Our (communal property) is in another Castle.

Do you suffer from seething anger? Do you think you are owed something?

Misogynist entitlement, sociopathy, disconnection, delusion, arrested development, and pure fantasy collided last week in an angry unleashing of bullet holes and stab wounds. It left six men and women dead. It left grief, and anger, and hatred, and loss. I won't use the killers name. You know him. I won't link to his "manifesto." You can find it yourself.

Now the pundits who get paid to speak come out of the wood work with their agendas and talking points - and so many narratives come out in response. One that keeps being repeated, and repeatedly shot down, is that this just maybe, maybe, might have had something to do with the caustic undercurrent of misogynist tropes and fueled expectations that exist in our culture?

But no! It couldn't be. So we are told by experts on TV and a good many editorial writers. There were men killed as well! This wasn't misogyny! This wasn't even an offshoot of Rape Culture. This act wasn't born from a culture of entitlement and expectation. It wasn't a hate crime

The guy was just ill, an autistic Sociopath! He has a label, end of story. Oh, and he had guns! Guns + mental illness! Oh, he also drove a BMW? Guns + illness + affluenza! Oh, some girl laughed at him once? Guns + illness + affluenze + he was bullied! That's why he did it - and it was mostly due to the guns! Because those objects just picked themselves up, and along with their cousins the knives, went out for a fucking stroll around town.

But it most definitely wasn't due to any misogyny! I mean it's not like he wrote a thick book or made some cringe worthy films explaining it all in his very own words or anything...

Explain it to us in your own words!
Doesn't matter, we still won't fucking get it.

The chorus has it! Generalized ingrained misogyny and sexist culture of entitlement isn't in any way behind this.

I mean, what are you chicks talking about with your hashtag activism and candle light vigils? You're over thinking his actions. There aren't that many societal narratives that embrace violence against, conquering of, and control of women. There isn't some narrative that repeatedly portrays women as objects to be chased after, possessed, and won! And then damns them if they don't give in to the hero.

And anyways, even if there was (and there isn't!) not all men are part of it! We're the good guys! We will show you how good by taking over the narrative of your experiences! So let's now focus on how good some of us are. Because any conversation about your experiences with misogyny and violence great and small or how this man might have been influenced by the acceptance and diminishment of these experiences, needs to focus on us the Good Guys who are totally NOT misogynist and definitely not patronizing and completely missing the fucking point about other people sharing their experiences. It's not about you.

Why so tense sweets? This is how I talk to all my Bros at the office!
Complete with gentle shoulder rubs and heavy breathing.

Look, dear reader, better writers than I have said this often enough. Most men are in fact decent people and by now, in 2014, this can be taken as fucking implicit in most conversations about Mysogynists and Rape culture. Think of it like the assumption that not all people are rasicist when talking about the racist shit that the Racists do! When someone is talking about their encounter with a skin head who threatened to beat them up do you interject yourself in the conversation and say "Yeah, well, I'M NOT RACIST!" 

If you do this you might want to pause for a second here, drink your tea, and then stare out the window. Thoughtfully.

... I think I should be a better Human.

Now, if someone is saying that all whites are racist skinheads or all men are misogynists, then that's different. Feel free to correct their closed minded ass and engage in loud angry conversations that will likely change no ones mind about anything but could make you feel slightly better.

So yes. For the last time. There are good guys and good gals, and good people. They are everywhere. But the point is, they are often the silent majority. Hint: the key to understanding how insidious misogynistic behavior is to society is the "silent" part of "silent majority". In other words speak the fuck up when it happens or hold your piece about being a good guy.

The existence of good people doesn't change the fact that a murderer is now being held up as a martyr by rather disturbed factions of the Red Pill, "friend-zone," and PUA swallowing members of society. He has Facebook fan-boy pages devoted to him. Twitter heads and gamers are extolling his virtues and debating on what he did wrong.

