Anne Frank: A Lesson in the Deconstruction of a Human Identity

I read an article online today on what Anne Frank's arrest might have been like, and it made me think about the parallels between the plight of European Jews during WWII, and that of the immigrant children who have come to the United States seeking safety and a chance at life.  The Diary of Anne Frank was one of my favorite books as a kid. Every time I think of her and her family, my heart breaks again for them; for what they lost; for her father who had EVERYTHING taken from him. Imagine a world where CHILDREN in danger are arrested for being of a particular religion! 

The dehumanization of the Jews was a tactic that Nazis used make it easy for people to look the other way when their neighbors were carted off to die. It was also a reminder to those who were NOT Jews that the Nazis could decide to come for them next, so they had better toe the line. Throughout history, this particular tactic has been used to give a cover of immunity to those who would enslave millions of African people and ship them all over the world like sacks of beans to be bought and sold. It was the foundation for the stronghold that slavery maintained in the American South long after it had been abolished everywhere else. It was done to the Native Americans, making it seem totally OK to murder their children and steal their land. It was done to Aborigines so that the vast island that is Australia could be stolen in the name of a king. They weren't made "citizens" of their OWN country until 1967. Dehumanization stoked the fire that was apartheid in South Africa, and it burned away 27 years of Nelson Mandela's life.

Now imagine a world where children in danger are, for all intents and purposes, arrested for being from the wrong country. Whatever the circumstances of their arrival, the likelihood is that if their skin color was white, their hair blond, and their language European, no one would advocate turning them away. But they are not. They are brown-skinned children who speak Spanish and come from places like El Salvador. According to many, this automatically means they are criminals who want to "steal, drain, defraud, etc." They are DANGEROUS! They are....less than human. If we do not learn from the atrocities of the past, we WILL continue to repeat them.

Stolen Legacies

It is a well known fact that the United States has a long, sordid history of supporting treachery against people considered "minorities."  As the Information Age gives us greater access to those things that were previously relegated to dark corners and hidden archives, it is enough to rival the bloodiest horror flick or the most frightening dystopian novel.  For example, did you know that the US government sanctioned the forced sterilization of Native American women in this country?  It came to light in the 1970s.  There are documented cases of more than 3,000 women across various tribes who had their insides ripped out by physicians who decided that they were too subhuman to make choices about their own reproductive health.  But, according to Trinity International University's Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity, statistics showed a sharp decline in Native American birth rates that went back as far as the 1960s.  It is likely that the cases that are known are just the tip of the iceberg.  The irony is that both the Europeans who came to this land, and their subsequent ancestors, called the Native Americans "savages." The roots of savagery lie in the belief that skin color and birthplace equal genetic superiority.   Their willingness to rape, maim, purposely spread deadly disease, murder women and children, etc., so they could steal what didn't belong to them clearly demonstrate that THEY were the monsters.    

It would be both immoral and INHUMAN to forget what they were forced to endure.  How many native peoples were hunted to near extinction and then cordoned off into reservations, which for all intents and purposes, is a fancy word for "human zoo."  How many lives and generations were stolen?  Many of the women who had their uteri ripped out without their knowledge were teenage girls or young women of childbearing age.  Many of them are STILL alive, and they have no children or grandchildren who share their blood.  They have had to wake up every day knowing that the God-given ability that most women take for granted was stolen from them by doctors whom they were told had come to HELP them.  They were doubly violated because this practice was green-lighted by a government that had already taken everything else their people physically owned.  It wasn't enough to take their homes, their lands, and their way of life?  The BABIES had to be taken, too???  

Black and Latino women were also victimized in the 20th Century by the practice of government-sanctioned sterilization.  According to Psychology Today, North Carolina sterilized nearly 8,000 people between 1929 and 1974 for multiple reasons, including findings by authorities that they were lazy, promiscuous, or poor. State records show that North Carolina's sterilization program targeted welfare recipients. During the last 15 years of its existence, 99 percent of the victims were women, and more than 60 percent were Black.  A 2013 Huffington Post article stated that between 1909 and 1979, California sterilized at least 20,000 people. Latinos were disproportionately targeted.  California's cases alone account for roughly 30% of all known eugenic sterilizations in the US during the 20th Century.  

We have to remember how people have suffered in and FOR this country.  We have to remember what it looks like when we lose sight of our humanity so we can clearly identify injustice as soon as it rears its ugly head.  In the words of George Santayana, those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

A LIVING Wage

In this video, Rep. Dennis Ross (R-FL) tells one of his constituents that he does not support raising the federal minimum wage because it will "hurt the economy" and it will drive up costs. He then goes on to say that the minimum wage isn't supposed to be a LIVING wage, and asks who will pay for it, if we make it one?  A man in the audience raised his hand and said he would be fine with paying 20 cents more for a hamburger.  The congressman really had nothing to say to that.  You know why?  Because at the end of the day, for most big corporations, a living wage translates into only slight increases in the actual costs to their customers.  

