HOPE PEBBLES

 

There was a time
Seems like ages ago
When things appeared clear
There was hope and a dream
That people of all color
Race religion or orientation
Could live in peace
Maybe I was too naïve
Maybe I was too full of promise
Maybe I was a dreamer
But I believed
Back when I was young
I believed in life
Back when I was young
I believed in peace
Back when I was young
I cared
Tossed pebbles of hope into the sea of confusion
Just to watch the ripples
Ripples of freedom
I believed
Now I look at the man in my mirror
He looks sad
He no longer see’s the ripples
He no longer tosses pebbles
He looks like he gave up
But a closer view
Into his noble eyes
He is merely tired from belief
Massacres will do that
Rivers of blood and no one is building a bridge
But deep down in my heart of hearts I know
That even the smallest ripple
Charged with positive energy
Can make the difference
I didn’t give up
I looked away
My eyes filled with clouds
It took too many life experiences
Too many bad choices
To get where I am now
But I did learn from those ripples
I have maintained one life rule
Never make an enemy out of anyone
Sometimes it’s hard to live by
Sometimes it’s the only way that matters
But I think it makes sense
Without enemies we can truly live
If we live for today
We invest in tomorrow
I never fully understood this before
Never heard the proper words sung
Yet I truly believed in love
Back when I was young
I’m gonna grab me some new pebbles

Switch it up now…..

The new social media landscape full of hype flight and escape is trying to reshape or undrape our opinions through digital tape showing us the way we had better take. A step to the future where children are hugged not numbed out or drugged and people have trust our phones aren’t bugged but I think its too late…. We’re fucked because Atlas has shrugged.
We scream out political views whichever side we choose I hate him he hates you is that true or fake news. What we will lose? I mean how much abuse are we able to absorb? Seems We’re cruising to an apocalyptic bruising like pathetic losers. Constitutional misuse by abusers and willful accusers abusing the snoozers. Become a refuser.
Join the resistance be one of the rebels’ grab a handful of pebbles toss them in the sea until the ripple settles
And hope will be leveled, not disheveled or unsettled but real…
You think cause We’re all dopes if you post a slanted story it’ll dash our hopes down some slippery slopes in the hopes we believe you like you got us on the ropes but before you post another bullshit roast…….
…Look it up on Snopes

Live and Love in Peace

TODAY

 

 

Nine fucking eleven. I wasn’t going to say a word about this Day, too many emotions. The shedding of fear for family and friends in Florida, the memories of my days at Windows On The World and all the hours spent commuting through the WTC. Everyone telling me not to forget without considering for one second it hurt me so deeply I could never forget. Believe me, sometimes I wish I could…

 

Then I started thinking about how we define our lives according to traumatic experiences both societal and personal. I was far too young to understand the implications of the murder of President Kennedy but I clearly remember how the adults were so unilaterally shocked and hurt. In my lifetime it was similar to the day Reagan was shot and for one collective night we were all Republicans, praying or chanting for him to be allright. I was far more conscious about the deaths of Martin King Jr. and Robert Kennedy as my political views were beginning to form. The trials of the Chicago eight, the civil right denial of our brothers and sisters, the emergence of a group of young kids who cared about every culture proudly assumed the name of “Flower Children”. My question tonight is WTF happened to those children? Did half grow up to be angry white racists? Seems like it to me. Many of the kids who locked their arms with mine now question If people of other faiths and cultures are worthy of the standard my one time brothers and sisters felt were open to all. WTF happened to your souls?

The terrorist attack on NYC, Pennsylvania, and Washington DC wasn’t committed by the people but of a religious cult bent on hatred. It was committed by a break out faction of Islam not that far from Joel Osteen and his band of fuck you if you’re not Christian Faction. Sound harsh? Racism is a harsh reality we need to confront. I am relieved that most of my Florida family are safe, I am relieved that the evil religious zealots have been compromised , but TBT, I have many reservations of who my fellow Americans blame to ease their minds, while turning a blind eye to their own racist assumptions.

I had a long history at the WTC. It was a marker for me, a family member, and when they fell I cried for days. I still cry when someone posts the planes flying into the buildings… It hurts me as if I lost a family member. I have so many fucking memories tied into the Twin Towers that every year it hurts a little more, almost as much as losing my daughter. It hurts…… it hurts us all, but today I am a bit more concerned My family are safe, I grieve for all the families, but I am not willing to target a specific group of people because of their beliefs, or Christians would be on my hate list too If you truly believe yourself to be a believer in God, now is the time to prove it . Jesus didn’t argue, he preached love…..Or at least that’s what I was told ……Live and Love in Peace……

 

racism,

We Are Better Than This

better

 

I’m all for protest, I grew up in a generation in which protesting made some significant changes in culture and society. But lets be clear, destruction of property and physical confrontation are not acts of protest, they are acts of vandalism and assault. Not only do they deter and undermine your message, it obliterates it because it makes you no better than those you would protest. Its very tempting and easy to say violence only responds to violence but violence only begets violence. So quit your whining and do something clever, volunteer to help, bug the shit out of your congress people with daily e-mails. Believe me in the coming year we will have more than our share of things to protest but we must remain vigilant, consistent, and most importantly peaceful. The outcome is what it is, if you need to place blame place it on those who either didn’t vote or wasted their vote on a misguided protest by going third party or write in. Don’t let violence define the new generation of revolutionists, don’t allow violent protesters to overshadow your message. If you’re angry get off your sanctimonious high horse and get back in the game the way its played. Peaceful protest, voicing your rights not destroying property or assaulting people. Grow the fuck up and learn how to protest with class and purpose. Trump is gonna make errors and its up to us to hold him to task for his decisions but not before he starts making them. Don’t act like deplorable, act like responsible citizens who have valid points to make. Otherwise your just more of what’s wrong with what you want to change.

