It is uncanny timing for Trump to bring to the forefront the term "shithole," as here in the G & G household three-fourths of us are having issues with our literal shitholes. I don't mean to make of light of Trump's remarks -- they're awful and hurtful to a lot of people. But they certainly aren't surprising. This is who Trump is, and this is why his base likes him. We've known this for a long time, at least since his "birther" movement. For me, that was all I needed. He perpetuated a totally made-up rumor that our first black president wasn't born in the United States. That's still mind-blowing to me. If, from that, you drew a conclusion other than Trump is a racist, then you are living in an alternate reality. Trump and his base simply confirm what we already know about them over and over again.
And since we are on the shithole subject, let's clear the air on a few things. Nobody gives a shit that the president said "shit" -- the vulgarity is clearly not the issue, and anybody bringing that into the discussion is either dumb or disingenuous. And "shithole" isn't just an indelicate synonym for "poor country." Trump wasn't using "kitchen table talk" or whatever it's being called. This is the type of language he only uses for nonwhite people. There are many poor regions of the United States, many of them are predominantly white, Trump never uses harsh language on these places. The poorest states in the union -- Mississippi, Arkansas, West Virginia -- are places Trump regularly flatters as "real America". So, it's not just a lack of eloquence; it's cut-and-dried racism. In fact, if I had to sum up the essence of Trumpism in a sentence, I would do it thus: Trumpism is the belief that poor black and brown people are poor because of personal failings and bad decisions -- laziness, corruption, violence, etc. -- and poor white people are poor because the government is taking their money and their opportunities and giving them to undeserving poor black and brown people. In short, Trumpism is white supremacy.
Anyway...
In personal news, as implied above, I and all my issue caught a nasty stomach bug this week, and it's been pretty gross. I've had my fill of poop and puke, that's for sure. I'm savvy enough to get it all in the proper receptacles; unfortunately, I cannot say the same for my children. We've already had to clean our sofa, our bathtub, and our foam play mat, in addition to running a load of laundry seemingly every twenty minutes. It's no fun at all. I think we are through the worst of it, but I'm not sure. Lil' S1 seems to be feeling better, and I'm feeling better. I think Lil' S2 is the only one still in the thick of it, and he's easier because he always wears a diaper. This is one time I'm glad he's not potty-trained yet. S, for her part, has somehow avoid illness, despite sharing a bed with all three of us at various times. I think she has a tougher belly because she lived in India when she was young and she travels so much. She's become inured to different types of germs that the rest of us aren't -- or maybe she's just gotten lucky, who knows?
To make things a little bit more annoying, I had to take the car into the shop this morning. (I did so without shitting my pants, which was the primary objective.) Not only did the battery need to be replaced, but a cover underneath the driver's seat had to be rebolted. It got knocked loose at some point, presumably somebody backed into it while parking and didn't leave a note (I used to clandestinely watch cars parallel park from my window, and it's like a game of bumper cars when drivers don't know anybody is watching), and we never took care of it. Of course, that just made things worse in the end, as it started to actually drag on the street, and I had to jimmy-rig it with duct tape just to get it to the repair shop. The man who runs the repair shop is really nice though. He didn't even charge to rebolt the cover. The only problem is you have to get your car to him by 8 am or he fills up for the day. So, on a day in which I really needed to sleep in (my stomach issues have been causing me to make a lot of nighttime runs to the bathroom), I had to wake up and drop off the car, and then take the bus back -- in the rain. Well, that beats subfreezing weather, I guess. But not by much.
Whenever our kids have tummy problems, our pediatrician tells us to give them crackers and a clear soda, so we have a sizable supply of Ritz and Sprite on hand at the moment. I've been indulging myself with little tastes, even though I've been trying to cut back on excess snacking. Ritz are a particular weakness of mine. They are especially good with cheese or Nutella, but even plain they're solid. I can easily put down an entire sleeve of them in a sitting if I let myself. As for soda, I forgot how good it is because I drink it so seldom. Replacing soda with fizzy water is a relatively easy way for me to drastically reduce empty calories and sugar consumption. But I'd be lying if I said a sip of Sprite doesn't light up a pleasure center in my brain.
