College - The New Toxic High School

Racism, Misogyny and Nazism - what's not to like about the new College?

A friend of mine went off to college this fall, and came back already, disgusted.  She is of Asian descent and was accepted at a well-regarded, but rural college in the near-South.  When she got there, she was taunted and bullied by (literally) MAGA-hat wearing freshmen, who told her to "go back to China!"  The school did little or nothing in response.

She left after weeks of abuse, but what pushed her over the edge was her roommate - also 18 years old, was roofied at a fraternity party.

College - what fun, eh?  Well, if you are a young, white male, I guess.

To the school's credit, they were appalled by the whole thing (but did they expel the miscreants?  Did they shut down the fraternity?  Of course not!).  They did, however, fully refund her tuition and dorm fees.  I guess that's something.

In a way, it worked out for her.  When I asked her what she was studying and why she was going to this particular college, she seemed uninterested in her own future.  Her parents had subscribed to a pre-paid in-State tuition program, and this was a school that accepted her (she didn't have stellar grades) and her major was "business" or something like that.   Better to cut to the chase early on and get your money back.

As a college dropout myself, I understand.  No point in spending four years getting a degree you don't need or want in a subject you have no interest in - and spending all that money.  Better off to find your path.  The human brain doesn't finish developing until age 25 - the age I sobered up, got serious about my future, and started my career.  So I am sure she will do well, despite a false start.  She already has plans for a work-study program, which is sort of what I did in life.

But what appalled me was the way she was treated in college.  Appalled, but not shocked.  I noted before that College has become High School 2.0, and we've infantilized an entire generation.  We raised the drinking age on the grounds that kids weren't mature enough to drink (yet could vote and die in wars).  So we act shocked that young adults act like big goofy kids, after we treat them like.. big goofy kids.

Again, I was lucky in that, at age 18, I was a salaried employee of General Motors.  It was a sobering experience and a dive into the deep end of the pool.  No one asked if I could swim or not.  Going back to a "regular" college later in life was quite a contrast.  I would leave work at 5:00 PM and drive to school for night classes, still wearing my lab coat with my United Technologies employee ID badge. My fellow classmates were talking about which frat party they were going to, and which chicks were "hot."  I was thinking about making mortgage payments on my house.  I was only 22 at the time, and maybe they were 19 or 20.  But we were worlds apart in terms of responsibility and attitude.

Not that I didn't still do a lot of harebrained 20-something bullshit.

But I think it has gotten worse since then.  Kids are graduating from High School knowing little or nothing,  As one person noted, we are putting so much emphasis on "STEM" education, we are graduating Engineers who can solve technical problems but have no clue why Nazism is a bad idea.

And some folks in this country think that's just swell!  How sad.  How did we get this way?

Toxic Christianity

People have made Christianity so unappealing. No wonder people are turning away from it.

A recent article online posits that Christianity is in decline.  Three decades ago (time flies, eh?) as much as 90% of Americans identified as "Christian" while today, that number is about two-thirds.  And folks aren't flocking to alternative religions, either - many are simply saying "whatever" or "none of the above."

And it ain't hard to figure out why.

When I was a kid, we went to church every Sunday.  My parents were not attached to one particular church brand.  We were Protestants, although my Dad was raised Catholic and changed teams for career and marriage reasons.  We went to a Unitarian Church in Illinois and when we moved back to New York, joined the Presbyterian Church only because, I believe, it was the place for the upper crust to worship.

You put on your church clothes, went to church, sang a few songs, did a few rituals, and listened to the most boring sermons imaginable, and then went home, feeling all sanctified.  The church was a center of social activity - where you met people and caught up on weekly gossip.  When you had a cocktail party, you invited the minister and his wife.  It was a social affair as well as a spiritual one.

What changed? 

Well, we did, for starters.  Our society changed, and even though the Bible sanctions divorce (among other internal contradictions) many churches frowned upon it, particularly the Catholic church. The Catholic church has probably hemorrhaged more members than most.  If you were touched by a Priest as an altar boy, chances are, you aren't too keen on tithing to the church later in life.  When the scandal (which was going on for decades, perhaps centuries) finally broke, well, it made a lot of people wonder why they were going there and donating money - only to be paid out in hush-money settlements.

