This post is another of great power and hope, from another survivor of the sex-trade; her voice is also one that needs to be heard everywhere…. until it all stops… perhaps a dream, but one worth working for…. Free our sisters, free ourselves….
This post is important… the author needs and deserves all the support we can give her in her quest to regain her life, and some sort of healing…. Free our sisters, free ourselves….
I am finding that writing this blog is scaring me.
I am finding that writing this blog is making my body remember all the torture that punters put into me.
I am finding I am ill, when nothing is physically wrong with me.
I read that Andrea Dworkin knew that writing to the truth is the most painful thing a woman can do to herself.
I also know from every cell in my body to not write would send me back into the deadness of being prostituted.
Writing to the truth is not just my work – it is my mission.
I turn on Spotify and find Hits of Dusty Springfield – music I know by heart – and then maybe I will write to the blocking of my truths.
I will say with gratitude and amazement at the loyalty and kindness of so many who read this blog –…
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Ffolkes,
As I sit here, laughing at myself, I have to admit, my Bozoid tendencies are in full swing this morning…. I’ve been steadily plugging along, filling in the blanks as I go through the morning routine, for about 35 minutes now. Got a lot done too, on starting a Pearl. I even had the intro section completely done, and was dutifully searching for pearls, when I was confronted by my own silliness and failure to be a Lert….. or, if you insist, alert…..
I started to paste a poem below, and realized I was posting it into tomorrow’s Pearl template. This is also where I had already composed and written an intro section leading into the Pearl….. see my problem? Complete time distortion ensues…. Now I’m dazed again, much like the first 5 minutes of being up, before the first sip of coffee kicks in enough to raise the eyelids a fraction, and will need to take a minute here to regroup…… I’ll be back in a few, when I have caught up to reality again….. mumble, grumble, phtt….
I have re-established contact with reality, and we can now move on to bigger and better things…. if that particular phrase can be considered to apply to this process…. as the old Dead song says, “head’s all empty, and I don’t care….” No worries, we’ll just go now and find something with which we can fill it up…. shall we Pearl?……
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C:\> erase c:\reality.sys; copy a:\pern\*.* c:
This pearl is a bit of a test…. What I’ve written here is, of course, a DOS command line. (I wrote ‘of course’ before I fully realized that it is ‘of course’ only to those who are familiar with DOS, which may not include the more modern users among us. For those ffolkes, just think of it as double clicking on a program you want to use…..) The test is to tell me, in the comment section, if you know what the command tells the computer to do….
It’s quite a simple command, though the .exe installation file it points to is VERY complex…. and that is your only clue…. Let’s see who’s paying attention, as well as who is well grounded in both computers and literature….. luck won’t be needed, and wouldn’t help in any case, but, good luck! If no one figures it out before tomorrow morning’s Pearl gets written, I’ll reveal the answer then….
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The only point in the following entry is to preserve my sanity. In looking over the last few Pearls, I found a disturbing lack of poetry. Oh, there was some there, but not enough to suit my needs…. if I don’t get enough of the grace and beauty that good poetry provides, I get testy, to say the least. That probably accounts for the 800-1000 word rants in the last couple of posts. That has actually worked out well; I was able to publish two of those rants to another site as solitary articles. But, in the process, I’ve built up a need for the serenity that a good poem gives me…. so, here are three of them, all capable of filling my need, and, hopefully, yours….. enjoy!
Weep no more, nor sigh, nor groan,
Sorrow calls no time that ‘s gone;
Violets plucked, the sweetest rain
Makes not fresh nor grow again.
— John Fletcher (1576-1625) — The Queen of Corinth, Act iii, Sc. 2
How fading are the joys we dote upon!
Like apparitions seen and gone.
But those which soonest take their flight
Are the most exquisite and strong,–
Like angels’ visits, short and bright;
Mortality ‘s too weak to bear them long.
— John Norris (1657-1711) — The Parting
But words are things, and a small drop of ink,
Falling like dew upon a thought, produces
That which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think.
— Lord Byron (1788-1824) — Don Juan, Canto iii, Stanza 88
I don’t know about you, but I feel better…..
Oft in the stilly night,
Ere slumber’s chain has bound me,
Fond memory brings the light
Of other days around me;
The smiles, the tears,
Of boyhood’s years,
The words of love then spoken;
The eyes that shone
Now dimmed and gone,
The cheerful hearts now broken.
