Will Smith Smite the Rock

 Will Smith walked on a live television show and slapped Chris Rock in the face. Chris Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's bald head. The next thing was Chris Rock told the crowd that Smith smacked him and then Will Smith swears at Rock to keep his wife's name out of his mouth. 

Lot of discussion going on about the integrity of Smith to protect his wife. Smith won an Oscar award later on and with his speech talked about having to protect family from all the attacks they are getting. No word from Chris Rock on what his thoughts were on being slapped for a relatively lame or tame joke. 

I don't condemn Smith for slapping Chris Rock. Heck sometimes a slap has to happen. I do commend Rock for keeping a cool demeanor. If you want to see cool in action, just watch Rock after being assaulted, humiliated on international live television. I do condemn Smith for trying to rationalize his actions when he was presented an Oscar. How he tried to tie it to the protective role he played in the movie about the tennis stars, the Williams sisters. How he tried to play victim and portray Rock as the villain. That was quite disgusting. 

Smith demonstrated a person not willing to accept responsibility. The world saw it. He walked a number of steps and struck a man who's career is made up of making jokes about people. Smith then walked back to his seat and all the while, he did in a swagger. He sat down and started swearing with real anger in his voice at Rock. There is no video of his wife's face when all this is going on, so we don't know if she is condoning his reaction or not. 

The thing I wonder is (to quote John Prine), do we talk about it or not talk about it? I mean Jada has made it public about her hair loss. So now is the thing, does Jada want her situation to be quiet and ignored of does she embrace it and be treated normally? It might be bad taste and even disgusting to make jokes about something which someone is experiencing, but what should the reaction be to the joke? It seems weird that Jada can bring attention to her situation but expect no reaction, no talk about it?  So do we pretend it doesn't exist, the hair loss? Do we dance around the subject or do we be open about it, speak of it and perhaps even joke about it? 

As for Chris Rock, I don't know whether or not he knew about the hair loss thing or he has it out for the Smiths. In the past he has had them on his radar and poke fun at them. So maybe there is something more going on between the Smiths and the Rocks? 

I tell you about Neechies, the slap is going to happen. You tease too much or at the wrong time a slap is expected. At the same time jokes are going to happen. People are made fun for their "situations, their issues" all the time. Like this friend of ours in the community was crippled in a car accident. He lost the use of his legs and was wheelchair bound. He still went on to host people and to party at his home. His friends would say "are you going to go over to cripple creek tonight?" For the fact the crippled friend would sometimes have his piss-bag leak all over the floor when he was drinking. 

Send In The White Looking Indians First

Me & Suz as youngsters

For all of my life I have resented the fact I look like a white man. It is my Jesus-viciously-nailed-to-the-cross to bear. Not saying being called white man by your relatives is close to being nailed through the hands on a big wooden cross, but it still hurts that is for sure. Not bleeding to death painful but hurt my feelings really bad, hurtful. Hurt like when you get a paper cut in between your fingers, that kind of pain. I am aware of my looks and how it reflects my attitudes and my actions in life. I wore my face like a curse. I didn't see myself as a white guy. So when I was accused or tagged as a white guy, it was belittling to me and shameful to me not being mistaken for Jay Silverheels or George Armstrong. I mean, if you look at Jay or George there is no mistaking them for being Indian (Indians of North America, those kind of Indians, you know woowoo woowoo Indians). They fit the image associated as the Indian. 

Society is still stuck on the image of the wild noble savage as the prime Indian. The perfect specimen of Indian should only look one way.  Beautiful bronze toned skin, a greasy head of long hair in braids, a feather on our head and the bare chest. For Indian Women it is the beautiful brown maiden with buckskin on her fine frame of a body. Over time the feather and buckskin is not really the identifier white people look for, they still look for the Indian look: brown face, black hair, sharp boned face (little do they know many Indians have round faces now. We say they are round and brown). The reason for this is white folk want to know who they are dealing with. You see, the white person needs to know they are superior to all others. In this way white folk can treat Indians accordingly, at the lower tier. Standing is a real concept in society and it can be a sweet limo ride for some while it can be a barefoot walk on gravel roads for others. With the lower tier, there is the absence of privilege or benefit of doubt; your word, you standing is not worth as much as the white folk. This standing is used against you, the Indian (also the Black, the Person of Colour) in all types of settings. 

