Another intense writer
OK, let’s get away from my own adventures here (but there will be some more from the latest Asia trip down the line, in podcast form, if no other), now that I’m back and burned out - all up and in the Red White and Blue Prison, and get back to some good ol blogging. I was recently turned on to this writer through a friend of my South African sugar-mama (long story…it’ll be in the novel). Anyway, Melinda Ferguson took a trip through hell and survived to write about it. WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT in link. I haven’t read Smacked the novel yet, but it definitely falls into the sort of thing I seek to read, which you’d know if you ever browse the book review section here. Hardcore.
It’s like this: there’s this chain - on one end a monkey, and on the other end you: one always wants to be sure who’s calling the shots, who’s leading who, the actual length of the chain… Actually there are multiple chains and multiple monkeys, it gets complicated quickly.
welcome back to the land of the free. and I look forward to hearing about the monkey.
‘Land of the Free’ my ass! Freedom to choose Coke or Pepsi. Freedom to ‘Use Your Illusion’ and distract yourself from all the pesky terran issues like poverty, impending eco-disaster, the disgusting mess our tax dollars and weapons are creating (thanks on that one to you too, Israel
don’t worry, we’ll pick up the tab….) with all of our various distractions of monster trucks, techno gadget toys, fake tits and hair transplants, celebrity and sports hero glorification etc etc. And yes I do realize how ironic it is for one who hides in chemical alternate realities to say something like this-
But I forget if you have been already, or are planning to go to Japan. I was only in the airport (2nd time), but make that transition; see the way you are treated there compared to the way you will be upon landing, Chicago O’ Hare (ORD) for one prime example, and tell me about how free you feel as you watch INS agents who couldn’t pass their hometown cop exam scream frustratingly in english at non-english speakers to ‘GET IN THAT LINE!’, asshole TSA agents bark contradictory commands at you then bow up when you look quizzical, surley overworked/underpaid airline staff treat you like their cuntrag because they’re ’stressed’. Yeah I know it’s holiday travel season etc., but it was peak travel season on the other side of the Pacific too. Coming back honestly felt like getting booked into a maximum security prison. Don’t look to a fellow US traveller for sympathy: they are either on a cellphone or daydreaming about a $1,000 pair of shoes or a new silk tie of the same price. After all, image is everything-
So maybe we are ‘free’, but we sure as fuck ain’t civilized.
What’s that great Peter Fonda quote from the pre-Easy Rider biker movie?
(Paraphrased)”And we want to do our own thing, without being hassled by The Man!”
Not everyone is daydreaming about $1000 pair of shoes. Come on, you are massively exaggerating. Who cares about other people anyway? I’m not forced to hang out with them, therefore I don’t really care what they do. I share some of your discontent with America but I think if you were to live elsewhere for a significant period of time you’d have an equal laundry list of complaints. That said, the anti-gay, propaganda as truth, FOX NEWS era of X-treme Stupids IS pretty fucking intolerable.
But it’s what you make of it, and it’s completely possible to avoid the consumerist aspects of society. Avoid malls, don’t live in Buckhead, don’t go where these idiots go. Stick to the gritty urban artist environs and surround yourself with like minded peeps.
I was talking about the Chicago airport and my fellow Americans on the domestic flight. As soon as you find the link to ‘Gritty Urban Artist Airlines’, let me know: I’d love to fly with the like minded peeps, and I imagine I’d be impressed by their prices too.
I know, if I only had an ipod rather than a book and a valium habit to travel with, I wouldn’t have had to deal with the outside reality as much. My favorite quote from your post is: ‘Who cares about other people anyway?’ I’m not mocking you, as in part I agree - fuck and ignore the Deathkulture, but on the other hand, it’s part of the entire problem isn’t it: Distracted Narcissus Nation. Even the obese, it’s a variation on the same thing. One way or the other, American’s are out of touch with reality, caught up in abstractions, priorities out of order, myself included-
You most definitely extrapolated far above and beyond mere air travel culture complaints to more general “Land of the Free” tirade/complaint. But whatever..
I can’t let this go, because I have time I guess, but….what does ignoring elements of culture that you disapprove of have to do with narcissism? I probably agree with 90% of your complaints about fat/lazy/materialistic/stoopid americans, I just a) think it is a problem not confined to America and b) cannot be changed by complaining, therefore, either ignore it or amp up the culture jamming!
That said I’m stealing your “Distracted Narcissus” for a rock opera idea…you can get in on it if you want.
‘Distracted Narcissus Nation’ was meant to refer to the problem with all Americans, or one element of what I see the problem to be.
Go with the rock opera, that would be a positive thing. Perhaps the overture can be entitled ‘Affluenza’.
But this was intended to be a thread for Melinda’s book and the nature of addiction. Jasonaut just went to write ‘welcome back’ and, nothing new, I went off. This is a tirade deep within me that’s never going to end.
Think back to those smiling faces, but essentially empty pockets, you saw in the Domican Republic, Venezuela, Laos other places you’ve been where more humans seemed to realize the value of living had little to do with image and wealth and continuous distraction. Why does the average expression on the face of a citizen of the wealthiest nation (or certainly one of..) often appear to be so miserable/neutral at best? Maybe being out of touch with reality isn’t a problem here, maybe I’m just a bitcher. Anyhoo, Fuck Your Amerikkka! By which of course I don’t actually mean you, MUS. After all, Libertarians are gonna make everything better and get rid of the unadmitted class system that exists in this country, so I certainly don’t want to step on any toes….
If your point is that there is no correlation between wealth and happiness, I would somewhat agree. At least there is no guarantee. I would venture to guess that most would be happier with full stomachs though.
I don’t think “image” or “distraction” are exclusive stigmata of the rich or rich Americans. Excluding those who are extremely poor perhaps, most everyone everywhere seems to be engaged in some variation of vanity and distraction. Kids love video games. People of all economic lots love to dance, and eat, and talk, and watch tv. Fact of the matter is that most lower income people in the world have televisions nowadays. So don’t even begin to make the case that vanity and distraction are unique to us. It’s just not true.
If you want to argue the “degree” of distraction, well, one man’s vice another man’s lifeblood. Don’t see how we can go there. I agree if you watch Oprah religiously you are probably not the type I want to spend much time with. But if that’s what does it for you….have at it. America is about tolerating anything. Including idiots, unfortunate as that may be.
‘Distracted Narcissus Nation’ applies to all Americans, of all economic classes, gender and race. Of course it’s not only a problem here, but this is where I’m from and feel most justified in judging. America has tolerated (and elected) idiots for far too long!
Look above: first you say ‘ignore’, then you say ’some is intolerable - quit bitching or amp up the culture jamming’, now your making a case for ‘tolerance’. All I’m actually doing is blogging and trying to write a novel. Consider my apparent angst to be evidence of inspiration. I am more of an intuitive than logical person. No one will ever convince me the current American situation is acceptable.
That having been said: there are no accidents and all is as it should be. The American Empire has peaked and we will spend the rest of our lives witnessing it’s decline.
Chi Li I hear what you’re saying. Yeah every country has its problems, everybody watches TV and gossips about local celebrities, but when you come back to America you find the levels of ‘Narcissistic Distracion’ are amped up to colossal levels. And there’s a sort of double-shock because you’re blasted with all this mega consumeristic imagery and activity but at the same time everyone is so damn blasè about it. It becomes difficult to articulate because you’ve stepped into a world where imagery and suggestion of consumer consumption is so constant and over-large that people don’t even notice anymore. You say, ‘Look at all of this!’ And people say, ‘Look at what?’
Didn’t GDubya say that, or something quite similar?