Part of me wants to start celebrating Festivus early this year and begin the Airing of Grievances that traditionally (well, as traditional as you can get from a Seinfeld-based celebration) kicks off the holiday.
There is so much about which I could scream my lungs dry.
I mean, come on. I saw a stat yesterday that approximately 350,000 Americans have died of covid-19 since the vaccine became freely available. Well over 90% –most likely closer to 98%– of those deaths, probably 325,000 or more, were among the unvaccinated, most who were intentionally misinformed of the dangers and evils of the vaccine by media types who themselves were vaccinated.
325,000 dead. To put that in perspective, the cities of St. Louis, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Orlando all have populations of less than that. And all happening when there is a way to avoid it.
Senseless. It’s like someone starving to death even as food is readily available and free because they are being told, by someone with a full belly from eating the very same food, that the food is somehow tainted and will kill them. So, they refuse to eat the food and starve.
And they have the nerve to call those who are vaccinated sheep. Well, better a living sheep than a lemming plunging over the cliff.
There’s so many more grievances. You have the failed and current coups to overthrow our once great democracy, the climate change denial still taking place even as tornadoes devastate the midwest — the footage from last night’s storms are horrifying–and other climate change related disasters occur with increasing frequency, the gun fetishists in this country who place the protection of their guns over the safety of their children, or the manner in which white supremacy has risen to the surface and taken control of a major political party.
I could go on. Trust me on that. But I will spare you and myself that agony. I just checked my blood pressure and it read 345/285. The cuff burst into flames. I think that might be bad.
Guess it’s time to move on to another subject, though I wish it were a rosier one.
Michael Nesmith died yesterday at the age of 78. He was my favorite Monkee, always appearing lethargically calm and cool with his trademark stocking cap and Gretsch guitar. He wrote a number of songs for the Monkees and others, including Different Drum that was a big hit for Linda Ronstadt. He also produced a lot of videos and films including the cult classic Repo Man. Just a talented guy, His death is a loss for this crazy world.
Thanks for listening to my airing of grievances. Maybe this will help ease your own tension. Here’s Different Drum as performed by the late Michael Nesmith.
Redtree Times 