Americas Dirty Laundry: The Ongoing Genocide of the American Indian

By Irwin Ozborne
Contributing writer for Wake Up World

"The love of possessions is a disease with them [Americans]. They take tithes from the poor and weak to support the rich who rule. They claim this mother of ours, the Earth, for their own and fence their neighbors away. If America had been twice the size it is, there still would not have been enough." ~ Sitting Bull
Knock. Knock. Knock. You open the door and see the armed Gestapo at your doorstep demanding you turn over the rights of your children and toddlers. They no longer belong to you as mandated by federal law. You see the fear in your toddler's eyes as you are no longer capable of protecting them and are forced by law to give up your children to the police. They sit them on a bus to be shipped away to a school hundreds of miles away in which they will be trained to forget every value, tradition, and characteristic you have tried to teach. They will be disciplined with abuse, torture, starvation, and rape. If you ever see them again, they will not be the innocent child you once knew.
This did not happen in a far away land, this did not happen a long-long time ago. This happened in the "greatest country on Earth" in fairly recent history. This was the policy of the United States government in an effort to assimilate American Indian children in a boarding school system that peaked in the 1970's.
"And Indians should get over this, it happened so long ago," states an American Indian Education Specialist with a highly sarcastic tone, "And it really wasn't that long ago and we're talking about everyone in Indian country is a product or their parent, or grandparent, was a product of boarding schools. Which was institutionalized by the United States Government. And our families were destroyed, our mothers did not have legal rights to their children, at any given time foreigners, strangers, could come in and take your children without any recourse. And this was the policy of the United States Government."
The boarding schools were designed with the slogan, "Kill the Indian, Save the Man" in an attempt to Christianize or Americanize the Indian population. They targeted children as they believed the adults were too set in their ways. In 1879, the schools were brought off the reservations to avoid children from attempting to run away and to ensure that if they went back home they would not return to their traditional lifestyle.
Forcibly taken from their homes, forbidden to speak Native languages or practice traditions, the children were overcrowded, starved, and victims of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. The rationale for the cultural genocide was because it was cheaper to "educate" the Indians into mainstream culture than to try to wage war.
This is never taught in American school systems. History books are censored from speaking the truth of how this nation was formed on genocide of the American Indians. Now, representing less than one-percent of the population they are the last race that it is socially acceptable to discriminate against.
"The racism is rampant but nobody wants to look at it," stated our interviewee, "I guess because we're America's dirty laundry."

Pine Ridge Reservation

Although not written until 1948, it almost appears as if the United States took the United Nations definition for Genocide and used it as a checklist in their treatment of the indigenous people of the land. It reads:
In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:

• (a) Killing members of the group;
• (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
• (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
• (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
• (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

While the boarding school system described above was just one piece of the strategy, those who did "survive" were left on reservations in third-world conditions despite being between borders in one of the richest countries on the globe.
Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota is the poorest area in the United States with a per capita income of less than $4,000 per year and 97-percent of residents living below the Federal poverty lines. The dilapidated houses are overcrowded as they try to take in family members and friends without a roof over the head. The average home will host 17 people (two to three bedrooms); whereas some homes that are built for six to eight people have 30 people living in them currently.
More than a third of these homes have no water, sewage, insulation, heating or electricity. Families have to carry contaminated water to the home for personal use. More than 60-percent of these homes are infested with the Stachbotrys (a potentially fatal black mold). With no technology, industrial, or commercial infrastructure on the reservation more than 85-percent of the residents are unemployed. The high school dropout rate is more than 70-percent with the teacher turnover at 800-percent higher than the national average.

On Pine Ridge Reservation, the life expectancy is around 45 years – which is the second lowest in the Western Hemisphere (behind only Haiti). This has to do with alcoholism, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, suicide, and malnutrition. Some of the healthcare facts include:

• Alcoholism rates are estimated at 80-percrent
  • Alcohol related deaths are 300-percrent higher than the national average
  • Nearly 95-percent of all crimes are alcohol related
  • One in four infants are born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
• The rate of diabetes is eight times the national average
  • Estimated 50-percent of adults over 40 have diabetes
  • 37-percent of the entire reservation has diabetes
• The rate of Tuberculosis is eight times the national average
• The suicide rates is more than twice the national average
  • Teenage suicide rates is four times the national average
• Infant mortality is the highest on the continent and about three times the national average
• The rate of Cervical Cancer is five times the national average
• The rate of Heart Disease is twice the national average

This is due to many of the residents being without adequate healthcare. In most treaties between Indian nations and the United States, the government agreed to provide medical care for Indians in return for vast quantities of land. The Indian Health Services was established in 1787, based on Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution. However, what is administered is very small compared to the need and the IHS is understaffed and ill-equipped to handle the crisis in these Indian communities.

