Missing You

05/09/19

You know what I miss?  No, not that.  No, not that either.  Well, yes, I do, but that is not we're talking about.  I miss Goth.  The movement, not someone with an unfortunate name (I have just offended someone out there, I just know it).  It wasn't perfect but it had a lot going for it.  It had a huge potential for artistic expression that, sadly, never really came to full fruition.  Sure it had more than its share of pretentious twits but even so, it was still worthwhile.  Okay, in all fairness, there was a disturbing, mind-numbing, soul-crushing amount of pretentious twits, and all of them seemed to masturbate to the sound of their own voices.  Even so, I miss it.  And *insert deity here* deliver me from, and to, the Goth Chicks.

The artistic potential of it was huge and it managed to produced a lot of great material.  A lot of the art, the poetry especially,  had a certain vibe to it.  A lot of it is, unfairly, I feel, written off as the angsty whinings of self involved teens. There was plenty of that, to be sure, but, with a closer look you could see that it was sometimes a good deal more than just that.  For some, the poetry that was most vividly on display was not just on the page.  It continued in the clothes, the music, the make up, the sexuality, and, most importantly, the space it built.

The space of it was what I found most interesting.  It provided a dark space that could be comforting, the comfort of being seen without being seen.  The contrast between that darkness and the brilliant flashes of creative fire was, at times, stunningly beautiful.  It was a vibe that could allow pain to be felt and given vent to without being condemned for it.

Now, maybe I am just romanticizing it.  Maybe this is just the mental paintings of someone who was only able to view it all only from the sidelines, viewing from the outside looking in.  I was, and still am, painfully, cripplingly shy , but the contact I did have and the people I met were part of something special, part of the beginning of what could have been something wonderful.

I am also not one who believes in "the good old days".  There never were any good old days.  There were just days, and they were both good and bad the same as ever and ever.  As I said, it had more than its fair share of the pretentiousness and cliquishness and other bullshit same as any group of more than four humans, but once you scraped through it all, there was a lot that made it worth the effort.  You can find greatness in any age, but this was the one that spoke to me the loudest so far.

One other thing I find interesting is that the ones who, way back when, were so enamored with the death vibe aspect, now look back and say how silly they were now that they are older and, arguably, closer to actual death.  Maybe it is just experience looking back on a former obsession with a laugh.  But maybe, just maybe, that laugh has a twinge of the lost to it.

Also, say what you will, but no one could sack a city quite like the Goths.

Really, Mike? Really?

01/21/19

As most of you know Vice President Mike Pence's wife, Karen, has accepted a job at the Immanuel Christian School in Northern Virginia.  Normally I would applaud that.  Given the woeful state of our education system I would hope that being a teacher would prompt her to become an advocate for that disturbingly undervalued profession.  Yes, I realize that the Immanuel Christian School is a private school but even so, teachers need all the advocates they can get.  Hell, given that our society seems to be determined to reward ignorance, bigotry, pettiness, and selfishness, education itself needs all the advocates it can get!

There is just one little problem.  You know the school that she will be teaching at, yeah, it is just a teensy bit prejudiced.  You know, just like the Marianas Trench is just a teensy bit deep.

This school seems to think that bigotry is a virtue.  Yuppers, a virtue.  Now it was always my understanding the word "virtue" referred to something positive.  Now, I realize that what is regarded a s positive is subjective, but damn!

The school's brand of bigotry?  LGBT students and teachers are banned from the school.  So, if you are a dude who likes weener or a lady who digs who-who (Tech terms, you will be tested later) or one of those lucky people who like both, don't even bother showing up.  You are all terribly naughty people.  Apparently.

The school actually goes farther that that and it bans a great many things that it deems morally wrong.  Including, but not limited to: even having anything to do with anything LBGT related (Put down those Elton John and Liberace CDs and back away slowly!), divisive conduct, premarital sex, living together outside of wedlock (most awkward wrestling move ever!),  polygamy, porn, adultery, premarital sex, violation of the unique roles of male and female (back to the kitchen with you!), etc.

Now this isn't just stuff you can't do on campus,  this is stuff you can't do at all!  Here's an example of how much this school wants to be in control of the lives of the students and faculty, in order to have your child attend the school the parents have to sign an agreement that it calls, the "Essentials of Faith".  Number thirteen on this list states: "I will regularly pray for the needs of the school, my child's teachers, the school administration, and school board."  Nice, huh?  I wonder how they know.  Is it possible to run a wire tap on people's prayers?  Does the NSA know about this?

They want all involved with them to live according to the laws laid down in the bible.  Which version of the bible they don't actually specify.  So, for all of you keeping score, gayness and wanking are a no-no but slavery (with a handy little section on the logistics thereof in Lev 25), genocide (all over the place), and smashing babies against rocks (Psalm 137) are just fine!  Hooray for morality!

So maybe, just maybe, the second lady didn't realize that the school was so... "harsh".  Maybe she thought it was just a regular private school.  Nope, she had taught there for twelve years prior to becoming the second lady.

Some might say, "Hey, she is still a teacher.  Why couldn't she still be an advocate?  Well, she could but it would be a little like David Duke advocating for voting.  Sure, he was an elected official and voting is important (in theory) but the negatives of the person kind of overshadow the message just a tad.

"But, hey," I hear some of you thinking (that's right, I am totally inside your head!), "It's not as if she is an elected official."  Fair enough.  But her husband is and she has his support.  He went so far as to say in an interview regarding the reporting in the media:   “To see major news organizations attacking Christian education is deeply offensive to us,”  Further stating that. “We’ll let the critics roll off our backs,” the vice president continued. “But this criticism of Christian education should stop.” Because, as we all know, expressing differing opinions is downright un-American!

He seems to have a fundamental (most likely willful) misunderstanding of the problem here.  No one is attacking Christian education.  First, I would imagine a great many Christian private schools might not want to be put in the same category as ICS.  Second, the school isn't really the issue.  The issue is that the second lady and the vice president are in vocal support of bigoted and exclusionist practices and that should make anyone nervous.

Now I firmly believe that anyone can worship or not worship anything that they see fit.  No matter how vile something is, it is a person's right to believe it.  The caveat to that would be, "as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else".  I may find your beliefs repugnant but I support your right to believe them.  The problem with this situation is this: Those personal beliefs, in a situation like this have a better than average chance of slinking in to public policy.  Best case scenario, a whole lot of people have their bigotry validated.  Think I am exaggerating?  Go have a look at some of the wacky things Mike has said.  It's probably ok.  I mean, it is not like a belief system has ever been used against anyone who believed differently before.  Right?

Oh, fun fact:

According to the bible (Mathew 05:32 and others) Jesus stated that a person who divorces their spouse and marries someone else is committing adultery, as it the person who marries her. Mike Pence is Karen's second husband.  Hmmm, there was something prohibited by the school, wasn't there?  Something that started with an "A"  Something in a nice scarlet...

 

Ok, in all fairness it really puts the onus on the man but that probably has something to do with the bible, in general, doesn't view women as real people.  Mike on the other hand...

Rant Over...for now.