An Open Letter to Angry Humans

[Doktor Howl]

When I was 7 or so, I remember watching what turned out to be the last Apollo mission.  When I was 13, I watched the first flight of the first reusable spacecraft.  There was talk of building ships in space, PROPER ships that would never land - and thus be useful as real interplanetary craft.

Then it all stopped, and the shuttle became a pickup truck to repair satellites so that people in Botswana could watch reruns of Leave it to Beaver. 

Instead of looking out, we looked in.  The internet was created, so that the few people not addicted to television would stop leaving the house.  Our future got sold for Iphones and other useless gadgets that accomplish nothing save to keep you so "connected" that you can't have a moment to yourself.

Don't get me wrong...Some of these advances have greatly improved the lives of millions, especially in the medical/geriatrics field.  But most of them are trinkets, glass beads with which to buy the population...We did it to the Native Americans, and now we're doing it to ourselves.

And the future - MY future - evaporated in a cloud of mushy-headed, short range "thinking" that seems to be mostly about defining who doesn't get to have rights...The progress of 220 years spun 180 degrees, for the benefit of terrified White people.  People who have NO FUCKING GUTS and are so intimidated by other races, cultures, and religions that they are doing their level best to ensure that their own children will be reduced to the antebellum "overseer" class.  They'll be poor White trash, but at least they won't be Those People, right?

We and our children were sold out by cowards.  The future we GOT is something approximating 1850s America with better toys and a few creature comforts.  I find this to be totally fucking unacceptable.  I see NO reason why we shouldn't be DEMANDING certain things.  A government that can balance a fucking cheque book.  Some butter - and research - instead of guns.  The refusal to allow religious freaks to dominate our society.  Maybe Tucson could have a school district that ISN'T run by a mouthbreathing racist like Michael Hicks ("It's not racism, we're only targeting Hispanic culture."  Actual quote.).

I'm fucking angry today.  I haven't been actually angry in a while.  It's time to get loud and obnoxious, IRL, because that's been a successful strategy for the religious freaks, while the more intelligent, civilized portion of society has civilized themselves right out of any say in the political process at all.

So what I'm saying is, it's time to be uncivilized, for the sake of civilization.

Spazzed out for now,
Dok

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Is it time to get my Angry Black Woman on?

'cause I'm fucking pissed too, Dok, and I've found that I have less and less patience for the STUPID THINGS PEOPLE SAY.

Pedophilic, homophobic, misogynist, racist "jokes" that seemed over-the-top and funny in the nineties aren't fucking funny anymore. Not in an era when public figures are calling law students sluts and prostitutes because they want access to birth control. Not when there are articles on staying safe from Darkies being widely read and publicized.

Shit just doesn't seem ironic the way it used to. I'm not talking about political correctness, I'm talking about waking the fuck up and paying attention to the stupidity instead of mindlessly participating in it.

[Doktor Howl]

Is it time to get my Angry Black Woman on?

'cause I'm fucking pissed too, Dok, and I've found that I have less and less patience for the STUPID THINGS PEOPLE SAY.

WHAT WOULD ANGELA DAVIS DO?

Pedophilic, homophobic, misogynist, racist "jokes" that seemed over-the-top and funny in the nineties aren't fucking funny anymore. Not in an era when public figures are calling law students sluts and prostitutes because they want access to birth control. Not when there are articles on staying safe from Darkies being widely read and publicized.

Shit just doesn't seem ironic the way it used to. I'm not talking about political correctness, I'm talking about waking the fuck up and paying attention to the stupidity instead of mindlessly participating in it.

I've found that the best way to respond to a guy who tries to be "edgy" like that is to slap the living Blue Jesus out of him, either verbally or (occasionally) physically.  It's the only way they learn.  I've only ever had one woman try that shit, and I went the verbal route (Somehow, slapping women physically is an exception to my rule about treating people equally...Probably because I out-mass most women by 2:1).  Some trustafarian college student who was having a grand old time with Daddy's Amex telling me how "Liberals talk, but never DO anything".  I asked her if that applied to Jefferson, Madison, or Franklin, then asked her when she planned to enlist.  Her comments about "Welfare Queens" (read:  The obvioously poor Black lady who had just walked by on the sidewalk outside) led to hilarity.  I haven't seen her since.

[Juana]

GOOD. I hate that shit.

I agree. We've gotten pretty used to slacktivism -- endless online petitions (which have their place, yeah) but no real action. Phone calls, pen-and-paper letters, protesting, donation to groups who are doing shit, and not shutting up in the face of nonsense like that.

[LMNO]

I don't know if it's exposure to the death of a loved one or general fed-up-ness, but I have grown a very thin skin regarding loud religious types, regardless of demomination, when they talk outside of their game rules. 

And I agree about the "transgressive" humor these days.  When it didn't seem so openly hostile, I could deal with faux "irony".  These days, it's just repellent.

[AFK]

GOOD. I hate that shit.

I agree. We've gotten pretty used to slacktivism -- endless online petitions (which have their place, yeah) but no real action. Phone calls, pen-and-paper letters, protesting, donation to groups who are doing shit, and not shutting up in the face of nonsense like that.

Don't forget public testimony. 

A vastly underutilized aspect of our Western Democracy. 

