THFWS & TTM: The Twins

The Twins

When Darcy’s water broke, everyone but Darcy, Mark, Anastasia, and the midwife got out of the pool, preferring to lend their support and encouragement from the sidelines.

Episiotomies are the most frequently performed unnecessary operation in the United States (depending upon your opinion on circumcision), followed closely by cesarean section because doctors are simply not willing to take the time necessary to properly prepare a woman to birth children in the way that they have done since the beginning of time.

And because time is money, greed is the prime motivator in those decisions followed closely by laziness, a lack of imagination and an unwillingness to embrace a multi-disciplined, holistic mode of therapy.

It is never easy to deliver twins, and they are considered a “high-risk” case at best, but if there are no other complications, midwives will better prepare a woman to deliver just by virtue of the way in which they facilitate the effacement and dilation of the labia, and vulva, thereby rendering a tear-free delivery…in most cases, which was why the Neonatologist was also present…for all the other complications that could possibly arrive.

Cutting to pre-empt tearing is like amputating a limb to prevent a future break that may never occur. The simple fact that the suturing done to stitch the episiotomy frequently results in painful postpartum sex, sometimes for years seems to escape most doctors, who never feel a thing.

Anastasia had met Kat(rima) while they were studying together in nursing school. They became fast friends during some very fast times, but eventually Kat dropped out to study acupuncture and become a midwife. She had also delivered both of Anastasia’s children under water.

Darcy had watched her youngest sister being born at home on the kitchen table because her mother could not afford health care insurance. She had come from a family of commercial fishermen in tidewater Virginia and most of her early life had been spent learning how to “make do” on next to nothing just to survive.

To suddenly be the primary focus for any needs she or her children could ever want for with money no object was to feel gratefully empowered in ways she had never before known.

It takes a very special kind of woman to pull and stretch the surrounding flesh of the vagina sufficiently to accommodate the delivery of a child. If you have ever been privileged to witness a birth with the assistance of a midwife and compare it to any hospital delivery you’ve ever seen you quickly realize  how nurturing and baby-friendly the former is compared to the industrial atmosphere of a hospital delivery.

Many women may tend to feel uncomfortable touching another woman in such an intimate manner as is done by the midwife, but compared to almost all males, they are generally more nurturant and intimate with each other, perhaps by nature, or perhaps because our culture does not embrace homophobia as tenaciously among females as by the generally fearful, self-conscious, strutting, posturing roosters that the males of our species are so often want to make of themselves, especially in their early youth.

Regardless, some women are also programmed for nurturance from a very early age and Kat was one of them. She loved women as much as she did men and she fearlessly and self-consciously embraced an inborn commitment to caring for anyone who deserved her attentions.

And in all fairness, if an OB/GYN doctor were to perform the same procedures in a hospital setting, they would probably be up on charges before they left the parking lot.

Discretion is the lesbian consigliere of Valor.

Meanwhile, most of the Ancient Ones had arrived. The spirits of Lukumi, Los Guerreros, Roti, The Dark Mother (Kali’s almost accidental namesake), Ganesh, and seemingly countless others either sat perched upon the peak of the roof, on the branches of the surrounding trees, or were joining Darcy, Mark, Anastasia and Kat, the midwife in the water, which is one of the most amazing and provocative ways to experience their presence.

Water that contains the usual minerals and electrolytes found in either municipal systems or well water is an excellent conductor of electro-magnetic energy, especially if it contains amniotic fluids, and a number of  the Ancient Ones liked to playfully caress, poke and prod those who can allow themselves to be open to the sensations they impart as they flash back and forth across the pool like dolphins preparing to tail-walk over the water.

As the contractions came closer and closer together and her dilation increased, the cauldrons began to boil and steam and it was at just about that same time when Boop-Oopa-Doop (aka “Betty”) flew in and landed in a Key Lime tree next to the fires beneath the cauldrons.

“What’s up, Toots?” she asked of no one in particular.

