Wednesday, May 03, 2023

Regular happenings not a surprise

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for April 2, 2023)




Many situations come around on a regular basis. Christmas, summer heat, days of blowing dirt, utility bills, and election seasons with their political schemers all come back time after time like clockwork. Expect them.

I don't understand the people who seem genuinely surprised every time one of these regularly occurring events crops up again. Do they have no long-term memory? These are the people who are scrambling around in a panic when one of these things is happening tomorrow. They are frequently also the people who try to blame someone else for their lack of proper planning.

"How dare you close your store early on Christmas Eve! Now where will I buy everything I put off until the last moment?" It's as if they've rehearsed this chorus.

The weather apparently surprises people constantly, too. Who expects it to get miserably hot in the summer, bone-chillingly cold in the winter, and periodically windy at any point on the calendar here on the high plains? Well, I do and I hope you also do. When you use more utilities to stay comfortable through whatever the weather throws at you, the higher bills shouldn't be a shock. You knew you were using energy.

Politicians and the drama that comes with them are just as predictable as the above. They will keep coming around as long as people put up with it. They will continue to do what politicians have been doing since roving bands of marauders first decided to put down roots and pose as protectors of the populations they had previously raided on an irregular basis: the birth of the career politician.

It is probably a good thing for politicians that most of the public has a short memory. I doubt anyone would still play their rigged political game otherwise.

A newer recurring theme is the opposing side trying to find ways to "get" or prosecute the most recent former president from the other team, whoever it may be.

One potential positive result from this could be discouraging anyone from seeking the presidency. Who would invite this kind of persecution?  If Joe Biden survives his term in office, do you think he and his supporters will act surprised when the ritual they helped perpetuate is used against him?

When something happens regularly, good or bad, and nothing changes to disrupt the pattern, don't be surprised when it keeps happening. Be ready and expect it.
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I couldn't do this without your support.

It's authoritarian to ban drag shows


I have zero interest, or less, in drag shows. That doesn't necessarily mean I'm automatically against them and it certainly doesn't mean I want government to ban them.

I once won $15 (1st prize!) at a karaoke Halloween party (20+ years ago) because my best friend made me up to look like a (6' 3"+) woman. She had a strange compulsion where that was concerned. On the upside, I got more positive female attention that night than just about any time in my life. So, I'm not going to judge such things with a blanket condemnation.

But, I also didn't look like a drunk's interpretation of what he imagined a woman might look like if she were the victim of vandalism by a gang of clowns on LSD. I don't think drag performers look anything like women; more like sex clowns.

Not my thing, but you do what you like. I don't think there's anything wrong with it.

On the other hand, I don't think a responsible parent would take their kids to a drag show-- especially not one where the performers are simulating sex acts with each other and the audience (including the kids in attendance). Maybe you could convince me it has some educational value or something in specific circumstances, but I'm skeptical. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

You might say this just means I don't understand. You'd be right. I don't. There are many things I don't understand that I don't judge. And there are many things I judge internally that I'm not going to throw stones at you for disagreeing with me.

I also don't think a responsible parent would take their kids to the types of "high fashion" shows I've seen clips of. 

I've been to places and events personally where I don't think kids should be, even if I don't think it was wrong for adults to be there. There were sometimes kids in attendance and I never attacked the parents for bringing them.

I'm not sending government after you if you make different choices than I would. Your kids are your kids, they don't belong to me, the collective, or the village, and you can feel free to ignore my opinion and my inner judgment. I just may not think you are responsible. That shouldn't carry any weight at all if you disagree.

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Help me cover the expense of my colon surgery, if you can and if you want to.
Thank you!