Bone In The Throat

I saw Cher spewed some comment about leaving the USA if Trump was to be re-elected. See YA!

I’m not trying to be mean about it but I recall a lot of Hollywood saying they’d leave the USA if Trump was elected in the first place. They’re all still here so I suspect either they’re a bunch of liars (Possible & Likely…) OR a lot of these loud mouths figured out that there’s no-place else to go. 

No-where on the planet would they be as free to act the way they act here. Most other places wouldn’t allow them to shoot their mouths off about the leaders of the nation, and most wouldn’t allow these Hollywood types to indulge in their various vices either.

Where are you gonna go Cher?? Really?

I too have wrestled with this question. Not over Trump, but over Obama!

About half way through Obama’s first term I concluded that the Hope and Change he’d promised wasn’t actually making things any better. I felt we’d only handed the reins of power over to someone else who was more about the power than the people.

I was very disappointed. I had high hopes that Obama could and would make changes that benefited everyone. I thought this was probable because of Obama’s upbringing. I was wrong…

That’s when I really began to feel very alienated. It wasn’t about his race it was about the way others responded to his race. All I wanted was someone to bring the government to heel, I honestly didn’t care about the person’s color or gender all I wanted was better, smaller, government. Boy, did I bet on the wrong damn horse!

I started looking for places to move. I tried to convince my other half that we’d be better off someplace else. I was thinking other countries. I was looking for someplace where the law was in fact the law. Where rules meant something, A place where no-one gave a shit about your race, gender, sexuality, or whatever. The only criteria that mattered was what you as an individual brought to the table to contribute.

My other half being much wiser than me said, “When you find a place, babe we’ll discuss it.” He knew I’d never find a place that met my criteria. Because he knew intimately the failures of humanity and the best and most redeeming qualities as well. He saw people through a lens of religion at their best and worst.

He wasn’t a Saint, but I’d say he could give a lot of folks in the running for sainthood, some stiff competition. 

For all the fucked up mess that we’ve allowed to become the norm in this country, The USA is still the best option. Aside from the fact that you’re double taxed if you’re a citizen living abroad, and that if you choose to give up your US citizenship the USA makes you buy your way out… Both situations I REALLY am opposed to!

Being in another country may not be the best way to go. There’s a cultural context that is hard to get around. We Americans are loud, we’re bossy, we’re arrogant, and it’s not that we’re trying to be any of these things, it’s that we are used to having so much, that when we’re confronted with any limitations, we get obnoxious. Some might say childish.

In my travels outside the USA I’ve witnessed more Americans than not, being assholes unintentionally. It’s usually been due to something fundamental in the culture of the country we were visiting, that my fellow Americans or I missed.

Magnify those social faux pas by thousands and you not “getting” why things are done a particular way in another country and over time, you’re going to feel not at home. Sure you’ll adapt to a lot of things, but you’ll never “get” it all.

It’s tough to feel like you never really belong. Oh, at first you don’t really notice that you don’t belong, you think over time you’ll blend in. To some extent that is true. But the more different the culture or local beliefs the less you’re likely to really blend in and feel comfortable and at home.

I feel that, in California. I’ve been here 40 years or longer. I function here, but between the basic differences in the way California has always done things, and the accumulation of more radical changes over time, I’ve become less and less comfortable here. This fact was slammed home to me when I noticed my blood pressure dropped 10 points on trips outside California. Imagine waking up in a strange hotel after driving all day long, not eating right, fast food, too much salt, and your bp is 10 points lower than when you wake up in your own house.

I was on my way out of California 35-36 years ago. My plan got derailed because I fell in love.

My plan’s derailment was made less difficult because when we met, he lived in a little mountain town that was a lot like where I came from. When we moved in together, I moved to that mountain town and was actually pretty comfortable. Over time, my comfort level has diminished because the town has changed right along with California. By California standards we’re a redneck town. Comparing the town today, to the town when I first moved up here, My little town is a lot like what California was 40 years ago. 

