When logic and proportion Have fallen sloppy dead ~~ "White Rabbit" by Jefferson Airplane
I recently got into a brief discussion with someone when Ken brought up the subject of Alex Jones and his ban from several social media sites. (I told Ken later, "I can't punch you because you have cancer!") I said that I thought the final straw was Jones saying that Sandy Hook was a hoax. The response was, "He didn't say that." I was a little taken aback and said, "Yes, he did." The response to that was, "There's a lot of misinformation out there. Find a clip where he said that and send it to me." So I found the clip where he said it. Audio AND video. And I sent it. Six days later, I got a response: To all my friends and family, When it comes to our views on politics and religion, they are wide and varied, yet I believe we can find common ground in the bedrock of our First Amendment. We must support the right of all voices to be heard, or we will all be silenced. Please contact your government representatives urging them to reject censorship and uphold free speech. Respectfully, XXXXXX That is some pure-D bullshit right there. I'm pissed. Let's break it down. First, it was sent to only two of us. Hardly "all my friends and family." Second, Jones's comments were on social media sites, which have terms of use. If you violate those terms, these companies have every right to ban you from their site. Third, nobody is silencing Alex Jones. He still has a website and I guess he still has a radio show. I really don't know because he is not someone I pay close attention to because he is a fucking LUNATIC. This is not a censorship issue, it's an issue of hate speech, slander, fraud, and abuse of various social media platforms. Fourth, this Jones asshole said that the parents who lost children in a school shooting at Sandy Hook were ACTORS. That they faked their children's deaths. This is vile, unconscionable, and there is absolutely no defense of it. If you're defending this, I question both your morality and your sanity. Finally, this person should have had the guts to address me directly. Even if they couldn't do it in person, they should have had the decency to use my goddamn NAME in their response. My email with the video was not an attack in any way. I was kind, respectful, and loving. I was challenged to find a clip of Jones saying that Sandy Hook was a hoax because this person said, "He never said that." I found the clip and sent it to them and I got this shitty, generic response. No, I cannot and will not cut ties with this person for various reasons. But I have lost respect for them when it comes to this sort of thing. This showed me that they are in complete denial and will not accept any refutation of their worldview and narrative. I wrote recently that I was done trying to argue with supporters of the "president." This experience reinforces that. I attempted this outreach in good faith and this is what I got. It's not just a matter of not wanting to waste my time or energy. It's also that anyone who sends an email like this in response to my proof isn't worthy of debating me.
Whew, what a relief to get that done. I had some problems with Ken's, but turns out his password was case sensitive. Once I fixed that little problem, all went well. I had one hitch, where it created his new blog, but there were no entries there. That could have been my fault, though, for "refreshing" before everything was complete. Anyhoo, it's done! If I hadn't been able to do it, I don't suppose I would have curled up and died, but it would have been a shame to lose all of it. Even just seeing the names of some of my entries made me go, "Hey, I remember that!" I had titled one "He hit it an' quit it," and that was for when James Brown died. It made me sad.
It also made me sad to make what will probably be my last entry over at my AOL Journal. It was merely a repeat of the entry I wrote about the song "Closing Time," and it seemed very fitting. I'll admit that I got kind of choked up when I put it up there, and listened to the song again. I'll leave it up for a while, but I'll probably delete the journal myself. Hey, I think I'll delete it at the stroke of midnight, when October 30th turns to the 31st. Halloween! Yes, I think that's what I'll do. Maybe it's a little silly to get so verklempt over a journal, but I think you all understand. Just the fun I had with it, practicing my writing, but more importantly, all the wonderful friends I made there...I'm just so happy that most are making the move! I love you guys! I am NOT going to burst into tears, so just cut it out!! Ha ha! Just remember, "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."
I even managed to get a few things done today. WOW, I am so proud of myself! (It really has been pathetic.) Finished some laundry, took care of the garbage, and got a pot of chili going. I've had a hankering for chili for a while now, so this should taste good. I've been in the mood for all kinds of soup lately. I've got a recipe that combines tortilla soup with red beans and rice, and I think that sounds delicious. I've also got a package of black beans, so I'll try some black bean soup one of these days, then there's vegetable soup, and maybe some potato soup, and some beef stew...aaaaagh! Yum, it's just that time of year!
The latest feel-good news from the campaign trail comes from a McCain-Palin rally at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. McCain was talking about Obama's tax plan, and someone in the crowd yelled "Off with his head!"
Are you freakin' kidding me? What is this? France in 1789? Maybe a better analogy would be Alice in Wonderland and we've followed the White Rabbit down the hole and through the Looking Glass. I'm going to start looking for a hookah-smoking caterpillar in the audience at these rallies! There is no excuse for this, and with every day that goes by that McCain allows these violent and hate-filled outbursts to continue, his silence is complicit endorsement of violence against a fellow human being. Palin seems to whip the crowds into an even more violent frenzy. How can we condone this kind of behavior? I may be passionate about politics, but there is NO EXCUSE for allowing such attitudes to continue, and anyone who truly cares about their fellow human beings and about our society in general would stand up and say, "Stop this. It isn't right, and this is unacceptable behavior." I cannot begin to tell you how disgusted I am with the sight of fellow Americans shouting such murderous invective, and I'm even more disgusted that no one is putting a stop to it.
See you on the other side of the Looking Glass.
White Rabbit
Jefferson Airplane
One pill makes you larger And one pill makes you small And the ones that mother gives you Don't do anything at all Go ask Alice When she's ten feet tall
And if you go chasing rabbits And you know you're going to fall Tell 'em a hookah-smoking caterpillar Has given you the call Call Alice When she was just small
When men on the chessboard Get up and tell you where to go And you've just had some kind of mushroom And your mind is moving low Go ask Alice I think she'll know
When logic and proportion Have fallen sloppy dead And the White Knight is talking backwards And the Red Queen's "off with her head!" Remember what the dormouse said: "Feed your head Feed your head Feed your head"