It didn't help any that the church was keen on throwing people out to make an example of them. They thought they were so powerful and popular that they could use the threat of excommunication to keep the sinners in line.  Problem is, when you have a club that throws people out when they break the rules, and everyone is breaking the rules, pretty soon, you have no club.  I know legions of Catholics and ex-Catholics and lapsed Catholics who are ambivalent about their church because they were told, basically, that they weren't welcome there anymore.

And yet the Vatican is mystified as to why attendance is down.  The more conservative Catholics, confusing correlation with causation, believe that if they went back to "the good old days" of strict Catholic laws, they would get people back in the pews - not realizing of course, that such strict practices were the reason people left, in droves.

Protestants are no better - and in fact, worse.  The real issue behind this statistic about people no longer identifying as "Christian" is akin to how people identify as "Democrat" or "Republican."   Maybe before January 6th, people were more likely to identify themselves, in response to a Pew Research survey, as "Republican."   But maybe after January 6th, they are more likely to say, "Independent."

The far-right "evangelical" Christian churches have been pushing an ideology that is dripping with hatred and violence.  Pastors are calling for the murder of people they don't like, from the pulpit, and, like the Catholic church, throwing people out that they deem less-than-worthy.  The antics of such "born again" ministers and followers is about as bad - if not worse - than wayward Catholic priests.  Every day, it seems, Pastor Cashmore is found in bed with an under-aged girl or the wife of a parishioner, and is found to be spending collection plate money on a new Rolls Royce.

Worse yet, these churches which have a storied history dating back several years now, have co-opted the definition of Christianity.   I have had interactions more than once with "born again" morons who ask me, "Are you a Christian?" and I reply, "well, we went to the Presbyterian Church when I was a kid...." and they interrupt me to say, "But are you a CHRISTIAN?  Born again in Christ???"

You see, they get to define who is or isn't a "real" Christian, and unless you go to their storefront church, and hand over all of  your disposable income to the minister, you ain't a real Christian.

These idiots have given Christianity a bad name.  They posit that Jesus - who is a white dude, by the way - has an AR-15 and is coming back any day now to gun down the sinners of the world, because that is what Christianity is all about - killing people.  To them, Jesus is a brand-name of bad-assedness, not a savior of souls.  These are folks who never read the Bible, but listen to pastor preach from the pulpit - who uses one verse, generally from the Old Testament, to "prove" some sort of asinine point.

I noted before that I heard a minister on the radio (while travelling through West Texas) use convoluted logic to argue that the phrase "Judge not, lest ye be judged" really means that Christians should be super-judges of other people, as they are well-prepared to be judged themselves, being born-again and all.  The admonition about judging others only applies to heathens and sinners who are in no position to cast stones.  Good Christians never live in glass houses - no, they live in concrete bunkers where no one can see what they're up to!

I think that is the reason this Pew survey shows fewer people "identifying" as Christian.  Back in 1990, if you surveyed me, and asked "Are you a Christian?" I would have said, "Well, um, sure," because that was the religion I was raised in.  But if you asked me today, I would not have been so sure - because the label of "Christian" has been so damaged by far-right-wing new-age denominations which are anything but Christian.

The brand has a dirty halo, if you'll pardon the pun.

Only severe masochists and psychopaths would want to join some of these churches - where the pastor basically calls them pieces of shit every Sunday, from the pulpit.  They take that sort of abuse because preacher tells them they are still better than everyone else, because they believe, and thus nothing they do is really wrong.  Hey, Jesus loves them best, which is why their business is successful and why they don't have to pay child support to their ex-wives.   And when it all goes horribly wrong, well, that's because other people have pissed-off God.

It is Christianity for Dummies - dangerous dummies at that.

There was a time, back in the late 1960's and early 1970's when Christianity tried to re-brand itself as a user-friendly religion - emphasizing the "Good News" brought by Christ.  A new version of the New Testament, called Good News for Modern Man was published, in plain English.  Notably missing: Old Testament.   It is funny, but many of the "born again" cult believe that not only was Jesus a white guy, but that he spoke in King James English - like Charlton Heston in The Ten Commandments.  Because that's how folks talked back in year zero - all "Thee and Ye" and lots of reckoning going on.

But the new, user-friendly version of Christianity didn't take off.  It seems a lot of people like a narrow set of rules, plus lots of hellfire and brimstone (for the other guy, of course).  As Trump aptly demonstrated, hate sells twice as much as love.   Go to any sports event and see what I mean.  People don't necessarily root for their home team so much as they shout epithets at the opposing team.  No one says "attaboy" to their star player - they's rather call the opposing team's star the N-word.   It's all about being a fan!

