The current issue of Alfred Hitchcock (September/October) includes stories by me, Eve Fisher, and Janice Law - all of us SleuthSayers contributors. Here's looking at you, kid.
My story, "Cabin Fever," was written quite some time ago, and it's taken a while for it to work its way to the top of the stack. I'm mentioning this because what I'd like to talk about here is how stories get started, why an idea takes hold, and what kind of legs it needs to get us across the finish line.
Here's a curious thing. For some years now, Craig Johnson has been coming through Santa Fe as each new Longmire title launches, and for the past six years, his visits have coincided with the shooting schedule of Longmire, the TV series. As it happens, when Craig came to town to promote Hell Is Empty, the Longmire cast and crew were shooting the episode based on the book. And also, somewhere in this time period, or not long after, I'd started "Cabin Fever." The point is, Hell Is Empty has Walt tracking down an escaped con through a winter blizzard. "Cabin Fever" has my guy, Hector, held hostage by escaped cons in the middle of a forest fire. But. I didn't catch up with Hell Is Empty until later that year and the Longmire season opener wasn't broadcast until a year after that. There wasn't any cross-pollination. My idea came out of thin air.
Or not? We've all had the experience of things floating around in the zeitgeist, or drifting by, in our peripheral vision, that suddenly take on shape, and density. In our sentimental moments, we might even call it inspiration, the light on the road to Damascus. On a less exalted plane, it's more like you're hitching a ride, and somebody pulls over. I couldn't tell you where the set-up for "Cabin Fever" came from. Hector's truck breaks down, he's out in the back of beyond with no cell coverage, and a weather system's blowing in. He decides to try and find shelter, and beat the storm. There turn out to be other people lost in the woods, and soon enough they find each other.
I think it's safe to say that a story's going to change with different storytellers. The approach, the attack, the retreat. We might call the story "Stop Me If You've Heard This." A cop, a priest, and a hooker walk into a bar. You and I are entirely likely to go off at right angles to one another, or in completely opposite directions. It depends on what we think the story is. Where's the emphasis, who's got the POV, when do you show your hole cards?
Supposing that Craig and I did have a similar idea, and at more or less the same time, the end results turn out differently in the actual telling. I can give you another example. And in this case, I know where and when the match lit the fuse.
I was faithful reader of Marc Simmons' weekly column Trail Dust, in the Santa Fe New Mexican, until he retired the column last year. (Simmons, a highly-regarded New Mexico historian, has a reported forty-nine books under his belt.) He wrote a piece about the Butterfield freight line and a stagecoach loaded with gold that disappeared on the eve of the Civil War, in the desert west of Lordsburg. Was there treasure buried in a place called Doubtful Canyon? OK. First off, Lordsburg. John Ford's movie Stagecoach is based on the Ernest Haycox story "Stage to Lordsburg." I couldn't possibly pass that up. Secondly, how does anybody resist a name like Doubtful Canyon? There's your title, ready-to-wear. Last but not least, the bare bones of the story itself, men on the run with thirty thousand in Yankee gold, in hostile Apache country. I'm lathered up already.
The story I wound up writing ("Doubtful Canyon," of course) clocked in at some 20,000 words. It capped off, at least for a while, the bounty hunter series. I thought it was terrific, fully fleshed, peopled with rattlesnakes and rascals, and a satisfying answer to the puzzle, if made up out of whole cloth. It wasn't an easy sell, though, not at that length. I was a little disheartened. About a year later, then, you can imagine my shock when I ran across a new novel on the Westerns shelf at Collected Works bookshop called Doubtful Cañon - Cañon the Spanish spelling. What fresh hell was this? I knew the name, too. Johnny D. Boggs. I'd read one of his earlier books, Camp Ford, and liked it a lot. I was going to revisit my opinion now, you can bet your sweet ass.
Much to my chagrin, this Boggs turns out to be no schlump, as a writer. And this being Santa Fe, we bump into each other, sooner rather than later, at a library event. He's genuine, personable, and funny. All-around good company. The guy coaches Little League, for John's sake. Impossible not to like, which is even more annoying.
Johnny's novel is a YA, and yes, it does take off from the same start point, the missing stagecoach full of gold. There are other synchronicities. We both tell the story from a distance, in hindsight, although he gives it twenty years, and I gave it fifty. Part of this is, I think, a sense of perspective, tilting the horizon, and another part of it artful misdirection. Johnny and I both used a split screen, in effect, and the device of a not entirely reliable narration as well, but we deployed it differently. In my case, I alternated the two time-frames, too.
As a writer - or as one of two writers grazing the same section of fence - I'm probably more interested in the confluences between Johnny's approach to the canvas and mine. A critical reader, who doesn't have skin in the game, might well be more interested in where we diverged. But absent the annotated Library of America edition, we'll skip the play by play. The question isn't whether the idea is original, it's whether we made it our own.
Here's a last little teaser, a sort of exercise. I ran across this poster at my local frame shop. Tell me it doesn't conjure up all sorts of possibilities. I'm not sure how I'd use it, myself, but I'm going to let it rattle around in the cupboards for awhile. How about you?
Showing posts with label Eve Fisher. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eve Fisher. Show all posts
13 September 2017
31 August 2017
Racial Profiling, or Why Joe Arpaio Would Have Locked Me Up
by Eve Fisher
I am not, in any way, a fan of Joe Arpaio's pardon. The former Sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona (which includes Phoenix) was a racist power-mad S.o.B. (I know, I know, I should tell you how I really feel.)
Arpaio apparently believed that anyone Hispanic - or looked Hispanic - had to be illegal (NOTE: they're not.) Arpaio and his deputies specifically targeted people with brown skin, and would simply pull over people who looked Hispanic. "About a fifth of traffic stops, most of which involved Latino drivers, violated Fourth Amendment prohibitions against unreasonable seizures. "
It is important to remember that Arpaio ran a jail, not a prison. Nonetheless, Arpaio referred to his jail as a concentration camp, and called all detainees (60% of whom had only been arrested, and had not yet arraigned, tried, or convicted) criminals.
NOTE: Coffin v. United States 1895 established "presumption of innocence" as the bedrock of our criminal justice system. But not, apparently, in Maricopa County.
Sheriff Arpaio dressed his detainees in black-and-white striped uniforms and pink underwear because it gave him a good laugh. He fed the prisoners rotten food - green bologna was a favorite - because they didn't deserve any better. He housed detainees outdoors, under Army-surplus tents, without any cooling measures and inadequate water - the temperatures in the tents could easily reach 140 degrees. “I put them up next to the dump, the dog pound, the waste-disposal plant.” Sheriff’s department officers punished Latino inmates who had difficulty understanding orders in English by locking down their pods, putting them in solitary confinement, and refusing to replace their soiled sheets and clothes. The investigation found that sheriff’s department officers addressed Latino inmates as “wetbacks,” “Mexican bitches,” “f***ing Mexicans,” and “stupid Mexicans.” (The New Yorker)
But wait, there's more! Arpaio was a real piece of work. He was (and is) one of the most prominent and persistent "birthers" around, to the point where he used Maricopa County funds to send a 5 man deputy squad to Hawaii to investigate then-President Obama's birth certificate. He set up a fake assassination attempt to boost his reelection. He tried to get a grand jury to indict a number of Maricopa County judges, supervisors, and employees. (The grand jury rejected all the claims.) His office improperly cleared - i.e., claimed to have solved - up to 75% of cases without investigations or arrests, and simply ignored hundreds of rape cases. He claimed that he lacked enough detectives to do the job - and when he was given $600,000 for more detectives, none were hired and the money vanished. Along with almost $100 million of Maricopa funds. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Arpaio, and The Atlantic)
But wait, there's more! Back in 1995, a wheelchair-bound paraplegic named Richard Post needed help to urinate; well, that was asking too much, so the jailers strapped him into a restraint chair, tightened the straps as tight as they would go, and left him there for six hours. And broke his neck. In case you're wondering, he'd been arrested for possession of a joint. And no, he hadn't even been tried yet. Presumption of innocence... And no, this wasn't the only mauling, maiming, and even death that occurred under Arpaio's rule, in Arpaio's jail, where, remember, over 60% of his "criminals" were simply awaiting trial, often stuck because they couldn't afford cash bail. (Phoenix New Times)
What finally began the end of Arpaio's career was when a Mexican man holding a "valid tourist's visa" was stopped in Maricopa County, arrested, and detained for 9 hours in 2007. The man sued Arpaio and the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, alleging racial profiling. Four years later, in December, 2011, a federal judge in Phoenix ordered Arpaio to stop detaining anyone not suspected of a state or federal crime, reminding him that simply being in the U.S. illegally is not a crime, only a civil violation. Arpaio's response was to let everyone know that after "they went after me, we arrested 500 more just for spite." He was voted out of office in November of 2016. He was finally convicted July 31, 2017, of criminal contempt of court. He was pardoned by President Trump August 25, 2017, before he was even officially sentenced.
Okay. So what do I care? Aside from the multiple violations of basic human rights, the United States legal system, and the United States Constitution?
Arpaio apparently believed that anyone Hispanic - or looked Hispanic - had to be illegal (NOTE: they're not.) Arpaio and his deputies specifically targeted people with brown skin, and would simply pull over people who looked Hispanic. "About a fifth of traffic stops, most of which involved Latino drivers, violated Fourth Amendment prohibitions against unreasonable seizures. "
Maricopa Co. Jail - Tent City |
NOTE: Coffin v. United States 1895 established "presumption of innocence" as the bedrock of our criminal justice system. But not, apparently, in Maricopa County.
