#the way no one can keep anything belief system of theirs straight for literally two seconds

[butwhatifidothis]

HOW does Cap NOT see the irony of Marianne saying that just because humans hurt the Nabateans its not okay for the Nabateans to hurt humans through the Church scriptures when Marianne joined Edelgard in attacking the Church because the Church hurt Edelgard and Marianne? The entire dialogue is just Marianne saying cycle of revenge = bad EXCEPT when its her and Edelgard getting back at the church for making them suffer I guess?? Dear lord what a poorly thought out dialogue thanks I hate it.

The same way it doesn't see the hypocrisy in shitting on Seteth and the Church for chasing down the Rhodos Coast priests after they'd retreat while saying nothing at all when Woobiegard chases down Judith after she'd retreated.

Or when the Church and Faerghus are called tyrannical for denying commoner's their right to rise through use of lethal force while saying nothing of Petra putting down a rebellion from her people through the threat of use of lethal force.

Or when Ingrid shits on House Rowe for defecting from Adrestia to the Kingdom and the Kingdom for rewarding House Rowe for that while she defected from the Kingdom to join Adrestia and was rewarded for it.

Or when Woobiegard calls Faerghus intrinsically racist for blaming an entire race for the Kingdom's ruin while she blames the entire Nabatean race for Fodlan's ruin.

Or when Woobiegard shits on Margrave Gautier for prioritizing Crested heirs due to their ability to access Relics and the immense power they hold while colluding with TWS to gain a Relic due to the immense power it held.

Or when Claude is called bad for wanting to conquer Fodlan while Woobiegard's war is literally called a conquest and when she literally calls herself a hegemon.

Or when everyone calls Rhea horrible for her willingness to sacrifice Byleth to revive Sothis while saying nothing about how Woobiegard was willing to sacrifice Byleth and the Black Eagles as a whole because they got in her way.

Or when Catherine is said to be blindly loyal to Rhea because she never questions her orders and that's a bad thing while no one on Woobiegard's side ever questions Woobiegards orders.

Or when Woobiegard says that Crests or nobility don't make anyone better than anyone else and that she views everyone as equals while in reality actually befriending exactly three people - Dorothea, Kronya, and Manuela - who are neither Crested nor nobles and having a total of five people on her side who aren't (when adding Shamir who she never talks to and Ladislava who does nothing). Out of a total of 18 people on her side who are named characters.

Or when Marianne accuses Seteth of being indifferent to her pain and suffering while being indifferent to the pain and suffering she'd directly helped inflict on Raphael (along with who knows how many no-names who were just defending their homelands) maybe two months ago.

Or when Bernadetta laments about the Church trying to destroy her home she's found in Garreg Mach while never mentioning her involvement in destroying the home many of those in the Church had found in Garreg Mach when she helped lay siege to it five years prior.

Or when the Church is painted as this horribly violent institute that kills any who stand up against it while Woobiegard and her side violently kill any who stand against her.

Or when Ingrid says that the Kingdom is bad for dressing up atrocities as the right and/or best thing to do while Woobiegard won't fuckin' shut up about how her killing all these people who are literally just defending themselves from her violent invasion of their lands is the right and/or best thing to do.

Or how Hubert will say he thought lowly of Ingrid because he thought she was just blindly obedient to the Kingdom while literally, genuinely, not even slightly exaggerating two passages later commending Ingrid for following Woobiegard, in his own words that he actually used, verbatim, "despite all logic and sense."

When I say this fic is dripping in hypocrisy, I am saying that it is absolutely drenched in it. It seems like every other second a character will say one thing is terrible and horrible and no good and very bad, and then turn around and do that very thing, without any reflection or conflict or anything. And if there is? Like Claude directly shoving Woobiegards hypocrisy regarding her hanging out with almost exclusively nobles and/or Crested people? Noooo no no no, that was Claude being mean and wrong - he even admitted as much! And then she goes right back to doing exactly that with no acknowledgement of doing so whatsoever.