That's the point that they don't want emphasized.  So people like Ross engage in fear mongering and trying to scare people into believing that a living wage means someone undeserving is taking something away from working people, and that suddenly, milk will be $20 a gallon.  Here's a newsflash, congressman.  People making minimum wage ARE working people!  The economy needs contributors at ALL levels.  Not everyone has the resources or opportunities to be white collar workers.  And people's lives are not worth less because they make fries or wash dishes to pay their bills.

At the end of the day, what those who oppose a federal living wage really want is to maintain the medieval system of feudalism in which the wealthy are lords of the manor, and the poor are serfs.  During the time of feudalism, it was rare for a serf to be educated.  In fact, it usually only happened with express permission from the lord.  In some places it was banned outright because lords felt that if serfs were educated, they would start questioning the way things were done.  The same line of thinking was used to rationalize and justify banning the education of slaves in the United States.  An educated slave who could read and write would have the means to learn that despite what he had been told, he was a human being and slavery itself was a barbaric institution that was based on racism, an ignorant belief in the inherent supremacy of whites, and a desire to line pockets with profits off the backs of unpaid laborers.  

Clearly, the same feudalistic thought process is being applied today in these arguments against raising the minimum wage.  The "hurting the economy" reasoning is just smoke and mirrors.  The real fear is that raising the minimum wage means raising the socio-economic status of certain classes of people.  It means low-income Blacks, Latinos, Asians and even whites would again have access to a middle class lifestyle. They'll be able to move into neighborhoods that currently are out of their price range.  They will be able to educate themselves and their children.  And most importantly, this new knowledge will make it clear that things are not how they should be.  Education also gives people the ability to influence the world around them instead of just being a servant to it.  People like Ross don't want poor people to step outside their predetermined place in the pecking order because it undermines the economic and political power structure that allows a wealthy few to be in charge.  They don't want poor folks asking questions, running for offices, giving educated news interviews or challenging the status quo.  They don't want poor kids getting the idea that the American dream actually applies to them.  So they spit out this nonsense about how the SCARY the idea of a living minimum wage is.  They want what's left of the middle class to despise and go to war with the poor.  That way the two groups they fear the most are no longer a threat.  

We should question the intelligence and the very humanity of anybody who wants us to believe only a few are deserving of a life outside of poverty or the chance to succeed on a level playing field.  What that really means is that they consider themselves the lords and the rest of us the serfs, so the kind of lives we have should be left up to their discretion.  The last time I checked, this is not medieval Europe.  And it certainly isn't pre-Civil War America.  We have to ask ourselves, if the poor and the middle class are at war, who's watching the rich?  That's right. NO ONE.  

$17.50

$17.50 a day.  What do I spend that much on?  Easily a tank of gas, breakfast and lunch, odds and ends at the grocery store, etc.  In the Seattle Times today there is a story about a single mom of two teenage girls living in Tacoma.  If you divide her monthly food stamp allotment up by the number of days in a month, $17.50 is all she can spend to feed herself and her two kids.  Her children's father does not pay her child support.  She is unemployed and training to be a a medical office assistant.  She cannot afford to buy food at the Safeway, which is close to her home because it's too expensive.  Her car died, so she spends her money taking the bus to and from a Walmart much farther away so she can try to find cheaper food.  I shop at Safeway.  You can easily spend $6 on a couple of pounds of non-organic apples.  There isn't a lot of wiggle room for things like meat or fresh fruits and vegetables on $17.50 a day.  

I challenge those people out there who think that people are living it up on food stamps to look at what they eat, drink and feed their children in a day and ask themselves if, realistically, they could feed a family of more than one person on such an income.  It's easy to label all food stamp recipients as the mysterious "they" and believe the hype about people cheating the system.  Let's be honest.  Wealthy people cheat on their taxes when they are the most able to afford to pay them.  There will always be people who won't do right to save their lives.  But we don't arrest or penalize ALL rich people because of the few who commit tax fraud.  Cheaters make up a small percentage of those on the program.  Let's be clear here.  These attacks on SNAP are about further disconnecting the working poor from society.  A 2010 study conducted by the Urban Institute found that the use of SNAP benefits reduced chance of food insecurity by 30 percent!  Before you buy into the "welfare queen" mentality, here are some facts.  According to the USDA, 48% of SNAP recipients are children and another 8% are elderly people 60 and over.  So which of these kids is a "cheat?"  Fewer than 10% of families who receive food stamps also receive TANF ("welfare") benefits.  Only around ONE CENT on every dollar paid out in SNAP is lost to fraud or trafficking.