"The administration is responsible for providing and delivering health services to American Indians and Alaska Natives across the country. Their federal obligation mandates that they promote health and safe Indian communities while honoring tribal governance. This is not happening," said Wyoming Republican Senator John Barrasso, who chairs the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs – in a February 2016 article with NBC News.
"You may have heard the phrase 'Do not get sick after June,' because if you do, you will not be able to get care. This, to me, is a rationing of health care — care that is guaranteed by treaty. If we start funding IHS at levels commensurate with need, I believe we will solve a lot of the issues revealed in the 2010 report and the ones occurring elsewhere in this country," said former Senator Byron Dorgan, chairman of The Center for Native American Youth at The Aspen Institute – in the same NBC News article.

Broken Treaties

Not living up to the agreements of the IHS is par for the course in United States policy. In all, 370 treaties were signed between the United States Government and Indian Nations.
And all 370 were broken by the United States.

"Yeah, none of them have been lived up to. But everybody is living on our land and nobody knows that," continued the American Indian Education specialist, "Part of that is the socialization so whenever you up treaty rights, the reason there is so much backlash in this country like, 'Why do those Indians have special rights? Why do they have stuff we don't have?' It's because nobody is teaching these kids what a god damn treaty is! A treaty is an agreement between nations. Some nations choose to live up to them, some nations violate them."

They are still doing it today with the controversy of the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline which would cut through the heart of tribal lands.

"But when we DO end up winning in the court of the conqueror – mind you the enemies court – when we do end up having small gains, and I'll say for every twenty cases we maybe have one that goes our way. Every time that happens, when we win, 'why do these Indians get these special rights?"' he continued, "Because these folks do not understand what a damn treaty is. Nobody in St. Paul knows what treaty their land is on. It's the treaty of 1805. First treaty ever signed with the nation of Sioux Indians was the treaty of 1805. So, nobody in the Twin Cities is learning that they are living on Treaty of 1805. Nobody knows that, and because they don't know that, when a treaty case comes Indian people are met with bigotry and hate. 'Why do you all get to do this? Why do we get to do that?' Well, it's not our fault that America didn't educate their children about article six of the constitution is that treaties are the law of the land."

The 1851 Fort Laramie Treaty clearly defined boundaries owned by the Lakota people which covered a large part of the upper Midwest between Minnesota and Montana. However, it was the Great Emancipator, President Abraham Lincoln, who allowed white settlers onto this land by signing the Homestead Act in 1862. Treaty rights were violated and the Indian people were forced to move once again to the most inhospitable lands. In retaliation, some Sioux attacked white settlers which is referred to as the "Sioux Uprising."
Uprising is defined as an act of resistance, rebellion, or revolt. They were not resisting, they were retaliating. But the terminology is done intentionally to spread propaganda of the Sioux that are rebelling, although it was Lincoln who violated the treaty.
This led to the largest mass execution in United States History when President Lincoln ordered to hang 38 Santee Sioux in Mankato, Minnesota – a week later he signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

"Minnesota has a shitty-ugly history, but we can't talk about it because in Minnesota everything nice happened," our interviewee continues, "Even if you deal with Minnesota Historical Society, they don't even want to tell the god damn truth. They call it 'controversial history.' Any history that is uncomfortable is controversial. Anytime Minnesota gets a little bit of mud on its face, that's called controversial history and they won't tell that story. But the problem with that is that pathology of denial that this state has means that it can happen again. To somebody else. Who's next?"

The Second Fort Laramie Treaty was signed in 1868 which designated the sovereignty of the Lakota people and prohibited outside settlers to ever occupy their lands. All this changed, though, in 1874 when gold was found in the Black Hills and in other areas held sovereign by the Lakota and non-Indian miners swarmed the Black Hills. Consequently, the federal government reneged on the Fort Laramie Treaties and took total control of the Black Hills again, only a decade after signing the second treaty.
This led to more wars, breaking up of the reservations, and once again tribes being forced off any land that the United States found valuable. Then in this same area, the Black Hills, in which the Lakota people found sacred which was stolen from them after a broken treaty, the Federal Government added a slap in the face by imprinting a message on their land with Mount Rushmore. A memorial of United States Presidents serves as a constant reminder of the people who stole their land and killed their people.

Understanding the Reservation System

The reservation system in America is widely misunderstood and completely fabricated in the educational system.
Originally, the settlers agreed to give the Indians all land West of the Appalachian Mountains. But after the American Revolution, the whites continued to break treaties and push the Indians off their land. In 1830, President Andrew Jackson – nicknamed "Indian Killer" – signed the Indian Removal Act which was designed to forcibly remove Indians and march them to the newly designed "Indian Country" in Oklahoma.
This was somewhat documented in the notorious "Trail of Tears" in which Indians marched for hundreds of miles at gunpoint. If they could not continue to walk, they were left for dead. If anyone refused, they were brutally murdered in front of the group. Pregnant woman had their stomachs sliced open or they would drown infants or club toddlers against trees in a means of intimidation of anyone who would not comply.  Again, policy of the United States.
By the middle of the nineteenth century, the Indian Reservation System emerged. The government would move tribes onto specifically reserved land for the tribes.

