Drunken Owls and Other Delights

There is power in a factory, power in the land
Power in the hands of a worker
But it all amounts to nothing if together we don't stand
There is power in a Union

Now the lessons of the past were all learned with workers' blood
The mistakes of the bosses we must pay for
From the cities and the farmlands to trenches full of mud
War has always been the bosses' way, sir

The Union forever defending our rights
Down with the blackleg, all workers unite
With our brothers and our sisters from many far off lands
There is power in a Union

Now I long for the morning that they realise
Brutality and unjust laws can not defeat us
But who'll defend the workers who cannot organise
When the bosses send their lackies out to cheat us?

Money speaks for money, the Devil for his own
Who comes to speak for the skin and the bone
What a comfort to the widow, a light to the child
There is power in a Union

The Union forever defending our rights
Down with the blackleg, all workers unite
With our brothers and our sisters together we will stand
There is power in a Union.

You know, normally I'd be spending this time writing. At any normal time, right about now I'd be forcing myself off the internets and working on whatever I had scheduled today (in this case, the outline for my young adult novel, Angela Death). And normally, I'd be posting something about me and emmalyon's escapades today in Japantown, where we went to the Kabuki to see a sort-of-live performance of Hamlet being put on over in the UK. Or maybe even something mundane like the fact that we went shopping at the seaside Safeway in our neighborhood and it was ridiculously foggy.

Sometimes there are just events that are bigger than myself that trump all that.

As I briefly said in my Twitter a short time ago, I really hate the fact that the most-repeated phrase I've uttered in the last few years, in response to some people in this country, has been What the FUCK is WRONG with you? This phrase has been aimed at people suggesting "second amendment remedies" against people, people who have treated gays and lesbians as pedophiles and less than human, convention runners who used graphic 9/11 footage to further their cause, people who have shot at and killed abortion clinic doctors, representatives threatening to secede from my country, people convinced that 9/11 was an inside job, people who said that a man deserved to have his house burn down because he didn't pay a fee, those who have brazenly said that Muslims are evil...Jesus H. Tapdancing CHRIST, I could go on, but I'm getting a frigging ulcer just thinking about it.

Look--I'm proud of my country. I love this place. We can travel from coast to coast, learn all sorts of neat history, listen to all kinds of music, eat all kinds of tasty foods, read interesting books, play games, see movies, all kinds of things. I love the fact that my uncles and my father served for this country. I love the fact that I can believe what I want to believe, sing what I want to sing, write what I want to write. I especially love the fact that I can say that you're a fucking idiot, and you have every right to say the same to me, and neither of us will get arrested for it unless it turns violent.

Aye, there's the rub, as I heard earlier today.

As much as I respect your right to believe and say what you want to say, even though it may get me pissed off, I simply cannot respect your violent actions. Despite what you want to believe in, you simply CANNOT shoot point blank at a congresswoman. You CANNOT shoot point blank at an abortion doctor. You CANNOT kill those you do not agree with. That is NOT your inalienable right in this country. But my anger is not only because of your actions.

My anger is at those of you who are reckless with your words. As Tucson Sheriff Dupnik said earlier today, "vitriol might be free speech, but it's not without consequences." As a writer, I completely agree with that. One should not recklessly suggest "second amendment remedies" without expecting someone to take that literally. One should not say that the President is trying to screw America six ways to Sunday without expecting someone to take that to some twisted end. You can shrug and say "meh, it's mudslinging--it's part and parcel of politics," just as foreclosures and account freezes and repossessions are part and parcel of banking and the economy. You can shrug and say you don't expect anyone to take you seriously. You can say "that's not what I meant at all, he/she misunderstood me."

My point being, words are a lot more powerful than we give them credit for. We've heard music that's brought us to tears. We've seen performances that have captured our hearts. We've read books that we consider absolute creative masterpieces. We are an emotional animal, whether we want to admit it or not. We get riled up and angry when someone hurts one of our own. We cry tears of joy when we bring a new life into the world. It's inevitable that someone will react emotionally to something we say or do.

This, my friends and readers, is why I will NEVER wish violence on someone. Sure, I may have stupidly said "I wish they would f***ing die" when I was a kid, but y'know, that's being a stupid kid being angry at the world; I'd like to think I've grown up since then. To wish violence on someone goes against my belief that I absolutely refuse to end another human being's life or even wish it. I have no reason to say that, I have no humanistic right to say that. I may be completely pissed off at these fucking trolls on the internet who say stupid shit like this, but I have no right--no right at all--to wish them death, no matter how obliquely it might be said.

It's called responsibility.

I am responsible for myself, for emmalyon, for my family, for my friends, neighbors, coworkers, clients and customers, anyone I come in contact with. I am responsible for treating them as a fellow human being, first and foremost. I am responsible to report if I witness someone harming them. I am responsible to follow the laws of this city, state and country (and let's face it, most of these laws are pretty damn fair compared to some other places in the world, so I have little reason to complain). So I'd like to think that a simple thing of being responsible for the words I may share with others is a small price to pay. I have no problem with that at all.

So I put this to you, sirs and madams of Congress, of City and State government, and those of you in the media. I have never wished any of you ill-will, even if you have angered me. I have never threatened you or spread vicious lies about you to advance my own position. I have never questioned your religious beliefs. If I have questioned your motives, I have tried to think about it, read up on it, and form educated thoughts (and yes, they may have occasionally been misinformed, I'm not infallible) before shooting my mouth off.

So I expect all of you to do the same. That is your responsibility, both as elected leaders and voices of television, internet and radio, and as fellow human beings.

Because if you are going to suggest "second amendment remedies", threaten secession, spread vicious and unsupported lies, vote against helping your constituents, believe that semantics is more important than human life, believe that money is more important than human life, offer glib non-apologies, and treat those with different beliefs and ideologies as second class citizens and less than human, then you, sirs and madams, have failed me. Please--for the love of God, Jehovah, Allah, P'taah, Bob, the Flying Spaghetti Monster, what or whoever you believe in--I implore you, if our leaders cannot take responsibility for their own words and their consequences, then the events of today and the last few years will only continue and possibly get worse. If there are those who see our leaders acting like reckless children, they will believe they can do the same.

We've officially been a country for two hundred thirty-four and a half years. Compared to Europe and Asia, we're pretty young, and actually pretty advanced as well.

I think it's high time we grew the fuck up, no?



I apologize for the coarse language, but you know, a swear is a lot healthier than a threat.

This is so full of WIN. :)



Thanks to paft for this one...