Saturday, April 20, 2013

America: Taking The Good And The Bad For 237 Years

I want to express my opinions on this whole nightmare that took place in Boston and WILL CONTINUE FOR ETERNITY. I'm knuckles deep in Rod Pump Controls and PLCs and SCADA and even a high tension coil for my van that all have me thinking the C4 transmission rebuild was like a child's swing set...

"Remote Automation Solutions’ FF Interface provides an integrated
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Slow down, Hoss, Oggy was enjoying Hermann Hesse a few nights ago and now you want him to interface with what? Go check out Schneider Electric and you'll see I'm rubbing elbows with the elite of global production...Hesse couldn't be further from my priorities. I tell myself this is deep research into modern technology to balance out the deep research I did into reclusive sociopathology.



But it doesn't matter. Hesse caused me only metaphysical happiness that was uniformly loathed and led to complete disillusionment and isolation. I woke up at 2am in a fever the other night and realized that being a vegetarian poet in Galveston, Texas (another story for another day) was absolutely no different than going to a Vipassana Meditation Center ( 9 days of complete silence) and setting up two Marshall stacks and whipping out my overdrive guitar pedal and a Les Paul and trying to form a band.

Hold on, what does that have to anything?

I'm not sure it does.

I wanted to offer my unsolicited opinion of the bombings in Boston and my initial feelings about the latest news. I'd like to move on because it's a distasteful topic. It's probably too early to comment but this is the modern era where it makes no difference. No one's attention span is long enough to remember anything. A week from now I'll totally contradict this essay and it won't matter except as a mark against me in the philosophical school. Speaking of philosophy....

I read on that totally unreliable source, CNN*, that one of the bombing suspects in Boston had reportedly "Justified Terrorism" to an acquaintance prior to actually bombing people. That kind of conversation takes place thousands of times every day. Look at the CNN comments and you'll see "They should cook Arab Hot Dogs at Fenway" or "Fuck Everyone" or "All Jews are crooks" or "Only full scale nuclear attack will stop Korea" or "Peace will never change anything". Hell, a Navy Seal sniper team's official motto is, "Look Ma, Violence Does Solve Problems"

So, do not feign disgust at a young person who ideologically decided violence is the only answer. There is a ton of evidence that he's totally correct. But, philosophically, he's totally wrong and the failure to debate these misguided brothers is evidence that philosophy is dormant in our land. Maybe no verbal argument could change his mind but that shouldn't stop us from trying.** Socrates, I've mentioned before, had no official role in anything yet his whole life was reportedly spent debating central human issues such as justice, violence, afterlife, ethics, slavery, love, reality. Is there someone in your neighborhood who has a reputation for debating any issue in abstract/philosophical terms? There is no such person in this part of Texas. I dare say you'd have your ass immediately pounded if you suggested bombing marathon spectators was a means to any end. I once suggested starting a beach MMA cage match tournament in Mexico and the Mexican said, "Start with me." and proceeded to wrestle me. Soon after that I abandoned my MMA cage match plan.

I like to think I could've debated this issue for as long as it took to convince these guys to abandon their plans as completely futile. I've studied this issue of mass change for 20 years and I'm convinced that a single act like this is as likely to completely backfire (leading to more imperialism/injustice/etc.) as it is to raise awareness about some cause you hold dear. More importantly, this kind of vigilante terrorism/cleansing sword of Allah type shit has nothing to do with a cause and is almost totally sourced in a person's insecurities and disillusionment and sense of abandonment and social isolation. So, it's not only incorrect, it's also displaced, projecting self-loathing and self-pity onto the surrounding, oblivious society. I have met quite a few social change folks and few of them truly were concerned with social change. Sargent Shriver type are very rare...along with Che and Gandhi and Wilfred Grenfell, and Steinbeck, and Mother Teresa, people who actually had the influence and personality and the timing to affect social change and were focused enough to do so without a personal agenda. Truth exists and some people purely pursue it but the methods they use to get there can vary greatly. But that doesn't mean they aren't pursuing the same thing.