A society is defined by how it cares for its children and its poor.  And shame on anyone who believes that children should be allowed to starve in the wealthiest nation on the planet just in case their parents MIGHT be cheating the system.  At the end of the day, by attempting to not fund the SNAP program, that's exactly what the GOP-controlled House has said.  Times are hard for a lot of people right now.  Many of the kids your kids go to school will have NO FOOD at home without those benefits.  And most of their parents never thought it would happen to them....until it did.  According to Feeding America, in 2011, 16.1 MILLION (22%) of American children lived in poverty.  Hunger has a face, and it is the face of a child. 

Justice for Trayvon

My prayers are with the family of Trayvon Martin. No one has the right to claim that they were "standing their ground" when they stalked a person in the middle of the night based on nothing other than a personal stereotype about black boys in hoodies; assault that person; and then kill them because they refuse to submit to a stranger who is NOT a POLICE OFFICER and who was trying to jump them in the dark. Who would do that???

Neighborhood Watch my ass! Neighborhood Watch people have no police power, and they do not have the right to detain or physically subdue anyone unless they actually witness them in the act of a crime. Walking down the street while talking on your cell phone is NOT a crime. George Zimmerman belongs in prison. Let him "stand his ground" in there.

My Say So: Objects in the Rear View Mirror Are Closer Than Th...

My Say So: Objects in the Rear View Mirror Are Closer Than Th...: Forty-nine years is not that long ago. My mom will turn 63 this month, which means that for the first 14 years of her life, she lived in a w...

Objects in the Rear View Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear

Forty-nine years is not that long ago. My mom will turn 63 this month, which means that for the first 14 years of her life, she lived in a world where she couldn't sit at a lunch counter or go to school with white children. She couldn't sleep in most hotels, go into amusement parks or borrow books from public libraries. Do you ever wonder why when you see pictures of fun places and things from pre-1964 America that you never see people of color unless they are in staff uniforms? Because they weren't allowed into these places. Things we take for granted now were foreign to Black people in this country at this time. 

Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education (1954) sent a message that the United States of America was no longer a place where "separate, but equal" was an acceptable social policy. But it wasn't until the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when it was officially illegal to ban people of color from "places of public accommodation." However, something people often forget is that the CRA also banned employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Women have, by far, been the largest beneficiaries of the CRA. 

So let us not forget that discrimination and prejudice touch ALL of us and when they are allowed to flourish, they destroy ALL of us. Just because they're not looking at you this time, doesn't mean it's OK. Those who fail to remember history are destined to repeat it.

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/07/02/2245221/49-years-ago-today-america-banned-whites-only-lunch-counters/?mobile=nc

The Lion in Winter

It will be a sad day when Barry Bonds breaks Henry Aaron's all-time home run record. Aaron represents all that is dignified, proud, and decent not just in baseball, but in humanity.

In the face of intense hatred, intimidation, fear, prejudice and pressure, Hammerin' Hank went to work. His former teammates said there were days when he literally limped into the locker room before a game, played like a superstar during, and then limped home. In the 70s there was no major security for high-profile athletes. So when the hate mail and death threats came, Aaron knew he was on his own. He remained quiet, smiled and went to work.

He wasn't a big man by any stretch of the imagination. Yet, he played the game honestly. He hit 755 home runs on sweat and a systematic, scholarly approach to the game that has been matched by few before or after him. But the best part is that his home runs are not all that make him special. That was Henry the ballplayer. Henry the man used his celebrity to fight for equality and to advance the cause of civil rights. A king never rests on his laurels or gets caught up in his own press.

It's not that baseball fans thought his record would stand forever. It's that we hoped that someone who was as good a man or better would be the one to break it. Instead, baseball has given us Barry Bonds--the guy who ignores fans, charges little kids for autographs, blames the media for his rotten attitude, and tries to evade paying taxes. Even if we could forgive his despicable personality, what is unforgiveable is the fact that he will claim, and in so doing, deface Aaron's hard-won record.

Although he will never confirm or deny, many roads in the steroid contriversy lead to Bonds' doorstep. If you have followed the game for a few years, you remember what he USED to look like. He was much thinner and smaller. Human beings weather in the same way paint does over time. They don't spend their 20s tiny and then morph into the Incredible Hulk in their mid-30s. Bonds would have you believe that baseball is just picking on him because he's Black and because people don't like him. He publicly muses on why the sport is not targeting former white players like Mark McGwire. Hmm....maybe because he at least LEFT the game.

Whatever the reason, the fact that Bonds would have the audacity to play the race card in defense of his indefensible behavior is another testament to the level of his self-absorption. He does not get to play the race card! Most of the hate mail he gets is because the person he presents to the world is selfish, arrogant, and oozing with an undeserved sense of entitlement. It has little to do with the fact that he is Black.

Aaron has said he will not be there when his record falls. The only explanations he has offered are that he is not interested in following the circus around waiting for Bonds to hit 756 and that he does not want to be part of all the hype since he's been there and done that. Those close to him say that while there may be other reasons, we will never learn them because that's not Aaron's style. He has earned the right to make decisions without having to worry about what everybody else thinks.