Sheriff Arpaio dressed his detainees in black-and-white striped uniforms and pink underwear because it gave him a good laugh. He fed the prisoners rotten food - green bologna was a favorite - because they didn't deserve any better. He housed detainees outdoors, under Army-surplus tents, without any cooling measures and inadequate water - the temperatures in the tents could easily reach 140 degrees. “I put them up next to the dump, the dog pound, the waste-disposal plant.” Sheriff’s department officers punished Latino inmates who had difficulty understanding orders in English by locking down their pods, putting them in solitary confinement, and refusing to replace their soiled sheets and clothes. The investigation found that sheriff’s department officers addressed Latino inmates as “wetbacks,” “Mexican bitches,” “f***ing Mexicans,” and “stupid Mexicans.” (The New Yorker)
But wait, there's more! Arpaio was a real piece of work. He was (and is) one of the most prominent and persistent "birthers" around, to the point where he used Maricopa County funds to send a 5 man deputy squad to Hawaii to investigate then-President Obama's birth certificate. He set up a fake assassination attempt to boost his reelection. He tried to get a grand jury to indict a number of Maricopa County judges, supervisors, and employees. (The grand jury rejected all the claims.) His office improperly cleared - i.e., claimed to have solved - up to 75% of cases without investigations or arrests, and simply ignored hundreds of rape cases. He claimed that he lacked enough detectives to do the job - and when he was given $600,000 for more detectives, none were hired and the money vanished. Along with almost $100 million of Maricopa funds. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Arpaio, and The Atlantic)
But wait, there's more! Back in 1995, a wheelchair-bound paraplegic named Richard Post needed help to urinate; well, that was asking too much, so the jailers strapped him into a restraint chair, tightened the straps as tight as they would go, and left him there for six hours. And broke his neck. In case you're wondering, he'd been arrested for possession of a joint. And no, he hadn't even been tried yet. Presumption of innocence... And no, this wasn't the only mauling, maiming, and even death that occurred under Arpaio's rule, in Arpaio's jail, where, remember, over 60% of his "criminals" were simply awaiting trial, often stuck because they couldn't afford cash bail. (Phoenix New Times)
What finally began the end of Arpaio's career was when a Mexican man holding a "valid tourist's visa" was stopped in Maricopa County, arrested, and detained for 9 hours in 2007. The man sued Arpaio and the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, alleging racial profiling. Four years later, in December, 2011, a federal judge in Phoenix ordered Arpaio to stop detaining anyone not suspected of a state or federal crime, reminding him that simply being in the U.S. illegally is not a crime, only a civil violation. Arpaio's response was to let everyone know that after "they went after me, we arrested 500 more just for spite." He was voted out of office in November of 2016. He was finally convicted July 31, 2017, of criminal contempt of court. He was pardoned by President Trump August 25, 2017, before he was even officially sentenced.
Okay. So what do I care? Aside from the multiple violations of basic human rights, the United States legal system, and the United States Constitution?
After all, I'm not black. I'm not Hispanic. I'm not Jewish. I'm not Native American. However, I've been mistaken for all of these. I'm 100% Greek, born there, orphaned there, adopted from there. (All right, my genome, according to National Geographic, is 50% Greek, 25% Tuscan Italian, and 25% Northern Asian Indian.)
But I know something that blonds don't know. I learned, very young, that WASP Americans - even those who aren't racist / bigots - are very ignorant of the possibilities of ethnic differences in a group of people who all have brown eyes, black hair, and a slightly darker shade of skin. To many WASPS, we all look alike.
I was shipped to this country when I was 2 1/2 years old - here's a picture of me from the orphanage. That curly hair, those big dark eyes, led some people in our Arlington, VA world to assume that my parents had (for reasons passing understanding) adopted a child who might have "a touch of the tar brush" as it was so politely put back in the 1950's. There were also whispers about me in my grandmother's small town in Kentucky. Nothing overt. Just whispers, enough so that I was aware, early on, that not everyone was as pleased to have me around as my parents and grandparents.
Since then, I've had the privilege of explaining who I am, i.e., where I'm from, to an endless stream of people. When I travel internationally, I'm the one taken aside for questioning. I have a passport that says I was born in Athens, Greece, for one thing, and that makes people wonder. It's only gotten worse since 9/11, and I have had long chats with uniformed personnel in many an airport. The one exception is Athens, Greece, where the guy looked at my passport and waved me through without even a baggage check.
But even when I don't have to have a passport, such as crossing the border into Canada - and they are always very polite - I'm the one who has to get out of the car and talk directly to the border guard so that s/he can make sure I'm not... someone else... something else... That I really am "American".
I don't mind that. Well, I do mind, but I can live with it. But there's more.
In 1960 we moved from Arlington, VA to southern California. In the '60s, when the California image was blonde, tan, and thin. I had the tan.
NOTE: It's all right - I figured if you can't join 'em, beat 'em, and (in the world of mini-skirts and gogo boots) came to school wearing my grandmother's 1930's suits (see illustrations on the right) and an armload of books. If you're going to stand out, stand out with style.
Moved down South.
A little profiling, here and there. A a lot of, "Greece?" said by someone with an extremely puzzled face. And some other things, like the time a KKK type followed me through the stacks in the public library saying "oink, oink", "Jew pig", "Jew bitch", etc.
And then we came to South Dakota, where I have been taken for Native American. In a small town West River, my husband and I stopped late one summer night to get a motel room. Back then, I had long hair, down to my waist, and, since it was summer, a pretty good tan. I was told they had no vacancies. I went back to the car and we sat (windows open) to figure out where the next closest town was, and another car pulled up. A nice blond man got out, went in - I could hear the entire conversation - asked if they had a room, and was told "Yes, sir. Sign right here." I told some friends about it, and they said, "Oh, yeah. They're pretty racist up there."
And more.
Now all this happened, but not daily. (Well, not since my school days - no, you could not pay me enough money to be a child again.) Just often enough to give me a hint of what it must be like to be truly a minority in this country. But I'm still officially white, part of the white majority, and I do have privileges. There are all sorts of things I can do without getting arrested, or even stopped by the police:
But, for me, any and all of the above would have been risky behavior in Maricopa County under Joe Arpaio. Maybe not for you, but for me. Because of how I look.
Pardon Joe Arpaio? I wouldn't have, but what's worse is that he was convicted and then pardoned for a misdemeanor.
Did I mention his "special forces" that led a botched raid in which they firebombed a home to ashes and burned a puppy alive? (See here.) And found nothing?
Did I mention that Joe Arpaio was/is one of the founders of the The Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA, for short) that believes that sheriffs are "the highest executive authority in a county and therefore constitutionally empowered to be able to keep federal agents out of the county"? And, as such, are not responsible to any federal law, agent, or judge? (See CSPOA and/or Southern Poverty Law Center on the movement.)
After all of that, a misdemeanor? Unpardoned, the most he would have served would have been six months, maximum, and - sadly, tragically - it wouldn't have been in the Arpaio Maricopa County Jail.
Pardon him? I sure as hell wouldn't have. But then, I have skin in the game.
PS - Next week, back to quacks, radium and murder.
But I know something that blonds don't know. I learned, very young, that WASP Americans - even those who aren't racist / bigots - are very ignorant of the possibilities of ethnic differences in a group of people who all have brown eyes, black hair, and a slightly darker shade of skin. To many WASPS, we all look alike.
I was shipped to this country when I was 2 1/2 years old - here's a picture of me from the orphanage. That curly hair, those big dark eyes, led some people in our Arlington, VA world to assume that my parents had (for reasons passing understanding) adopted a child who might have "a touch of the tar brush" as it was so politely put back in the 1950's. There were also whispers about me in my grandmother's small town in Kentucky. Nothing overt. Just whispers, enough so that I was aware, early on, that not everyone was as pleased to have me around as my parents and grandparents.
Since then, I've had the privilege of explaining who I am, i.e., where I'm from, to an endless stream of people. When I travel internationally, I'm the one taken aside for questioning. I have a passport that says I was born in Athens, Greece, for one thing, and that makes people wonder. It's only gotten worse since 9/11, and I have had long chats with uniformed personnel in many an airport. The one exception is Athens, Greece, where the guy looked at my passport and waved me through without even a baggage check.
"Συνεχίστε!" "ευχαριστώ!" ("Go on through!" "Thanks!")
But even when I don't have to have a passport, such as crossing the border into Canada - and they are always very polite - I'm the one who has to get out of the car and talk directly to the border guard so that s/he can make sure I'm not... someone else... something else... That I really am "American".
I don't mind that. Well, I do mind, but I can live with it. But there's more.
NOTE: It's all right - I figured if you can't join 'em, beat 'em, and (in the world of mini-skirts and gogo boots) came to school wearing my grandmother's 1930's suits (see illustrations on the right) and an armload of books. If you're going to stand out, stand out with style.
Moved down South.
A little profiling, here and there. A a lot of, "Greece?" said by someone with an extremely puzzled face. And some other things, like the time a KKK type followed me through the stacks in the public library saying "oink, oink", "Jew pig", "Jew bitch", etc.
And then we came to South Dakota, where I have been taken for Native American. In a small town West River, my husband and I stopped late one summer night to get a motel room. Back then, I had long hair, down to my waist, and, since it was summer, a pretty good tan. I was told they had no vacancies. I went back to the car and we sat (windows open) to figure out where the next closest town was, and another car pulled up. A nice blond man got out, went in - I could hear the entire conversation - asked if they had a room, and was told "Yes, sir. Sign right here." I told some friends about it, and they said, "Oh, yeah. They're pretty racist up there."
And more.
Now all this happened, but not daily. (Well, not since my school days - no, you could not pay me enough money to be a child again.) Just often enough to give me a hint of what it must be like to be truly a minority in this country. But I'm still officially white, part of the white majority, and I do have privileges. There are all sorts of things I can do without getting arrested, or even stopped by the police:
- I can change lanes without signaling.
- I can walk around the neighborhood wearing a hoodie.
- I can reach for my car registration and proof of insurance in the glove compartment.
- I can stand on a street corner, looking confused and anxious.