That's. Some of the best we get, in terms of ever actually giving any acknowledgement of Woobiegard and/or her side's two-faced actions. Which is... any. At all. And then it's outright revoked - but hey! At least it's mentioned! Unlike the majority of these examples that just float about as though we're not supposed to look at them. So Marianne doing that with Seteth is unironically one of the most tame examples of blatant hypocrisy committed by Woobiegard and her side

#ask #anon #exqueuese me princess #o captain my captain #the way no one can keep anything belief system of theirs straight for literally two seconds #like we're supposed to root for these guys? the ones who started a war over beliefs they literally turn their backs on over and over again? #nah man i'm good thanks

[dramaticviolincrescendo]

A Fitting Finale: Bringing Ian Full-Circle

Is everyone sick of my essays yet? Excellent. Here’s another anyway!

I’ve been trying to put my finger on what it is about Ian’s story in s11 that I love so much. It’s clear that he’s struggling on a number of levels, and he’s certainly spent the first third of the season under so much stress that it’s impacted his moods and marriage. In 11x04, we began to see hints of the tension breaking, and it made me realize that there’s a common trend in Ian’s behavior throughout the series coming to a head in his final act. It’s part of what has him so passionately advocating for Mickey to get a legal job, communicating their need to hammer out the specifics of what their marriage means, and upset at his own employment status.

From start to finish, Ian has been driven by two important motivators: love and fear.

Ian’s deep sense of love and compassion for others is well documented. We know that he will do anything for his family. I’ve mentioned before that Ian is at his best when he’s with them and his worst when he’s not. They’re his support system, and he’s a key part of theirs. They look after each other and rely on one another when the chips are down. They’re all grown up now, Liam being the exception, but those bonds are strong. They’ve matured and branched out to include Mickey, Tami, Franny, and Freddie. Ian’s heart belongs to his family, and he’s given as much of himself as he can to the people he’s been with over the years in whatever capacity they’ve needed him to.

Ian has also always been a fearful character, though not in the manner we typically visualize. He’s strong and motivated, ambitious and sensible, clever and insightful. When he decides that he wants something, he goes for it, from a South Side thug hovering in his orbit to pursuing the highest military accolades despite his small beginnings. Over and over again, we’ve seen him leap into serious and often strange situations in order to achieve his ends or something for the people he cares about. This man stole a water heater from a dead person’s house with his brother and tried to help his best friend hide a body. Certainly, he doesn’t fit the traditional stereotype. He’s not a coward.

But Ian is terrified—of everything:

·        Not amounting to anything

·        Not being worthy of love

·        Being the center of attention

·        Fading into the background and being forgotten

·        Not being able to help other people or those he loves

·        Not having a path

·        Not being in control of himself

·        Not being enough

He’s never said it. He’s never discussed these issues, except perhaps not having control. That isn’t who he is. That’s never been his way. Maybe we should add fear of communicating too, or fear of being seen as weak.

In s1, Ian makes a lot of brave choices. He comes out to three people, two of them family members, knowing how that is viewed in their neighborhood. When Mickey is after him, Ian takes the battle to his doorstep. He turns his back on an arguably easier life in a nice, middle-class neighborhood and a home with a father who would provide for him to live in the constant struggle to which he has grown accustomed. On the surface, he’s one put together kid. But then there’s Kash. There’s this man who preys on him, a middle child so responsible (and so male) that no one thinks he’d fall into any sort of trap—and Ian is desperate to keep him. He fights Lip over it and so painfully tries to make him understand his perspective, that he’s spending money he should probably be using for things he needs to buy Kash music and baseball tickets, to make him like what Ian does so that they can build their so-called relationship. That Kash is married with kids is unimportant to him; that he’s exploiting Ian’s fear of loneliness and not finding love outside his siblings, unthinkable. We know it. Lip sees it, powerless as he feels to do anything about it. Ian can’t. To date, he never will. He’s blinded by a culture that doesn’t believe such things can happen to males, and until Mickey comes along as a viable outlet for his affections and source of the ones he needs, he’s too afraid to be cautious.

