#NO DUDE !!!! there are DOCUMENTED EVIDENCE BASED TREATMENTS

[hikeyzz]

it bugs the ever living FUCK outta me when people (and esp my own fuckin friends) wanna act willfully ignorant about shit they just don't want to have to accept. stop living with your head in the clouds. your actions have real fucking consequences for the people around you and whether you accept that or not, one day you WILL be held accountable. and i won't feel sorry for you bc i tried to help you.

[lookwhatilost]

joshua is hands down the worst person i’ve ever dated by a fucking mile. and what makes him even worse is the therapized softboy nice guy delusion he’s laboring under, because you can’t tell a person like that anything

like, me? this entire blog is a testament to everything wrong with me. i’m cold. i’m defensive. empathy is something that so does not come naturally to me and this has given me a variety of problems. i’m crude. my coping mechanisms are beyond maladaptive. i could yap about it for days.

so last night. story time, not clickbait.... so i have a lot of beef with twelve-step programs. i avoided them specifically when i was in active addiction because i didn’t want to deal with hearing tons of other people bitch and moan about their cravings and thoughts when dealing with my own shit was bad enough. i disagree with the philosophy of “stew in misery, if this works somehow, god gets the credit. not you.” esp since addicts tend to have issues with feelings of agency in general and the admitting to powerlessness thing is very “lie down and rot”

there’s also an issue with there being no distinction for violent people ordered there by the courts and just normal people who want to get help, due to the anonymity thing. and some people in that aforementioned category are, shocker, abusers who meet their victims at 12 step meetings. this is documented. i shared an article related to this on my CF ig story and said it was worth checking out (it’s called “twelve steps to danger: how alcoholics anonymous can be a playground for violence prone members” and it’s long but you should still read it)

and my thing has never been “i’m going to take a massive diarrhea shit on anyone who this has helped”. i just think it’s fucked up and absurd that this non-evidence based program is so ubiquitous to the point where it’s taboo to say “this has some pretty glaring flaws” and i think robust addiction treatment options are a necessity. if aa and na have helped people, i have no intention of taking this from them. but iunno, maybe the program with an extremely low success rate has some tactical errors or something.

i actually am in the process of publishing research about this, if you can believe it. so it stands to reason that i have some handle on what i’m talking about here.

anyway joshua took this and ran with it and spat out an excruciating defense of this shit, in spite of conceding that i was “80% right”. we argued about this for almost two hours.

so like he’s never been to a twelve step meeting before. this is relevant context. and when i was trying to make the case for my points and he was doing the same, he brings up, unprompted, that he had a heroin problem way back when.

and i didn’t address it because i didn’t know what to say. plus i dont know what this is meant to convey if you’re talking about a program you were never in? like i haven’t personally participated in 12 step stuff but i’ve taken people to meetings before when i was researching this. it just seemed like emotionally provoking me into conceding my point. and i’m so fucking uncomfortable with that level of manipulation. 

he also lashed out at me for responding “coldly” to this confession. because, you know, arguments are a good and healthy time to confess extremely personal shit. not when you feel comfortable enough with someone to bring up the dark agonies of the past. no no no. that’s fight leverage.

this guy sucks so much ass, dude. idk how people can act like this and justify it to themselves.

[shasta-reese]

so...just watched Tiger King

Initially wasn’t gonna watch it but literally saw the name everywhere and I caved to see what the hype was about. This is going to be an extremely long post since I will be giving my thoughts on the entire docu-series, so if you like reading thorough reviews, welcome but if not this ain’t for you. This won’t be in chronological order but just whatever comes to my mind first. 

After finishing it, naturally I went on social media to see what people opinions were. And I. Was Baffled. To see that some people are saying that Joe Exotic should be out of jail is fucking insane. Like yeah I could maybe see why people say he was framed and was kinda set up by Jeff Lowe for the murder-for-hire. But are people literally forgetting about the other charges he had like i don’t know ANIMAL ABUSE. Like come on people, okay fine people argue saying her never physically abuse them but it’s quite clear that he did not have proper enclosures for those animals. Tigers are largely solitary animals, and he placed multiple tigers into a single enclosure that was barely enough for one tiger. That is still a mistreatment of animals. 

And then we find out about the WalMart expired meat, which sure animal stomachs can handle some slightly expired meat sure but you cannot say that it’s right to feed them that. Let’s not forget that he was also using that meat to serve to people. 

Next up we have the obvious manipulation of his apparent husbands. I can’t say much for Dillon (the current husband). But it was so obvious that he was controlling Travis and John in some kind of way. They were both so young and addicted to drugs and Joe clearly saw that as an opportunity, and basically kept them from leaving by giving them gifts and drugs. 

