Ok, we begin another month....

And the graphic is extra for Annti. (And Darlin'?
I read it is at the entrance of the Lincoln Tunnel in New Yawk... you are not alone.)

It's been snowing. Oh, I know... I ventured out of my cocoon to buy some groceries and enough cigarettes to smoke a ham if there were hickory in it, and stayed in. Even that little 'adventure' was irritating in the extreme. I took out the garbage, and there was this couple under the gallery at the entrance to the square, and the woman was going ON in this extremely irritating voice on her cell phone, which I just ignored.

Coming back, and within two feet of her, she turns to her (supposed husband, or what ever he was), 'I TOLD you, he's an Austrian. He isn't a Tschusch.'

It's a good thing I had just gotten up, and wasn't really 'there'. That word is BAD. And refers to Slavic people, specifically from former Yugoslavia. It's as insulting as 'faggot', the 'n' word, 'kike', 'mick' 'spic', and all the other words people use to denigrate someone's race or orientation.

Normally, I would have ripped into her. But I thought, 'it's snowing, I'm uncomfortable, she can take a flying fuck at a rolling doughnut, and it's not gonna change a bloody thing.'

(My blood pressure must have been low...)

I HAVE been known to really fly off the charts. As in a stint I did waiting tables in Salzburg, and would be über-polite, seat the ladies, light candles, and ask if the guests wanted just the wine list or the menu as well. And they would ask, 'Are you a Jugoslaaaawe?' Dripping contempt. (I had nearly black hair.) And I would say no, but one evening the woman in question was so bad, I lost it.

And I started quietly.... 'No, I'm Black, and from Afrika, grew up in the Black forest, AND THE AUSTRIAN SUN IS SO HOT, IT BLEACHED MY SKIN WHITE!' And stormed off into the kitchen, grabbed my boss, and said 'YOU are going to wait that table, because I will NOT go back there.' (And no, I have no idea where that came from... it just popped out.)

So that woman this morning... she didn't spark my cylinders, so to speak. They wear their hate on a badge, and feel safe doing it. And I am TIRED of ignorant people. With 20/20 hindsight, I should have said, 'No, I'm not... BUT I'M NOT DEAF, EITHER.'

So... another month with the most horridays ever. Snowing, which makes me ask myself WHY I never went to a place and settle where I would never see snow again.

Tja... I wanna go visit Peter before he thinks up something new to drive me crazy with. Tomorrow is my birfday.

And apropos Peter.... he's becoming a pod person. I have NO other explanation for it. They had an Advent celebration, or pre-Christmas. And children from the local schools were in the home, and sang traditional Christmas songs, and passed out 'goodies'. And he got all teary on the phone, telling me about it, and choked up.

And I was thinking, 'oh-wait-oh-wait-oh-WAIT... Peter? choking up over a kids' choir? THE Peter who was the most Scrooge ever when it came to children? Have I become ill? What was in the oregano, am having a hallucination.'

(Just so's you know, it was always sham and I knew it.... he liked to play that role and push my buttons.)

He was very sad, is all.

Oh... and he was very sorry to hear that Leslie Nielsen passed on. He and M could go ON about his films, and laugh and laugh...

So I guess we got things to talk about tomorrow.

'Da Ven told me I was born in a big snowstorm. I hope it doesn't repeat itself. I just wanna get to visit Peter, and that's a nice enough present.

Some people have fun ideas....

This made me smile....

On profiling....

“This week, Arizona signed the toughest illegal immigration law in the country which will allow police to demand identification papers from anyone they suspect is in the country illegally. I know there’s some people in Arizona worried that Obama is acting like Hitler, but could we all agree that there’s nothing more Nazi than saying “Show me your papers?” There’s never been a World War II movie that didn’t include the line “show me your papers.” It’s their catchphrase. Every time someone says “show me your papers,” Hitler’s family gets a residual check. So heads up, Arizona; that’s fascism. I know, I know, it’s a dry fascism, but it’s still fascism.”

Seth Myers on SNL’s Weekend Update this week.

Found on Bill in Exile...

I was not surprised at this, not at all. And yes, it is racial profiling.... this time. However there are other kinds of profiling. People look at other people, and immediately classify them in their heads, putting them into drawers with labels in a split second. It is human nature.

Case in point.... Where I grew up, I lived and worked in the center of the city. It was three blocks from my work to my home, walking. And the police had beats, about eight square blocks, I would imagine, and call boxes to ring in where they were and prove they weren't goofing off, or something. The regulars knew me, and I would close up, drop in the days' deposits at the bank next door and walk home.

BUT: if there were someone new on the beat... the following invariably happened. I would be roughly pushed up against a brick wall, frisked, asked for ID, and got the inevitable rapid-fire series of barked questions. 'Where are you coming from?' 'Where are you going?' 'Who are your parents?' (Don't wanna ruffle some big-wigs' feathers, now do we, Preciousses?) And would invariably be allowed to continue on to my home, with the admonition, 'Don't you know that if anything bad were to happen here, you would be the first suspect, because you were here?'

This went on from the late Sixties to mid-Seventies, and you will be asking yourselves, 'Why would he think it was profiling? He is white enough...'

It was profiling however. Poor vs. middle class. Because, you see, if you were over the age to have a car and were walking down Main Street near or after midnight, you just had to be up to no good. I had to deal with that from the time I was about fourteen till the time I left.

