Wednesday, March 22, 2023

Stranger In A Strange (And Hostile) Land

going back to childhood i've had an acute sense of social alienation and isolation which has probably been centered around awareness that the society/culture i was born into is pathologically erotically repressed and in complete denial about it. or, worse yet, completely ok with it, as seems to be the case particularly with religious 'conservatives'.
this has been brought home to me most forcefully this past year, when it came to light to the leader of my local progressive political group (green party) that nearly 2 decades ago i tried and failed to seduce the teenage daughter (28 years my junior) of a woman who was very active in the group (as was i) and with whom i was on very friendly terms.  i did this behind her back shortly after her beautiful daughter graduated from high school (still 17 years old and thus considered a 'minor', or child, in the eyes of the law, which i didn't know, assuming she was probably 18 and thus 'legal').  this attempt was clumsy, but there wasn't anything hostile about it, nor did it engender any hostility at the time. only years later, after a chance encounter over the telephone between us that i didn't handle well (i wasn't hostile, just very distant and dismissive, feeling forlorn and rejected), did she come to see my behavior as problematic and decided to bring it up when she was invited to one of our annual picnics and declined the invitation, citing her fear that i might once again 'sexually harass' her, and revealing what had transpired between us (or not transpired) so many years ago.
this leader, also a woman but considerably older, had developed her own somewhat negative perception of me based upon my interest in discussing sexual matters with her pertaining to my sexual frustration and perception that society was horribly repressed and that this repression is especially directed at youth and 'adults' like myself who are particularly attracted to 'minors' or teenagers.  this drove a bit of a wedge between us which widened when this past 'indiscretion' on my part came to light, leading to a semi public confrontation between us resulting in a new code of conduct being developed for our group which explicitly forbids sexual harassment.up until this point my association with the green party had been somewhat of a source of relief from my sense of nearly complete alienation and isolation from my own species, thanks to our shared politically progressive views and values.  however, this incident has more or less ruined the sense that this was a group with whom i could identify with as an insider.  now it seems that with them, as with the rest of society, i must be an outsider.i write this in the hope that eventually someone somewhere will read it, identify with it and connect with me as a result, but this hope may well be forlorn, since my past attempts to gain a following (mostly by reaching out to local greens) have utterly failed.  it seems none of the them can well identify with my pov in this matter, leading me to wonder just how many of the several billion sheeple in today's world can, and how can i reach them?this brings to mind a famous science fiction book i partially read years ago titled STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND.  science fiction is a genre of literature well suited for the exploration and fleshing out of ideas which are considered strange or perhaps heretical by mainstream culture, and this is the case here, as STRANGER deals extensively with the concept of 'free love' and the bizarre manner in which modern civilized humans have demonized and suppressed sexuality.  thus it's become a bit of a reference point for sex radicals like myself, and i identify strongly with the idea that as a very 'sex positive' individual in a very sex negative society/culture, i am indeed a stranger in a strange (and hostile) land.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stranger_in_a_Strange_Land

Wednesday, March 8, 2023

American Exceptionalism: The Naked Truth

below is a quote taken from the text of a speech given by the late william blum (who has previously been featured in this blog).  according to covertaction magazine, it was the last speaking engagement of his life.  documentation supporting the list of claims (see below) appears in a couple of his books, as cited at the end of the article (click link):'Let’s look at just how exceptional America has been. Since the end of World War 2, the United States has:Attempted to overthrow more than 50 foreign governments, most of which were democratically-elected.Dropped bombs on the people of more than 30 countries.Attempted to assassinate more than 50 foreign leaders.Attempted to suppress a populist or nationalist movement in 20 countries.Grossly interfered in democratic elections in at least 30 countries.Led the world in torture; not only the torture performed directly by Americans upon foreigners, but providing torture equipment, torture manuals, lists of people to be tortured, and in-person guidance by American teachers, especially in Latin America.'

https://covertactionmagazine.com/2018/08/11/american-exceptionalism-the-naked-truth/ 

Friday, March 3, 2023

Frugality

i've read or heard multiple times that 40% of the food america produces for domestic consumption ends up in the trash.  i think it's indicative of a nation where sheeple have far more wealth than environmental awareness.
i've chosen to live about as frugally as possible ever since i became aware that resources are limited and the path of infinite economic growth (and consumption) we're on is ludicrous and tragic.
very small instances of careless and thoughtless wastefulness, the sorts of things it seems a large majority of americans take for granted, bother me much more than anyone i know.  perhaps too much.  it is one of the sources of my alienation and inability to relate well with others.  even members of the green party and other progressives who no doubt are far more aligned with me on this subject get under my skin sometimes when they fail to meet my standards of frugality.i relate very well to something the late great george carlin said once about sheeple (though not in regards to just this issue).  here it is:    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gapgnycVPU