Me & Earl Youngsters

I was renting a trailer from Moxley Rentals in Osborne Village in Winnipeg. Osborne Village is an eclectic community in the City of Winnipeg. lot of hipsters, travelers, youngsters, and some environmentalists.  I was with my friend Earl when we went to the little business shop.  Now Earl is not me, he is one dark Indian. So I went into the rental place to rent the trailer. The older white guy greeted me in a friendly manner. Earl entered behind me and I could see the old white man change at the moment. His friendly looking face dropped and his body stiffened. I noticed right away. Earl didn't seem to take notice as he was just looking around the shop. Lot of tools, machines, vacuums and things to rent. The old man went to do the paper work and I turned to Earl and said "that old man is racist." Speaking of my friend Earl, he got very sick within the last two years. I really thought he was not going to last days, never mind weeks or the last two years. Anyways, he was in and out of the hospital for long periods of time. He would leave the hospital go back to the Reserve and get sick again. One of the nights he got sick, his brother Buddy drove him in the City to the hospital emergency. Buddy phoned me to let me know he was at emergency with Earl. So I went to see them. There were no visitors allowed because of the COVID restrictions. Buddy had been sitting in his truck out in the parking lot for a couple of hours. When I got there, I went sit with him and asked him questions. He couldn't answer because he couldn't get anyone to talk to him at the hospital. So I decided to go and see what was going on, because no use letting Buddy sit out in the parking lot while it was winter in Winnipeg. I went in and talked to security. Security went and got the Nurse. I asked them why they weren't letting Buddy know what was going on, should he just wait or got back home, is what I asked. The nurse said they were going to keep Earl and for Buddy to go home. Now why they couldn't tell Buddy that is of course weird. So I went and let Buddy know. We laughed about sending in the white guy (me) to get answers. Buddy says "I knew to send in the white guy." I said maybe it was because it was an "old white guy" too. 

I never liked to admit I have privilege. Because admitting that would mean I am somehow the lesser Indian and no one likes to be lesser. But I know it is an advantage, not only for me, but for other Indians because we can use that privilege to fight those who hold the privilege to begin with, you dig? I am not going to let white society determine who I am, heck with that noise. So I wear privilege as an armor for my relatives, my family. It doesn't make me less or more. I am my community, my family, my people. So I say to you fuck it, send in the white looking Indian first.     

Suz & Me being oldsters 

In battle they get shot first anyways (but they can also get a good table at the restaurant or a decent room at the hotel). 

They Look Like Us

When you identify with folks it's a good thing. You feel for them. You empathize and you sympathize with them. You can walk in their shoes. This is the driving force of support for things that happen in the world. If we can see ourselves in their shoes we can feel for them and with those feelings we may act upon them. Like donating to a cause, or traveling to a capital city and camping out for a month (because you don't want to wear a mask). I remember when a hockey players team bus was smashed to bits by a semi-trailer. The deaths of so many young men caused the world to react. A fund raising effort for those 16 souls killed in the accident raised 10.5 million dollars, a record amount in Canada. There are so many Go-Fund me causes taking place the world over but this specific cause touched people in their hearts and more importantly in their wallets and purses.  It really resonated in the hearts of people. People grieved collectively for the young men. People the world over could identify; "they look like us." 

Russia, under the orders of Vladimir Putin is using his military to invade the Ukraine. The news is constant with hourly updates of what is taking place. The United Nations is having emergency meetings, while Nations are imposing "economic sanctions" on Russia; Banks are locking down access to their systems, air-space is being denied around Russia, pipeline agreements are being cancelled, and personal assets of the rich Russians are being frozen. Lot of action behind the war scenes are taking place. Even the neutral, "we not see nothing" Switzerland has taken the step to keep Russian money for now. Some of the rich Russian's are starting to worry. They are worrying for their cash so much they have spoken out publicly against the war. One is even pleading in the press for Putin to reconsider his war. Yes, they have spoken out publicly against Putin, now that is something. They are so afraid of losing their деньги - bank roll, they will risk Novichok nerve agent poisoning; Putin's favorite method of getting rid of his pesky critics. The non-military attack by much of the "modern world" on Putin has been swift.  People are sending money, cryptocurrency to the Ukraine. In a few days 23 million had been raised. Individuals from other countries with no links to the Ukraine have volunteered to join military action. A young Canadian man left his wife and three children for the chance to fight for the Ukraine. When asked why, he said "they are Human Beings." There are calls for prayers flooding social media. If you can't fight well at least you could pray. Of course it is, after-all the people of Ukraine, "they look like us." 

