Au Cochonnet Marin

Vigils, prayers, flowers, candles, speeches, tears… these images of grief show up on our tellies with a dull regularity… and it is a pathetic waste of time. Despite the ongoing gun carnage, nothing of substance is being done to stop this horrendous loss of lives.

Mass shooting in America is endemic, and it will continue until comprehensive laws are passed to restrict the ridiculous availability of firearms. Unfortunately, some politicos are (for very dubious reasons) promoting and allowing the unregulated sale of guns in their states.

Guns are not toys; they are devices specifically designed to kill and they are extremely dangerous. Especially the so-called “assault weapons” (with high-capacity magazines) which should never be sold to anybody but the military.

Before being allowed to purchase a firearm, any individual should provide written proof that he is sound of mind and free of any mental disorder. This is not an outlandish idea. Today, many corporations are routinely asking candidates to take a psychological test before hiring them, and this practice should also apply to any potential gun buyer. You need a license to go fishing, and you should definitely get one to buy a firearm.

Despite the fact that “60% of Americans say gun laws should be tougher” the GOP continues to block any resolution making it more difficult to buy guns.

And why is that? As usual, money is a big factor. Gun sale is a very profitable business that provides a steady income for a multitude of people, including some of our darling Congress representatives.

Lawmakers are not saints, and their integrity is often highly questionable. Being chosen for a position does not mean that the contender is an upstanding citizen. He is often a loudmouth individual backed and financed by an organization that is more interested to promote its causes than seeking public safety.

There are many despicable characters (hello sweet Marjorie) in Congress, and they are an embarrassment to everybody, including their leaders. But as in many other areas, money trumps anything else.

To stop the flow of guns, and the senseless killings, we must pressure balking Congressmen and stigmatize them loudly for their inaction. It would also be a good idea for journalists to investigate who profits from the gun trade and expose them to the public at large. Public shaming works amazingly well to root out and expel stinkers from their lofty positions. It is a very powerful weapon and should be used for the public good whenever necessary.

“Take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.” ~ Elie Wiesel

 Alain

I thought that I possessed a fairly decent vocabulary, but new words are creeping up every day in our speech and I am sometimes at loss to understand their meaning.

Below are some of these newly minted words that  I recently came across.

Crowdfunding: crowdfunding is the use of small amounts of capital from a large number of individuals to finance a new business venture.

Decarceration: release from imprisonment also: the practice or policy of reducing the number of people subject to imprisonment.

Eco-anxiety: persistent worries about the future of Earth

 Fag Hag: a heterosexual woman who seeks out or particularly enjoys the company of gay men.

Froyo: Frozen yogurt

GOAT. Acronym for “Greatest Of All Time.”

Misgendering: to identify the gender of (a person, such as a transsexual or transgender person) incorrectly (as by using an incorrect label or pronoun).

Panpanic: a strong feeling of fear experienced by many people during the covid-19 pandemic, leading to a lack of reasonable thought and action.

Pansexual – emotional attraction towards people regardless of their sex or gender identity.

Rat tamer: a psychologist or psychiatrist, Australian informal

 Regenuary a movement organized in January that encourages people to eat food that is seasonal, local, and produced using regenerative farming techniques.

Sadfishing: a term used to describe a behavioral trend where people make exaggerated claims about their emotional problems to generate sympathy

 Staycation: a vacation spent at home or nearby.

Stretchologist:  someone who helps you improve your posture and become more flexible by showing you how to stretch properly.

Try one of those words with some of your friends or during a job interview. It might impress (or not) some of them…

Alain

 

Big political and religious organizations are usually driven and blinded by ideology. Intransigent ideology!

These organizations all prescribe horse blinkers for their followers. It is to prevent their flock from seeing anything to the rear and the sides. They should only catch sight of the carrot that the puppet master dangles in front of them.

If you are not with us, you are against us, is their motto. A prime example of this phenomenon is the recent demotion of congresswoman Liz Cheney within the GOP. Long a faithful Republican trooper, she had the audacity to break with the pack and vote to impeach Saint Trump. A mortal sin in the eyes of the “Big Lie” supporters. They demanded her head, and the GOP was quick to oblige.

“The big lie (German: große Lüge; often the big lie) is a propaganda technique used for political purposes, defined as “a gross distortion or misrepresentation of the facts, especially when used as a propaganda device by a politician or official body.”

As Goebbels and Hitler said, if you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the truth, or at least it forces citizens to have some doubts about the truth.

“The ultimate end of any ideology is totalitarianism.” Tom Robbins

And this is the hidden and dangerous side of this doctrine. The ultimate goal of these organizations is the total subjugation of their flock. Nazism, communism, Islamism, early Christianism, conservatism, far-right groups, etc. all follow that scenario,

They want to impose their narrow views on all and rule by intimidation and fear. No dissent is authorized, and all are primed to worship their leader, their god. Like Il Duce, the leader cannot be wrong, even when what says feels rather outrageous. But you don’t question the Messiah!

In America (as well as many parts of the world) many individuals many families are blinded by ideology. They do so because they feel comfortable with what they hear, and they are surrounded by think-alike individuals. They are not loners… many people share their ideas…

Another dangerous ideology is the distrust and fear of vaccines. Vaccines have been successfully used for over a hundred years and have helped to cure or prevent scores of terrible diseases. But some people blinded by ideology and accepting outrageous lies, still believe that it does more harm than good.

Ideology does not fare well when compared with common sense, but alas “None so blind as those who will not see.”

When in doubt, forget the damn ideology… just use common sense!

Alain