— Thomas Moore (1779-1852) — Oft in the Stilly Night
I know, I know, I said three… but this one popped up in front of me, glommed onto my leg before I could dodge, and insisted that I include it with the others. Then I looked at it, and was sunk…. It’s not like I jabbed you in the eye with a stick, now, is it?…… Don’t worry, it won’t hurt you to have another; they’re calorie free……
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“The Buddha, the Godhead, resides quite as comfortably in the circuits of a digital computer or the gears of a cycle transmission as he does at the top of a mountain or in the petals of a flower. To think otherwise is to demean the Buddha — which is to demean oneself.” — Robert Pirsig, “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”
I like this. I liked it when I first read the book, more years ago than I care to think about, and it still clicks with my way of looking at things, as if Buddha himself was talking directly to me…. I admire it so much, that’s all I’m going to say on the subject. This can speak for itself……
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“If fifty million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.” — Bertrand Russell
We are now experiencing first hand the beginning effects of the proof of this proposition. Our world-wide society has succumbed to the truth in this statement, and are actively, and obliviously, pursuing foolishness en masse. One need only look through the daily news to see this demonstrated; article after article explores concepts and events that illustrate the full and complete absence of critical thought that is rampant in our culture. No matter how outrageous the statement, no matter how silly the proposal, no matter how egregious the lie, if a talking head on TV says it, fifty million people will jump right up and cheer its arguable (to any minds but theirs…) merit, and give it their unquestioning belief.
Do I really need to point out examples? Oh, right, evidence is good…. Okay. Easy money. How about….. Mitt Romney? Here is a man who has spent the last 10 months or so running around the US to various political electoral farces, er, functions, and has repeatedly lied, or pandered to special interests in the face of another, or alienated entire segments of the voting public (such as women, and the poor), or changed a position one day after claiming it as his own, so many times there are a number of web sites that are devoted just to keeping track of his contradictory and/or fictional statements, of what he has the temerity to call facts. I’m not picking on him; it’s all out there in black and white for anyone to see.
Yet this man is the apparent next candidate for the Presidency of this country as the Republican choice. If we are to believe it, he has the support not only of numerous officials and “important public figures” in his party, but of millions upon millions of folks who seem unable or unwilling to examine any of his public statements for truth or accuracy. It’s almost as if he were a talking fundamentalist Bible…. He said it, they believe it, and that’s that…… possessing, as they apparently do, steel traps instead of minds. Anything that gets in, isn’t getting out alive, that’s for sure and for certain… As a bonus prize in the foolishness category, the folks who generally fall for this kind of chicanery have the following attitude as well…
“When you are sure you’re right, you have a moral duty to impose your will upon anyone who disagrees with you.” — Robert W. Mayer
And people wonder why I’m cynical…… here is a short verse that laments the absence of the kind of men I wish were running this country…. and I am saddened by the fact that I can think of no man, or woman, in office or out, who fits this mold…..
Statesman, yet friend to truth! of soul sincere,
In action faithful, and in honour clear;
Who broke no promise, serv’d no private end,
Who gain’d no title, and who lost no friend.
— Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — Moral Essays, Epistle to Mr. Addison
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But hush! hark! a deep sound strikes like a rising knell!
Did ye not hear it?–No! ‘t was but the wind,
Or the car rattling o’er the stony street.
On with the dance! let joy be unconfined;
No sleep till morn, when Youth and Pleasure meet
To chase the glowing hours with flying feet.
— Lord Byron (1788-1824) — Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, Canto iii, Stanza 22
So, I needed another hit of exquisite….. so sue me… I’ll add an extra pearl, okay?….
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Wedding March: 19th Century, England
“The traditional church wedding features two bridal marches, by two different classical composers. The bride walks down the aisle to the majestic, moderately paced music of the “Bridal Chorus” from Richard Wagner’s 1848 opera “Lohengrin”. The newlyweds exit to the more jubilant, upbeat strains of the “Wedding March” from Felix Mendelssohn’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
The custom dates back to the royal marriage, in 1858, of Victoria, princess of Great Britain, and Empress of Germany, to Prince Frederick William of Prussia. Victoria, eldest daughter of Britain’s Queen Victoria, selected the music herself. A patron of the arts, she valued the works of Mendelssohn and practically venerated those of Wagner. Given the British penchant for copying the monarchy, soon brides throughout the Isles, nobility and commoners alike, were marching to Victoria’s drummer, establishing a Western wedding tradition.”
