Hi!
Well folks, it's been another crazy week! How are you holding up?
Here we are, smack in the middle of summer. The heat, the humidity, the not winter.
This summer, however, seems filled with booby traps. We find ourselves wrestling with decisions we've never had to make before. Some, of course, harder than others.
The dilemmas and decisions...
The dilemmas of the Summer of 2020 differ from any we've known before. In the past, Summer dilemmas consisted of ice cream vs. popsicle, pool vs. sprinkler, bike vs. walking, shade vs. sun, sunrise vs. sunset, Paw Patrol vs. Sponge Bob, road trip vs. back yard barbeque.
This year, the dilemmas are much more serious. In-person school vs. virtual, sending kids vs. homeschooling, crowded beach vs. backyard... again, canceling gatherings vs. shrinking them immensely, ice cream vs. popsicle.
By definition, a dilemma is a problem with no clear solution. When you throw in the consequences of decisions reached, this year, in the midst of the crap storm we are in, it adds even more stress to a time that has everyone at their anxiety limits.
As we all wade through all of the grey matter, let's be clear about one thing.
None of us want to put kids, teachers, janitors, and the families they go home to in harm's way.
Every school and every school district is different. Some areas have a pretty good handle on this nightmare, some, less so. Some have stringent protocols in place, some, less so. Every parent will have to make decisions they can be comfortable with. Every teacher will have to make a decision. Every superintendent, every school board member, every janitor, every bus driver will need to decide.
There is no purely correct answer. This is a walk into the unknown no matter which direction you turn. Thankfully, none of us have to do it alone.
Okay, so... on a less serious note.
Demon Sperm...
I'm not exactly sure what it says about a country's president when he tweets out to the masses the ramblings of a 'doctor' who believes and promotes the idea that women's gynecological issues stem from internalizing demon sperm during sex sessions that happen in their dreams and then... and then chooses to double down on that support later, defending it at an actual press conference.
I'm not sure what it says about a country's president when he chooses to go golfing as so many of the citizens he has taken an oath to care for are sick, dying, facing a hurricane, hungry, unemployed, and a heartbeat away from being homeless.
I'm not sure what it says about a country's president when he continually tries to destroy the postal service to make voting more difficult, constantly trying to undermine the very backbone of what makes their country a democracy.
I'm not sure what it says about a country's president when he sends goons into cities to pepper spray peaceful protesters, beating them, kidnapping them, dragging them from their wheelchairs, shooting them with rubber bullets, inciting the very violence he wanted to make people believe he was trying to quash, all of this made so obviously apparent in the face of the utter lack of violence when the goons were removed.
I'm not sure what it says about a president who is good friends with child sex traffickers and wishes them well in their arrest/trial... wait, yeah I do.
It says about this president that he is absolutely everything he has shown himself to be over the course of his entire adult life, and more.
On the surface, he is a despicable person. We know this from past actions. Because he has an insatiable, gluttonous need to be the center of attention, much of what he has done has been in full view of the public eye.
The overt racism, misogyny, cruelty, and complete absence of conscience are painfully obvious. He routinely refused to pay subcontractors, daring them to take him to court, knowing, of course, they didn't have the means to do so. This action, in and of itself consistently forced blue-collar workers into work-for-free situations.
The effort and money he put into the ludicrous birtherism issue about Obama.
The full-page adds trying to condemn young black men who had been proven innocent by indisputable DNA evidence.
The lawsuits he was willing to go through to prevent people of colour from moving into his developments.
The way he refers to women, treats women, talks to women, assaults women, especially powerful, smart women.
If you want proof, all you have to do is listen to the words that come out of his mouth, witness his actions, watch his body language, and be willing to truly listen to his tone.
He has been this person his entire life. He continues to be this person. He will continue to be this person.
His tolerance of others is directly linked to what they can do for him, how they can service him, their ability to promote him, and their blind willingness to climb up his rectum.
Just like before the last election, he is planting seeds to be nurtured by his sycophants, that the results of the upcoming election will somehow be tainted. His go-to is crying fraud. NO evidence to support that. NONE. He's trying to hedge his bets.
The truth is as long as everyone who is legally allowed to vote, takes advantage of their right to vote and isn't prevented from doing so, he'll lose, and he knows it. He also knows that with the loss of the title, gone too are the powers and protections of the office. The powers and protections that he has come to rely on. The powers and protections he has used and abused to prevent people from testifying against him, prevent people from seeing his tax returns, prevent him from being convicted in his impeachment. He's going to miss those.
The crimes won't evaporate with his loss, but the protections and protectors will.
When you are 74, not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, and, let's face it, an unredeemable dumpster fire of a human, you find yourself fired, and for the first time in your life, about to face consequences for your hateful actions, of course you're gonna panic.
The only problem is that, as president, his panic button has nuclear capabilities, and he could not care less who gets taken out in its wake.
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In honour of John Lewis...
May we all stand up, march in peace, face the uncomfortable, speak to inequality, step outside our safe topic bubble.
May we all be willing to face the fight, face the truth of our history, be willing to get into some 'good trouble.'
May none of us take for granted the shoulders on which we stand, it can be easy to lose sight of the bruises and scars beneath them.
May we see that with equality there is no 'one and done,' until perfection is achieved, we have to fight the big wars and the little ones between them.
May we all stand up for all those who are not able to stand alone, speak for those without a voice, lift those who struggle.
May we all be willing to get our hands dirty, walk the walk, talk the talk, be willing to get into some 'good trouble.'
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For your back yard summer reading pleasure....
![Once Broken by [Margy Reid]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41x0FgrjdFL._SX260_.jpg)
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