It will be a sad day when the lion finally has to relenquish his throne to the challenger. While his accomplishment will pass into history, to those of us who love and respect the game of baseball and all that he went through to overthrow The Babe, Henry Aaron will always be the true king.

King Kong Is a MUST See!

If you're hitting the theatre in the next few weeks and you're looking for a movie that will keep you embedded in your seat, you must see Kong. This movie has amazing special effects, a great cast, and most important, a wonderful story.

This is not your mother's King Kong, though. This is Kong at warp speed, and the best actor in the film is the ape himself. Imagine love, laughter, anger and the depths of sadness being conveyed with no words at all. The chemistry between Adrien Brody and Naomi Watts comes right out of the screen at you. When he runs off into the jungle to save her you believe that he would kick open the gates of hell to get her back. And when Kong climbs the Empire State Building you feel that he, too, is more than willing to die for this woman, this strange looking thing with yellow hair, who danced for him when others cowered in fear.

And just in case you are wary of the film because you can't see Jack Black in a serious role, let me assure you that this isn't the Jack Black that we are used to. We hear his name and we automatically think silly, crazy, funny.....School of Rock. Not this time. When I watched Kong, at first I wanted to love his character Carl Denham. His was a hard luck story. He was a guy with big ideas who just wanted to have one more shot to get his dream film made and save his career. By the middle of this flick, I had no doubt that he was still that person somewhere deep inside, but he was also a selfish charlitan who was willing to sacrifice anything or anyone to get what he wanted. He cheated his friends, lied to his employees, and told every tall tale under the sun all for his own gain. He also exploited the naivete of and the love Kong had for Anne Darrow. His greed brought a beautiful creature to its knees. Adrien Brody's character Jack Driscoll put it best when he said that the thing that always amazed him about Carl was his unfailing ability to destroy the things he loved.

Does that sound like the Jack Black you know? I doubt it because he was in a whole different zone in this film. Go see it, and you'll see what I mean. Go see it if you want to feel something for your $8. Trust me, you won't regret it!

Sunday Night TV is HOT Again!

Last night was the night I've been waiting for for a LONG time! Sunday nights are hot again.

First up, Desperate Housewives....

I feel so bad for Susan. Just when things were going to work right with Mike, she finds out that his offspring is Rosemary's baby. I'm not mad at her at all. I wouldn't let Mike move some gun-wielding freak into my house, especially when I know he's obsessed with my teenage daughter. Not to mention the fact that he wasn't honest with her about how he basically blamed HER when the police questioned him about what happened. I like the guy, but he lies too much. He expects trust, but he doesn't give it.

Well, well, well. Poor Tom fell and hurt his back. I can't BELIEVE he asked Lynette to blow off her interview because he had an owie. I knew it! I knew this would happen. He thought it was SO easy to have her life and now he thinks he should be babied. Big ups to her for getting that job with a baby on her hip. Although, I'm not sure that I'd like to work for a person who said that mothers use sick kids as an excuse to slough all their work off on co-workers. Talk about a bitter cow who can hear her eggs drying up. Jeez.

Carlos really is as dumb as he looks. How precisely would Gabrielle have gotten a paternity test at this stage of a pregnancy? And what did she use to run the test? Did he give her a vial of his blood during visiting hours? How stupid could he be? Well, he did believe that his grass needed to be mowed three times a week. The two of them just can't stop LYING! At least they realize that they are both awful people. But they're "still rich"......so I guess they're happy with that.

YOU GO, BREE! When I saw Rex's mother hanging out of that taxi screaming like a crazy person, I had flashbacks to nightmares of what would descend upon my house if something happened to MY DH. She showed a lot more decorum than I would have. She gave Rex 18 FAITHFUL years, and his mother had the nerve to come in and pass judgment on her like she went out of her way to make him unhappy! I would have put the cow on the curb. I am not mad at her for yanking that tie off and burying HER husband in a manner in which she saw fit. Although, that really did look like a fake Rex. Maybe he IS still alive.....

And finally, the new neighbors.... I told DH that this is why I don't talk to people. You never know who has somebody CHAINED UP IN THE BASEMENT! They can look perfectly normal on the outside and be completely insane behind closed doors. Is it just me or did she seem way too chummy with her son? Wisteria Lane is pretty much a Noah's Ark of freaks. At least one of every kind lives on the same street! Makes you wonder what is hiding in your OWN neighborhood.

Ah...Grey's Anatomy...

OK, I get that Addison cheated on Dr. McDreamy first. But that still doesn't excuse him from not mentioning that he was married. However, that's what happens when people try to reverse engineer relationships. You start off screwing the first night you meet and then you think something meaningful can suddenly blossom from rolling in the hay with a total stranger. For a doctor, Meredith is not very smart.

