Monday, April 24, 2023

A Christmas Tree and a Demagogue


Mr. Pudding's comment on yesterday's post -- about Olga hiding herself away while I cleaned -- made me realize I haven't shared an Olga pic with you in a WEEK! Unheard of!

Let me remedy that. Here she is on our walk yesterday morning, next to a planter full of bluebells.

It was an eventful walk, actually. Back in January, someone shoved an old Christmas tree into the landscaped garden of an apartment building on the corner. It sat there, turning brown, between two other shrubs, and frankly it was an eyesore. You'd think the maintenance man or super or whatever of that building would resolve the situation, but maybe there isn't one.

So yesterday I pulled it out, set it on the sidewalk beneath a tree and reported it to the council via my handy phone app. Coincidentally, just then, a garbage truck drove by and I thought, "Oh no! They're going to ticket me for fly-tipping!" But they didn't -- at least not yet -- and the tree was gone within a couple of hours.

Someone also left an old wooden door leaning against a wall on another corner, and I reported that too. It's also gone now. Cleaning up the 'hood!


I spent the morning reading the news and my current book, "American Dirt." In my continued quest to understand the conservative mentality, I also listened to Tucker Carlson's recent speech to The Heritage Foundation. I am no fan of Tucker Carlson, and this speech showed him to be quite convinced of his own cleverness. He's just certain that we're all eager to listen to him blather on about anything.

He depicted our current political climate as a sort of apocalyptic struggle, which seems to be a common theme on the right these days. He insists it's not like the liberals-vs.-conservatives of yore, two tribes with different ideas about how to reach common goals. He thinks modern liberals are EVIL, and helpfully defines for us what that means. (That's sarcasm on my part.)

He seems especially focused on transgender issues, and makes it sound like tribes of liberal lawmakers are out there forcibly castrating (his word) children. Of course this is ridiculous, as is most of the hysteria around gender identity. He mocks people who specify their pronouns. To me, the whole pronoun issue -- and in fact the issue of gender identity as well -- can almost be reduced to simple politeness. If someone who was born male sees themselves as a woman and wants to live as a woman, who am I to say no? Why wouldn't I accommodate that simply out of respect for that individual? It's the kind thing to do, and it's no skin off my back.

I don't get the furor. But I also don't have a particularly religious perspective about any of this, which makes a difference. That's not to say there aren't legitimate questions about how best to accommodate transgender people in public facilities, on sports teams and that kind of thing. But let's have a conversation. Let's not just dismiss them or their supporters as evil, castrating agents of Satan.

Liberals and conservatives are, in fact, still two tribes with different ideas about how to reach common goals. There is no apocalypse. (But casting the conflict as apocalyptic helps raise money, doesn't it, Tucker?)


I just wish we could all get out of ourselves and stop trying to impose our beliefs on each other. Live and let live. Stop trying to tell others what to read, what gender they are, who they have to love -- just be KIND. If someone wants us to stop using language they view as hostile or hurtful, let's do it. Why not? Again, how does it hurt us?

Anyway, sorry about that diatribe. Back to our regular programming.

I walked Olga in the cemetery in the afternoon. That's her with Skippy, some random little white fluffy thing, in a corner of the cemetery that's changed a lot in recent years. It used to be almost inaccessible, but now there's a muddy path that winds back into that corner and all the dog-walkers use it.

The British Government sent out an emergency alert test to everyone's cell phones yesterday around 3 p.m., and mine went off in the cemetery. It was quite loud. I'm sure even the turaco heard it. Apparently some people didn't get their alerts -- I think it depends on which phone network we use. At least the government didn't send the alert at 4 a.m. by mistake.


Despite our spring-like weather and all our colorful tulips and blooming trees, I wound up bringing the avocado tree back inside yesterday evening. That's another story for another day.

33 comments:

  1. Thanks for the photos of beautiful Olga, and the spring flowers. I agree with your commentary on Carlson and the current state of politics.

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  2. Lovely photos of Olga. Those bluebells look like the spanish ones.....not the native type that are blooming magnificently in the ancient wood that we walk in ! We have them spreading like crazy in our garden ( the spanish ones) but I have never actually planted any !
    Re avocado tree.....I have had a stone with its bottom in water for about 3/4 weeks now and no sign of anything growing underneath. How long do I wait?