"Reservations are not land that they gave us, by the way." Our interviewee pointed out, "Reservations mean they were reserved. A lot of folks say, 'well we gave you some land.' No, bullshit we were here first. You are the invader! You may have taken a lot of things but reservation, in the English language if you look it up, it means "reserved". So that's land the nations reserved for themselves. And it has been whittled down through lies, policy, and deceit all at the hands of the United States Government and companies that wanted to make money. Timber companies, mining companies, etc., etc, Ranchers, but those are reserved. Those weren't given to us, we reserved those. That's another common mythology in America."

This all served as a precursor to the Holocaust of World War II. Many parallels exist between the mistreatment of American Indians and the Nazi treatment of the Jewish people. This include death marches, concentration camps, mass graves, destroying old cultures, blaming one group of people for the problems, etc. In fact, in a couple biographies of Adolf Hitler, he credits the United States for his ideas of genocide.
On page 202 of John Toland's book titled Adolf Hitler:

Hitler's concept of concentration camps as well as the practicality of genocide owed much, so he claimed, to his studies of English and United States history. He admired the camps for Boer prisoners in South Africa and for the Indians in the wild west; and often praised to his inner circle the efficiency of America's extermination—by starvation and uneven combat—of the red savages who could not be tamed by captivity.
He was very interested in the way the Indian population had rapidly declined due to epidemics and starvation when the United States government forced them to live on the reservations. He thought the American government's forced migrations of the Indians over great distances to barren reservation land was a deliberate policy of extermination. Just how much Hitler took from the American example of the destruction of the Indian nations is hard to say; however, frightening parallels can be drawn. For some time Hitler considered deporting the Jews to a large 'reservation' in the Lubin area where their numbers would be reduced through starvation and disease.

Whiteclay, Nebraska

Pine Ridge Reservation is a dry reservation, meaning it is illegal to possess or consume alcohol. However, across the border in Nebraska, there lies a town with a population of 12 people. Yet, within that town of 12, there are four liquor stores. These stores sell millions of cans of beer per year and profit millions of dollars – mostly to the Ogala Sioux.
Unlike other Nebraska communities, Whiteclay exists only to sell liquor and make money. It has no schools, no churches, no civic organizations, no parks, no benches, no public bathrooms, no fire service and no law enforcement. Tribal officials have repeatedly pleaded with the State of Nebraska to close these liquor stores or enforce the State laws regulating liquor stores but have been consistently refused.
Coincidentally, the town of Whiteclay is located in Sheridan County. A county named after a war criminal in Philip Sheridan who slaughtered men, women, and children like game. Sheridan was once quoted stating "The only good Indian is a dead Indian."
So the county is living up to the man it is named after by continuing to knowingly sell an illegal drug to people which is causing the majority of problems on their land.  The state of Nebraska has refused to close these liquor stores and has no problem with the destruction done to their neighbors.
However, the state of Nebraska does not like when bordering states allow people to purchase, possess, and transport illegal drugs into their state. Once Colorado legalized recreational marijuana, there was in influx in people possessing marijuana – illegal in Nebraska. They have went as far as attempting to sue the states of Colorado because of the increased traffic, possession, and use of marijuana.

America's Dirty Laundry

Most of mainstream America is unaware of this history and current state with the Indian people in this country. Or they do know, but they just sweep it under the rug and try not to think about it. People are living in third-world conditions because of broken promises and lack of follow through. Yet, when other countries break treaties, we become the world police.
I believe in the power of the people. Once they know what is going on in the world, they will stand up for justice. This is what ended the Vietnam War. Imagine the good we could do and the justice that could be served for the people that the United States has killed, destroyed, lied to, put into poverty, and deprived of the resources that they were promised.
We are talking about generational trauma. Trauma that has been handed down from generation-to-generation at the hands of our ancestors and the policies of the United States Government. Recovery has to start somewhere and the first step is for mainstream America to realize the problem its nation created.
Previous articles by Irwin Ozborne:
About the author:
A writer and avid historian, Irwin Ozborne (a pen-name) is a survivor of childhood abuse and torture over a period of 13 years, and a recovered alcoholic. As a mental health practitioner, today Irwin practices holistic care and incorporates eastern philosophy into his work with clients. Irwin is also a contributing writer for Taking The Mask Off, a website dedicated to shining a light on the mental health industry, as well as other areas of our society that are shrouded in deceit and misinformation.
Irwin is available for speaking engagements as well, and can be contacted via email: takingmaskoff@yahoo.com
You can follow Irwin via:

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Paintings Of Barack And Michelle Obama Unveiled At Portrait Gallery

9:23 AM ET

Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama stand next to their newly unveiled portraits during a ceremony Monday at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. Mark Wilson/Getty Images hide caption

