Angry Rant ~ Politics and Fiction

Well, that was a fun 20 seconds of no angry ranting. But here, I’ll try and not make this an ‘angry’ rant, more so just a … conversation by myself.

So long story short, there’s this dipshit idea out there that ‘politics’ should stay out of books, especially fantasy and fiction. I fell across it again just today, from an unexpected blogger (instant unfollow, seeing as they also unveiled themselves as a Trumpster!).

Whoever came up with that dumbass idea seems to have no concept of what constitutes basic human rights and compassion, as well as actual politics.

Here, let me make a distinction for you all. Human rights is generally about giving people proper respect and treatment. Politics is generally like ‘where should we put that parking sign’.

Now I KNOW that as of late, the two have become mish-mashed due to a large orange bladder-speaker and their piss-pot of a base. But this is beside the point, which is -> If you have a problem with people being represented and treated respectfully and with equity, maybe the problem isn’t the author but YOU.

As a trans person, I’m just sick and fed up of this. Are your basic human rights up for debate? NO? Then leave mine the fuck alone.

“oh, but!” I hear the piss-pots whine. “we don’t mind that! It’s just the way the left is doing it is ‘too much’!”

You know what? The ‘left’, as you all like to call it, generally listens to ‘own voices’, where yeah, views not your own might be put forward. And yeah, it’ll be disconcerting for you. Get used to it, you’re not the fucking center of the world.

Maybe I’d be a little less pissed if this blogger hadn’t been a white cis male who seemed so offended about everything and anything – the type that simultaneously declares that those who are fighting for their rights are ‘too much’. What a hypocrite.

Anyways, if you believe politics should stay out of fiction, what the fuck are you even writing about? No human rights, no fight for the poor, no fight for the environment, no classist struggle, no … nothing? Yeah, great story, jerk.

Because what you actually mean when you say ‘keep politics out of it’ is ‘keep those views and people I don’t agree with away from me’. If you don’t want to read about anything but yourself, in your own lens, in your own comfort, then that begs the question of what are you reading? What are you learning?

But what’s worse than that? It’s that you don’t want representations of those people in your stories shows you don’t want them around you in daily life. And that’s just discriminatory and nasty, you asshole. What have you got against disabled people? Against minorities?

Seriously, people who want politics out of fiction just want to see their own privileged view spewed back at them. They want to keep seeing themselves as the center of the fucking world, and not to understand or empathize with anyone who they don’t consider as equals. Because let’s face it, if you empathized with others, you wouldn’t have a problem reading about them. Jerks.

RAGE RANT

UGH! So, i decided to be a good lil’ blogger today and connect out there with some lesser-known blogs. Because, you know, social networking and all that. Getting my story out there to people so that, maybe, eventually, I can make a small living out of my writing.

Well, do I regret that, or do I regret that?

So I searched for novel on wordpress, and found a fellow author also doing serial posts of their novels. Well, I thought I might as well give it a read. Find out what other peoples are doing out there in the world.

It was a good albeit a little long read. So I commented happily that, yeah, I liked the story and would like to read more. And then I thought, hey, why not see who this author is and read more about them? And oooh, they have thousands of followers! Maybe I can learn a trick or two. Barf.

One of their latest posts, however, caught my eye. In short, after reading it in utter disbelief, this author was ranting about how ‘obvious’ it was that this whole COVID- 19 thing was a scam by people who worked for China. Not just that (because, apparently that made sense?) they were raving about the ‘damage’ that social distancing and shutting down work places would do to the economy and people in general.

Like, wow. Okay, first thing first, people are literally dying from this stupid fucking virus. Have a heart. Second, the fact that your economy is about to blow up is not because social distancing is bad -> It’s because your leaders don’t give a shit about you like they’re supposed to. Here, in Canada, businesses and self-employed people have volleys of funding and resources being made just to help us through this. Why? Because our people give a rat’s ass about each other.

Maybe, just maybe, if your stupid-ass fucking leaders gave half a shit about you people, they’d be doing something to financially support the average citizen. Here, they are putting the homeless in shelters to keep them from getting sick. Because, yes, people are getting sick and dying. It’s not just media hype. I know nurses and no, our hospitals aren’t empty. They’re fucking overflowing and we’re running out of material.

