Indulging the Truly Futile, Stupid Gesture for a Laugh

It’s not very adult of me to continue to be inspired by the original National Lampoon movie Animal House.  Sorry.  ‘Can’t help it.  Plus, Belushi.  So there’s that.  I need to laugh at the tragic absurdity, the painful truth, the helplessly hoping that wonders if her harlequin still hovers.

I am offended by almost everything but what's about that is new?  It's not like being "offended" is anything but smīva.  Smīva is the Sanskrit phrase used in the Gita for when Krsna "as if smiles" when Arjuna finally breaks down and asks for help.   It's what my mother used to call "that look on your face."  Well, that might be all I got: that look on my face.

I refuse to make others bend to my tender feelings problems, so I'm not inclined to bend to theirs.  If you’re easily offended by this or that word or gesture or idea I might only appear to be nice about indulging that and your pronouns.

Appearances really do matter when reality includes a world burning down, flooding, and real people being hurt by stupid people.  It might not be nice to call people stupid but I think you have to be stupid to think or feel or do so much of what so many do.  I would not exempt or excuse myself.  Folly is never far no matter how good your intentions or experienced you are in avoiding being stupid.  I am sure it's just around my own bend.  Not that I want that but living as a flawed human is the only thing I am sure will be true until the sun doesn't rise for me.

I really do wish everyone well, even those people, but can’t figure out how this or that kind of “action” will make much difference. Is that resignation yet?  What’s good in the good fight?  One good laugh is worth 10,000 serious thoughts: I’m sticking with Chuang-Tzu about this one. 

 

Otter has been humiliated and beaten and his fraternity as been expelled.  To his Animal House brothers he says: "I think that this situation absolutely requires a really futile and stupid gesture."  The reply is, “And we’re just the guys to do it.”  Count me in.

 

I feel like this in the age of insurrection (prelude to what's coming), Mitch, maskless idiots, and what seems to be a consequence-free world if you are a white Republican ass kissing the twice-impeached one-term orange-menace who gives no fucks about anything but himself.  My own congressman is just such a toad.  Yes, Chris Collins, you who will never read this.  Can you read?  My neighbors (some) had Impeach Biden banners strewn across their dilapidated porches before he was inaugurated.  Remind me, what percentage of Republicans believe the election was rigged or ill-legit?

 

Democracy runs on losing.  In a good way.  To have a functioning republic one side has to agree to lose, pick up their pride toys, try again the next time.  You know what I fear?  I fear Democrats will play nice, lose the midterms in 2022 and do the right thing by conceding and all the while the vile Rs use the law to slow-walk their Neo-Fascism, having successfully suppressed the vote, and voilà, democracy over.  They will never give up power but it won’t matter, they already have the Covid Barrett Uncle Thomas Drunken Kavanaugh Lying Alito Court in their pockets and they can’t lose again ever even if the lose.  Losing won’t matter and stealing democracy won’t be stopped and there we are, once again, no consequences. 

I don’t follow closely the Trump Lawuits That Are Everywhere---NY, Georgia, the Jan 6 Committee---because it’s just too sad to believe, as I do, that it will all amount to bupkis, nada, zilch, nothing but more episodes of MSNBC talking heads (especially drama laden Maddow) telling us that something better than nothing might happen while Mitch just chuckles and Orange Fatass plays golf with the Rich Guys who Own Us.  Yeah, I just said that.

I often mention that the vast majority of my near-neighbors (apologies to the true few who are not them) are SWPR.  Got that?  I can spell it out if you need.  But what else do you call stupid white people who have voted R forever, are broke and under employed, fat and under nourished, sick and under insured, and still don’t get the memo?  Nowadays they wear their shameless racism concealed in the Back the Blue flags and pick up truck bumper stickers.  They make a point of telling us they are there and they want us to know they are going to use their guns.  “Come and Take It” with the AR-15 decal.   “Support the 2^nd Amendment” and thank goodness this is NY where concealed carry is still not the law.  (Fuck everywhere that has that "guns are our way of life" life.)

 

So I decided that I needed my own personal really futile and stupid gesture.

 

Of course I had to make this something that my neighbors wouldn’t notice and wouldn’t even “get” if they noticed.  The former because they will come and shoot us as soon as It takes office and the Reich reappears and the latter because I mean to offend, infuriate, and otherwise give them further reason to hate on my liberal “commie” “socialist" ass.  If only they knew.  But they won’t get the joke so that’s even better.  My sardonic self-important elitist self wants them not to get that the joke is on them.  So, what did I do?

 

I went on Etsy and got myself some of those OG cloisonné buttons that you put on a jeans jacket. And they came in a set.  How nice.  As you can see from the photo, we have before us our favorite Commies: Marx, Engels, Lenin, like that.  

Now I’m not a good Communist.  In truth, I am not even a good liberal.  My personal politics are closer to Obama and, yes, Biden than most others.  I think they mean well but often do things that don't make the right difference.  The alternatives are worse because then even less good actually gets done.  This is A'mur'ka folks, we have to deal.  Why?  I would prefer to try to win people to the better policies by making progressive changes that work.  You can argue all you like about Bernie this and Bernie that, but I tell you Amur’ka’ don’t want no socialism until it’s actually their Medicare and Social Security.  Want change?  Elect liberals dressed up as moderates.  I could be entirely wrong, at which point Workers of the World Unite and I’m with you.  When the tikki torches come for us, I will be with you, promise.

 

But nothing makes these Tucker-watching morons more inflamed than our being their worst nightmare; commie, socialist liberals.  How better to wear that identity than with my stupid futile mere virtue signaling cloisonné pins?

 

Joke’s on me.  Joke’s on them.  I need to be able to laugh at everything because it’s all otherwise far too depressing.