RMiddleton

“It's an undemocratic coup!”

“On the contrary we in the Democratic Party respect the spirit and letter of the law. I am the vice president to president Joe Biden. American voters know what that means. When voting, in a general or re-election primary, for a presidential candidate, it is with understanding that the vice president may step into the presidential role. It has happened numerous times. And it is especially on the voters' minds when the top of the ticket is older. Your supporters know that a vote for you is a vote for... uhhh JD Vance — just as the last 2 times around, votes for you were in support of Mike Pence. Presidential tickets are a package deal. If you were unable to fulfill your duties I'm sure your supporters understand that they are also voting for a potential President Vance. It makes it easy to run against you both because he's in your exact mould. He's every bad quality that is in you, without being a tv star. You may not be able to understand this because it is you not us who reduce everything to identity politics. You may see me as a middle-aged brown-skinned woman and Joe Biden as an older white man and not understand that we share the same values. American voters can understand what you cannot. They chose us over you four years ago and I believe they will reject you again. It's been the honor of my life to be Joe Biden's vice president. It will be an honor to serve as his successor as I finish the job that he and I started. We are the respecters of democracy. You are the coup leader.”

— Am I the only one who plays fantasy speechwriter? I've invented a term & tag for my pretend campaign work:

#PretendsidentialCampaign

By Rob Middleton who can be reached @[email protected] on Mastodon

If you give a man a fish he’ll eat for a day. If you teach a man to fish he’ll eat for a lifetime. If you listen to the man telling you he’s a vegetarian you’re a good friend. I’m not a vegetarian but I am that man. A friend came by to “help me” because she was worried about not hearing from me. I had been avoiding my phone and would not have invited anyone over, but that’s why she just showed up. That’s her personality and it can be very helpful for someone like me to have that kind of friend. I do passive avoidance. I suppose maybe it’s because I have this demeanor that a strong willed person like her doesn’t listen to me. When she popped by I knew it was because she cares so I appreciated it more than I was annoyed. I just asked her to wait on my balcony while I showered and dressed. I asked her not to touch anything because I know she likes to clean. When I came out she had transformed my living room. And I’m still upset about it. Depending on what “type” of person you are you might be thinking I should be grateful, or that even if I felt surprised that I would quickly get over it and like it. But I don’t. And that’s why I reached for the fish metaphor. Having a messy home is not a problem that weighs on me. And it’s not that I’m ignorant as to how to clean and organize and in need of someone to show me. If anyone bothered to ask, I have two main problems that derail organization. One, I am unable to reconcile myself with an American society intent on creating as much waste as possible. I do stop and think before disposing of most everything; and this does cause a backlog of items that most everyone would label useless waste. This hasn’t happened accidentally or due to my neglect. I have a great deal of clutter precisely because I am thoughtful about it. Whisking it all away into waste is not a solution that suits me. That leads directly to obstacle Two in my path to greater organization. This status quo does cause me difficult feelings. The intervention that others prefer—quickly removing as much as possible as waste — does nothing to lessen these feelings & actually aggravates my unpleasant feelings. What helps me is time to think. Reusing as much as I can and resolving to make more conscientious choices in the future. If people really wanted to help they would join me in committing to less waste. They would buy less and they would pressure retailers and regulators to make less waste a priority. And if they can’t offer to do that—and let’s face it few if any probably would!—then they could help me in the way that I have repeatedly asked. I have told people many times that if they want to help me with housework all I really want is company while I do it. I don’t even get into the bits about my despair over wastefulness. I just say that while cleaning I often have difficult feelings and that having someone to smile and joke with and talk to, maybe drink some wine, would make all the difference. No one ever helps me as I would like to be helped. “Beggars can’t be choosers,” comes to mind. But I’m not begging. I beg people not to tidy my place without me and they do it anyway. There is a lot of “help” offered by individuals and institutions that demands the recipient forfeit their own agency. When it comes to individuals, like what happened with my friend, I think it’s something like this: The personality of someone who is eager to intervene is a “doer” personality. Sitting still while someone slowly makes their own decisions is unappealing, especially to those who “could do it better in no time at all!” The people who are most suited to calmly sitting and allowing me to take as long as I want to do as much or as little as I chose, well those people are all at home lamenting what to do about their own overwhelming issues!