Same with Cristina...Burke doesn't even have her PHONE NUMBER. Yet he feels some sort of connection to her? Based on what? I don't get it. I do find it ironic that he was perfectly happy to accept the interim chief position based largely on the fact that the real chief knew about Sheppard sleeping with an intern while he himself is bonking Cristina! She was the one who wanted to just have sex and pretend like there was nothing else for her besides work. And now she's brokenhearted when he cut her off after she repeatedly rejected his attempts to get to know her? I wonder if she'll go through with the abortion....

I'm glad O'Malley was able to help Joe keep his bar. I like the fact that they are giving his character some actual depth and cahones. It is pitiful that he's still pining away for Meredith Grey when he knows that she would rather suffer with a bad boy than give the nice guy the time of day. Enough with the long-suffering geek routine already!

Please don't tell me that Izzie is starting to fall for Alex. He's a PIG! Even pigs are capable of showing affection, but they are swine nonetheless!

My favorite character is Dr. Bailey. I love her! She knows everything that everybody is doing, but she doesn't let them drag her into their messes. She's no nonsense and fears no one. Even though Shepherd is her boss, she didn't hesitate to tell him where to go and how to get there. She's the ONLY one who isn't caught up in the drama. Isn't it scary to think about the things that are going on at hospitals? You go in to have a baby or get treated for something else, and your doctor is worrying about which intern his wife will find out he's sleeping with or which supervisor knocked her up? NICE...

Did I already mention that Sunday nights are hot again!!!! BTW, I haven't checked the whole board yet, so sorry if someone else already started a thread like this.

On Marriage....

I've often wondered why so many people run from marriage like it's some sort of airborne disease. And I think I have an answer. Fear. It's not a novel discovery by any stretch of the imagination. But I think it's right on the money.

So let me make it clear for all of those who are confused about what marriage means. You know, those of you out there who think that because he gives you butterflies in your stomach or she makes you want to jump her where she stands, that you can base something solid on that. Marriage is knowing that if the occassion ever presented itself, you would walk through fire and go head up with the devil himself to protect that other person. It's realizing that after the butterflies have flown away, something real had better be there providing a strong foundation.

Marriage is also understanding compatibility. Think of it this way. When you marry someone, you are agreeing to put up with a certain output level of stupidity from them. If your maximum stupidity intake capacity is 6 and their maximum output level is 10, you are NOT compatible. You cannot change another person. Only they can change themselves, and they have to want to do it FOR themselves.

Marriage is not going to make you happy. If you're looking to fill a void in your soul with another person, you're being selfish and unfair to them. Marriage is a union of two wholes. Not a whole plus two thirds. You have to be comfortable in your own skin and secure in who you are before you can fully give yourself to someone else. Sure you can get married incomplete, but contrary to what Jerry McGuire says, that other person will not complete you. And your marriage will be in for some rocky times.

Speaking of which, marriage is also knowing that everything isn't going to be smooth sailing all the time. We have a 50% divorce rate in the United States. Mind you, that statistic is completely based on heterosexual couples. Nobody bats an eye when Britney Spears is married and divorced in 20 minutes. Yet there are gay couples--who are barred from their constitutional right to marry--that stay together for a lifetime. Why? Because they face adversity together, and they don't let ignorant people and life's nasty little surprises come between them. How strong must you be to love each other in the face of the last acceptable form of overt discrimination in this country? Heterosexual couples could take some lessons from that.

Marriage means realizing that there will be some incredible highs that single people can only dream out. There is nothing like being with someone who has stood before God and pledged to love only you forever. People can say that living with someone in perpetuity gives you the same thing, but I say no. There is nothing special or sacred about being someone's girlfriend/boyfriend for the rest of your life. How many of those do people have in a lifetime? True commitment is stepping out on that limb of faith and making a vow that you are morally bound to keep.

On the subject of vows, the reality of marriage is that one day your spouse might get MS, cancer, lupus or some other debilitating disease. And then suddenly you might have to be the breadwinner, your childrens' primary caretaker, a nursemaid, AND a spouse. It's a harsh reality, but it happens. Marriage is accepting that uncertainty and perservering anyway.

It is also being smart enough to know that being married doesn't mean that you have given up your "freedom." What does that even mean? If you're with someone who thinks they OWN you, they are not marriage material. In a good marriage, both people grow in leaps and bounds because your spouse should inspire you to be better than you are today.

And finally a marriage that is based in faith and love creates an environment that is secure for children. This is not a debate over the merits of single parenting. But it is simply a fact that children thrive in stable, loving two-parent homes where there are two people to share the responsibilities and the joys. There is nothing in the world like knowing that you and your spouse have participated in the miracle of life and have been blessed with the grand responsibility of shaping a human being into a positive citizen of the world.

