The Battle of the Sexes is Real!

Jordan woman killed in hospital over pregnancy
They're killing us.

Why did we ever hook up with them in the 1st place? Why did we believe them when they said they'd "protect" us, take care of us? Who do they protect us from? Other men! Catch-22. Unless you have a man protecting you, you are at the mercy of any other --- MEN!

I'm not a man-hater. I'm not lesbian. I believe that the perfect reflection of God is the melding of man & woman. I believe "the 2 shall be as 1" is really true. The co-creative relationship of male & female is a synergy wherein the 2 individuals become a new creation that is more than the sum of it's parts. And best reflects the Almighty.

I like strong men. Men who want a partnership with the woman they love, and understand that one of their roles in that partnership is to protect & care for the woman when she is childbearing & -rearing. Not to make the woman les, but to preserve what they love.

That re-creation of God is not possible when one half of the reflection feels they can beat, abuse & kill the other half. It is not possible if men own women. It's not possible if women are seen as not-people.

Millennia of oppression in culture after culture leave me with one reaction to another report of this strange mindset in men. It's not outrage. It's not resignation. It's not activism. My response: Kill Him.

Do you think if we kill every man who abuses a woman, kills a woman (or child for that matter) -- maybe we'll remove the genes for that kind of deviant behavior from the human race? Can we get to them before they breed?

News & Messages

Spiritual shift yesterday:
1) I don't have to work a traditional/conventional job. What a concept!
2) Old people are awesome! Their bodies remember their "moves" even if they can't really do them any more.

What this all means, I have no idea. But there it is.

The Air Conditioning Conspiracy

I came to this conclusion back in the 1970s -- before the term "global warming" had been coined. As I passed office buildings in Chicago, on my way to work, the air conditioners sticking out of the walls blew hot air into already hot city summer streets. It occurred to me that this might be adding to the heat. If the way to cool indoor air was to blow hot air outside -- do you think that might make it hotter outside? And, looking up, knowing that new buildings had central air conditioning, with the blowers on the top of the buildings, blowing that heated air into the sky, I just knew that would cause some kind of climate change.

As we became more & more dependent on computers, going to desk-tops, rather than a central computing facility with stations in each department, temperature control offices became more & more important. Air conditioning became ubiquitous.

When the hole in the ozone layer became alarming, air conditioners were changed from cooling with CFCs to using HCFCs and other less damaging compounds. But nothing's been done about the huge amount of heat they spew into the surroundings. It's not even talked about.

Then we began hearing about global warming. It was because of cars, and heating our homes, and pleasurable things. Nobody spoke of air conditioners, or keeping computers cool. That's not even talked about.

I say air conditioners are the reason for global warming! And, I think, that because the computers want to stay cool -- they are making sure no environmentalist group starts to holler about air conditioning & what it's doing to the environment. It's a conspiracy!

Think about it -- it's cooling season somewhere on the Earth all the time.

Love & Manipulation

Today I took my son to Detox. Yay!

Since I dropped him off, it's become clearer & clearer to me the many ways I've been manipulated. Not only by him, -- and, by him, not only in this issue -- but by my ex-husband, who was pretty sure what he was looking at but sent Son cross-country to Mom anyway rather than tackle the issue himself, and by my oldest son & his wife, altho that was rather less, but by them backing me into a corner where I had to confront an issue with an adult child. I'm not sure it even was my issue to confront! Regardless, even if it was/is my issue to deal with -- I was left out there, hanging in the wind, naked & ashamed, with no support, shoulder to cry on, advice, yadda, yadda, etc., etc. Alone again, naturally.

I'm sure some of this is self-pitying BS, but it IS how I'm feeling, at the moment. Rationality and compassion may return later. At this moment -- this is all about me and how y'all have done me wrong.

Our book says to look at how we have made decisions that put ourselves in a position to be hurt. Well, the biggest thing that puts me in a position to be hurt is loving someone. Anyone. Doesn't matter who -- child, adult, relative, friend. They're all looking out for their own best interests. No one is looking out for MY best interests. Except me.

Is that the way it's supposed to be? Did I miss something somewhere? If I look out for myself, at your expense, I'm selfish & self-centered. If you look out for yourself, that's only to be expected. I should not expect others to take care of me. That's a Catch-22 with me on the short end all the time.

OK. This is the child who, growing up, would assess a situation where he wanted a boon, determine what we parents would most want in exchange for that privilege, provide it, and get his way. I never thought of that as manipulative, since it was always clear what he was doing & why. I also thought it was a great skill to develop, since that's pretty much the way the world works.