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  3. I agree with your about genders and have no problem in accepting how a person wishes to be. I listen to Tucker sometimes I find him quite attractive and his delivery is entertaining. I am open to all comers in politics and a different side of things to what one is entrenched in is important to avoid dogma.

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  4. Of course I had no wish to lower the intellectual temperature but the name "Tucker Carlson" makes me think of a cartoon character - a fat boy who enjoys his "tucker" or grub rather too much. Where's Tucker? He's down at the candy store. Where's Tucker now? He's in McDonalds ordering TWO Big Macs and an extra large portion of fries. Has anybody seen Tucker Carlson? Yes Mrs Robinson, he's in hospital because his belly exploded!

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  5. I had never really known who Tucker Carlson was until this past couple weeks when he appeared on our evening news about every evening due to the now settled lawsuit against FOX. I'm not sure I could read a book of his, even as well written and convincing as you say, knowing that he flat out lies knowingly. I just don't watch FOX, just like I don't watch CNN. I think I'm better for it.

    I like your argument for just being polite when it comes to gender identities. I know I certainly don't understand what they are feeling nor do I understand some of the pronouns they want everyone to use around them. Partly that is because of the strict grammar rules that were taught to me as a kid and partly it is hard to devine and remember all these extra pronouns around specific people. When around them, I try to be polite and just get through introductions. Although not always, sometimes it hasn't been reciprocated back, as if they are upset because I didn't use the right pronoun. I am written off before the conversation can get started. Politeness needs to be a two way street.

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  6. They are so concerned about trans but not about guns. Trans don't kill kids, guns do!

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  7. Hello Steve and Miss Olga,

    I hope that this finds you and Olga doing well. I love seeing some pictures of her. It has been a while since I have seen any pics of that sweet girl.

    So glad that you brought the tree back in. I will have to wait another day to see the story of why, but it relieved my anxious feelings that it could freeze, and the poor thing would die. So good that you brought it inside. I never set my wintering plants outside until middle of May.
    Occasionally I would take them outside and let them get some sunshine and air, but when it started getting to be nightfall, I would haul them all back inside the house!

    I cannot stand Tucker! I wish he would just stop! I have to wonder just what provokes them to spew lies and discord. Do they really believe everything that they are telling people on the right or is it the Money talking?

    Why can't people just leave people alone? It is awful that kids are treated as scum if they want to change their gender. It is none of anyone's business.
    People's sexual orientation and sexual identity is none of anyone's business. When I speak or hear of all this hate and cruelty, I sincerely think Why does it matter to you? You are not walking in this person's shoes. You are not the one who is looking through the mirror that they are, so what is it to you to tell me and everyone else what to do? Ugh....

    Enough of my rant. Give Olga hugs and a treat and have a great day.

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  8. First, thanks for the much needed Olga fix!

    I thought American Dirt was a very powerful book. It made me look at the immigrant issue in a whole new light.

    I don't know much about Tucker Carlson and it sounds like I should keep it that way. I can't stomach FOX News any more than I can stomach MSNBC. One extreme to the other. You're right, Steve. We need kindness and civility and tolerance.

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  9. There is no "having a conversation" with a man like Tucker Carlson.

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  10. the flowering trees are all abloom. so pretty. that cemetary must be enormous.

    I don't understand the venom being directed at the other gendered either. why do they care so much what other people do to and for themselves? why do they feel so threatened? as you say, how hard is it to just be kind? apparently they threw kindness out with their sense of decency (if they actually had any). they think the other gendered are evil. religion is evil. it is religion that seeks to impose its narrow and hateful ideology on everyone else.

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  11. Lovely picture of Olga posing with flowers! And I'm baffled by anyone's trying to boss other people's existence. There's plenty of ignorance to go around and I wish people would get better informed. But people like TC don't want to be informed. They want chaos and money.

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  12. It's nice to see Olga again. She is looking terrific!
    I agree with your thoughts, Steve.

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  13. I appreciate all the pretty pictures of Miss Olga. A long time ago, I was part of a Laura Ingalls Wilder list serve (of all things) where someone brought up political correctness. It was a new concept then. Someone asked what it meant. I said it just meant using terms that are polite and include all people, such as saying mail carrier instead of mail man. Someone else in the group jumped all over me and started sending me harassing emails about how horrible I was. I ended up leaving the Laura Ingalls Wilder list serve because of this person. As we know, anger over so-called political correctness has escalated into tirades and laws against being woke. It's exhausting.