I initially thought that this Boston Bombing was a preventable act, preventable through persuasion and argument. I've personally held extreme views that in retrospect had philosophical problems but the truth is that I didn't meet one person who could debate with me and present a better argument than mine in terms that seemed better to me. Lots of people farted a lot of words in my direction but it was mostly self-serving nonsense that made me resent stale mentalities even more. Life isn't as neatly organized as a contest where judges decide who won the debate. If you meet a feeble, handicapped 24 year old man who refuses to bathe to conserve water, who lives in a self constructed stick hut in the forest (to protest land ownership) and forages for food in dumpsters to highlight the waste of Capitalism, then you could technically plead your case to convince that man to change his ways. But since most people haven't really thought about their lifestyle choices and prefer to follow in the footsteps of their drone-like forefathers, most arguments will be like, "God will protect you" or "You smelly asshole, get a job," neither of which hold much persuasive power. In fairness, some decisions can only be reached through experience...which is a fair debate argument to make. On the flip side sometimes a path is recognized as correct yet still futile. I think that's known as Nolo contendere.
The defeated Environmentalists Statement of Surrender:
"Humanity will deplete all of Earth's resources, therefore I accept my self-denial of said resources will have no effect on aforementioned depletion. Henceforth, my personal use of said resources does not indicate a statement of contradiction or hypocrisy but is a recognition of the futility of any course of action other than self-preservation."

Anyway, I'll go toe to toe with anyone on matters of grave impact. TOE TO TOE.

And my final word on this latest bombing comes from the bits of history I read about the brothers. As soon as I saw Kazakhstan I knew that sadness and violence had been bred into them, that any perceived happiness was in spite of their own lives. And yes, there are wounds too painful to overcome. Raise your hand if you've been in the oil field of Kazakhstan, where oil is taken from beneath a sick peasant's feet for European Nascar races. It doesn't justify their actions, as the AA saying goes, it explains it. Russian Caucuses, Chechnya, Dagestan, Kazakhstan... Maybe they managed to skip Serbia but it's still like a 3rd grade field trip through Horror-Land. Chechen kids don't read "Diary of Anne Frank." in 6th grade. I think you can guess why since WWII never ended for them.

So, the more I reflected on this incident the more I'm reminded of Bob Dylan's song, "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" a song that probably won't have a cousin from today's "Idol" media whores:
After a delayed climax, Dylan's song ends,

"Bury the rag deep in your face, for now is the time for your tears."

Yes, I could prevent this tragedy if I only owned a time machine and could go back to 1945 when Russia and the Allied Forces tore apart Europe, leading to a political/economic climate that's almost intolerable and inevitably will lead to terror, bombings, suicides, deaths, hijackings.

These brothers didn't come to America intending to commit violence. They came here with a cruel history and found nothing in America to replace their own values. It bothers me that I can see their point. That led to a vacuum in which they saw the blatant religious war being advanced by the military in the Middle East, mostly over oil and imperialism, as yet another war they had been thrust into. And I think their history imprinted the recognition that they could never be neutral, that they chose one side or another by default so they embarked on a totally futile attack because the alternative of flying to join the Muslim resistance in Chechnya also made no sense.

And since I'm already thinking like a Texas Oil Field Man who only looks forward, the way to prevent future bombings is simple: engage every person in your neighborhood. Eat with them. Debate them. Know them. Understand that these brothers bombed strangers. Don't be a stranger and don't let anyone else be a stranger. It's called a community and is the one thing that can not be allowed to atrophy in any land. By choosing to live in urban areas, and not Ellesmere Island or a stick hut in Santa Cruz, you have agreed to be a part of a community so hold up your end of the agreement. It's the covenant America was founded on and the tenuous conditions by which America exterminated the natives to make room for European refugees...some of whom will write symphonies and invent denim jeans and study photoelectric physics and then some who will ultimately be so poisoned by the conditions that brought them here in the first place that our own brand of insanity pushed them over the edge.


