposedly have a reputation of really “going to town” on any new prisoners who show up with convictions of molesting children. It is definitely something that needs to be rooted out and destroyed. And the idea that it is a “sexual orientation” is reprehensible.
BUT - it is NEVER up to a bunch of common townsfolk to take these matters into their own hands. This is why we have a legal system — albeit a broken one. However, we have to work with the centuries-old system that we do have. It is one of the bedrocks of our democracy.
I guess I’d say about the protestors who were killed, that it would be nice to have some clean, objective, factual information about their supposed tainted past. It doesn’t excuse vigilantes taking the law into their own hands. But, with the saturation of social media and conspiracy theories abounding more than ever, at the very least it’d also be nice to not have knee-jerk reactions popping up, automatically propagating outlandish unproven claims, and have them taken as truth by literally millions of people without any evidence whatsoever. WHO does have their finger on the pulse of this particular narrative right now? Where is the documented research? What are the particulars? (For instance, if an 18-year old has consensual sex with a 17-year old, it’s still deemed rape in the eyes of the law — even if the “victim” doesn’t want to press charges, and admits to consent.) As best I can tell, right now it’s just a bunch of vigilante villagers with pitchforks and torches.
But, I ask one more time: WHY NOW? If this has been going on for supposedly decades (or longer), why hasn’t it come into the national narrative before 2020? Personally, I want clarification. And I really doubt that QAnon is where we need to be seeking such answers.
So, where do we turn?
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Thanks for reading. If you like what you read, and want to support my fledgeling career as a writer and musician, you can drop a few bucks in the virtual tip jar. It all adds up!
Venmo: @David-Bryan10026
Paypal: paypal.me/davidbryanandfriends
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Photo credit: David Bryan, Harlem, NYC January 2021
The “Idle Janie” Journal - Day 64
“White Rage”
You’ve seen the photos. Starting with that iconic photo in April of a maskless angry white dude screaming in the face of a police officer in the Michigan state courthouse. Almost daily since then, we see new photos of what amounts to unbridled white rage. There is really no other way to describe it.
And more recently, with the election season heating up, there are videos circulating of Trump supporter rallies, with — yet again — seriously angry white men screaming in the faces of others. Sometimes in these videos, there is a very palpable tension building — and you get the sense that an all out brawl might just ensue.
I’m confused. As to WHY these white men are just SO. DAMN. LIVID. Is it because black people are asking that they stop being killed in broad daylight? Is it because women want legal protection from being harassed and sexually assaulted? Is it because LGBTQ+ folks want to be able to apply for a job and simply make a living, and maybe perhaps be allowed to be with the person they love? Is it because differently-abled people want people to stop calling them “retards,” a reprehensible word that a very notable conservative media pundit publicly uttered so recently?
I don’t have any answers, I’m just making speculations here. But, to me, it seems like basically ALL of the school bullies of the last few generations are starting to come out of the woodworks. They are feeling empowered and emboldened under the current administration, and are simply getting back to their roots. These are the people we all knew in middle school and high school who used words like geek, nerd, nigger, spic, kike, fag, queer, retard, pussy, wimp, and many other slurs for just about anyone and everyone who was different from them. These bullies were often large bodied. They were often intimidating. They were often scary. And they were definitely angry. At what, or at whom, or why, we may never understand. Maybe they all just came from broken homes, who the hell knows.
But then, all of a sudden, it seems like there was a long period in our country’s history in which conventional wisdom took over, and said that all of these slurs were “bad,” that they simply shouldn’t be used. “Political correctness” became the common parlance across the land. And I guess most (but not all) of these bullies basically went into hiding. And then all the “future bullies” just suppressed their rage, and sought solace and solidarity on the internet, where they could let their rage fly free with impunity. (Except, of course, for those who decided to stockpile automatic weapons and then shoot up their classmates?)
But, you see, back then, there were only one or two, or a small handful of bullies at each school. Maybe they got away with it for four years. Maybe they got caught and reprimanded. Maybe they were expelled, and took their way of thinking to a new school. Regardless, when bullies team up and become gangs, then mob mentality takes over. And it seems like all of these bullies — those from my own day and all the way down to the present — have now found each other on social media, and are actively mobilizing to “take back the country.”
I guess they are offended because they were told back in the day they can’t beat up people? I guess they are angry because they were shamed for picking on the little guy? I guess they are jealous at seeing those folks they picked on excelling in their own lives and careers? I guess they are feeling retaliatory because of all the instances in the news where they see one of “their own” go to jail for a rape conviction? And I guess they are mortified because god forbid a BLACK man lived in the WHITE house??
Fortunately for the rest of us, those who exhibit this white rage seem to be in the minority. Most decent Americans do not fall into this category, and are simply clamoring for equality for all. Isn’t that what democracy is based on? Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; equality; fairness for all — that’s all “we” seem to want.