- I can forget my keys and use a coat hanger to get into my locked car. Or open a window to get into my locked house.
- I can sit on my front porch and watch whatever street show's on offer. I can even talk to people on the street or make comments to my husband about what's going on.
- I can stand in an alley with a group of friends.
- I can talk on a cell phone.
- I can, and have, driven around with a broken tail light, and for a while, without a front license plate (which wasn't required in the South).
- (NOTE: In the last few years, people have been stopped, arrested, jailed, and even killed for doing each and every one of these things in the United States of America.)
(Wikipedia) |
Pardon Joe Arpaio? I wouldn't have, but what's worse is that he was convicted and then pardoned for a misdemeanor.
Did I mention his "special forces" that led a botched raid in which they firebombed a home to ashes and burned a puppy alive? (See here.) And found nothing?
Did I mention that Joe Arpaio was/is one of the founders of the The Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA, for short) that believes that sheriffs are "the highest executive authority in a county and therefore constitutionally empowered to be able to keep federal agents out of the county"? And, as such, are not responsible to any federal law, agent, or judge? (See CSPOA and/or Southern Poverty Law Center on the movement.)
After all of that, a misdemeanor? Unpardoned, the most he would have served would have been six months, maximum, and - sadly, tragically - it wouldn't have been in the Arpaio Maricopa County Jail.
Pardon him? I sure as hell wouldn't have. But then, I have skin in the game.
PS - Next week, back to quacks, radium and murder.
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17 August 2017
Goat Glands, Radium, and Dr. Blood
by Eve Fisher
I was watching cable TV the other night, and they were running the usual ads for losing weight, avoiding erectile dysfunctions, the occasional mysterious ailment and the latest patent medicine cures. I will quote none of them, for none of them were memorable enough. Whoever's writing these ads, they don't have the ring of
But Blue Star Ointment still doesn't cure erectile dysfunction and, amazingly, doesn't even claim to. Not so with three of my favorite patent medicine doctors of all time, if you exclude James Thurber's "Doc Marlowe".
Let's start off with J. R. Brinkley (1885-1942), a/k/a the Goat Gland Doctor. Doc Brinkley claimed to be a licensed physician, but he bought his degree from a diploma mill called the Kansas City Eclectic Medical University.
Doc shed his partner, and went back to Kansas City, while Brinkley took a job as the doctor for the Swift and Company meat plant, patching minor wounds and studying animal physiology. When he learned that goats were the healthiest animals slaughtered there, he did a little study, then set up a clinic, and started implanting the testicular glands of goats in his male patients for $750.00 per operation. The surprising thing is the number of men willing to undergo such a process. Even more surprising is that some men claimed it worked wonders. When the wife of his first goat-gland transplant case had a healthy boy... Well, the ad's on your left. What's less surprising is that there were a number of patients who got infected, and some died. Brinkley would be sued over a dozen times for wrongful death between 1930-41.
Meanwhile, he made a lot of money and built his own radio station, KFKB ("Kansas First, Kansas Best" or sometimes "Kansas Folks Know Best"). Brinkley was KFKB's lead DJ, speaking for hours about his treatments (for which a lot of goats gave up their testicular glands: As a contemporaneous joke put it, What's the fastest thing on four legs? A: A goat passing Dr. Brinkley's hospital!") and giving medical advice (which were always to undergo his treatments and take his medicines). He also featured other entertainment: French lessons, astrology, storytelling and music ranging from military bands to gospel and early country. And the customers came. In 1924, a San Francisco grand jury handed down indictments for fake medical degrees and doctors operating with them, including Brinkley (he'd illegally applied for a California medical license). But when agents from California came to arrest Brinkley, the governor of Kansas refused to extradite him because he made the state too much money.
But in 1930, the pressure was on for cutting back on fake medical degrees, and Brinkley lost both his medical and broadcasting licenses. So he did the logical thing and ran for governor of Kansas. He damn near won. He got over 29% of the vote on a write-in campaign. (He lost to Harry Hines Woodring, who was later FDR's Secretary of War.) Four years later, he ran again, and won over 30% of the vote. This time he lost to Alf Landon, future GOP Presidential candidate.
But, debts and irate patients were hounding him, so Brinkley moved to Del Rio, Texas, just across the bridge from Ciudad Acuna, Mexico. He set up a clinic and a "broadcast blaster", radio XER-AM. the "Sunshine Station Between the Nations".
Doc Brinkley also gave a start to up-and-coming country and roots singers, including Patsy Montana, Red Foley, Gene Autry, Jimmie Rodgers, the Carter Family, the Pickard Family, and more. (See Wikipedia). Del Rio became known as "Hillbilly Hollywood".
And a little Mexican Radio, just because...
Next blog post! Radium and Dr. Blood!!!!!
"Amazing Blue Star Ointment! Cures jock itch, ringworm, tetter, psoriasis! Ask for it by name!"
(See the original ad HERE).
(See the original ad HERE).
But Blue Star Ointment still doesn't cure erectile dysfunction and, amazingly, doesn't even claim to. Not so with three of my favorite patent medicine doctors of all time, if you exclude James Thurber's "Doc Marlowe".
Doc Brinkley |
NOTE: Can you imagine the school song for this one?Sorry. (Not really) Anyway, Doc Brinkley's first go at being a professional something-or-other was in Greenville, SC, with a partner who called himself J. W. Burks (one can't help but think he just misspelled "Burke"). They promised to restore men's manly vigor by injecting colored water (which they called "electric medicine from Germany") into their veins for $25 a shot. (To give you an idea of pricing, an average worker made between $200 and $400 a year back then.) Well, sooner or later the chumps catch up, and our physicians had to move on.
Eclectic!
Cathartic!
We could sell ice in the arctic!
Doc shed his partner, and went back to Kansas City, while Brinkley took a job as the doctor for the Swift and Company meat plant, patching minor wounds and studying animal physiology. When he learned that goats were the healthiest animals slaughtered there, he did a little study, then set up a clinic, and started implanting the testicular glands of goats in his male patients for $750.00 per operation. The surprising thing is the number of men willing to undergo such a process. Even more surprising is that some men claimed it worked wonders. When the wife of his first goat-gland transplant case had a healthy boy... Well, the ad's on your left. What's less surprising is that there were a number of patients who got infected, and some died. Brinkley would be sued over a dozen times for wrongful death between 1930-41.
Meanwhile, he made a lot of money and built his own radio station, KFKB ("Kansas First, Kansas Best" or sometimes "Kansas Folks Know Best"). Brinkley was KFKB's lead DJ, speaking for hours about his treatments (for which a lot of goats gave up their testicular glands: As a contemporaneous joke put it, What's the fastest thing on four legs? A: A goat passing Dr. Brinkley's hospital!") and giving medical advice (which were always to undergo his treatments and take his medicines). He also featured other entertainment: French lessons, astrology, storytelling and music ranging from military bands to gospel and early country. And the customers came. In 1924, a San Francisco grand jury handed down indictments for fake medical degrees and doctors operating with them, including Brinkley (he'd illegally applied for a California medical license). But when agents from California came to arrest Brinkley, the governor of Kansas refused to extradite him because he made the state too much money.
But in 1930, the pressure was on for cutting back on fake medical degrees, and Brinkley lost both his medical and broadcasting licenses. So he did the logical thing and ran for governor of Kansas. He damn near won. He got over 29% of the vote on a write-in campaign. (He lost to Harry Hines Woodring, who was later FDR's Secretary of War.) Four years later, he ran again, and won over 30% of the vote. This time he lost to Alf Landon, future GOP Presidential candidate.
But, debts and irate patients were hounding him, so Brinkley moved to Del Rio, Texas, just across the bridge from Ciudad Acuna, Mexico. He set up a clinic and a "broadcast blaster", radio XER-AM. the "Sunshine Station Between the Nations".
He sold airtime to other advertisers (at $1,700 an hour), who sold stuff like "Crazy Water Crystals", "genuine simulated" diamonds, life insurance, and all sorts of religious paraphernalia and beliefs.
NOTE 1: Among them was Dr. Mel-Roy, Ps.D and Ms.D, the "Apostle of Mental Science," who, with his Book of Dreams and his cape and turban, explained the secrets of the sub-conscious world. Sam Morris, a 1940s "Radio Temperance Lecturer" told Americans about the evils of alcohol and explained the true reasons why nations fell from positions of prominence and power... Rev. George W. Cooper, a former moonshine runner from North Carolina, cowboy evangelist Dallas Turner and Rev. Frederick Eikenreenkoetter II (better known as Rev. Ike preaching "get out of the ghet-to and get into the get-mo!") who called himself unreal and incredible to those with limited consciousness all made rounds on XERF and the rest. Dr. Gerald Winrod pushed cancer cures, scripture and attacks on communism, and Brother Mack Watson and Brother David Epley sold holy oil, prayer cloths and even "the hem of His garment."
"If there was a sick person between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains who wasn't listening in to Doc, it was because he had no radio set." Furthermore, "the new radio powerhouse had enough juice to blanket any United States or Canadian station operating within fifty kilocycles of its wavelength." (History of XER-AM)
NOTE 2: All I can say is that Reverend Ike must have been a child when he was on XER-AM, because he was just getting started, metaphorically, in the 1970s, when I caught a broadcast of him on Atlanta's own Ted Turner channel TBS, sitting on a golden throne, draped in ermine, while telling his listeners to "send me your money today." I had to hand it to him; at least he was honest about it.
Doc Brinkley also gave a start to up-and-coming country and roots singers, including Patsy Montana, Red Foley, Gene Autry, Jimmie Rodgers, the Carter Family, the Pickard Family, and more. (See Wikipedia). Del Rio became known as "Hillbilly Hollywood".
"We can all thank Doctor B.
Who stepped across the line.
With lots of watts he took control,
The first one of its kind.
