NAME CALLING IN THE TIME OF PLAGUE

Taylor James Brown (Irenaios) is a person on Face Book who called me a troll! Why.. the nerve!  Ow!

In this time of plague I can tell when it's really getting to me.  My neck hurts.  I flush a bit and realize that guys like this guy. probably a very conservative guy, from his FB profile.. is up against it, too.  I wonder if I really AM what he claims??? Well, I have lived under a bridge for a while in the sixties.

"Why don’t you get over yourself and go suck on your privilege, Michael Sheehan." (sic) He then backs off a bit.

"Probably a little harsh but I have lost all patience with self-righteous sanctimonious internet trolls who descend from their ivory towers of isolation from reality to judge people on topics in which they themselves are completely uneducated."

Of course, Mr. Brown is right. I do go off on rich folks.  Walmart (which this back and forth is all about)  is a pariah, to me.  The billions of dollars that they take in daily with so called 'bargains' don't go to the workers.  Here's what I found:
May 9, 2019

Including benefits and bonuses, the average wage for a full-time, hourly worker at Walmart is $14.26 an hour. Walmart's department managers can also earn up to $24.70 per hour.  

 

 So.. I am not Totally uneducated! Hah! Do the math. Can one support him/herself independently on fifteen bucks an hour?

 

Not that this guy, Mr. Taylor Brown.. will see this. And, would still be critical if he did.. 

 And, it's pretty boring to debate this kind of thing on Facebook, with 'facts' from the internet. AND.. Obviously, this guy has a decent vocabulary.  But. it's a little funny to see the way some conservative behave that is stereotypical:  

Call people whom they don't know names and disrespect them out of hand.  The worst I can do for this guy is call him a republican.  If he's not!?  I'll publicly apologize because it's just about the worst 'name'   I can lay on anyone. (Uh oh.. here's his last post to shut me up on FB. He writes:
"Most likely voting against both parties again. (so, he helped to elect 45!)   The only Democrats worth considering were Yang and Gabbard. And yup, full supporter of the 2nd amendment, along with the rest of the Bill of Rights. I actually think the entire federal government should be abolished and states should be able to do whatever they want." Yikes.. he's worse than a republican!  He's ready to divorce from the union!  He's a  separatist. All for me and mine and forget the rest? A California guy?  Yikes.. Oh well.. There goes the neighborhood!  I asked to join his militia, but am done with the back and forth. This guy is scary. I know when to quit! He's got guns!

 

Take a breath!  Ahhhh.. 

 

This is doubly troubling especially because as I awakened this morning I had the feeling that this plague is leaching away our humanity!

 

We need to be reminded that we are Human beings.  So.. this guy gets my goat! And, that's a good thing in that it brings back to the center that our entire world is under attack and when I get my neck in a sling because of a criticism on Facebook, (friggin' Facebook!) that's a sign that this poor guy and his ilk are right!  They are probably religious. They may believe that the plague is a hoax.  It's beating the crap out of us: Left and Right!  The psychological toll is mounting! Ow.

 

Fact is that there's no equal time for the good news these days.    TV News focuses on the notion of 'if it bleeds, it leads,' their marching song! 

The fact is that this plague is curable. 

The fact is that every single day, folks (even people whom I know personally) are getting better, getting over it! Not dying! 

Survival is Good News. 

 

Why does TV news continue to show huge enlargements of this microscopic virus, accompanied by swirling masses of little tiny viruses that are waiting to kill us? "If It Bleeds, It Leads!" Keep people in Fear and Fear wins. Be cautious! Please don't let Fear dominate your thoughts.. my thoughts.. the world's thoughts.  Be kind.

 

This is a plea for Humanity and that's the truth. 

Take a deep breath. Brush your teeth! Eat your vegetables!  Be kind.

 

Friday April 24, 2020 

michael sheehan

 

 

RESPECTFUL DISTANCE / Five Smooth Stones

April 13, 2020

Here we are.  We is the nominative idea and hopefully, 'we' will move forward to something new.  Bernie Sanders says he's now for Joe Biden. Earlier today, Joe appeared on ABC's The View and sounded like a human being.  Direct. No bluster. Human. 

Choosing this image of David is just to remind us that the good guys can win, even in the face of difficult odds. If you don't know the story of David and Goliath, that's okay. Suffice it to say that it applies to what's happening today and it seems to me that winning is what will happen. This photo is from a few years ago at Forest Lawn Glendale. I took it.

The idea of our basic humanity is what's on my mind today.  How to remain human. How to get back to the essence of ourselves.  Humanity is on the line.

To this end, the following idea was first proposed by the son of my dearest friend.  He suggested that we must become Socially Connected..not socially distanced. 

  

We've been schooled to use the term "Social Distancing," which is NOT what we need now.  What we need is Social Engagement: phone calls, snail mail, even texts and email that engage us.. 

I've proposed that we adopt the term "Respectful Distance" with a non-gesture of standing still instead of throwing up 'THE HAND.'  There are all kinds of physical movements that are insulting or rude, The Hand is, to me, one of them.   The last thing we need right this minute is rudeness. Respect is the answer.

Let's be Respectful at a distance and stop rejecting one another with a rude gesture.

 

Let's call what we are doing "Respectful Distancing." Say it or write it a couple of times. Can a semantic shift help us? What's in a name?

We Americans are.. mostly..  a social society.  When we Embrace one another... respectfully distant for the time being; with Love, this trial by loneliness must be, we hope, a little more bearable.  

Call a friend. Send a snail mail. Reach out.  

Michael Sheehan

Glendale, California

4/13/2020  How many days until Sharon Doubiago's birthday? Thirteen! Let's hear it for Taurus!