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Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Brand new portraits of former president Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama — wearing matching calm, strong expressions — were revealed on Monday at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.
Kehinde Wiley painted Barack Obama sitting in a chair, elbows in his knees, leaning forward with an intense expression. The background, typical of a Wiley painting, is a riotous pattern of intense greens.
"Pretty sharp," Obama said with a grin.
Amy Sherald, a Baltimore-based artist, painted Michelle Obama sitting in a floor-length gown, chin on her hand, looking directly at the viewer with a calm, level gaze.
The paintings, like the presidency they honor, are a historic first. Wiley and Sherald — both already famous for their portraits of black Americans — are the first black painters to receive a presidential portrait commission from the museum.
Celebrities from Shonda Rimes to Steven Spielberg, former administration officials from Josh Earnest to Eric Holder, and members of the media filed into the Portrait Gallery's expansive, glass-covered central courtyard for the ceremony. Kim Sajet, the director of the gallery, told the audience that a portrait was not truly finished until a viewer, a member of the public, had a personal encounter with it.

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Then came the unveiling — quite literally, as fabric covers were pulled off the portraits on a small stage.

Barack Obama gazes at his wife's newly unveiled portrait on Monday. The painting of Michelle Obama will be on display through November in the National Portrait Gallery's "Recent Acquisitions" section. Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Mark Wilson/Getty Images

The paintings exemplify the two artists' trademark styles.
"Wiley typically portrays people of color posing as famous figures in Western art," the Portrait Gallery writes. "Through this practice, he challenges the visual rhetoric of power that is dominated by elite white men."
Barack Obama said he admired how Wiley's photos "challenge our conventional views of power and privilege."
But he said he rejected Wiley's ideas that involved him, for instance, riding a horse.
" 'I've got enough political problems without you making me look like Napoleon,' " he remembered telling Wiley. " 'You've got to bring it down a touch.' And that's what he did."
"How do you explain that a lot of that is just simply not true?" Wiley said, when he took to the lectern. Then he got more serious.
"The ability to be the first African-American painter to paint the first African-American president of the United States is absolutely overwhelming," Wiley said. "It doesn't get any better than that. I was humbled by this invitation but I was also inspired by Barack Obama's personal story."
Sherald, "known for her stylized, archetypal portrayals of African Americans," survived a heart transplant in 2012, the museum notes. "A personification of resilience herself, Sherald conveys the inner strength of her subjects through a combination of calm expressions and confrontational poses," the gallery writes.
"I am a little overwhelmed, to say the least," Michelle Obama said in a speech, after helping Sherald reveal her work. "As you may have guessed, I don't think there is anybody in my family who has ever had a portrait done, let alone a portrait that will be hanging in the National Gallery — at least as far as I know, Mom," she said. "But all those folks who helped me be here today, they are with us physically and they are with us in spirit."
"I'm also thinking of all the young people, particularly girls and girls of color, who ... will see an image of someone who looks like them hanging on the wall of this great American institution," she said. "I know the kind of impact that will have on their lives, because I was one of those girls."
It was a point Sherald echoed minutes later, when she emphasized that her portrait of Obama was conceptual and archetypal, bigger than just one model.

Obama stands between the portraits. His will be permanently installed in the "America's Presidents" exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. Mark Wilson/Getty Images\

Mark Wilson/Getty Images

"You exist in our minds and our hearts in the way that you do because we can see ourselves in you," she said, turning toward Michelle Obama.
The National Portrait Gallery, a member of the Smithsonian Institution, has worked with outgoing presidents to commission a new portrait of each one since 1962.
More recently it began collecting portraits of first ladies as well. The National Portrait Gallery, a member of the Smithsonian Institution, writes:

"Official portraits are interesting beasts because they are, of course official: they signify the status and attainments of the person portrayed. But they also are deeply personal, even revelatory, portrayals that say something of the character of the man or woman who shows their face to the public. The style of the portrait – the pose, the colors, the setting, as well as facial features (in the 19th century stern and forbidding was definitely the default expression) – all convey a measure of the sitter."

The official National Portrait Gallery paintings of George and Laura Bush both featured relatively casual, relaxed poses, with small smiles.
The gallery's portrait of Bill Clinton, by Nelson Shanks, was controversial after Shanks said he'd hidden a reference to the Monica Lewinsky scandal in the canvas. A different portrait of Clinton, a Chuck Close painting of the former president's grin, is on display in the museum.
The new paintings of the Obamas will be on view to the public beginning Tuesday.
Wiley's painting of former President Obama will be permanently installed in the "America's Presidents" exhibit (The Portrait Gallery has the "only complete collection of presidential portraits outside the White House," the museum said in a statement.)
Sherald's painting of Michelle Obama will be on display through November in the museum's "Recent Acquisitions" section.

