My Life

 Anyone who knows me surely is aware of the fact that I bear no good feelings towards Donald Trump. The purpose of this post is to enumerate many (definitely not all) of the reasons why the emotions I harbor toward him are so negative. I want to make it clear that while I disagree with conservatives on points of policy, I am angry that they have three times chosen that man in particular to represent their party. Yes, I'll always be happier seeing a liberal in the White House than a conservative. But most conservatives I could just live with, tolerate, roll my eyes at. This one is different. It's not because he's conservative (which I don't even believe that he is, to be honest--I think he has no scruples or morals or values). It's because he's a wretched excuse for a human being. I am aware that it is common for Trump supporters to believe that some, many, or all media outlets lie and cannot be trusted. In this post, I share links to many differing media outlets...

 As with most of my positions, my view on controlled substances is that we should allow for the broadest application of liberty that is reasonable. My opinion on the legalization of recreational drugs is informed by the outcome of the Prohibition era in the US. During the 13 years wherein alcohol was banned via Constitutional amendment, we saw an increase in organized crime and the sale of alcohol on the black market. It didn't stop the consumption of alcohol, it merely increased the danger in doing so. And we can see now how the use of illegal recreational drugs has added danger due to the illegality. For the purpose of simplicity, I will  use the term "drugs" in this post to refer to recreational substances (which are typically illegal or restricted). The United States has 3500 people per 100k which use drugs--far more than any other country. By comparison, Canada has 1920 and Mexico has 496. One reason I quote these statistics is to show just how very racist it is to ...

 I'm not educated in psychological matters, or matters relating to mental health or human relationships. All I know, and all I mean to convey here in this post, is from my own personal experiences and the little bit of googling on the matter that I have done. It's baffled me how such a large portion of the electorate in the USA has not only voted for Trump in three consecutive elections but they also seem to be supportive of his messaging and his actions while in office. I'm struggling, trying to comprehend the phenomenon, to little avail. I found this particular web page discussing narcissistic manipulative inconsistency . I recommend reading it and getting an idea for how narcissists behave toward their victims. That article is specifically talking about parents abusing their children, but I believe it can be applied to any number of relationships. So what caused me to eventually find that article, and consider this topic of manipulative inconsistency, is the way Trump ha...

 I think by now the term "gaslighting" is ubiquitous enough most people know it. It's a tactic that abusers use to manipulate their victims. And I see it often employed in the political sphere. At Trump's inauguration, Elon gave the Nazi salute. It's obvious. It's clear. There's no mistaking it. His arm, straight out, at the most commonly used angle for that salute. That's what it was. And he and his fans are denying it. They're even trying to compare it with actual Nazis doing the salute to prove the difference. It's gaslighting. We know what we saw. That's the gesture he did. There's no doubt. There's no confusion. There's no point trying to deny it, and people who recognize it for what it is are not crazy. He did the Nazi salute and he is a Nazi by his beliefs and the agenda he's pushing. The current administration is pushing to end diversity, equity, and inclusion. They are terrified of diversity and people who are diffe...

 I believe that the Declaration of Independence is a great document which contains many good ideas about what society should look like, and examples of what should be avoided. The passage I wish to focus on for this particular post is found in the second paragraph. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Now, I admit the text does say "men", and it is clear from the time that the prevailing thought was that only men should be allowed to do things (such as vote and own property). But I believe the statement with the clarification that "men" should be changed to "people" to make the point that it should cover all humans, not just male ones and not just adults.  With that caveat made, I agree with the sentiment. I believe that all people should be treated equally. I do not believe that people...

 So the fact that transgender people are a controversial topic truly baffles me--the same as gay people being a controversial issue. I have to admit I'm rather confused to see people who not only care about it but seem so vehemently upset by the existence of transgender people it really makes me wonder what is causing all that unnecessary angst. As I understand it, transgender people (like gay people) seem to feel that they were simply assigned the wrong gender at the time of their birth--that a transgender woman, for example, feels like she is a woman and by mistake of birth or whatever reason was falsely assigned as a male. As a gay man, I don't believe there was anything in my life which caused me to become homosexual at any point (certainly not in my adult life, and nothing I can recall from my childhood). So it is certainly easy for me to believe the same is true for people who identify as a gender other than the one stated on their birth certificate. To me it doesn't ...