Spoiler, what he did wrong according to some in these groups isn't the whole killing people bit.

What he did wrong was in his choice of weaponry. Or that he shouldn't have killed the guys. Or that he should have targeted a place with more easily accessible women and less security. Or he should have waited till summer was in full swing and targeted ONLY the "slutty girls" wearing next to nothing. Yes, I know that these are the extremes. There are also men who are saying that they know what he went through to lead him to such actions. Who are still complaining about how women never want to fuck them. How they have tried everything to "get" or "win" this or that girl and fuck her friend-zoning ass, she just won't see how "glorious" they are and put out.

Are some of these comments pure anon trolling? Sure. Of course. It's the fucking internet. But  remember that the people he interacted with on boards and in games thought that he was the troll in their midst.

Tough call. Let's see who he kills.

And now there are people - both men and women alike - who are having serious conversations where they say "It's tragic and all, but what if only a women had ...." Those same types of people are also harassing the girl he mentioned in his manifesto. Telling her that IT'S HER FRIGID CUNT FAULT that people are dead.

What the fuck? So essentially you, me, your mother, your daughter, should just have sex with any asshole that wants it in case he should go on a killing spree if he is denied. And it's our fault if he goes mental.

The fact that this girl was 10 years old when the gunman fixated on her since childhood is beside the point. Hell, the fact that putting that sort of blame on another human being for not allowing the use of their body is just sick.

Not creepy at all!

There are men who deem it their God Given Right to get a good fucking whenever and with whoever they want. Men who quite often also deign themselves to be too "good" to pay for that sex if they want it. It's a crown, to be taken, like a king! Not a commodity, to be purchased, like a commoner! I swear, we have such a warped view of sex. 

Equally glorified, vilified, stigmatized, and desired. I can't help but wonder what it's like in some  alternate universe where sex is an act that's simply acted out between adults. It's not put on some pedestal as sacred or dirty. Women and men can sell it or give it away. They can enjoy it or not partake but the core fact is they are free to do with their sex what they want. 

That shouldn't be an alternate universe.

But back to the asshole. His rampage wasn't really about sex now was it? Not sex as in a union of consensual adults. Not sex as in a pleasurable and shared experience. Not sex as in a way to fulfill bodily needs or a desire for intimacy. Maybe it started as such but it became something mutated, delusional, and grotesque.

No. It's NEVER about sex in these cases.

This image is probably NSFW.
And that's what's wrong right fucking there... But i digress.

It's about control and living your life so deep inside your own warped self that you end up believing that the world owes you everything by virtue of you being born. It's about a person, a male person, who thought himself better than every other person around him. 

"Why can't they see how Glorious I am?"

What is the solution? Is it banning guns? How about banning movies or games? Forced institutionalization of the mentally ill? Is it about unleashing the PC thought and action police to monitor our every word and behavior in case we set off some complex algorithm of red flags?

Fucked if I know but maybe, just maybe, the starting point should be realizing that all of us have drank from a kool-aid mix that's destructive and damning. All of us have absorbed the narrative.

Women and men alike. And let me be clear in one thing, misogyny can not exist without misandry. Neither can exist without some deeply warped beliefs about "the other."  Hatred is hatred and fuels hatred. But misogyny is pervasive in our culture to the point of influencing everyone's behaviors and expectations. It's a corrupted view of women's agency. It is Toxic Masculinity personified.

No, I’m not saying most frustrated nerdy guys are rapists or potential rapists. I’m certainly not saying they’re all potential mass murderers. I’m not saying that most lonely men who put women up on pedestals will turn on them with hostility and rage once they get frustrated enough.