It seems at first glance that this entry has little significance in relation to what usually passes here for subject matter. Admittedly, it is less of an issue than my usual pick of stuff upon which to rant. Calm yourselves, I’m not going to rant about this…. I have included it for one reason only, and that is to demonstrate that the power of celebrity has its roots further back in our cultural history than might at first be apparent. This short historical note on weddings clearly shows how the famous in society influence the culture as a whole, and have done so since well before the advent of radio, news delivery over international distances, TV, and the internet.
The actions of one woman, the most visible public figure of her time, were sufficiently of interest to the rest of society as to institute a new custom, which persists to this day, and not just in the British Isles. Public opinion can thus be seen to be manipulable by the simplest of means, to wit: if the public likes it, they’ll buy it…. simple, yet effective, and obviously well-known to those who manipulate others as a rule of policy….. funny, sometimes where one can find evidence of humanity’s vulnerabilities, isn’t it?…..
“It is easier to perceive error than to find truth, for the former lies on the surface and is easily seen, while the latter lies in the depth, where few are willing to search for it.” — Goethe
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As another morning’s musings draw to a close, I find myself a trifle melancholy. I’m sure it is temporary, and merely the result of finishing what has been fun to create. Since I’m happy with it as it is, we’ll get on with the rest of the procedure, and speed this on its way to cyberspace, and your perusal….. enjoy! Y’all take care out there…..
gigoid
Kowabunga!
Ffolkes,
Legal requirements are such that I must inform you that today’s Pearl may exceed the normal limits on acceptable behavior for blogs whose content consists primarily of personal observations and opinions. I got eight hours sleep last night, if the clock isn’t lying to me, and I don’t know just what effect that will have on what goes in here. So, I figure I’d best give y’all a head’s up….
HEY! LOOK OUT! Reading this may be hazardous. Not to you health, per se, but to your state of mind, which, it is acknowledged, MAY affect one’s health. But, there is really no worries, mates….. if you take a few basic precautions, you’ll be just fine.
First, try to suspend your beliefs for a bit…. I know, it’s hard, and they complain so much. But, if they aren’t lending their usual degree of panicky, tearful insecurity nonsense to the mix, you will be able to enjoy the show more.
Second, I’m afraid you’ll need to leave your prejudices outside the theater; you can leave them in your car, if you wish, Security officers are on patrol (somewhere…. not near your car, but somewhere…). In the rarefied atmosphere that today’s missive is likely to produce, they would constitute a severe moral hazard, and I cannot allow other patrons to be at risk for anyone’s misguided preconceptions of that nature. So, just leave them in the trunk of your car, please, for everyone’s safety, including your own.
Last, and most importantly, remember that this is all a process of finding and creating Pearls of VIRTUAL Wisdom… Virtual. Not solid, not tangible. Not necessarily real, though at times they appear identical to actual wisdom. Maintaining a certain degree of disbelief will come in handy for you in absorbing and processing the material with which you will be presented during the festivities this morning. In short, have a little Doubt handy in case you are having trouble with what you are reading….. a little doubt is a powerful tool for sanity, believe me….. now, shall we Pearl?…. Let’s do that…..
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“We, the people, are not free. Our democracy is but a name. We vote? What does that mean? We choose between Tweedledum and Tweedledee.” — Helen Keller
Odd, don’t you think, that the most insightful views of society are often presented by those who have no sight at all? Helen Keller was, obviously, an intelligent woman; no matter how patient the teacher, a stupid person could not have become the woman Ms. Keller became, without at least a modicum of basic ability to think. To think well, one must learn to observe well, and she has definitely got that down, for in no other way could this statement have been made. And that, to me, is the point. She is(was) a smart woman, and if this observation can be considered to be true, (differences of opinion on that point may be presented, and welcome, but for another discussion…. for now, lets discuss this….) why isn’t anyone else saying or doing anything to address the issue?
Well, I’ll tell ya, pardner, it’s like this…. Tweedledum and Tweedledee already fixed the election, and nobody noticed. Yup. It’s true. I would say that the voting process in this country has been a sham for oh, about 49 years, give or take a month or two. It got shot to hell, right about the same moment the rifle bullet struck the back of Jack Kennedy’s neck on that fateful day in 1963 when he was assassinated, and the last hope of the American people died with him……
When LBJ took office, it was the end of democracy as we know it. From that time to now, there has been NO candidate for the Presidency of this country who would have been, or ever again will be, allowed to run, if the true rulers of the nation did not, or do not approve.
Our true rulers have been underground, in the background, for a long time; they don’t like the public’s eye turned upon them, for they know that if the light falls on them, it won’t take long for all their evil to start to show. These men (there are no women in the group, other than those who become even more male than their counterparts, in their vicious disregard for the rest of humanity) have been in effective control of the political process for even longer; it just became more obvious at the time of Kennedy’s demise, and has been harder to cover up ever since.