And that, sadly, is what Christianity has been reduced to - a fan club - where people root for their Jesus and run down the other guy's Jesus.

Christianity has become toxic.  And that is why fewer and fewer people are finding it attractive or identifying with it.

You know something?  Human beings really muck everything up.  Jesus was wasting his time here on Earth.  No one really listened to what he had to say.

The Jesus Grift

When in doubt, invoke the name of the savior....

I have been getting this SPAM e-mail for a few days now, and is interesting the angle they use to snare people.  Note that it arrived from one e-mail address yet asked me to respond to a second e-mail address. For a terminally ill lady, she knows her way around the Internet!

Dearest in the Lord.

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I am Mrs. Elizabeth George an aging widow suffering from a long-time illness. I am writing this mail to you with heavy tears in my eyes and great sorrow in my heart because I am currently admitted in a private hospital, I have some funds I inherited from my late loving husband Mr. George, I will tell you more about myself and my plans with this money when I hear back from you. I shall be waiting for your response. Through my email: [redacted]

Best Regards

Mrs. Elizabeth George.

Mrs. Elizabeth George Period has an interesting angle - use Jesus.  There are a lot of so-called Christians out there who really have no clue what Christianity is all about, other than a brand-name faith they adhere to.   A man pledges his loyalty to Bud Lite, Chevy Pickups, Remington Shotguns, and Jesus Christ.  No Miller, Fords, or Muhammads for him!   And in their mind, Jesus is a pro-wrestling tough guy who is coming back any minute now with a machine gun, to gun down the people who pledged to the wrong brand of religion.  Because that's what Christianity is all about - being on the winning side.  Good thing they "picked" the "right" religion!

The other side of this twisted view of religion is that, in your personal life, if you are successful, it is because you have the favor of the Lord.  If you fail in life, you somehow incurred his wrath - or more likely, one of those heathen transgender gays incurred his wrath and he's taking it out on you.  Nothing, of course, is ever your fault.

So this SPAM e-mail, hitting the inboxes of the "faithful" doesn't appear sketchy.  Of course, some old sick lady wants to give you money!   It is a sign from God!  He chose YOU to receive this largess because you have been faithfully attending church posting Christian memes on Facebook and all that hard work is finally paying off!

Of course, when it all goes horribly wrong (which it will) the victim can blame those Godless Communists, Antifarts, or Lesbian feminists for the failure - and their loss of a few thousand dollars in "processing fees" or whatever the grift is.

But that's the point - if you want to grift people, use Jesus as a talisman.  It worked for Trump - one of the most Godless people on the planet, unless you consider him to be some sort of (ersatz) God, which many of his followers secretly do, and of course he himself thinks.

Just take any old grift and slap a Jesus on it.  Jesus wants you to buy this used car.  Jesus wants you to take out this payday loan.  Jesus wants you to vote Republican.

The possibilities are endless!

Camping After Labor Day

Once the kids are back in school, things quiet down a bit.

We are camped at Argyle State Park in Illinois, and it is one of those occasions when RVing is like they show in the magazines - you have a remote site, not near anyone else, with a view of the water.  No screaming kids, no dudes with loud generators or loud motorcycles, no 20-somethings "sharing" their music with you.

We went out Kayaking on the lake and it was mirror smooth.  You could hear nothing, whatsoever, other than the tinnitus ringing in your ears, and even that went away after a while.  The only noise was the occasional squawk of a blue heron, or the sound of fish jumping - and the splash of our own paddles.

Speaking of blue herons, what is up with them?  You paddle along and see one, and it gets all pissed off that you have "ruined" their fishing spot.  So they take off, loudly protesting your intrusion and then fly to a place ahead of you and then settle again to try fishing - at which point you arrive again and the process repeats.  I am sure that more than one blue heron thought we were doing this intentionally.  Just go the other way, dude!

It is nice to drive around the park and not see another soul.  Most of the folks camped here are in another loop (all bunched up together) and are older retirees.   And we are fortunate that we have having an Indian Summer Native American Summer Indigenous People's Summer and the weather is warm.

But of course, it is a crap shoot, with the weather at this time of year.  We just came from Wisconsin, where it was 54 degrees out - in a "clothing optional" campground no less (there were a few brave souls, I was not one of them, thank you very much!).

