Rebellion Is On the Clearance Rack (And I Think I Like It)
Yesterday, around 4:30, Bella, self-appointed patron saint of unprofessional behavior, announced that she was boycotting the big box stores this Christmas. This declaration evoked in me several, sometimes conflicting, emotions. The first emotion being: "Who gives a shit? Why would anybody assume that their coworkers, most of whom are hostile towards just about everything you say due to your Office Space by way of Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God bit, give a damn about where you don't intend to do your Christmas shopping?"
This was followed by, "Good for you. Stick it to those money-hungry pirates."
Finally, I arrived at, "Perhaps this is a good thing, but I'm certain your motivations are going to piss me off to the point that I will find myself thinking of doing my holiday shopping exclusively at big box stores."
I voiced none of these opinions. I hoped that, having made a general broadcast of her intentions, she'd be satisfied and walk away. To my dismay, Pete asked why. In fairness to Pete, he simply asked why and he may have meant something along the lines of "why are you telling us this." Unfortunately, this was not the sense Bella got and she began to explain. "I'm not shopping there anymore because they refuse to use the word 'Christmas' in their advertising. It is all 'holiday sales' now. It is part of the massive trend of trying to destroy Christianity by these people. You know the . . . um . . . these people . . ."
Residents of the cube-de-sac tried to finish her sentence for her.
" . . . who believe in freedom of religion."
" . . . who follow the Constitution."
" . . . the Americans."
Bella protested: "This is not American. If America isn't a Christian country, how com God is like all over the Constitution?"
"By 'like all over' you mean 'doesn't show up at all,' right?"
"Does to."
"Clever rebuttal," said Ollie. "Haven't we had this fight before?"
Bella: "God's in all our founding documents: the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Battle Hymn of the Republic."
"The Battle Hymn of the Republic?"
"You know, [sings] Onward Christian soldiers, marching dah dum dum dah . . ." She let her voice trail off. Bella has this nasal, scratchy voice. Her voice treats song lyrics the way Lynndie England treated war prisoners. You actually pity the song.
"Well, first, that's not the Battle Hymn of the Republic."
"Oh yeah, then what is it?"
"It's called Onward Christian Soldiers."
"Fuck you people. Just 'cause you know stuff. Next time I open my mouth I'm going to look everything up so you can't deny it."
Pete: "Did you just threaten us with being correct?"
"I repeat," she said. "Fuck you people just 'cause you know stuff."
Home:
Was on dinner duty last night. Made pizza. I wanted to try something a little different, so I used chorizo instead of pepperoni. I cooked up some chicken, spiced heavily, and put that on the pie. Mixed in a little pepper-jack with the normal mozzarella.
I debated, briefly, trying to use salsa instead of, or somehow mixed in with, the standard sauce. Ended up not doing it because I was worried the salsa would thin out the sauce and make a mess. Couldn't think of any good ideas for thickening the salsa without screwing up the taste.
The pizza was fine. It was still just a pizza, hardly a culinary triumph or anything; but it was nice to have a little change.
After dinner, May hit the sack and I stayed up a little longer reading the NaNo efforts of various hulverites. Good stuff. I asked to read it weeks ago, but then have found I haven't had time to really get into it. I apologize to anybody awaiting feedback. I've been dragging.
Current Events:
Heard this morning that Hugo Chavez has, in fact, delivered the promised 2,500 gallons of heating oil, sold at deep discount, to residents on the Bronx. I didn't believe he would actually do it, and I think I expressed that opinion somewhere on this site. Obviously, I was incorrect.
For the record, I still think the American left's infatuation with the man will end in tears. Too often we've idolized left-wing dictators (and, despite his seemingly benevolent stance so far, Chavez is definitely a dictator), allowing ourselves to be impressed with their stated aims while politely ignoring their methods. I'm thinking here of the American left's embarrassing defenses of the governments of Stalin and Mao. Will the left one day wince at the thought that we cheered when Chavez sold cut-rate oil to the richest nation in the world, while his own country – even with oil money – had a per capita income of 1/10 that of America, just so he could score points against Bush? Will we one day play shocked at the idea that secret abuses could be occurring in a nation with a state-controlled media?
In an interview with the Aleida Guevara, daughter of famed revolutionary Che Guevara, Chavez approvingly cited Bolívar's question to General Mantilla, the governor of Cartagena, "What good has this damn independence done anyway?"
Regardless of intent, I don't believe anybody can ride rough-shod over their legally elected government, suppress the democratic workings of their country, and expect long-term good to come of it. This holds true for all political leaders everywhere. I think the left in the US rightly condemns oppression when they see it committed by right-wing governments. But we too often treated seemingly sympathetic dictators with kid gloves.
Hopefully, I'll be incorrect about this as well. Perhaps he'll lead his nation into an unparalleled era of prosperity. Perhaps his nation will become a paradise on Earth. That would be nice.
But, still, he makes me nervous.
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