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Jordan Peterson is the New Robert Anton Wilson - Devin Devine

by Devin | Feb 12, 2018 | general contrarianism | 0 comments

You know, I have a tendency to stay away from cultural hot topics. Like, whatever is hot on social media, or on the "news" or whatever, I'll just stay away. Because it's distraction, because half the time it's a fake issue, or because people get so wound up and they choose–team red or team blue. Coke versus Pepsi. Ridiculous. Also, I gotta appear cool and aloof. When the crowd looks one way, look another. When the magician lets you see the sneak-sneak, don't pat yourself on the back for seeing it–look to the other hand.
As such, I've stayed away from Jordan Peterson, even though I do have things to say about his work. Also, I like to give things a few days, formulate a well considered response. And it's annoying when everyone's fighting to be heard about something. I'll always be a couple weeks behind, plus a decade or two ahead, of current events.
I kid, of course–Jordan Peterson is in actuality NOT the new Robert Anton Wilson. The two of course have a thing or two in common, but plenty not in common. Hey, even if they both had completely opposite philosophies, which they don't, then they'd still both be human philosophers. Both of them incite true-believers into unreasonable fury, and both of them are often accused of espousing ideologies which they themselves disavow. Just a couple minor examples, but let's move on. This article is not actually about Jordan Peterson and RAW actually being similar.
Anyway.
Now when I first encountered Jordan Peterson, it was a couple years ago, and I did not immediately have a great impression of him or his positions. It seemed he was worked up over the pro-noun thing. I didn't disagree with him, but dude, is that what you're worrying about? I just thought he was a bit up tight is all. I listened to him debating with someone on the issue. It was very obvious that he was not advocating for any type of hatred or intolerance, and his points were argued well enough. No government should step in to force you to use new words. I never thought him a nazi.
But then a couple months ago he came back under my radar and I listened to him talking about something other than trannies and pro-nouns. Turns out he's into Nietzsche and Jung, and has a lot of things to say. His mind works fast, making connections on the fly with ease and he chooses his words carefully.

12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos– Discordian holy text.

I glanced into alt.feminazis today and found a lively debate about whether the feminist claim that "all men are potential rapists" leads to the conclusion "Jesus was a potential rapist." (It does. See Aristotle's Logic, part one. If all x are y, and j is an x, than j is y.)
I think this issue arouses so much fury because people are not aware that group-hate has never become unfashionable. Only the target groups ever change. Thus, the Ku Klux Klan's dogma "All black men are potential rapists" is ignorant, awful and politically incorrect, because it targets a group now on the "unfashionable to hate" list. The feminist "all men are potential rapists" is enlightened, educated and politically correct because it targets a group now on the "fashionable to hate" list.

You must always hate the right group to maintain your modernity. To become post-modern, find even more groups to hate.
Only idiots like Jesus (a potential rapist) and Buddha (another of that ilk) ever proposed living without hate of any groups… Oh, and Korzybski, who described group hatreds as neurolinguistic halucinations sympomatic of what he called unsanity. But he was another potential rapist.

– Jordan Peterson*

Interesting. IDK man, interesting. Posting here so I remember to watch later
At 3:32 — 3:52 Okay this makes up to a point, but it seems like you're suggesting that people are just playing a script now, and that they didn't before. Before what? Before social media? Before the rise of SJW's? Before about ten years ago? See, my problem with that is I remember thinking people were just playing scripts back in the 90's. Maybe it would be more accurate to say that there seems to be more mindless script playing, now?
*And j/k about that last quote–obviously it should be attributed to RAW. Hardy har har, amiright? 

Now just watch the first 2 minutes. Responsibility. This is what I'm always talking about, in relation to the big crises* of the day: economic, social, ecological.
Ecological: People should not look to government or corporations to save the Earth. In order to save the Earth we must become producers and provide for our own basic survival needs.
Economic: but that's unfair to poor people. Wrong–poor people need to learn how to do for themselves more than anyone. True, poor people can not afford to shop at whole foods. But wherever you are, you can start. You can scrounge….russle up a seed and a clump of earth, a bit of water and there–you have something to begin with.
Social: both the alt right and the sjw do the same thing–cry that all their problems are because of someone else. The world is the way it is, and things are not always fair. Blacks and immigrants are not responsible for your shitty life–you are. On the other side of that coin white privilege and male privilege are not the reason your life is now awesome–your life is not awesome because you have not chosen to create an awesome life.
^On all three counts I recommend we look to permaculture, homesteading and ancestral skills.
Even if your situation in life is currently terrible, the fact is that just beginning to work diligently towards fixing that life–that alone will make it better. To have a purpose. To take responsibility. Yeah, Jordan Peterson hit the nail square on the head on that one. Complaining and blaming others about your life situation will not bring true happiness. Own your own life. Responsibility and purpose are a million times more gratifying and rewarding than privileges, entitlements and hand-outs that you didn't earn. It's like comparing a participation trophy with an award that you spilled your own blood sweat and tears to attain.
*that's the plural form of crisis. You learned a thing today!