By Rob Middleton who can be reached @[email protected] on Mastodon

I strive to be a constructive complainer. That’s one way of presenting my goals. There is rampant rage and despair in all my social networks.

I have been a liberal among other liberals—all upper middle class, Cis, and white—lamenting that the world is on a path to destruction and nothing can be done. We vote. We give to charity. We sometimes march. What more can we do? It’s so depressing I think I’ll order something next-day from Amazon. I’ve been to years of therapy and tried many medications but nothing seems to help me overcome feeling that life is meaningless. I left the church I grew up in because those people are bigots, all Trump voters now. What kind of religion is that?! And science deniers too. Anti-vax. The climate is doomed because of people like that so I think I’ll book a trip to see some of the world’s beautiful places before they’re gone. Sigh. Maybe I can find an Airbnb somewhere that my dollar is worth a lot.

I’ve been some variation of that person, among friends who are likewise.

But I’ve also changed. When I am able I would like to share possible factors that led me to change and how I have changed. And what I think is possible going forward. I see myself in a position to address multiple points of view because I’ve had multiple points of view. I don’t say that “I’m so special” but that I’m one person in a position to talk about this stuff who is willing to and wants to be candid. I call the potential series I would write White People Problems because I believe there are certain issues common among US white people that are the root causes of so much misery—for ourselves and globally.

By Rob Middleton who can be reached @[email protected] on Mastodon

To Strengthen Democracy, this network has chosen to flip the script this election year, minimizing coverage of candidates in order to focus on fellow citizens. We believe taking ample time to listen to each other may be the key to peaceful progress. Researchers have chosen a random but representative sample of Americans from varied regions and walks of life. Political affiliation was not taken into account. The idea behind this program is that instead of listening to politicians we will hear from the people. We think the politicians would do well to watch this program.

What issues would you say you are most concerned about? … What are some things about this country that you wish would change, in the short and long terms? … How well informed do you feel about your government? … How often do you vote? … What guides your decision when you vote? … Do you know the elected offices that represent you that are up for election this year? … [If they don’t we tell them.] Do you already feel strongly about any of the candidates? … Do you know of any other decisions that you may be asked to make on your ballot this year? … [If they don’t we tell them.] Is there anything you might wish to say to other voters who are aligned with your preferences and to those who are not? … Thank you for your time.

This interview is one of dozens that we will air this election year as part of our commitment To Strengthen Democracy.

To our viewers, we understand that your preferences may vary wildly from the opinions that you have just heard. Our series takes inspiration from two phrases in our nation’s founding documents. “To ensure domestic tranquility,” we think that we must be able to listen to each other respectfully. By understanding the differing values and priorities of our fellow citizens we hope to help “form a more perfect union.”

Thank you. I wish you peace.

By Rob Middleton who can be reached @[email protected] on Mastodon

I don’t wanna let people down I don’t wanna let myself down I’m sad I’m supposed to be happy now, committed to my current ways. I just spent $450 to not feel better. I feel bad I feel discouraged I don’t wanna talk about it I don’t wanna talk to anybody I don’t wanna see anybody and maybe I’ll feel better tomorrow Good night

By Rob Middleton who can be reached @[email protected] on Mastodon

There’s not a single one I feel an iota of affection for; because why would I have good feelings for inhuman entities obsessed with money? This post isn’t to convince you how to feel but to share how my relationships with corporations evolve.

I think it was only last year that I found and fell in love with Over The Garden Wall. It’s a fall cartoon series that I have been looking forward to rewatching all year. (I watched it many times last fall and winter—and possibly spring!) It is a Cartoon Network production, part of Warner that was bought out by Discovery. Discovery has trashed a ton of programs, to make room I suppose for all their reality series they push in my face that I will never watch. OTGW is no longer there. A search produces nothing. I use JustWatch.com to see where things are steaming. OTGW is on Hulu now. That means ad breaks. Even with a good ad blocker some get through or there’s a pointless minute or two of silence. I may or may not watch this program I was affectionately anticipating. I have lost none of my appreciation for the production, the creators, the voices, the characters. That all remains strong. All I have is greater hatred of a corporation. It’s a small example. Multiply by dozens of daily experiences and by billions of humans on this planet and that’s a significant factor in alienation. We interact at all times with entities that have no feelings, no respect for us or anything but profit. Surely I’m not the only human alive who feels nothing but contempt for dozens of corporations every day. At this point I pause and wonder if I seem “too negative.” Funny thing is I don’t feel negative. I feel unconflicted. Clear. Corporations and I are enemies. There may be some people within each and every one of them who I’m able to get along with well enough, but the larger entity is a dangerous beast that I will never let my guard down to. I was not always this way. I do not expect to ever regrow affection for capitalism. The love of money is the root of ALL evil. No equivocation. Written about 1,850 years ago and put into the Bible. Some people obviously thought highly of those words of warning. If I were to rewrite the expression as part of a soft reboot of the Bible for modern sensibilities I would only need to leave off one word: The love of money is the root of all.