So listen to your radio
Most each and every night
'cause if you don't I'm sure you won't
Get to feeling right."
Finally, under pressure from the US, Mexico revoked Brinkley's broadcast license in 1934. But he still practiced "medicine": the traditional goat gland transplant, as well as "slightly modified vasectomies" (I don't even want to know...) and prostate "rejuvenations". But eventually the times - and the regulations - caught up with him. In 1941 he was sued for being a charlatan, lost, and got hit by a multiple malpractice lawsuits that stripped him of every penny he had. He died the next year, penniless.
I'm happy to announce that Penny Lane has made a documentary about Doc Brinkley called "Nuts!" Here's the official website: http://www.nutsthefilm.com/#film. And here's the Trailer! (WARNING: Definitely rated "R")
And a little Mexican Radio, just because...
Next blog post! Radium and Dr. Blood!!!!!
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03 August 2017
Learning Experiences 101
by Eve Fisher
I spent last weekend at the pen, doing another Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) workshop. This time we were training inside facilitators, which we do every two years or so. These are inmates who have done basic and advanced workshops, and have shown themselves to be really good at walking the walk as well as talking the talk. These are guys who have gone a long time without being written up or put in the SHU, who know how to and do defuse situations on the ground, and want to be a part of spreading the word to others. Without them, we couldn't do AVP. (NOTE: Check us out on Facebook!) We outside facilitators need their help in all sorts of ways, and I can't say enough good stuff about them or give enough thanks for their help.
Meanwhile, I'm so glad I'm not in prison. It's one of the things for which I am truly thankful. And I don't take it for granted. There's a long, long, long list of things which will send you to prison and I know very few people who have done none of them. And it can happen so fast... I've seen guys in the pen who are absolutely shell-shocked because suddenly they are there, and they almost don't know what's happened. (Some, who are mentally disabled, really don't know what's happened.)
Meanwhile, this meme - the one on the right - has been going around the internet for a long, long time, comparing prison (favorably) to nursing homes. And I've refuted it every time I see it, and will continue to do so. One version of it starts "Let's put Grandma in prison", to which I always respond, you must really hate your Grandma. And then I explain why this meme is absolutely, one hundred percent false. Not to mention pretty damn hateful...
So, let's compare apples to oranges, prisons to nursing homes:
Yes, prisoners get a shower every day - it's to prevent lice, mites, and scabies. It's a health measure, not for their pleasure. Believe me, a lot of prisoners would just as soon not take showers, because they don't want to be in a large group of naked men, some of whom are hostile, and - what with steam, slippery tile, soap, etc. - it's a place where rape and other assaults can happen. Is this really the way you want Grandma to live?
(NOTE: In a nursing home, they do get a bath or shower every day, but in private.)
Yes, there is 24/7 video surveillance. That's for security. Yes, the lights don't go off at 7 PM in the pen - they don't go off at all. That's for security. The average prison cell is 6 x 8 feet, and (except for lifers) it's shared by two inmates, and the toilet is open, right in the front, by the door, so that literally everyone can see them doing their business. That's for security, too. Is this really the way you want Grandma to live?
(NOTE: The average nursing home room is at least six times that size, and the toilet is in a private bathroom with a door. And no, the lights are NOT turned off in a nursing home at 7:00 PM.)
Yes, there are three meals a day. They're awful. I know, I've eaten a lot of them. (We don't go out for meals during a weekend workshop.) They get no fresh fruit, vegetables, fish, or red meat. (The exceptions: once a day they get canned corn or canned green beans or lettuce or raw carrots.) There are a lot of carbs, which is why, even if you don't have diabetes before you go into the pen, there's a good chance you'll develop it before you go. (Nationally, 21% of inmates have diabetes.) Is this really the way you want Grandma to live?
(NOTE: I've eaten many a meal in assisted living centers, while visiting my parents, God rest their souls, and they weren't cold, except the salads, and they were pretty good.)
Yes, prisoners are allowed to have a TV - if they can afford it. (No, they're not free.) This is also a security measure, believe it or not. Unless they have a job (and as many as half the prisoners don't), they're locked down, in their 6x8 cell 23/24. Lately, they're also being given tablets (provided for free by private corporations, and not on the taxpayers' dime), which allow them to make telephone calls from their cells (using earbuds), listen to music, and access the digital law library.
(NOTE: The digital law library has caused some prisons to quit having a paralegal on staff to explain the law to the inmates, which is sort of like providing a medical library and firing the doctors.) Working or not, inmates are only allowed 1 hour for recreation (rec). Depending on staffing levels, or climate, even rec is cancelled. Inside rec is in the gym, which does come equipped with basketball hoops and weight equipment. (Personally, I want them to burn off their energy somewhere....)
When the weather is nice and staffing levels are good, rec is outside, where inmates can play baseball and walk / jog around the track. But, as soon as the temperature goes below 50, all rec is indoors, because the inmates - for security reasons - aren't given coats unless they have a specific job outside. So, here in South Dakota, that generally means that for six months out of the year, inmates don't get to go outside, at all. And because of the configuration of cell blocks, most cells don't have windows; and where there are windows, they're covered with iron mesh, which means that inmates don't even get to see the sun for six months out of the year. Is this really the way you want Grandma to live?
Now let's talk about medication. Most prisoners are now given Vitamin B and D supplements, because of the lack of sunlight, the food, and the constant fluorescent lighting. Yes, there's generally a paramedic and a nurse on duty 24/7 at a prison. Yes, there is free prescription medication, and if you really want people with bi-polar, schizophrenia, and other mental illnesses to go without medication in an over-crowded environment of people who are stuck there for years for criminal behavior, well... that one's beyond me...
But notice I said prescribed medication. You have to get that prescription, and getting it can take a while. First you have to get an appointment to see the doctor, which takes a while. Diagnosis takes a while. And the medications are given out on the prison time schedule, not the prisoners. Diabetics don't get to check their blood sugar and medicate accordingly. They get their insulin at the scheduled time. Period. Inmates on chemo get to ride out the side effects in their 6x8 cell, without any special diet or help. Is this really the way you want Grandma to live?
A lot of prisoners are elderly. You get 20, 30, 40, 50 years or life, you're going to grow old in prison. Eventually, elderly and disabled prisoners are allowed knee braces, walkers, and eventually even wheelchairs. Those who are in wheelchairs are often assigned a pusher, which in this case is an inmate who will push them to where they want to go. But they're not given any special help in and out of bed, on and off the toilet, up and down the stairs, to and from the chow hall, the medication line, etc., until they're actually at the hospice stage. Is this really the way you want Grandma to live?
All I can say, is that if your elderly loved ones are in a nursing home that does what the meme says, you have put them in the wrong nursing home. (That or you really do hate them.) Get them out. Immediately. Here are the official Nursing Home Care Standards: find some place that follows them!
Meanwhile, I hope that reading this has made us all truly thankful for the things we have: a home, with a private bathroom, a soft bed with comforters and pillows, weather-appropriate clothing, the ability to go outside whenever we want, do what we want, eat whatever we want. The simple fact that I can actually turn the lights on and off is wonderful. The fact that I can have a Thanksgiving Dinner with friends, loaded with good food... it's fantastic. I am truly, truly, truly, thankful.
Meanwhile, I'm so glad I'm not in prison. It's one of the things for which I am truly thankful. And I don't take it for granted. There's a long, long, long list of things which will send you to prison and I know very few people who have done none of them. And it can happen so fast... I've seen guys in the pen who are absolutely shell-shocked because suddenly they are there, and they almost don't know what's happened. (Some, who are mentally disabled, really don't know what's happened.)
Meanwhile, this meme - the one on the right - has been going around the internet for a long, long time, comparing prison (favorably) to nursing homes. And I've refuted it every time I see it, and will continue to do so. One version of it starts "Let's put Grandma in prison", to which I always respond, you must really hate your Grandma. And then I explain why this meme is absolutely, one hundred percent false. Not to mention pretty damn hateful...
So, let's compare apples to oranges, prisons to nursing homes:
Yes, prisoners get a shower every day - it's to prevent lice, mites, and scabies. It's a health measure, not for their pleasure. Believe me, a lot of prisoners would just as soon not take showers, because they don't want to be in a large group of naked men, some of whom are hostile, and - what with steam, slippery tile, soap, etc. - it's a place where rape and other assaults can happen. Is this really the way you want Grandma to live?
(NOTE: In a nursing home, they do get a bath or shower every day, but in private.)
Prison cell |
(NOTE: The average nursing home room is at least six times that size, and the toilet is in a private bathroom with a door. And no, the lights are NOT turned off in a nursing home at 7:00 PM.)
Yes, there are three meals a day. They're awful. I know, I've eaten a lot of them. (We don't go out for meals during a weekend workshop.) They get no fresh fruit, vegetables, fish, or red meat. (The exceptions: once a day they get canned corn or canned green beans or lettuce or raw carrots.) There are a lot of carbs, which is why, even if you don't have diabetes before you go into the pen, there's a good chance you'll develop it before you go. (Nationally, 21% of inmates have diabetes.) Is this really the way you want Grandma to live?
(NOTE: I've eaten many a meal in assisted living centers, while visiting my parents, God rest their souls, and they weren't cold, except the salads, and they were pretty good.)
Yes, prisoners are allowed to have a TV - if they can afford it. (No, they're not free.) This is also a security measure, believe it or not. Unless they have a job (and as many as half the prisoners don't), they're locked down, in their 6x8 cell 23/24. Lately, they're also being given tablets (provided for free by private corporations, and not on the taxpayers' dime), which allow them to make telephone calls from their cells (using earbuds), listen to music, and access the digital law library.
(NOTE: The digital law library has caused some prisons to quit having a paralegal on staff to explain the law to the inmates, which is sort of like providing a medical library and firing the doctors.) Working or not, inmates are only allowed 1 hour for recreation (rec). Depending on staffing levels, or climate, even rec is cancelled. Inside rec is in the gym, which does come equipped with basketball hoops and weight equipment. (Personally, I want them to burn off their energy somewhere....)