After the divorce, he stepped up to my right hand. He assumed the "man-of-the-family" role, which I appreciated (and needed) in many ways -- but I also had to back him down, at times, from taking too much of that role on. He wasn't the Dad, altho he was the oldest male in our little 1/2-household. In time, he realized that my continuing emotional mess was to his advantage -- I was too exhausted & distracted (mostly by my daughter's drug & alcohol abuse & rehab & relapse) to stay on top of his doings. He got away with a lot. He could always put a convincing spin on questionable behavior that would get me to back down. If I wouldn't back down, he'd take the behavior elsewhere. For the most part. Not always. Like, when I had to start putting my wallet & car keys under my mattress when I slept so he & his friends couldn't use my car and debit card in the middle of the night. I didn't kick him out -- I removed the near occasion of sin.

I didn't want to believe he was stealing from me, because I didn't want to believe he would hurt me like that. I was making less than $10/hr -- how can you steal from a poor (literally) mom? Who would do that? Please don't tell me it was my right hand son! But, what happened to my mother's china? Hmmmm?

To me, it was personal. Bad behavior had to do with whether my children loved me or not.

So, Son's been manipulating me for years. I know/knew this. When I moved out here, he started getting sick. I think he expected me to come running home! When I didn't, he was hurt & felt abandoned. That wasn't quite the start, but the incidences increased. Actually, his "illnesses" started when he was 18, legally an adult, with me/us no longer responsible for him.

I have a queasy feeling that he really wants a Mom to take care of him, almost in a child-like way. He won't actually take my advice about his health or lifestyle, but I think he wants to be cared for. Like, he wants us to live in the same place. I'd live next door to him, but I don't want to live in the same place. This idea almost makes me nauseous.

I feel like the Ex-Husband manipulated me by not telling me the full truth about what he was seeing & deducing in Son's behavior. I feel left out to dry by my Other Son & Wife, left to deal with this overwhelming burden by myself. I understand why -- they have their own burden. And, oh! I know what that burden is. But they are 2 to share it -- and I'm alone. NOT fair!

So, I will access others to help me thru this. Can't count on family. Can't count on anyone -- except me.

And -- the Son in Detox just called. He's at the hospital with constipation, and the Detox doesn't want him back for a couple more days. So, whenever he's out of the hospital from the constipation -- he's back here.

*sigh....

No more loving people. You just get manipulated.

Going Non-Smoking

Weirdest thing about not smoking is my time sense is all screwed up. And, I'm clumsy -- my body awareness is undergoing a change.

Odd, very odd.

I'm quitting smoking. It's Day 6. Today is harder. My addiction is telling me "OK, you've proved your point. You can have one now."

It lies. It wouldn't be just one.

I'm using nicotine lozenges. They work! Let me recommend them! Today they're taking care of the physical craving, but the mental noise goes on, and on.

I'm also in NicA, the 12-Step program for nicotine users. I'm praying, making phone calls, posting & emailing people who care. I'm waiting for people to get back to me. I'm impatient, I want relief from my own head.

I'm twitchy. I don't want to be in my own skin. I can smell my own teeth. I want something to do. I want to do nothing. I want to talk to someone. I want to be left alone.

ARRRRGGGHHH!!!!!

Good things:
My voice is smoother, isn't cracking/breaking. Already!
I can smell the world! Trees & flowers & grass & the AIR!!!!! Wow! Air is beautiful!
My teeth are whiter! Amazing! So soon!
People tell me my skin color is better

I'm kinda headachy and buzzy.

Black Friday

So, retailers did "OK" on Black Friday. Consumers spent.

I have to admit, I still have a problem with blaming economic ups & downs on consumers. The glitch in the economy comes from an entirely different direction. Consumers are the last stop on the block. If an ordinary, average-income, average-type-job American doesn't feel as if his/her finances are secure, they will cut back on spending, perhaps right back to food, clothing, shelter. Now, what makes Joe/Jane Average feel financially secure? A job. A job that pays enough to cover their needs, plus a bit extra for the future. A job that's gonna be there. A job that holds the promise of advancement for good work.

So, you want Mr/Ms Average to spend? Provide them with jobs.

I read a sci-fi story, once-upon-a-time, where the majority of people were on the dole. Their job was to buy, Buy, BUY. The poor were charged with buying up the produce of the automated factories, to keep the economy going.

Sound familiar?