Frayed edges

At first blush the man sitting at the other side of the metro platform from me seems fine. Then suddenly he squawks like some prehistoric bird at the top of his lungs. 

No one reacts. 

We have a mental health epidemic in the world; one brought on by the insecurity and the broken human ties which are not visibly improving. 

When times are stable people feel reassured. When systems break down we end up with societal frayed edges. 

There is never a perfect era because when I was growing up diversity was an unthinkable thing. Conversely we had financial and societal harmony that kept more people from feeling despair. 

No such thing as perfect.

It's the little things

My neighbor came back from Barcelona a couple of months ago and brought me back a little God send. It is a USB rechargeable mini fan that I can carry in my purse and help with relief from the current heat. 

I don't leave the house without it in the morning and I use it judiciously lest it leave me high and dry at the worst possible moment. 

Often it's the little things in life that bring us the most joy; the little details that a friend imparts and tells you they appreciate your place in their life.

51st state

 

Curbing your enthusiasm

When gender variant people talk about curbing their behaviour they are primarily referring to expression. After all, your identity cannot be altered because you are who you are. It simply is. 

Curbing identity could instead be better referred to as repression. 

For example, many older gender variant and transgender people want to stay married and will limit their expression to within the confines established by their union. 

The problem arises when identity is ramped up as the governing factor and choice is steadily removed from the equation. Then we start talking about potential episodes of depression and anxiety over the long haul.

Therefore when we refer to self control we first need to try to understand as much as possible where our motivation originates. Otherwise we cannot know whether control is even warranted or desirable without there being consequences which could include health repercussions. 

Younger people are fortunate enough to be able to solve this problem by eliminating secrecy from the outset irrespective of where they lie on the expression-identity axis. 

However, for older people who may have gotten accustomed to repression and self-rejecting behaviour over decades, the answer becomes considerably more complex.

Oh boy, do I know this firsthand.

King Midas

Democratic socialists of America are starting to make in roads in US primaries. Endorsed by NYC mayor Zohran Mamdani who is putting all politicians to shame, people are realizing that the word socialism doesn't mean communism. 

As a result Mamdani is turning into King Midas by showing everyone how to truly help your constituents. He is making the establishment nervous.

Most of the top industrialized nations in the world (aside from the US) operate on some version of social democratic principles. You tax the wealthy sufficiently and then set up a safety net structure which tries to help the growing number of the working poor. 

Globalization propelled via a neoliberal philosophy didn't help matters for any nation, but we are going to have to work this back if we want to close a global wealth gap that is increasingly creating marginalized masses. 

For their part, Americans are starting to see that the system which prompted them to vote against their own interests for decades, has helped accelerate the affordability crisis. Centrist politicians fed through corporate and special interest donors are slowly becoming pariahs and for good reason. 

All hail King Midas.

On a hot day

I wasn't sitting far away from the spot where she stood in the metro car as I headed home for lunch.

The young trans woman was tall and thin with the only giveaway being her voice. Maybe she was at most mid twenties and adorned with a nose ring and tattoos. A flimsy top with spaghetti straps and a loose skirt were probably the most clothing she wanted to wear in this heat. On her feet she wore sandals. 

She was quite self-assured as she laughed heartily with her two young female friends as if no one was around. 

I love to see the confidence and a body language which ignores everyone around. Not that anyone paid her any mind as she enjoyed the attention of her friends. 

People are used to diversity these days and whether she or I were identified as transgender people on that metro car was irrelevant. As far as I could tell, no one took particular notice of either of us. 

It was just a metro car full of people on a hot day.

How to kill a fly

The recent supreme court ruling on trans atheletes is an example of how to kill a fly with a machine gun. 

In most states, transgender atheletes are either non-existant or represent a tiny sliver (much smaller than the trans population of the state) 

However this is red meat for right wingers because nothing enrages like the image of a transgender weight lifter dressed in a pink leotard sporting facial hair when the reality is more likely a lone spindly trans girl running high school track. 

Meanwhile, Mac Beggs who is a trans man wrestler has been largely ignored because he is going in the opposite direction. If after taking testosterone he beats a weaker and less adept genetic male, that doesn't matter because it doesn't fuel enough outrage. 

Needless to say that everyone wants fairness in sport but that's not what this is about. This is about finding an issue that inflames passion in the ignorant and the bigoted. 

Since human stupidity is a gift that keeps on giving, it will forever remain a primary feature and not a bug.

Like they say, "you can't fix stupid".

Winner take all

Trade deficits are not inherently bad things especially when one considers economies of scale. For example a country like Canada which is roughly 9 times smaller than the US in terms of population, is not going to consume at the same rate. 

Therefore trying to eliminate all trade imbalances shows a lack of understanding of economics which is what Trumpism is all about. The idea is to crush and to see trade partners as adversaries rather than as allies. Mutually beneficial arrangements are not the goal.

The point is to win and gloat which comes from the psychopathy of the man-child president. 

As example, the Kentucky bourbon industry has taken a massive hit because, as retaliation for tariffs and the 51st state rhetoric, Canadians stopped buying US alcohol. Who is the largest consumer of their product outside the US? we are. 

The Trump regime is using a clumsy sledgehammer approach to trade that will ultimately leave them isolated. 

US farmers voted heavily in favor of Trump who has been doing everything but help them. They fell for the rhetoric and many are going bankrupt as rising cost of fertilizer (Hormuz closure), rising cost of farm equipment (tariffs) and markets for their crops (like soy beans) decrease. 

When Trump leaves office he will have left everything worse than when he entered it. But many will never allow reality get in the way of dogma which is a real shame.

Happy Canada day :)

I need you to turn to

 

Paris is burning

The planet is burning up. Record temperatures are being set everywhere and climate scientists say it's too late to do anything about it. Our 2 C as target maximum increase is now beyond reach.

Human greed and stupidity strike again. 

Europe and large parts of North America are under the effects of a large heat dome. It will be a miserable time for people who are health compromised and cannot access relief. France, for example, isn't accustomed to these temperatures but they had better get used to them. 

The Trump regime doesn't believe in science so it's full speed ahead with fossil fuels and eliminating wind farms. When the problem is bad why not make it worse. Maybe the religious right that supports them can speak in tongues to remedy things. Instead, tongues will just be wagging.

Right now it might as well be the dark ages. 

In many parts of the central and southern US it will feel as high as 115 F with the humidity and It's not going to be any fun.

Not even up north where I am.

Out of my hands

I crossed paths with Isabelle in the early morning but she didn't recognize me at all. I hadn't seen her until the last minute and then suddenly my brain went into recognition mode. 

She is probably in her late 40's now and we worked together until she left for a competitor some years before I retired. Had she been walking alone I would have stopped to greet and perhaps shock her but she was accompanied by someone I didn't know. 

I knew to leave well enough alone. 

This phase of my life has become interesting because who knows and doesn't know about me has now fallen out of my hands. I don't care because I am not hiding but I am also not making an announcement on any large platforms. 

This morning when Justin served me my coffee I was standing next to a lady roughly my age who frequents the same spot. I say hello to her briefly and there was some additional banter which resulted in her finding out I was retired. 

"She's retired" she says as she turns to Justin who simply nods. 

"I think it's going to be September for me" she says as she walks out the door with her coffee and croissant. 

Who knows, maybe we'll compare notes one day.