While the world, the "modern world" is stressed out, panicking, suffering over the Ukraine invasion by Russia, there are some people who are not part of their empathy, their sympathy . European countries have a base of European people as their main population. There has been immigration by non-European (Black and Brown) countries into these European countries. The immigration has not been well received and is unwanted. Now there is an immigration movement erupting from the Ukraine. Poland is a border country of the Ukraine and Poland is going to open its country doors to those Ukrainians fleeing the war. The door is open but not to the African looking Ukrainians. Which is pretty sad and ugly, when they, the African Ukrainians are fleeing war. Poland border guards are aiming weapons and keeping the African Ukrainians from moving anywhere. The White Ukrainians are receiving preferential treatment from Poland security border guards because "they look like us." 

Prior to the Russian attack on the Ukraine, the Canadian (and some US) news stations were filled with stories of people shouting "they will never take our freedom." People are tired of the COVID virus and all the mask wearing. Groups of people were tired of restrictions.  A convoy of disgruntled truckers staked out city centers to hold their protests. I had visions of Mel Gibson wearing his blue paint, riding on his high horse making the glorious rousing speech being reported on by the CBC news channel and carried onto CNN and Fox News. Instead what I saw was a dirty looking bearded unkempt hippy looking Duck Dynasty Phil Robertson type talking about not wanting to wear a mask as he goes to bingo or something along those lines. They too, the trucker spokespeople, raised a whole bunch of cash in a short period of time. People identified with the "freedom fighters."  It strikes me as peculiar about those freedom fighter (as they are labeled in the news) is their appearance; they all look the same. 

 The men for instance, look like they just came from a NASCAR truck tail gate party lasting for two weeks. Or from a hunting trip where they got lost for a month and finally found their way out of the wilds. The women seem to be carrying the same clothing style; baseball cap, fur cap, camouflage three quarter length military style coat, sneakers or black boots and a very crazed looking sneer.  They sound the same, a high pitched roar of a wild swine caught in a leg-hold trap.  The only thing missing from the female freedom fighter is the beard (we know they don't have beards because they won't wear masks). The freedom fighters went to the Capital of Canada and set up noise camping to cry freedom.  They blasted loud ear shattering horns all hours of the day and night. This didn't play out very well for all those living near the area. If they supported the freedom fighters to start with, it didn't take long before the noise erased the support. The freedom fighters also shut down the money route between Canada and the United States. The President of the US had to call the Canadian Prime Minister to say "Hey Dude, what the fuck?" In Canada the freedom fighters were attacked with hugs, back slaps, selfies, food delivery, fuel delivery by the police forces. These freedom fighters had so much police support the Prime Minister of Canada had to declare an emergency because his police weren't tasing anyone, using their batons, pulling out the military assault guns or heaven forbid, arresting anyone. The lack of police action could only be explained with "they look like us." 

You know it is quite something to know the level support you will receive is directly related to how people identify with you. Just today I viewed a video of a Palestinian girl, and judging by her size, was no more than eight years old, but yet she was injured by a police force, a military police force. I wonder what crime could such a small child commit to receive such a reaction? Saw another video of a similar girl, 12 years old, being beaten by military police. Four grown men in full tactical gear holding her and punching her for an unknown crime. A daily routine (if being beaten, shot at can ever be routine) in their country. The condemnation is nowhere to be heard from the "modern world" over the beatings, the removal from their homes, and the killing of people in this country. The situation is of course is very  complicated (as situations tend to be) but a bit of the silence can be attributed to those who don't look like them and the others; "they look like us." 