Just the entire tiger breeding part was just hard to watch for me. They literally show us that Joe took a newborn tiger from its mother. HOW ARE THERE NOT MORE PEOPLE UPSET THAT HE RIPPED CUBS FROM THEIR MOTHER MINUTES AFTER BIRTH! Yes, tigers are endangered. Yes, they should breed to be able to keep the species alive. BUT Joe exotic is not qualified and does not have the knowledge of proper animal conservation to be breeding tigers! He is breeding them to make a profit by cub petting, and selling them to be pets (which they are not).

I personally cannot find any redeemable qualities in Joe Exotic. Maybe he did actually care for the animals and truly loves animals but he got too caught up in the money and fame, completely throwing what he initially wanted to do. And to his credit he did have a moment of self-awareness when he was talking about the chimpanzees that were relocated. But even then he still did what he did and now he’s paying the price. He also made his mother sign documents that she didn’t even know what the contents were and got her dragged into his legal messes which is just fucked up.

I don’t think it’s possible for me to put every single thought I have into one post so I’ll try to give a brief summary of the main characters at least.

Jeff Lowe is an obvious con artist that scams people into thinking he has money but clearly doesn’t. He is absolute scum. yeah just scum. Just seeing his face just makes me wanna punch him. He has a very punchable face.

Antle is somehow worse that almost everyone in this entire thing. and i think the worse thing is that he is still getting away with all the shit he’s done/doing. Just listening to what that girl that escaped all that makes me sick that someone can do this. He’s literally breeding hybrids, that in itself is unethical, so fuck him. He’s literally leading a cult.

Carole Baskin. She’s clearly a flawed person and she definitely had something to do with her ex-husbands disappearance. Based on evidence or lack thereof, can’t say she killed him but she definitely knows more than we think. I dislike her in that she involved Big Cat Rescue into a personal feud. I will also say that she is a petty bitch. She’s not as bad as the others in terms of treatment to animals but still bad.

Big Cat Rescue (BCR) as an organisation is legit and should not be dragged down just because the founder has some shady personal stuff. Big Cat Rescue is quite open with how their facility is run, from their YouTube videos it shows clearly that the enclosures are way bigger than what they tried to portray in the docuseries. What was shown in the doc was only a small part of their enclosure where they feed the big cats. They offer a large area, hiding spots, shade, a pool for the tigers, and regular enrichment for their big cats. They rescue their big cats from abusive and neglected environments. And I am saying this for the people who keep claiming that BCR is doing the exact same thing as Joe or Antle, and that they’re keeping animals in cages too. Well, where else are we supposed to put them? CAPTIVE BRED ANIMALS CANNOT BE RELEASED INTO THE WILD! THEY WILL NOT SURVIVE! Literally all these people saying that these animals shouldn’t be in cages, and I agree but what so you propose we do with them? Leave them in the care of private owners who only got them because they were cute as a cub or as an ego boost to say “OhHh i OwN a TiGeR” and clearly don’t see that they are inadequate to be keeping a fucking tiger? Leave them in an environment where their basic needs are not met? Sanctuaries missions are to rescue these animals, their ultimate mission is to rescue these animals until there are no more privately owned exotic animals to be saved, give them a place of peace to live the remainders of their days and have empty cages. I cannot say anything about the treatment of the workers (because I didn’t see any solid sources saying they don’t pay their workers) but from what i gathered they do have some permanent staff but majority are volunteers (which by definition is someone who works without being paid, because its volunteer work), but I will say that BCR provides for their animals with the best of their abilities.

Holy shit... just ...when I watched the first episode I already didn’t want to continue because of the blatant disregard of animal welfare. But I watched the whole thing anyway to get a proper opinion instead of basing off of only one episode. On a slightly lighter note, I really liked Saff, he was one of the only people I liked. The dude with no legs (sorry can’t remember his name). And also Joshua Dial the campaign manager, like dude was nice, its just so tragic that he witnessed Travis shooting himself, hope the dude is going to therapy for that. RIP Travis Maldonado. Like they said in the end, nobody won and definitely not the animals, they suffered the most out of all of this.

I think that’s all off the top of my head that I have to say for now. Leave a reply if I missed out on anything. At the end of the day this is just my opinion, obviously we all have different opinions. So feel free to leave your opinion but I only want to have a civil discussion and don’t have the energy to argue with anyone. Guess that’s all.