Throughout s2 and s3, Ian makes difficult decisions. They’re not always smart, but it takes great strength to commit to the choices he makes: allowing Monica into his life, voicing even an ounce of his feelings to Mickey, pursuing West Point, and running away. All of them, however, are driven by love and fear alike. He’s vulnerable and needs his mother, the one who slaps Frank for shoving him and listens when he feels alone. She assuages his fears by telling him what he needs to hear: that he can do and be anything. We know there’s a danger in that, especially when she takes him to enlist when he’s nowhere near old enough, but it’s still validating for him. It feeds that need for attention but not too much attention, for understanding but not coddling, for love that originates from someone who isn’t his siblings. We see similar trends emerge: fear of losing Mickey on multiple occasions, fear that he’ll forever be in Lip’s shadow when he receives a letter of recommendation instead of Ian, and fear of never having Mickey’s full affections spiraling into fear of facing his own emotions in the aftermath of the wedding. We’ve seen that Ian runs from what he can’t process. He runs from what he can’t handle. He runs when he’s scared, especially of himself.

It continues repeatedly throughout the series. In s4, Ian is afraid of going backwards and once again losing his position in Mickey’s life. In s5, he’s afraid of being a burden on everyone around him, changing them, and losing control of his own mind. In s6, he’s afraid that this is it: his path and his goals have come to nothing, and he’s doomed to fall into the shadows where no one will ever see or love him. In s7, that fear of himself re-emerges when a patient is hurt on his watch and he has to come to terms with the fact that being better doesn’t mean he’s “cured.” In s8, he’s afraid of the void where Monica and Mickey used to be, and it sends him spiraling into a deeper one he doesn’t fear until it’s too late. In s9, he fears a lack of guidance, an indecisiveness born of having been able to rely on his hallucinations to tell him what to do. His path is gone, and he has no options. And that’s terrifying. Then Mickey is there, and he can put some of his fears to rest until they resurge with the idea of marriage in s10. All of a sudden, he’s back where he was in s5, fearing himself but also what he’ll do to someone he loves.

In s11, we’re seeing an Ian far more like he was in earlier seasons: rigidly devoted to having a plan, knowing what’s coming next, and ticking off certain boxes on the list of things you’re “supposed to do” as a married adult male. He’s spent a lot of this season seeking value in his employment and position in their marriage, and the stress has been dragging him down—quickly.

And it’s no wonder: he has every reason to be scared right now.

The thing about prison is that it is what’s known as a total institution. It is removed from society and, as such, operates under its own social beliefs, values, and norms. Like the military, another total institution, prison involves an initial period of sloughing off roles and identities from the greater society and subsequently being resocialized into a new role set. Upon release, a person undergoes the same process in reverse, and there’s an adjustment period to reintegrate into normal society. We can see that process begin when Ian gets in the car with Lip and shudders a bit, unsettled at the prospect of being outside these walls for the first time in months—going home far earlier than anticipated. For many people, it’s a difficult transformation, especially once they realize the full extent of how your life changes as an ex-convict in the U.S.

Ian doesn’t really get to adjust. From s8 to the start of s11, he undergoes a whirlwind of emotion and change. He literally loses touch with reality, starts a cult, commits a felony, is on the run from law enforcement, allows himself to be captured with one final display, goes to jail, remains unmedicated until he’s bailed out, panics at what his movement became, feels alone in the house as everyone deals with their own business and leaves him to his own devices, seeks guidance from above only to realize it wasn’t what he thought it was, can’t find answers, has warring factions telling him how to plead in court, ostensibly takes a plea deal that requires some amount of time behind bars, goes to prison, finds the love of his life there waiting for him, has to let his sister go, is released without Mickey, gets repeatedly screwed over by a corrupt PO, gets engaged, breaks up (sort of), gets engaged again, sees his wedding venue burned down, gets married, and hurtles straight into a pandemic. That’s… That’s a lot. Being a newlywed in a pandemic is a lot without all the rest of it, but this is what Ian is dealing with going into s11, and he hasn’t had the benefit of a stable readjustment and reintegration period.

