November PAD Chapbook Challenge 2019: Day 16: Break Free of Tyranny

Image by Annalise Batista from Pixabay

it seems to me

that for a nation of people

who love to talk about freedom

there were all too damn many of us

willing to trade our freedom

to be under the orange thumb

of a tangerine despot

now it's time

to put up or shut up

now it's time

to take our country back

now it's time

to realize that electing

a rude, loudmouthed reality tv star

with an ego the size of Jupiter

was a really stupid idea

and now it's time

to impeach the sonofabitch

who shouldn't have been in the White House

in the first damn place

now it's time

to fix our mistake

and really make America great

~Sly Has Spoken~

Image copyright juliahenze @123rf.com

Notes:

The November PAD Chapbook Challenge prompt for today was to write a "free" poem. So I decided to move over, Rover, and let Sly take over and write a free verse about breaking free from the tRump tyranny. No putting a fine point on this one. Impeach the illegitimate bastard. 

Yes, Pence is his own brand of awful. We'll deal with him next.

Even more worrisome to me than the fact that Lord Dampnut and the Gentleman Serial Killer ran for office is the fact that there were enough people willing to vote for them that they got elected. Anyone who thinks that we live in a country where racism, sexism, classism, and all the other shitty little isms are a thing of the past is, as Flavor Flav once said, blind from the facts.

Real Cie Reviews: From Liberty to Magnolia: In Search of the American Dream

Rating: 5 of 5 stars

The following is a duplicate of my Amazon review for this book:

Dr. Ellis does not hold back when telling the story of growing up in the racist South during the years leading to the Civil Rights movement. As a black woman, she faced double the prejudice and was warned not to aim too high. Through hard work, she was able to be successful in many areas, but it did not come without cost, and she often saw less qualified white male colleagues being promoted for positions that she was suited for.

The issues that Dr. Ellis faced are issues that society still struggles with today. 

The author's style is very detailed and academic, and, occasionally, the flow of the narrative slows because she becomes a bit too detailed about subjects which will not hold the interest of the general public. Specifically, the chapter where she describes meeting her journalistic hero, Walter Lippmann, is not likely to hold the interest of a person who is not themselves deeply engrossed in political journalism. 

Overall, Dr. Ellis' story is deeply compelling and will be especially inspiring to women and minorities who continue to face prejudice in the post-Civil Rights era.

You can also read my exclusive review for the Online Book Club here.
Read my Goodreads review here.

Troiku Challenge 2019: Day 7: Unlocked Fence

Image Source

unlocked fence

walking towards the countryside

finally free

unlocked fence

will I find freedom outside

or more enslavement

walking towards the countryside

the world outside is alien

imprisoned so long

finally free

no more fences, no more guards

but such a high cost

~Chèvrefeuille & Cie~

Notes:

I could not help but think of the prison camps of World War II when I saw this image. We must never be allowed to sweep those horrors under the rug because they make us uncomfortable. 

I watched a program about the descendants of some of the leaders involved with the Holocaust. These are good people who want to prevent such a thing from ever happening again. They are not proud of being related to such terrible individuals as their ancestors. 

Rudolf Hess' grandson Rainer said, "if my grandfather were alive, I would kill him myself." 

Hermann Goring's grandniece Bettina and her brother both had themselves voluntarily sterilized.

Amon Goeth's daughter wasn't aware of her father's exact role in the Holocaust until she saw Schindler's List. The realization was so upsetting to her that it caused her to go into shock.

We must remember the Holocaust, and we must not allow other atrocities and mistreatments of our fellow humans to be swept under the rug.

Many people are not aware of the Armenian genocide.

The United States isn't too keen for people to remember that during World War II, people of Japanese ancestry, including those born in the United States, were locked in internment camps.

Think what is happening right now in the United States with migrant children being taken from their parents and locked in detention centers or placed with foster families, some of whom are abusive. Cheeto Hitler denies that any of the blame rests with him when it sits squarely on his lap. And no, I will not apologize for referring to him as Cheeto Hitler.

NaHaiWriMo 2018 #6: House of Cards

Notes:

Text by The Real Cie. House of Cards and its characters are the creation and property of Netflix.

I was inspired to create this Haiga while binge-watching House of Cards instead of sleeping. I noticed the parallel between the over-the-top drama involving House of Cards' main character, Frank Underwood, and Kevin Spacey, the actor who plays the part. Frank Underwood describes his father as having been a violent alcoholic. Spacey has stated that his father was both physically and sexually abusive as well as a racist.

While I feel that the inner turmoil from his childhood abuse combined with shame over his sexual orientation may have prompted Kevin Spacey to behave in inappropriate and ill-advised ways with young men, and while I feel compassion for his struggles, I do not think that his behavior is acceptable. It is a shame that it resulted in his being terminated from House of Cards because he is a superlative actor. Of course, it is also unfortunate that the young men subjected to his behavior suffered psychological repercussions.

This piece falls into the categories of fan art, art imitating life, human failings, tragedy, and irony.