Prison tiers, SDSP |
Now let's talk about medication. Most prisoners are now given Vitamin B and D supplements, because of the lack of sunlight, the food, and the constant fluorescent lighting. Yes, there's generally a paramedic and a nurse on duty 24/7 at a prison. Yes, there is free prescription medication, and if you really want people with bi-polar, schizophrenia, and other mental illnesses to go without medication in an over-crowded environment of people who are stuck there for years for criminal behavior, well... that one's beyond me...
But notice I said prescribed medication. You have to get that prescription, and getting it can take a while. First you have to get an appointment to see the doctor, which takes a while. Diagnosis takes a while. And the medications are given out on the prison time schedule, not the prisoners. Diabetics don't get to check their blood sugar and medicate accordingly. They get their insulin at the scheduled time. Period. Inmates on chemo get to ride out the side effects in their 6x8 cell, without any special diet or help. Is this really the way you want Grandma to live?
A lot of prisoners are elderly. You get 20, 30, 40, 50 years or life, you're going to grow old in prison. Eventually, elderly and disabled prisoners are allowed knee braces, walkers, and eventually even wheelchairs. Those who are in wheelchairs are often assigned a pusher, which in this case is an inmate who will push them to where they want to go. But they're not given any special help in and out of bed, on and off the toilet, up and down the stairs, to and from the chow hall, the medication line, etc., until they're actually at the hospice stage. Is this really the way you want Grandma to live?
All I can say, is that if your elderly loved ones are in a nursing home that does what the meme says, you have put them in the wrong nursing home. (That or you really do hate them.) Get them out. Immediately. Here are the official Nursing Home Care Standards: find some place that follows them!
Meanwhile, I hope that reading this has made us all truly thankful for the things we have: a home, with a private bathroom, a soft bed with comforters and pillows, weather-appropriate clothing, the ability to go outside whenever we want, do what we want, eat whatever we want. The simple fact that I can actually turn the lights on and off is wonderful. The fact that I can have a Thanksgiving Dinner with friends, loaded with good food... it's fantastic. I am truly, truly, truly, thankful.
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20 July 2017
The Moon-Eyed People
by Eve Fisher
Fort Mountain photo from Wikipedia |
Part of the Fort on Fort Mountain |
Story #1: European Version 1: The Welsh Prince. Madoc, son of Owain Gwynedd, King of Gwynedd in north Wales, had to flee a fight over succession after Owain died in 1170. He fled to America, (300 years before Columbus), and wandered the continent, building and breeding lavishly wherever he went, leaving lost tribes of Welsh Indians, white Indians, etc., everywhere he went. So naturally at some point he arrived in Georgia and built a fort to protect himself from the marauding tribes around him.
St. Brendan the Navigator, 15th C. ms. |
Story #2: European Version #2: The Moon-Eyed People are one of the lost tribes of Israel, per the Book of Mormon.
Story #3: The Cherokee Version: The Moon-Eyed People. The Cherokee are an Iroquois-language family tribe, who moved south, slowly from the Great Lakes. (Why they moved, no one knows.) Some time after the 1540s, they reached the Appalachian mountains. When they came to the area around Fort Mountain, they found the moon-eyed people already there, living in the Fort. The moon-eyed people were very small, pale, and couldn't see well by day, so they moved around mostly at night. (Why that sounded Jewish or Welsh I have no idea.)
Anyway, the Cherokee and the moon-eyed people fought a great war, and at the end of it, the moon-eyed people were killed and/or dispersed. (Benjamin Smith Barton, 1797) The Cherokee may or may not have used the fort. In any case, the story says that the fort was destroyed in a massive earthquake which shook the whole world - or at least the entire area - and caused the stone walls to collapse.
- One version of the earthquake says it took place after the Cherokee-moon-eyed people war, because the Cherokee who were living in the fort were killed, while the Cherokee who were living in wooden houses weren't.
- Another version is that it was the earthquake that allowed the Cherokee to win the war, and that afterwards, the moon-eyed people went underground and in caves.
So, we have a pale tribe that couldn't see well at night. Albinos or Madoc? Personally, I plump for albinos. The Kuna people of Panama and Columbia "have a very high incidence rate of albinism. And, whereas in many cultures albinos are subject to everything from ridicule to persecution to murder, in Kuna mythology, albinos (or sipus) were given a special place. Albinos in Kuna culture are considered a special race of people, and have the specific duty of defending the Moon against a dragon which tries to eat it on occasion during a lunar eclipse. Only they are allowed to go outside on the night of a lunar eclipse and to use specially made bows and arrows to shoot down the dragon." (Wikipedia) And, the Zuni and Hopi nations also have high rates of albinism. It's not Welshmen, it's genetics.
Story #4: European Version #3: Reptilians, or David Ickes Strikes Again: Of course, in this day and age, the moon-eyed people have become part of the whole "Ancient Aliens" mythos. Some people have speculated that the moon-eyed people were actually vampires. The legendary David Ickes has decided they're a sub-species of the reptilians who are dwelling among us (mostly in public office). Thus the moon-eyed people are still among us (because you can't kill them), and speaking of reptilians, did you know that the TV series "People to Earth" (about a support group for people who claim to have been abducted by aliens) is coming back to TBS on Monday, July 24th? I, for one, can hardly wait.
Anyway, if you ever get a chance to go to Fort Mountain, go, and hike around it. Preferably on a day with heavy weather. Rain or snow, sleet or mist, or just thick fog will do nicely. And I can tell you that, walking around it in a thick fog on a cold day, those 885 wandering feet seem like a long, long way, and the pits seem like they might hold something, have buried something, that might be waiting for you to pass (or not) in order to come out again...
Walk slowly. Look around. With any luck, yours will be the only footsteps, the only breath, the only...
Then again, maybe not.
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06 July 2017
Hybristophilia, or How Erik Menendez Got A Girl in Prison
by Eve Fisher
A while back, I was sitting in the chow hall at the pen, talking with a young (early 20s) prisoner who was having relationship problems. You see, he'd gotten involved with a woman through the mail. A literal pen-pal. Nice woman. Little older than him, but still hot. And she really liked him. A month after their first face-to-face visit, she moved to the area so she could see him every week. Two months later, and she wanted to get married. Like in a couple of weeks. He was really flattered, but he was also really kind of freaked out, because things were happening so fast, and what did I think? I told him "DON'T DO IT!" Then I brought in another of our outside volunteers, a father-figure to the guys, who heard the story and also said, "DON'T DO IT!"
Hybristophilia is defined as a sexual fixation on "a partner known to have committed an outrage, cheating, lying, known infidelities or crime, such as rape, murder, or armed robbery." All right, Wikipedia says its a sexual perversion, but you tell that to the people who are into it. Plus, there's not a lot of actual sex involved.
(Maximum-security prisons don't allow conjugal visits. Nor do federal prisons of any level. And only four states - California, Connecticut, New York, and Washington allow conjugal visits in lesser-security prisons.)
And God knows there's not a lot of money involved, either. If anything, money is generally going to flow from the outsider to the prisoner. Money to help pay for the prisoner's phone time, stamps, commissary, odds and ends... In fact, and forgive me for bursting anyone's bubble out there, but one of the main reasons that a lot of prisoners write to outsiders in a friendly to ever-increasing romantic vein is specifically to get money. And they're often very successful.
Well, in some cases, there's the fame factor. For those who write/wrote to Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, the Menendez brothers, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, part of the charm, apparently, is getting in on the modern obsession with celebrity. No, it doesn't matter how horrendous the person is, or how heinous their acts, by God if they're famous, they're a celebrity, and by becoming their girlfriend/boyfriend, you become a celebrity, too! You might get in on the media spotlight, get a book deal, a movie deal, or the body!
Anyway, back to reasons why people want to write to, date, have sex (or not) with, and/or marry prisoners. According to Katherine Ramsland, professor of forensic psychology at DeSales University,
Of course, there's also the occasional female serial killer, like Aileen Wuornos, who would be perfect for the man who wanted to tell himself that he can nurture the little girl she once was, and/or wants to see if he can change the serial killer the way James Bond changed Pussy Galore on the last page of "Goldfinger". (Even at twelve years old, I knew that was nothing but Ian Fleming's fantasy...)
Meanwhile, I talk to guys up here in South Dakota who are in their 20s and already have anywhere from two to nine children by two or three or four different women, and now have a girlfriend they met while in the pen. They don't even begin to grasp how much trouble they're in even before they get out. I understand why they keep having sex whenever they can - it's fun, free, and so far isn't illegal - but why won't they use condoms? How are they going to support all those children? How are they going to pay child support, make court-ordered restitution, and pay bills when they'll be lucky to get a minimum-wage job? Sigh...
Not that our hybristophiliacs necessarily have any idea of the prior commitments their new prison romance has. After all, it's the rare prisoner who's going to cough up things like ex-wives, current wives, children, and any other financial obligations or debts. Or their personality flaws. Or the truth about their crime(s)... Hybristophilia is somewhere between kinky romance and lion-taming. Either way, it's dangerous. Either way, it's unreal. (You don't really know someone until you've actually lived with them, and even then it helps if you've been together through a bad vacation complete with rain, food poisoning, broken-down car, and a fleabag motel with no heat.) Yes, there are exceptions, where two people genuinely connect through letters and visits; where the prisoner eventually gets out, and they do marry/live together and it all works out. Two points: (1) These are very rare. (2) None of these have been with serial killers.
But the fantasy lives on.
Hybristophilia is defined as a sexual fixation on "a partner known to have committed an outrage, cheating, lying, known infidelities or crime, such as rape, murder, or armed robbery." All right, Wikipedia says its a sexual perversion, but you tell that to the people who are into it. Plus, there's not a lot of actual sex involved.
