Sunday, January 09, 2011

Have you noticed?

That the people who spend the most time talking about how much they love America spend the rest of their time talking about which Americans they hate?

9 comments:

Penal-Colony said...

Why is the focus so skewed and so wrong? That was a tragedy for your country. Are people ashamed of not caring or are they unable to care?

switters' post redeemed an orgy of shame.

Pure, senseless murder politicized. Awful.

Michael said...

The event itself is beyond sad. Tragic is overused, but it fits in Tucson. The misplaced anger as a reaction to it, by far too many people (and I'm not just talking about the usual retards) is unbelievably depressing. Like Zevon said, shit's fucked up and it doesn't appear to be getting better.

Penal-Colony said...

I don't think the word tragedy is overused at all: quite the contrary, its spirit is underused, if that place is any indication. Besides, the word is avoided lest it summon people into some kind of alien unanimity. What's fucked up is the outright repudiation of what folks ought to share in common -- outrage, indignation, shame, sympathy, compassion, grief.

David Marlow said...

9 years old. 9 frickin years old. and the old dude who shielded his wife from the gunfire. retired construction worker. i've been listening to rush limbaugh from 1 to 3. he sure does yell a lot. let me just say that anybody who knows me pretty well has not yet once said, "you moved to the middle of nowhere in ohio into a house with no central heat in order to grow vegetables!"
9 years old. i'm sad and ashamed.

Penal-Colony said...

9 years old! Check out that sublime sentence in Keifus's blog. He's right. I have a 9 year old girl.

You've become my working definition of enlightenment. And that move was a stroke of prophecy.

We have about 2 1/2 acres here, which my brother and I intend to cultivate as soon as the weather lifts. I reckon we could supply all our vegetables. We planted 10 apples trees last year. We'll have rhubarb, peas, carrots, spuds, parsnips, onions, cabbage, lettuce, strawberries and cherry tomatoes. If all goes well.

David Marlow said...

john, couldn't be more excited for you guys, if that is your real name. jess called me this afternoon to ask me if i've ordered my seeds yet. not yet. 10 apple trees, that's awesome. you'll need to get a press. i've been looking for one at estate sales for my 3, but i still want a peach orchard on the west lawn. big, like, 150 trees by the time i'm done, and provided i don't die of lung cancer anytime soon. you've made my day. again.

Michael said...

I was telling Lono that there are times when I'm as envious as I can be that he can take his 10 year old daughter to the Grand Canyon whenever he wants, but there are times (like yesterday) when I'm glad I don't have to answer the perfectly legitimate questions asked by that same 10 year old daughter.

How can any parent watch their kid go off to school, or to Congress on Your Corner, and then get that phone call?

The phone call.

Talk about having the world shatter into a billion fucking pieces.

Penal-Colony said...

Yes, John it is.

We live close to this farm and will get some tips. We're very excited, reading up, quizzing growers, preparing the soil, etc.

Michael, that phonecall is unimaginable.

Keifus said...

"Unimaginable" is the right word. Difficult and unpleasant to even think around the margins. I'm going to focus on happy things for awhile.

You guys are doing some things right. That's envy I'm green with, and definitely not gardening skill.

[My big scheme this spring is to grow some yard hops, and I'm starting to line the edges of my postage stamp with berries (useful weeds!), which will hopefully choke off the poison ivy. Garden-in-a-box continues, but not very auspicously.]