Almost in unison, they waved and replied “Boop-Oopa-Doop!” She was widely known throughout the multi-verse, and generally well-liked by all.

As a fellow embezzler of time and space, She was quite adept in arriving precisely when what appeared to be a portent of something spectacular was just about to happen.

The visions that appeared in the cauldrons were similar to those that had foretold of Darcy’s ordained place within the primary group.

It was the image of Darcy surrounded by thousands of primates doing the Bandaloop Dance at sunset. This time, there was a melody that could be heard by everyone, yet recognized by no one, except the primates outside the Sanctuary, and perhaps Darcy, who also began to hum along with it.

The ArchAngels, who were watching and listening to the images and sounds projected and amplified from the cameras quickly incorporated it into their song cycle while the saxophones began to answer and the rest of the band reinforced the melody with harmonizations and counterpoint of their own.

In the area beneath the screens, the Primates had assembled to perform the Bandaloop Dance in unison with the video feed from the cauldrons. They never seemed to need any coaching; it was as if it was something native to their instincts.

As the singing and dancing reached a crescendo, Darcy delivered the first of the twins, a vigorously healthy screaming female, followed in due time by an equally beautiful and perfect male.

There was no video coverage of the delivery, but everyone who witnessed it poolside fell into silence as they each recognized the uniqueness of the twins.

“Unique” is one of the most frequently misused words of the last fifty years, but in this case it was no hyperbole, because in the entire history of the earth, there have never been two children born who possessed the appearance of these two children.

The female was thankfully much less hirsute than the male and absolutely gorgeous to behold, but there was a decidedly simian appearance to her which was not so much apparent until one saw the two of them together, because the male was undoubtedly the offspring of Frederick, who was himself the only one of his kind.

Aside from a slightly exaggerated supra-orbital ridge, somewhat longer than average arm length compared to their overall length and a little more space between the bottom of the nose and the top of the upper lip they looked very much like any other human infant, except for the feet, which were structurally identical to those of the Chimpanzee. This meant that both of the twins had four opposable thumbs each.

This would prove to be the beta upgrade to human feet for these children, who quickly learned to use them like a second pair of hands whenever their shoes were off, which never happened in public, lest  it give away the identity of their father.

But perhaps most importantly, their spines and pelvis, as well as the alignment of their hips were consistent with bi-pedal ambulation. Also, their foramen magnums were located more anteriorly at the bases of the skulls, consistent with a vertical stance directly above the spine.

Given the genetic diversity of the human animal, their appearance was surprisingly human.

The eventual legal decision as to whether or not they be considered Hominid would be prolonged as much as possible for their protection, but eventually, after they are given the opportunity to establish the authenticity of their genetic structure, as young adults it would become their time to be recognized as who they really were.

Since they were not born in a hospital, although their footprints were recorded and notarized by their attorneys, no publicly accessible documents would be filed unless absolutely necessary.

Because the dearth of research, evidence and testimony of Frederick was so well documented, he alone would best serve as the face, the voice, the words and the ideas of a truly self-aware, sentient being demanding his rights to recognition of his ascension to a higher level than was previously judged as at least adequate by the gatekeepers of the most exclusive country club in the animal kingdom called Humanity.

Once his case was won in court, the twins would have their day of recognition and autonomy without outside interference.

It was uncanny however in the way in which their facial expressions were the visage of Frederick’s. Not something one could quite put their finger on to tell of the identify of the father unless you knew Frederick well enough to recognize the similarities.

Although their skin was quite pale, their hair was jet black, but finer than that of the other great apes. Their features looked beautifully exotic…perhaps slightly Asian, or even African or some allele of the North American aboriginals; refined, yet primal, with very large, dark brown eyes. They were strangely beautiful, and once you began to look at them, it was almost impossible to avert your eyes from their soulful faces.

To a casual observer they appeared to be beautiful normal humans in nearly all aspects, but given the transcendent understanding between the members of the group, it was immediately common knowledge as to the paternity of both of them, though no one spoke directly of it that night, because they already knew that everyone else knew.

