Their Fevered Swamp

In their minds, warped and twisted by at least three decades of propaganda, this is Barack Hussein Obama. The Antichrist. A Muslim. A Kenyan. A Homosexual. A Ni-CLANG. They can't stand him. Who's they?

Here's a Freeper - a member of Free Republic. Old. White. Racist. Angry. Armed. This man did not make the work of "art" above, but he no doubt agrees with it. And this.

Check this logic: The Republicans force the Government to shut down. When unpaid but still working Park Rangers try and close National Parks and other resources, they (via Fox) got outraged, and some Congressional crazies staged a sit in with some geezers at the WW2 memorial.

Just flying the Swastika cuz Barack Hussein Obama is such a NAZI. First (and implied Second) Ammendment! Another Freeper.

They still love Sarah - and they know Liberals just make fun of her because they're scared of her. The "Appeal to Heaven" flag is another Revolutionary flag that the Tea Baggers are appropriating. You can guess the meaning - OBAMA BAD!!! DEMOCRATS BAD!!! LIBERALS BAD!!!

Health insurance for the poor is clearly just like 1939 Germany. Well said, Freedom Fighter.

Never Forget IX - Cyber 9 Edition!

One's dedication to an ideal can be measured by the amount of flair one is prepared to engage. How much flair do you wear?

You can tell they love America by the masks. And guns.

No one ever thinks they are evil, right? It's always the Other guy.

My Sharia!

Ah, freedom. Of speech - of the right for stupid people to think and say horrid things.

Of course, there were dozens of Muslim victims of the 911 attacks, but let us forget that and instead worry about:

SHARIA! We don't know what the hell it means, but if the MOOSLIMS are a'for it, we're 'agin it! Fun fact! A few southern states have passed laws banning Sharia. Whatever that means.

Imagine not living in America, maybe say instead, for example, you are a Muslim living in Turkey. And you see these protests on your TV. You must think, "America! What a country! Truly, the land of the free and home of the brave."

Let the hate flow through you

It reassures me, in some small ways, that crazy right wingers have always been part of America. They've always been filled with hate of the Other  - whomever the Other of the day happens to be. They are used by their hate and their fear as a political bloc by the rich and powerful to fight any Progressive action in America. And they mostly lose - even today.

Alas, today they have dedicated TV and radio channels spewing their poison 24/7, and so it seems like their influence is large. And it is, in compared to the past. But they are still a small minority of people, no matter how loud they scream.

Push back. Counter hate with love, lies with truth, insanity with logic. Be patient. Use the Force.

Ghetto

Each dot represents 25 people, and each color represents a self identified race from the 2010 census. This is Chicago, and you can see how the main ethnicities are ghettoized. Not specific to Chicago, either, as all American cities and probably most world cities are set up the same way. Here's a few more:

Detroit

LA

Greater NYC.

As long as such ghettoization exists, then so too will racism. But much of it is self chosen, yeah?

Complicated subject!

In an other world

Once upon a time there was a strange place named Rhodesia, and they had a fabulous army.

Which was used of course to suppress the majority black population from thoughts of self rule. Brutally, as such things go, even with such slick 70's fashions and hairstyles.

Also too:

Apparently, babies with guns/grenades/etc is a thing on the Internet. Don't look it up unless you want to be further appalled by humanity.

Other Monsters (Retro)

All our monsters and villains are "Others". All our enemies or threats are "Others". All fear of crime comes from fear of the "Others".  In the end we can only trust ourselves, but what if I told you that aye, verily, within your own mind lurk "Others".  What if I also told you that everything looks way cool in retro sci-fi pulp covers?

So yeah, "Others". What perhaps is more interesting is what we define as "Not Other". Who is in our Tribe and thus one of us, not one of them? Who walks in the Light and not in the Dark?

Mexican Wrestling Vader might appear to be a bad guy, but he's just waiting for his reverse heel turn. The Flip-Rudo.

Team Other

I'm on Team Other, as DHARMA was a totalitarian intrusion upon the innocence of the Island, on par with The Man in Black himself.

Who was the Smoke Monster, of course. Which was what? Magic. DHARMA, on the other hand, was all about science and control and groovy 70's symbology.

Like all the Hieroglyphs. If you watched the show, you'll recall this stretch of episodes being dark as heck. Creepy stuff - the tale of Ben Gale.

But then, if you were raised on Mystery Magic Island, you'd be pretty twisted too. Thus, count me in for Team Other, cuz the rank and file had the best intentions of the Island in mind - and if you lived on Mystery Magic Island, you'd work to placate it as well. Logically.