He’s drowning.

He’s scared.

He has every reason to be. Marriage is scary, especially if you are so young and so in love with the person you’re marrying. Employment is scary, especially for them, because it could mean the difference between paying the utilities and running out of water. Change in general is scary, especially when it hasn’t done you any favors before.

Add all that to what Ian’s behavior has indicated that he’s been afraid of since the start, and you have a recipe for disaster.

To a great extent, that’s what I think his arc is all about this season: learning how to live again. It’s about not being so afraid of himself that he desperately grasps for any stereotypical structure for married life that he can. It’s about regaining the confidence that has always left him clawing his way to the top instead of letting life beat him down. It’s about finding the happy medium where he and Mickey aren’t doing anything illegal but aren’t stuck in a valueless spiral, scrambling and struggling to pay the bills like when they were kids.

It’s about learning not to be so afraid anymore, and I think that’s a beautiful goodbye for a beautiful character.

#shameless #shameless meta #shameless spoilers #ian gallagher #uh oh #guess what time it is #you bet #it's ian gallagher loving hours #please do not add hate for the writers or JW to my post

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

Top 10 favorite things about TFS?

Bold of you to assume I can narrow it down to just 10 things, but I’ll try my best. 

Here’s a list of things I LOVE about The Final Season of TWDG, starting from #10 and working my way down to #1.

10. Rosie is best girl and doesn’t die 

Listen, okay? If you give me a game with a doggo companion that I bond with only to have said doggo die for dramatic effect... you automatically lose 2 outta 5 stars on your rating. Case in point: Season 2.

However, tfs knew not to kill Rosie off for dramatic effect, knew it’d be cheap. Plus, Rosie is a sweetheart and I love that she helps Clementine come to terms with her past trauma with dogs and genuinely bonds with her. Rosie is best girl. 

9. Over the shoulder camera/controls 

They’re the best of the series, having come a LONG way since S1. Like, look... Don’t get me wrong. S1 isn’t unplayable or anything, far from it, but they’re not the greatest either. They’re pretty wonky at times, the fixed camera can get annoying when you’re moving around, and sometimes button presses don’t register. It’s definitely something I have to get used to whenever I go back and replay the entire series, and like I said, it’s not the worst controls in the world... but oh man, compared to TFS?

Have you ever played S1 and then jumped straight into TFS just to get a direct comparison of the two? Because I have and it’s jarring how much smoother, accurate, and overall better everything is in TFS.

Just... props, guys. Thank you for the over-the-shoulder, movable camera, thank you for the polished button prompts, and thank you for a run button that has Clementine go into a nice jog rather than a comical run or, eh... does nothing [lookin’ at you ANF... Javi slow].

It’s just so effortless to play. The most trouble I ever have is with doors but that’s a given- Doors make no goddamn sense in this series and I’ve given up trying to learn their secrets. Oh, and speaking of more improvements! 

The shooting mechanic in this game is leaps better than in S1. Y’all remember the Motor-Inn shootout? The one that was such a frustrating pain in the ass?? So much death and anger...

I still die sometimes when shooting the walkers with the bow, especially the ones that are on fire, but it’s nothing compared to the shooting mechanic in S1, so the biggest THANK YOU for that one. It’s actually enjoyable to shoot stuff this time around.

8. Collectibles 

You as Clementine get to pick up various collectibles to decorate her and AJ’s dorm with and it’s great. One of my favorite bits about this game is seeing Clementine wake up in this empty, lifeless room, and see it get brighter and brighter with every collectible you place throughout the game until you reach the final scene with AJ where the room is just FULL of life and personality. Like... it’s officially theirs. It’s such a good feeling! 

And the devs totally didn’t have to add the collectible system in, but I’m so thankful they did. I’m one of those people who gets every single collectible every single time I play. 