Don't be afraid of marriage. Be afraid of all the baggage that blocks you from it. It's not for everyone--most certainly not the weak-minded or the faint-of-heart. If it's truly not your calling, good. Accept that, move on, but don't disrespect those people who make it work. If it is, and you think you can't go there, marriage itself is not the problem. The problem lies within you.

Call Me Bitch If You Want To...

It's amazing, but I have often had strange men ask me why I look so "mean" and "like I don't want to talk to people." HELLO! I don't!!!

I am not interested in nor am I required to stop and carry on a conversation with a strange man just because he wants to. I do not want your number and hell no, you can't have mine. I am MARRIED! And before you ask me if I am happily married, get a clue. That is none of your business. Even if I wasn't, I still wouldn't want YOU. I don't have to smile because you want to see it or take off my shades so you can look at my eyes. I certainly don't need you to pay for anything for me and I have no interest in responding to things like "HEY," "PSSSST," or "What's YOUR name?" Hay is for horses. "Psst" may be how you call some of the knucklehheaded girls who live on your block, but I ain't on your block. And I don't give my name to fools who come up to me on the street.

It makes me boil when I think about how girls are raised to be sweet and accomodating even at the expense of their own comfort. Who cares if you offend some strange guy on the street? If you don't want to talk to him or tell him anything, say that and keep walking. But puh-leeeeze stop looking down at your feet, stumbling over your words, and looking like a victim. Stand up straight, be proud and look like the kind of woman who would raise hell itself if she were attacked. Predators prey on those they think are weak. You have a right not to be accosted on the street, and if some guy thinks you're a BITCH! because you won't let him talk to you any kind of way, so what.

A Letter to Katie Holmes

Now does anyone doubt me when I say that he's a whack job? Tom Cruise has read the "research" on Ritalin and the history of psychiatry. Hmmm. And any minute now the entire cast of Cirque du Soleil is going to fly out of my behind and peform Quidam on top of my desk.

That is completely laughable. So this fool is basically saying that he is as qualified as any medical doctor to properly evaluate and comment on the effects of drugs to treat mental illness. Right. If that's the case, what are all those idiots wasting time and money on med school for? He should have told people that they could just ask him the answers a long time ago, and we wouldn't even NEED doctors.

It is with this in mind that I felt compelled to write Ms. Holmes a letter:

My Dear, Sweet, Gullible "Joey,"

Please open up your pretty eyes and see that standing before you is a buffoon. He's an adulturous loser who's more interested in feeling "in love" than making a marriage work. Once he gets tired of jumping up and down on people's couches and you get a few years on you, how long do you think it will be before you'll hear about your own version of Penelope Cruz on the news? His ex-wife was young, and sparkley-eyed once, just like you.

I understand that you dreamed of marrying him as a little girl. But you're not a little girl anymore and it's high time you realized that marriage is NOT a fantasy. He said the same things about being all in love with Nicole that he is now saying about you. You aren't special, honey. You're just fresh. Look at his past and see that while he claims to know how to run everybody else's life better than they do, he can't even honor his promises before God or whatever higher power he believes in. If he would lie to GOD, my dear, he would certainly lie to you.

Run, "KATE," run.

Update: Mississippi Burning

GUILTY!!!!! After deadlocking on murder charges, the jury in Philadelphia, MS, found Edgar Ray Killen guilty of three counts of manslaughter. Although it's not the murder conviction prosecutors wanted, each of the three counts carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison. He hasn't been sentenced yet, but basically this monster will spend the rest of his natural life in prison.

If he's not scared, he should be. Prison should be the least of his worries, although I do hope that he will always sleep with one eye open. Now he can see what it's like to live in terror. There are monsters behind those walls, and they are extremely good at getting into places you think they can't reach. The difference is, the monsters in there won't be dressed up in bedsheets because they aren't afraid to show their faces.

He has enjoyed 41 years (to the day because the three young Freedom Riders disappeared on June 21, 1964) of freedom to live life and enjoy his family. While the families of James Chaney, Micheal Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman have had to relive their losses like car wrecks every June 21. Now they can rest a little easier knowing that the man who masterminded the murder of their sons is getting some of what's coming to him.

In any case, I think we can say that some measure of earthly justice has been done. The justice he will face when he leaves this world is not something I would want hanging over my head. I am very proud of my homestate of MS for taking some steps to show the world that things ARE different there. No matter what people think of the state, there are plenty of supposedly "progressive" states in the union who are doing absolutely nothing to deal with hate crimes that have gone unpunished. Did you know the state of NY has one of the HIGHEST hate crimes rates in the US? Maybe it's time the rest of the country starts trying to be like Mississippi and gets busy flushing the roaches out from under the baseboards.

Read the full story here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8290795/.

Things That Make Me Go Hmmmm.....