Next! I decided to read this author’s about section. Well, the jewels that I found were not exactly in their ‘about’ section, but close enough, on a similar page I found.

And oh myyyy, as George Takei would say. This person has an evil boner against SJW (social justice warriors who most often are just trying to make the world a better and safer and more inclusive space), and stories that ‘beat people over the head with message’.

Y’all, okay, but, WTF are you writing about if there’s no message or meaning? This author was part of a group of authors who wrote without ‘message’. Like, what, are you mad that we now have representation of minorities? Or the gender diversity? Get a reality check, dumbass, we’ve always been here, and always will be. We go all the way back to ANCIENT FUCKING EGYPT. Get over it yourself!

I just – I am so fucking mad. This dumbass not only believes that the virus is a ‘scam’, but that socialism is dumb, and that stories shouldn’t express values or have agendas. Y’all, stories have ALWAYS had agendas. The hunchback of Notre Dame? Written to save the fucking cathedral. People write for reasons, for meaning, and it is the meaning and message that gives the story value.

But this author probably has no idea about any of this because they’ve got their head up their ass. And they’ve got over a thousand little ‘yes-men’ bobbing along with them, agreeing with them. Keep your stupid-ass followers. Keep them far away from me. I’ll sit over here and hoard mine, who aren’t ass-hats.

I’m just so disappointed in this person, as an author and fellow human. I just – no. So mad. So so mad. Ugh.

Peace y’all, and don’t catch the stupid.

Grateful doesn’t mean Painless

I’ve had a shit day. Not that anything bad has happened, but that I’m exhausted emotionally from less than pleasant private things (thankfully nothing wrong in my own home, so don’t worry) that have brought me down to a point of exhaustion. I was barely able to do anything today, being so tired that I just wanted to cry.

Now, self pity isn’t the point of this post. I got myself feeling better and just a few minutes ago I was reflecting on it. My thought process went like this “oh I live in such a lovely home, shame on me for feeling bad when I live in such a nice place, I should be more grateful and maybe one day I’ll regret not being happy enough”. To which I did a double take.

Wait, what? Gratefulness does not erase pain, be it emotional or physical. Sure, your mindset can make things more palatable and you can have good coping mechanisms. But when I practice gratitude, I usually end up just feeling guilty. Oh, I am grateful, but I feel guilty for still being in pain when I have such lovely things.

Because here’s the thing -> stuff and situations won’t erase your mental illness. They can help, but to erase it completely? It would have to be nirvana in my opinion.

So yes, gratitude is great and all, but it won’t heal you. And being grateful is not the polar opposite of mental anguish. You can be both grateful and in pain, the two do not exclude each other.

So don’t think you’re not grateful enough because you’re in pain. Being in pain is not a sign you’re not grateful enough. Appreciate what you have, but don’t burden yourself with the concept that good mental habits (like gratefulness, positive thinking) means no mental illness. They’re not the same.

Cute cat to cheer up your day!

Does No One Care?!

Alright, so I woke up today thinking it was going to be a restful day. And behold, here I am, sitting in the coldest room of my apartment (which is pretty cold) and angrily bashing away at my keyboard instead of luxuriating in a restful day.

Maybe my early morning anxiety attack was a preview of something all my fellow trans were waking up to.

Today was supposed to be such a restful day. Instead now I want to cry, and cry, and cry.

Not just because TRUMP IS MAYBE GOING TO STRIP AWAY TRANSGENDER RIGHTS but because …. no one is talking about it.

My social media feeds are silent. Filled with happy Samhain preparation stuff and witchy doo-dads.Where is the outrage? Where is the care?

No one seems to care. Sure, maybe we’ll get a funny quip on Stephen Colbert’s show. But will there be protests? Will there be any general motion to support us? Will we just be another drop in the metaphorical shit-bucket and NO ONE CARES?!

I keep repeating it, because yeah, I’m lucky. I’m a Canadian. I live in frenchified Quebec, land where things change slower than cold molasses in mid winter. But on a federal level? What if the sheer stupidity of the Trump motion wears off into Canada, and we have another dumb-fucked Trump as our next Prime Minister? I’m fucked. Yeah, fucked, in danger, and NO ONE SEEMS TO CARE.