7. Ericson’s Boarding School for Troubled Youth

Y’know, I honestly can’t think of a better place for Clementine and AJ to end up than Ericson’s Boarding School for Troubled Youth. It’s awesome, I love it, what a great idea. I also love the sense of wonder when we step outside for the first time and see the inside of Ericson, as well as the others, walking around. Like even Clementine is taken back by it.

Because of course it makes sense for Clementine to end up in a school surrounded by people closer to her age rather than with a group of dumbass adults like in the past three games.

Here it feels like they’re all about on the same level. There’s no older person here belittling Clementine because “she’s just a child and doesn’t get it,” they’re just people, y’know? Hell, if anything, Clementine’s now the most experienced one!

The school’s great! I wouldn’t change a thing about TFS taking place here. The environments are beautiful and I love exploring the world. 

6. Marlon as an antagonistic character/final confrontation 

I have an entire Marlon character discussion/study so I won’t put too much time into this one, but I will say that I love Marlon’s part in tfs. I love him as a surprise antagonistic character, I love how chill he is in the beginning, I love the final confrontation at the end of ep1... I just really like Marlon, y’know?

Ray Chase gives a damn near perfect performance as Marlon, so much so that I wish he survived past ep1 just so that I could hear more of his acting. Marlon himself in an interesting look at a leader character hiding his shame and guilt while trying to maintain control over everyone [including himself] around him, only to be broken down when he’s found out. 

5. James 

I know people tend to be pretty split on James, but I personally really like his role in tfs. I love that they included a character who was apart of the Whisperers, and hell, if anything I’d like to know MORE about James’ past with them. 

I just find him and his whole “walkers are sort of people? kinda?” beliefs. Again, I know some people get annoyed with him because of his beliefs but I think he adds an interesting spin on the whole thing, y’know? Though I do love what a bitch he is if you don’t agree with him hahaha

James is a bitch and I love him, okay? I love his dumb walker mask, I love his dumb boyband hair, I love his whispery voice, and I love his backstory with the Whisperers and Charlie. I love this he’s trying so hard to be this pacifist that he ends up doing the literal thing he said he doesn’t want to do-- hurt people. Y’know... like attempting to kidnap AJ and threatening to break Clementine’s leg in the caves if he’s alive. 

Which, by the way, that whole cave scene is a thing. It’s wild and I love it but not for the reasons the devs probably wanted. Like... it’s a little hilarious? I know it’s not supposed to be! But I can’t take James seriously when he’s walkin’ around his hands on his hips all huffy and puffy, okay? It’s just wild. 

Anyway, I love James and wouldn’t get rid of him. Hell, I’m still waiting for my James with the Whisperers mini-series, Skybound. 

4. Ericson Crew

There isn’t a single character from Ericson that I don’t like, or that I’d get rid of, which is rare with these games. Thinking back to the previous games, there’s always at least one person I could do without or that I didn’t like. I adore all of them!

The Ericson crew just feels closer than previous groups. For starters, they’re way more likable than most in our previous groups. Even when there’s tension [and boy is there tension at points] you still get the sense that they don’t hate each other, unlike in our previous groups. They do in fact love each other as a family and will do what they can to protect one another.

Plus, they’re all interesting. They’re troubled youth and I love all of them! 

Aasim keeps a daily journal where he chronicles everything in hopes of learning from past mistakes to prevent future ones, he’s damn good with a bow, and he’s got a neat little soul patch on his chin.  

Ruby is the tiny yet fiery medic of the group who adamantly believes in manners yet used to chase teachers around with pitchforks. 

Brody is caught up in the twin mess with Marlon but she’s also shown to want an escape, a road trip where she and her friends can go see the beach, but she also suffers with anxiety and panic attacks and isn’t afraid to knock Marlon on his ass or swear at Clementine. 

Mitch is a grumpy, tall boy who looks after Willy like a brother, knows how to make bombs out of manure and propane, and used to fight his neighbors because they didn’t like his face. 

Omar is a sassy chef who has to have every ingredient just right otherwise he’s salty for a week and he can take a bullet to the leg like a champ. 

Willy’s a goober who can climb trees like you wouldn’t believe and he made a bomb of his own in Mitch’s honor that completely wrecked the delta’s ship. 

