44 :: author, visual artist, writer, editor, community evangelist, advocate, journalist, memorist, poet, plagiarist of life :: perfect girlfriend; good friend & daughter :: hedgewitch, creatrix, emerging crone :: gimpy, cranky, unfeigned, indomitable; snarky, funny, generous, pert, talented, stubborn, reclusive :: powered by creative urges, diet coke and popsicles :: co-staff to a passel of fuzzy beasts :: encouraged & supported by the love of a wonk called manthing & a modest but cherished circle of loved ones.
Okay, people. Can we please ease up on the political correctness here?
First, there was the outcry this week over Don Imus again:
I noticed it this week only because hearing about it vaguely annoyed me. But I was pre-occupied with more pressing matters so I didn't linger on it.
This morning, I checked my morning e-mail and found an e-mail asking me to sign a petition to let Kathy Lee Gifford her latest dumb ass crap had pissed off a bunch of pagans.
Oy Vai.
Here's what Kathy Lee Gifford did and said:
Now, because I identify as a pagan, I am automatically supposed to get my bloomers bunched up over this?
FIRST: I say bullshit. So you don't like what Kathy Lee Gifford said. Big deal. That doesn't mean you get to shut her up. Sorry. You can bitch about she said. You can start petitions to make her apologize for what she says. But that doesn't mean she will shut up or her employers will censor her or force her to apologize.
Last time I checked, I live in America and you know what? I can say whatever the hell I want about anyone I want because we have a little thing here called Free Speech. I may not like what people say but they have the right to say them without fear of losing their jobs or harassment or censorship.
SECOND: So Kathy Lee referred to pagans as "bad and nasty". Does anyone in this country not know what an ignorant, vapid, dunder-headed ancient bag of dusty wind Kathy Lee Gifford actually is? Hello? Is KATHY LEE GIFFORD'S uneducated, narrow-minded stupid ass OPINION really that big of a deal?
THIRD: As a pagan-type person, I want to know who the bad guys are. I want to know who doesn't like me. I don't want them hiding off in the shadows making idiotic, insipid dumbass comments where I can't see or hear them. I want them front and center for all the world to see.
"Well", said someone today as we were discussing this, "with that logic I guess it would be fine with you if a pedophile moved into your neighborhood because they have a right to live, right?"
Would I be "fine" with it? No. I wouldn't care to have a pedo in my neighborhood, especially if I had kids. BUT, the pedo has a right to live anywhere he wants as long as he follows the rules, goes to therapy AND DOESN'T DO ANY KID TOUCHING OR RAPING OF ANY KIND. We live in a free society and because it's free, all kinds of people get to live wherever they want.
What about what happened to that guy in California, recently? He only
said he was obsessed with kids and thought about touching them and they
ran him out of the fucking state. True enough, he was wacko-
certifiable. True enough, he got put in the pokey because he wouldn't
keep away from the grade school after the court order forbid him to be
within 400 yards or something of it. But chasing him out of his home
because of what he might do? That was wrong. Better safe than sorry you
might think but I think we tread on dangerous ground when we begin
participating in mob mentality. Very dangerous ground.
So I may not like it and it may worry me but the pedo still has the right to live wherever he wants to live. Once he violates the rules and touches ANY kid, I'll sign every damn petition that comes down the pike and do whatever I can to get him and keep him out of my neighborhood. Get the fuck out and don't come back. Have a terrific, incarcerated life, you piece of shit rat bastard.
"You'd feel differently if you had kids. You'd want to know your kids are safe".
Uhm, wouldn't that be my responsibility? As a parent it'd be up to me to protect my kid, right? I'll tell you, I'd have ZERO FUCKING PROBLEM telling my kid:
"See that person who lives in the green house on the corner"?
"Yes, Mommy."
"Well, stay way from them. You have my permission to ignore that person. You don't have to say hello or be polite to them. If they touch you or come near you, scream your head off and run away from them as fast as you can. That's a bad, sick person and they hurt children so stay away from them".
And if they didn't stay away from the weirdo on the corner, we'd be having some chats and some grounding going on at my house. Sometimes, a little healthy fear is good for a kid.
So, do I like what Don Imus or Kathy Lee said? Not particularly. I also consider the source.
Kathy Lee Gifford is an ignorant sack of aging wind and Don Imus is a dinosaur. I'd tell my kid to run away from them screaming too.
When the screen went black and silent on
Sunday, June 10, Manthing and I looked at each other and said in
unison, "Please tell me the cable didn't freaking go out!" because it
does in our neighborhood. Frequently. So we did what we always do. We
waited. Then the credits began rolling and we again looked at each
other and started laughing.
"That bastard.."
"Oh man. There are going to be some pissed off people on the web tomorrow."
"What do you mean TOMORROW? Check it in an hour."
"I wonder how many people will get it?"
"Get what?"
"The ending."
"What's to get? Life goes on; business as usual."
"You think?"
"Yep. What else is left?"
The
Sopranos has never been your typical mafia show where someone gets
whacked or busted and everything is tied up in a neat little bow at the
end of each of episode. It's been messy and dysfunctional, punctuated
with moments of joy, warmth, compassion and love.
I
have been a dedicated Sopranos watcher since the first season. That's a
LONG time. Manthing finally quit fighting a good thing and began
watching the second season. We laughed because, well, it was a perfect
ending.
That the series final it didn't make sense initially made perfect sense.
Life doesn't always make sense. Life catches you by surprise. Life pisses you off. Life still goes on. Hope springs eternal.
as the crow flies...
...the most direct route between two points; most often used to differentiate distance along this route from a less direct route, such as a road or railway...
