This was the first time he said he was going to block me. The second was for my "questionable morals." Lol.

M and me are blocked by Adam Baldwin on Twitter. I shit you not. It happened awhile ago, and he deleted all his tweets to us before the end of the day. I’ve got all sorts of screenshots, but when it comes right down to it, it’s just not worth all the trouble. So, you get that one up there, and that’s it.

It was over that situation with the Marines, said to be members of an elite squad of the “best of the best”, who pissed on dead Taliban members, videotaped it, and then put the video into circulation.

Before I get into my opinion, let me remind you that my dad has worked for the government in some way, shape or form since before I was born. Two of the jokes-that-weren’t-completely-jokes most heard around our house, growing up? “I work for the government. I’m here to help you.” and “If I told you, I’d have to kill you.” But his longest job – and probably what I’d consider his only actual career – was as a member of the U.S. Military.

I am a patriot in my own way. I love our country. I support our military wholeheartedly. I don’t hold against them the assignments they’re made to carry out, because I know what can happen to them – and in some cases, should happen, if we were to follow the full letter of the law as it was intended – if they’re insubordinate.

It’s not like when you ignore your boss at the office, or blow off your manager at the box store, or curse your foreman out at the mill. Soldiers can be issued a court martial for insubordination. At best, they’re dishonorably discharged if they’re found guilty, which can sometimes make it difficult to find a civilian job. Some insubordination warrants a stint in military prison, which I hear is even worse than a civilian maximum security prison. And other instances of insubordination are considered treason. You can be shot for treason.

I also support our military’s code of honor. Each branch says it a little differently, but when it comes down to it, they’re pretty much the same. Respect, protect and serve your country with honor and courage.

The U.S. Marine Corps claims to have three core values. They are honor, courage and commitment. These values are defined further in many places and many ways. About.com’s article on the Marines’ Core Values defines “honor” in great detail.

Honor guides Marines to exemplify the ultimate in ethical and moral behavior; to never lie cheat or steal; to abide by an uncompromising code of integrity; respect human dignity; and respect others. The quality of maturity, dedication, trust and dependability commit Marines to act responsibly; to be accountable for their actions; to fulfill their obligations; and to hold others accountable for their actions.

Respect human dignity. I’d say an honorable person would respect human dignity. And peeing on dead bodies, regardless of who they were when they were alive, is not, at all, respectful of human dignity.

The excuse I’ve heard most for those Marines is that we’re at war. Worse things have happened during war in the past (and still occasionally do) than a few dead bodies getting peed on. The opposing sides do everything in their power to debase and demean their enemies. It’s the nature of the beast.

Adam Baldwin says to protest the treatment of “barbarians” (he later started calling the Taliban “savages” because Roland Hulme explained that barbarian originally meant “anyone who is not Greek”) is to prove yourself an enemy of your country. M told Mr. Baldwin he objects to the Marines’ behavior because it goes against their code of honor and is disrespectful not only to the dead people whose bodies they desecrated, but also the country to which they pledged their service. So Adam Baldwin blocked M for “defending barbarians.”

When I pointed out that M wasn’t defending barbarians, but was, in fact, defending The honor code the Marines say they hold dear, he said he was blocking me for defending barbarians. He didn’t, though.

Oh, and by the way? Only people who are pro-choice would have a problem with what the Marines did. Yeah, I haven’t figured the connection out, either. That’s when Adam Baldwin told me he was blocking me for the second time. When I told him I was pro-choice. I think I’m misunderstanding how this whole blocking someone on Twitter thing works, cause I can still see his profile and tweets.

Thing is, Americans are supposed to be more civilized than that. Or, at least, that’s what we like to think about ourselves. Until it’s our boys out there peeing on dead bodies. Then some of us get all caught up in the, “Yeah! Piss on the Taliban!” aspect, and completely ignore the fact that we’d turn an entire country into a really big lake if they ever did the same thing to even one of our soldiers. Hell, if a lot of us had our way, our government would openly assassinate every adult member of Westboro Baptist Church, and all they’ve done is protest at soldiers’ funerals. If one of them peed on one of those soldiers, instead of just screaming propaganda and hatred, we’d probably take matters into our own hands.