Certainly, it wasn't the same, I didn't get any slurs, but in principle, oh yeah, I know that feeling all right... And can imagine how much worse it is going to be for people who have a sort of dark complexion in Arizona.

I never realised at the time that that isn't exactly normal in civilised countries, I thought it was normal. Until I was in Salzburg the first time, and we would be out till all hours of the night, and just marveled that we never even saw a policeman/policewoman. Here they seem to be busy catching real criminals rather than bothering people out on the street at unseemly hours.

All of this comes from a culture of fear. And I think it will only make the existing problems in Arizona much worse, cause a lot of innocent people a lot of grief, and in the end, will cause more problems than it 'solves'.

(And Blogger is driving me nuts with a specific font problem, but that is irrelevant.)

Interesting....

Hewlitt Packard is accused of racism. The demonstration in this YouTube clip does seem to prove it... Now if they develop software for video security systems, would it work the other way around???? I think it would be problematic either way....

Just went out for a minute after sleeping most of the day...

And whaddaya know, it's snowing.

What we used to call a 'light dusting' where I grew up. Sticks to the roofs, melts on the sidewalk, and is just a bit irritating. So not the sort of thing that just swept across the US and dumped feet of the stuff all over the place the past couple of days. Y'know, the ones where you get your boxer shorts in a twist and start yelling, 'I didn't come FOUR THOUSAND miles, for this.'

And I know, I know... that sounds Grinch-like to even mention, but I can't stand it when the horridays are approaching, and everyone goes 'Awww.. how pretty' just because there is a bit of snow. The only positive I see in it is that you don't get as wet if you don't look out of winder, and go out without your um-brella.

Now, the only reason I went out was that my sniggarretes ran out, so it was only across the square. And... it being Sunday, you can only get them out of a vending machine. And for two years now, you can only use those if you can prove you are over sixteen years old, which I think is good.

So you have to slide your bank card into a slot, and nowadays, thank whomever, it tells you to take it out, you put your money in, and press the sort you want. (The latter part was only recently, and I do not want to tell you how many I forgot in there... just too embarrassing.)

Sorry, am just trying to explain how it works....

So I approached the vending machine, and this attractive couple were in front of it trying to figure out what to do... because the man seemingly doesn't have a bank card. So he says, 'Card? Card?' I think he is from the Middle East somewhere, didn't ask. Or hesitate. I slid mine in, took it out, and he and his girlfriend got what they wanted. As luck would have it, a 'Turkish man came into all of this and asked if I could free the machine up for him, 'as he forgot his at home.' Nice face-saver. (just saying...)

Now, I've never bothered with learning all other religions' horridays, they have never concerned me all that much, but December seems the time when they all have something.... So I said, 'And I hope you have wonderful holidays', and the man of the couple's eyes 'danced' and sparkled with approval. And he laughed out loud.

Tja, and then I bought my snigarettes.

It was just a moment in time, and I don't wish to make much of it, just share something.

Because I KNOW... that if certain people here had seen that 'Gang of Three', they would have high-tailed it to another vending machine, just like some people in 'Murka would. Or drawn guns, if they were 'Murkin.

The point of all this? NO one should be 'afraid' to interact with someone who doesn't look like they do, we are all human beings on this rock going around the sun, and going to hell because some people just don't care. They stay in their 'tribes'.

NO ONE should be afraid... to reach out a hand and help someone in whatever small way they can.

And I have said this before... you have to give respect to GET respect. Sometimes it works in making the world a better place.

And no, am not under the impression that it was 'good'. It is just what you DO, and follow what you were taught.

So... that is my horriday season sermon for this year, and will not do another.

I didn't care that it was snowing, hardly noticed it, btw....

Tomorrow, Peter has finally decided to go to hospital.

I guess I get another ride in the waaahmbulance.

We shall see... Tja, the horridays....

oh, here we fucking go again....

An 'American' won the NYC marathon. Uh-huh... I would 'lurv' to compose a fucking rap song about sports and false nationalism. I really would. Stupid spectator sport, hey... and the ones who do it? Get crippled for life. Now that is something to want to achieve to.... Oh YEAH.

I have been behind the scenes at the 1972 Summer Olympics, and I KNOW how those fucking reporters work.

But I have never seen the assinine sort that just came out because an 'American' won the NYC marathon. Or the blow-back, because the guy was a refugee from Eritrea, and got citizenship in 1991.

So the super-right is going ON about it, fits into Obama isn't an American, don't you know, and this GUY, who won a race, gets vilified from certain elements, and it is unwarranted, and just horrible.

What bothers me about 'sports' is that is a nationalistic way of 'waging war'. An author here, Elfriede Jelinek, had a seven hour extravaganza produced in Vienna about seven years ago, called 'Sport'. It was amazing.

And yes, I saw it.

There is something I still do not get about all this. If someone wins in a sport, he or she is the best and should be recognised as 'the best'. The nationality is not really all that important to me. They were the best, and more power to them.

But the patriotic 'Hurrah', and turn it into a nation's triumph? Those people are sick in the head. They never fight for a 'nation'. They do it for THEMSELVES, and work hard to get that award, and deserve to get recognition for themselves. Not for a 'nation'.

BUT... in keeping with the current hateful, disgusting, irrelevant reporting being done right now, and a low-flying reference to 'Obama is not an American, but was born in Kenya theme' ....

This young man gets THIS in the news.