An Illustration of the Privilege

An Illustration of the Privilege

The day, grey

And wet,

I, in oilskin, hood,

ball cap, backpack

all black,

waited

for a walk signal.

A family, some friends,

And an old woman waited as well,

all of us

white.

Polite nods from all

but old white woman,

who strained out a smile

with slightly widened eyes.

I realized how closely

My attire resembled

A wanted poster

for the then recent

Boston Bombings.

I forgave her reaction.

Then a man arrived,

30ish, fit,

Clean casual clothes,

A young professional

Off work,

Out to relax.

Old woman turned to greet him

But gave the same face as to me,

And also gripped purse tight

And moved it in front of herself

While turning away.

He noticed.

“Oh sure, a black man arrives and it’s ‘hide the valuables!’ What the hell!?” 

He stormed off in anger, no longer waiting for the light’s permission.

Chris Walters

2016

Walters' Rules Of Wrist 2-15-16

People recognize your medical condition, until it inconveniences them. After that it’s a character flaw.

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The young often treat their youth as an accomplishment, and age as a failing of character. Ironically, youth is handed out free, whereas getting old takes work.

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People judge complaints they don’t share to be made up or petty.

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“I have to believe” is one of the most disappointing ways to preface a statement in the English language. It implies an understanding that a belief would not survive facts, but a preference to hold onto that belief in spite of reality.

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The serious use of the term “Nanny State”, without a sense of irony or satire, usually means that what you thought was a conversation is actually a lecture.

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Anyone using the term “Statism” as a pejorative will usually spout a bunch of over-simplifications about the greatness of deregulation or anarchy, while demonstrating the philosophical and rhetorical sophistication of 14 year-old boys.

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Average people who think they have discovered a new way of doing something often say “What’s wrong with everyone, that no one does it this way?”

Wise people who think they may have discovered a new way of doing something often say “What’s wrong with my idea, that no one does it this way?”

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There are few social crimes so offensive as leaving your assigned role, regardless of growth you’ve undergone. Those who forgive and adapt to your growth are true friends. 

The rest will ignore your changes, attempting to force you back into your old role, and punishing you should you not comply.

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People need a villain.

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A consensus is usually mistaken for truth by those in agreement.

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To get people to vote against their own interests first scare them, then give them someone to blame.

Fear and anger are, individually, the emotions most detrimental to the perceiving of reality. These two emotions are the easiest to incite in others, as well as two of the most powerful and drug-like.

A skilled orator, seeking to influence many people, can use these emotions in concert to great effect.

Start by scaring the audience about the troubles in their own lives. Include enough believable examples that the point seems grounded in reality. When the fear is at its highest, give them someone to blame.

This is vital: it switches fear to anger, without any intervening emotions.

Fear, on its own, feels weak; it is the emotion of victims, therefore the powerless. Anger conveys certainty, an unassailable belief in the self, in a philosophy, in any course of action that lessens the power of the object of initial fear. More importantly, anger conveys a feeling of power.

To prevent a return of fear and uncertainty, the anger must be recharged regularly. The audience, happy to avoid the feelings powerlessness, will seek this fix on their own, whether directly from the orator, or from conversation with other audience members.

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The consensus of groups of people high on anger overrides any law or scripture, even the ones those people profess to believe.

Why I Reject Political Debate On My Facebook Page

Once upon a time I was a Right-Leaning Centrist, prone to believing any conspiracy theory that cast the government as evil, and acting to limit or outright destroy the freedom of all people. Any like-minded people I saw as enlightened, and felt that we were all in on some secret knowledge to which society at large was blind. Any perceived problem with the world for which the solution was violent unleashing of rage, a tearing down of all that went before, occupied most of my thinking. And the visions of the destruction made me feel powerful.

 

Then I got sober. 

 

In staying sober I came to understand that my most libertarian/conservative views were based on fear, and were oversimplifications of reality. The longer I remained sober the more complex thoughts I was unable to think. 

 

I worked on understanding why I’d always felt/thought certain ways, and learned that fear had ruled much of my life. The easiest way to not be afraid was to be angry. Being angry was the first tool that worked to stop the world from preying on me as a child.