Goodbye, for now

[frangipanidownunder]

Many of you know my second son, H, has autism. He just turned 17 and has been told that he won’t have a place at his special campus (small classes, individual support etc) next year. The school will help him transition to a disability job agency. There’s a bit of a rant under the cut.

At the same time, when he turned 17, his carer allowance (a small payment made to us to help with equipment, support services, allied health etc) was cut off and he had to apply for the adult disability pension (he can’t vote or drive but he can be adult enough to have to apply by himself). He was turned down. The form basically asks questions that relate to physical disabilities and does not allow the applicant to write supporting information that might be helpful.

We are in the process of applying to the National Disability Insurance Agency which is a government funded body designed to look after the needs of people with disabilities. The initial form is huge. You have to go over all the same ground as you’ve spent years doing, attached supporting documentation etc. We had to pay hundreds of dollars up front (you get some funds back) to see his specialist paediatrician who wrote a supporting letter. H’s GP completed the evidence form and we sent it all off.

Today, I received a letter informing me that the information was insufficient and they require more information about how autism impacts H’s daily life and what support has he received in the past. WTF?! The additional information has to be provided within 28 days or they’ll void his application. The first available appt for the paediatrician is next year. Fortunately, because we’ve been under the specialist’s care for so long, he has agreed to see H in a week. I nearly cried when I heard.

I feel so lucky but also so entirely pissed off at the treatment of the most vulnerable in our society. I am a reasonably intelligent person, with funds to be able to afford to pay for the appointments and the travel to the rooms, but others would not be able to. 

The NDIS is supposed to be a solution to the previously very disparate care options that existed for people with disabilities. But it just adds to the stress. I happen to think that H will not get any funding. That he is ‘not autistic enough’ for this ridiculous system so that he’ll find it incredibly hard to progress into the workplace. And then what? He’ll be long-term unemployed and society will be better off? Is that how it’s supposed to work? 

As a side note, while he lives with us, he will not qualify for youth allowance or unemployment pension because both Mr F and I earn too much money. The base line is stupidly low for the dole. When Mr F was out of work, my part time wage was considered enough for me to support all six of us. Lucky we had savings to fall back on. And of course, Mr F and H would not appear in any unemployment stats because they can’t claim.

Anyway, we’ve got an appointment next week and then I’ll resubmit the stupid form and then some dude in Canberra will scan the information and make a decision without ever having seen or met H to truly understand the difficulties he encounters every day. The system is stacked against him, it’s flawed, it’s a national disgrace and the funds have been plundered by our hideous government to prop up the budget bottom line and present a false surplus to those who think countries should be run like companies.

Fuck them all.

[kentremendousblog]

I was deeply honored to stand at the White House July 9 with my wife, Ashley, and my daughters, Margaret and Liza, to accept President Trump’s nomination to succeed my former boss and mentor, Justice Anthony Kennedy, on the Supreme Court. 

This is a long, bad, run-on sentence. Aren’t you supposed to be a good writer?

My mom, Martha—one of the first women to serve as a Maryland prosecutor and trial judge, and my inspiration to become a lawyer—sat in the audience with my dad, Ed.

Cool story. Can we talk about literally anything that’s important?

That night, I told the American people who I am and what I believe. 

I remember! You said a bunch of boring stuff, that the Federalist Society and Don McGahn and whoever else coached you to say. It was very typical, and mostly empty, rhetoric. In its pleasant tone, it reminded me a lot of the things Merrick Garland said when he was in a similar situation in 2016.

I talked about my 28-year career as a lawyer, almost all of which has been in public service. I talked about my 12 years as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, often called the second most important court in the country, and my five years of service in the White House for President George W. Bush. 

Fun side-note: literally millions of documents from your time in those jobs were buried, for no reason! Or rather, for the reason of: fuck you, nobody gets to see them, just cuz.

I talked about my long record of advancing and promoting women, including as a judge—a majority of my 48 law clerks have been women—and as a longtime coach of girls’ basketball teams.

Yeah...listen: a lot of people who are racist like to talk about their black friends. A lot of people who are misogynists like to talk about the women they’ve helped. A lot of people who do a lot of bad shit like to talk about the good shit they’ve done instead. Roy Moore’s wife, at a rally, once proudly announced that her husband couldn’t hate women because he made her the President of something or other, and also he couldn’t be a bigot like people were saying, because one of her attorneys was a Jew. So. Just, like, FYI, this isn’t a good defense of anything.

As I explained that night, a good judge must be an umpire—a neutral and impartial arbiter who favors no political party, litigant or policy. 

Oh yeah! You did. I forgot about that, because much more recently you did a bunch of insane crazy stuff!

