I tread softly. But I don't mean real issues but just vocal issues. There's a difference between words and actions and I'm hesitant to say as a country were more hung up on words than actions. I've just listened to my rap playlist as I cooked dinner and said nigger as I sang along more times than I can count. Could I do that in karaoke whether the audience be predominantly black or white?

Pretty sure if any celebrity attempts to lobby the government to take away rights from heterosexuals or white people they're not getting any more endorsements. Some people think advocating equality is the flipside of discrimination. I disagree. I don't think, for example, Christians rights are being infringed upon when they're forced to fill a prescription because they chose to be a pharmacist. I think Christian's rights are infringed upon when bibles are banned and church is outlawed.

Always good to have a bogeyman under the bed to keep the kids frightened and dependent.

Too many Americans want every question answered definitively, preferably by someone else, who is happy to handle the heavy lifting of thinking for them. If that person also wants to lead them, all the better. Like magicians, leaders of various stripes rely on mirrors and blue smoke, distraction and misdirection.

Thinking hurts. Contradictions, paradoxes, inconsistencies, mysteries. Scary. It leads us into gray areas, where we as a society always seem ill at ease. 

America is like Frankenstein's monster, whose understanding of the world boiled down to "Fire bad." 

Slam, your posts have been splendid. 

The NRA started lobbying in 1975.  Which is also when the moved from focus on gun safety and sports and competition to saving the Second Amendment.  Coincidentally it's when they started getting a lot of money from gun manufacturers.

I'm 27 years old going on 28. I was raised most of my life by my mother and never really got to know my father. He was never apart of my life except for a few times every few years. Growing up I essentially wanted nothing to do with him. He was in and out of jail and wrapped up with drugs for a long time. My mother was a wreck too in that regard and was involved with drugs when I was young, but this soon stopped and she was clean for a while (now I don't know). She soon went through a myriad of boyfriends/goons that I unfortunately had to be around. She held a decent paying job until I was in high school and hasn't worked since. She mooched off of my grandmother living in her places rent-free and sleeping all day doing nothing until my grandmother passed away. At this time I was already going to college. My mother still didn't have her life together. I then stayed with my aunt's family for about a month until I could secure enough resources on my own to move into a place with a few roommates. I was able to attend college and held a job at the same time. I later met my wife at the same college and we've been living together happily ever since. I've essentially broken off relationships with both my parents at this point. Well, I've tried to. My mother was in jail for a bit for some money fraud deal, and is still hanging around shady people to this day living in a dumpster town with no future.



A day ago I was contacted by my mother (she tries calling several times per week) via text. She learned from a friend that my father had been in a serious motorcycle accident, and was in intensive care at a hospital not too far from where I live. He was also in a coma. She said that even though we aren't close, I should look into the matter. I was eating dinner with my wife at the time at a restaurant. My reaction to the news was very nonchalant almost. I mean it was an unfortunate situation, but I didn't really feel anything. I hate to say, but I essentially felt nothing. I wasn't happy he was hurt, but it felt like hearing about some stranger on the evening news I had never met and had no ties to, get in a motorcycle accident. I pondered the circumstances for a moment, and then I kept eating. If this was my wife, a close friend, or even my mother I would have left the restaurant in a flash. That wasn't the case though. However, going home a sense of dread came over me which I knew was inevitable. I was now obligated to find out as much as I could about what had happened to my father even though I didn't want to. A father who had never been around in my life and I didn't care for. Granted, in the last few years he had tried to reconnect. I tested the waters to see if a relationship could be built. But it felt awkward. I didn't feel comfortable at all, and seeing how my father treated other people...this wasn't a person I wanted to be associated with at all. Let along be around. Even though it pained me to get involved with this latest incident, it seemed to be the right thing to do, regardless if it didn't feel that way personally. I was able to get in contact with my father's current girlfriend today. I had met her before. She was nice. I was told about the further details regarding the accident. He wasn't in a coma anymore and had improved vastly over the course of a few days. I reluctantly decided to pay him a visit.



After the shortest-longest car trip I've ever had, I arrived at the hospital in the early afternoon. Longer story short, there were some visiting issues with my father's stay at the hospital because of another woman he may or may not have been involved with. This all resulted in a password system just to visit his room. Accompanied by his girlfriend, I saw my father. He was a tad banged up, but happy to see me. So would begin maybe the most awkward two hours of my life I can remember. I mostly smiled lightly and let him and/or his girlfriend do most of the talking. I would utilize the "fake laugh" card pretending to be amused by his humor which I wasn't in the slightest. He was having some mood swings getting angry at his girlfriend or the nurses for trivial things. He couldn't follow the instructions of the medical staff, and was having a hard time being in a hospital. He clearly wanted to leave. Not too long before I left he started talking about something and immediately broke down crying citing how difficult the last few days have been being there. I had never seen my father cry before and never expected to. He then wondered why I had essentially shunned him for so long, and if he had done anything to upset me. He claimed he had been off drugs and out of jail for quite some time now. And now he only has me and his current girlfriend to be connected with (he had two other kids out of wedlock with two different women, but they have cut off contact with him making me the "default" kid that is still supposed to give a damn I guess). When I heard this, it was difficult not to show my agitation. Why was I being told this like I was supposed to care? And I started to regret coming. I wanted to leave the room. But I consoled him with some bedside manner fluff dialog and told him "it's okay" and "don't worry about it I'm here now". Unfortunately by doing this I may have opened up a door for him thinking that we'll be "buddies" in the near future and start hanging out once he's better. Except that is the last thing I want. I really just want to be left alone and have nothing to do with my parents, who I consider underachievers and now both strangers. It feels awkward to say "mom" or "dad" towards them. My wife at times has asked me to reconsider the stance on my attitude against my folks, but now has pretty much let my feelings be. She comes from a family that has overachieved if anything, and it shows in her character. I'm planning to visit my father once more tomorrow for a shorter visitation and I'm bringing my wife along this time. She has met my father a couple of times. I think I'll need her presence to make it through one more time. And after this, I don't know how, but this needs to all end. Now I'm involved in this situation in addition to some foreign family drama that I have no business being involved in.



The only saving grace is that I'm planning to leave the USA and move to Macau with my wife where she's originally from. She wants to be closer to her family, and since I'm not really involved with family matters (extending beyond just my mother and father) I don't mind. I've been there quite a few time for visitation and it's great. Both of our work revolves around a freelance graphic design industry so we can work from almost anywhere. I still plan to visit the states a few times a year, but I'm not sure I'll go back to my hometown very often.



Really though, can estranged parents just not take a hint? How should I approach this? I just want to be left alone. Was my mistake taking the time to visit my father in the hospital? Perhaps I shouldn't have picked up the phone? It's been a few hours since the visit and in my soul I'm already regretting it. Assistance?

Gee, imagine that...

...and they do...