*I know I shouldn't use CNN for news but it's so addictive. I do want to applaud their ability to actually use the same content over the course of a story. They must assign each article to a person and at any time there is an update that writer has to go back to the article and change all the verbs and syntax. I was reading the same content a few hours apart but all the details were changed to accommodate present situations. Anyone who has edited long stories knows this is extremely difficult because if anything changes in reality then the past story becomes obsolete. But instead of writing a new story, CNN simply used the old content but changed verbs. It's a variation of the doublespeak news bureau that Winston was working for in Orwell's 1984. His job was to revisit old news articles and change everything to fit what happened after. If a shoe factory promised 1000 pairs of shoes and only produced 200 he would go back and change their promise to 100. Then it seems like they overproduced. CNN came deadly close to this thoughtcrime when they reported the arrest of a suspect when actually neither suspect had even been identified. Now there is no trace of their premature report. (I would need a saved screenshot of their flawed reporting, since that page no longer exists, but then you could say I photoshopped it, which might also be true) And an uncle who once "Urges" a suspect to turn himself in now "Urged" a suspect to turn himself in. It's not a new article, the copy has merely been altered to past tense. It's unbelievable and a case could be made that it was an entirely fabricated story or at least the reporting is misleading and covers its own tracks as it goes. CNN now has the skill and the audience to perpetrate widespread lies. Summary: trust nothing you can't see...and print to file every article CNN launches because that's the only way to save history as it is reported.

**The opportunity to debate a radical ideologue presents itself almost daily in our crooked land, so you haven't missed your chance.

11 comments:

DICKGUMSHOE said...

OGGY, YOU NEED TO DIG DEEPER INTO YOUR DUE DILIGENCE REGARDING THE TWO BROTHERS. BOTH FIT IN AND INTERACTED WITH THE SOCIETY. THEY CAN BOTH BE DESCRIBED AS TWO GREY WOLVES WEARING LAMB SUITS. THEY ARE BOTH TOO YOUNG TOO HAVE EXPERIENCED THE EFFECTS OF KAZAKHSTAN. MIGHT HAVE LEARNED THE HATE FROM THE FATHER. WHO CALLS US COWARDS FOR SHOOTING HIS PRECIOUS BOY. WITH THAT SAID THE FBI DID INTERVIEW THE OLDER BROTHER BEFORE HE BECAME A U.S. CITIZEN ON "9-11" 2012. SO THE BALL WAS DROPPED.

Oggy Bleacher said...

I really don't see this as an issue of hate for America. Resentment for being profiled and interviewed probably stewed in the older brother for a year. If you've ever been repeatedly questioned by the police for being black or poor or living in a van or originating from Chechnya then resentment is easy to understand. He probably had nothing to hide when he was applying for citizenship but then the humiliating process gnawed at his pride all winter and started a chain reaction that had factors in his whole life. Let's look at this psychologically, a kid who has no control of his childhood safety will eventually find a way to simulate total control of something later in life. Delayed satisfaction. I think this is a case of acute terrorism being usurped by someone who lacked the vocabulary to redirect what he failed to cultivate earlier on. Furthermore, anyone who "fits in and interacts" with modern America is psychopathic by definition.

Did you happen to miss the fact our elected officials just voted in favor of more school shootings? You want to explain that to me?

Anonymous said...

first of all fuck this gay blog with the sign in. I'm a flesh robot who will shit on this commenting security bullshit. The very fabric of which you complain about is shining through your cloak.


Now for the fith fucking attempt at trying to agree with Dik and Oggy, I believe that the kids were not old enough to suffer the affects of Kazakhstan, yet I thing ignorance breeds dependance.

I also thing that the author of this blog has inadvertantly given the freudian slip regarding control over his his life now through his blog and textual rhetoric.

I believe that this individual had abandonment issues. I have experience with this as well as the Ogginator.

Abandonment can manifest its to a conclusion by death, if not by diception.

Mr. Oggy has empathy for this type of abandonmaent. At the other end of the universe, we are all pond scum in a cellular cacoon, swimming in our own vomit.

If we stop masturbating to Ted Turner, we would smell the roses.

Oggy Bleacher said...

Dear pond scum,
I had no other option in my war with the robotic spam monsters from Chechnya. The security word verification has two sharp edges, one that eliminates the Russian cocksuckers and one that bites the hand that types frank comments. But though you still have my Sister Christian songbook and the old people have requested Beth many times I strive to forgive your past infractions but fail because my family raised me to resent and harbor grievances as ammunition in a lifelong war of emotional abuse and snide belittling. I'm always the hero of the blog because my diary is where I'm honest and if others are going to read it then I have to dance on my soap box and juggle knives because people want to see me cut myself. hahahaha. look at Oggy bleed. Well the Edge of the 5.5 proof is sharp on tender Oggy flesh and when I read 1000VAc will be part of my daily allowance of fear I think all bets are off. I've risked my life for loveless flights of sadness and for casual adventure on mountaintops so why not to put oil in gas tanks of Nascar drivers? My reward is vindication of my sorrow.

