Predetermining sex and gender?

I always thought that it should be just fine having (or adopting) a child and allowing them to decide for themself which sex and gender labels they want to use... and how they want to express that choice.

...allowing people to continue the bullshit of polarizing sex, and allowing the people in medicine to further fill peoples heads with LIES? That gets to me. You CAN'T choose the sex and gender of your child!!! CHROMOSOMES DO NOT DETERMINE SEX AND GENDER!

Death?

I've never feared death either... it's the pain and to some degree... the humiliation... suffering it or inflicting it (before/during/after) that I fear. Death is just NOT pretty.


One of my favorite quotes, from one of the world's oldest (over 100 years old) women, when asked for advice about life...

EAT MORE ICE CREAM!

I fight when I FEEL like it.

I think a lot of those "canned" reactions (you made reference to) were just emotional outbursts. I know that the first thing I thought/felt was, nuke 'em... but when someone I love is in danger, I tend to react that way.

I spent all of 9/11 as close to tears as I've been in quite a while... not for the loss of life, or the fear, or anything like that. My first thought was, "Shit, if Palestine is responsible for this, my dad is dead." I then walked around like a zombie until my sister got in touch with him, and even after that I still worried. I still worry now, but that's usual. I always worry about him and wish he'd get out of the Middle East.

Now? I'm in limbo, on many levels. I'm just waiting... waiting to see what this "new war" will look like... how it will affect me and my loved ones. I know that it might sound cold that I'm not walking around mourning the WTC, Pentagon, and PA people who died and feeling sympathy for the ones they left behind... but I'm not. I don't know anyone directly affected, and it may as well have been a movie. I know that it's just awful.... oh, how cold and uncaring... whatever. It's a shame. It sucks that anyone has to hurt... but I don't feel emotionally moved because of it. That's just the way I am. I dissociate. It's what I do best.

My life has not changed. I have not lost any loved ones. They say that life will change... more so than usual, I think they mean. So, I'm waiting. In the back of my mind is a bit of anger, because I really liked New York... and someone really fucked up the atmosphere... but there are no violins playing. In truth, there's even a little bit of excitement about it all. It makes life a little less boring, doesn't it?

I'll give my comments on the movie, but it's still just a movie. It hasn't affected me personally.

there, how's that for honesty?

(About the "loss of freedom"...)

I'm sure that I'll get people who disagree with me... but that's nothing new.

About the "loss of freedom"...

In all honesty, I can't think of anyone that this has impacted more than Arabic and Islamic Americans. They're now under constant suspicion. They're walking targets... not just targets for the idiotic few who do not know the difference between "Terrorist" and "Darker than pink-skinned American", but targets for the U.S. government as well. If you're an Arab or Islamic American and had plans to fly anywhere over the past week, you're toast. If you're an Arab or Islamic American and happen to have relatives in Afghanistan, you and they are both toast.

I'm used to being searched at airports. Any biker, punker, odd-ball, dude with a cock ring or freak is used to it. It's called being unique. I'm used to being afraid to leave my house. It's called living in the inner city. I'm used to being afraid of cops. It's called being intersexed. I'm used to being afraid of my neighbor. It's called paranoia.

Have I lost my freedom because some idiot decided to play kamakaze with the WTC and the Pentagon? Nope. My life has changed little. There's just a little more fear about the drinking water.

...but I can't say the same for the people in this country who have the (right now, bad) luck of being of Arabic, Indian, African American, or of other dark skinned heritage who attempt to follow their religion and dress accordingly. Ask them about their freedom, and they'll most likely say... it's toast.

We're wiping out terrorism?

ok... how 'bout we start with the KKK?

Americans are no saints. We're human, just like the rest of the world. Wish we could act that way.

again...

That was not posted meaning that I feel that people shouldn't pray. It was about my being bothered that church (ALL churches, not just Christian churches) and state were not being kept separate.