Tenn is a soft, naïve boy who draws and reads but isn’t afraid to stab a walker bitch if he has to. 

Violet was sent to the school after witnessing her grandmother’s dead, she used to date Minerva who is now “dead,” has abandonment issues,  tries to give off the appearance of a grumpy grump but like once she’s comfortable with you she’ll tell you her life story and do romantic shit like dancing and painting you a pin. 

Louis was sent to Ericson because he was a rich brat who broke up his parents marriage because they wouldn’t let him take singing lessons and has felt like garbage ever since, using humor to cope and push people away, and keeps the façade on until someone’s willing to see past it in which he’ll finally bare his soul to you, name a song he wrote after you, and do everything in his power to keep you and everyone else safe over himself. 

I just... Love ‘em all. 

3. Clementine and AJ’s dynamic 

To think that they almost killed AJ off, or kept him a minor character. That would’ve been a shame and an absolute waste because Clementine and AJ’s dynamic is super fucking good in tfs. 

It’s actually a little baffling that AJ’s as good as he is, from his writing to his voice acting, he’s just great. And his relationship with Clementine is definitely one of my favorites to come from this game. It’s not perfect, but I don’t want perfect. 

I love that AJ looks to Clem for guidance and I love the way our choices affect him, even when it’s a case of the bridge scene. Hate the bridge scene knowing that I gotta sacrifice a character I care about for another I love, but I can’t deny that I love how that choice is made. After everything, do you trust AJ or not? 

Plus, their conversations are so well done, their chemistry is through the roof, and I wouldn’t change it. 

Oh, and the barn scene? Gets me every time, even though I already know everything’s fine and gonna work out. Still gets me. 

2. Clementine is Bisexual

I’ve talked about this in the past, but lemme just say that I love the fact that Clementine is canonically bisexual. 

Doesn’t matter if you’re dating Louis, Violet, or no one, Clementine is still bisexual. The game confirms it through it’s text/subtext and Clementine’s actions that we don’t have control over, and the devs confirmed it. She ain’t straight, she ain’t a lesbian, she is bisexual. 

I can’t express how happy that makes me. Just... 💗💜💙

And with her being bisexual comes her two great love interests: Louis and Violet. They’re amazing, and such an improvement over the previous game’s attempt at love interests... ahem, y’know... Kate.

1. Louis as a character/his relationship with Clementine 

I mean... c’mon. Y’all knew what #1 was gonna be. Do I even need to explain? This entire blog is just me gushing about Louis/clouis. 

Look, Louis is my favorite non-playable character across the entire series. Hell, even when you factor in playable characters, he’s STILL my absolute favorite. Like, even outside of his relationship with Clementine, I find him to be such a compelling character by himself. 

Like I mentioned above, he came from a stupid rich family who gave him everything he ever wanted, but when his father wouldn’t let him take singing lessons, he literally worked for over a year to break up his parents marriage because “you get to be happy or you get to be rich, can’t be both.” 

He gets sent to Ericson where the apocalypse happens, he never gets to make up with his parents, and he ends up using jokes and piano as a coping mechanism to deal with everything, falls into a cycle of being unreliable and the butt of the joke, and lives one day at a time without much thought for the future. 

He puts on the happy jokester persona to push people away from knowing the real him and rarely shares much about himself. Hell, when Clementine does hunting and decides to take care of the walker with him, he actually does let down the wall for a minute to share his view on “this moment” before looking away like “Oof, shared too much-- HEY, GO CHECK ON AASIM :D I’LL BE OVER HERE :D FIXING THE TRAP :D and adjusting the wall ahem--” 

It’s so interesting because you’d think that he’d be more open about his past with Marlon or the twins or whatever [like Violet is] but no, he doesn’t tell you shit about his past until EPISODE 3 and you have to work to get that story. 

I just... I just love him. Could talk about and analyze his character for hours. And I love his relationship with Clementine. It’s just so good. The piano scene where they finally admit their feelings for one another?? That shit has my entire heart. Their entire relationship is my favorite. What else is there to say? 