There is a scene pictured in my head: a snowy hill across a river and on the hill are armored vehicles, scores of people dressed in battle fatigues, armed with assault rifles. On the other side of the river are numerous Indigenous Tipis, Women, Men, Elders, some on horse back and many just standing, facing the armor vehicles, the military dressed people, and dogs. I see Men and Women in the river standing by the shore line of the hill, while Military style police forces, private security personnel spraying tear gas, pepper gas and shooting rubber bullets at them as they stand in the water. I seen them, the Native Women, Men, Elders and some non-Indian supporters being shot at with cannisters of tear gas. I see them, the Indigenous folk standing there to stop the destruction of the Earth and waterways. I don't see anyone in the modern world standing up to halt the military, the private security forces, the police force. I don't see them, the modern world folks using their voice against the violence by the military forces. I don't see the modern world folk denouncing the sheriff who is indiscriminately jailing folks. I don't seen the modern world folk using their voice to send financial aid to the people putting their lives on hold to save the water ways. I don't see them the modern world folk. I see those in the police, the military and private security with their dogs. I see them, looking at the Indians and saying "they don't look like us." 

Redhawk/Standing Rock Rising

“Apparently my photo below has gone viral. So happy to see the civil and human rights violations of indigenous and the threat to mother nature reaching far and wide,” Redhawk wrote. “…WE ARE RISING.”

Credit: Jason Patinkin, Reuters

Cassi Alexandra for NPR

What Have Learned This Past Year About Gluttony?

 Holy all that is holy, we have rich white men flying into the heavens on their steel seagulls. Billionaires, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, Elon Musk have all spent incredible amounts of cash to get them a ride into the Earth's Atmosphere. The funny weirdness of it all is that the space trips are being celebrated. People are cheering the joy rides as the greatest thing since Ex-U.S. President Donald Trump's rise to the thrown. The absurdity of the joy rides seems to be lost on us mere pooget beings (pooget is Ojibwe for farts, implying we are nothing but a fart to those rich arseholes). The rich are enjoying life without regard for their offspring. I guess those rich folk are going to see who has the most toys in the cemetery when they die, not wanting to leave anything for anyone when they die. Unless they know something the rest of the humanity doesn't know? Like can money really buy immortality? In any case the world's human population is really messed up in their priorities, because they support the way things are.  Tornadoes, communities being burned to the ground, floods taking out major access roads, old growth forests being plundered to extinction, rich white woman with plastic arse-cheeks getting divorced, religious armies taking over countries and we get to watch it play out daily. We can even get to hear about when rich white women start their cycles. We still see the same politicians sucking-off the rich, and go speak publicly with cum still on their lips. We hear people say things have to change and will change after the pandemic is over. The politician comes out of the washroom still reeking of being bum-rammed and say we need to foster a business friendly atmosphere; "it's for the jobs, for the investment." Meanwhile these same rich folk are stashing their cash in the hopes to hide it. So much for creating jobs. It is the same old con game going on forever, "our rich need to be kept rich and private interests are our interests." 

We are living in times when the rich are becoming more and more obese with their gluttony over cash amassing.  The person who made the most sense about this situation is a despot, a control-at-all-costs individual. Xi Jinping has said "mutual prosperity"; "in a context of rising global inequality, China's common prosperity proposes a vision towards a more inclusive and equitable economic and social system."  This is a lofty idea, but one where the whole world should embrace. But why is it not a common thought? A friend of mine said, there should be a global law where you are only allowed to amass a fortune of 500 million. After this amount the rest is used for public service and goods. I think along the same way, limit the gluttony.  What is the end goal of accumulation? To have the most and then what? 

With the colonial expansion of Britain, their goal was accumulation. I read where colonizers where confused with the distribution of wealth, with goods by the Native populations. The "Indians" these white folk encountered didn't seem to understand the "Victorian" notion of acquisition. The Indians were always giving away their stuff. Those heathen Indians practiced serving for the public good. Serving the public good is so un-governmental. Governments are no longer pretending the role of serving the public good. Nope the pretending has been tossed, because it is out in the open, get the most for ourselves. The government is the proverbial "prison bitch" of the rich; the means to becoming more and more obese; feeding the gluttony of the rich. It is obscene and the stench is stronger than a full outdoor toilet in the Las Vegas heat. Government reeks of the most active sewers in Texas; burning the nostrils and watering the eyes shut tight. They are the butlers, the serving staff of the rich, that has what a government official has become. They will do everything and anything to keep the rich eating and feeding because they, the public servant will get to eat on the floor of the rich and they, the government officials, can eat the crumbs. Laws and policies governments create are ultimately for the benefit to the system, the rich getting richer. It is unlikely to change. We can write on their walls with shit all we want, there is no incentive for change. 