As Justice Kennedy has stated, judges do not make decisions to reach a preferred result. Judges make decisions because the law and the Constitution compel the result. Over the past 12 years, I have ruled sometimes for the prosecution and sometimes for criminal defendants, sometimes for workers and sometimes for businesses, sometimes for environmentalists and sometimes for coal miners. In each case, I have followed the law. I do not decide cases based on personal or policy preferences. I am not a pro-plaintiff or pro-defendant judge. I am not a pro-prosecution or pro-defense judge. I am a pro-law judge.

First of all, saying you’re a “pro-law judge” is like saying you’re a “pro-hitting-tennis-balls tennis player.” The law is literally the thing you are there to engage with. How can you not be a “pro-law judge?” Second: what you really are is conservative. You’re the most reliably conservative judge on the D.C. Circuit. You rule on the politically conservative side of the issue essentially constantly. That’s why you were standing in the Rose Garden, giving that speech -- because you’re a judicial partisan hack.

As Justice Kennedy showed us, a judge must be independent, not swayed by public pressure. Our independent judiciary is the crown jewel of our constitutional republic. The Supreme Court is the last line of defense for the separation of powers, and for the rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution.

Blargdy blargdy blargdy can we get to the part where you started screaming about lifting weights in high school?

The Supreme Court must never be viewed as a partisan institution. The justices do not sit on opposite sides of an aisle. They do not caucus in separate rooms. As I have said repeatedly, if confirmed to the court, I would be part of a team of nine, committed to deciding cases according to the Constitution and laws of the United States. I would always strive to be a team player.

“And the evidence for this is that I have literally never done it in my entire life!”

During the confirmation process, I met with 65 senators and explained my approach to the law. I participated in more than 30 hours of hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and I submitted written answers to nearly 1,300 additional questions. I was grateful for the opportunity. After all those meetings and after my initial hearing concluded, I was subjected to wrongful and sometimes vicious allegations. My time in high school and college, more than 30 years ago, has been ridiculously distorted. My wife and daughters have faced vile and violent threats.

Against that backdrop, I testified before the Judiciary Committee last Thursday to defend my family, my good name and my lifetime of public service. 

Yeah...we remember, man. Because you were screaming. You ranted and raved and blustered.  You said this whole thing was a smear campaign orchestrated by your political enemies. You straight-up lied about what various things mean, like “boof” and “Devil’s Triangle” and you also lied about how much you like beer.  You essentially called a number of women -- women who have accused you of improper sexually aggressive conduct -- liars. You said this was all retribution for what you did to the Clintons. When Amy Klobuchar -- a sitting U.S. Senator -- asked you if you had ever blacked out while drinking, you snidely shot back, “Have you?!” as if the fucking U.S. Senate is not there to evaluate you, but vice-versa. You said “What goes around comes around,” meaning: “when I’m on the bench I’m gonna fuck up the Democrats just cuz.”

You know -- the kind of stuff a Supreme Court Justice is supposed to say.

My hearing testimony was forceful and passionate. 

I’d say more like “scream-y and entitled and whiny and absurd and partisan and embarrassing and awful and terrifying to all non-rich-white dudes in the country.” But “forceful and passionate” works too, I suppose.

That is because I forcefully and passionately denied the allegation against me. At times, my testimony—both in my opening statement and in response to questions—reflected my overwhelming frustration at being wrongly accused, without corroboration, of horrible conduct completely contrary to my record and character. 

It’s not, though, is it? It’s not contrary to your record. Your record is that you drank a ton, and behaved like an entitled dick, and what you were accused of, essentially, was drinking a ton and acting like an entitled dick.

My statement and answers also reflected my deep distress at the unfairness of how this allegation has been handled.

Huh. Dr. Ford’s answers reflected her deep distress at you having drunkenly pawed at her clothes and stifled her screams when she was fifteen years old. And she kept it together.

I was very emotional last Thursday, more so than I have ever been. I might have been too emotional at times. I know that my tone was sharp, and I said a few things I should not have said. 

...I mean, yeah. You did.

I hope everyone can understand that I was there as a son, husband and dad.  I testified with five people foremost in my mind: my mom, my dad, my wife, and most of all my daughters.

Your mom, dad, wife, and daughters made you froth at the mouth and scream that this was a conspiracy perpetrated by your political enemies to avenge your treatment of the Clintons? 

Going forward, you can count on me to be the same kind of judge and person I have been for my entire 28-year legal career: hardworking, even-keeled, open-minded, independent and dedicated to the Constitution and the public good. 