(Maximum-security prisons don't allow conjugal visits. Nor do federal prisons of any level. And only four states - California, Connecticut, New York, and Washington allow conjugal visits in lesser-security prisons.)
And God knows there's not a lot of money involved, either. If anything, money is generally going to flow from the outsider to the prisoner. Money to help pay for the prisoner's phone time, stamps, commissary, odds and ends... In fact, and forgive me for bursting anyone's bubble out there, but one of the main reasons that a lot of prisoners write to outsiders in a friendly to ever-increasing romantic vein is specifically to get money. And they're often very successful.
BTW, prisoners also write attorneys, of course, to get help, and they send judges either bogus lawsuits or outright threats. I remember at the courthouse, whenever something from the pen arrived for the judge, we'd all gather around - judge, court reporter, myself (circuit administrator), state's attorney, bailiff, etc. - and read the latest idiocy. My favorite was a lawsuit demanding that the sheriff depose each and every officer of the court for high crimes and misdemeanors, listing everyone by name. Except the judge. Finally, at the very end, there was a little handwritten note saying, "____, sorry I forgot you, asshole!" You've got to be fairly stupid to send out stuff like that, not to mention "I'm going to take a shotgun to your head" to a judge, when your full name, prisoner number, and cell number is on the envelope...So, no sex, no money - why would someone get involved with a prisoner? Why would someone write love letters to a total stranger? Want to date them, through a glass/mesh screen? Want to marry them in the visitors' room? ???
Well, in some cases, there's the fame factor. For those who write/wrote to Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, the Menendez brothers, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, part of the charm, apparently, is getting in on the modern obsession with celebrity. No, it doesn't matter how horrendous the person is, or how heinous their acts, by God if they're famous, they're a celebrity, and by becoming their girlfriend/boyfriend, you become a celebrity, too! You might get in on the media spotlight, get a book deal, a movie deal, or the body!
Charles Manson in 2014 |
- NOTE: Not kidding about the body. Did you know that, in 2015, at 80 years old, Charles Manson cancelled his upcoming penitentiary wedding to 27-year old Afton Elaine Burton, now known as Star, because he found out she was hoping that, after he died, she'd get his corpse, put it on display in a glass case in LA, and charge people to see it? (Charles Manson has always been a little smarter and saner than he looks.)
- DOUBLE NOTE: With regard to my last blog-post, Bullying 101, where I talked about Rush Limbaugh (and others) objecting to Michelle Carter being convicted of manslaughter for texting her boyfriend to suicide, saying that it's a violation of the First Amendment to "start penalizing people for things they say or things that they think, but don’t actually do": Let's all remember that Charles Manson got life in prison without parole, for exactly what he said, and nothing that he did. He was nowhere near either of the murder scenes. So far, I haven't heard anyone objecting to his sentencing...
Anyway, back to reasons why people want to write to, date, have sex (or not) with, and/or marry prisoners. According to Katherine Ramsland, professor of forensic psychology at DeSales University,
BTW, men also write to female prisoners. I think many of them are also looking for the perfect girlfriend, who requires nothing (but a little money). I also think that some of them are looking for a future drug mule or sex slave, and a female prison is a good place to recruit: many female prisoners have already been so abandoned, abused, in every sense of the word, and so many of them have father issues, self-image issues, etc., that they are willing to do just about anything for anyone who seems to care for them.
- "Some believe they can change a man as cruel and powerful as a serial killer."
- "Others 'see' the little boy that the killer once was and seek to nurture him."
- "Then there's the notion of the 'perfect boyfriend'. She knows where he is at all times and she knows he's thinking about her. While she can claim that someone loves her, she does not have to endure the day-to-day issues involved in most relationships. There’s no laundry to do, no cooking for him, and no accountability to him. She can keep the fantasy charged up for a long time." (Wikipedia)
Of course, there's also the occasional female serial killer, like Aileen Wuornos, who would be perfect for the man who wanted to tell himself that he can nurture the little girl she once was, and/or wants to see if he can change the serial killer the way James Bond changed Pussy Galore on the last page of "Goldfinger". (Even at twelve years old, I knew that was nothing but Ian Fleming's fantasy...)
Meanwhile, I talk to guys up here in South Dakota who are in their 20s and already have anywhere from two to nine children by two or three or four different women, and now have a girlfriend they met while in the pen. They don't even begin to grasp how much trouble they're in even before they get out. I understand why they keep having sex whenever they can - it's fun, free, and so far isn't illegal - but why won't they use condoms? How are they going to support all those children? How are they going to pay child support, make court-ordered restitution, and pay bills when they'll be lucky to get a minimum-wage job? Sigh...
Not that our hybristophiliacs necessarily have any idea of the prior commitments their new prison romance has. After all, it's the rare prisoner who's going to cough up things like ex-wives, current wives, children, and any other financial obligations or debts. Or their personality flaws. Or the truth about their crime(s)... Hybristophilia is somewhere between kinky romance and lion-taming. Either way, it's dangerous. Either way, it's unreal. (You don't really know someone until you've actually lived with them, and even then it helps if you've been together through a bad vacation complete with rain, food poisoning, broken-down car, and a fleabag motel with no heat.) Yes, there are exceptions, where two people genuinely connect through letters and visits; where the prisoner eventually gets out, and they do marry/live together and it all works out. Two points: (1) These are very rare. (2) None of these have been with serial killers.
But the fantasy lives on.
Labels:
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22 June 2017
Bullying 101
by Eve Fisher
DISCLAIMER: Almost 40 years ago, a dear friend of mine
committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning in his running vehicle.
I claim no objectivity in what follows.
committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning in his running vehicle.
I claim no objectivity in what follows.
Earlier this week, Leigh Lundin posted The Wickedest Woman in the World, a great blog post about the Michelle Carter case. A lot of us chimed in. During the discussions, I agreed that an article about Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome would be valuable, along with a little thing on hybristophilia, but later, later, later… And I will. But after I listened, briefly, to Rush Limbaugh (I try to keep an ear on what the self-proclaimed Doctor of Democracy is up to) and got ticked off, I've decided that the REAL description of Ms. Carter's behavior is bullying.
You see, Rush was defending Michelle Carter, saying that the case against her is nothing but liberal BS, because liberals don't believe in free speech (oh, Rush, if you only knew!). He said, "this woman, Michelle Carter, she may be just downright mean. She may have no heart. She may just be brutal, getting on the phone and telling this guy to kill himself, ’cause he said he was going to, and if he doesn’t now he’s a coward and whatever. But she didn’t kill him. And yet so many people are coming along thinking he didn’t do, he’s a victim, she did it. This is 180 degrees out of phase. If we’re gonna start penalizing people for things they say or things that they think, but don’t actually do — now, I know what some of you think. “But, Rush, you just got through saying that the Democrats turned this Hodgkinson guy into a lunatic.” I do believe that. But..." (See full Transcript for more of the typical Rush twist on how it's different when…)
Well, first off, sorry, Rush, but we already penalize people for things they say. We have freedom of speech, not freedom from consequences of said speech. But more on that later.
Secondly, what Rush presented was the standard bully's defense:
- "I didn't MAKE them do anything."
- "It's THEIR fault if they can't take a joke."
- "Can I help it if they're a loser?"
- "I didn't do anything wrong."
- "Hey, 'sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me'. So what's the problem?"
Scut Farkus |
But it can get infinitely worse than that.
When we first moved up to South Dakota, I subbed at the high school for a while, and a student there committed suicide because of the constant, non-stop bullying that he received. That was before internet and cellphones. Google bullying and suicide and see the number of hits you come up with. And cyber-bullying, with teens and adolescents, is pushing the number of suicides up.
According to PEW research on teens and cellphones, one in three teens sends 100 text messages a day. 15% send 200 text messages a day. And a certain percentage of that is cyber-bullying. And a certain percentage of that leads to suicides. Michelle Carter exchanged over 1000 text messages with Conrad Roy, encouraging him, telling him, badgering him to commit suicide. What makes it worse is that she knew that he had attempted suicide already, back in 2012, and that he was battling anxiety and depression. After learning that he was planning to kill himself she repeatedly discouraged him from committing suicide in 2012 and 2014 and encouraged him to "get professional help". But then her attitude changed and in July 2014, she started thinking that it would be a "good thing to help him die" (Wikipedia) Thus the 1000 text messages. That's cyber-bullying, and it worked. She even admitted it, in an infamous text to a friend - “I was on the phone with him and he got out of the [truck] because it was working and he got scared and I f***ing told him to get back in."
And why did Michelle Carter want Conrad Roy dead? Because she wanted to receive the sympathy of her classmates as the grieving girlfriend, who only wanted the best for her boyfriend, and the best was that he die.
Michelle Carter - from CNN, "Text Messages Michelle Carter Used |
Does the abuser:
- humiliate or yell at you?
- criticize you and put you down?
- treat you so badly that you’re embarrassed for your friends or family to see?
- ignore or put down your opinions or accomplishments?
- blame you for their own abusive behavior?
- see you as property or a sex object, rather than as a person?
- act excessively jealous and possessive?
- control where you go or what you do?
- keep you from seeing your friends or family?
- limit your access to money, the phone, or the car?
- constantly check up on you?
Ingrid Bergman in "Gaslight" |
- feel afraid of your partner much of the time?
- avoid certain topics out of fear of angering your partner?
- feel that you can’t do anything right for your partner?
- believe that you deserve to be hurt or mistreated?
- wonder if you’re the one who is crazy?
- feel emotionally numb or helpless?
Domestic abuse is bullying, carried on into adulthood. There's a direct link between bullying in childhood and domestic abuse in adulthood (Psychiatry Online): "Men who had bullied schoolmates once in a while were twice as likely to have engaged in violence against a female partner within the previous year as were men who said they had never bullied their school peers. And men who had admitted bullying frequently in school were four times as likely to have done so as were men who had never bullied in school."