The answer to what we have learned is lost on the rich, the governments of the world and of course many human beings currently on Earth. It is really disheartening to think about our future, seven generations. Heck it's disheartening to even think about the next five years never mind about a generation from now. To think there was a time when white people, oops, I mean to say, Christians actually sold gluttony and greed as sin. Gluttony, and greed are not seen as a bad thing today. Being a gluttonous mass of putrid flesh is celebrated. We adore the rich, the greed, the selfish, the brazen, the vain, the unapologetically evil. 

Me this is what I learned this past year: 

Indigenous Peoples Keystone For Earth

 There are always "goings-on" happening in Indian country: Provincial Government of British Columbia sent RCMP to remove people from their land of Wet'suwet'en territory. RCMP went into a blockade against Coastal GasLink project to remove Hereditary Chiefs and supporters. The RCMP were heavily armed and in a fear mongering frenzy. Mi'kmaq people are being attacked over the fishing of lobster by commercial fishing industry.  Mi"kmaq are fishing as is their inherent Right and White Fishers don't like it. The white fisher folk don't like it so much they have been burning the boats and buildings of the Mi"kmaq. The Premier of Manitoba is trying to rally the racists against First Nations with COVID vaccine scare, basically saying there will be no vaccine because Indian's get it before them. Canada's minority Liberal government is wanting to make a law passing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). As we all know the devil is in the details. The City of Iqaluit in Nunavut has contaminated drinking water. Something many First Nations communities have been dealing with for years and years. It has been found out a racist RCMP officer was an influential Intelligence analyst. RCMP cop Tim O'Neil developed reports on Indigenous activity, issues for the Top Officials (The Brass) of the RCMP. It was O'Neil who used descriptions on Indigenous protesters who were trying to keep water clean as "violent Aboriginal extremists." O'Neil was administrator of a Facebook page which incited hatred towards Indigenous people and minority's. The page was an RCMP member page. O'Neil worked with CSIS and other police services. The amount of issues going on around and to Indigenous people are too numerous to really comprehend. The Indians are consistently and persistently linked to the Land; protecting, using, and living. Which each issue, the "powers to be" move to pry the Indians away from the Land, by either force, propaganda, and or public pressure. When these things fail, the government uses money to try pacify the Indian. The money thing is a tool they use to pacify a situation. The first attempt is of course is not to use money but to discredit the Indians. The government use of force is not new, nor is their tried and true method of divide and conquer. Governments are doing this in Lands of Indigenous people the world over. 

In Canada the thing about the federal government, the provincial governments is the fact their faces are stuck to the arsehole of big corporation. Corporation makes jobs and the government takes credit for those jobs. Fact is the jobs, the money corporations make are off the lands which are not theirs; the Land is Indigenous  peoples' land. So this is the trade off, government pays a little money to the First Nations to pacify them so long as the system keeps running. Corporations eat and eat, get fat, shit and then pass crumbs to the masses who lick up the groins of the corporations. Government is seen as smart benevolent because they let the corporation ram their butts so people can have jobs. Meanwhile the masses see the First Nations as wood-ticks stuck on their cash cows. Every once in a while the masses and the government put on a show for the masses. They cull a few of those pesky vermin wood-ticks. The wood-tick, Dermacentor variabilis is scary because they can make you sick. The wood-tick is of no use to their host. So it's best to get rid of them. While Canada (and the US, New Zealand, Australia) have been trying their best to eradicate the wood-tick through killing, assimilation. The best way to get rid of the wood-tick would be to kill them right away when you find them. A tweezers is a good tool but chemicals are fine as well. Trouble is there were lots of ticks and they were not that easy to get rid of. One of the best ways to get rid of ticks is to destroy their natural habitat, and oh yes, call and exterminator. The efforts to kill off the wood-tick has not been totally successful. There are some ticks that have become ill from all the efforts.  Some even will try to get rid of other wood-ticks for the sake of the host. Still the wood-tick is not letting go. They are part of the land, while the new hosts are an invasive species.  

