Well, that was sure a day.
has some things to think about regarding the next four years.
Some of us have been able to ignore what's going on for a while, some of us haven't. Most of us reading this haven't.
--
A couple of other things that heartened me:
Kamala Harris boarding a private flight that is entirely staffed by female personnel and going back to California with the intention of helping out at volunteer stations for the CA fires.
Pete Buttigieg's vocal and unabashed gratefulness to have served, but also his gladness to be back with his kids.
And a reminder - perhaps a little grim.
Everyone LGBTQI+, everyone black or non-white, every immigrant, every woman, every survivor, every progressive still fighting who makes it through the next four years - that's a win. Not all will survive, no, but every one of us still standing at the end? That's a finger in the eye of the people who would see us dead or cowed or bowed down.
--
I went and signed up to hear more from the independent candidate who's running in our federal election later this year, up against the conservative incumbent. I might join her campaign; we'll see. She's got some good points, and so far as I can see, I could back her.
Call me bigoted; I wish her hair wasn't so blonde. (I have nothing against blondes. But that white-blonde colour? Like, 'my hair bleached for 50 minutes' blonde. No.)
I'd like to get some conversations going with locals - people in the street, church friends, community groups. Talk to people about what is it that they want? How can that be achieved? Can it even be achieved?
From what I can tell, watching people around me spin their mental wheels, right now people are mostly scared of the future. So many things happening all at once, and they just want to hit rewind. I understand that. I want it too. But there is no going back; the past is a country whose borders we have crossed and there is no returning. Planck scales and Deutch propositions notwithstanding.
So how do we move forward? How do we reconcile the people around us with the changes that the new century has brought upon us? How do we do that without insisting that everyone fit a rigid definition of "how things should be?" Without making monsters of ourselves and our society as we try to eradicate anything and everything that will cause bumps and discomfort in our world?
And how do we deal with those who are willing to twist and destroy anything that makes them uncomfortable rather than live with the dissonance of existence?
I hope Australia is better than what we're seeing come out of the US. The noises I'm hearing are mostly negative, but I suspect there's a lot of church-going Australian Christians who, having heard (via talkback radio) that "this trans and sexuality thing is taking over our schools" and having 'woke' be lightly dismissed from the pulpit, would vote for anything that would make it all go away.
I need to find a clip of the Sideshow Bob Runs For Mayor of Springfield episode.
Homer: Well, I disagree with his Bart-killing policy, but I do agree with his Selma-killing policy... *votes for Sideshow Bob*
Maybe it's not possible to get people to think about what they're doing, about seeing beyond themselves and their comfort zone. Maybe we're doomed to an one-state solution: everyone who disagrees with us or resists us are the enemy and need to be eradicated.
I'm lucky; I came to all this in my late 20s, when my mind was still malleable. It's going to be a lot more difficult for people who haven't been through the phase of expansion and broadening of horizons. Which, incidentally, I have fandom to thank for. All of you and the ones before you, who have added to my understanding of the world and all the variance of it.
Sometimes I think of Morgan Freeman playing Azheem the moor in Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves telling the little girl "Allah loves wondrous variety." And he's not wrong.
Anyway, we'll see what the indy has to say, and work from there.
--
I went to Emergency last night. I had a cafe breakfast, planning for it to last me through lunch. While I was swallowing, I swear I felt something in it that didn't feel like food. I swallowed anyway. And then I felt nauseous all morning, and threw up almost all of it by 9am.
I drank a little water, ate some fruit. Threw that up about 30 minutes later. I tried a few things, but couldn't really keep them down.
Went home about 2pm (I was debating whether I should or not) and then thought about going to emergency because my throat still felt like there was something in it, and bits of my chest were hurting.
I ended up drowsing away the afternoon, tried to have dinner, then threw that up, too.
Went to emergency around 7pm. Walked out at 11pm, having had an EKG, blood tests, and an X-ray, all of which could find nothing unusual or out of the ordinary. So they think it's a virus, and I should rest. (Yes,![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timespirt, I know...)
And here I am this morning, having logged on. Virus is still going. I think I'm only going to do a half-day, a couple of courses that are needed for compliance sake. Better let my colleague/supervisor know.
--
Finally, social media is exhausting. And today is going to be rather warm. Just a smidge.
has some things to think about regarding the next four years.
