Blatherskite

Foolish gibberish

about

I am a Children’s Librarian living in the Portland, Oregon area. When I am not Children’s Librianing I like to play with cameras and film. I also like playing the ukulele, knitting, sketching, and hiking.

On the morality of punching Nazis

August 14, 2017
Comic by Randall Trang. randalltrang.com

I fell down a rabbit hole yesterday and found out that when the video of Richard Spencer being punched was posted there was this huge internet discussion of whether or not it was OK to punch Nazis. Honestly, I am kind of stunned that this is a topic up for discussion. I feel like I’ve lost my mind. When did we begin to worry about the morality of punching a Nazi in the face? When did we care about the feelings of Nazis? What the fuck?!?

The movies that I grew up with, The Star Wars franchise, and the Raiders of the Lost Ark franchise were all about defeating fascism and Nazis. Indiana Jones literally punches Nazis in Raiders – like, a bunch of times.

The comics that I grew up with are all about defeating Nazis. Defeating Nazis is a part of our cultural fabric. Punching Nazis is as American as apple pie.

Or so I thought. Why is this even up for discussion? It disturbs me that it is.

I am not a violent person. I would never walk up to someone and punch them without provocation. I am all about peaceful protests. Martin Luther King and Gandhi are personal heroes of mine. But Honestly. Nazis are the bad guys. Nazis have always been the bad guys. If I am in a position where I am provoked, or someone around me is in danger or provoked by a Nazi, and if punching a Nazi in the face seems like the right thing to do in that moment, fuck yes I am going to punch a Nazi.
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Sunday Runday

August 13, 2017
Today’s scheduled run was a 3 miler, but I decided to do my favorite 4.5 mile run instead. It was a glorius day for a run. Nice and cool and we finally got some rain!! All of the wildfire smoke has cleared out and I was able to breath. I was a bit speedier on my splits, which was nice for the ego.

I signed up for Strava. (If you are there come and find me!) I am still finding my way around over there. I like some things about it but there are some concerns. I tried using it with my Apple Watch but couldn’t get it to work, which is frustrating. I used the activity app on my watch and ran Strava on my phone at the same time, which is kind of annoying. However, I really like some of the analytics that I get with Strava that I don’t get with Apple Watch. And I like the social aspect as well.

One of the biggest concerns is safety. I gives your contacts access to your running routes, and I’m not sure I feel comfortable with that. But is that something that I should really be concerned about? I’d like to know your thoughts about it.

Today’s power song was Beez In The Trap by Niki Minaj. Oddly, I heard this song twice during my run, in the same place, at the beginning and at the end of my run. Weird!
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Dystopia

August 12, 2017
I am completely sickened by what happened last night and today in Charlottesville. I still can’t believe that I saw images of white supremacists walking down the street, fully embracing Hitler and Nazism, chanting things like “Russia Is Our Friend” and “Blood and Soil.” These men weren’t even trying to hide themselves.

What the fuck?

And then a car plows into a crowd of protesters, killing one. If this isn’t terrorism, I don’t know what is.

I am still thinking about the White Supremacist that murdered two people on the Portland MAX a few months ago, during the rush hour commute, in broad daylight.

What the fuck.

I just finished watching television series version of The Handmaid’s Tale. As I watched it I felt this really odd feeling when they flashed back to the scenes that took place before the dystopia started. It is supposed to be present day America. Watching it was creepy because it feels like we are living in this kind of world right now. The beginning stages of a dystopia. And it scares the hell out of me.

But fuck that. I am not going to let fear stop me from standing up for what is right.

Fuck Nazis. And fuck fascism.

And fuck Richard Spencer.
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Self, resting in a hammock

August 11, 2017
I brought my pinhole camera camping up on Mt Hood. It was a hot weekend and we wanted to escape the heat. It was nice to set up the hammock and rest for awhile.

Camera: Reality So Subtle 6×6
Film: Ektar 100
Exposure time: 2 minutes 33 seconds
Developed by Pro Photo Supply.
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Happy birthday Doug

August 10, 2017
Today is my stepdad’s birthday. He passed away in 2009 and I still miss him. I’ve been thinking about him lately because he appeared in my dream a few nights ago. For the life of me, I can’t remember what it was about. I’ve been thinking a lot lately (for some reason) about watching him die, and what a profound (and painful) experience that was.

Here is a photo from Dublin in April of last year. One of the things I really wanted to do was find Doyle’s Pub in his honor.
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