    Love,
    Janie

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  14. Thank you for a beautiful, common sense post. I can't even deal with any of the crap anymore. There is no reason on this earth that anyone should be vilified for just living their lives as they need to. And every day I open up the local newspaper online to see what else DeSantis and Florida republicans are doing to criminalize what is natural human behavior. THIS IS MY SON they are talking about. And many of my friends.
    I'm going to stop now.
    And by the way- yes, I was one of the Floridians awoken at 4:45 a.m. last week.

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  15. It's lovely to see Olga out and about enjoying her time on another beautiful walk.
    I can't stand Tucker Carlson. I always change the first letter of his name when I speak of him out loud. I'm sure you can guess what I call him. If there weren't transgender issues, the right wing would actually have to talk about real things that are truly a danger to our planet.

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  16. I totally agree about the transgender issues. I don't understand why people have to have something to hate or complain about. Enough about that. You summed it up beautifully I'd say.
    London is looking very spring-like. All those blooms and all that green.

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  17. The right political people have many lies that they believe. So you don't have to have proof for anything. Just go with whatever comes our of your mouth or whatever comes out of the mouths of your nutty friends.

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  18. Glorious shots of Olga in beauty! You are certainly having a beautiful few spring days there. As for Little boy Tucker, fear makes $$. Ask any religion. Fox , based on fear and lies ($$$) is getting spanked so maybe Tucker is just riding the pony hard, until it drops dead. The Magats will make an issue out of anything- a cruel lot.Rather than dealing with real problems that are too big to handle (gun culture)- they choose the most vulnerable to attack- women, trans, gays, children, puppies and kittens next? Mass ignorance fueled by fear.

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  19. Tucker, and so many more Americans, need to mind their own fucking business. I don't think Tucker is smart but I do think he is an opportunist and that's why he's doing what he's doing. Perhaps he didn't get enough love and attention as a child. His mother left when he was six and his father was a gonzo reporter. His father was left in an ophanage and adopted at the age of two, all of these are traumatic to a family and fuck people up. He's also dyslexic which means, school was probably a nightmare for him.
    All of this aside, it's our job, as humans and adults, to deal with our wounds. Just my opinion:)

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  20. WAPO has breaking news that Fox and Tuck Tuck have parted ways, his last day was last Friday. I'm not sorry about that.

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  21. I wonder what TC will do now that he's left Fox. I can't even stand seeing his face or hearing his voice! I enjoyed your rant and agree with it. In many societies genders have been fluid for eons. It's not a new thing at all. Were they actually more advanced than we are in some ways? Honestly, I do have trouble using "they, them" as a singular. But I am kind and try to be respectful.

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  22. I honestly can't imagine listening to Tucker Carlson and thinking he's "attractive" or finding his delivery "entertaining." The hatred he spews is unbelievable. I wonder where he is off to now, and why he got the boot. However someone wants to identify is fine by me; kindness should always matter. The cruelty of some of these people is so sad. I have a friend whose son is transgender. What he (and the rest of the family) has gone through is heartbreaking.

    Love the pics of Olga!

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  23. Tucker Carlson - FOX 👉 GONE!
    Don Lemon - CNN 👉 GONE!
    👏 Hooray!

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  24. You are an excellent citizen, Steve. Thanks for this post and for cleaning up where others don't!

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  25. Tucker is OUT!! HAHAHAHA! That headline made my day.

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  26. Absolutely lovely, that walk of yours. And Skippy looks like a cute little friend for Olga! Gorgeous trees. Thanks for the link on fly-tipping. Never heard that one before.

    By now you know that Tucker is out of work. Apparently this must have happened over the weekend because I guess he said "See you Monday" when he closed his Friday show. Don Lemon at CNN too. You don't hear as much about him. Bravo and Amen to your rant, by the way!

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  27. Spring is agreeing with Olga. She looks quite sprightly.
    You summarise a complicated issue very well, Steve. Just be kind. Is it that hard? Obviously it must be for some. And the further towards either extreme (politics, religion, you name it) the harder it seems to be. It irks me that religions teach their followers to be kind and yet many seem to miss that bit.

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  28. Really good post Steve, for the life of me I will never understand the furor over how a person wishes to identify, that is their choice, period. As far as Tuck Tuck, in my view he is a hate-spewing despicable person.