Well, they probably do that and worse to our dead soldiers. It just hasn’t been publicized.

Doesn’t make it right.

We’re motherfucking Americans, god damn it. We always take the moral high road, building it as we go when we get into situations about which we’re unsure. But we can’t have our cake and eat it, too. Either we’re civilized and enlightened, or we’re not. Either we live by a “more righteous” moral code than our enemies, or we don’t. Either it’s okay to pee on dead bodies, or it’s not.

But besides that, a man in the military raised me to hold our men and women in service (and especially those who’ve earned the right to be considered “elite”) to a higher standard than I would the average Joe. He told me that anyone who joined the military could be trusted implicitly to look out for me and my countrymen. He told me military personnel worth their salt would never do anything to embarrass our people or our country. They are trained to be respectful of all people, including their enemies, and to maintain professionalism even in times of war. Maybe especially in times of war.

I wouldn’t exactly call peeing on dead bodies “maintaining professionalism.” Matter of fact, I’d venture to say peeing on dead bodies is decidedly unprofessional. And dishonorable. Not to mention inflammatory and embarrassing. I am humiliated by the actions of those Marines.

Don’t get me wrong. I have no respect for the Taliban. I don’t feel they deserve anyone’s respect. Their tactics (and many of their beliefs) are disgusting. I understand that they think we’re the terrorists, and I get that many of them are doing what they think is right. (That’s one of the biggest problems with fanatics. Their logic is fucked, and there’s no way you’re gonna change their mind.) But even if they’re right, that whole “Anyone not like me is evil!” mentality is something I’ve never been able to get behind.

However…

Whether or not the Taliban deserves respect is not in question. There are very few Americans who think the Taliban deserves respect.

What is in question is the behavior of our Marines. Was their conduct unbecoming a U.S. Marine?

Personally, I feel it was. I don’t care that we’re at war. I don’t care that I can’t fathom what it’s like to be in the thick of it. I don’t care that the culture on a Marine base is different than anything I’ve encountered. And don’t give me that shit about gang mentality. Those Marines knew what they were doing, and they thought we’d be proud of them.

I was proud of them. Veryproud. Right up until the moment they filmed themselves peeing on dead bodies and posted the footage online. And if that makes me a barbarian defender, then so be it. At least I can now say my convictions got me blocked by a celebrity on Twitter.

The craziest shit happens to me.

So remember good ol’ A#8 from the post about why people are killing each other in Schenectady? Let me get you up to speed.

The guy spent a night screaming to a mutual friend of ours that the reason we don’t get along is because “if I shit too loud she calls the landlord.” Apparently we’re just being unreasonable. It’s perfectly acceptable to play your music so loud you have to scream to be heard over it from midnight till 6am.

So, against our better judgment, because he gave a clear reason for having an issue with us, we apologized. And that’s when things got worse.

He became completely fixated on me, until we had our mutual friend pass along a message that M would not just stand idly by while he attacks me. So he turned his obsessive anger on both of us.

He spends entire nights convincing his friends that we are assholes and they should help him attack us. He yells that he’s going to burn the building to the ground. He says he’s going to kick in our door and beat the fuck out of me. He’s going to kill us both. And on and on and on. Until we were finally treated to a night of ranting about the real reason he hates us. We’re white.

White people are the devil. White people are holding him down. White people are the cause of all his problems. And I mean all his problems. And we are the white people he’s chosen to focus his anger on.

Then, suddenly, it was silent upstairs every night. Occasionally he’d talk loud or turn his radio up a little louder than we’d prefer, but the threats stopped. The stomping stopped. Then it started again.

We’ve probably waited far too long, but we went to the police and filed a report. They offered to arrest him for harassment. We decided to wait until we have proof. No sense having him arrested without proof so he can say we’re lying.

We’ve bought a digital recorder and will be setting it up at night when we go to bed. And the next time, we’ll be off to the police station with him on tape.

The officer tried to allay my fears with the usual reassurances the authorities give abused women. Usually their bark is worse than their bite. Generally speaking, if they have to put forth effort, they won’t do it. Blahblahblahwords.

Now I find myself wishing he’d start screaming so we can get it on tape and get it over with. And of course he’s silent.