 

But anger doesn’t grow up. Anger makes all problems look simple, and despises nuance and subtlety. 

 

I realized that the origin of my angriest political beliefs came from a hatred of Political Correctness, that began as a childish resentment of being told what to do. This had metastasized into a belief that anything liberal was evil. 

 

I needed to understand more, thus had to think, not feel in order to do that. 

 

I was shocked to realize that my personal standards of fairness were violated by the principles that I thought I believed in, and that libertarianism actually lets bullies dominate everyone else, and blames victims for their plight. 

 

I began researching, and learning. 

 

One of the most important things I learned was that people with my former beliefs were more prone to confirmation bias, meaning that information contradicting their views, no matter how reliable, was seen as false or fake, and any information confirming their views was quickly believed. They also accepted as validating facts another person’s similar opinion. 

 

When shown that the facts were against them these people with whom I used to agree would attack me personally. They had no interest in being right, only in not seeing themselves as wrong. 

 

Rather than engage in return fire, I gave up trying to debate. Now I reject political debate on my page. If your opinion differs, keep it to yourself; in all likelihood I once agreed with you, and learned differently through long, dedicated work. And, having done that work, I reject the right of anyone to tell me that they know better.

 

Political positions demonstrated to me to be bullshit by logic, reason, and research (If you believe any of the following 1) you are wrong 2) I never want to see your opinion on such matters expressed on my page.) :

 

Obama is a Muslim/Socialist/Dangerous Madman/Kenyan.

Climate change is a hoax.

 

Libertarianism is about freedom for everyone.

 

The Second Amendment protects us from tyranny. 

 

Liberals are coming for your guns.

 

The Founders created the USA as a Christian nation. 

 

Whites/Conservatives/Christians are persecuted/unfairly treated.

 

Socialism=Stalinism and any degree of it always leads to tyranny.

 

Racist treatment of whites by minorities is just as damaging to society as racist treatment of minorities by whites. 

 

The media has a liberal bias.

It’s Been Ten Years, and I Never Told Why

I’ve been thinking about the days when I was the host of Beat Night Open Mic. It meant a lot to me, and leaving, even in a temporary manner, was very difficult. When I left New England in 2005 I expected to only be gone for a year, after which I’d resume my post. That year turned into two. When I finally returned to the area I was not able to resume my duties due to a relapse of depression (a lifelong struggle) and a home situation that wouldn’t allow me to guarantee my participation every month.

            Depression frequently causes shame and embarrassment, which partly explains any unwillingness to share this before. Also, there’s a feeling of worthlessness, making one think “No one would care about my problems”.

            In the time of my absence from hosting the event changed, as events do. By the time my domestic situation had improved, and my depression had remitted, I knew some of the aforementioned changes* would impair my enjoyment of the event. Knowing myself, I knew I not could adapt to these changes, and felt it would be inappropriate to demand the event adapt to me. Hence I let it go.

            More recently I’ve developed some physical health issues that directly impact my ability to even attend a live music event, let alone participate. Chiefly is an occasional partial hearing loss with headaches, but also problems with my voice if I have to speak loudly for more than a few minutes. Consequently, my ability to even be an audience member is now limited.

            In thinking about the days of being the host, I have not only a degree of nostalgia, but a grain of guilt: I never explained my not taking back the reins, though I had been expected to do. Here is that explanation. I would also like apologize, very belatedly, for not honoring my word. I’m sorry.

Chris Walters

October, 2015

*The changes I most object to are:

+The ever more flexible start time, but the firm end time. The open mic gets punished for that. I’d want the end time to be as flexible so each portion gets the same amount of time, unlike, on some nights, 90 minutes featured, 30 (25) minutes open.

+The new Press Room sound system. With only 2 powered speakers up front it is impossible to

make the readers audible to the entire room. The stage monitors are ineffective as well, meaning readers can’t even hear themselves. One of my rules was that no one talks over the readers. Now there’s no way to enforce it, so everyone talks over the readers like it’s another night at the bar.