The problem with this story is that it's all wrong. You see Indigenous people are not the wood-tick. They are in fact the Land. They are the Beaver in the water. They are the Raven in the sky. They are the Salmon swimming up stream. They are the Deer grazing along the forest edges. They are even the Turtle sunning it up on a rock sticking out of the creek. They are all of those things and more. While the Indigenous peoples the world over live with the land, the real vermin is the people, the many entities that feast off the land with no regard for how much is left. They are ravenous, they have an appetite of a worm. They are the colonial fold. The government, the corporation, the ultra rich capitalist. 

The King: "What is the secret of the grail? Who does it serve? Have you found the secret that I have lost?"  Percival: "Yes you and the land are one." This exchange in the movie Excalibur highlights the relationship between the Leader and the Earth. In this story the King is ill and so the Land is sick.  In the real world, Indigenous members are the land. They are consistently fighting for the protection of the land, because protecting the land is protecting people. Why the corporation, the main stream population doesn't see this is sad. If the Indigenous peoples are doing well, the land does well. If the land does well the world's population does well. Indigenous people are Keystone; Keystone in the ecosystems the world over. 

Keystone Species are vital to the health of an ecosystem. Like the Wolf is a key animal in the protection of the habitat and ultimately human beings. Wolves eat the grassing animals which can kill off vegetation. In Yellowstone National Park the Wolf introduction helped develop vast ecosystem of growth. So ensuring the Keystone populations are healthy leads to a healthier world. 

Indigenous people are being killed off for being Keystone to the planet. "In the Amazon one Indigenous Rights Defender is killed every second day." Why is it no one recognizes the Keystone Indigenous people are vital to the health of the Earth? With the corporations talking climate crisis, solutions, the Indigenous Keystone is ignored. The Amazon is being killed and no coincidence Indigenous people are also dying. 

We need the world to see us as we are, we are the Starfish.  

Your Stomach Churning? You Are Emotionally Invested That's Why.

Young white man takes an assault rifle to a protest, murders two people and wounds another. He is arrested, charged and gets out of bail. Celebrates publicly, goes to court and is found not guilty of any crime. Oh well, that's fine. A young white girl joins a protest to fight a pipeline which could destroy water ways, she is shot with a "projectile" by police and almost loses an arm. Oh well that's fine. People are working at jobs which barely cover daily living and yet some rich guys are building rockets to go for a five minute ride into space. Oh well it's fine. 

Feeling the anger? Feeling hopeless? Feeling sad? Feeling the rage? Well you are not alone. The football team you cheer for just lost (again) and it is upsetting. Your favorite 3-year old horse at the Kentucky Derby has not won the Triple Crown. You want them to put it down, that's how much money you lost, I mean that's how much the horse meant to you. You can't see them as a loser. The star of your life is WWE Sasha Banks and she just won the champion belt. You are beyond happy. Your joy is so high you jump up and down. You jump on to your coffee table and jump again, your head hits the rotating ceiling fan and cuts off an ear. After you wake up in the Ambulance your happy again (and it's not just the morphine). 

You are emotionally invested. When things go bad, or wrong with your investment you have negative feelings, negative reactions. When things go good with your investment you feel good as well. How invested we are of course may affect our reactions to how the investment went. Like me for instance, I am like the next person and I cheer for my favorite thing, person, sport, puppy in the Bud Super Bowl tv commercials and what have you. With the various items if things go the way I want (or not) the reactions will vary. It all depends on how emotionally invested I am. Like with entertainment it is not a situation where I will smash the television if my team loses. Nor will I run outside in the cold winter weather and strip off my clothes in a dance of joy. I see there are folks, people who live and die by their emotional investment with a team, an event, an entertainer or even a place. You see them literally wearing their emotional investments on their sleeves; team sportswear. There are people who like a team they wear foam Cheese on their heads, now that is emotionally invested. We sure love to share our "likes" and show how much we love those likes with a big thumbs up. 