That’s not what you are, man. I know you can’t say this out loud, but we all know that’s not what you are.

As a judge, I have always treated colleagues and litigants with the utmost respect. I have been known for my courtesy on and off the bench. I have not changed. I will continue to be the same kind of judge I have been for the last 12 years. And I will continue to contribute to our country as a coach, volunteer, and teacher. 

Oh okay good as long as you keep coaching basketball we’re cool.

Every day I will try to be the best husband, dad, and friend I can be. I will remain optimistic, on the sunrise side of the mountain. I will continue to see the day that is coming, not the day that is gone.

Stay away from florid language, man. You’re a middle-aged angry rich white D.C. prep school kid.  Poesy doesn’t suit you.

I revere the Constitution. I believe that an independent and impartial judiciary is essential to our constitutional republic. If confirmed by the Senate to serve on the Supreme Court, I will keep an open mind in every case and always strive to preserve the Constitution of the United States and the American rule of law.

No you won’t, man. I know you can’t say this out loud, but we all know you won’t.

Judge Kavanaugh has been nominated as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Yeah, WSJ. I know. Believe me -- I know.

[6dogs9cats]

Answered by on Quora..Garrett Murphy, Father, friend, coder, skeptic, goofball

In elementary school, I learned about a document written long ago by a very wise man. That document’s second sentence is one of the most stirring and important ever written:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.[1]

Since then, there has been a considerable amount of work done to add footnotes to that sentence. “[A]ll men are created equal” has been significantly perverted. After “unalienable rights” should be the words “if affordable.”

Liberals want to remove these footnotes. It’s not even remotely socialism; it’s simply an attempt to remove oligarchic principles from our lives, very similar to what happened in 1776.

I’m not sure if you, dear reader, have ever known somebody caught in the hell of a significently bad health event, but I have, and I’ve witnessed people actually debating what’s more important, spending every dime they have and going into massive debt to live a few more years, or dying and saving the family hundreds of thousands of dollars.

I realize such scenarios didn’t exist in 1776, but the concepts of “life” and “happiness” are still the same. Our forefathers, many of whom gave their lives to uphold the ideals scribbled upon that parchment, felt very strongly that you have a right to live. It’s the one thing we’re all given upon drawing that first breath…why on earth should our very existence be given preferential treatment based on the amount of money we have?

In my eyes, a moderate, the government should be capable, and, in fact, required to provide those absolute bare-minimum items. We already have mechanisms in place to ensure liberty…why not life?

We should all have access to water. Not Evian, not Perrier, but dammit, shouldn’t people in Flint, MI be able to get water without worrying about birth defects?

We should all have access to food. Not Ramsey’s BLT Steak, not crab legs, but dammit, shouldn’t people have access to a decent, free bowl of soup if they need it?

We should all have access to health care. Not breast implants or Viagra, but dammit, shouldn’t people be able to get chemotherapy if they have cancer? Or schizophrenia medication?

I’m not saying that we should make everybody in our country happy…the document says “the pursuit”…but people can’t pursue happiness when starving, or raving in an alleyway, or dying.

If that makes me a socialist…damn, dude, I’ll wear that badge proudly.

Footnotes

[1] The Declaration of Independence

[shkspr]

I have been thinking for a hot minute about a number of dead gay writers who haunt me every day in spite of the fact that I’ve never read any of their work, and I posted about it elsewhere but I thought I would use this platform to really flesh out the details of it, because why not? It’s an interesting phenomenon. I think it’s interesting. Nobody’s forcing you to read it. Enjoy.

A.E. Housman

I believe my obsession with internationally renowned pop singer-songwriter Michael Holbrook Penniman, commonly referred to as MIKA, is well-documented. Thanks to his influence, I am now almost constantly thinking about A.E. Housman. 

MIKA has a song entitled “Heroes,” which is a poignant piece of poetry about the treatment of war veterans, and the opening line goes, “the kids in their hundreds tomorrow will march through the door / they’re fighting someone else’s war.” And he explains on the commentary album that this line is based off the Housman poem “The Lads in Their Hundreds.” Before he said that, I had never heard of Housman, and now I’m always thinking about Housman, and I don’t really know why. 

Also, the album that “Heroes” appears on is called The Origin of Love, and while I am not sure if this allusion was intentional, I am reminded of Tom Stoppard’s play The Invention of Love, which is about -- you guessed it -- the gay life of A.E. Housman. Everything comes full circle, and A.E. Housman is cackling in his grave at the fact that I cannot stop thinking about him.