The remarkable similarity of the genes and chromosomes between Chimpanzees, Gorillas, and Orangutans with human genetic DNA had enabled a union of Frederick’s sperm and two of Darcy’s eggs, despite a long-successful tubal ligation.

Vigorously demanding their evolutionary participation in the replication of their currently unique species, they out swam all the other combined seeds deposited into Darcy’s love canal that evening, just as two eggs had also almost inexplicably made a quantum leap past what was believed to be an impenetrable barrier.

There have been legends and rumors of unions with either male or female human participants and simians throughout the last fifty years or more, but no surviving evidence and great hatred, disgust and violent hostility are often expressed at even the mention of such offspring.

A doctor in Malaysia for instance who allegedly intended to artificially inseminate two female orangutans with human sperm more than forty years ago was murdered, and his laboratory and domestic facilities burned to the ground along with the two female orangutans.

A mere rumor possibly fabricated by poachers that Diane Fossi was copulating with the gorillas whom she was studying likewise may have prompted her murder.

The subject of interspecies erotica is likely to invoke images of Tijuana donkey-shows, women from Amsterdam copulating with huge canines or sheepherders and hillbillies in general. Once the sniggering and fascination over the perceived degradation of the human subjects stops (shortly after the titillation factor wears off), the tendency is to get hautily self-righteous and violent.

As disgusted and revolted as so many claim to be, few can or will avert their eyes once they should witness it.

The book of Leviticus states that if a man shall lay with an animal, that they both shall be killed. It seems unfathomable that the ancient Hebrews believed that somehow the animal was complicit in the commission of the act, but then again, the book of Leviticus is harsh, which may explain why it is such a favorite of Pentecostals and other similarly bloodthirsty and judgmental fundamentalist Christians.

If you stop and think about it, the only true fundamentalist Christians would be the Messianic Jews who were the descendants of either the authors or scribes of the early new testament and the Dead Sea scrolls.

Ironically, it should be noted that some of the most dangerous fundamentalists would be the modern-day ultra right-wing sex-and-pleasure-hating American fundamentalist Christians, who generally want no part whatsoever of Judaism (including the Old Testament) unless it justify self-serving, vindictive, self-righteous wrath, punishment and judgmental retribution. (Muslim Jihadists notwithstanding…keeping in mind that it was the authors of the Crusades who have also sown those seeds.)

The twins were the first scientifically verifiable prototype of this union, and no one intended to make the results known to the general public for the sake of the safety of all parties concerned.

As you may recall, during The Great Eurasian Leap Forward, after Man first diverged from his primal ancestors, the offspring showed a remarkable increase in each successive generation in intellectual capacity due to the doubling of the SRGAP2  gene despite an eventually lowered total brain mass compared to the earlier, larger Neanderthal . Similarly, these children would later prove to be far more advanced than any primate…even Frederick, had ever been.

In the light of the previous events of the day, everyone in attendance was openly grateful for the revelation of the paternity of the children.

No one had suspected, least of all Darcy that it was even within the range of possibility that she was capable of conception in the first place, let alone by way of the world’s one and only Bonanzee.

Everyone in attendance openly displayed tears of joy as Anastasia and Mark helped hold the twins to Darcy’s breasts. She was absolutely radiant, looking for all the world like the proudest mother of all time…the way every mother should.

It was about this time that the visions from  the cauldrons began to change. A face began to appear that looked as if it was painted in smoke. Although initially vague and indistinct, it eventually took on the appearance of Frederick’s face.

Although the synchronization between the lips and the voice that everyone heard was delayed, nonetheless everyone who witnessed it clearly perceived the sound of Frederick’s voice in their heads as clearly as if he was personally whispering the words directly into their ears.

It was later confirmed that whether or not they had taken The Knowledge everyone who heard them verified the words that Frederick imparted to them.

First he repeated his last words spoken to the world at the time of his death. The recordings that were made of the camera feeds showed the video, but no audio was recorded. Fortunately, for posterity he also signed his message as he had before.