Why do people go to the same fast food places they always go to, but when they get there, they stare at the menu board like it's the matrix? Just pick something, you idiot! It's the same crap that was on the menu when you went there YESTERDAY.

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Why is it that criminals think that THEY are the ones who are going to beat the cops and the helicopters in a high-speed chase? Have these people ever seen a chase on TV? How many of them actually end with the driver getting away? Here's a thought. Don't commit crimes.

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Why is there always somebody in line at the grocery store with $75 worth of stuff when they know they only have $25 to their name? Now, mental math is not everyone's strong point, but you have to have some idea of how much the stuff you picked up is going to cost. What? Are you hoping for an at-the-register sale to help you make up the difference?

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While we're on the subject of the grocery store, God save me from the fool who is determined to pay for his groceries with CHANGE! Unrolled change, no less.

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If you're driving around in a $45K Lexus that has a busted out back window, which you have patched up with duct tape and a garbage bag, your choice of vehicle is out of your league. If you can't afford to fix the window, you don't need the car.

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Just because they make spandex in your size doesn't mean that you must buy it. Big people, it's NOT your friend! Remember how many pairs of biking shorts were eaten alive by large thighs during that craze? Stop the carnage!

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If you see a tube top in the store and it looks like a tire, recognize how wrong that entire concept is and leave it where you found it. If that's your size, you don't NEED a tube top.

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Repeat after me. The check cashing place is NOT a bank.

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Why would anybody RENT rims for any car, but especially a hooptie?

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Why don't people teach their daughters to pick up their feet when they walk. If I see one more young girl sliding through a store in flip flops like a train, I'm going to scream!

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Why do aliens return abductees? What could you possibly do to get kicked out of SPACE?

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If I have the right to remain silent, why are you talking to me?

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Feel free to add!

Why We Love the Batman

The latest installment in the Batman series has finally hit the theatres. Some critics are saying that Christian Bale is the best bat to date because he really delves into the darkness within Bruce Wayne that forces him to don the cape and cowl.

But why do we love the Dark Knight? Why have generations of people watched the TV shows and cartoons and turned the movie franchise into money-making and merchandising juggernaut? Because he reminds of us that place within each of us that would love to have the power to avenge wrongs and strike fear in the hearts of those who hurt us. Bruce Wayne's motives may have evolved into altruism, but they are rooted in a deep-seeded anger over the loss of his parents at the hands of a common street thug. He does not use guns because he sees muzzle flashes in his nightmares right before he sees his mother and father fall to the ground. His vengance is cold and personal. He wants to put his hands on you and pull you close so he can see your fear, and you can see his rage.

Why the bat? I'm sure there are many theories on that, but since medieval times, humans have associated bats with the undead. The vampires that come out of the night to bite our necks, suck our blood, and drain our lives. Vampires are shape-shifters and the legends say that they morph into things that people in the Middle Ages would have feared most. Bats, wolves, vaporous spirits, etc. But the bat endures as one of the most feared of the vampiric forms because they can fly and they do bite and suck blood.

In any case, I would venture to guess that Bruce Wayne chose the bat because they are prevalent in the old buildings in Gotham and he knew that a large, half-bat/half-man would twist the primal fear of old legends and ghost stories that we all keep hidden in the corners of our minds.

We also love the Batman because he is our protector. Where the police fail, he succeeds. He is seemingly everywhere all the time. We feel safe because even though law enforcement calls him a vigilante, someone in power sends up that bat signal everytime something bad happens. We are reassured by the knowledge that a dark angel guards the night.

And finally, we love the Batman because we feel for him. His choice to become our protector is also a choice to be alone. His solitude and isolation protect his secret, but they also forbid him from getting too close to anyone. Anyone who loves the Bat and is loved by him is a target. He didn't really choose to be Batman. Fate chose him. Even if he wanted to stop, he couldn't and still be able to look directly at the face in the mirror.

So we look up at the rooftops with a silent mixture of gratitude and guilt because we know he has given his life to us. We love the Batman because he lets us sleep at night knowing that in a world full of evil and chaos, there ARE still heroes.

The Toddler's Tao

Sometimes I watch my 13-month-old son and I try to figure out how he sees the world. From what my limited adult mind can grasp, it's a great view from where he's sitting. Everything is new. He's a blank slate and he wants to be written on by all these wonderful, interesting, very large (compared to him) things. I don't remember what it's like for life to be so simple and uncomplicated, but based on my interactions with him, here are the simple philosophies he lives by:

I see, therefore I can have.
If you don't want me to touch it, don't put it where I can reach it. If I can get to it faster and reach it first, it's mine.

I don't have to be big to get my way. I'm CUTE!
There isn't much that they won't do for me if I open my big, brown eyes wide, show my four teeth and grin.

No? What do you mean NO?
At some point, I'm going to have to train them to realize that it really is much simpler to just let me do as I please. If it wasn't good for me, I wouldn't WANT to do it.