But I have known nerdy male stalkers, and, yes, nerdy male rapists. I’ve known situations where I knew something was going on but didn’t say anything—because I didn’t want to stick my neck out, because some vile part of me thought that this kind of thing was “normal,” because, in other words, I was a coward and I had the privilege of ignoring the problem. - Arthur Chu

But the narrative we've created is that the men expect to rescue the princess and get rewarded for their acts of valor, and the women expect to be the rescued princess, to be the reward for prince charming. This simple myth, this Disney trope, this misplaced Hero worship, this Fantasy building block, this bullshit lazy story line is so deeply ingrained in our media, in our activities, in our way of being  and interacting within a sexual dynamic ... That i wonder if it's even possible to move forward from it?

We should ALL be this.

But we aren't plot devices in movies and video games. We are not protagonists. Or heroes. Or even deserving of a happy fucking ending. We are simply individuals living our lives. Each and every single one of us.

Maybe we should start with facing that simple, every day reality in our own actions and assumptions about ourselves and others. 

Neither you, nor I, deserve anything.

 Further Analysis and Commentary:

•  Woman 'devastated' to be named by Santa Barbara shooter Elliot Rodger as motivation for killing spree, dad says 

• Why it's so Hard for Men to Recognize Misogyny

• The Dangerous Discourse of the friend zone

• Nature, Nurture and the Individual

• Lonely outcast, obsessed with status  (this one actually annoys me but is a good run down of the events. Look, he was an outcast yeah. Of his own design. His own making. And he was obsessed with status in order to gain, what he felt, were his just rewards.)

Honesty.

Force? Say what?

Samantha Bee is a correspondent on the Daily Show. She displays a lovely grasp of irony and I enjoy many of her interview segments - despite the occasionally "gotcha," highly edited, out-of-context sound bitteyness of them.

To celebrate the 2012 RNC Samantha moved about the convention hall chatting people up and getting their comments on the platform and specifically on the parties stance on abortion and rape.  On it's own that was interesting enough...

And the then she ran into this badge wearing asshole.

Dude declared all jokey like "I don't think it's ever really forced on anybody."

 She's saying Yes!

It being sex? As in there is no forced sex? As in there is no rape?

This had to be a setup. We don't actually hear her ask a question. Maybe it was about forced pregnancies to term and not forced sex. Right? Maybe it was about no one ever being forced to attend a political rally? Or to eat liver sandwiches.

Or maybe this guy has to be a media lure to embarrass the RNC? He's not really a representative of the people there, right? He's one of those fringe loons that the media loves to track down and interview due to their flashing neon signs of "Talk to me! I'm carayzee!"

...Right?

Maybe.  Could be. It's the media so nothing is ever really certain...

But I watched the clip a few times. It sure looks like the guy, and I would love to find out who he is, doesn't think rape exists. Ok then.

Most of the delegates caught on camera were happy enough to declare that they don't think pregnancy after rape really exits, or that if it does it's still not a reason for exceptions. That is scary enough.

But this guy leap frogs over everyone else and lands so far off base that even Samantha drops her cheeky face and interrupts him, "Don't go there. Just don't go there."

And the guy just laughs.

Can I be any clearer?

And you know what? I'm sure he's "being honest" as they say. What we have here is an honest, vital, participating, politically active young man who is obviously not embarrassed to say such a statement in public or on camera, let alone in private.

Since when is "at least he's honest" the defense of such iffy(!) statements? But really, think about it, WTF kind of defense is that? "At least he's honest?"

Mother of god people. Honesty isn't always "The Good Thing" in these equations. Sometimes we really need to think about what that person is being honest about.

I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. [...]  - Abe

I'm not disparaging honesty as a value or as an action. Honest interaction is vital to a mostly functioning society. Honest hearts and minds keep us on the right track. Honest men and women allow us to see reality. And as we know, they can even show us theirs.

But honesty is called a policy and a tactic for a reason. In the hands of many it's a strategy used and abused as any other.

Burn. Baby. Burn.

 Look, from that above quote, what if ol' Abe's light had in fact been a destructive fire? (Not that it was!) But what if it had been?

Or let's use a term that many at the RNC might appreciate.