On top of that, there's a direct link between domestic abuse and mass shootings (see here and here, too.) Because bullying is all about control and fear. Domestic abuse is all about control and fear. Mass shooting is all about control and fear.
Okay, that was quite a long and winding road. And not every bully, cyber-bully, or just narcissist is going to end up a mass shooter. But I noticed this in the Wikipedia article cited above: This decision "could set legal precedent for whether it's a crime to tell someone to commit suicide." My response?
Okay, that was quite a long and winding road. And not every bully, cyber-bully, or just narcissist is going to end up a mass shooter. But I noticed this in the Wikipedia article cited above: This decision "could set legal precedent for whether it's a crime to tell someone to commit suicide." My response?
I CERTAINLY HOPE SO.
Why wouldn't it be a crime to tell someone to kill themselves? Why wouldn't it be a crime to gaslight a person? Why wouldn't it be a crime to do your best to INCREASE someone's mental illness? Or to use their mental illness to your advantage?
Here's the deal, Rush and followers: I believe 100% in free speech. You can say anything you please, anywhere, any time. But I also believe that free speech has consequences. After all,
- If you yell "FIRE!" in a crowded theater, you're liable for the results.
- If you threaten the President's life, you're going to get a visit from the Secret Service.
Next time, Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome and hybristophilia, or why Erik Menendez has a wife.
Labels:
abuse,
bullying,
Eve Fisher,
hybristophilia,
Leigh Lundin,
murder,
suicide,
Violence
08 June 2017
Of Safes and Smoke
by Eve Fisher
by Eve Fisher
Do you remember the South Dakota GEAR UP! scandal? The one that got started when, early in the morning of September 17, 2015, a fire destroyed the home of Scott and Nicole Westerhuis and their four children in Platte, South Dakota? And they were all later found to be shot to death?
Now, my regular readers may remember that South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley determined that Scott Westerhuis shot his wife and children, torched the house, and then shot himself, all because he was about to be caught for embezzling enough funds to build a $1.3 million rural home, a $900,000 gym complete with basketball court, etc., etc., etc., on an official combined salary (his and his wife's) from Mid Central Educational Co-Op of $130,000. Later, it turned out that the Westerhuises had set up a number of shell organizations, and given themselves hefty salaries from them all.
Well, I'm happy to announce that the General Audit of Mid Central and GEAR UP! has finally been released and it shows:
(1) Scott and Nicole Westerhuis took nearly $8 million out of Mid Central's bank account without authorization to cover the salaries of their non-profit organizations. Supposedly most of that money was returned to Mid Central (how, when, where?), but $1.4 million was still missing at the time of the Westerhuis family's deaths.
(2) The Mid Central Board and its director, Dan Guericke, didn't have enough oversight and never addressed the risks created by Scott and Nicole Westerhuis having roles in the non-profits they set up to take the GEAR UP! grant money.
(3) Guericke didn't get approval by the board for 17 contracts and a number of payments made without contracts with the Westerhuises.
Naturally, the blame game has begun:
Meanwhile, no one's come forward yet to untangle the following mysteries:
(1) Who called Nicole's cell phone in the middle of the night, right before the fire?
(2) Why did Mid Central Educational Co-op, which owned the Westerhuis cell phones, cancel them and wipe the records the next morning, before the ashes from the arson had even cooled?
(3) What did Mid Central Educational Co-op Director Dan Guericke talk about with Scott Westerhuis for an hour on the evening before the tragedy? (Guericke told the board the two really didn't talk about much at all.)
(4) What happened to the Westerhuis safe, which trotted out of the house like a trained pig right before the house was torched?
Yes, there's going to be a trial of 3 Mid Central employees, including Director Guericke. Maybe the questions will be answered then... But I'm not holding my breath. Will keep you posted.
The other big news of the week hearkens back to last year, when the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe reversed course on opening America's first Tribal Marijuana Coffee Shop, and burned the whole crop in November. (They had been warned that they were going to be raided by federal officials.) AG Jackley was suspicious that they hadn't burned it all, and talked about charges. And he did. He charged Colorado marijuana industry consultants Eric Hagen and Jonathan Hunt for helping the tribe set up their grow room, etc. (BTW, State AGs can’t prosecute non-Indians for crimes on reservations, but Jackley argued that his office had jurisdiction to prosecute victimless crimes committed by non-Indians.) Hunt rolled over and pled guilty but Hagen went to trial: and was acquitted by a jury. (Hagen testified that he was simply a consultant with experience in the industry who had been hired by the tribe, and apparently the jury agreed with him.) Marty Jackley was restrained, saying that he respected the jury's verdict. (See the Argus Leader article for more details.)
Many people believe that the reason Jackley pursued this lawsuit was because he and current SD Rep. Kristi Noem (R) are going to duke it out for the South Dakota Governor's Office next year, and he's trying to get out front on the law & order issue. (Most of us think taxes and health care would be more salient...) But, as we move into yet another election year, the questions pile up:
Will GEAR UP! come up?
Will crop insurance?
Will marijuana?
Will riding horses?
Will let you know.
Meanwhile, a friend just told me that a forrmer public works director (no names were named) said that South Dakota doesn't really need federal money for infrastructure, because driving on bumpy roads isn't all that much of an inconvenience. My friend pointed out that tourists might disagree & he said tourism doesn't impact the state economy that much...
Are our public officials TRYING to run our economy into the ground, or are they just stupid?
More later, from South Dakota, where we talk like Mayberry, act like Goodfellas, and the crazy just keeps on coming.
Do you remember the South Dakota GEAR UP! scandal? The one that got started when, early in the morning of September 17, 2015, a fire destroyed the home of Scott and Nicole Westerhuis and their four children in Platte, South Dakota? And they were all later found to be shot to death?
Quick Note: (GEAR UP! is a federal grant program to get financial assistance to low-income students; here in SD it's primary aim was supposed to be helping Native American students.)
SD AG Marty Jackley |
Well, I'm happy to announce that the General Audit of Mid Central and GEAR UP! has finally been released and it shows:
(1) Scott and Nicole Westerhuis took nearly $8 million out of Mid Central's bank account without authorization to cover the salaries of their non-profit organizations. Supposedly most of that money was returned to Mid Central (how, when, where?), but $1.4 million was still missing at the time of the Westerhuis family's deaths.
(2) The Mid Central Board and its director, Dan Guericke, didn't have enough oversight and never addressed the risks created by Scott and Nicole Westerhuis having roles in the non-profits they set up to take the GEAR UP! grant money.
(3) Guericke didn't get approval by the board for 17 contracts and a number of payments made without contracts with the Westerhuises.
Naturally, the blame game has begun:
- Mid Central's board is blaming the South Dakota Department of Education ("lead partner" in the GEAR UP! grant and responsible for ensuring the project was carried out in accordance to federal rules and regulations).
- The SD DOE says it did its job of conducting reviews of grant expenses and tightened up its controls when it began noticing issues in 2014, which is why it cancelled its contract with Mid Central right before the Westerhuis tragedy.
- The Mid Central board's responded that, "no amount of reasonable oversight would have detected the complex scheme of fraudulent and illegal activities conducted by Scott and Nicole Westerhuis." (Angela Kennecke, KELO TV)
- NOTE: I once put together five years of an organization's accounts from a checking account register. You can figure out a lot if you just follow the money...
- Also, Cory's blog Dakota Free Press has all the facts and figures that we have so far, and all the excuses piled up so far.
Meanwhile, no one's come forward yet to untangle the following mysteries:
(1) Who called Nicole's cell phone in the middle of the night, right before the fire?
(2) Why did Mid Central Educational Co-op, which owned the Westerhuis cell phones, cancel them and wipe the records the next morning, before the ashes from the arson had even cooled?
(3) What did Mid Central Educational Co-op Director Dan Guericke talk about with Scott Westerhuis for an hour on the evening before the tragedy? (Guericke told the board the two really didn't talk about much at all.)
(4) What happened to the Westerhuis safe, which trotted out of the house like a trained pig right before the house was torched?
Yes, there's going to be a trial of 3 Mid Central employees, including Director Guericke. Maybe the questions will be answered then... But I'm not holding my breath. Will keep you posted.
The other big news of the week hearkens back to last year, when the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe reversed course on opening America's first Tribal Marijuana Coffee Shop, and burned the whole crop in November. (They had been warned that they were going to be raided by federal officials.) AG Jackley was suspicious that they hadn't burned it all, and talked about charges. And he did. He charged Colorado marijuana industry consultants Eric Hagen and Jonathan Hunt for helping the tribe set up their grow room, etc. (BTW, State AGs can’t prosecute non-Indians for crimes on reservations, but Jackley argued that his office had jurisdiction to prosecute victimless crimes committed by non-Indians.) Hunt rolled over and pled guilty but Hagen went to trial: and was acquitted by a jury. (Hagen testified that he was simply a consultant with experience in the industry who had been hired by the tribe, and apparently the jury agreed with him.) Marty Jackley was restrained, saying that he respected the jury's verdict. (See the Argus Leader article for more details.)
Many people believe that the reason Jackley pursued this lawsuit was because he and current SD Rep. Kristi Noem (R) are going to duke it out for the South Dakota Governor's Office next year, and he's trying to get out front on the law & order issue. (Most of us think taxes and health care would be more salient...) But, as we move into yet another election year, the questions pile up:
Will GEAR UP! come up?
Will crop insurance?
Will marijuana?
Will riding horses?
Will let you know.
Meanwhile, a friend just told me that a forrmer public works director (no names were named) said that South Dakota doesn't really need federal money for infrastructure, because driving on bumpy roads isn't all that much of an inconvenience. My friend pointed out that tourists might disagree & he said tourism doesn't impact the state economy that much...
