#Joseph Sutton

[civicopienso]

Trump Times: A San Francisco-based writer Joseph Sutton expresses his thoughts

With the recent antics of former President Donald Trump at Arlington National Cemetery hitting the newsfeed this past August, San Francisco-based writer, Joseph Sutton expressed his ire at the incident.

“Just yesterday (Sept. 3) it was reported that Trump now claims the incident at Arlington was a made up story,” said Sutton. In 2019 Sutton published a book of essays entitled, "Trump Times."

“From the 2016 primaries to the end of Donald Trump’s first year in office, I wrote a great deal about him in my journal," said Sutton. "I extracted my most pertinent thoughts about the man and presented them in "Trump Times," showing why Donald Trump is truly a menace to America’s institutions and ideals.”

Just recently, Sutton read Pulitzer-Prize-winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson’s book "Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent."

From her book, Sutton was able to gain an insight as to why Trump has maintained a “cult-like” status among his supporters.

“It just came to me after reading Wilkerson’s book,” said Sutton. “He feeds into the white peoples’ fear of being replaced by a non-white, diverse majority.”

This is something that sociologists and others have observed. They foresee that in a short period of time, the predominant white race in America that has persisted for four hundred years will not be the majority anymore. People of color will be the majority.

Author, William H. Fry published his findings in 2018 based upon current statistics. The Brookings Institute posted a commentary by Fry on its website.

As Fry initially stated. “New census population projections confirm the importance of racial minorities as the primary demographic engine of the nation’s future growth, countering an aging, slow-growing and soon to be declining white population. The new statistics project that the nation will become ‘minority white’ in 2045.”

“White people (those made up of primarily a European ethnic background) have historically been the central focus in society,” said Sutton. “I can see that now,” he said.

“Trump and his supporters," added Sutton, "continue to lie and try to persuade the American people to believe all sorts of propaganda, continually fueling fear and insecurity.”

Confusion about the role immigration plays in American democracy and the economy for example, is one issue Sutton sees that Trump uses as a “smoke screen” to distract the country from other important issues.

“That mantra Trump uses of ‘Make America Great Again,’ is a façade," said Sutton. "He uses it to dissuade the American people from trying to understand the world in the context of the actual situation of the 21st Century.”

“If Trump can use sentiment and nostalgia to get people to want to turn back to a previous era, he will,” said Sutton. “Just like he uses the big lie to frighten people into believing that the last election was rigged and stolen.”

Pointing out Trump’s attempts to avoid going to court, Sutton noted. “Trump has been indicted by the courts for criminal misconduct at least four times.”

Sutton is perplexed that the majority of the conservative U.S. Supreme Court this past July ruled that former presidents can never be prosecuted, that they're immune for actions relating to the core powers of their office. "As a result," said Sutton, "if Trump is elected president again, he will no doubt become a dictator.

“Even so," said Sutton, "I believe Trump is using every trick in the book to get back into the White House. The American people who support him, especially the white people, need to realize Trump has will kill Democracy in our country.”

“We wouldn’t have as much division in this country if Trump had conceded the 2020 election and hadn’t instigated the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the Capital building,” said Sutton.

Sutton who has been writing for over 50 years and has published over two-dozen books, perceives a nation divided and deceived by a megalomaniac billionaire.

“Trump seeks out heavy-handed world-leaders of questionable scruples like Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un to validate him, while he ignores the proper protocols of diplomacy and U.S. policy and statesmanship.”

Sutton hopes that as the November election draws near, the American people will see through the illusion that Trump and his supporters have created in the last four years and that they vote sensibly and responsibly.

To learn more about writer Joseph Sutton and his book "Trump Times," visit his website.

[jonfarreporter]

Amid The Dystopia, There’s the Simple Things: Stuffed Grape Leaves

As the world of this present moment of 2023 seems bleak, especially to an older generation writer like Joseph Sutton, who remembers a more hopeful time, there’s always a glimmer in the simple things.

While musing over a memoir he's working on, he unexpectedly was brought back to happier times when he stumbled upon a short video clip on YouTube about stuffed grape leaves.

Posted by Jordan & Silvan of Homegrown/Hand-Gathered, the one-minute video highlights the basic steps of foraging for grape leaves and then stuffing and rolling them. What caught Sutton’s attention was that Jordan is of Syrian descent.