What if that light had been "hell fire" itself. A vicious, brutal, deadly, uncontrolled, burning, punishing hell fire out to destroy anything good in it's path.

Can we all agree on needing to take a long hard look at that light and maybe finding the off switch before whatever is generating it burns our damned house down?

Light, like honesty, isn't necessarily good in itself. It's a thing. Light is a fancy and helpful trick of physics. One that, occasionally, prevents us from bumping into shit and breaking our toes. This toe thing is a benefit of the light. It isn't the light itself jumping in between our toe and the nightstand and preventing harm. It just makes it easier to use our senses and avoid harm.

Prevent broken toes! With light!

Animistic beliefs aside, poetic license and disney have made it easy to forget that material things don't actually radiate moral characteristics or emotions. These characteristics are assigned to the things based on our own experiences and the stories told to us as we live. The idea of light as comforting thing is because deep down we instinctively know that it keeps the dangers of the dark night at bay. It's probably deep in our genetic code at this point.

Our hunkering fireside brains still embrace the ancient feeling of reassurance that a circle of light brings us. We associate light with positive aspects of character, with protection, with revelation and clarity - even with spirits and god and faith.

But thanks to our modern day separation we've also forgotten that it can easily be associated with things that have violent, burning, cleansing characteristics.

Light is always generated by something else. It never just Is. Honesty helps expose what generates that light. Yet some people hold the characteristic of being honest above all other values, no matter and sometimes even despite, what that honesty is revealing.

It seems that you can be a high functioning sociopath with no concept of other beings as separate from your own will and mind. And yet still be A-OK.

Because you know, you're being honest about it.

[...] I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong. - Abe.

In that theme I actually feel a little bad for old news Akin now...

Oops.

 He took the "honesty is the best policy" mantra to heart a little too soon and a little too nationally. He's not the one who's supposed to be honest right now and not about "those things." Akin was called out because he's a little too high profile and a little too important. Oh, and it's an inconvenient time what with the presidential election thing.

Yet our anonymous delegate from before I started ranting about light is a nobody. He will likely get an uncommented pass on his unrestrained honesty. He'll likely joke about Samantha's reaction and being on the Daily Show. and his grand adventures at the RNC.

Akin was a sacrificial lamb in the media glare but this guy will do more damage in the shadows. He will likely get agreement and reinforcement in private conversations. The circles he moves in won't begrudge him his extremes because they likely agree with him

Brutal honesty. Get with it kids.

So back to wondering about honesty! I can't help it. I wonder where so much of it is going to lead us.

What happens when honesty, or at least the perception of honesty the impression of honesty, is valued as a thing in of itself? Over facts? Over respect? Over other people's humanity?

And what happens when the valued method of "being honest" means not showing or even experiencing shame, humility, or any empathy at all?

When honest communication means a complete obliviousness to and dismissal of other people? When it glorifies a lack of self awareness that could rival that of a brick?

When the very act of being honest is presented as a shield against criticism or debate and as a talisman  against reality itself?

What are we getting when we couple those types of honesty with rampant emotionalism, media manipulation, soundbites, shrinking attention spans, truthyness, righteousness, vitriol, celebrity culture, patriotism, power, echo chambers, and so much disgruntled anger and suppressed frustration?

And just because I hate to end on that note. Here's a picture of a galaxy:

It's the Sombrero Galaxy. Otherwise known as NGC 4594. It would take ~28 million years traveling at 670'616'629 mph to get there.
Get crackin'.

The power of ...

Language.
The internet.
Comedy.
Voices.
Satire.
Viruses.
Dignity.

Santorum's Surge

Oh. My.

Hope Among the Ruthless.

There's something starkly unpleasant, something just plain wrong, about those who profit from the hopes of the sick and dying. That said there's a begrudged ingenuity at work. A fascinating cleverness on display in the way modern medicine shows weave their magic and navigate the system that's supposed to protect their marks.