Lord Byron

It is at this point that I need to specify that in this context by “gay” I mean “attracted to the same gender” and not “100% Grass Fed Homosexual” because applying modern sexuality labels is anachronistic blah blah blah and there is some contention about Byron and it seems pretty clear that he was bisexual but the point is: I know he liked dudes and I know his face haunts my every dream, even though I cannot even name a single thing he ever wrote. 

The bottom line is he was very depressed and very pretty, and friends with Mary Shelley, and that really speaks to me for some reason. Regardless, I know next to nothing about him and I intend to keep it that way. 

Although I’m fucking always thinking about this masterpiece from the Toast wherein Mallory Ortberg (my eternal savior) posits that “do you realize i’m never going to be able to have sex with the rain” and “i want to have a threesome with the moon and jealousy” are things Byron would say. It truly touched my soul and I have a deep connection with Lord Byron, or at least his fictionalized 21st-century text message persona, courtesy of Mallory Ortberg. 

Christopher Marlowe

There is too much to say about Kit Marlowe. I first found out he existed when I watched the 1998 film Shakespeare in Love (cowritten by Tom Stoppard, of A.E. Housman fame, everything really does come full circle), in which he, in the span of two scenes, utterly rocked it. I then developed a deep affinity for him on a personal level, because why had I never heard of him before? 

I love Shakespeare, I love Shakespeare so much, but it hurt my feelings that I had heard so much about Shakespeare and never ever had Kit Marlowe shoved down my throat in a high school English class. I then took it upon myself not to read any of his work, but rather to immediately google whether he and Shakespeare did it. 

As far as I can tell, there is no firm consensus on this (meaning I could find literally not one thing on the subject, possibly because it never happened but also possibly because of a cover-up?), but there is substantial evidence that Marlowe was a gay, independent of any rumored relations with Will.i.am Shakespeare. 

There is also some scholarly debate that says that Marlowe faked his death and proceeded to assume William Shakespeare as a pen name and they are in fact the same person, and while I don’t know if I believe it, it is the kind of conspiracy theory I can get behind.

Honorable Mention: Oscar Wilde

Wilde gets an honorable mention because he belonged properly on this list until very recently, when I bought his complete works and began reading them, specifically because he was haunting me so effectively. I’m only eight chapters into The Picture of Dorian Gray, and I’ve read exactly six of his poems, and that’s it. 

Regardless, good old Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde, a beautiful man if ever there was one, a brilliant writer whose gravesite deserves many kisses, possibly my only friend in this cruel world, speaks to me in my dreams. This was another one brought to my attention by international man of mystery MIKA, specifically the song “Good Guys.” Although I had heard of Oscar Wilde many times, I had never thought of reading his work until this song came into my life.

The song laments the lack of good gay role models nowadays, and includes nods to several more dead gay writers who haunt me daily, but most prominently it has a catchy chorus containing the lyrics “If we are all the gutter, it doesn’t change who we are / cause some of us in the gutter are looking up at the stars,” which is a reference to a line in Wilde’s Lady Windermere’s Fan. 

This one line in one song made me go absolutely rabid over Oscar Wilde immediately, possibly because of the very clear contextual allusion to gay hardship that MIKA threw at me, but I like to think it also has something to do with Wilde himself. Anyhow, eight chapters deep in Dorian Gray and I’m getting gayer by the second, so thanks, Oscar. 

Also, similar to my experience with Kit Marlowe, I find myself hurt and confused at the fact that nobody ever urged me to read Oscar Wilde. It seems obvious now, like I should have been doing it my entire life, and while I knew he was fairly popular, nobody told me what he was about, and I believe that’s entirely on everyone but me.

The Dead Gay Writers list actually goes on for ages, but everybody else on the list haunts me in the sense that sometimes I’m minding my own business and their name pops into my head and I’m confused and gay for a second and then I go back to living my life. That makes for a much less interesting post, so I went with the top three and an honorable mention, for brevity’s sake, and I use the term “brevity” very loosely.

[engagingjustice-blog]

Yeah, but...

Yeah, But…

I begin with the self-evident thesis that the prison/industrial complex in general and prisons specifically are in desperate need of reform.

Most telling is the fact that the US has more incarcerated citizens than any other country in the world—Even India and China, with their much larger populations (ACLU). The number of prisoners has increased by a factor of eight since the 1970s, even as crime has decreased (https://www.aclu.org/prison-crisis). That document also states that there is no apparent relationship between increased incarceration and lower crime rates during that period.