I find it disturbing to see Mitt Romney out there, seemingly with their approval, as he is far too close to what one of their inner circle looks like, and they aren’t shutting him up. This implies they no longer care if anyone sees their manipulations, and that they believe they don’t need to hide as much as before, because there is NOTHING anyone can do to change the outcome that they have already decided on. Or, it could be a sort of sleight of hand…. present Romney for people to watch, then get Obama safely elected, and settle right back into the process of eliminating the Bill of Rights, a project they’ve been working on for some time now.
I feel I must point out to all the folks out there who believe our current President to be a new hope, that this is the same man who signed the National Defense Authorization Act into effect on New Year’s Eve, while the American public was busy drinking and celebrating the new year, completely unaware that their oh-so-liberal president had just handed the Bill of Rights over to the National Security Agency, and its myrmidons, to do with as it pleased….. If you doubt me on this, check the news from that day…. it’s a fact, it happened, and it is now too late…. officially.
The first and middle rounds are done folks. It is now the final rounds, and we are now officially at war, at least at the ballot box, with our own government, by their own decree. I don’t know about y’all, but I’m stocking up on ammunition, food, water, and body armor…… because the day of the final showdown is not far away. One of these days, and it is not far off, the gloves are going to come off all the way, and you will see the government of this country firing weapons at its own citizens, in the name of “public security”….
I’d think about this, if I were y’all, and think seriously. Try not to believe whatever they tell you, just because a guy on TV said it; examine everything with a critical eye, and speak up. But, be ready to duck, because I have a feeling they are no longer going to even give a warning shot, or yell, before they fire at us….. If you look at them, you will see that the ‘executive orders’ in the NDAA say they are not required to do so….
Don’t be distracted, folks, by all the yammering going on about taxes, or healthcare, or racism, or any of the other bullshite that is currently touted as “what the American people care about”, and being spewed out of every media orifice in the land. I care about my rights. I care about being able to live my life as I choose. I care about human dignity, and freedom, and compassion for others. But this election isn’t about any of those things, it’s not what is in the papers, and it’s not what is in the people’s hearts. It is about control over society, and money. That’s it.
It has been about that for a long time now. Unless the American public comes to its senses, it isn’t going to change, either, until Mama Nature steps in, and sends us all back to the drawing board as another failed biological experiment. That is Reality folks, and is not subject to our manipulation. We can control what we see of Reality, but we can’t change its nature, and it will end us as surely as the sun comes up every morning, if we don’t make some drastic changes. And, unfortunately, none of those changes will be allowed by the beloved ruling class, so….. end game…… Deal with it….
Once you’ve tried to change the world you find it’s a whole bunch easier to change your mind. — Smart Bee
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Morality is learned, not legislated. — Smart Bee
This will be a very short section. The above is something I believe to have the force of natural law behind it; as such it is not susceptible to our ability or desire to change it. It’s just the way it is. And I wish, for all of our sakes, that all the idiots in government, liberals, conservatives, libertarians, independents, and the churches in this country, of ALL denominations, would get this into their heads, and learn to accept the fact that there is NOTHING THEY CAN DO TO CHANGE THIS….. no matter how strongly they wish it weren’t so, it is so.
No matter how many laws they make and/or pass to try to legislate what they believe to be moral into law, each and every one of them will fail. History has proved this beyond any shadow of possible doubt, literally thousands and thousands of times, and it is no longer a subject for serious debate. It hasn’t been for three thousand years, though people seem to act differently, and continue to complain, and try to “make it so”…..
So, please, those of you who wish that the rest of society would just be like you, forget it. Not going to happen, and you can’t pass a law to make it so…. Get over it…….please. All the noise and crap you subject the rest of us to is getting tiresome….
Horatio: O day and night, but this is wondrous strange!
Hamlet: And therefore as a stranger give it welcome.
There are more things in heaven and Earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
— W. Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act I, Scene V
(I know, it’s from Willie, but when it fits, I use it, no matter whose it is…..)
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“A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.” — Ronald Reagan
I’m a fair person; it says so right here on the label, and I think an examination of my record in that arena would indicate the truth of that statement. So, when I find myself to be in the wrong about something, I am willing to admit it, if for no other reason, so we can just get on with things. So, mostly, when I’m wrong, I say I’m wrong. After finding and reading the above, though it galls me no end, I have to admit to being wrong about Ronald Reagan. Yes, I know, a shocking thought isn’t it?