You Trump supporters aren’t off the hook either. The only thing worse than a sore loser is a sore winner, waiting with an almost evil anticipation to gloat and rub salt into the wounds. The wound your rubbing salt in is a huge laceration and divide in our country, and by continuing to laud over those with opposite opinions you show a serious lack of character and total disregard of hurting your country. So don’t stand there all smug congratulating yourself on how clever you are by using such incredibly well thought out nicknames as Killery, Libtard, Obummer. Grow the Hell up, name calling went out with “I know you are but what am I” playground days. If you seriously want democrats to get onboard then start acting like adults not bratty children who have finally won after eight plus years of disrespecting the President you don‘t like. Your candidate has run one of the meanest and insulting campaigns in modern history. Picking on an opponents wife, discrediting his father, calling a candidate disqualified because “Who would vote for someone with a face like that, and calling out every other contender while hiding behind a Twitter account with childish name calling. Sad! Pathetic! So wipe that smug false pride off you face because that campaign was nothing to be proud of. If you would rather gloat and chuckle at the losing side then don’t give us this bullshit about just accept it and lets move on because you obviously can’t let go of petty bullshit. Look in your own timelines and see how well you accepted and supported the president you lost to. Its not about the person, its about the office and we should all respect the office of the president. Y’all just better hope that when you wake up after being Trump Drunk, you don’t find yourselves in a country with a major hangover…
My final take, you can’t “drain the swamp” and then fill it with bigger alligators and expect the swamp to be safer. We have enemies, we have cultures of people who would like nothing better than to defeat us in front of the entire world. The number one rule if there are rules at all in military conflict is to divide and conquer. That strategy has been used since strategies of military domination began. We are being divided by ourselves and our enemies are ecstatic. We’re doing their work for them by baiting and insulting each other. So we all have a choice, we can sit back and watch ourselves divide us or we can unite. But we will never unite if we want to play chicken and keep playing I’m right and you’re wrong culture. Neither side has all the answers or a solutions. Its our diversity and our ability to keep open minds that will either make or break us. So go out and protest, stand up for your rights but never lose sight of the power of inclusion and unity and quit trying to kick each others asses. Rant over, you decide…. Live and love in peace… or perish in a narrow minded culture of senseless one up-manship……

I’m Not Politically Correct, I’m A Non Xenophobe

“After almost 400 years we finally ended racism and now I have to be politically correct?”  Wait, what? Ended racism? Are you serious? Racism isn’t dead, it’s not even dormant. Its alive and as ugly and mean as ever. It never went away, it just got covered up with a blanket of ignorance. Well social media has kicked the covers off and now racism stands buck bone naked for everyone to gawk at. No denying it, we can all see it in it’s vile ugly nakedness. But someone is trying to hide it in a thin veil of smoke called political correctness. “I’m not a racist, I’m just tired of having to be politically correct all the time.” Are you saying your tired of concerning yourself with how your words or actions may hurt or offend someone? Dude, you are a fucking racist.

Personally I hope I am always able to remain “politically correct” despite the horrible connotation that politics have anything to do with respecting anyone unlike you. I prefer the term “Non Xenophobic” I hear people saying “PC” has gone too far and its ridiculous, I can’t say anything without offending someone. If that’s true, then just STFU! Because if what you have to say is offensive I, ….we, don’t want to hear it.  Many people are sick and tired of political correctness until it hits home to them personally. Growing up Irish people called us drunken Micks, and if you said that today everyone would see the racism you see in your own reflection .I was taught by my parents that Italians were dirty, Polaks were dumb, Irish were drunks, Jews were cheap, along with an assortment of racist generalizations most of my generation grew up hearing ad-nauseum. So some clever pre-hipster came up with the term “Politically Correct” as a means of rejecting those worn out and untrue notions that anyone can be judged by their ethnicity. It worked fine for the mainstream, but the mainstream didn’t want to recognize the “outer fringe” or the people that can’t possibly fit into the Caucasian category.

It seems that now that we have rid ourselves of our basic European heritage generalizations we think extending it to others is “going overboard”.  What, I should be concerned that I say something offensive to someone Asian, or Native American or God forbid (which apparently transcends the love your fellow man doctrines) gay? Isn’t it bad enough I have to call them “The LGBT Community? No!! It’s not, it’s the right thing to do. Being politically correct, er I mean non-Xenophobic, is the path to peace. Is it really asking too much of others to be mindful of the feelings of a group of people you don’t fully comprehend?  After all it’s us that do the compartmentalizing and set the bar of generalizations about them. They just want a fair shake, to be thought of as human with at least a modicum of dignity.

So the next time I hear you say I am sick and tired of having to be politically correct all the time I will simply walk away, because racist have no considerations in my life. We all carry assumptions with us, it’s a burden. But if trying to unload that burden by being Non Xenophobic is too hard for you to do then I don’t need you darkening my life with your negative values. I will place you in a compartment that I call “Unfriended”. Sorry, being politically correct is a strength, not a weakness, and weakness of mind shines bright in the world of a racist.
Peace……..