November 2, 2020

Contributing to the Chaos while

Living – Life – Large

Dan Abernathy

Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, and here I am, stuck in the middle with you.”

This line is from the 1972 recording of Stuck In The Middle, by Stealers Wheel, ring truer now more then they did 1972. There is no doubt that we, as a Nation, are stuck in the middle.

With BLM, Covid 19, Antifa, politics and Government involving people that shouldn’t be involved in politics and Government. Wear a mask, don’t wear a mask, stay home in quarantine, move only in the restraining parameters of the allocated six-foot social distancing measurement. Covid 19 is real but so too is the manifesto attached to all this that is removing our freedoms as we are governed from hidden faces.

Now, more than ever, I am taking care not to allow damage to my foundation of calmness. I retreat from the normality of confusing influences and allow my observation, thoughts and engagement unconstrained by communal consciousness. I refuse to be manipulated and controlled with fear, shame and guilt.

What is going on? Why do so many stand and listen to what is being said, yet keep their own thoughts and opinions silent because they fear speaking what is on their mind? By no means should any words of malice be deliver, but I do believe in the 1st Amendment and I respect your opinion even when I don’t agree with it. This respect and belief, seems to have become a foreign concept for many people.

All that is seemingly aired from mainstream televised news is what is being snarled and shouted the loudest. What is right is what is right and what you have to say or believe is wrong, or at the very least an uneducated hypothesis. I see hordes of people buying into this controlling toxin and becoming brainwashed with political correctness and in the process completely misplacing personal thought and interjection.

Regarding BLM, which was Bureau of Land Management way before it became the acronym for Black Lives Matter, all I really see is disrespect for everyone. As a bus dweller, I created a sticker. It was a parody on BLM. I blatantly appropriated the Logo from the Bureau of Land Management, Changed BLM to Bus Life Matters, and on the bottom I put a drawing of myself praying. Perhaps praying for the return of common sense.

It was a done in jest, as a spoof and the implementation of freedom of speech. However like all things there was another opinion, which was welcomed, as I believe you are entitled to your own opinion. Some called me callus; insensitive, tasteless and questioned why I would play on these words.

How black people were and in some cases still are treated is wrong. So too were the way the Japanese were treated after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Think about the way and Latinos have been treated. What about the Native Americans? What happened to the true native people throughout the history of the United States was horrendous. I don’t think there is anyone, no mater what race, would disagree with these words. Yet it all happened.

So too look at white people. Why must all Caucasians shoulder the blame for what has happened then and now? Everyone has pride for his or her ancestors, I am not ashamed of mine and I am sure there were flaws throughout history, but a blemish can also be a character builder. My ancestors were poor working people that did so without handouts. They did so to try and make a better life and place for their children.

I have never mistreated or put down anyone because of their race and I won’t tell you about the friends I have that are not white, as a certificate of not being prejudice. They are just my friends and I love them for who they are. I can look back on history and see many atrocities, over and over again, but that was in the past. It will not go away by attacking history or knocking over a monument. It all boils down to respect. If you want to be respected, start being respectful.

Then we have Antifa. Antifa, whose roots emerged from West Germany, is an anti-fascist action in the United States. These warriors of the far-right, authoritarians contain an array of independent groups that hope to accomplish their objectives though the use of violent exploits, rather than through any type of policy reform.

These rowdy and unruly clusters hide behind the 1st Amendment and peaceful protest. But, when the first brick is thrown by anyone, when the first store is vandalized and looted, by anyone. The protection of the 1st Amendment no longer survives.

Now these rioters are nothing more than vandalizing criminals and should be dealt with accordingly. Shame on the cowering leaders of local and state governments, the ones allowing rioting mobs and the injection of fear to control their city blocks.

So I take artistic liberations with the lyrics in What’s Up, by Four Non Blonds, I am feeling a little peculiar and I’m still tryin' to get up that great big hill of hope for a destination.

I’m often compelled to return to music, as I have found a pronounced parallel in people and music. Some are soothing and refreshing. Some are upbeat and exciting and others… well others are just noise. - dbA