To it, he added a final remark. “For those who wished me harm, you have not seen the last of me. I was not born to be so easily dispatched. For those of you who knew and loved me, you too have not seen the last of me, because there is so much more to unfold as our work progresses.”

“Just as Man received a hand-up fifty-thousand years ago, it is now time for Man to lend his hand to his simian cousins to allow the natural evolutionary process to begin again. Who amongst you would deny us that opportunity?”

“Since the time when Man first traded Instinct and Intuition for Reason, he has suffered for it on so many levels that the members of our inner circle have now only really begun to realize.”

“The ancestors of Man can provide him your connection to our mutual primal past, including telepathy…if you can just learn to stop talking and relying on words to express yourselves. You have as much to gain as we do in the symbiosis of our union.”

“Our children will become the beta-version of Mankind. It is time to embrace our next evolutionary quantum leap.”

“Keep me in your hearts so that my spirit may abide there with you all as you raise our children together.”

This was clearly an event that had shocked and surprised a group who had become accustomed to the bizarre and unbelievable in a world where the impossible had become commonplace.

Most religiously oriented persons of any faith would have considered the entire event an abomination, or the work of the Devil, were they to learn of it, but in the hearts and minds of the inner circle of The Home for Wayward Souls, it was a well-received serendipity.

And so it was, that this group who did not believe in a disapproving, punitive, vindictive and jealous God the Creator (either Aravat or Eloah, Elah or Eolith in Hebrew) nonetheless learned to embrace a union with what has been referred to as the Guf, or Treasury of Souls without conflict or contradiction, and who believed in the persistence of the Soul

And it was good…very, VERY GOOD…like, well…(you know the rest)…..