Like, seriously, people? Do we just not matter enough to you? Are we just ‘too small’ and ‘noisy’ a minority? So it’s fun and all to watch RuPaul and watch drag queens and kings, but to support trans people is too much?

Where are the people knitting hats? Why no transgender hats? Why not call the bureaus now and give gory details about your periods to get them to stay away from our rights? No? Not for us? Fucking thank you.

And yeah, it’s pretty close to me because I can’t just be ‘it’s those other people out there’. It’s people I know that are supporting Trump. Close relatives who hoot and cheer his every action. So go fuck you all. You either help us fight this or you are not an ally. That’s it.

And maybe the history books won’t take notice and you’ll think it’s all blown over when it’s said and done, but we’ll remember. We’ll remember that when they came for us,you DID NOTHING.

Want to make me less pissed off? Talk about it. Write to your politicians and get other people to do it. Cause a fuckin’ stink. We’re humans too, you know! We deserve our rights! We get murdered enough now, don’t you think? Imagine what it’ll be like without any laws defending us!

Oh, and P.S.? All you ‘wiccan’ and ‘pagan’ and ‘love and lighters’ just go fuck straight off if you’re going to tell me to calm down. You worship peace and harmony and won’t help the people who, in many cultures, are symbols of divine power and channels? Just fuck off. Especially if you borrow from Native cultures, where the berdache were sometimes revered. Don’t worship us if you’re going to abandon us. Because what else is the balance between god and goddess in Wicca but transgender? And now you abandon us? Thanks.

“Well that was Predictable…”

Ladies and gentlemen! Beware, rant incoming! I know, I know, I try and keep this blog useful and on topic. Rants generally don’t have their place on my blog, or I try not to anyways. So if you don’t want to read a rant, look away. Otherwise enjoy the ride…

Because Holy Fuck people can be enraging.

Let me explain. I, inconspicuous and easily happy I, was thinking ‘oh hey, let’s go and meet some new people!’. Of course I meant online (who am I to meet people IRL, right? Ah ha ha, the thought of being actually sociable…).

And LO! Be-FUCKING-HOLD -> Idiots!

What did I do? How did I summon them? Did I do some Satanic sex magic ritual? Did I … I don’t know. I can’t think of doing something sufficiently stupid to summon this level of ignorance.

Because woe and woe upon me… I typed “gender neutral” into wordpress’ search bar.

W-O-E.

The first (FIRST, like what the HELL? No warning, no nothing!) FIRST article to pop up was *drumroll * infuriating. Forgive me, I read it. Me, all in a good mood, lackadaisying along and happily expecting some transgender inclusive happy morale-boosting self-affirming something pleasant to read.

“Well, that was predictable…” said one of my friends when I told them I’d fallen across a rampaging Christian religion-splaining about the woes of gender-neutral terms.

Allow me, grant me this pleasure, or dance with me, whatever you will… I’m going to rip this article apart. Because that’s what I do when I’m angry.

So! Behold! This is the article -> https://wordpress.com/read/blogs/72317554/posts/5463

And no, I am not asking anyone to spread hate upon this person. I just put the link there so anyone who is curious can read what I am talking about and judge for themselves.

This is my answer ->

One Angry Polytheist Wiccan’s response to “Introducing Gender-Neutral Pronouns. What Did We Expect?”

Well, straight off the bat, the article starts with a ‘y’all’, which I kind of like. I like ‘y’all’, and so I’m happily reading along as the author says that her local college tries to impliment gender-neutral pronouns. And then…

“They have basically invented these words as legitimate gender-neutral pronouns. 

These new “words” include “ne,” “ve,” “ey,” “ze,” and “hir.” ”

To which I say… uh, yeah. That’s how words happen. We invent them. You got a problem with that? Or just with invention in general?

Moving along…

“This pamphlet provides information for students on how to respectfully interact with their transgender classmates and it urges them to ask everyone which pronoun they would like to be referred by.

Oh my goodness, guys. I read that piece of information and the first thought I had was how badly that could backfire….

Just picture an acquaintance coming up to you and asking you this: 

“Hey, so do you want me to call you he, she, or you know like, ve, ne, or ey?”

That honestly seems like it would be a very awkward experience to me.”

