I went to this barbershop one time when I was significantly younger and dumber. I was in desperate need of a haircut and had no desire to let the lady on base butcher me that day. I didn’t have a car, but I saw this barbershop right off base one day, so, I figured they HAD to be better than where I was already going. I woke up early on a Saturday morning, didn’t tell anyone where I was headed, just walked all the way there no back up, no cell phone. I was fresh out of basic training filled with bravado…plus walking was my main form of transportation at that time so, a couple miles one way was child’s play. 

When I arrived at this establishment, all it took was a quick glance and keen ears to realize this might not go how I expected. I was desperate, and because these barbers were all relatively young Black guys, I assumed they would be better than the lady on base? The guy right before me got in the seat and he was getting a similar cut to what I wanted and it turned out fine. Just when I was feeling good about my decision, I heard some of the worst sounding music that my ears ever encountered. I thought the radio was malfunctioning. I openly stated my distaste for this trash ass music, and the entire mood in the room shifted; way out of my favor I might add. This guy messed my cut up worse than the Filipino ladies on base ever had. Upon seeing the “I dare you to say something” faces of the remaining 10 or so guys in the shop, being a good 2 miles away from any assistance, that had no idea where I was to assist if needed, the realization that I was at a disadvantage kicked in. I politely paid for my cut and left as they were still talking shit about me. I ended up going straight to the ladies on base to salvage what I could, and after wasting that money as well, I went back to the dorms and shaved myself bald. Damn!

I Told You

Yesterday, I was scrolling through YouTube and saw a video about American farmers being upset with Trump for sending billions to Argentina, while their crops and beef go unpurchased and unwanted by the international community. I’m sure they were a little bit hurt in addition to being legitimately pissed off. Rightfully so, they voted for him in overwhelming numbers three times, and even though he fucked them over in his first term, these masochists seemed desperate for an encore. The encore is upon them, and he’s far worse this time and really putting his weenis to them with no mercy. I usually hate saying “I told you so”, because I mostly only talk to people I love…but for the ones that I don’t rock with like that, I TOLD YOU SO DICKHEAD. 

In a very loose, round about sort of way though, I guess I can understand them. They saw their options, and despite knowing better, they selected the familiar trash over the woman that could do it, albeit not an appealing choice either. I did the same thing on that fateful day with my hairline. I had 2 very good warning shots of “it’d be best to leave” yet I stayed and allowed them to butcher my hairline. Granted, the spray tanned skid mark is ruining the country, and that is far longer lasting than a haircut; culturally, having your hairline pushed back and the fade blended all wrong feels damn near as bad. I couldn’t attract women with that cut, I didn’t feel good, it was a loss for everyone involved.

It’s Getting Uglier

What adds insult to injury beyond Donald’s gross incompetence, the House and Senate majority’s incompetence, and Supreme Court incompetence, is we’re dealing with a global shift in power. Geez, this is the worst feeling “I told you so” that I’ve ever delivered but America is on the decline in so many ways and has been at least for the last 55 years if we’re being honest. It’s not exclusively the work of the GOP, but they hold the lion’s share of the blame here. It amazes me how deeply tied to racism our societal ills are. Damn near every policy decision that seems like a no brainer is shot down because Black and Brown people will benefit from it too. Instead they are putting place brainless, inhumane, and very much racist policies and it’s not going well. 

Black and Brown people legally fit the description now according to the supreme court, which means due process can and will be violated more than ever. The people running the country (Heritage Foundation and ALEC) are actually eager to see Don Juan de Cankles fade into oblivion so they can really get medieval on the population. It seems to me, that these folks want to turn the United States into the White, Christian version of Israel. Where all others are less than, and only worthy of 2^nd class treatment. The caveat to that though, they have to violate poor White people first, because if they aren’t angry and blaming others for their condition, the plan doesn’t work. 