#asks #twdg clementine #twdg aj #twdg louis #twdg violet #twdg aasim #twdg ruby #twdg brody #twdg marlon #twdg mitch #twdg willy #twdg james #twdg tenn #twdg omar #twdg minerva

[strad-214]

I am reading right now that psychologists are saying that it would be an incredible relief to us all if we forget the recent and "normal" lives we once knew and just accepted our current situation as the new normal because there is not yet an end in sight and I read this on CNN.

The article goes on to say that we will not be happy or content unless we let go of the belief that this will all be over soon or else we will drive ourselves crazy. It says that we must let go of the way of life we knew and accept our current predicament as our new way of life because there is no end in sight, so don'tgo searching for that end because that is also going to drive us crazy...

No, this pandemic isn't going to end tomorrow, or next week, or next month, maybe not even next year. Yes, we have to accept our current situation such as it is whether we like it or not because whether we believe it or not, it all is ultimately out of our control... but the pandemic will also not go on forever, and not all of our new conditions of living are entirely justified. Every day, new information comes out that contradicts the policies that where placed the day before: in New Jersey, USA, the Governor disallowed any and all indoor activity but forced schools to open with a government approved plan for sterility in the classrooms. The teachers, understandably, revolted saying that it was too dangerous and they did not wish to risk theirs and their students' lives so needlessly when they had already found ways to teach from home. They also made the argument that everything else was still needed to be done outdoors, so why open the schools? You know what the Governor did? Immediately announced that indoor activities where safe again to a certain degree and restaurants and theaters and the like opened back up. So too, did the schools, for they now had no argument.

This pandemic has been used as a platform for politics to exercise their control over the population. This is not an extreme left wing agenda, it is not an extreme right one either. Neither side is working in tandum to exercise this control, in fact, I'm not sure which is worse anymore. The pendulum of a a clock need not be wound so tight that the hammer slams into the walls of its casing and breaks the clock. Yet here we are, swinging so far one way and the other that the whole thing is crashing down and we just keep winding it up. Proof lies in this article alone, telling you the reader to give up hope for a better future, one where we are free of this plague-- political or viral-- and accept the lives we now must face.

Well, I for one will never give up hope of a better life. Things are terrible right now, but those of us that survive can do something to make it better. Don't riot, don't needlessly posture out of pride, don't give anybody a reason to call you a radical. Ask for the support of those in authority who are being muffled by the extreme wings of politics, they WANT to help us. Get the police to protest WITH YOU, talk to them, give them a reason to WANT TO SUPPORT YOU, and they will, they have done that before! They did it in Newark NJ when all these other protests and riots went violent, they knew Newark was going to have one, so they just decided "We'll march with you, protect you from those who would harm you and protect you from yourselves." -- there are a lot of rioters who are picking random targets and justifying it later, even amongst themselves.

What I'm trying to say is this: yes, it was the American way to take up arms and overthrow our government... keyword is WAS... we are not there yet. Can we please start finding better ways than just shooting the first cop we see? Or by literally trying to spread this plague as if it isn't real? Otherwise, we will get there. Do we really want that? Do we really want to destroy this nation? If we do, the entire world will come donw on us to claim its share, and we will have no say about it: we will be carved like fat ham, those of us who would survive the peocess will lose their homes, will lose their families, their husbands and wives, their children, their identities, their treasures... possibly our lives in the process. The carvers would call it a mercy for us, say they are giving us a new home and life, but we would be outsiders in lands we don't want to go live in. Or,, even if we think we want to go live there, we couldn'tive there the way we live here. Thas got to be a better way people, don't let go of those bettwr paths or we will lose everything!