Too Soon

I've been making 9-11 jokes for years, so how can I not drop a Boston terrorist joke? Here you are - it's mild. For it is too soon, but. BUT! Hear me!

While I have a lot of personal association with this event (from afar), and it is tragic for the people directly and a bit less directly affected (unlike you and me far away from this event, watching on TV, or reading on the Net), I refuse to EVER be terrorized. As we all should. And that's what this clearly was - an act of terrorism. As almost all bombings are. Cowardly stabs at the heart of decent society. Which is 97 or so % of us. Here's what I say to terrorism:

Fuck off!

The real power of terrorism, however, is not in the numbers of people killed and maimed in the terrorist attack, but in the reaction. The people who become afraid, distrustful, fearful. The powerful who use these emotions to become more powerful. The innocent caught up in waves of xenophobia. The Patriot Act. The invasion of Iraq. Color coded "TERROR ALERTS". Etc. This is the real damage of terrorism, and we directly control it, in a democracy.

It's psychological. The dramatics of it, the random suddeness of it, the cruelty of it, scars the mind/soul, and it takes far greater significance in people's minds. For example, fear of sharks. Very, very few people are actually killed/hurt by sharks in any given year, but the fear is palpable. And just so - relative to the total population of America, very, very few people are killed or injured in terrorist attacks in any given year. Compared to, oh say just for another example:

Gun deaths, whether by homicide, suicide, or accident. Fun fact! Your odds of dying by gun go up substantially the minute you buy/obtain your first gun. And yet just today in America our Congress voted down any attempt to strengthen the logical background check procedure for gun purchases. Why? Politics and power.


People are making money off gun sales - that's a big portion of the reason for our country's insanity. And it's not really that big money, but they've got a good lobby (NRA) and so, we die every day. Because it's the power behind the topic - the political power of divide and conquer - that ensures that for now, no sanity will be forthcoming. We will keep dying for reasons we could prevent/minimize, but won't. And the Right Wingers among us will in fact enflame.

Thus, here in America, the reaction to this:

The cold blooded murder of Kindergartners, is this:

Wingnut training squads, completely unlicensed and unregistered except of course by their own phony institutions and camps.

Whilst a large percentage of the country goes into a froth over a couple of high end pipe bombs.

I'm sorry if you're offended, but our priorities are fucked up.

Otherman

Can Superman even get drunk off Earth alcohol? I think not. But maybe some alternate universe Superman could. Like

Nic Cage could drink the actual alcohol clouds that span light years. Seriously, and literally, alcohol clouds in space. Now, if there were obvious punchline clouds, too, all would be complete. But there ain't, ain't there?

The greatest hero of all, but you'll never hear about him, since he's always busy saving Singapore rather than Metropolis or Gotham.

Sanctioned fodder

Fair and balanced.

North Korea is ready to fight, apparently.

Totally wild!

Their bombs

Operation Sailor Hat was a military experiment to see the effects of 500 tons of explosives - without the now (1965) recognized issues of radiation. A wicked lot of TNT, stacked in cool domes. Like Brutalist igloos of DOOM.

For what purpose? Better means to wage war. For, as any Soviet would tell you, or anybody from Central and South America, or Asia, or the Middle East, the USA is always waging war, with their tanks and their bombs.

Enough! No more war and killing! Let us come together as Comrades!

Let us build groovy peace rockets and travel to the stars!

Let us live in peace and fraternity, and sorority! It will be groovy.

Also, too, here's what 500 tons of TNT exploding looks like:

 

 Awesome!

I Pledge

For true, I am a citizen of the Planet Blue, Earth, and all life upon it. From the lowliest worm to highest falcon soaring in mountain crevasses, and all the heights and lives in between, we are all brother and sister in life. So rare in this cosmos of stars scattered light years apart, rejoice! We are alive - a privilege rarer than the rarest rarity that you could imagine. To be alive amidst this infinity! What an awesome opportunity! And here we are, Earthlings, alive on this planet. If we could all step together,  t'would be a paradise overnight. Till then - FSM help us.

I've longed believe the ONLY thing that will bring humanity together is an alien invasion. An external enemy would be just the trick to get humanity to stick together through thick and thin. Despite the loss of life. Otherwise, it will always be small gangs of douche bags ruining it for everyone else. No matter the disaster - nuclear war, asteroid, earthquake, tsunami, etc - douche bags will rule the ruins. Unless you fight back. Will you fight back against the douche bags of the future? Say it with me:

I Pledge allegiance...