Thug muscle, on the other hand, has always been brutish, petty, and humorless. Times do not change.

"I posted the blog so that patients, their friends and families would be aware of the whole story about [Stanislaw] Burzynski and his unproven therapy. I want them to be aware that the treatment seems to be in a constant cycle of trials generating unpublished results. As Dr Howard Ozer, director of the Allegheny Cancer Center in Philadelphia, said – it is scientific nonsense." - Rhys Morgan

Further reading about Stanislaw Burzynski's patent medicine saga:

• Threats against critics who voice legitimate concerns.
• If after decades you have no proven results, circle the wagons, threaten your critics.
• The False Hope of the Burzynski Clinic.
• FDA warns the clinic that even minimal research criteria are not being met (2009)
• Side note: I have strong doubts as to whether the FDA has the best interests of the public at heart and i do suspect that "Big Pharma" has a stronger role in shaping our current society then is admitted. But I do know that science based research criteria, trials, and the ethical treatment of subjects are vital to any "cure."
• Accessible Cancer Research UK write up of the situation.
•  Quackwatch overview.

Well this is a new strategy....

I guess this is what happens when appealing to greed and deep rooted feelings of cultural superiority no longer hook in the fish. Now it's time to appeal to patriotism, greed, and deep rooted feelings of cultural superiority!

From: Sgt Perry Rice sgtperryrice48@yahoo.com.ph

Dear Friend I am in the Engineering military unit here in Ba'qubah in Iraq, we have some amount of funds that we want to move out of the country. we need your help to receive this funds. Please i know you are most suitable for this opportunity.You will be entitled to 30 percent for your help.Waiting for your urgent response via my private email:sgtperryrice48@yahoo.com.ph

Come to think of it the story held within this short spam nugget is not that new. There are many fascinating stories of "soldiers" returning from past wars and fleecing the occasional mark by way of wide eyed tales of gold and riches. Treasure confiscated and hidden from the enemy by our brave heroic lad. Treasure just waiting to be brought back home...

Dear sir, of course I will gladly partake of my windfall! If only you would be so keen as to fund my expedition?

Unknown (Tineye.com is of no help here :(

Healthcare Extrapolation Exercise

As a bit of fun, I tend to fall back on a simplistic and absurd example to illustrate The Nanny state and its need to regulate behavior in order to minimize and manage risks or costs to society. 

NOW!

 The biggest danger in modern society is lack of sleep. Lack of sleep (eg. exhaustion) has proven to be a leading cause of household accidents, car crashes, and work related mistakes or injuries. Lack of sleep causes immeasurable economic and personal losses - therefor the most logical solution is to regulate sleep.

Federal and state laws and regulations need to be put into place. The beds of chronic Wake  Abusers need to be monitored with cheap and easy sensors. Random check stops need to be implemented during major sleepy-driving hours such as Monday mornings. Sleep incentives need to be put into place by employers and federal and state governments. Sleep-Easy Zones need to be created and noise pollution regulated stringently. Random 'Wakefulness-Tests' need to be implemented on all employees and students. "Just say Yes!' campaigns should be embraced, teaching our younger generation the benefits of sleep and the dangers of Wake Abuse. Those not meeting their sleep quotas need to be put into voluntary treatment at sleep clinics or face harsh punishment. Those refusing every effort at treatment should be put on a controlled sedation regiment. Because lack of sleep is so measurably dangerous not doing any of the above suggestions would be a crime against our society and children. Do you want sleep deprived school bus drivers driving your children or groggy doctors treating your cancer? Do you wish to see exhausted delivery truck drivers roaming our roads, or flummoxed fork lift operators ferrying flammable or explosive items around?

Ok. I hope no policy makers will take me seriously. That would suck. But frankly, we're already allowing many of these things to happen with other  identified "dangers to society". While that topic could fill a number of posts this one is about healthcare. 

Sinner

So what does behavior regulation have to do with healthcare? 