Some of us have been able to ignore what's going on for a while, some of us haven't. Most of us reading this haven't.
--
A couple of other things that heartened me:
Kamala Harris boarding a private flight that is entirely staffed by female personnel and going back to California with the intention of helping out at volunteer stations for the CA fires.
Pete Buttigieg's vocal and unabashed gratefulness to have served, but also his gladness to be back with his kids.
And a reminder - perhaps a little grim.
Everyone LGBTQI+, everyone black or non-white, every immigrant, every woman, every survivor, every progressive still fighting who makes it through the next four years - that's a win. Not all will survive, no, but every one of us still standing at the end? That's a finger in the eye of the people who would see us dead or cowed or bowed down.
--
I went and signed up to hear more from the independent candidate who's running in our federal election later this year, up against the conservative incumbent. I might join her campaign; we'll see. She's got some good points, and so far as I can see, I could back her.
Call me bigoted; I wish her hair wasn't so blonde. (I have nothing against blondes. But that white-blonde colour? Like, 'my hair bleached for 50 minutes' blonde. No.)
I'd like to get some conversations going with locals - people in the street, church friends, community groups. Talk to people about what is it that they want? How can that be achieved? Can it even be achieved?
From what I can tell, watching people around me spin their mental wheels, right now people are mostly scared of the future. So many things happening all at once, and they just want to hit rewind. I understand that. I want it too. But there is no going back; the past is a country whose borders we have crossed and there is no returning. Planck scales and Deutch propositions notwithstanding.
So how do we move forward? How do we reconcile the people around us with the changes that the new century has brought upon us? How do we do that without insisting that everyone fit a rigid definition of "how things should be?" Without making monsters of ourselves and our society as we try to eradicate anything and everything that will cause bumps and discomfort in our world?
And how do we deal with those who are willing to twist and destroy anything that makes them uncomfortable rather than live with the dissonance of existence?
I hope Australia is better than what we're seeing come out of the US. The noises I'm hearing are mostly negative, but I suspect there's a lot of church-going Australian Christians who, having heard (via talkback radio) that "this trans and sexuality thing is taking over our schools" and having 'woke' be lightly dismissed from the pulpit, would vote for anything that would make it all go away.
I need to find a clip of the Sideshow Bob Runs For Mayor of Springfield episode.
Homer: Well, I disagree with his Bart-killing policy, but I do agree with his Selma-killing policy... *votes for Sideshow Bob*
Maybe it's not possible to get people to think about what they're doing, about seeing beyond themselves and their comfort zone. Maybe we're doomed to an one-state solution: everyone who disagrees with us or resists us are the enemy and need to be eradicated.
I'm lucky; I came to all this in my late 20s, when my mind was still malleable. It's going to be a lot more difficult for people who haven't been through the phase of expansion and broadening of horizons. Which, incidentally, I have fandom to thank for. All of you and the ones before you, who have added to my understanding of the world and all the variance of it.
Sometimes I think of Morgan Freeman playing Azheem the moor in Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves telling the little girl "Allah loves wondrous variety." And he's not wrong.
Anyway, we'll see what the indy has to say, and work from there.
--
Personal Health News: cw digestive virus
I went to Emergency last night. I had a cafe breakfast, planning for it to last me through lunch. While I was swallowing, I swear I felt something in it that didn't feel like food. I swallowed anyway. And then I felt nauseous all morning, and threw up almost all of it by 9am.
I drank a little water, ate some fruit. Threw that up about 30 minutes later. I tried a few things, but couldn't really keep them down.
Went home about 2pm (I was debating whether I should or not) and then thought about going to emergency because my throat still felt like there was something in it, and bits of my chest were hurting.
I ended up drowsing away the afternoon, tried to have dinner, then threw that up, too.
Went to emergency around 7pm. Walked out at 11pm, having had an EKG, blood tests, and an X-ray, all of which could find nothing unusual or out of the ordinary. So they think it's a virus, and I should rest. (Yes,
timespirt, I know...)And here I am this morning, having logged on. Virus is still going. I think I'm only going to do a half-day, a couple of courses that are needed for compliance sake. Better let my colleague/supervisor know.
--
Finally, social media is exhausting. And today is going to be rather warm. Just a smidge.
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