A Society in Decline

To stop the violence, we must end religious and political intollerance.

Photo source: PeaceMonger

It’s hard to be grateful today, in light of the news of yet another church shooting, this one at a UU church in Knoxville, TN.

My gut reaction was that this was a Republican fascist attacking a liberal church that works for social justice, but that is my own prejudice speaking. The truth is we still don’t know why a man would walk into a church with a shotgun. And it’s the fourth time in 15 months people have committed murder at a church in the US, desecrating a wide range of belief systems. That doesn’t count the numerous church burnings, bombings, and desecrations where nobody died.

What I can be grateful for is this. Only two people were killed before the congregation subdued that assailant. One of those reportedly took the full shotgun blast to shield others. I honestly don’t know if I would be brave enough to do that—probably not, but I hope so.

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Evening Update: I hate being right. The linked article has been updated. It now says, “Jim David Adkisson told investigators all liberals should be killed and admitted he shot people Sunday morning at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church…”

Suna and I went to a candlelight vigil tonight at Live Oak. We commiserated with friends and met a really nice woman whose father is the membership director at the church that was attacked. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those affected, especially the children and those still in hospital.

To those like GW, Rush, and Fox News who profit by selling this absurd brand of “conservatism,” This blood is on you. I hope you like the taste. It’s time we liberals stopped using the preferred word of these right-wing bigots. We should no longer call them conservatives. They are fascists. We won’t be able to stop the death squads until we convince good people to take a stand against their evil. We can start down that road by using the correct terms.

Pearl

I believe it was Benjamin Franklin who said that when you trade freedom for security you end up with neither.

Photo Source: Planet Hiltron

And ev’n so be their doom, themselves have thought

Who, past the living, warr’d upon those dead

Who, being dead, yet spake thro’ that they wrought—

So fierce their hate against the soul they dread!

—Christopher Brennan (1915)

Today is the sixty-seventh anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii—a reminder that there are always people who are willing to use violence to take what they want, and violence is sometimes necessary to protect yourself. The difference between then and now is that the violence then was a nation-state acting against another nation-state. Today’s violence derives from savage cowards who use violence randomly to try to force others to kneel.

What a wonderful thought! Let’s move on to something less depressing

Friday’s Feast

Appetizer: What was the last game you purchased?

Oblivion: The Elder Scrolls IV. I played it a couple of times. The Beccano took it over, even though he already had a version for one of his game boxes. I never really understood or followed it. I much prefer the Diablo franchise.

Soup: Name something in which you don’t believe.

Fate or Destiny.

Salad: If you could choose a celebrity to be your boss, who would you pick?

I think I would prefer a non-celebrity. Celebrity requires too much ego, and non-celebrities seem aflicted enough with that vice. So if I could choose, I would choose a mundane boss.

Main Course: What was a lesson you had to learn the hard way?

Gee! There are so many! I guess that it’s not as easy to find work as it was when I was younger. I knew that intellectually. Now I know it in my gut.

Dessert: Describe your idea of the perfect relaxation room.

It is a large room done in soft colors. There are windows at one end, but most of the light is indirect. Even the windows face north. The walls are lined with well-stocked bookshelves. The floor is hardwood, but there are rugs to soften the noise and keep the feet warm.

There is a small sitting area near the windows. Just a couple of chairs. There is a larger sitting area in the center of the room—a couple of couches, a table, and maybe a chair. Music is always available here, but there is a television and a DVD player, too. At the far end of the room is a writing desk.

Báthory Dreams

Elizabeth Báthory:
The Bloody Lady of Čachtice Photo Source: Wikipedia

I don’t know what it is. First it was zombies at work. Last night it was Elizabeth Báthoryrunning a theme park in southeast Houston. The dream was plotted like a bad horror movie.

I started out looking for auto parts in what I think was Spring, Texas as it was in the early 1980s. I found out that I could get the part I needed but only if I traveled across Houston at rush hour. Somehow, that involved walking through a multi-level mall, where I became unconscious.

Still in the dream, I came to in a dungeon-like setting. The view zoomed down a long hall of rickety wooden stairs and dirt walls. I remember thinking, “That is a really cheesy effect!” And then we were at the room at the end of the hall. There was a very pale woman taking a blood bath, and I knew immediately that it was Elizabeth Báthory.

So she was a real vampire after all. At least, in the dream she was immortal. She seemed to be absorbing the blood through her skin like a sponge. It would run off of her skin like water, leaving the skin the color of limestone, unblemished and unstained.

Then the scene changed again. I was in a set of review stands. There were hawkers selling Elizabeth Bathory products to the spectators. A bound young woman was brought out to the theater floor. She was forced to kneel in the dirt and beheaded over a bathtub. The spectators all thought it was part of the show. I seemed to be the only one in the dream who knew it was real.

I knew I had to escape. Or to help someone else escape. But EB’s minions were loyal. Violence ensued. Then the alarm.

For such a dream, there was no emotional involvement, not even the involvement I would get from watching a movie. Not even dread. Just plodding through the plot. The characters were all involved. Even when the dream was in first person, I was detached from it. Strange really.