By Rob Middleton who can be reached @[email protected] on Mastodon

I am eager to present an exploration on capitalism, when I’m fully funded. We only get the things we pay for, so is it any wonder that we get so few thoughtful presentations on alternatives to capitalism? Instead we get memes. It’s all we have energy to offer.

Not too long ago I rolled my eyes at critiques of “capitalism” as boogyman. It’s the catch-all complaint, no further thought necessary. May as well be railing against the Illuminati, fluoride, or aliens. Except that capitalism is the real system that we all live under, and its effects are evident and provable.

“What’s the alternative?” is a reasonable reaction. For me the alternative is flirting with poverty. ;) I’ve started appending, “when I’m fully funded,” to most of my ambitions. It isn’t a joke. If anything it’s sad. I’m making it clear that there are definite projects I would have more time and energy to complete if I were paid to do them. I do not expect it to happen, but I make the appeal honestly, as a way of respecting myself.

To my current funders I offer thanks and apology. You’re not getting much return on your expenditures. Because I am not fully funded I am not fully functioning. Not even close. The preferred path that leaps to mind is for a creator to keep their day job while slowly building the viability of their side hustle. A few problems there. I don’t believe that all good things are marketable. I believe that’s the reason the world is as bad as it is. We have a system that only encourages specific types of behaviors. Those behaviors are not life sustaining, they are capital producing.

In looking for a metaphor for my prior employment, I considered, “X steps forward, Y steps back.” And whether I was getting slightly ever worse, or ever so slightly better, time was running shorter day by day. Metaphors are never fully accurate, though. If I picture 3 steps forward and 2 steps back I see slow progress. The metaphor is leaving out wear and tear. Processes are going on simultaneously. Every “step back” is painful and destructive. Apply this metaphor to society and our “steps back” have death tolls! In my personal life there are mental and physical health tolls. I’m not great now! So how can I say I am making steps forward? I know that I am viewing life differently. I am trying to accomplish various “steps forward” that I wasn’t even considering before.

Capitalism isn’t just economics. It’s a mindset. If I say that I want to produce {a, b, c, …} work and I don’t think it’s marketable, most brains under capitalism respond, “Then don’t do that. It’s not worth it.” No matter how much we meme that what matters is what’s inside, love, feelings, God, the sunset, or whatever, the truth is that most of us have fully absorbed the belief that if it’s not worth money it’s worthless. This mindset is driven into us every millisecond that we are conscious. There’s even a caring, humanitarian angle to it: “You have to take care of yourself; it’s priority number one, before you can consider anything else.” Never: “Can’t we all take care of each other, even strangers?”

I feel I’m in a really shitty position because I want to spread ideas that transcend a money mindset and I need funds to do it. Seems contradictory, huh? This writing represents at least 30 minutes of unpaid work that few will see. So why? Paradoxically, everything I do is me jumping up and down saying: There are good reasons besides money and attention to do stuff. (And I need money and attention to keep at it!) Sigh. For as long as I’m able I will continue to develop ideas that present alternatives to capitalism. I’m writing a sci-fi story about how a better world might be structured. I am exploring noncommercial spaces where I can hang out and share and build community. And every time that I “offer content” I do my best to avoid coercion, marketing, and advertising. I try to act in concert with my values that our world will improve when more minds are free.

I got better sleep last night. I’ll try to improve my functioning today within severe limitations. Who knows what’s possible when I’m fully funded…

By Rob Middleton who can be reached @[email protected] on Mastodon

Blog This is a place holder for an introduction post. ;)

I am on Mastodon every day.

By Rob Middleton who can be reached @[email protected] on Mastodon