Let’s start with the fact that he doesn’t screen his tenants. There hasn’t been a single tenant in this building who wasn’t some kind of asshole. You’d probably respond to that with, “Everyone’s got a little asshole in them.” and you’d be right. Hell, I’ve got a lot of asshole in me. I ain’t too proud to admit that. But the people who have lived here really take the cake.

Don’t believe me?

Assholes #1: These two were relatively quiet when they lived in the downstairs rear apartment, aside from the occasional kerfuffle and rare car wash days (when he cranked his POS stereo), but we’ve all got those days. Imagine our surprise when they moved into the apartment beneath ours and almost rattled the pictures off our walls by body-slamming each other around the house every three days like clockwork. Then we discovered he was a crack dealer and she was a conniving cunt who blamed all her bullshit drama on everyone else. They moved out on their own after an argument with the landlord over how our parking lot was plowed.

Asshole #2: This lady really wasn’t so bad. The only really annoying things about her were that she is a complete feminazi, a little racist and didn’t take care of her cat in what I would consider the best way an animal should be cared for. But those things can be mostly overlooked. She moved on her own when she realized the landlord was never going to do anything about the cookouts A#3 were throwing in our parking lot. Which were never anything more than a normal cookout: a bunch of people hanging out, playing cards, tossing back a few beers and talking.

Assholes #3: This couple was nice most of the time. But Jesus, would they turn on you on a dime. They got money off the rent for taking care of the grounds, but they’d complain because no one else took the garbage out to the road. And every Saturday and Sunday morning the radio would start blaring at 8am. Around noon it would go off. They moved on their own because he had to have hip surgery and couldn’t do stairs for a while. For about five minutes, this place was quiet.

Assholes #4: The Crackhead and her crew. There were drug dealers and johns (who were often the same people) running in and out of our shared hallway which was our only exit. And if it weren’t for the guy who walked around our building with a sledgehammer screaming about smashing all the windows in the place, or the one who was constantly leering at me and making disgusting comments as if I were one of The Crackhead’s other crackwhore friends, or her creepy stalker who almost got into a knife fight with A#3, I probably wouldn’t have cared. Eventually they’ll kill themselves and the world will go on a better place without them. But it became painfully obvious that having them here put us in danger when they started having knife fights in the hallway. Course, the landlord only evicted them because she was late on the rent.

Asshole #5: An older gentleman, probably in his forties or fifties, moved in with a sob story about hard times in his marriage and his wife living in Syracuse. It wasn’t long before it became obvious that the reality was he was a crackhead, fresh from some program, trying to show his wife he could stay sober. Then he met The Crackhead. He moved out on his own when he realized how far down he’d fallen. The last time I saw him, he’d been gone a month. He was back here trying to score some crack.

Assholes #6: A girl in her late teens, early twenties moved into the apartment we live in now with her boyfriend. She was pregnant, overdue and had an inducement scheduled for a couple weeks after she moved in. Two days before she went in to have the baby, she was in The Crackhead’s apartment. Naturally, when she took the mandatory drug test the state gives every mother about to give birth, she failed and lost the baby. Once the baby was gone, the party started. Then the boyfriend left, and the party went somewhere else. While a 200lb pitbull was locked in the kitchen. Sometimes for weeks at a time. Guess who cleaned up that mess? Once again, the landlord only kicked them out because they didn’t pay the rent.

Assholes #7: These folks were a couple young guys. I’m not really sure if they were lovers or friends. There’s a girl living there now with the one who’s been evicted but has yet to move out. The front window’s broken because they got into a fight and he put her head through the window. The landlord hasn’t fixed it. It’s been at least two weeks. The sheriff has yet to come to follow through on the eviction. It’s been at least a month since the landlord started the process. So he’s not getting paid, and he’s not really making any effort to get rid of the guy, either.

Assholes #8: A girl and a guy. I think. As far as I know the rest of the people who’ve been there are just visitors. But, dude, seriously? Who the fuck goes to someone’s house and helps them fuck with someone they’ve never even seen, so much as met, and can’t possibly have an issue with them?

