You had me at Grab

This is the last installment of my so-called Election Trilogy. I am exhausted. What can I possible add to the debate, the magnitude of information and opinions that are out there? What hasn’t been said? But that’s beside the point: the goal here is to maintain my chronic affliction of self-torture.

I catch myself distracted more than usual. My well-known ability to focus has been compromised, confusing my logic and sensory perception. Even something as simple as trying to prepare hard-boiled eggs requires a minimum of attention. My first mistake was going upstairs after turning the stove top element to HIGH under a pot containing 5 eggs fully immersed in water (please note that only 4 charred eggs are in the photo, no water). Whatever I was doing in my home office/studio must have been of vital importance, like writing a blog post for example. It was a Sunday afternoon and I remember thinking to myself that one of my neighbours must be barbecuing.  It wasn’t until I heard loud popping sounds that I sprang to my feet. Even in that instance, I had not yet made the connection, not until I was half-way down the stairs. Approaching the kitchen cautiously from around the corner, I could see that the popping sound was accompanied by flying bits of egg. Through stealth approach, the danger of making the 5 o'clock local news was fortunately averted, no one to witness my embarrassment and the hour it took to clean up.

I'm being told to not get "worked-up" about what's going on around me. After all, I am in no imminent danger of being killed by a U.S. drone. Thank you very much. How about scalding hot egg missiles? If death were all I feared...well, you see where I'm getting at: fearing the eventual end of my existence is quite different than facing my current existence in a fractured society of global proportions. That’s right, I am in the fortunate situation of having a lot of choices in life, choices not available to many people around the world, this country included. Simply put, in the future I envision, the choices will be different but available to a greater number of people. If I’m accused of idealism and over-exaggerating the perils of lack of accountability, ignorance, policies and laws shaped by religion, and geopolitical forces jeopardizing such a future, so be it. Look into the mirror of history. It doesn't take that much imagination. I hope I’m wrong.

Bummer, and here I was starting of on a light note.

Being a globally recognized powerful nation comes with responsibilities. Pardon me for getting "worked-up" about the words, ideas and actions of the person who is about to become the leader of this powerful nation. I am being asked to believe that past behavior is neither a predictor nor an indicator of a person's future actions and decisions. This cuts both ways and I get it, Hillary was not an irreproachable candidate. What I’m struggling with however are questions of morality and logic. Logic and logical thinking is supposedly therapeutic, the means to reason, but alas, as I’m belatedly discovering, not universal. As it turns out, I need additional therapy. Let me continue...

“Grab them by the pussy”.

Fifty-three percent (53%) of white women who voted in the 2016 U.S. elections, apparently don't mind unsolicited genital fondling, among other things. Please watch out for more sex offenders showing up at the voting lines for the next elections. Flippant remarks indeed, but sadly and in a nutshell, gender solidarity for white women is superseded by racial solidarity. Someone please tell me again the justification and logic behind voting for all-important "real change" that makes you "great again", when it comes with ideas and behavior that don't belong in a progressive and just society. Oh yeah, I know, many people, mostly white men and women, didn't vote for either candidate for moral reasons. Even morality has a hierarchy. If Sophie could make a choice, then so could you.

Pussy has been the conventional name for cat since the 16th century. It gradually evolved from a term of endearment for a woman, something that can be stroked, to becoming slang for a woman's vagina, and finally, by extension, used as a pejorative to label someone as weak and submissive. I am the proud owner of the first paperback edition of Womanwords by Jane Mills from 1989. It's a little dated and written from a white woman's perspective, but still highly informative if you're interested in that sort of thing. Other than referring to cute baby felines, the more socially acceptable reference to a pussy, as in the expression "You're such pussy", doesn't mean you have 9 lives, but rather that you lack courage and strength. You can "Grow some balls", and we're back to genitals. I have heard both these comments across gender lines, and the people who dislike being called a pussy are of course...everybody, so united we stand.

“Grab them by the pussy”.

I ask myself why I'm picking on this particular comment coming from a bottomless source of purposefully offensive material. After all, there are so many horrible things happening all over the world. Why write about this seemingly inconsequential comment in the greater scheme of things? First of all, I don't think it's inconsequential. Secondly, because I am free to do so, I have that choice. Thirdly, I have a pussy, unappreciative of uninvited groping. Lastly - if only to put an end to a potentially long list - because this comment was made by the man elected to assume the U.S. presidency in 2017.

Mea culpa. I would argue that every offensive and hateful sentence that has been uttered throughout the U.S. election campaign, through relentless and consistent repetition across all media, was a major contributor to the election outcome. Much like when you're sitting in a garbage dumpster (don't try this), you initially want to gag because of the stench, but after a while, you can't smell anything at all, not even the Brussels sprouts, and that discarded slice of pizza being dragged away by the rat looks mighty appealing. Hungry [for change] and senses numb: as a population, we have been exposed to systematic desensitization.

In conclusion, let me share that I just finished preparing 6 pounds (2.7 kg) of Brussels sprouts for Thanksgiving celebrations on November 24 and took it as an opportunity to focus my thoughts so as not cut any of my fingers off. Throughout the task I kept thinking about testicles...Happy Holidays!