No, actually, it’s not. It’s what we in the liberal community call ‘polite’. It’s basics. It’s respectful. Imagine being misgendered right off the bat by someone and having to correct them. Trust me, it’s embarrassing for everyone. Wouldn’t it be better if they simply were polite and did what they ought to do and simply ask?

Which, alright. At this point I can say “Ok, you just really aren’t used to being around gender-deviant people, are you?” and I can forgive someone not understanding the NEED (not want, NEED) for these sort of discussions in the public sphere. But then THIS had to be written.

“It really is sad. People believe this lie about who they are and where they find their identity, and something as concrete as the gender you are born with is no longer supposed to be concrete. People are being completely deceived, and this deception is being celebrated and normalized”

Uh… I had to reread this twice. I was like… wait a minute… and I reread it again… and then I was PISSED.

What the hell is sad about people affirming who they are based upon their brains’ innate needs? What is wrong about people being true to themselves, to what they know is their inner truth? And in case you never read a history book or looked at other cultures – gender has never been tied solely to what you were born as. Just look at some Native American cultures where gender was based upon a child’s choice of tools in a test. Just look at the vikings who had the ergi, castrated men who performed magic. Just… look at the world outside of your bubble and you’ll see it’s full of variety. Plus, you’re completely negating the existence of intersex people. They exist. They are mutilated and forced into fitting the gender binary at birth. How horrible is that?

But oh no! The real danger is worrying about an awkward conversation and brrr – new words (oh, what a horrid concept!). I remember that one hated figure who invented a whole wallop of words… what was his name… Hitler? No… Shakespeare! Hitler actually suppressed the LGBT community, by the way, as well as the mentally ill and epileptic  (but let’s not focus on the historic issues at hand here but rather on how un-com-for-tah-bul it is to have polite conversations!).

They continued by saying…

“No one is getting HELP. No one is being counseled. No one is being told the truth.”

Which I found really ironic, because the process of changing gender is commonly called ‘getting help’ and includes meeting with counselors and therapists, and facing your own inner truth. So when I read this I was really, really, confused. I seriously wondered if the author knew what she was talking about, or was trying to make double-entendre all over the place.

And then it got better (we hit the rotten core of this poop-fest!)

“Sin, right, wrong, and truth are taboo concepts in our culture. But as Christians we know they exist and we can’t go against what God’s Word says.”

Oh bugger. As someone who studied just a tad bit at university about the evolution of Christianity… I feel like asking ‘and what exactly do you think God’s word says’? Because, you know, it does seem to mean a whole lot of different things to a whole lot of different people. Do you believe that we ought to encourage the rape-marriages and slavery as is dictated in the Hebrew Bible? Or what? Because really, if we come to the facts of it all, it’s a text that was written and edited by people for political gain and power.

As a polytheist, I do believe that for the followers of this Yhwh-istic tradition meaning and inner truths can probably be found within a text held to be sacred for your deity. But to insist this text affect the lives of others? That’s just fucking rude. And the fact is that we live in a world of varied interpretations, varied UPG (unverifiable personal gnosis) and who know, maybe even aliens.

Of course, the author tried to end this all on a motivational note (HAH!)

“Speak the truth. Don’t jump on the bandwagon of accepting and embracing sin. We have to be emboldened by the Word of God and find our courage in His truth.

Even if the cost is far more than we want to give.”

Yeah. Because you, you cis-heteronormative person, you deal with harrassment on a daily basis just for being white and cis, don’t you? You literally get rocks and beer bottles thrown at you for the way you look. You have people debate whether you exist ‘according to god’s word’. You have almost an entire nation (I’m looking at you, US) rallying against transgender rights due to an angry orange-inado.

Because let’s focus on the real victims here. It’s not the people who were victims of the Holocaust for merely living according to their inner truths (transgenders, LGBT, Jews, etc), who have lived on the fringes of society for hundreds of years. It’s really, really, the mainstream Christians who are suffering because they’re being asked to be fucking polite.

Who knows? It might be the first time in their lives they’re being asked to do such a thing. Wow! How oppressive!

And you know what? If someone thinks I’m being rude about this article, I’m just going to quote the author and say “Introducing Gender-Neutral Pronouns. What Did We Expect?” Because what do you expect? Us to stand idly by as we are insulted, belittled, and told that we are against religious text? Oh, dear Lucifer, no!