But Jordan Peterson is anti-chaos. He is Grey Face!

You know what, the 12 rules for life might really be a Discordian Holy Text
Did you watch the first video, the ted talk? Jordan is defining chaos as not being able to find your shoes. Meanwhile, I guess RAW loved it when he couldn't find his shoes? If that really is your stance then I imagine a Discordian Adams family. (Adams with only one d, but let's not get sidetracked). You remember the song:

They're intellectual anarchists, ontological terrorist–the Discordian Family! dun dun dun dun-dun *snap snap*

The rebellious nature of Discordianism and the authoritarian nature of modern social justice, just, you know–Discordianism is about balance. Listen to Jordan talk about yin and yang, about how the logical room-cleaning self and the looser, intuitive self need to be in balance, in a person or a society. That's not Grey Face talk.
You do remember that Order is just one form of Chaos, right?
In the 1960's, rebellious Discordians needed to fight against overly authoritative structures. Guess what SJW/PC culture has become?
Now, if I'm speaking to a transsexual or non-binary person and they ask me to call them a different pronoun, then of course I will call them as they like. As I understand it, Jordan took issue with Government forcing the issue, policing our language. That's totalitarian and authoritarian.
Same thing with members of the BLT community. I'm kidding, I meant the LGBTTQQIAAP community. Yea, it keeps gaining letters. I will always treat you with dignity and respect. But when you act silly and add letters every single year, yea, as a free man, I'm allowed to poke fun.
I love you all. Regardless of what color skin, gender, age or orientation. I love you know matter what ideas and worse yet–beliefs–you may hold. I know full well that beliefs end intelligent thought and that beliefs themselves are actually inter-dimensional entities that hold you down. No, it's true. Not really true, nothing is true, but this one is true enough–beliefs and dogmas restrict consciousness and lead to tyranny.  Jordan Peterson is infected, you are infected, so is your humble author. RAW was too. Fact is, you can almost never see your own B.S for what it is.
The materialist calls himself a scientist, and states that mind is an epiphenomena of the brain and life happened by accident.
Wrong! That's just your B.S, it's just your belief system.
We all have ours, You know what they say about belief systems–everyone has them and…….thbtbtbtbtbtbtbtbtbtbtbtbt!

those who disagree, feel otherwise

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Repulsion

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How we learned to embrace fascism.

 Here's the thing: Trump is a full blown fascist. He openly expresses a mindset and a morality that is unconscionable. It's normal, it's healthy, it's sane to oppose this guy and his growing troop of Brownshirts. But if you're just getting around to worrying about our country becoming a fascist state, you are at least two decades behind the reality. If you're just now getting around to being appalled, you haven't been paying any attention. A Hitler or a Trump don't "just happen." Millions of people don't just wake up one day and decide to embrace philosophies of hatred, racism, prejudice and privilege. That's a process, not a spur of the moment decision.By definition, the government of the United States is fascist. It is the union of corporate interests with state authority. Definitions that speak of a single tyrannical leader or the regimentation of all industry under governmental authority have been invented to keep us from seeing what is before us. Fascist ideals of Nationalism have been replaced with corporate ideals of Globalism, but the mechanism and the agenda remains the same.What happened is that we let things slide. We allowed the idea of moral equivalency to replace morality. We bought into the idea that compromise is a sign of maturity and intellect, even when the compromise is with pure evil. We bought into the idea that offending another, no matter how offensive their ideology might be, is in some way wrong. While transnational corporations completed the coup of government we became indoctrinated with the idea that political expediency is a given. So we stood by in silence as the government waged an illegal war for private interests across the globe. In conjunction with that we accepted that the enemy was a religious ideology, while we ignored the fact that throughout history the government has manufactured enemies in order to seek profit and resource control. No matter, the commies became the hippies who became the terrorists, all served up on platters of engineered hatred with a side dish of rationalization and a sauce of complacency. Trump happened when the government put Japanese Americans into detainment camps and we did nothing. Trump happened when the AUMF was passed, declaring preemptive war anywhere, anytime and we did nothing. Trump happened when Obama expanded that war and we did nothing. Trump happened when Congress consistently passed legislation that promoted and protected corporate interests above our own and we did nothing. Trump happened when Citizens United was passed and we did nothing. Trump happened when Congress gave away Native Lands to corporate interests and we did nothing. Trump happened when the police murder people of color and we do nothing.Trump happened when we allowed the electoral process to become meaningless and we did nothing. Trump happened when Free Speech Zones were established and we did nothing. Trump happened when The Patriot Act and the NDAA were passed and we did nothing.Trump happened when Wall Street and the Banks openly broke the law and we did nothing. Trump happened because we did nothing. Trump happened every time we chose the lesser evil.

Trump will keep happening, whether he wins or loses. Trump will be there in the other options we're given. Trump will be there when we rationalize those choices. Trump will be there when we trade small domestic privileges for death and horror in other lands. Trump will be there. in our corrupt electoral process. Trump is here, and he will continue to be here so long as we do nothing.