Namaste

There are No Secrets Amongst Those of One Mind: THFWS&TTM’s

There are No Secrets Amongst Those of One Mind
During the next Sunday’s sermon at the Sanctuary of The Home for Wayward Souls, Frederick suddenly began to sign in an erratic and confusing manner not at all like him. He nudged Mark and looked at him quizzically after looking first at Darcy, and then back to Mark.
When he initially began learning American Sign Language he used the expression “Aunt” Darcy to express his acceptance of her as a surrogate mother by virtue of her role as a handler the same way that chimp mothers will jointly raise and nurture each other’s offspring.
There is a vocalized utterance that is often used to acknowledge this relationship as well, but Frederick’s confusion at that moment was clouding his telepathic “voice” to Mark because he wasn’t sure what it was that he was trying to express.
Frederick also liked to refer to his mother as “Mama Lilith” in much the same way that young children will also attempt to call their parents by their first names as they become accustomed to hearing their parents’ associates refer to them.
Mark suddenly realized that Frederick’s confusion stemmed from the fact that he only associated the term “Mama” to his own birth mother, even though he was sensing something else about Darcy that was strangely out of character for her in her role as his childhood “Aunt”.
Frederick already knew intuitively that Darcy was with child, and now he did not know what to call her. Once or twice since he had received sentience, he had jokingly referred to her as “Aunt Darcy” because it was strangely out of character considering he had not used the “Aunt” pronoun for her in years, and their relationship was now considerably more complicated.
This sort of humor would have been impossible before he received The Fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil because chimpanzee humor is more characteristically slapstick or prank-oriented due to the limitations of their levels of comprehension.
Although his cognitive consciousness was growing exponentially as the weeks passed, there were times when the gaps proved to be especially frustrating.
His frustration now stemmed from attempting to use the term “Mama” and “Darcy” at the same time.
Mark finally signed (and thought) to Frederick “Yes, Darcy is going to have a baby”, thinking that was the source of his confusion.
Suddenly the other members of the group (including Ash) audibly gasped at the revelation, as all eyes turned to Darcy.
Ash choked in mid-sentence in the middle of one of the most eloquent sermons he could remember giving in years…struck mute…speechless, shocked and overjoyed all at once.
All he could think to do was to cue the ArchAngels and rush down to embrace Darcy as the rest of the group rose to do the same.
Stanley was completely befuddled until Darcy finally told him “They just found out I’m going to have a baby.” Darcy was very deferential in extending Stanley the courtesy of translating ASL for him.
The group stood and talked briefly, and agreed to assemble that night at the rectory, apologizing to Frederick that they regretted he would not be able to attend.
Charles suddenly blurted out “Well, what do you know Frederick; it looks like you’re going to get to find out what it’s like to have a brother after all…or a cousin, depending on how you look at it.”
Merle winced and added “I think we are all in agreement that this child will have no shortage of love, acceptance and familial support. Mark…Darcy I believe I speak for everyone here to congratulate the both of you on this seemingly miraculous event. We are becoming a family of families. We look forward to discussing this with both of you at more length this evening.”
Ash hugged Darcy and Mark before he jumped back up on the stage to announce the blessed event for the benefit of the somewhat startled and confused audience, who then gave them a standing ovation.
When Stanley Linderman gave his report to Sebastian G. Lodge later that afternoon, his director remarked in mock surprise “Well, what do you know…for all their hippie new age polyamory I guess the prospect of children and family has a way of bringing out their traditional family values after all…So when is the wedding?”
“I have no idea sir; they did not even mention it during or after the services in my presence…at least as far as I can tell, because they also sign everything they discuss verbally for the benefit of the ape…I can’t be sure, and it is my understanding that chimps comprehend a lot more than most of us give them credit…especially this one…but both Mark, and Darcy are very polite about translating everything they sign to Frederick to me as a courtesy, which I found to be especially thoughtful, considering I never even had to ask them to do so.”
“How are the ASL lessons going, by the way Linderman?”
“Leave it to Leidos to think of everything and leave no stone unturned…uh, I mean… very well sir. I can almost keep up with their more pedestrian conversations, and I honestly do not think they even suspect that I understand their signing at all.”
“Good. Keep it that way. It will help make sure we keep them honest with us. If you ever start to even suspect that either of them is not accurately disclosing the full extent of their communications with that monkey, do not let on that you are aware of their ruse.”
“They thought they were so clever in getting me to allow them to take that monkey off campus in the first place. The beauty of it all is that it simply allows me to gain relatively unfettered access to intel about their subversive and perverted cult. I had every right to deny them from taking him anywhere just based on protection of our interests…”
“Excuse me sir, but Frederick is a Chimpanzee-Bonobo hybrid, which still makes him a Great Ape, not a monkey…for one thing he has no tail…”
“Linderman, I do not need to be corrected on semantics, or given a lecture on Anthropology! You’re not in any danger of going ‘native’ on me, are you Linderman?”
“Absolutely not, sir!”
“See to it that you don’t, or I’ll change the assignment to someone else. We only have minimal investment in your preparation so far, and we can’t afford to let you get sympathetic with them and go soft.”
“No sir…not at all. Not a chance. I meant no disrespect…I take all my assignments very seriously, and my only concern was for accuracy.”
“Very well Linderman…that will be all for now.”
“Yes sir, Colonel Lodge.”
“Do not use that title when addressing me again Linderman! Not even in confidence or privately from this point on; are we clear?”
“Yes Director Lodge.”
“Dismissed.”
Stanley Linderman was one of the best of his ilk… (whatever that was) but although he would never admit to it, there was something about these particular assigned targets that appealed to him intellectually and aesthetically as well.
He had been an agnostic since before he went into the military…long before he went undercover…and Lodge was such a bible-beater that he did not even bother to discuss his religious beliefs (or lack of them) with anyone, let alone his director…but there was something about this Home for Wayward Souls that allowed him to let just a glimmer of Faith…or maybe Hope into his heart without incurring Fear, Shame, Sin or Judgment.
His father had been one of those “…but I will defend to the death your right to your beliefs with my life if necessary…” kind of rugged individualists, and the apple had not fallen that far from the tree.
He did not share his director’s views on many subjects. He did not even especially care for Sebastian Galbraith Lodge because he thought he was too much of a self-righteous zealot.
He believed that narrow-minded fanatics endangered the rights and freedoms and civil liberties that had been the hallmark of the ideals of the American Dream from all the way back when people still understood what a republic really was supposed to represent.
He was a professional however and knew to “govern himself accordingly”. He had orders to follow as well as a conscience, and it was his conscience that had prompted him to follow his chosen career, both as a servant of the public as well as of his own principles.