It's not that I'm pissed that the Pagans were left out of the big prayer ceremony (although in all fairness, when you say ALL religions, you should do a better job at including ALL religions), it's that officially declaring a day of prayer is not something Bush has the license to do. Prayer is a spiritual practice... and at the least, an issue of morals. It is not the job of the government to dictate our morals, only to enforce laws. We are not "one nation, under God", we are one nation under a constitution.

People have their faith right now, and that is good... but we also need our government, and we need that government to represent us as a country, not as a "nation under God". If this is ever to be a "nation under God", I'm moving. The fact that I have the freedom to be as non-religious, or as religious as I care to be is one of the reasons I love my country. The fact that we are a nation full of people, some of who are "God fearing" and some of who are Atheists is what makes this country so great.

how's THAT for timing?

It's all one big blur... doesn't feel like I've been home less than a week.

There was so much that I wanted to write about the gathering... but now it seems that I can't get my head to stop spinning long enough. It feels like Dragon Con was years ago, as opposed to a couple of weeks.

analogy

If you saw a guy beating the living shit out of his wife, would you intervene?

Is it none of your business?

What if the woman cries out for help?

What if the woman cannot cry out for help for fear of being beaten even worse?



It's all good. It's your right to keep walking. I'm blowing the guy's nuts off... and I'll arm the woman every time, even if she later comes back to shoot me.


-FR the Underdog

ok, let me clarify.

Most people have been praying for 4 days. Prayer is good for many. Faith is what is getting a good number of people through all of this right now.

My post is not about whether or not prayer is good, or even whether or not George Bush should pray. It's about the fact that it is NOT the job of George Bush to be a spiritual leader. To decalre this "a day of prayer..." is not something George Bush has the authority (or, in my opinion, the right) to do. His primary jobs are Diplomat and Commander In Chief of the Armed Forces. This is NOT a Theocracy.

In God we do NOT ALL trust.

SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE

Do your job, Mr. Bush.... take care of the military and the financial stuff and the politics...

DO NOT TELL ME WHEN TO OR EVEN IF I SHOULD PRAY!!!!!!!

(WTC - The next morning)

I have a lot to say, but words fail me. I'm sure that I cannot articulate all of what is running through my head. I'll try though.

My first reaction, the natural emotional response, is to just nuke 'em and ask questions later.

This is not a logical thought, it is an emotional reaction.

My suspicion is that whatever retaliatory actions occur, they will not occur before the death toll is released to the public. It's simple psychology. You have to get people good and angry before you commit an action akin to what the "enemy" did in the first place.

They know who is responsible. Right now, they're waiting, planning, and giving the American people the time to shift from the mourning stage to the anger stage.

Will this become WWIII? It's possible... and I know that they've already decided whether or not it will be. My hunch has been, and still is, AIDS isn't working as well as they hoped, only war will do the trick. Problem #1 on this planet is overpopulation. The people behind the scenes know this and are doing what they think is necessary to handle the problem. There's a reason why they didn't kill Sadam and why they didn't kill bin Laden already. People like these are needed in the big plan.

I'm glad I got home Monday as opposed to Tuesday (the original date I'd wanted to return). It would have sucked to have been stuck in Washington DC (which is where my train was 9AM Monday). I hope that people start thinking about the trains though. No bags are checked on the train. Anyone could bring a suitcase full of explosives on board and detonate them in a train station.

I'm impressed with the people of NYC and DC. No one is using this as an excuse to commit crime, so far... and everyone seems to be pulling together. Someone asked what it would take for North America to unite. I'd not had the time to reply to that thread, although I had an answer in my head. Hopefully this answers that question even better than I could have.

I've been instructed to pack a bag... just in case we have to get out of Dodge quickly ...heading North to the mountains if things get out of control. I fear not having my necessary meds. I fear having no money. I fear the life that might be in front of me if this does move towards WWIII. I don't know how long I'll last.

Bush is speaking as I write this... I fear what he will say. I fear that he'll say nothing (like he did last night). I fear that he'll say something, and that life will drastically change.


...and so he says nothing.

I suppose that I still just want blood.

Call me a Vampire.

(World trade center!)

I've been in transit over the last couple of days. What did I miss?