The Japanese concept of ikigai: why purpose might be a better goal than happiness

December 14, 2017 8.30am EST

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Happiness is the subject of countless quotations, slogans, self-help books and personal choices. It is also being taken seriously by national governments and organisations like the United Nations, as something societies should aim for.

This political recognition makes a welcome change from long held obsessions with income and economic growth when it comes to choosing policies or measuring their success – but it is not without its faults.

To begin with, how do you measure and compare national happiness levels? This is particularly challenging given that people have a tendency to inaccurately evaluate their emotional states or present themselves to others in a positive light.

Different cultural understandings of happiness also make comparisons difficult. But understanding what makes life worthwhile in certain contexts – which may be different from happiness – can offer an alternative perspective on well-being.

For example, even though the Japanese language possesses several terms that could be translated as "happiness" or "happy" (including "shiawase" and "koufuku"), one that has emerged as central to that country's understanding of a life well lived is "ikigai".

The word is often translated as: "that which makes life worth living" – having a purpose in life. Examples of ikigai could include aspects related to one's social identity, like work or family, or the pursuit of self-realisation, such as hobbies or travel, activities that are seen as ends in themselves.
Numerous books have been published recently on how to find one's true ikigai. In fact, the "ikigai treatise boom" peaked in the 1970s and 1980s – perhaps as the product of two trends characterising that period. Economic prosperity and the weakening of societal values both contributed to a sense of instability in Japan at that time.

In the years since, after a lengthy era of economic stagnation, uncertainty in Japanese society has only increased. Today, books on ikigai appear to function more as a cultural export.
The idea is now often detached from its original context, and offered to foreigners as the "Japanese path to happiness", not too dissimilar to the recent craze for the Danish concept of "hygge".
It would be easy, then, to dismiss the value of ikigai as a fad, or to take it at face value and neglect its nuanced cultural meanings. Both would be a mistake in my view, as despite its limitations, the concept of ikigai still has much to offer.

Japanese ideas of ikigai are often gender based. Men tend to say their work or employer gives them a sense of self-worth. Women often say their sense of meaning comes from family or motherhood. Such male-female framing is not only restrictive, it also poses a problem for those who are unable to frame their life in such terms. Japanese self-help manuals are most often targeted at retired or unemployed men, or single women.

In this sense, ikigai appears closely related to the idea of a clearly defined social role, offering a source of identity and meaning. It might also be seen to put an emphasis on only one domain of life, at the expense of others. Seeing work as one's ikigai might make it all too easy to neglect meaningful pursuits outside the workplace.

One can feel the pressure to perceive a certain domain as the source of one's ikigai – but what happens when that domain is no longer available, or no longer brings joy? Luckily, ikigai can also change and develop.

A sense of purpose

Focusing on one's own happiness can prove self-defeating. The active pursuit of happiness and a determination to be or feel happy can quickly lead to a sense of inadequacy and disappointment. In this sense, happiness as a goal might be forever out of reach, little more than a fleeting and elusive ideal.

Pursuing ikigai. Shutterstock

Yet the pursuit of other goals seen as worthwhile can lead to a sense of well-being. In this sense, ikigai, as a focus on a particular sphere of life or activity that makes life worth living, is important. It gives a sense of purpose to life, but one that need not be grand or monumental.
Unlike the English term "purpose in life", ikigai need not imply large or extraordinary projects that promise to lift one above everyday experiences. Such projects can equally be located in the mundane and the humble.
Furthermore, as I have learned in my own research with older Japanese, what makes ikigai effective is its inextricable link to a sense of mastery – the idea known as "chanto suru" that things should be done properly. As such, ikigai emphasises process and immersion rather than a final aim.
Doing something as well as you possibly can makes life more meaningful.

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Frank Sinatra's Message to Trump

Canada's racism problem? It's even worse than America's.

For a country so self-satisfied with its image of progressive tolerance, how is this not a national crisis?

Scott Gilmore
January 22, 2015

BERNARD WEIL/TORONTO STAR/CP

The racial mess in the United States looks pretty grim and is painful to watch. We can be forgiven for being quietly thankful for Canada's more inclusive society, which has avoided dramas like that in Ferguson, Mo. We are not the only ones to think this. In the recently released Social Progress Index, Canada is ranked second amongst all nations for its tolerance and inclusion.
Unfortunately, the truth is we have a far worse race problem than the United States. We just can't see it very easily.
Terry Glavin, recently writing in the Ottawa Citizen, mocked the idea that the United States could learn from Canada's example when it comes to racial harmony. To illustrate his point, he compared the conditions of the African-American community to Canada's First Nations. If you judge a society by how it treats its most disadvantaged, Glavin found us wanting. Consider the accompanying table. By almost every measurable indicator, the Aboriginal population in Canada is treated worse and lives with more hardship than the African-American population. All these facts tell us one thing: Canada has a race problem, too.
How are we not choking on these numbers? For a country so self-satisfied with its image of progressive tolerance, how is this not a national crisis? Why are governments not falling on this issue?