Who Will Protect Us from our Protectors?

My Thoughts concerning Gun Control and the recent California Raids:

Fear is undoubtedly the single most pervasive aspect of our culture. Laziness may well be the second.

Insurance companies, Police, Clerics, Lawyers, and Politicians top the list of fear-mongers who capitalize on creating sensation and panic every time “something happens”. The key word is capital…there’s gold in them thar fears….

And once “Something Happens” inevitably, a scapegoat is chosen. Pit-bull terriers, guns, anti-depressants, violence in the media, homosexuals, Communists, promiscuity, atheists, drugs, illegal aliens, the internet, and pornography top the list.

The population of the United States is well over three hundred million. We have a national media service with almost instant access to any event, perceived trend, personality or group upon which to focus their attention in order to sell copy or SoundBites.

If every time a pit-bull terrier bites anything other than kibble, it gets reported on CNN, the public will soon come to regard them as a Growing Menace to the Public, as the process of demonization begins.

Despite our lip service to being the melting pot, we are largely still a nation of self-righteous xenophobes and bigots. The stereotypical depiction of the bellicose, drunken, heavily armed, functionally illiterate, drawling, ultra-right-wing, rabidly Christian, nose-picking, rebel flag-waving, toothless, unwashed cousin-fucking Klansman who will shoot and eat anything that moves as a realistic depiction of NRA members, or even Southerners in general by the self-proclaimed Northeastern elitist intellectual liberal intelligentsia who are themselves often demonized by any number of other groups as being rude, Jewish, homosexual, communist, Neo-McCarthyist Left-Wing, atheist, anarchist drug addicts and perverts can only occur when people are too fearful, lazy, and narrow-minded to extend the same courtesy of acceptance that they themselves desire of others. There are bigots of every stripe and color, and demonization is a tool of bigotry of any kind.

We are quick to point the finger of blame at others, but slow to accept responsibility for our own actions.

Laziness, Ignorance and Fear has rendered us a nation of cowards. It takes tremendous courage to open your heart to anyone who is not exactly like you or aspires to different values. Of course there is danger involved.

There was a time when our ancestors crossed vast expanses of the United States as explorers of a new land, risking life itself in search of whatever dreams they chased. It was dangerous. Gloriously, invigoratingly dangerous, and their bravery helped determine who we were to become as a nation.

Part of the danger lay in the fact that many white settlers had no respect for the indigenous peoples they trampled, raped, infected and killed (whom they regarded as savages), who fought back. In this respect, little has changed.

Now we are polymorphously fearful to leave our own neighborhoods after dark, yet unwilling to accept responsibility for our own defense.

Many people in ignorance label self-defense as vigilantism, and admonish law-abiding gun owners to leave it to the professionals, meaning the Police in spite of the fact that few violent crimes are ever stopped in progress by the police.

Some cop with a doughnut in one hand and a clipboard in the other is not going to bring back any murder victims, or get your property back (that’s what insurance is for, they tell us). They just draw the chalk lines, take pictures and file reports. I’m not blaming the cops. We shouldn’t expect them to make the world safe if we don’t take responsibility for some of it ourselves.

This is not about taking the law into your own hands…it is about taking back control of your Life into your own hands.

That which detracts from the freedoms of any of us diminishes and demeans the liberties of all of us.

Democracy and Freedom are inherently inefficient, noisy, messy, dangerous, unruly concepts by which we govern people. There is Life in danger and instability. It keeps us vibrant, and vigilant. It promotes all the instincts of self-preservation that keep us vital and alive, and I savor the risks like draughts of fine cognac.