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  29. Olga is looking well and happy. I'm glad you brought the Avo tree back in, give it a few more weeks until the real warmth starts with no danger of cold mornings.
    Glad to hear Tucker is gone. I hope that's the end of him, but won't hold my breath.

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  30. Mitchell: I enjoy Olga and flowers much more than politics!

    Frances: Yeah, I think they are the Spanish ones -- larger and more upright. We have mostly native ones in our garden, but one Spanish bulb that I planted after rescuing it from a rubbish bin.

    Rachel: Tucker used to be more palatable but he's gone quite extreme in recent years. (Which got him fired!) I don't mind different opinions as long as they're based on truth. And there IS objective truth in the world.

    YP: Ha! I like your take on that name.

    Ed: I don't watch Fox or CNN either. I agree that all sides need to be kind and tolerant. As much as we need to respect our trans friends and neighbors, they need to recognize that we might make harmless mistakes. (I get why they're sometimes defensive, though.)

    Peter: I KNOW! I do not understand the gun mania at all. Never have.

    Beth: I think you hit the nail on the head. A lot of it IS about money. Social issues always motivate the conservative base, both at the polls and when making donations.

    Kelly: Yeah, I don't watch MSNBC either. I don't have much use for TV news in general. I read my news. I think I gain a deeper understanding that way, though to be honest my memory is so bad I forget a lot of it. :/

    Colette: That's true. He's the talker and we're the listeners. (Well, not anymore!)

    Ellen: I think as Beth said above, it's really all about money. I think they keep hammering transgendered people because social issues motivate the base. It's disgusting.

    Boud: Yes, exactly -- chaos and money. There are some right-wingers who want to foment civil unrest because they think it will lead to a war and a new society. (Peter Thiele, for one.)

    Ellen D: I'm glad everyone's so happy to see Olga. I worry that I blog her way too much. LOL

    Janie: It's strange how people get so vitriolic about these subjects. I think a lot of them have pent-up rage for a variety of reasons and anonymous Internet venting allows them to release it. (On the rest of us!) I would join a Laura Ingalls Wilder discussion group!

    Ms Moon: DeSantis is a scary man and he becomes scarier and scarier with every passing day.

    Robin: Ha! I love your name for Tucker. Definitely apt.

    Sharon: It IS very springlike here. But cold!

    Red: And it's amazing how wedded to those lies they are. Even when presented with evidence to the contrary!

    Linda Sue: Yes, you're right, it's all about money money money. And it is fear-based. I just don't understand why so many people are so scared of trans people and drag queens. Tucker got bucked off that Fox horse!

    Pixie: Absolutely! Whatever happened to MYOB? I feel like a lot of evangelical Christians especially believe other people's private lives ARE their business, because they somehow taint the Godliness of the country. Which of course is ridiculous.

    Allison: Me either! I heard about that right about the time you posted that comment!

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  31. MY COMMENT WAS TOO LONG TO PUBLISH ALL AT ONCE! To continue:

    Margaret: Thanks for bringing up the historical perspective on gender fluidity. That's an important part of the discussion! I have trouble with they/them pronouns too but I'm trying. :)

    Elle: I agree. I can't stand to listen to him. He just loves to hear himself talk a little too much.

    Marcia: A good day all around! I hope Carlson winds up like Bill O'Reilly, lost somewhere in media oblivion.

    Jenny-O: I am obsessed when it comes to trash. It's one area where I just can't mind my own business!

    Jennifer: YES! Woo hoo!

    Jeanie: When we first moved to England I saw all these signs saying "No Fly-Tipping," and I could NOT figure out what they meant! LOL!

    Caro: A lot of people carry around a lot of anger, and unfortunately, the Internet gives them a venue to vent. That leads to a lot of incivility and intolerance, and when like minds read it, the phenomenon grows.

    Jim: He really is. He knows he's lying and he does it anyway because it brings in the viewers and the bucks. (Well, until yesterday!)

    River: Yeah, I think it's very likely he'll be back somewhere or other. But for now let's enjoy the silence!

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  32. I have never listened to one of his shows, but I've read enough about what he's saying to know that I'm not interested in reading a book about him. Good riddance to bad rubbish. Unfortunately, I don't think we've heard the last of him. What is interesting is that he received no advance notice and was not given a chance to do a goodbye program.

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