Possibly it is because our Fergusons are hidden deep in the bush, accessible only by chartered float plane: 49 per cent of First Nations members live on remote reserves. Those who do live in urban centres are mostly confined to a few cities in the Prairies. Fewer than 40,000 live in Toronto, not even one per cent of the total population of the Greater Toronto Area. Our racial problems are literally over the horizon, out of sight and out of mind.

Or it could be because we simply do not see the forest for trees. We are distracted by the stories of corrupt band councils, or flooded reserves, or another missing Aboriginal woman. Some of us wring our hands, and a handful of activists protest. There are a couple of unread op-eds, and maybe a Twitter hashtag will skip around for a few days. But nothing changes. Yes, we admit there is a governance problem on the reserves. We might agree that "something" should be done about the missing and murdered women. In Ottawa a few policy wonks write fretful memos on land claims and pipelines. But collectively, we don't say it out loud: "Canada has a race problem."
If we don't have a race problem then what do we blame? Our justice system, unable to even convene Aboriginal juries? Band administrators, like those in Attawapiskat, who defraud their own people? Our health care system that fails to provide Aboriginal communities with health outcomes on par with El Salvador? Politicians too craven to admit the reserve system has failed? Elders like Chief Ava Hill, cynically willing to let a child die this week from treatable cancer in order to promote Aboriginal rights? Aboriginal people themselves for not throwing out the leaders who serve them so poorly? Police forces too timid to grasp the nettle and confront unbridled criminality like the organized drug-smuggling gangs in Akwesasne? Federal bureaucrats for constructing a $7-billion welfare system that doesn't work? The school system for only graduating 42 per cent of reserve students? Aboriginal men, who have pushed their community's murder rate past Somalia's? The media for not sufficiently or persistently reporting on these facts?
Or: us? For not paying attention. For believing our own hype about inclusion. For looking down our noses at America and ignorantly thinking, "That would never happen here." For not acknowledging Canada has a race problem.
We do and it is bad. And it is not just with the Aboriginal peoples. For new immigrants and the black community the numbers are not as stark, but they tell a depressingly similar story.
If we want to fix this, the first step is to admit something is wrong. Start by saying it to yourself, but say it out loud: "Canada has a race problem."

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Puerto Rico rallies, wins Caribbean Series title

Feb 9, 2018

GUADALAJARA, Mexico -- Jonathan Morales hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning, and Puerto Rico won its second straight Caribbean Series title, rallying past the Dominican Republic 9-4 on Thursday night.
Down 4-3 in the seventh, Morales blasted his first home run of the tournament to give the Puerto Ricans their first lead of the game.
The Caguas Criollos, who rallied from a four-run deficit in their semifinal against Venezuela, gave Puerto Rico its 16th title in the tournament. Only the Dominican Republic (19) has more.
Rusney Castillo also homered for the Puerto Ricans, who played a shortened season after Hurricane Maria devastated the island last September.

"We overcame a big test because of the storm, but after Hurricane Maria I felt like we were going to win this, it was not normal what I felt, but we did it for the island," Morales said. "We were tested, but we overcame them because we are tough."
Puerto Rico won back-to-back championships for the first time since 1992-93.
"Before the tournament I did not want to talk about the back-to-back championships because I did not want to put extra pressure on the guys, but they made it a reality," Puerto Rico manager Luis Matos said. "Hurricane Maria was a disaster, the season was shortened and we played during the day and with lower salaries. There were a lot of things going on but we needed to put a fight, and we did it."
The Dominican Republic was trying to win its first title since 2012.

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New York Doesn't Prohibit Police from Having Sex with People in Custody

An NYPD cruiser in New York City. ( Giacomo Barbaro) / Flickr )

Feb 8, 2018 · by WNYC Newsroom

The court case of an 18-year-old Brooklyn woman who says two on-duty police officers raped her while she was in their custody is shining a light on a legal loophole in New York.
The officers have been indicted for allegedly handcuffing the woman one Friday night in September, putting her in the back of a police van, and repeatedly assaulting her. They claim the sex was consensual. They can make that defense, because New York has no law that specifically makes it illegal for police officers to have consensual sex with somebody they have arrested.
Albert Samaha wrote about this for Buzzfeed. He says there are laws in place about this for probation officers and prison and jail guards, but 35 states lack them for police.
"As a society, we've applied a different standard to police officers than we have for other forms of law enforcement," Samaha told WNYC, "because we trust them and because they operate in public. The things that they do on the street and in cars, theoretically we can see, and we can hold them accountable. You throw in the powers of the police union, and that just all goes together to maintain this loophole."

Samaha spoke with WNYC's Richard Hake.

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