I'm no hero in the real world and my social motives are no secret to me...not flawless but soiled by childhood tears...it's all reactive to the universal forces I could not control and I'm ashamed of it but I hope you feel better for reading my self-pitying confession.

The William T. Vollmann story about Kazakhstan oil fields was so bleak that I sympathize with anyone from that country or region. Forget everything CNN and Fox tells you about that part of the world. They gained independence but the rape is ongoing.

Lastly, there is no justifying bombing people in Boston but why can we justify bombing people in Kabul? Easy, it's not Boston and we might know people in Boston. This is the logic of a cunt fuckwad who shits Taco Bell and eats Wendy's.

The whole North American continent is in a chronic state of emergency from hazardous waste exposure so don't flip out when someone drops a Styrofoam cup in Dagestan.

Introverted Observer said...

Some people only feign sympathy for such an event. I, myself, am one of them. Naturally, I have a bleak, yet realistic, outlook on life. I'm not at all surprised by an event like this occurring. Greater tragedies happen all over the world. I've visited an area in Nicaragua where people live on piles of trash, with no way to escape such living conditions. Mothers will prostitute out their daughter to truck divers just to get first dibs at the trash, hoping to find sustenance. Situations like these plague the world everyday. Yet, America doesn't give a damn unless tragedies strike their own soil. Full of ignorance, America is blind to reality.

While I don't support mass bombings, I do believe that it had to happen. While America is busy licking its wounds, everyone fails to see how America brought such a tragedy upon herself. The bomber, most likely, just wanted to be heard. The self-proclaimed Land of the Free has turned into a residing for the ignorant and arrogant. We are unwilling to discuss philosophy and listen to other people's views. Many, in the name of tolerance, judge others who believe something different and attempt to seek change by shoving their views down somebodies throat. It's not a surprise that someone resorted to bombing. It got our attentions, didn't it? And it did so in a way words are unable to, for America refuses to listen.

Oggy Bleacher said...

I was in Managua and San Juan Del Sur but managed to miss the trash heaps crawling with prostitutes. Damn!
That's another country like Serbia where war impacted a whole generation. And you bring up a good point that by association you were impacted by the poverty and I'd propose that by association the two Borat terrorists were also impacted even if they weren't immediately shot at or raped. It's real fucking ignorant to think someone is "too young" to be affected by violence. Anyone suggesting that must've had a perfect childhood.

And I'm probably being ignorant to think Boston or St. Louis could ever have the same kind of community as Battle Harbour Labrador or San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua. But we gotta try.

P.S. I'm actually dealing with 1000VDC, not AC. I'd like my death report to be totally accurate.

Oggy Bleacher said...

I was also going to quote the person who said something like "Violence is the voice of the poor" but I couldn't find the quote or the person so I didn't want to appear pretentious. blah blah blah

Oggy Bleacher said...

The causes of violence are complicated and I'm all in favor of doing the hard work to find the source, but it is noteworthy to point out that some people in Boston are going to have to use artificial limbs to visit their neighbors for dinner, thanks to these fuckwads.

Anonymous said...

Actually to truly watch news evolve and to save it you must follow about 5000 twitter feeds and be able to adjust with the flow of information and sort out the full on crap from some real reporting.
Real news happens in 144 characters.
And didn't I tell you they were some disaffected dickwads on tuesday.
Poncho

Anonymous said...

Actually to truly watch news evolve and to save it you must follow about 5000 twitter feeds and be able to adjust with the flow of information and sort out the full on crap from some real reporting.
Real news happens in 144 characters.
And didn't I tell you they were some disaffected dickwads on tuesday.
Poncho
PS I expect to be quoted as an unnamed source when you use my words.

Oggy Bleacher said...

Except for the college, I remember thinking that you were real close to an FBI profile match. But those assholes went on a suicide mission they didn't realize was a suicide mission.
yeah, unnamed sources provide the bulk of the news. I'm going to ignore everything but my work this week. thanks for tuning in.

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Man in the Van by Oggy Bleacher is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.