Alright, I hear a child screaming my name. That's all for today. Until next time...
And since we are on the shithole subject, let's clear the air on a few things. Nobody gives a shit that the president said "shit" -- the vulgarity is clearly not the issue, and anybody bringing that into the discussion is either dumb or disingenuous. And "shithole" isn't just an indelicate synonym for "poor country." Trump wasn't using "kitchen table talk" or whatever it's being called. This is the type of language he only uses for nonwhite people. There are many poor regions of the United States, many of them are predominantly white, Trump never uses harsh language on these places. The poorest states in the union -- Mississippi, Arkansas, West Virginia -- are places Trump regularly flatters as "real America". So, it's not just a lack of eloquence; it's cut-and-dried racism. In fact, if I had to sum up the essence of Trumpism in a sentence, I would do it thus: Trumpism is the belief that poor black and brown people are poor because of personal failings and bad decisions -- laziness, corruption, violence, etc. -- and poor white people are poor because the government is taking their money and their opportunities and giving them to undeserving poor black and brown people. In short, Trumpism is white supremacy.
Anyway...
In personal news, as implied above, I and all my issue caught a nasty stomach bug this week, and it's been pretty gross. I've had my fill of poop and puke, that's for sure. I'm savvy enough to get it all in the proper receptacles; unfortunately, I cannot say the same for my children. We've already had to clean our sofa, our bathtub, and our foam play mat, in addition to running a load of laundry seemingly every twenty minutes. It's no fun at all. I think we are through the worst of it, but I'm not sure. Lil' S1 seems to be feeling better, and I'm feeling better. I think Lil' S2 is the only one still in the thick of it, and he's easier because he always wears a diaper. This is one time I'm glad he's not potty-trained yet. S, for her part, has somehow avoid illness, despite sharing a bed with all three of us at various times. I think she has a tougher belly because she lived in India when she was young and she travels so much. She's become inured to different types of germs that the rest of us aren't -- or maybe she's just gotten lucky, who knows?
To make things a little bit more annoying, I had to take the car into the shop this morning. (I did so without shitting my pants, which was the primary objective.) Not only did the battery need to be replaced, but a cover underneath the driver's seat had to be rebolted. It got knocked loose at some point, presumably somebody backed into it while parking and didn't leave a note (I used to clandestinely watch cars parallel park from my window, and it's like a game of bumper cars when drivers don't know anybody is watching), and we never took care of it. Of course, that just made things worse in the end, as it started to actually drag on the street, and I had to jimmy-rig it with duct tape just to get it to the repair shop. The man who runs the repair shop is really nice though. He didn't even charge to rebolt the cover. The only problem is you have to get your car to him by 8 am or he fills up for the day. So, on a day in which I really needed to sleep in (my stomach issues have been causing me to make a lot of nighttime runs to the bathroom), I had to wake up and drop off the car, and then take the bus back -- in the rain. Well, that beats subfreezing weather, I guess. But not by much.
Whenever our kids have tummy problems, our pediatrician tells us to give them crackers and a clear soda, so we have a sizable supply of Ritz and Sprite on hand at the moment. I've been indulging myself with little tastes, even though I've been trying to cut back on excess snacking. Ritz are a particular weakness of mine. They are especially good with cheese or Nutella, but even plain they're solid. I can easily put down an entire sleeve of them in a sitting if I let myself. As for soda, I forgot how good it is because I drink it so seldom. Replacing soda with fizzy water is a relatively easy way for me to drastically reduce empty calories and sugar consumption. But I'd be lying if I said a sip of Sprite doesn't light up a pleasure center in my brain.
Alright, I hear a child screaming my name. That's all for today. Until next time...
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