There are many things we emotional invest in: our families, our friends, our community, our history, our jobs, our hobbies, our goods like our cars. I mean who doesn't like a nice car? Heck some folks name their cars? I understand naming your private "goods" (your penis, your vagina) but naming your car Bertha? We emotional invest in our lives whether things are good or bad. The boyfriend who punches you, picks you up and throws you against a tv and then again picks you up and throws on your baby's chair. The boss in our job we are emotionally invested in is a predator, a cobra, a slithery snake and just cruel. But we love our boyfriends, our jobs, even our bosses so we endure the pain. Emotionally investment has rewards and it comes with punishment as well. When we emotionally invest we are vulnerable. Vulnerable to having our hearts ripped out and squashed up into a ball of mush. 

Speaking of mush, governments, business and non-governmental organizations came together to discuss the climate change (crisis is actually what it is). The outcome of the gathering (COP global response to the threat of climate change) was a disappointment for many. There is a feeling, a collective feeling of hopelessness out there in the world. There is so much strife we don't know where to begin trying to make sense of the world. We love the Earth and people or at least we should, shouldn't we? The Earth is nothing short of a miracle that gives us everything. But do we care? Many of us have a very strong emotional attachment, an incredible emotional investment in the Earth. We wear it on our sleeves. There are so many souls who have emotionally invested with the well being of the Earth. People will try hard to show their love of the Earth: from spiking trees so loggers can't cut down old growth forests, to chaining themselves to trees and even going on hunger strikes to bring attention to the damage being done to the Earth. Most of those efforts are met with attacks. Business along with government support, resources and weapons will combat those individuals who emotional invest in saving their community, saving the Earth. It is still incredibly stupid how business and governments behave when it comes to resource extraction. The "Earth is shaking like a dog trying to shed its fleas" and still people ignore the signs. The Earth is burning and still there are people wanting to add fuel to the fire. This is why people are fucking upset, feeling hopeless, feeling angry, feeling rage. 

Why the business, the governments are not emotionally invested in the Earth, their families, their communities is weird. It is like they have a greater emotional attachment to money than anything else. Isn't that pencil chewing crazy, bat licking crazy, eating out of a toilet bowl crazy? My friend was telling me about this very rich white man who died a couple of weeks ago. He said "You know what? He must be the richest one among those other corpses." Yeah all those rich people wanting to be the richest one in the grave yard. You know what is really toad licking crazy? There are many people who fully support those old white guys spending money to ride into space. People praise those Billionaires like they were Elvis or something. Guess what? Elvis had sex with a 14 year old girl. Still praising him? Still invested in his star? The thing is these rich arseholes have no absolutely no regard, no inkling of a thought about you, never mind emotionally investing in your well being, heck no. You might as well be a piss stain on their shorts, you mean that much. So why emotionally invest in a being who is only emotionally invested in cash? Are we rock in a pond of mud stupid? 

Let's take a moment and take stock of what we like, what we are willing to like, to feel good about and to love. I like people and when I see them hurting, it hurts me. I am emotionally invested. How about you? 

Chappelle's Closer Is About Who Is Hurting More And Has Power

 I will start off by saying Dave Chappelle is a funny smart comic. Okay so I am bias with respect to how I view him.  Dave Chappelle performed a Netflix comedy called the Closer. In Chappelle style, it was smart, fast, contentious and hilarious. With Chappelle style it is not just about the subject matter and the punchlines, but the education and the message needed but not necessarily appreciated. The Closer show has stirred up a lot of angry emotions. The Trans-community was discussed in the Closer comedy special. The Trans-community has taken offence to the Chappelle's jokes and voiced, quite loudly the disapproval of the comedy special. 

I know exactly why they are upset. They are upset someone is attacking their community, attacking them, making fun of them. I know exactly why they are upset. It is universal, we don't like "others" making fun of us. This is true for every community, every race, every demographic, every group. This is the reason, simple as that. There are folks out there saying "too sensitive," "too touchy" but it's not that. Sure the Trans-community, the Black community, the Indian community can take a joke, but only when it is coming from them. You see our communities know what it is like to be hurt, to be attacked so we have our radar on, when we hear our names. You can bet we are going to growl when someone says something we think is against our respective community. 