Well, calm yourselves, it isn’t what you may think. In toto, I still think that Ronnie was perhaps the absolute worst President this country has seen in its 200+ year history. We are still, as a society, trying to crawl out of the hole his Reaganomics dug for us, and his war-mongering, rich fat cat, elitist sycophants and admirers are still entrenched throughout the legislative system and the Supreme Court, causing no end of problems with their conservative lack of compassion for the common man. No, no, I’m no fool, and the evidence of his sheer evil intent remains just as valid as it ever was.
But, the above statement, if he actually said it, and actually believed it, must be acknowledged as being not just true, but as eminently sensible. In that case, it deserves mention, if only for the fact that, for once in his life, he made a statement that indicates there might be a tiny little part of him that thinks about other people and what might be good for them.
More likely, however, given his prior track record, he believes that because of the danger to HIMSELF, the risk is too great; he doesn’t like for things to not yield to his control. I would have a hard time accepting that, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, he grew a conscience…. Not bloody likely…… I don’t like to resort to calling names, when English suits itself so well to cursing and vilifying without depending on their no-doubt cathartic use, but I’m afraid Ronnie was an elitist asshole, plain and simple.
Have you taunted a Conservative today?– Smart Bee
(Smarter than usual, too… Cute….. Conservatives, just like Liberals, turn all sorts of neat colors when you question their basic beliefs, or show disrespect for their heroes, especially Saint Ronnie the Raygun…. or, Bishop Barry, the New Hope….NOT!)
(Sorry, but, I think, therefore I am… dangerous, that is… it’s a gift…..)
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“In walking, just walk. In sitting, just sit. Above all, don’t wobble.” — Yun-Men
This is good advice. Think about it a while. It will grow on you….. and grow…. and grow…. and grow….. then you can stop. And wobble no more…
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“The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in times of great moral crises maintain their neutrality.” — Dante Alighieri (1265-1321)
Though I’m not entirely convinced of physical reality of the entire Heaven/Hell scenario, I do like to believe that some sort of Universal justice is carried out, and after death is certainly a good time for it. When I let myself imagine such fine examples of that justice promised by almost every religion in the afterlife, my tendency is to agree fully with the above. But, I would also like to add that I like to believe that there are quite a few little doors on the lowest levels of Hell (if it’s as bad as it should be, it should be capitalized), and each leads to a room for a number of folks who absolutely deserve to be there for all eternity…..
There would be, in my version of Hell, a room for those who deliberately abuse women, children, animals of any kind, or any form of life at all; it is a genetic defect and the species would be better off without them altogether. This room is a good response by Reality, if we MUST suffer their existence.
Another room would be reserved for those who seek power over other people, for any reason. Those in that category who use that power to harm, abuse, and kill others in the search for that power will be given priority admission.
A fourth room would welcome those who engaged in human trafficking of any type. All of them. Every single fucking one of them. And the tortures and pain waiting for them in that room would be the cruelest, most agonizing that the Master Torturer’s demons could think up for them.
Right next door to this room would be those who dealt drugs for profit and power, dealing directly with, as both cause and effect, the despair and weakness of human poverty, and the vulnerability caused by that, by illness, or by developmental challenges. In short, those who made money trading in human misery.
I think that’s all the doors I would need; but, humans are inventive, and I like to think that there are still doors available, for any other crimes that humans can think up to perpetrate on one another that I may have inadvertently passed over…. I’m sure, as a professional, Beelzebub has learned to plan for the future, and for unseen contingencies…..
Well, even if it’s all a fantasy, which I have to admit is quite likely (even my most optimistic side will only admit to a 50/50 chance of this resembling reality, much as I’d like it to happen this way…..), it’s fun to think about, for our own sanity…..
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As I suspected when I awoke this morning, after eight unexpected but thoroughly welcome and appreciated hours of sleep, today’s content got rather…. expansive is a good word, I guess. I thought it might; getting that much rest tends to give me a boost of energy, which will naturally end up in what I write, as it is the first real call for it during the day. I don’t, however, always know just what may be produced by all that energy; if it taps into my outrage, it can tie me to the keyboard for a long time, ranting. Or, it can turn to fantasy, and get a bit strange even for me. No way to tell ahead of time, what with the way I carry out this process…..