I'm a straight, white man. I have lived on this Earth for 26 years. I was never presented the opportunities of success because I lived in a town of people who couldn't give a shit about anything but themselves and their interests. I am poor, I drive a 2007 Forester that is falling apart. I have enough college debt to insist that I'm pursuing a masters degree, but I still am an undergrad. I live in the living room of my future inlaws and sleep in a bed that is too small for my fiancee and I. Every night I try to sleep with direct eyesight to the front door of the house. I'm supposed to be student teaching right now, but that's difficult to do right now because of the pandemic and my college is having difficulty finding me a school willing to take me, not to mention the school they did find for me actually isn't cooperating with me and at this point, there isn't enough time in the semester to complete my requirements due to the slowly turning wheels of a system that again, doesn't seem to give a shit about me. I'm due to get married in two weeks time come this Friday (10/02/2020) the plans of which got turned upside down again due to the pandemic. All I want to do is teach music, love my wife, have a modest home on the edge of a forest that I can walk in with what I hope to be a daughter who sings and a son who fights Isshin-ryū like his mother, and ultimately teach the next generation to stick up for themselves and be their own men and women someday-- whether they were born men and women or not. That's it, that's all I want. Everything I have done in life was to allow myself and people like me to do just those things.... Why is that so hard? WE ARE MAKING IT HARD.... and I swear to God, if I have to take up arms and defend what little of my goals I have achieved against savages who hide behind walls of self-righteousness-- no matter their skin color or class-- my wrath will be equal to that of the God I believe in. For they will have taken everything from me at that point just because they can because they think it's right even though I have done nothing wrong to them....

BUT. I. WILL. NOT. GIVE. UP. NOT UNTO MY DYING BREATH WILL I EVER GIVE UP ON THE HOPE OF A BETTER FUTURE FOR EVERYONE ON THIS EARTH NO MATTER WHO YOU ARE OR WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN!!! AND IN STRIVING FOR MY GOALS OF A PEACFUL FUTURE WHERE I LIVE IN HARMONY WITH ALL THOSE AROUND ME, I AM ALLOWING THAT GOAL TO EMINATE TO ALL THOSE I WOULD LIVE IN HARMONY WITH!!! AND I SPIT ON ANY SICK FUCK WHO WOULD TELL ME OR ANYBODY THAT IT IS BETTER TO JUST GIVE UP HOPE AND ACCEPT A FATE THAT I DID NOT CHOOSE!!! FUCK YOU!!! TURN IN YOUR LICENCE TO PRACTICE MEDICINE BECAUSE YOU ARE RUINING LIVES WITH THAT BULLSHIT!!! THE SPIRIT OF A TRUE AMERICAN LIVES ON IN THE HOPE OF A BETTER FUTURE! THAT IS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A TRUE AMERICAN!!! NOT A REBEL, NOT A CONQUOR, NOT A RACIST, BUT A BEACON OF HOPE FOR ALL PEOPLES OF THIS EARTH!!!!!

........ you know, I never write these things because when I share my views here, I get labeled as a biggot, a racist-- I've even been called a neo-nazi once... for believing that all people can live together in harmony without causing harm to one another, can you believe that? .... well, you people don't know me and your opinions don't scare me anymore. I have ourgrown mindless spite. I say what I do in the spirit of humility and devotion to secret vows which I have taken to try and unite peoples of all walks of life through music and help foster a kindred spirit between myself and my neighbors. It is the same vow that a man named Fred Rogers made once upon a time, I would know, he is a member of my order. If anyone has watched his shows, you'll see what I mean.

I am exhausted now... more than I ever have been. I feel far older than I am and I feel worse all the time. Please, I beg of you all... don't give in to this rhetoric, don't let this political mire get the best of you. Don't love Biden because he isn't Trump, love him because he has an idea or goal you like. Love Trump for the same reasons... and then tweet back that he needs to stop getting in his own way if he is to be a real leader. Think of the impacts of this pandemic and be thankful for all that you have, even if it's only a little, because someone else has it worse than you, and then try to help those people if you can. But above all else, be your own people, don't give in to hatred, be a positive influence, make a pact of peace and trust and set aside pride and spitefulness... be an American the way an American was meant to be.

#america #politics #covidー19 #a cry out for peace #help #psychology #2020 cnn #fall 2020 #fred rogers #sinfonia