There is a comedic group called the 1491's. The 1491's are Indigenous (Indian) comedy group, who not only make fun of the stereotypical Indian, they use their comedy to promote discussion and educate. Their comedy makes fun of Indians in different situations. If non-Indian made these types of observations, I think it would be offensive.  We, the Indigenous community would be upset. We don't like others making fun of us. Deceased comic Ralphie May was attacked by Native comedian Tito Ybarra. Tito took offense to Ralphie May's joke about Native Americans. Tito made enough noise to get May's concert in Bemidji  cancelled. If you heard the Ralphie May joke, you would think it was funny, even for a White Guy telling the joke. I challenged Tito on social media about taking food from May's table. Tito got mad and responded with "well go screw him then" and "you probably hit your kids." Tito went on to block me on social media. The remarks made to him, in my opinion were not disrespectful. It's not like I made fun of his face or anything. Still Tito's actions seemed cowardly and a hypocritical.  Tito did to deceased comic Ralphie May what the Trans community is currently doing to Chappelle; trying to mute their voice. Meanwhile, the 1491's have been doing much harder comedy lines on Indian people than May could ever do. The thing is Tito Ybarra was even in some of those comedy sketches. We laugh and appreciate the humor of the 1491's because their stuff is fucking funny. 

So what I saw with the Chappelle show was a series of jokes about the Trans community but not truly at the expense of the Trans community. Rather it was a message. The message was "you have power and we (the Black population) don't have your power. So don't use your power to smash our people." This was the point of the Netflix Closer. This point was ignored by the Trans community. They had tunnel vision. Just like Tito Ybarra with Ralphie May, they didn't see, didn't hear, they shut their eyes, their ears and only heard one part of the message. The Trans community heard the only message in Chappelle's show, as "Dave hates us" and we need to make sure he doesn't do it anymore. For me I am not in the Trans community nor the Black community. But I listened and I did hear what I thought I heard, you hear me? 

The Truth is we take offense to anyone speaking about our community when it is not in a good light. Everyone feels that way. It is simple as that, regardless of the context, and the intent of the message. We take offense because we are part of specific group. Chappelle may love the Trans community but he loves the Black community more. This is where the context is coming from; the Black community has been hurt more so don't be adding more hurt to our community. Your community the Trans community has more power. Even though the Trans community may not see it this way. Thing is we see the Black community and our community, the Indigenous community being hurt as much and perhaps more than the Trans community. The Closer slit open the notion, like a sharp knife into a warm belly,  of who is hurting more, who is getting attacked more and the Closer unpacked who has more power in the marginalized community arena. 

Oh yeah, it is easy to jump on a Gazelle when a Cheetah already has its claws and teeth on it. 

The "celebrity community" taking bites out of Chappelle, because they see a feast starting. 

Oh one last thing to think about. You and your spouse have been in love since you were childhood sweethearts. You have been a couple for years now, have a good life, a beautiful family. One day your spouse says "I love you more than all the candy in Candy Land, but I have to tell you, I have been living a lie, I am not this gender. I will be moving towards my real gender. I hope you can still love me and be with me." So you do love them. You will stay with them because you love them. This is so cool and good for the both of you. Now tell me will you perform fellatio, or cunnilingus on your lover, since they have moved - transitioned? 

"...you know people that I love tell me I go too far sometimes, maybe I went to far but I did it, you know and plus, the only way you know where the line is, is to cross it, and I think what is life if nobody is crossing the line . You just want to be on the right side of history and sometimes what's going on in the immediate present is not as important as the long term. The Truths is permanent and then everything else falls by the way side." Dave Chappelle

Steph Stigma

"I'm a trans comedian. I laughed my ass off, was moved to tears by his message, and after applauding (too loudly for 4am) at my TV, I became very pissed off; because, Dave very obviously extended an olive branch and so many of my alphabet brothers, sisters, and inbetweeners missed the fucking point! I mean, shit, I must not be as autistic as my therapist thinks because even I could recognize the satire when he claimed to be transphobic and a TERF. He very clearly drew parallels between the struggles of the black and LGBTQ communities in an attempt at unity over division. I'm trans and even I wanna be a TERF after this whole infantile backlash. It's not like I don't understand what it feels like to be constantly misgendered, called slurs, get side-eyed when using the bathroom, etc...it can get exhausting and make one emotionally sore and raw, but by becoming so triggered by every perceived slight that you can't see the forest for the trees you are just othering yourself and essentially locking yourself into a cage away from society. I mean, I love a good circle jerk just as much as the next girl but these social media echo chambers are fucking up our civilization."