All seems to have gone well today, though, so, no worries…. the Helen Keller rant gave me a thousand words that I’ll probably trim to post as an article on Triond or somewhere, so that’s a good thing. And it all looks solid to me, cognitively speaking. So, I’m going to let if fly on its own, and let the consequences begin; I seem to have been indiscriminate in my choice of targets, and didn’t leave out very many……. Y’all take care out there……
gigoid
Kowabunga!
Grand news, ffolkes… a voice you’ve heard here before, about to be heard around the world…. and about time!… Please read, share, and join me in looking forward to the upcoming event….
More to spread far and wide, folks… if this doesn’t touch you, you need to reassess yourself ….
Oh! I am tired my feet ache, I think these high heels are torture. Mind you they’re not as bad as the way men stink.
God it itches and it burns. Now it bleeds when I pee but I have to smile when the stinking men do things to me.
See my sister she is barely twelve I have had to teach her how to dip and delve. It makes me sick what I have had to show her to do but she needs to do it right or she will get beaten black blue.
I am so tired I worked all night through. I didn’t earn enough, so to keep the boss sweet I have to work today too. I am sure I have lice in my hair it is driving me mad but the boss don’t care. I asked for something to sort it out he just slapped…
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Another fine article on a subject that always needs to be brought into the light….especially in re: the subtle lies that the perpetrators inflict on the victims… more from Resurrection Graves…
Good Touch, Bad Touch is a program that taught me how to identify when someone is in my personal space touching me in an appropriate or inappropriate way. Grooming is a technique used by predators to train children into believing that good touch is good touch, and bad touch is also good touch.
Once the relations between a predator and his or her prey have been established, and trust is gained, children have a hard time distinguishing between what good touch and bad touch is.
I remember the Good Touch, Bad Touch program so it has always made me feel like it was a successful program. As I have mentioned before, I did not learn about Stranger Danger until sometime within the last year when my focus on child sexual abuse ensued. However, as a child I remember the Good Touch, Bad Touch pamphlets, and was able to run across a…
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More important information, honestly and graphically presented by a survivor, in the truest sense of the word… on a subject that probably never occurs to those not familiar with this issue…. please read and share with all those you know…..
A very real, very painful, very powerful, and ultimately hopeful poem…. please share….
I woke up last week, wanting to write a poem in honor of Child Abuse Prevention Month. April is also National Poetry Month. Here it is.
Un-Elevated; paralyzed by snares
Hallucinating aloneness; empty by capacity-
in fact we’re fashionably hidden,
sentenced by crime;
unaware of confinement in a catastrophe
with small self mutilating incisions – completely livid inside.
I remember.
Being fingered at four.
Yeah, I know it wasn’t my fault;
being kissed like an adult
woman.
I remember the sores.
And because this design of the brain was not God intended,
I experienced a lifetime of pain in those six minutes.
Whether I forgive him or not,
my life was finished.
A new experience began, where that one ended.
My mind was different,
but I didn’t understand why.
A true fortune teller,
God visited me at nine.
He gave me a language to which I can rely,
showed me…
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Ffolkes,
Curious….. my mind this morning as I sit down to begin is empty again. I could have sworn when I woke up that there were lots of things going around in there, clamoring and pushing to be first to get out. But now that I’m faced with an empty screen, I find a matching empty screen in my mind’s eye, sitting there, staring at me like I’ve got something to put on there…. which, needless to say at this point, I don’t. I can’t say where all the stuff that was around earlier went to; if I did, I’d just go there, and cajole a few random thoughts to come on back with me, or maybe fool one of the weaker thoughts into turning into a comedy routine of some sort.
Since I haven’t a clue where they might be, I’m not sure now just what I should do. I can’t sit here typing stream of consciousness for too long; my stream is looking a bit thin at present. If only there were some way to magically call my thoughts back, like in a Harry Potter movie…. “Accio Inspiration!” With my luck, Inspiration would be a big rock, which would proceed to smack me upside the head, thus inspiring me to curse mightily before heaving the rock out the window (hopefully, AFTER remembering to open said window….. the landlord gets so testy when I forget….). Like that’ll work….
Well, I suppose it’s back to Plan C…. pick up the axe, start chopping, and let the chips fall where they may. Not necessarily the most scientific or artistic solution, or even the most efficient, but brute force has always served me well…. so I’m going for it. If you’d care to tag along, please feel free, after donning the provided hard hats and goggles, both of which are required by law for all visitors to this site….. Thank you for you cooperation with these regulations…. they are filming us to ensure compliance. (See? Just over there, from that fourth story window across the way….) We hope you enjoy today’s tour through the WWW Ocean of Knowledge, and our search for Pearls of Daily Wisdom…..