Robustly gathering the grape leaves, Jordan’s features are swarthy and strikingly handsome, much like Sutton was decades ago when he began his writing career.

Among the more than a-dozen-or-so books Sutton has written and published over a span of 50 years, is the one about his often-overlooked Syrian-Jewish heritage.

“The Life & Death of Abraham Massry & Other Stories” spotlights the unique family setting young Joe grew up in. “My mother used to make dolmas or yabrak, as they are called in Syria, exactly like the video on YouTube shows,” said Sutton.

“I mention Syrian food in most of my books,” he said. “My mother cooked Syrian food maybe once or twice a week. Every once in a while I would take Syrian food to school in my lunch bag.”

Sutton by all accounts lived a very American life as a kid—football, baseball, hot dogs and catching a Saturday matinee at the movies. This was a routine he knew well and cherished. Still, just as cherished was the social and cultural tapestry that gave his home-life that little extra depth of heart and soul.

Very proud of his background and the happy childhood/adolescence he had, Sutton said, “When I was in school, I wasn't considered different than anyone else. I was just a normal kid going to school with other normal kids.”

Growing up in the Los Angeles area immediately after World War II, Sutton recalled a more cohesive and uncomplicated time.

“We, as kids and teenagers, didn't have the slightest thought of where someone was from or what his religion was," he said. "Everyone's background was different. There were Italians, Greeks, Jews, Filipinos, Latinos, and Black people. I don't remember any prejudice where I grew up in the Hollywood area of L.A."

After moving from Los Angeles to San Francisco in the 1970s, Sutton went from being a Dodgers fan to a Giants fan and from being a Rams fan to a 49ers fan. Sports had always been a part of his life (Sutton played football at the University of Oregon). “As for baseball and football," he said, "all those teams I was on were made up of all ethnic backgrounds. We all got along.”

It’s only when looking at the world now in 2023 that those happier times seem far away and dim. Syria is currently embroiled in an ongoing civil war.

Speaking about the conflict currently going on in Israel and Gaza, Sutton said, "It’s very disturbing what's going on. So sad. Horrible things are happening. I wish there was peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. But it seems bleak right now. I hope there will be an immediate ceasefire.”

The short video clip (among others) of making the familiar Syrian staple of dolmas was like a flashback to the Sutton household of days gone by. The reminiscence was a tiny respite of joy and comfort in what seems like a dystopian world.

Working on his yearly journals/memoirs for the past four years has kept Sutton in the practice and rigor of writing. “I’ve completed 10 yearly journals and am about to finish my 11th this month,” he said. "Each yearly journal is like a book. Each shows one year in a writer's life, as well as the country's life."

To learn more about San Francisco-based author Joseph Sutton, visit his website.

[trickytrick]

UMMM MARBLE HORNETS ANYONE??

[carlutttra]

this was literally the only full body pic of alex/joseph i could find

[habitsbf]

hi a couple weeks ago i found a bunch of photos of the marble hornets actors at a con. i have literally never seen them before. i mean like i found a lot. i have 137 images saved in total.

im not sure how many people have seen them or if theyve been posted anywhere before, so i thought i should share a few of them here :D

UPDATE: ALL PHOTOS HAVE BEEN POSTED TO @habitsbf ON PINTEREST 🫶

these are just a couple of my favorites <33

[rat-barf63]

Can't believe I never posted these they've been underappreciated this whole time

[thattransproxy]

Saw someone add their favorite soundboard moment from the Marble Hornets stream, so here's one of mine

[boy-oneder]

Behind the scenes bloopers from the Marble Hornets blu ray

[chaosincluded]

buttons by the pussycat dolls starts playing

i couldnt even begin to tell you why i did this but my sanity is slipping

i listened to a lot of justin bieber while i did this.

[cringefailkralie]

this came to me in a dream

[whoamiandwhatimdoinghere]

the best photos to compare their height

[tansy-moppet]

winning at what cost

[mouthsfullofsharpteeth]

i like pictures like these

[trickytrick]

i believe that’s how it would go

[temporaltourguide]

pics i took on my rewatch of season 1 (and once i get around to it, gifs)

i only excluded one and its cause it had blood so ill post it under here

cw blood

[skyekitsuneart]

The stupids