More of an exploration of social and personal experience rant-style than anything concrete.. or anything plaster for that matter.
Also if you detest ellipses, this is pretty much your final warning on ANYthing I may choose to write.
Ribbons, all I see are ribbons around me. The kind of ribbons that say, "I'm totally devoted to this cause but not so much that I'd actually want to actively do something to back up pretty pretty words."
Which reminds me of an argument I had with a coworker last week:
"Well I think it's good in times like these to show your support for our men and women who are serving thei-" he says to me before I cut him off.
"Times like what exactly? No seriously... what times are these?! Times of war? Against who? Terror? We're at war with an emotion? And furthermore, putting up a magnet doesn't really support anyone. How about visiting a veterans hospital or sending them some things they need? No, that would be too much like work wouldn't it?!"
Don't get all high and mighty with me you lazy fuckwit, but then what do I know... I'm just an "Angry Young Man" who's "Out of Touch with reality". Why I lamented the late great HST, surely I must be one of those elit- wait a minute... let's stop right there and give you some backstory here tigris and euphrates. See I'm far from elite... hell, I'm two steps away from Tattooing "Prole 4 Life" on my arm if that wouldn't be a sad cliche.
See we've only been here for 2 generations and not from some supposedly elitist western European nation like I dunno.. France.. or Canada... *snicker*. These are the downtrodden Eastern European folks running from Hitler because they didn't know where else to go. Hell, these are the people that helped build the unions by locking arms and blocking entry back when words like "Polish" or "Romanian" or even "Italian" meant "Minority". (Is that enough quotations or are people not yet getting my tone? (What about parentheticals should I stop those too? (And I already nixed the stopping of ellipses... ellipses 4 life, word)))
Hell, my dad is a postal worker (or to paraphrase Bad Religion "A lazy lower-middle class intellectual"), and my mom was a baker for a major industrial bakery for 23 years until they closed the plant down a few years back.
And, surprise among surprises despite my worldview, I'm not in college and don't live on the coasts. So let's stop the labels of "elite" or "fringe" or "blue stater" right there. (Hell, my state swung red.)
You guys are makin' me lose my train of thought here, I was sayin' somethin'... ah, so ribbons... ribbons all around.
This F-15E is hovering by the airport by the highway, and people sloooow to watch. Highways are for driving, not watching, but this is our two-minutes hate. I remember being a younger "young man" and watching the planes with a bit of awe myself, but back then it was a rare occurrance when you caught one in the skies, and metal didn't seem to be magnetized with such a polarity of emotion back then; at least not to me. Hell, now those things are circling there every day, like vultures or eagles depending on your point of view, and the people on the highway still sit; enrapt.
Maybe I can take their cars in the case of enrapture? No no, just teasing; I have no real beef with my religious bretheren as long as they don't take themselves so seriously.
So, if you're still reading, you're thinking.. "why here? What is this about? Is this political? Is this satirical?"
To which I would probably quote Skunk Anansie at you until you hit me in the face.
See somehow we've lost the core here. I used to not be one of you myself... I was a radical dreamy anarcho-libertarian which is more on your side of the fence's than a dittiot mind you, but still not quite in the line for actual real-world results. I think after last years election I was ready to buy a volvo and some birkenstocks if I had to in order to bring about change... luckily the stereotypes aren't true.
But here's the deal folks, and this is what I'm here to blab at you for; we need to recapture these people. My dad is an agnostic, working class gent with massive reasoning skills and an analytical mind. In all respects at this point he should be with us, but somehow in the 90's he got sidetracked by useless issues and saddled by the constant thump thump of jackboots growing around him, urging him to move ever further and further out to the sprawl.
Hell, now when I go to visit it takes a couple hours there and back at this point, so I'm just glad I have a 4-cyl.
My mom's another issue. She's a pretty religiously devoted person, but she still feels much closer to the left than the right at this point, but I'm telling you folks, it wouldn't take much and I try my damnedest to keep her focused on issues that matter instead of the bs ones she takes in from the pulpit she goes to every week. (Again, not to say this is the case in all churches, I thank those who preach what I presume the original intent was for sticking by us) She's conflicted.
So what's the point in the end? She's conflicted... and I'm conflicted as to how to procceed... the only one not conflicted by some twist of reality is my dad who should've been solidly in our camp regardless.
The world's gone twisty turvy my friends and so I guess I'm just saying I'm here... whatever I need to do.
And thanks for having me.
-Q