The Weekend in Foolish Attention
Bits and bytes of the week
THE VAST MIDDLE IS PRETTY VAST. Thanks to Axios we get news that, despite the loudness and shrill cries of those on the spectrum ends of political bitching, most of us are relatively normal and in agreement about key issues.
No, most Christians aren't white Christian nationalists who see Donald Trump as a God-like figure. Most are ignoring politics and wrestling with their faith.
No, most college professors aren't trying to silence conservatives or turn kids into liberal activists. Most are teaching math, or physics, or biology.
No, most kids don't hate Israel and run around chanting, "From the river to the sea." On most campuses, most of the time, students are doing what students have always done.
No, most Republicans don't want to ban all abortions starting at conception. No, most Democrats don't want to allow them until birth.
No, immigrants who are here illegally aren't rushing to vote and commit crimes. Actual data show both rarely happen — even amid a genuine crisis at the border.
No, most people aren't fighting on X. Turns out, the vast majority of Americans never tweet at all.
No, most people aren't cheering insults on Fox News and MSNBC in the evening. Turns out, less than 2 percent of Americans are even watching.
This is, in part, why NPR is taking some heat this past week and FOX News has always been scene as a propaganda mouthpiece: they overwhelmingly get their own story ideas from social media which is overwhelming utilized by the whiniest bunch of grievance staters on the planet.
IN SEARCH OF DIVORCE NO. 4? Like the tender buds of flowers (or weeds) that slowly emerge from the previously frozen soil, my thoughts of romance (or whatever a thrice-divorced, nearly sixty-year old man calls it) are appearing like an unwelcome rash. Maybe it’s Chicago, or the fact that I’m out in the world for the first time in a while, or the insanity of a moron who refuses to learn from the obvious scars. Whatever it is my commitment remains steadfast—not to chase women who initially aren’t immediately down, not to sugarcoat who I am in order to woo someone, be completely content with myself in my Fortress of Solitude.
I’m not overly concerned or fixated as I am currently so busy getting ready for what looks to be the busiest summer in decades at Millennium Park, time to pursue the ladies is on the back end of the priority list. I guess it’s just nice to anticipate possibilities while holding onto the horror of the probabilities.
A 1968 KIND OF WELCOME. Yup. The DNC is coming to Chicago this August and it has all the markings of a massive shitshow.
Over a single day, the “March on DNC 2024” conference gathered 75 organizations to discuss how they plan to disrupt the convention. Speakers told the crowd how to flood the streets without getting arrested, how to spot members of the Secret Service, and how to say “Death to America” in Farsi. At one point, when news of Iran’s attack on Israel spread throughout the room, the crowd erupted in cheers.
Later that day, Jerry Boyle, an attorney and volunteer for the National Lawyers Guild, a nonprofit that says it acts “as the legal arm of social movements and the conscience of the legal profession,” gave a pep talk on how to “know your power” and overwhelm the police.
“My colleagues will be here later today talking about your rights,” Boyle told the crowd. “Think of it more about power and the risk you present to the police.”
He told attendees to look out for police carrying “mass arrest kits,” which he says contain supplies like “a bunch of flex cuffs and all the paperwork” for a bust.
“I’m not here to tell you what the law is,” Boyle told the crowd. “I’m here to tell you what you can get away with.”
In contrast to the evidence that most of us are aligned or at least not reality challenged, there are those who find glee in blocking access to airports and major thoroughfares by chanting “Death to America” as if that will change a single mind. I mean, I’m pretty sure it’ll change minds but not in the direction they think and that is the very definition of ineffective protest.
Truth be told, I can’t wait for the chaos. We are converging on a sixty year hallmark when our cultures clash with apocalyptic force in the City of Big Shoulders and we analyze the fallout for the next sixty years.
I’M FALLING ASLEEP IN COURT, TOO. Trump has been seen falling asleep at trial twice and that says more about the strategy to run out the clock before the election with legal delays and horseshit. A guy snoozing during his trial is a guy completely unconcerned as to the outcome.
FREEUS PRIUS. Chicago welcomed me back by someone stealing my catalytic converter on March 29. A new one is $1,800.00 plus labor. With insurance, it’s a $1,000.00 deductible for the same. I figured it will likely be ripped off again so spending that kind of dough seems a bit of a waste.
I bought a refurbished catalytic converter on eBay for $150.00. Another theft prevention plate for $40.00. I took it into a local shop yesterday. Sure, the converter needed an O2 sensor ($180.00) but, in the end, it cost me $624.00 so I see it as a savings. And I have my car back instead of a dune buggy with no muffler.
THE PATH LESS TRODDEN. I read a lot about those people in the world who buck the system, reject conformity, and pave their own way and so many inspired (myself included) to do the same. It only really matters if you proceed down that dirt road without the expectation that you’ll become the next Steve Jobs or Albert Brooks. There are lots of we who eschew the normal for a vision that is both contrarian and nomadic but only a handful who become rich and famous for doing so.
If I knew my life choices would not result in wealth or notoriety, it wouldn’t change a single choice. Banging the drum to your own internal music is its own reward.
THAT THING YOU THINK YOU KNOW… I had to take Active Shooter Training for the gig in preparation for all the summer crowds. Things to consider:
You have a better chance being beaten up by a clown than being shot in public by an ‘active shooter.’
The U.S. hasn’t had a mass shooting—four or more people killed in a single public incident unrelated to other criminal activity—since October.
By a healthy majority, most circumstances of active shooters are about a domestic situation rather than political or mental issue.
The most effective deterrent to active shooters is noticing people and acknowledging them in a friendly. These actors rely on invisibility and the more they are acknowledged, the less likely they’ll go rogue.
So… calm down (unless you see an angry clown), focus your activism on abusive spouses rather than constantly ringing the mentally ill bell, and be nicer to strangers.
That’s the week! Now I’m going to drive around in my discount Prius and listen to Clifford Brown with the window open!
I saw a clown, knowing his intentions, I punched him and ran away!
With all the love in the world, that stat about mass shootings is misleading since it defines itself with deaths: https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/reports/mass-shooting Personally, I'd rather not get shot at all.