I saw the changes in California overall, and in my little town in particular. I stayed because of my other half. Now that he’s gone, I find myself reconsidering the original plan to go back to an area of the country where I am culturally compatible.

My desire to move to another country entirely has abated somewhat. I do still like the thought of a small house overlooking a Fjord, miles from anyone else. This is horribly impractical at my age and while it’s a nice fantasy, perhaps even a bucket list item for a vacation, it’s not something I can see as a permanent residence.

What I can see, is a place in this country where I don’t feel like an alien. I’d like to be someplace where speaking my mind isn’t fraught with the high likelihood that I’ll be involved in an altercation.

As a kid, I was surrounded several times by black kids who tended to bully other smaller kids. They behaved like a pack surrounding their prey then throwing punches when the prey’s back was turned. Since you were trapped in a circle there was no way you weren’t going to get hurt. This led to my not being comfortable in crowds for most of my life. I really need to have space around me and most people notice I’m always scanning the area. My looking past you isn’t meant as an insult, It’s a safety measure. One I was taught at the brutal hands of black bullies who thought it was fun or funny to hurt people smaller than they were. They only stopped bullying me when they thought I’d lost my mind, I started hunting the leaders of “The Pack” and attacking them when they were alone. You cause damage to a bully, and make them fear you then suddenly they stop bullying you.

I’ve been seeing more of this “pack” behavior across the nation, It’s not limited to any particular racial group, it’s become commonplace in larger cities and it seems to be more prevalent in large liberal populations than in places that are more conservative leaning. Of course that’s not a hard fast rule but it’s a general guide. I’m sure that beating the fuck out of the leaders of these “New Packs” would be as effective today as it was when I was in school. I’d prefer to void the problem entirely. One way to do that is to move someplace where the majority of people feel and think like I do.

It’s kind of like the Starbucks rule. If you’re looking at moving into a particular neighborhood, count how many Starbucks shops there are. The more affluent and crime free the neighborhood, the more Starbucks you’ll find. The exception to this rule might be Seattle. The last time I was there, Starbucks shops were on every corner, including four shops in one shopping plaza.

I fully understand that this actually leads to polarization. There was a time when I’d have thought that was a bad thing, but now… Not so much. I’d be happy if the place I choose to live is about a 50/50 mix. But I’m looking for a place that’s more like a 60/40 mix, Conservative / Liberal. 70/30 and I’d be ecstatic.

This is in part driven by the fact that I don’t understand a lot of the rules in play in California anymore. I’m looking to go back to places where most of the rules I was raised with are still in force. I don’t want to have to deal with a pack of humans rampaging, I don’t want to be trapped in a Starbucks by BLM protestors demanding compliance and adherence to their beliefs ever again. I didn’t like that I couldn’t leave, I had no weapons but my fists, and so many other people in the place were effectively saying “Yes Massa”.

I want to be in a place where I can carry a weapon but that it’s unlikely I’ll need to. That’s a funny equation, in places where constitutional carry exists, there are a lot of folks who don’t carry a gun because they know they don’t need to. It’s actually funny because that’s sort of the description of herd immunity. Not everyone has to be inoculated because enough of the population are, that disease transmission is nil.

I want to live in a place where kindness and courtesy are valued. I’d like to live someplace where I know my neighbors and interact with them in beneficial ways.

I decided that no asshole President was going to make me leave my country. They’re only in office 8 years max, so who cares? Obama, Trump, Biden, Bush, Clinton, Nixon, they all came and went but the country remained.

People like Cher should be way more concerned with Congress. Those shitty hacks stay in office long enough to really cause changes and honestly, those changes are a lot more long lasting and dangerous than what the President does.

If she and others like her want to move someplace, Maybe they should consider moving to places in the USA where folks think more like they do. Cher is in California, maybe she should stay here. Soon she’s going to have one less conservative leaning Californian to contend with. I won’t be cancelling her vote for President Dumbass in the next election.

Now, If I could get off this planet entirely… That’s gonna be another story!