In addition to the aforementioned culture wars, the GOP is going full fascism and that is not hyperbole. They’re doing it because the MAGA movement operates like a cult, and with the obvious health issues of their leader, they know they have a limited time to execute before enthusiasm wanes. JD Vance doesn’t have the adoration of the movement to get people to look away from their reality the same way Donald does. He’s a liar, but not as good at being a con artist. So, all plans to fluff Donald and keep him busy with the meaningless things like the White House ballroom are moving, simultaneously, they are suppressing votes, kidnapping people of color, and trying to prosecute people that disagree with them. They’re having Canklesaurus issue executive orders to infringe upon the first amendment. Along with the obvious Government shutdown that is over a month now with no reasonable end in sight. It’s an inevitable lose/lose situation that Democrats are struggling to capitalize on. 

Yes, The World Is Watching

As if it needed to be stated, yeah it does…the world is watching. That means more now than it ever has in my lifetime. The illusion many of us have come to believe through decades of relative normalcy and America centered media guarding us from the outside world, is that our government is solid. Even if it’s not working in our favor specifically, we assume it to be at least working. These dipshits have shown that is not the case. It doesn’t take a lot of people to throw this machine out of order. With $38 trillion of debt on our tab, the international faith in the dollar is fading, BRICS nations are growing slowly but surely. The global Yin and Yang if you will in regards to the IMF and BRICS. This negatively impacts the value of a dollar, which negatively impacts America’s stability with our inflation being such a major problem as well. What is becoming obvious to our allies is the U.S. Dollar is less and less worthy to be the standard currency. Our internal struggles will almost certainly push them to look for suitable alternatives sooner than later. 

There’s more, but it’s gloomy enough writing this, so I know if you’re reading it a lil bit of anxiety rushed through your system. The bright side of it all is that in America, there is a growing list of people realizing the emperor has no clothes on, and all the big dick bravado he has been pushing, they are now seeing he has no hang time to back it up. This awakening is coming far slower than it should, but at least it is happening. Two ‘No Kings’ rallies 5 and 7 million people respectively is impressive, at least on face value. The country we love, like, or simply prefer to others is not fully lost yet. The administration is doing everything to steal it, but it ain’t fully stolen as of now. This shock and awe strategy to break the government down, gain power, and overthrow from within has been going on probably since the Nixon administration, just stealthier in previous iterations. Fighting back is a good thing; it is a necessary thing really.

Gonna Be Uncomfortable

Which fight to join is the question folks should be contemplating. Everyone has ideas of how to fight; some good, some shitty. For instance, the weeklong spending blackout idea starting on Black Friday…probably poorly thought out but sounds good on the surface. That is a corporate protest that won’t do shit if everyone buys what they need from these same corporations the week before or the week after. It’s effective as a social media flier but won’t impact change in the least bit. The protests are cool, but more “trending” than substantive. The fight against AIPAC is sensible and has traction on both sides, but that will have a very small domestic impact that people care about.

We also need a long-term financial strategy to actually impact corporations. So many of these places are ditching humans for artificial intelligence, or “do it yourself” customer support in stores. The focus has exclusively been on the wants of the shareholders while the needs of the patrons and employees are ignored. The companies benefit from our desire to be comfortable, because any real, long term, effective protest to what they’re doing will make it very uncomfortable for all parties involved. Think of it like a really exciting boxing match. No matter who you’re rooting for, or who wins in the end, both sides got their ass whipped in the process. We as a society have to get in our minds that we’re going to take some damage as we dole it out, if we want our needs addressed. 

What is abundantly clear to me is, help is not coming from outside, we gotta save ourselves. With that, more than ever we need connection and empathy. The poor democrat in the city doesn’t typically interact with the poor republican in the rural areas in any meaningful way. These two groups see each other as enemies, even though they have more in common than not. The truth of the matter is, the conditions that the top 5% of wealth holders live in are improving, while the conditions for the rest of us are not. This is familiar territory for Black and Brown people, as well as poor White people paying attention. However, middle class White folks typically struggle with the sudden loss of financial means, and they start shooting shit up. If they finally realize that it’s not the Black or Brown person fucking them over, in the words of Sam Cooke…change is gonna come.