On Love.......
I'm not altogether sure what this means, but it must have something to do with them hugging me and kissing me and making sure I'm dry and full. I know I feel safe and happy, so I guess it's good. I love them, too.

On Toys......
I think it's cool that I have all this great stuff to play with and when I'm done, I just leave it wherever it falls. And it magically appears in my box where it belongs the very next day. Now that's a sweet deal. Although, I do wonder why the toy fairy doesn't just leave my stuff where I put it. I like it where it is. Mommy and Daddy should really just learn to watch where they're going. If I can manage to go around the toys, so can they.

On Colors......
I see so many things now that I'm outside. When I was inside, all I saw was dark. Now I can see all these different colors not just on things, but on people. Of course, it doesn't matter much. I don't have a favorite crayon or a favorite color of face. I just like faces that are kind and smile a lot.

On Growing Up......
I AM a big boy and I can do it myself! Man, I want to be big so bad so I can reach all the things they try to put up high. I'll be able to dig in the garbage if I want to, play in the toilet when I feel like it, and put my feet in the sink while I wash my hands. And why precisely can't I bash toys into the coffee table?

On Taking Naps......
Naps?! I don't need no stinking naps! When I'm big, I won't EVER want to just be able to sleep whenever and wherever I choose. In fact, the big people I know sleep too much. If I can get up at 4AM, they should be able to.

On The Sky......
Why is everybody in such a hurry? I think the sky is pretty and it has birds in it. Sometimes airplanes and helicopters. But the big people never seem to look up. Maybe it's just because they're tall. They're closer to the sky than I am. When I'm big, I'm going to look up.



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I reserve the right to add to or subtract from these thoughts as I continue to observe him and his interactions with the world. I am realizing that this is the point in his life when I'll know the most about what he thinks and feels because he shows everything. He feels out loud and laughs that way, too. He doesn't know how to be embarrassed or to keep a secret. He just likes being alive. I hope he'll always feel that way.

Mississippi Burning

I'm sure most of you learned about the Freedom Riders in school. At least I hope you did. They were people from the north who came down to Southern states to help register Black people to vote. Three young men (2 white Jews and one Black) who came down to Philadelphia, MS, in 1964, were chased down, beaten and shot to death by the KKK. Since lately people have been talking about the history of race in the US, I thought I would share some wonderful news.

After 41 years of silence, the mastermind behind the plot to murder and dispose of those three brave young men is on trial. Today, in Philadelphia, MS, he will sit in a defendant's chair before a jury of Whites and Blacks. And I'm hoping with all that is in me that he will spend the rest of his life rotting in cell and waiting for the day he has to beg God to spare his life even though he took it upon himself to end someone else's.

This kind of thing is why the Confederate flag should not be flown over public buildings. This is what it represents. We have come so far in the US, but we have miles to go before we sleep. So if you're thinking that bigotry and racial terrorism are a thing of the past and should just be let go of, imagine how you would feel if your loved ones were slaughtered simply because some animal decided that his white skin made him a god and that the true God somehow gave him a pass on that "thou shalt not kill" thing. Imagine knowing that your son, husband, brother, sister, etc., was killed for trying to help people vote and living with the knowledge that no justice would be done. And imagine waiting 41 years to see someone pay for the crime.

This is why we need these dialogues about race and we must remember history and pass it on to our children. People like Edgar Ray Killen have long thought that they could hide behind time, fading memories, and fear. This SOB was a MINISTER!!!!! Can you believe that? But see, as long as we pretend that prejudice only exists in PBS reruns of "Eyes On the Prize," garbage like him will be able to hide in plain sight around decent people. He counted on people being too apathetic or fearful to come forward and I'm sure he convinced himself that he got away with it after being acquitted on federal civil rights violation charges back in the 50s.

But now the state of MS is taking a stand, just like it took a stand when it convicted Byron de la Beckwith 30 years after he murdered civil rights leader Medgar Evers on the porch of Evers' Jackson, MS, home. If Mississippi, one of the historical strongholds of racial prejudice and hatred can stand up and try to right wrongs, the least all of us can do is have the conversation so the cycle of hate can stop.

Read the full story here:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7209834

Let's send up our collective prayers for justice to be served ice cold and a bit of solace for the families of the Freedom Riders.

My Say So

This blog is a creative outlet. I write; therefore I am.....or something like that. I will use this space to share my thoughts and opinions about things that are going on in the world. My hope is to impart some knowledge, open some minds, and start some conversations.

Not everything will be about world issues. Some things will be about issues in my world. I am a mother, and that most important job has changed how I see things. You know, taught me to have a more critical eye, but also to find the humor in things.

One thing you can always count on is that I won't pull any punches. I will tell it like I see it. So welcome! I hope you enjoy reading my say so.