This War's Life

It began
with an announcement;
a broadcast
heard.

It must have begun earlier
because the public is the last to know.
There had to have been cause
to this effect;
A construct
To destruct,
To justify,
To support?

Truth told.
We never held
it all
or
anything...

For that matter
it must end;

the story,
tragic.
Life
Taken…

For the sake
let us call
a spade
a spade.

Heart
broken.

This war’s life
good for nothing.

the Handshake of a Stranger

Daniel, a record store clerk, walks into a cafe before work to get his evening cup of coffee; the cafe is alive; a group of friends are enjoying an evening out; a couple is locked in embrace; a woman sits in the corner reading, drinking tea and picking at a muffin; Daniel sits down next to the couple, Hillary and Gregor, who engage him in conversation; it is lively and seems to effect the entire room; afterward, Daniel must get to work; having formed a bond with this couple he solidifies his new friendship with a handshake; Katherine, the woman in the corner, walks over to the couple and asks who that guy was; no longer strangers with Daniel, Hillary and Gregor tell Katherine that Daniel had made a comment about her eyes; Katherine smiles; she exits after Daniel; looking down the street, she sees he hasn't gone too far; Katherine calls after him; Daniel stops...fade to black.

Cinco de Mayo

So, over the years I have taken some English classes, and I would like to consider myself a decent speller. But today, I came to find out that Cinco de Mayo is actually spelled: D-I-S-C-R-I-M-I-N-A-T-I-O-N. The story goes as follows:

I was coming home from picking up my sister’s mail and dropping off some old folding chairs, when I saw a line of cars, many of which were police. This is where they chose to place a sobriety check point. When I came up to the main officer after driving past others, I was asked to pull to the side instead of continuing on. Okay, fine, I’ve been "randomly" selected before, besides, I had nothing to hide. I was, however, a little confused. I thought that Cinco de Mayo, for many, is one of the biggest drinking days of the year. That being said, why was I not given a breathalyzer or motor/verbal skills test, and instead asked to get out of my truck for a "person’s and vehicular search." (The only one during the 30 minute process.)

Maybe it has something to do with the Dead and Phish stickers or the one reading "Peace Monger." Maybe it’s the beard that makes me look shifty or the peace sign that dangles from my neck. If I didn’t do anything wrong and had nothing to hide, then why does this upset me even as I’m writing this? Because it was a singled out, uncalled for, act of prejudice and discrimination. They were looking for drunks and they thought they found a drug dealer.

Long story short:

1. I’m not a dug dealer.
2. To this day I will respect police officer’s because I would never want their job.
3. Let it be known that by respect I mean only if it’s offered to me first.
4. Let us come together in the world and treat everybody the same way, be it good or bad.
5. Let us strive to erase prejudice, discrimination, racism, sexism and many other ism’s from the English language.
6. Happy Cinco de Mayo everybody, and remember, don’t drink and drive.

--Benjamin D. Bain

so, i can't figure out how to comment on the blog so...

bias is innate. whether it's religious, racial, spacial, et. al. person place or thing, right? in undergrad i had grown a beard; i shaved halfway through a semester and in one class a group of people approached me who had never approached me before. they said they were afraid to approach me when I had the beard. of course they were still oblivious to me being jewish, but I looked at them and shrugged. i don't give a fuck about you with or without the beard.

the movie would be called Buy Us. A group of people trying to survive in life. selling what they can. sometimes themselves. Do you want us? We're not fucking cheap. ok, well, some of us are. someone's got to run the excel sheet.

props

er?

thank you thank you...no autographs, please. o.k. just one. you look like a pretty sick boy. oh! girl. sorry darling. you should get that checked out.