Unfortunately for the rest of us, those who exhibit this white rage are also ostensibly armed to the teeth, and are now publicly proclaiming that if Trump doesn’t get re-elected, it’s basically going to trigger a civil war. The Handmaid’s Tale; a return to the good old days of slavery or segregation; or a Fourth Reich — that’s all “they” seem to want.
To quote a friend of mine, “If Trump wins, they will be emboldened. If he loses, they will be enraged.” Either way, I fear that rage is going to see a solid, prolonged crescendo. We’re at about a mezzo forte right now.
It’s coming, folks. And it ain’t gonna be pretty.
P.s. And no, it ain't just the men, either.
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Thanks for reading. If you like what you read, and want to support my fledgeling career as a writer and musician, you can drop a few bucks in the virtual tip jar. It all adds up!
Venmo: @David-Bryan10026
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Photo credit: David Bryan, Avignon, France October 2017
The “Idle Janie” Journal - Day 65
“White Rage, Part 2”
This entry is an addendum to my post yesterday. If you haven’t read that one, it’s best to do so for context before proceeding here.
Personally, I’m not really looking forward to the seemingly inevitable all out dystopian revolutionary nightmare brewing just under the surface of our society. So, I got to thinking — is there any way to avoid it?
Then I came across this headline: “Iowa State allowing 25,000 fans at first football game despite rising COVID cases in state.” And I thought to myself, “EUREKA!” This right here. THIS. IS. THE. ANSWER.
The problem is simply that all the sports were canceled! All of that “unbridled white rage” (I just quoted myself! LOL) needs an outlet — and sporting events have traditionally provided an arena (no pun intended) for all of that hyped-up mouth-frothing testosterone to find a release. So, it’s no surprise that there are so many angry white men running loose wreaking havoc on the country right now.
I’m not personally out causing trouble, but I GET IT. When I heard that the NCAA tournament was canceled, I was heartbroken. As we college bball fans said, March Madness became March Sadness. That tourney has been part of my life, part of my existence — part of my RITUAL — since I was in middle school. Then all of a sudden, there’s this supposedly deadly virus and we can’t risk it. So I never got my annual quota of “feeling all the feels” of cheering on the underdogs as they sank the higher-seeded team on that last second shot; I missed out on being able to watch the teams that I despise lose; I didn’t get to experience that anguish of my team’s season coming to an end. I wasn’t even afforded the chance to fill out my brackets. And then saturate myself in tournament coverage for four full days, before that traditional Thursday tipoff at some random time like 12:17pm.
So, basically the same thing then happened for NBA fans. And hockey fans. Then baseball. And now, apparently, with football season upon us, there are going to be some really upset fans. Because lo and behold, Iowa State has backtracked, and will not have a live audience. Since March, ALL sports have either been canceled outright, or else have proceeded with shorter seasons, but only on TV with nobody in the stands. ANGRY WHITE PEOPLE NEED THESE SPORTS. And if we don’t give it to em, there’s gonna be hell to pay.
That being said — and with Trump’s new science advisor touting “herd immunity” as the way forward — I say, LET’S GO FOR IT! Never mind that the man who is now being tasked with leading the way in combatting an infectious disease has no experience whatsoever with infectious diseases — the president likes what he has to say! Those other two annoying professional medical experts with almost 100 years combined experience should just clear the way for some new blood!
So from what I’m reading online, for herd immunity to work, roughly 65% of the population would need to be infected. Other than live sporting events, is there any better way to achieve such a quick goal?? (Again, no pun intended.) And if we can pack the stadiums with all of the angry white people, giving them a team to scream at and a safe space in which to revel and just “let it all out” (but without guns), then the streets will hopefully stay safe come November 3rd.
But, real quick, let’s just crunch those herd immunity numbers. The current population of the United States is just over 331 million. 65% of that would be 215,150,000. And with a boringly low, insignificant, “you all REALLY overreacted” mortality rate of a paltry 3%, that would be a mere 6.4 million deaths due to this unimpressive, unwelcome visitor.
No big deal! We’d probably end up losing more Americans in the coming civil war bloodbath anyway. There were supposedly 620,000 deaths in the first civil war — but their guns had NOWHERE near the magazine capacity of today’s sophisticated weaponry. And, if you think about it, that war ended in 1865 — so we’ve had 155 years worth of guns and bullets being manufactured and sold since then. PLUS, don’t forget that’s also 155 years worth of UNBRIDLED WHITE RAGE just building and simmering and festering and growing and expanding.
SO — I SAY OPEN IT ALL UP. Let’s just go back to normal, open the entire economy, get all those freeloaders working again — and for the love of god GIVE US BACK OUR SPORTS IMMEDIATELY!!!!!!!! It’s the only way to keep the peace.
I wonder, though, how many players will be left to take the field by the time the playoffs come around?
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Thanks for reading. If you like what you read, and want to support my fledgeling career as a writer and musician, you can drop a few bucks in the virtual tip jar. It all adds up!
Venmo: @David-Bryan10026
Paypal: paypal.me/davidbryanandfriends
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