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Tho’ lost to sight, to mem’ry dear / Thou ever wilt remain;
One only hope my heart can cheer,– / The hope to meet again.
Oh fondly on the past I dwell, / And oft recall those hours
When, wand’ring down the shady dell, / We gathered the wild-flowers.
Yes, life then seem’d one pure delight, / Tho’ now each spot looks drear;
Yet tho’ thy smile be lost to sight, / To mem’ry thou art dear.
Oft in the tranquil hour of night, / When stars illume the sky,
I gaze upon each orb of light, / And wish that thou wert by.
I think upon that happy time, / That time so fondly lov’d,
When last we heard the sweet bells chime, / As thro’ the fields we rov’d.
Yes, life then seem’d one pure delight, / Tho’ now each spot looks drear;
Yet tho’ thy smile be lost to sight, / To mem’ry thou art dear.
— George Linley (1798-1865) — Song
I love these poems! I’ve seen several now, though at least two are probably this one seen twice. I’ve seen another in techspeak, written by some hacker. I know I’ve used this before, but it’s been quite a while, so, the hell with it, I’m using it again. I am just so impressed by the creativity, and perseverance, it must have taken to create these three poems in one, I am compelled to include it again today, in spite of my regular policy against repetition of source material for discussions. To keep the left column consistent as a complete work, then the right column, then the poem created by the two together; this to me is poetic genius, or at minimum, a complete refusal to give up on something until it is right….. fantastic! Enjoy!…..
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“I don’t think we should punish the criminal [a rapist] by killing his child.” — Dr. John Wilke, President, National Right to Life Committee, — Search for Common Ground, taped for television 4/89, as quoted in “The Far Right, Speaking For Themselves”, a Planned Parenthood pamphlet
When I first read this, I could not believe that this is something that could pass the lips of anyone, anyone at all, without choking the speaker. There are so many wrong things about it, it is difficult to choose a starting point. My next thought was to wonder how such an ignoramus could remember to breathe without someone there to remind them. I certainly have serious doubts that this “Doctor” was awarded his degree by any accredited educational institution, in ANY field of scientific inquiry, though I suppose it could be a Piled High and Deep Doctorate in Divinity, or some such faux degree. Such an example of extreme, deliberate ignorance is certainly not something that anyone with a) any compassion at all, or b) an IQ that exceeds 90, would ever contemplate allowing to come out of their mouth, at least, not without a grin and and a wink to assure the listeners that they were not serious.
After I got past the disbelief, (after all, there is no defined limit to just how stupid people can be… the bar keeps getting raised…..), I had a reaction not dissimilar to the one I get when I contemplate those who traffic in human flesh, i.e., pimps, brothel managers, and other WOS assholes of that ilk. (No, not preachers and priests, though they are certainly to be included in that category, for their active encouragement of the trade)
It is almost comforting to envision myself putting a double tap from a Glock 9mm right between their eyes, thus serving the sentence that Mother Nature herself would set if she were to judge such ignorance…. which she does, but leaves the execution of the sentence to other forces of Nature, such as the righteous anger of the brothers, uncles, and fathers of the abused victims…..
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“It is no great wonder if in long process of time, while fortune takes her course hither and thither, numerous coincidences should spontaneously occur. If the number and variety of subjects to be wrought upon be infinite, it is all the more easy for fortune, with such an abundance of material, to effect this similarity of results.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Life of Sertorius
Infinite monkeys, pecking at typewriters over infinite time, would produce all the works of Shakespeare….. It now seems clear from whom the man who wrote that line obtained the obviously plagiarized concept he employed in its composition. If such it may be called, in light of this thought from Plutarch, a man whose reputation has stood through millennia.
With my complete faith in the power of Google, after writing the above little query into Plutarch’s statement, and in the interests of accuracy (and scratching the itch of curiosity it gave me), I typed the essential phrases into the search box, hit enter, and sat back to await the results, trying to find the current author to whom it is attributed.
Sure thing, the first link was to a comprehensive article on Wikipedia on what is known as the Infinite Monkey Theorem. Little did I know when I first took up this subject that I had blundered into a field of intense and continuous scientific and philosophical inquiry that has been raging among the academic and public sectors of society since the time of Aristotle, who is credited in the article as having been one of the first to propose the basic concept in writing.