The first time they were too loud we thought, “No big deal. It happens.” But then they got increasingly worse. Apparently, not calling them on their bullshit was an invitation to be assholes. So finally, after spending a night listening to their insane antics that swing sharply from one extreme to the next, we called the landlord and complained. Two weeks later, they got (what we thought was) out of control, only this time, they paced the house screaming “I don’t give a fuck who has a problem with my music this loud. I’m gonna listen to it how I want.” for an hour or so. Later, they were yelling about how they were going to blow the building up and kill everyone in it.

The landlord’s response? “Call the police. They’ll do something.”

Well, we called. The first night we called less than ten minutes after we made the call, they turned the music off. The second night we called, the same thing happened.

Last night, they didn’t turn their music on. Not once. Instead, they literally bounced off the walls and the floor all night long. So hard that the ceiling showered us with plaster powder and our pictures (including the sand painting M brought home from Africa when he was thirteen) rattled so hard I thought a frame cracked. Around 4:30 this morning, his company left and we thought we’d finally be able to go to sleep. But our bedroom door makes noise when you open and close it. And every time he heard the door open, he’d jump from one end of the apartment to the other for twenty minutes. He finally stopped around 6am.

There is no doubt in my mind that he is intentionally torturing us.

This morning, after hearing him talking to more company (that was here pounding on the back door so loud it was rattling our windows at around 10am) and telling them he’d intentionally kept us up all night, M called the police. Who said there is nothing they can (or will) do. They won’t even give the guy a ticket for violating the noise ordinance. They called it a “quality of life” issue and said it’s far too low a priority to send an officer to address the situation. “But file a report, and get it on file. That way if something happens we know who to look at.”

Gee. Thanks. So if the guy kills us, you’ll have a suspect, and our deaths might be avenged. That’s a huge load off my mind. I’m so glad we called you.

On Tuesday, I’m calling every housing authority I can find a number for. Tenants Rights, NYS Housing Authority, Code Enforcement … whoever I can find. If the police won’t do anything, and the landlord won’t kick him out, maybe we have some civil recourse against the landlord. We could own this building! But you best believe we’ll be selling it if the judgment does come out in our favor.

But I really wish there was something that could be done about the police’s picking and choosing of which laws to enforce. I mean, I get it. With an average of one teenager being shot a week, someone being loud really isn’t that big of a deal. But the problem is that at this point it’s not just someone being loud. In any other situation this would be considered an attack. The more we complain, the worse they get, and the more threats we hear them screaming over the music.

It’s an attack on our sanity, if not our physical well-being. Though many more sleepless nights and it’ll be an attack on our physical well-being as well.

And this is how violence in the ghetto starts. Person A harasses Person B for some perceived offense that may or may not be real. Person B tries to get law enforcement to do something about Person A but law enforcement refuses. Then finally, at his wits’ end, Person B loses control and does something to Person A. And the cops blame it on the neighborhood, or the drugs, or poverty when the reality is they refuse to step in until the situation has erupted into violence, and someone’s hurt or dead.

I used to browse 4chan, some time ago. 4Chan is where Anonymous started out. For those of you that have never been to 4chan, I would consider it one of the few lawless places on the ‘net, tho I’m sure there are those who disagree. This is not a place of fairies and butterflies where everyone is your friend. In fact, it’s probably good to just assume if you post everyone will hate you (newfag!). Even the vernacular regularly used on the site is more hate oriented than anything else, especially if you peruse boards like /b/.

I have a hacking background. In fact, that’s what ultimately got me my first job as a System Administrator, some 15 years ago now. I spent a lot (practically lived there) of time in the 90′s on Efnet IRC, running and being part of various hacking groups. I’ve done some things I’m not proud of, and have talked to and hung out with many hackers. My point here is that I have experience with things such as Anonymous, and even with that experience what I’m seeing, especially on Twitter, I’m starting to wonder if we’ve been duped.

Frankly, anyone who thinks Anonymous, either a cohesive group or as separate individuals uniting for the same goal, is only interested in freedom and democracy needs to do some research. Anonymous has turned into nothing more than a powerful group of bullies, that takes every opportunity to incite violence.

What really struck me today was one of Anonymous’s tweets talking about revolution in America, presumably referring to what’s currently going on in Wisconsin. I don’t think the people that make up Anonymous, in all of their 12 or 13 years on this planet, really understand what they’re asking for. A revolution, or civil war, in America would NOT make things better for the foreseeable future. What will all these disgruntled teens do without their precious Xboxes and fast food?