Folks ask us how we pick a particular campground.  And the answer is - by chance.  This park was halfway between where we were and where we wanted to go - about 130 miles from our previous spot.  We have never been here, didn't research it much, never read the reviews (until after we reserved it, oddly enough) and just took a chance that it might be nice - and it was.

Life is all about taking chances, particularly when the risks are trivial.  The worst that could have happened is that we might have spent two rainy days in a run-down park with neighbors who are into loud rap music.   But that is rare - and our camper is always a refuge from that (it is rather well insulated from noise - like living in a Coleman cooler!).

But you'd be surprised how many people are scared of such trivial risks.  They only have two weeks of vacation so they have to be perfect!  And as a result, they are inevitably disappointed when they are not - and the miss on life's little pleasures, seeking the large ones.

Call Your Own Company, Sometime

How do customers perceive your company.  Try calling yourself sometime or visiting your own website.

We were in Potosi, Wisconsin at an Army Corp park wedged between a major rail line and the Mississippi river.  There's always a train.   We enjoyed it, just for the night, and were planning on revisiting the "Good Old Potosi" brewery and pub (and beer museum) down the street.   I was ready to unhitch the truck and Mark said, "You know, after labor day and all, they might be closed on Monday!"  So he called and got a recording that said, "Press 1 for address and hours of operation!"

So we did, and the recorded voice said "We are closed Mondays and Tuesdays until April 1st."  So we hung up and gave up on our plans, built a fire, mixed drinks, and made dinner.  I wondered whether the recording was accurate.  April 1st was an odd date to use (April Fools Joke?) in September.  So I called and pressed "100" for the pub.  A cheery voiced answered.

"You're open?"

"Yea, of course we are!  Until 9:00 PM!"

"Oh, your recording says you are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays until April!"

"Oh,right.  We need to change that!"

Apparently, they are indeed closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, from January 1st to April 1st, but the recording, made apparently after January, mentions only April.  No one bothered to change the recording (it could be years old for all we knew) so they lost two customers as a result.

And no, I am not relying on Google Maps notation that a business is "open" - we've been burned by that before - going to a location that Google says is "open" only to see the remains of a building that burned down years ago.   So much for "AI"!

And of course, their website was a cobwebsite with no indication of operating hours.

I know, I know, "foLLoW uS On fAcEBoOk!!" - I don't do that shit.  And an outdated or incomplete Facebook page is no better than an outdated website or phone recording.  When I visit any Facebook page for a business (which is rare, as I am not on Facebook) the site has postings about the latest darts tournament or Happy Birthday greetings to one of the servers - but basic information is not there.  And by the way, since I'm not on Facebook, it won't show me much of a commercial business website unless I join Facebook - and that's just not happening.

I suppose some business owners are flummoxed by websites - they hire a "website developer" to "code" their site and they put lots of photos and even videos and animation to make it look "professional."  But often things like the business address and operating hours are missing - or hidden under layers of menus.  And if they want to change the website, the "developer" asks for hundreds of dollars for "coding" to change a phone number by one digit.  So I get that.

In his book, Up the Organization! author Robert Townsend (who was head of AVIS car rental) noted that he tried to call his own company once, posing as a customer,and was horrified at the way he was treated.  Rude employees, long hold times - no wonder AVIS was #2!  They weren't trying harder.  Townsend suggests that any leader try that exercise - calling or contacting their own company through customer channels and see what happens.   It is amazing how many companies have "contact us!" links on their websites and when you carefully fill them out, they promise to contact you in 48 hours - but you never hear from them.  And how many companies say, "Your call is important to us!" but put you on hold for two hours.  I'm looking at you, AT&T!

Of course, in this day and age, customer service is more along the lines of "go fuck yourself" and I wrote before that trying to please every customer often means pissing off all of your customers.  When you try to placate Karen with some special service or discount, you annoy the rest of the customers patiently waiting in line, willing to pay full-price.  Worse yet, you give them the idea that maybe, they too, should cause a fuss and be catered to.

So I get it.  The Potosi brewery doesn't give a shit whether I show up or not. They were probably busy enough as it was.   And it is my fault for believing a recording, when I could have pressed "100" to speak to a real person.  Lesson learned.

On the other hand, it is frustrating as hell to drive somewhere only to see a "CLOSED" sign out front!