The Cheese Grates It: The Media Throws Mentally Ill People Under the Bus Again

 chiripepe

The shooter was an old white dude. In before crazy online history is exposed with all that white nationalism bullshit or whatever this type gets into. They’re already actively framing him as being mentally ill, which is the treatment white terrorists always get. Pay close attention to how this man’s act of mass murder and terrorism gets framed by the media and pundits.

 wincestshippingtrash

Next: those of us who live with mental illness will have to put up with the bullcrap of people talking about mental illness as if the only form of it that exists is dangerous psychosis.

Most people with mental illness are not dangerous.

People with mental illness are more likely to be victims than perpetrators.

Most people with mental illness do not present with obvious signs of psychiatric issues to the general public. The most common type of mental illness is mood disorders with unipolar depression being the most common mood disorder. Regarding bipolar disorder, people who have type 2 do not present with psychotic features. People with type 1 may or may not present with psychotic features. In other words, most people with bipolar disorder do not stand out significantly either. 

Most people with disorders with psychosis, such as schizophrenia, are not dangerous either.

It is highly unlikely that this individual was psychotic.

I am extremely tired of evil behavior being excused as “mental illness.” All this does is hurt people who actually live with mental illness, most of whom are not dangerous and are already having a hard enough time as it is in a world which has little compassion for imperfect specimens.

~The Cheese Hath Grated It~

Notes:

Wincestshippingtrash.tumblr.com is my Supernatural fandom/fanfiction blog on Tumblr. It is often NSFW and generally isn't political. I reblogged this piece there and commented on it because it is my Tumblr (and, in fact, my blog across all platforms) with the biggest audience.

The Cheese Grates It: Moving Target

A response to the article "Stop Asking Me to Have Sympathy for the White Working Class."

I happen to be white, and I'm heterosexual. That's pretty much where my privilege ends. In most ways, I'm a target. I'm an older woman. I'm a big person in a society that hates big people. I'm mentally ill.

I am not a target in the same way that non-white people are a target, but I am still a target of prejudice and hatred for people who enjoy making others' lives miserable.

I also happen to not have voted for the Bully in Chief. I am one of those people being told to "get over it" and "stop acting childish" because I will never refer to him as President.

I am part of the working class. I work a skilled job (nursing) and make a little over $30,000 a year, although I often work 60 hours a week.

I am unsure how people in the working class can think that electing this racist, misogynist, xenophobic fascist can possibly benefit anyone but his fellow millionaires. He doesn't have sympathy for any of us. We're a big joke to him.

Yet I know people who I consider to be otherwise good people who truly believe that he is the best thing for our country. They stand against bullying, yet they voted for the biggest bully imaginable. They excuse him talking about grabbing women "by the pussy" because he "apologized for it." As if his apology had a grain of sincerity. If folks are that gullible, I'd like to discuss a little beachfront property in the Gobi desert with them. I can get them into it at a very reasonable price.

I may not be the smartest person in the world, but I'm smart enough to spot an obviously insincere con artist. I'd like to say that Don the Con pulled the wool over this country's eyes. In some cases, that's what happened. Sadly, in all too many other cases, his appeal was making America safe to hate again.

Adding on to the above comment:

I understand people's criticisms of Clinton as a candidate. She was not my first choice. I was in the "I'm with her because she's not him" camp. It was a "lesser of two evils" vote. I understand the people who voted third party because they couldn't stomach either candidate.

People like to claim that third party voters betrayed us all and got the Bully in Chief elected. In fact, Clinton won the popular vote. The Electoral College put the Cheeto Demagogue at the helm of the ship. This archaic system needs to be abolished. Presidential elections should be decided by popular vote.

~The Cheese Hath Grated It~

The Hate that Hate Bred

I will state right up front that I don't know what it's like to be black in America.

I believe I have an idea of where this kind of extremist thinking comes from. White people in Western society have caused a lot of grief to people of other races. The European settlers stole the land from the American Indians and destroyed their society. They enslaved the African people. 

Generations later, there are still pervasive racial issues that desperately need to be addressed. Some of what this man says makes a lot of sense, but then he drowns out the sensible parts of his argument with hateful rhetoric. I can't bring myself to believe that hate can ever be the answer.

I am not a Biblical literalist by any means. However, I feel that he is taking certain passages from the bible and using them to suit his belief system. The Bible can be interpreted a million different ways. It can be used to promote peace or spread hate.

Why would a creator deity make a variety of races and then hate certain of those races? That makes no sense to me. Why would you hate what you have created?

The actions of certain white people in the past created this climate of hate. However, responding with more hate can't be the answer.

Extremism is never the answer.

~Dolly~

The Roma and Prejudice

French citizens protest the refusal of Champlain's mayor to bury a deceased Roma infant

The Roma and Prejudice

The Roma people have always faced controversy and prejudice. Earlier this year, Christian Leclerc, the mayor of Champlain, refused to bury a two month old infant of Roma descent in the Champlain cemetery. His decision prompted a public outcry.

Leclerc cited lack of burial space, stating that "priority is given to those who pay taxes."

The majority of Roma live in makeshift shanty towns with little to no access to public amenities.

In the case of the deceased infant, Richard Trinquier, mayor of Wissous, granted burial for the deceased infant, stating that the decision to do so was "a question of humanity."

~Cie~

Brother Polight Dropping Knowledge

He needs a platform besides the bus. He's saying things that people need to hear.

~Koni~

Dr. Ray Hagins: Racism in the Guise of Religion