I have met, and at times in the past I have been, the type of hacker to do things for “good”. I’m not saying everyone using the Anonymous name is ultimately out for death and destruction. However, let’s be blunt. This is a very loosely knit group of hackers who daily break federal and international law, and their excuse is always “we’re doing it for the people”. In reality, many of these people are just on power trips. Don’t discount how much of a rush it is for a hacker to take down a big evil entity such as Mastercard. Bragging rights in the hacking community are a major perk. Those companies that Anonymous decides to target employ real people, just like them. They have no problem with putting innocents out of a job, or worse completely destroying them in public opinion. For this I’m not referring to the stuff with HBGary. Frankly, fuck HBGary, they basically begged for it. People just can’t seem to avoid poking the wasps nest.

Now, please understand that I’m not saying people of the world don’t need help. They do, and in the beginning I was fully behind what those who claim to be Anonymous were doing. They have done some very positive things, but what’s the ultimate goal? If you judge by their tweets and press releases, their goal appears to be world wide violence and anarchy. That is NOT something we want, even if our ultimate goal is democracy.

People, think for yourselves. Make sure when you throw your support behind an organization (tho that term has to be used very loosely here), that you know what it is you’re supporting.

People of Egypt, Iran, Tunisia, and everywhere else do need a voice from outside their country helping them. On the flip side, do they need an organization that is so petty that they will carry out long term attacks and destroy anyone who has a harsh word to say about them? I don’t think so, and I think we have to be careful here. If you’re going to throw your support behind an organization, make sure you know what it is you’re supporting. I can tell some of the people I follow on Twitter really do not get it. Trust me when I say it’s in your best interest to become informed.

As I’ve said before, the enemy of our enemy isn’t always our friend. Anonymous, you were our friend in the beginning. Unfortunately, now you’re starting to look like the enemy. If you start acting like the tyrants we’re trying so hard to take down, you’ll turn into one of them yourselves. And eventually the people of the world will wake up and take notice. And then you can expect us.

The more they do, the more confused I get about their choice of occupation. I mean, why would you be a cabby in the ghetto if you hate black people? What could possibly make you consider a profession that forces you to spend a good amount of time in a rolling box with the very people you hate? In some cases, it’s gotta be that they really just can’t do anything else. Because Jesus, these people are stupid.

For example, did you know all the violent criminals in the US, and especially in Schenectady, are either drug dealers or drug addicts? No one has ever been arrested for beating, raping, stabbing, shooting, mutilating, or killing another human being who wasn’t involved with drugs in some way. And the second they arrest one young blood drug dealer (who’s black, by the way), another one takes his place, and starts hurting people again.

Yeah… that’s what yesterday’s cabby said in response to my comment on New York’s police force seeming to be more interested in drug busts than murders and assaults. “That’s because the murderers and assaulters are all drug dealers and drug addicts. It’s all over money and drugs.”

o.O

But Rayne! My cousin’s sister’s aunt’s best friend’s uncle tried meth just one time, and he was hooked, and started stealing and stuff to get money for it. And someone caught him stealing their stuff, and he went nuts, and killed them.

I hear ya! Drugs do bad things to good people, and some violent criminals were on drugs when they were picked up. But “some” is not “all”, and just as many armed robberies are about the person being flat broke and having to feed their family as they are about drug money. Desperate times, and all that.

For that matter, I’d venture to say that your cousin’s sister’s aunt’s best friend’s uncle is more to blame than the meth. Being a former addict, I can tell you there’s a moment where you go, “Hmm… I wonder if I’m just a little too into this. Maybe I should quit.” I don’t know that I met any addicts at rehab who didn’t say they had similar thoughts. Many say they make a conscious decision not to care before spiraling out of control. I mean, no one really thinks it can happen to them, you know?

“Oh, whatever. I can stop whenever I want. It’ll take a lot more than a couple lines here, a few more there, to get me addicted.”

Not to mention the conscious decision the addict makes to try the drug in the first place. There are very few people who aren’t subjected to some form of drug abuse prevention therapy at some age in these great United States.