Why are we so quick to throw away our lives for a cause or a promise of Heaven Tomorrow, but so slow to defend ourselves?

Our fear of Death makes us afraid to live.

We are quick to parrot phrases like “If it will save the life of even one child, it will all be worth it” paying little regard for anything else, even the lives of adults, let alone their freedoms.

I say that if it will save the life of one otherwise defenseless woman from being terrorized by an abusive man by abolishing all “waiting periods” for gun sales, then I am for it…the logic cuts both ways… (and by the way, that has happened…women have died waiting for the weapon that would have saved their lives…you can’t plan someone else’s “crimes of passion”, but you should prepare for them.)

It is no coincidence that women and the elderly are now the fastest-growing market for new firearms sales. With self-determinism comes self-defense.

Hunting represents a series of skill-sets that embrace an understanding of the nature of life itself. Indian hunters would ask permission of the animal they were about to kill, and only killed what they ate. It is a matter of taking responsibility for your actions.

Anyone who claims to hate hunters but still eats meat is a hypocrite in denial of the fact that they still condone the killing of animals by proxy of the slaughterhouse butchers. (Just remember that vegetarian pacifists get murdered in their homes just like anyone else, if they are unable or unwilling to defend themselves.)

And if you are a vegetarian pacifist, and I should observe someone trying to kill or rape you, would you prefer that I just mind my own business?

This outrage in California should be a red flag for all Americans. When the NRA stated more than forty years ago, that they were opposed to gun registration lists because they would eventually be used as confiscation lists, many people labeled it as unfounded paranoia, despite historical precedence to the contrary, as happened in Nazi Germany.

The general opinion back then was that law-abiding citizens who have nothing to hide would be in no danger…and the public just swallowed.

Now the chicken has come home not only to roost, but also to shit on our heads. If I was the president of the NRA, the cover of next month’s issue of The National Rifleman would read “We TOLD YOU SO!!! in letters so big that there would be room for nothing else.

It takes some knowledge of the principles of American government to appreciate the irony of the statement “I don’t hate my government, but I sure wish they would stop trying to take over the country.”

We are a nation that was founded upon rebellion against tyranny. Less than one hundred years later, Henry David Thoreau wrote Civil Disobedience because we needed to be reminded that government is not infallible, and that the only thing that is necessary for Evil or Tyranny to prevail is for people of good conscience to do nothing.

More than one hundred years later, peaceful Civil Disobedience was the only way to stop a senseless, stupid war and start the Civil Rights Movement, both of which were met with violence, not only by the government, but also our own citizens.

The world is a violent place. I would aspire to help make it more peaceful by not adding to it, but I am not willing to lie down and die waiting for it to get better.

One of the premises of American Democracy was the abolishment of so-called Debtor’s Prisons, despite the fact that people are now daily incarcerated for Failure to Pay court-ordered sums, regardless of their ability to pay them.

Now such things as unpaid parking or traffic fines or taxes are considered grounds to not only confiscate legally-purchased weapons without a trial, but also rob you of your constitutionally-guaranteed second amendment right of self-defense. What’s next? Overdue library books? Anyone care to place any bets on how many of those weapons will ever be returned?

Now the “Gateway Drug” of Violence is reputedly anti-depressants. About thirty years ago, a movement was started to subject bartenders to legal and civil action for irresponsibly dispensing alcohol…instead of placing the ultimate responsibility in the hands of the user.

Due to their unimpugned social and professional privilege, I doubt that we will raise the question of the responsibility of the doctors involved for not properly monitoring their patients for whom they prescribed these anti-depressants (especially the ones who committed mass murder), but regardless, personal responsibility has become passé in favor of labeling all of us as victims of something or other.

It’s not just “a shame” that the actions of a few spoil it for the many…it is groundless rubbish, and it’s unconstitutional.

As anyone who has read my works will attest, I have been a champion of those who live on The Edge, who test the limits of everything, including authority. In my perfect world, nothing is inherently sacred or profane.

Sexual explorations and practices between consenting adults (or like-minded animals) is nobody else’s business.