In scrolling down the Wikipedia page in a quick scan, I realized what I saw there would be equivalent to 30 or more pages of a book, in a tiny font, mentioning discussions by most of the philosophers of the last two thousand years, including many examples of historical and cultural explorations of the concept. This first glance I took only covered the basic elements of the discussion, which was organized into what seemed to be endless divisions of academic, mathematical, and cultural aspects.
There are several other articles listed as well, some even longer and more detailed, that explore the idea’s mathematics, and the implications of that math. There are entire articles on the cultural aspects of the question, and each article is filled with links to more information, literally thousands of web pages of data. It is, in short, a subject worthy of weeks, or even years of study before any discussion to be held would cover any ground that hasn’t likely been covered previously.
It would take a few weeks of eight hour days just to check if any ideas I had for discussion had occurred already somewhere, or some when, not leaving much time to develop the any possibly new arguments in a fresh way, or even much time to organize any, since their relative newness was as yet undetermined. A challenge of a lifetime, or at least one worthy of a doctoral dissertation…. hmmm, I wonder if some university would accept such an article for a doctorate?
Hell, somebody probably thought of that already, too….. I guess I’ll find another subject for discussion here. This one seems to be a dead end….in spite of the 300 or so words I’ve already spewed.
Damn monkeys anyway! Who asked them to write Shakespeare? Though, as I’ve said before, there is some of his stuff that could use a bit of work….. just sayin’…..
“Originality is the fine art of remembering what you hear but forgetting where you hear it.” — Laurence Peter, “Peter’s Quotations”, 1977
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“Fantasy, abandoned by reason, produces impossible monsters; united with it, she is the mother of the arts and the origin of marvels.”– Goya
Master Goya knows whereof he speaks. If you believe it not, just view his body of work, and we will discuss it again. Here is one of the marvels of which he speaks… I had forgotten how excellent a poet Keats could be. This is obviously a “toss off” poem, a spur of the moment reaction, yet effortlessly gives the reader a taste of the grandeur of what he had read in Chapman, and felt about what he read. Enjoy!….
Much have I travell’d in the realms of gold,
And many goodly states and kingdoms seen;
Round many western islands have I been
Which bards in fealty to Apollo hold.
Oft of one wide expanse had I been told
That deep-brow’d Homer ruled as his demesne,
Yet did I never breathe its pure serene
Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold:
Then felt I like some watcher of the skies
When a new planet swims into his ken;
Or like stout Cortez when with eagle eyes
He stared at the Pacific, and all his men
Look’d at each other with a wild surmise,
Silent, upon a peak in Darien.
— John Keats (1795-1821) — On first looking into Chapman’s Homer
Gorgeous! If you can believe it, I am speechless in admiration….. watch me….. See? Nothing more to say…. well, maybe one thing….
“True eloquence consists in saying all that should be said, not all that could be.” — Francois Duc de la Rochefoucauld
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No, ‘t is slander,
Whose edge is sharper than the sword, whose tongue
Outvenoms all the worms of Nile, whose breath
Rides on the posting winds, and doth belie
All corners of the world.
— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Cymbeline
— Act iii, Sc. 4
Not to belabor my point, but see? Shakespeare. Really bad verse. At least 10 too many words, way more than needed, and still so obscure the point has to be shaken out like a peach from a tree. Not unusual for him, in my mind….. I rest my case…..
Kirk: “Spock, comment.”
Spock: “Very bad poetry.”
— “Catspaw”, Stardate 3018.2.
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Well…. I’d feel strange about the lineup today, but, in truth, it’s not an unusual grouping to find here. Since I never plan what to write ahead of time, I suppose that isn’t particularly surprising. It keeps me busy….. a bit of housekeeping, if you would spare me a moment of your attention….
*Smart Bee — Smart Bee is the database program in which a lot of the quotes I use as pearls are found. More of them than I would like are not attributed, as might be expected in a database of 111, 111 quotes amassed by a collection of geeks and programmers (i.e., hackers) in their spare time, and distributed for free.
In the past I have attributed all such orphaned statements to Anonymous, Unknown, and occasionally, no one at all (I feel plagiaristic every time, but whaddyagonnado, when it’s perfect and you’re in a hurry to get done?) So, in the future, just for the sake of my sanity, such as it is, I’ll be attributing all such taglines found with no one to blame to Smart Bee itself. That way, I don’t have to try to figure out which to use each time, and can just get on with it… thanks for your patience with this little condom for my mental health.
And on that note, classy and elegant guy that I am, I shall bid thee adieu… be warned, please, that I intend to try to post to my blog site again later today…. but it won’t hurt, I assure you, especially if I don’t get to it….. Y’all take care out there…..
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