The thing about a drug dealer is, usually, the hustler on the street, or behind the door at the knock spot, is just a cog in the wheel. The cashier at the grocery store. A dude trying to make a buck to feed himself and his family. Half of them only own weapons because of who they have to deal with, and the dangers surrounding being a drug dealer, not because they actively seek to use it. The vast majority of the ones I’ve known intentionally keep their weapons in a place only they know, out of reach, and never look at it again unless they’re cleaning it, or find themselves in a position where they have to use it.

I’ve known a couple who had never been in a fight. I’ve known a couple who only fight in defense of themselves or those around them. I’ve known a couple who found themselves in a position to defend a stranger on the street in a situation they knew nothing about, or just walk on by, and they stopped and saved the stranger.

And I’ve known a couple who would just as soon kill you as look at you. But they are in the minority, by far, and usually didn’t come up right to begin with, so they were gonna go bad whether they got involved with drugs or not.

And, naturally, you’ve got the psychotic, power hungry thug often portrayed on television, or the big screen. They’re even fewer and farther between, and they’re easily deflated. Just plop someone in front of them who is completely unfazed by their abuse, and isn’t really afraid to die. They become completely confused, retreat to a dark room to try and figure out how to hurt the person, and finally just wither and die.

Okay, maybe that last is wishful thinking. The psychotic thugs seem to have nine lives. So maybe use nine people who are unfazed?

Let’s say there’s no need to point out that some drug dealers are the equivalent of a WalMart cashier. Let’s, instead, point out to these ignoramuses the fact that most serial killers are white males, and plenty of white people have been arrested for and convicted of armed robbery, assault, possession of drugs with intent to sell. Hell, the chief of police up here was arrested for heading a drug ring, and he’s white!

While the cabby is correct in his belief that in order to do away with the drug-related violence, we have to go after the people involved, he’s completely wrong about which people we should be going after.

We shouldn’t be arresting the weed dealer on the street because the crack dealer behind the window killed a crackhead for looking at him funny. We shouldn’t be putting nonviolent criminals behind bars for the majority of their lives because other people who choose their illegal line of work think they have the right to go around hurting people who piss them off. That’s like hating all bus drivers because one of them intentionally splashed water out of the gutter on your brand new thousand dollar suit. Or deciding to put down all the pit bulls in the world because a few that weren’t properly cared for hurt children. Or executing all the AIDS patients because a few assholes are going around intentionally infecting people.

I’d love to see stories in the news about the dealers I knew who were constantly trying to find and hold down a legitimate job, and barely covering their bills with the money they made selling drugs. I’d love to see an exposé on the ones who try really hard to hold their families together, and don’t go to work till their kids are in bed, and make sure to be there when they wake up, and keep it completely separate from their families. Or even the ones who are heavily involved in the community, and not the way the mafia was–or is, depending on who you ask.

But you might not even see that if pot is legalized. I think even if that happens, it’ll be demonized. Just like alcohol, and cigarettes, and now carbs, and trans fat, and gluten, and high fructose corn syrup.

Anyway… That’s all I’ve got to say about that.

Shortly after you moved in, I began regularly burning incense in our hallway.  It smells like ass in there when I don’t.  Sweaty, dirty, rotten ass, and tires, and cherry cough syrup.

People keep asking me if I’m 420-friendly because of the numerous sticks in the wall.  Don’t worry.  I tell them I burn incense because it smells like your unwashed ass if I don’t.

Signed,
I’d rather smell like a hippie than smell like you.

Stop calling my husband “Sir”.  Everyone who hears it, including him, knows you only do it because “Look, Rayne! I got all dolled up for you!” didn’t work out so well for you.

Signed,
Now, I ain’t sayin you a gold digger… Okay, yes, I am.

It’s a letter scale, not a calculator.  Say it with me.  Lehter skeyl.  Good! And no, you can’t use it to weigh your “teenager” on.

I know you think you’re protecting yourself with your nifty code words, but you do realize that getting caught buying a “teenager” will get you in just as much trouble (if not more) as a “teen” of crack, right? Especially what with you being a known prostitute and all.

Signed,
Thought You Should Know

If you don’t want to be referred to as a “crackhead”, perhaps you should put down the pipe for two seconds.

Signed,
Not Fooled by Your Indignation