Book of D: Broken Hearts in Uvalde, TX - Forget "Thoughts and Prayers" - We Need "Policy and Change"

I was prepared to write about tonight’s final episode of “This Is Us,” but the shootings in Uvalde, Texas superseded everything I had hoped to say about the wonderful television series. Instead, I find myself mired in ambiguity and angst. I find myself talking about more needless deaths because of bad policymaking. Those fucking “thoughts and prayers” comments are a cacophony of bullshit cited by heartless, sycophantic politicians who would rather protect the 2^nd amendment than the lives of their constituents by continuing to ignore “policy and change” regarding gun control. It’s freaking madness. The GOP is lame and hellbent on telling children which books they can read, which bathrooms they can use, and which pronouns they can chose instead of protecting them - literally, from guns.

The GOP has a long history of shamelessly trying to convince people that something very sinister is transpiring, and that only the Republicans can save them. OMG. The audacity of these old WASPS. No wonder the younger gens are turning against the “grand old party”: the GOP is nothing but a bunch of old, vile, Jim Crow-loving, racist, angry, scared boys. They would rather take away a woman’s right to choose than to enact sound gun laws. Look, no one wants to take away anyone’s right to bear arms, the thing is that no one needs to have a stockpile of guns, even if it is protected by the 2^nd Amendment, because some right-wing nuts are supposedly scared of the very government they want to control and overthrow. . . remember the Capitol insurrection of January 6, 2021 (rhet.). Unsettling as it is, the research shows that white men are stockpiling guns mostly because they're anxious about their ability to protect their families, insecure about their place in the job market, and beset by racial fears. Moreover, people stockpile because they’re mounting some sort of resistance while others get a sordid rise out of a finely tuned machine that can pierce a distant target, cut down an animal or intruder with a single precise shot. For many, it is a bully’s toy of black plastic and metal that delivers a gratifying blast of adrenaline while delivering an imprudent embodiment of an antiquated Americana. 

Book of D: YT Influencers - Don't Throw Shade at Hard Work & Job Application Etiquette

I follow several YouTubers. It's the current nature of the beast, is it not, to be influenced by YT. It's not your grandmother's YouTube anymore, y'all. Anyway, this particular YT influencer (Shawn Spencer of Spencer Lawn Care) reminded me of something: don’t throw shade at those who work hard and are able to afford nice things in life. The YT influencer mentioned how some of his viewers have made snide comments about the stuff he and his wife Savanaha buy. The viewers have said things like “you buy a lot of stuff other people can't even afford a house.” 

It made me do an eyeroll, but it sounds about right these days when some people are too quick to make negative comments and assume that people with nice things didn’t work their butts off to afford such things. The Spencer wife-husband duo have worked hard for what they have. I have been watching their YT channel for years. I wish they lived in Midland, Tx, and I would def hire them to take care of my lawn. I love the Grounds Guys who currently handle our lawn care, but if the Spencer's were here instead of in Canton, OH, I would fire the GG and hire SLC. Anyheooow, I have had people make smarmy comments about what my spouse and I have or what we can afford to do and what great jobs we have. We've had our ups and downs, but like I told the YT influencer, it is no one's business. 

BTW, this YTuber (Shawn) also mentioned how some people don't pay attention to or care about how their job applications / resumes look when applying for a job. I also commented on that. I don't look down on people who lack the skills to properly create and format a resume or those who lack the skills to fill out an application. Good grammar does not a good, hard worker make. The disconcerting thing is that there are tons of free resources available to help job hunters with resume writing and filling out applications, but they just don't use them. It's so sad, too.

I commented the following on Spencer's YT channel, “As a person who works in higher education, it is perplexing to me how people are not more mindful when applying for a job. Regardless of the type of job, a person really should take more care about submitting a resume and such. We have had a few applicants, mostly for student-worker positions at the university I work for, who submitted applications that looked like they were students in grade school (SMDH). Anyway, good job reminding others how hard you and TQ work for what you guys have; honestly, it's no one's biz what y'all can afford to buy and such, but good going explaining that you haven't always had it easy. BTW, I def believe in karma and reaping what one sows. My late Mom always told us that no one leaves this good earth without paying for their sins. He is always watching. Keep mowing, keep growing ... you know the rest.”