Crazy Horse Memorial - Photo by TBennert on Wikipedia |
Mount Rushmore - Wikipedia |
Badlands National Park - Wikipedia |
The Needles - photo courtesy of Doug Knuth - https://www.flickr.com/photos/dknuth/7677770944/ Wikipedia |
Bear Butte - photo courtesy of Jsoo1, as English Wikipedia image: en:Image:Bearbutte4.jpg |
Sturgis motorcycle rally - Photo courtesy of Cumulus Clouds, Wikipedia |
More later, from South Dakota, where we talk like Mayberry, act like Goodfellas, and the crazy just keeps on coming.
Labels:
arson,
embezzlement,
Eve Fisher,
gear up,
governor,
Kristi Noem,
marijuana,
Marty Jackley,
murder
25 May 2017
The Paths of Glory...
by Eve Fisher
Arlington Cemetery, Wikipedia |
- "Fear prophets and those prepared to die for the truth, for as a rule they make many others die with them, often before them, at times instead of them." -Umberto Eco
- “The enduring attraction of war is this: Even with its destruction and carnage it can give us what we long for in life. It can give us purpose, meaning, a reason for living. Only when we are in the midst of conflict does the shallowness and vapidness of much of our lives become apparent. Trivia dominates our conversations and increasingly our airwaves. And war is an enticing elixir. It gives us resolve, a cause. It allows us to be noble. And those who have the least meaning in their lives, the impoverished refugees in Gaza, the disenfranchised North African immigrants in France, even the legions of young who live in the splendid indolence and safety of the industrialized world, are all susceptible to war's appeal.” Chris Hedges, War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning
Memorial Day is the United States' official holiday to remember all the people who have died serving in our armed forces. It's also a good day to remember all who have died in war, period. And not just in the United States.
Now, this may sound strange to you, but one thing I would like to see is happen is the United States reinstate the draft. Personally, I believe EVERYONE should have to serve in the military, men and women alike. My reasons are many:
(1) When only 1% of the citizenry serve in the military, and all are "volunteer", then the citizenry as a whole seems to be remarkably unconcerned about what wars, "unofficial" wars, etc., we're in. The Middle East conflicts have seen military personnel - often "part-time" National Guard - serving 3, 4, 5+ tours of duty, and nobody seems to care. It's someone else's child, someone else's family, and they volunteered. Let them go where they're told. Especially since it's somewhere "over there". I find this unhealthy.
(2) If everyone serves in the military, then maybe certain politicians won't talk patriotism out of one side of their mouth and then yank promised veterans' benefits away with both hands. And other things...
(3) If we're going to police the world, then by God I think we should draft everyone, and let everyone in on what it's like to serve. Training, education, and a greater knowledge of the world around them. Mark Twain: “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”
(4) Recurring statements from recurring politicians (who do not/ have not/ will not ever serve) that seem to openly want / long for/ plan for war. Again, going back to #1 - we have to stop taking our military for granted. We have to recognize that it's real blood that is shed, real lives that are lost, real minds / bodies that are damaged, sometimes irreparably.
(5) The other side of it is that we appear to be developing a certain (small?) percentage of the military that seems to be increasing in disdain, distrust, and dislike for the non-military majority. I've been told that American civilians in general are unfit, immoral, and slothful. (From the Walrus and the Carpenter: "I deeply sympathize." Sometimes.) As one said to a judge once, "We throw these people over the fence." The judge replied, "Welcome to the other side of the fence." And this important: the military is there to defend the BOTH SIDES OF THE FENCE.
I do believe that we take war too casually in this country, mainly because (post 1812) our wars have always (with the exception of the Civil War, Pearl Harbor, and 9/11) been on someone else's soil. (This includes the "American Indian Wars" which were all fought on what was, at the time, Native American land.) There is an American tendency to downplay European distaste for war, European steady pursuit for diplomacy, as "liberal", if not downright cowardly. During the buildup to the Iraqi invasion, Richard Perle stated that European nations "do not have the most courageous of instincts," implying that America must intervene in inter-national affairs because Europeans are afraid to. (Citation on NBC) Back in December of 2005, Bill O'Reilly said "I understand Europe. They're cowards." He went on to add,
"...by and large, the European population is soft and afraid. ... They won't confront evil on any level. It is anything goes, just leave me alone. Give me my check from the government and leave me alone." (Citation on MMFA) It's a fairly constant theme on Breitbart as they quote Neil Farage, Geert Wilders, and others among the alt-right.
Now, this may sound strange to you, but one thing I would like to see is happen is the United States reinstate the draft. Personally, I believe EVERYONE should have to serve in the military, men and women alike. My reasons are many:
(1) When only 1% of the citizenry serve in the military, and all are "volunteer", then the citizenry as a whole seems to be remarkably unconcerned about what wars, "unofficial" wars, etc., we're in. The Middle East conflicts have seen military personnel - often "part-time" National Guard - serving 3, 4, 5+ tours of duty, and nobody seems to care. It's someone else's child, someone else's family, and they volunteered. Let them go where they're told. Especially since it's somewhere "over there". I find this unhealthy.
(2) If everyone serves in the military, then maybe certain politicians won't talk patriotism out of one side of their mouth and then yank promised veterans' benefits away with both hands. And other things...
(3) If we're going to police the world, then by God I think we should draft everyone, and let everyone in on what it's like to serve. Training, education, and a greater knowledge of the world around them. Mark Twain: “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”
(4) Recurring statements from recurring politicians (who do not/ have not/ will not ever serve) that seem to openly want / long for/ plan for war. Again, going back to #1 - we have to stop taking our military for granted. We have to recognize that it's real blood that is shed, real lives that are lost, real minds / bodies that are damaged, sometimes irreparably.
(5) The other side of it is that we appear to be developing a certain (small?) percentage of the military that seems to be increasing in disdain, distrust, and dislike for the non-military majority. I've been told that American civilians in general are unfit, immoral, and slothful. (From the Walrus and the Carpenter: "I deeply sympathize." Sometimes.) As one said to a judge once, "We throw these people over the fence." The judge replied, "Welcome to the other side of the fence." And this important: the military is there to defend the BOTH SIDES OF THE FENCE.
Bill O'Reilly - Wikipedia |
"...by and large, the European population is soft and afraid. ... They won't confront evil on any level. It is anything goes, just leave me alone. Give me my check from the government and leave me alone." (Citation on MMFA) It's a fairly constant theme on Breitbart as they quote Neil Farage, Geert Wilders, and others among the alt-right.
But as one response put it, "Europeans are not cowards - It's that we know war." And they do. The following is a list of European wars over the last 200 years:
1789-1795 - The French Revolution (the real beginning of the 19th century)
1802-1815 - The Napoleonic Wars (fought both in every country in Europe and around the world - the War of 1812 was a subset of these)
1819 - August 16 - Great Britain - "The Peterloo Massacre"
1820 - Revolts in Spain and Naples. Crushed.
1825 - Decembrist Revolt in Moscow. Crushed
1824-1830 - The Greek Revolt v. Ottoman Empire. Won (because the Congress of Vienna backed it)
1830 - Serbian Revolt v. Ottoman Empire. Won (because the Congress of Vienna backed it)
1848: Europe went NUTS in 1848. Some of the major armed conflicts were:
- Revolt in France; king flees; Louis Napoleon Bonaparte is elected, then becomes Napoleon III in 1852, & launches a series of imperial wars on the continent...
- Berlin revolt. Crushed.
- Viennese workers & students revolt in Austria. Crushed.
- Czechs revolt vs. Austrian Empire. Crushed.
- Milan & Venice revolt vs. Austrian Empire. Crushed.
- France invades & occupies Rome at the request of the Pope (they stay until 1870)
1853-1856 - Crimean War. Russia v. Ottoman Empire, France & Britain.
1854 - Spanish Revolution
1859 - Piedmont (Italy) v. Austrian Empire. France joins Italy and beats Austria.
WW1 Montage - Wikipedia |
1866 - Austro-Prussian War (Austrian Empire v. Prussia). Prussia wins.
1868 - Spanish Revolution (Italian king put on Spanish throne)
1870 - Franco-Prussian War (French lost; Napoleon III deposed)
1871 - Communard revolt in France. Crushed.
1876-1878 - series of Serbian-Ottoman (Turkish) wars
1899-1902 - Boer War (Great Britain v. South African Boers). Britain wins.
1905 - Bloody Sunday Massacre in Russia.
1912-1913 - Balkan Wars. (sort of a preview of WW1)
1914-1918 - World War I ("The war to end all wars"... but it wasn't).
1936-1939 - Spanish Civil War (a definite preview of WW2)
1939-1945 - World War II
WW2 Montage - Wikipedia |
Warsaw, post WW2 Wikipedia |
WW2 left 20 million military dead and 40 million civilian dead, and God only knows how many wounded. There were also 60 million refugees. Of those refugees, at least a million still hadn't found homes by 1951. And millions more weren't refugees, but were simply homeless, as whole cities were bombed into rubble, and much of the European industrial infrastructure destroyed. And this brings up another unpleasant truth:
World War 2 is the reason why the United States became the leader of the free world and sailed into the 1950s on the biggest wave of prosperity we ever saw: we hadn't been bombed into rubble, we hadn't lost our infrastructure, we didn't have a huge refugee population to resettle. Our factories were at top production, when there were barely any left running anywhere else on the planet. For years, we were the sole supplier of almost everything, and we grew very very rich. That specific kind of economic boom will never happen again, no matter what any politician tells you, and thank God for it: it was based on the absolute misery of most of the rest of the world.
Sadly, these lessons may have to be relearned, especially if certain parties in Europe and elsewhere have their way. But maybe they will continue to remember, even if we do not. They know how bad it can get. We can only imagine. Thank God. May it always stay that way.
Labels:
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