Legislators don't expect the general public to show up to those things.  It's usually paid lobbyists or someone with some kind of financial stake in whatever legislation or policy is being considered. 

From personal experience I can tell you that they do take notice when an average joe walks in to give testimony.  It may not necessarily change things, but I think if more people did it, maybe things would start nudging in a slightly different direction.  Or, at the very least, maybe more consideration and less rubber-stamping. 

[Doktor Howl]

GOOD. I hate that shit.

I agree. We've gotten pretty used to slacktivism -- endless online petitions (which have their place, yeah) but no real action. Phone calls, pen-and-paper letters, protesting, donation to groups who are doing shit, and not shutting up in the face of nonsense like that.

I'm going to start attending political events again, at the municipal level...In the city proper, of course.  Oro Valley is beyond redemption.

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

I don't know if it's exposure to the death of a loved one or general fed-up-ness, but I have grown a very thin skin regarding loud religious types, regardless of demomination, when they talk outside of their game rules. 

And I agree about the "transgressive" humor these days.  When it didn't seem so openly hostile, I could deal with faux "irony".  These days, it's just repellent.

Best response I've found to race jokes is "My grandfather was *Creole/Comanche/whatever/insert race here*"
Loud enough for other people to hear, if you're in a public place.

[Mangrove]

GOOD. I hate that shit.

I agree. We've gotten pretty used to slacktivism -- endless online petitions (which have their place, yeah) but no real action. Phone calls, pen-and-paper letters, protesting, donation to groups who are doing shit, and not shutting up in the face of nonsense like that.

As a non Citizen, I can't vote. However, I have signed a number of online petitions and, every now and then, they have achieved the desired results. Occasionally, as a consequence of said petitions, I get letters from congressmen in response. However, when I wrote an actual, honest to goodness letter to congress I got nothing. Seems that the politicians are 'slacktivists' as much as the voters?

[AFK]

They are unless they get a mountain of letters or e-mails.  Last year the Governor here, in his infinite wisdom, put the state funding for substance abuse prevention and treatment on the chopping block.  All of it. 

Through a fairly robust mobilization campaign we ended up getting leglislators on the Appropriations Committee inundated with letters, e-mails, phone calls, etc., to go along with op-ed, letters to the editor, etc. 

Every single penny of funding was restored. 

Now, if they hadn't received all of that noise, I am certain that funding would have been cut without question. 

Granted, this was about their re-election and not out of any actual belief in an ideal that we should fund programs to help people addicted to drugs, but we got the right result. 

[Doktor Howl]

I don't know if it's exposure to the death of a loved one or general fed-up-ness, but I have grown a very thin skin regarding loud religious types, regardless of demomination, when they talk outside of their game rules. 

And I agree about the "transgressive" humor these days.  When it didn't seem so openly hostile, I could deal with faux "irony".  These days, it's just repellent.

I feel no guilt concerning my short temper with assholes like that.

[Doktor Howl]

GOOD. I hate that shit.

I agree. We've gotten pretty used to slacktivism -- endless online petitions (which have their place, yeah) but no real action. Phone calls, pen-and-paper letters, protesting, donation to groups who are doing shit, and not shutting up in the face of nonsense like that.

As a non Citizen, I can't vote. However, I have signed a number of online petitions and, every now and then, they have achieved the desired results. Occasionally, as a consequence of said petitions, I get letters from congressmen in response. However, when I wrote an actual, honest to goodness letter to congress I got nothing. Seems that the politicians are 'slacktivists' as much as the voters?

Heh.  My vote counts for about as much as yours does.  I can't stop the bastards, but I can at least make them miserable.

[Juana]

^^^^ What Dok said. When I called my Congress critter about NDAA and told his poor intern it was traitorous and he should be removed from office, I got a rather anxious "THAT'S NOT WHAT IT'S ABOUT PLEASE VOTE FOR ME! letter.

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

GOOD. I hate that shit.

I agree. We've gotten pretty used to slacktivism -- endless online petitions (which have their place, yeah) but no real action. Phone calls, pen-and-paper letters, protesting, donation to groups who are doing shit, and not shutting up in the face of nonsense like that.

As a non Citizen, I can't vote. However, I have signed a number of online petitions and, every now and then, they have achieved the desired results. Occasionally, as a consequence of said petitions, I get letters from congressmen in response. However, when I wrote an actual, honest to goodness letter to congress I got nothing. Seems that the politicians are 'slacktivists' as much as the voters?

I sign those sometimes too, even though they usually don't do anything.
I get form emails from Al Franken and form letters with fake signatures from our rep Henry Cuellar and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who was an avid Bush supporter and reminds me of Maggie Thatcher sometimes, if Maggie Thatcher had been from Texas.

As of this writing, I haven't heard anything from Rick Perry. 

And yeah..if it worked for a bunch of Jebustards, we should be able to do the same.

[LMNO]

Best response I've found to race jokes is "My grandfather was *Creole/Comanche/whatever/insert race here*"
Loud enough for other people to hear, if you're in a public place.

I respectfully disagree, because it implies that the only reason you're offended is that you're part of the group being derided.

I feel that to be pissed off despite your lack of inclusion in the subject matter means that it's a fucked up thing to say regardless of your race or gender.