A major factor in this increase is the “War on Drugs,” which has included draconian minimum sentences for possession or small-level dealing: “Confinement of people based on drug convictions…increased 975 percent between 1982 and 1996” (Spade, pg. 27). While the advent of drug courts, legalization or reduced punishments for marijuana, and reduction of minimum sentences is starting to have an impact, more than half of the people in prison are there for drug-related offenses (Huffington Post).

The presence of for-profit prisons has also contributed to increased incarceration, as the parent company’s profits increase as the number of prisoners goes up. This results in extensive lobbying at both he national and community level to “get tough on crime.”

A vastly disproportionate number of prisoners are people of color: 60 percent (Spade, pg. 25). For example, a very large majority of prisoners guilty of drug crimes are people of color, even though drug use among minorities is actually less than in the white population (Huffington Post).

Finally, very recent events are likely to dramatically increase incarceration of undocumented immigrants who are guilty of such minor crimes as driving without a license (NY Times, 2017).

Beyond over-incarceration, conditions in prisons are indefensible:

More men are raped in prison than are women in general society (The Guardian). The fact that there were 261,000 victims in a recent year (many of them raped repeatedly) suggests that there is no meaningful protection for the more vulnerable prisoners.

Solitary confinement is grossly abused, many prisoners (including some juveniles) being placed in this horrific setting for weeks, months, or even years at a time. Human beings are social animals ill-equipped for extended periods of isolation. The result can be severe mental illness or suicide (APA).

While more than half of prisoners have one or more mental illnesses or substance-abuse disorders (https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/prevalence/inmate-mental-health.shtml), prisons are ill-equipped to provide appropriate services.

Space does not allow for discussion of additional issues, such as abuse by guards, brutal treatment of transgender and queer people, and life-without-parole sentences for crimes committed by adolescents.

In short, prisons are definitely in need of drastic reform.

I say “reform” rather than “revolution,” however. While none of the readings truly address the issue, there are simply “bad dudes” that do, in fact, need to be separated for society’s protection.

The authors might counter that if we improve societal conditions that lead to crime, such as poverty and inadequate education, we would no longer need prisons because people would be less inclined to commit crimes.

No.

Certainly, societal issues affect incarceration. These are causes of crime related to social issues, such as poverty and discrimination (Lawjrank.org) Again, the authors of our readings suggest that eliminating such causes would reduce (if not eliminate) crime. Whether that is true or not, a great deal of crime would take place before such reforms could be realized.

Other causes of crime, however, generally would not be affected by such societal reforms. I would identify two:

Familial. Our family backgrounds play a major role in one’s behavior as an adult. For example, sons of battered mothers are more likely to become batterers themselves. Indeed, children of prisoners are three times more likely to end up in prison themselves (Prisonfellowship.org). Some family environments, therefore, lead to criminal behavior. The criminals may be tragic victims themselves, but they still present a threat to others.

Genetic: Although controversial, there is significant (but not conclusive) research showing that there may be an inborn tendency to crime: Some people may be born sociopathic and inclined to commit crimes.

As stated above, the prison/industrial complex is in and of itself criminal, resulting in great harm to millions of people. Individuals should be kept out of prison whenever possible, treated humanely if incarcerated, and offered treatment for any mental illnesses or substance-use disorders they may have. And, of course, programs to reduce recidivism are essential.

I maintain, however, that there are simply some people who do not belong in general society and some form of incarceration is necessary to protect those around them.

After all…would you want to live next door to a serial murderer or rapist?

  https://www.aclu.org/prison-crisis).

http://www.apa.org/monitor/2012/05/solitary.aspx.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/feb/21/us-more-men-raped-than-women

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/10/war-on-drugs-prisons-infographic_n_4914884.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/17/racial-disparity-drug-use_n_3941346.html

http://law.jrank.org/pages/11999/Causes-Crime-Social-economic-factors.html

https://www.prisonfellowship.org/resources/training-resources/family/ministry-basics/faqs-about-children-of-prisoners/#Child_going_to_prison

NY Times, “Bad Dude?” No, but Deported Anyway. Editorial, February 10, 2017.

Spade, Dean. Normal Life: Administrative Violence, Critical Trans Politics & The Limits of Law. Durham/London: Duke University Press. 2015.

[we-work-from-the-shadows]

It was the same pattern over and over again in the hunters research, their methods carried an almost ritualistic like quality. This was how they did this, each in a seat, Jun with the laptop and papers, Tally drinking on her absinthe, and Sonia smoking. 

Planning was one of the few times Sonia ever smoked. 

“So,” smoke curled from in between the hunters teeth. “From the top.” 

