Hear me roar…

strong woman

 

Here we are, doing our best to exist in the 21st century. From where I’m sitting, it’s a shit show and I refuse to apologize for this, or any of the commentary which follows. As I like to remind those who read what I write, here on my internet domain, if you don’t like it, or disagree with it, just move along. Please. 

Still here? Great. I’ll start with current events focused on the Supreme Court confirmation hearing involving Ketanji Brown Jackson, touted as a radical, left-wing activist by some, but the woman does bring extensive credentials to the governmental table. Except for two things, one which is getting beaten to death and is a point of annoyance to many, myself included. The second….is… and should be of tremendous concern to everyone. 

As she sat in the proverbial “hot seat”, Jackson was asked to define “woman”. She would not, possibly could not, but it was most likely an artful dodge of her “left ideology” refusal to acknowledge what a woman truly is. You know, I know, we all know, that a woman is an adult female person who belongs to a particular category (as by birth, residence, membership or occupation) ….at least Merriam-Webster thinks so. In fact, so do I but the underlying issue here is the political drama behind any response given by either side of the political coin.

What I find insulting is that any individual slated to take a seat on the high court of our country who professes such an asinine and ambiguous attitude when asked a damn elementary-level question… should not get away with it.  Whatever. In the order of things so much more important, this little episode will be nothing other than fodder for social media babble for an extended period…or until Facebook or Instagram deletes posts and those who share same. 

But…Jackson’s ambivalent attitude and censurable judicial performance toward mandating due process to individuals convicted of being pedophiles is far worse and unforgivable. At no point, ever, should a “soft on crime” attitude and likewise mandated incarceration period be minimized when any child is victimized, or worse, by some degenerate who should not roam free in society. Any future decisions on crimes such as this when Jackson sits on the Supreme Court should be focused on the children, not federal guidelines which, in many cases, are not followed, as stated by Douglas Berman, an Ohio State law professor… “federal sentencing guidelines for child sexual abuse imagery “are widely recognized as dysfunctional and unduly severe” and that “federal judges nationwide rarely follow them.” “If and when we properly contextualize Judge Jackson’s sentencing record in federal child porn cases, it looks pretty mainstream,” he wrote.  

Mainstream, eh? Minimizing the trauma and damage suffered by children at the hands of those who are deemed “less serious offenders” or “socially inadequate people” is deplorable. Why is there almost an element of acceptance when lenient sentences are given to sex offenders? Data shows there is further evidence of the systematic protection of sexual predators in this country, both by judges and prosecutors. This is more than evident with Ketanji Jackson’s judicial track record. 

Sadly, as we’ve all witnessed, too many political decisions are based solely on party preference with little or no thought given to how these individuals will properly represent the citizens of our country. Yes, yes, this is voting and… the entire process has taken a significant nosedive. Our country stands almost in a state of Limbo, lacking any true guidance while the threat of a devastating war looks over the world’s shoulder. 

But, aside from Ketanji Jackson, most of us know what a woman is….and aren’t hesitant to share the definition.  Especially me.  Hear me roar.

Signature

As the stomach turns….

Definition of Tripe:

1:  Stomach tissue especially of a ruminant (as an ox) used as food.

Yuck!

2: Something poor, worthless or offensive.

Highly offensive!

 

Make no bones about it, I despise Tripe, in fact, just thinking and typing about it gives me the chills.

There are some fairly disgusting foods that people ingest, even going so far as to label them “delicacies” but this particular one is, in one word, grotesque.

Before all the cards, letters and e-mails start rushing in from people lauding the wonderfulness of entrails, pigs feet, tails, fried grasshoppers or other assorted vile food items, let me assure you that I will never go over to the dark side of the table where any of the above is concerned.

I’ve never eaten or come close to Tripe other than viewing it sitting there inside a butcher’s case, looking all gnarly and gross.  And, there was that instance of childhood trauma which may have triggered my lifelong revulsion to this ruminant.   Nope, scratch the “may have”…it has definitely scarred my taste buds.

 

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Got your attention, did I?

Let me take you back.  The year..1952, I was seven years old.  An only child, dragged along to the movies by my parents to see “Moulin Rouge”, a movie they found entertaining but was way over my young head; in fact, it terrified me with just the opening scenes.  The music blared in the movie theater and images of women danced across the screen, kicking their legs up in the air along with massive, twirling, petticoats that, to me, looked just like Tripe, ready to jump out of the screen and into my frightened lap.

Do you understand where I’m going with this?  I hope so!
Returning home that evening, I went to bed and awoke later with nightmares. Tripe…dancing around in my room, Tripe…dancing over my bed.  Ugh.  It has been something that haunts me still.  Just so you don’t think I’m certifiable, allow me to present further evidence as to my reasoning and distaste for this food substance I absolutely abhor….the similarities to the petticoats from Moulin Rouge.

                                                                                         e0ef49f58d1fede58e0231b5881c6d69

Must….I say more?  And, please, don’t tell me it tastes “just like chicken!”

 

 

workshop-button-1From Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop:…Are you a picky eater? Write about the foods that trigger your fight or flight response.   This is an older post, re-worked a bit, but too good to pass up for this prompt.  To this very day, I don’t think there is any other food on the planet which makes my stomach turn as much as this.

 

Signature

Holier than thou…

illustration-funny-catholic-school-nun-teacher-classroom-pointing-her-angry-finger-naughty-student-perhaps-134321614

Oh, the things we learned in school…or didn’t!  Well, that might depend on the school, in all fairness. 

My early education was in a parochial environment with the curriculum heavily focused on all things surrounding religion. Or the lack thereof. I’ve written about this rather rigid teaching structure in the past but still recall the constant daily prayers geared towards the conversion of Russia. That…was a biggie with the Ursuline order of nunnery, years ago. On a personal level, prayers were recited for the conversion of my Protestant father, as well; the statement always brought pitiful looks from my classmates, some who viewed me as an outsider, coming from a “mixed marriage”. Not much was sacred back then, the nuns knew everyone’s business, never hesitating to share same when the need arose. 

In retrospect, as students, we didn’t learn to acknowledge, even respect, anyone or anything not enveloped in the Catholic way of life. It was always a “looking-down” on anyone who wasn’t a donation-giving, mass-attending, confession-going, member of our religion. 

Being Catholic didn’t make us better than anyone else but that attitude was always reinforced in school. It promoted only tolerance which was ironic given that we were reminded constantly that we were all “God’s children”. In my book, that made each of us the same. However, when posing any question on that very subject to the religious hierarchy, the answer always involved a terse lecture and a God-fearing look coming from the nun at hand.  A ruler in her hand was a quick reminder of the moral superiority which was her job to teach.

All of this promulgated so many differences between people, many which remain in the forefront of life today. What most of us have learned, I feel, has been from personal choice and a desire to move beyond even a hint of the prejudices we’ve been raised with. Especially from what was then, and should be now… taught in school. 

 

workshop-button-1From Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop…..Tell us about something you never learned in school but should have. 

Signature