To save costs and to streamline function; private, public, or mixed health-care systems will inevitably move down the road of punishing risky and irresponsible behavior. This is behavior that they will decide on. And these decisions will not be based on personal freedoms but will be based on bottom lines. The fact is, we the public are already calling for such behavior regulation and modification. We want to save costs. We clamor to see others punished so that we can save a few dollars.

The question then becomes:

"What is risky and irresponsible behavior?"

You can bet the farm that these are going to be at along the moral and lifestyle lines of sexual activity (multiple partners, experimentation), gluttony (fats, sugars etc), reward and consumption behavior (smoking, drinking, eating), physical activities (bungee jumping, sitting, driving) etc.

The examples given by the advocates of behavior regulation are too easy, too simple minded to argue agains. Proponents say they are in fact 'obvious.' Behaviors like drinking and driving, driving without a seat belt, sex without condoms, riding a motorcycle without a helmet, eating fries and milkshakes for every meal every day. These examples play on the obvious - and the subtle message is that anyone engaging in these behaviors is stupid so they should be punished somehow. For the betterment of society. Why would anyone defend stupid choices? Our intentions are to help people lead better, healthier lives!

What's that they say about good intentions?

Good Intentions

 Of course, it's not the intentions we should really be worried about. It's the deeds that can truly mess shit up.

A few years ago I chose to help out at a student run art gallery. While setting up some temporary walls a dropped 2x4 fell about 8 feet and landed on my shoulder. Today I still have occasional flares of pain. Can you tell me, was I engaged in risky behavior? I'm not a trained carpenter. Could my health-care refuse to cover the pain treatment because of my  choice? Can they penalize me with higher premiums? Can the government? Should they? I had a hard hat on, gloves and even eye protection but like hell was I going to done football padding . There's realistic risk mitigation and then there is paranoia and utter impracticality. Sometimes shit just happens. And lots of shit happens if you choose to be involved in life on a daily basis.

On average we humans are quite good at weighing short term risk - in contrast to what the Darwin Awards reveal. It's just that we do not use the same criteria of a piece of insurance software that calculates the bottom line. Our priorities are vastly different from those in charge of figuring out what our health is worth.

What's my point? With the way things are going, it doesn't matter what kind of system we have. Completely free market  or completely government run. The people who will be paying the lowest premiums and receiving the cheapest/easiest to access care will be the ones that do nothing, have never done anything and never plan on doing anything because every activity has risk. Government, corporate, or a mix will definitely be grading to that risk. They already do. Call me Paranoid McParanoia but I can't help wonder - at some point will we be permitted to do certain activities only if we can cover the premiums for the risk? There's plenty futurecasting speculation and theories written about the shape and structure of that type of society. It's an ultimate melding of capitalistic personal responsibility and freedom of choice. Whatever system this nation and most other nations will gravitate towards will rely heavily on risk assessment. It’s unstoppable and is already here. 

Scales

 Who really wants to spend most of their life weighing every action against a potential hike in their health premiums? If I agree to help at my kid’s summer camp will my insurance go up because I’ve exposed myself to the risk of West Nile or Lime Disease? 

I'm a journalist, do I cover this tense political protest? What if my health insurance sees me here and hikes my rate up because I exposed myself to a potentially violent situation and chemical irritants? 

If I purchase Sushi on my credit card, will i be penalized due to the risk of parasites or heavy metals? Yes these examples are silly but do they not seem likely to happen in the near future?

The health care debate is not just about who foots the bill for what. In fact, it can not only be about who pays and how much. It needs to be about how we as human beings allow ourselves to be monitored, classified, and graded. It’s about how we wish to live our lives and you can bet every second will be counted by someone out there...

NSFW

Why do we pray?

Why do I pray when I don't believe in a God?  

Is it because I have been conditioned to pray?

Is it because I hope?

Is it because it's the outlet to speak with my Self? 

Is it the only way in which I can touch the I of our Being?