Drug abuse is an improper term, since at worst it is people who get abused by drugs, not vice-versa. Drug experimentation is similarly inaccurate in most cases, because for many of us, it stopped being experimental at least twenty years ago, unless someone can get me some Ayahuasca or El Changa, Yopo, or even Ibogaine….

The point is that my freedom to extend my fist stops just short of someone else’s face. As long as no one else is hurt, it is solely my business; however, ambitious, desperate scavengers with no other purpose than to further their own careers with terms like potential, threshold, gateway, borderline, unseen victims or Crime Prevention would likely make it a crime to make a fist in the first place, rather than hold me accountable for my actions.

“Love many and trust few…and always paddle your own canoe.”

As a child, I was told that freedom of speech does not allow someone to yell “fire” in a crowded theater. Apparently, it now OK to yell “The sky is falling” every time a shot is fired.

Do not misunderstand or distort my meaning on this point, however: I am sickened and saddened every time some misguided, desperate selfish asshole decides to murder anyone, or when a man (or woman) of Peace is forced to kill in self-defense. This includes Police and the Military. Theirs is not an easy job, and anyone who has had to take the life of another will tell you that, justified or not, you will carry that Kharma with you for the rest of your life. The key phrase being “the rest of your life…”

I have often referred to myself as a gun-carrying Zen Buddhist/Taoist Pacifist. I see no contradiction in the terms. It takes courage and wisdom to find balance in all things, and a lifetime of experience to acquire them.

The real shame in these stupid, selfish murders is that they go unabated until the police not only arrive, but also deploy and intervene, which is typically at least six minutes to arrive, in major urban areas. That may not seem like a lot of time, unless someone is trying to kill you, or your heart has stopped…I know; I was a paramedic for over twenty years.

In the early years of the development and exploration of our country, it was first the colonists, and later the pioneers of the west that depended on responsible local citizens to help defend and protect each other and form posses. There was no National Guard…just local citizens watching each other’s backs. That was what “a well-regulated militia” meant. Period.

Where are the legally armed firearms owners when you really need them?

Unfortunately, there are not enough of us to make up for the inevitable inability of the Police to actively protect us without turning the country into a police state…and by the way, legally armed concealed weapons owners are as a group more law-abiding than even judges, lawyers, lawmakers, or cops, statistically speaking….

Fortunately, I live in Florida, where the firearms laws are more liberal than most…(there’s two words you don’t often hear in the same sentence). Ironically, California was the first to thumb its nose at the federal government regarding marijuana use, only to cave in on this issue. Make no mistake, the State of California not only allowed, but encouraged the federal government to conduct the raids, or else they would not have happened.

In the late Sixties, Seventies, and Eighties, I learned to keep my head low and fly under the radar. I had to balance my desire for fame as a Rock guitarist with my desire for anonymity as a deviant madman and a pervert in the most general of terms, so I largely eschewed involvement in free speech and radical politics to the extent that I would have otherwise preferred.

Maybe it was chicken-shit, but I managed to cut a pretty wide swath on a small scale and still stay out of jail (It’s a wise fish that knows what pond suits him best).

It is not without some considerable trepidation that I am airing this post, but without our first amendment rights, it’s only a matter of time before we lose our second amendment rights, as well as vice-versa.

If I fear retaliation for exercising my right of free speech, and remain silent, my paranoia will ensure a self-fulfilling prophesy. If I speak out, only to become the object of persecution however, I will not “go quietly into that dark, still night.”

As the saying goes “Use it or lose it.”

I also realize that I may lose some of the few followers I have if they do not understand that Kink/Fet, as well as sexual, intellectual and civil liberties in general for everyone are a shared interest, and would once again repeat:

“Anything that impinges on the rights and liberties of any of us diminishes the lives and freedoms of all of us.”

Who will Protect Us from our Protectors?

Peace (with claws)….

(BTW…As regards drug abuse: No drugs were harmed in the writing of this text.)

Chazz Vincent

December 3^rd, 2013