Across from her the smallest hunter began, a slight slur to her speech. “Well, he’s a werewolf, we know that for sure. Dude pretty much confessed to that.” 

“We’re going to have to thank that Kevin friend of yours one day,” Jun chimed in. “Ever since he let us in through the back door we’ve been able to track dozens of irregularities. I’m surprised that other more powerful organizations haven’t been able to breach through security.” The hunter paused and thought for a moment. “Then again, maybe they have. I can’t imagine that the more tech savy Conspiracies would be kept out...Maybe they’re biding their time...” 

“We can worry about what they’re planning later,” Sonia tapped ash into a nearby tray. “What about this Julain guy? Is he really a drug dealer? Has he been overdosing people like the client claimed?” 

“Well,” Jun made a few quick taps at her computer, across the table Tally chimed in with a soft ‘oh boy here we go...’ 

“The target in question, a one Julian as he is identified, does indeed seem to be a drug dealer.” Jun scrolled own through her documented evidence, screenshot upon screenshot of public conversations he had had on his blog with other supernatural entities. “Age unknown, exact abilities unknown, lycanthropy confirmed....The target appears to have children but they’re not currently in the picture, but that’s not to say they won’t come running. The target also has ties with a certain blue associate of Tally’s.” 

Tally grunted and sank deeper into her chair. 

“Will Vell be a problem?” Sonia questioned, her attention turning to her slowly shrinking comrade. 

“As far as I know? Don’t think so.” Pulling herself back up into her seat Tally took another sip of her home brew. “Vell’s too busy with other things...which isn’t to say he also won’t come running. And honestly I think we’d rather not have to deal with him if we can avoid it, dealing with a single werewolf will be enough of a pain in the ass.” 

“I also advise caution.” Jun once more broke in. “The target has quite the web of associates, I went back through his blog to about six months ago and broke them down into a list based on how frequently he interacted with them. The ones at the top of the list,” she slid a piece of paper over to the other two. “Are the ones he most frequently had contact with. I’ve also taken the liberty of highlighting the most dangerous in red.” 

The two hunters stared. “These are mostly in red.” Sonia sighed and rubbed her eyes. 

“Exactly, the target has managed to create quite the entourage of colleagues, all powerful in their own right. This would not be a problem, however they all appear to be as equally morally bankrupt if not more so than the target.” 

“But is he killing people?” Sonia pressed the question again and Jun tapped at her keys thoughtfully. 

“So far it is impossible to say, if the target is killing people then he isn’t talking about it, I’ve also not been able to connect him to any OD’s in the area that he frequents. However it’s not exactly something that I can rule him out of either... As I said before, morally bankrupt. “ 

“Well I mean,” Tally spoke up again. “We’re not exactly on the morally up either...I mean we steal from the dead a lot. Not to mention kill people.” 

“Tally’s right, we can’t execute him unless we have solid evidence that he’s been creating issues.” 

Jun hummed and tapped at her keys again. “Well, if you want to find him he’s currently resigned himself to a local institution for the supernatural.” 

“Institution?” Tally parroted back, Jun nodded. 

“Yes, the target has been experiencing a great deal of stress over the past several months, in fact, I went back and looked at no only him but also several of his colleagues, and there appears to be a decline in mental health over the last year. Increases in depression, anxiety, mental breakdowns...Not exactly something that bodes well considering several of these individuals have discussed cannibalism, murder, torture, genocide, and rape. Whatever we proceed with I recommend shutting off his phone with the jammers.If he’s allowed to signal for help we’ll likely be destroyed.” 

“Alright,” Sonia tapped out some more ash. “Tally, you’ll be in charge of the jammers.” 

“Fine” the hunter groaned. “But those damn relics are about to give it up...we’re going to have to replace them if we make it through this job alive.” 

“We’ll look into it...I’ll talk to him and make a decision based on what I see. Jun, can you get me into the place?” 

“Of course,” the hunter shrugged. “But you’ll want to be careful, the target has mentioned a maternal figure that has been keeping him company. What’s more is the target also appears to be going through withdraw and disregarding his own treatment in turn for attempting to assist other patients and his online colleagues...it’s hard to say if it is a martyr complex or not...psychologically I suppose he could be attempting to fix others as he feels he cannot fix himself. Or perhaps it allows the target to focus on something other than his own flaws...” 

“Jun.” Sonia snapped, drawing the other hunter back from herself. 

“Right, either way you will want to proceed with caution.” The hunter said with a final click of her laptop. Smoke billowed out of Sonia’s nose as her head bobbed. 

“Of course,” 

[diannesimpkinson-blog]

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