Jim Crow never really went away, but it has had several makeovers throughout the years. It has spent much of its recent days attacking young black people in the prison system, picking them up for marijuana, and essentially leaving them there to rot. You have all heard the story before, some of you recognize the reality of it, and others stubbornly refuse to recognize the heartlessness it takes to lock a man away for a habitual drug everyone uses in college. And all of this to hold on to a fantasy promise of lower crime that will never materialize. But it also permeates in ways that are often unseen. Terms like "snowflake" are used by the right to delegitimize the very real harm that can be caused by hurtful rhetoric. What does happen when everything becomes a joke? When every movie has a reaction video? When every bit of news is deemed irrelevant or fake? Do we take anything seriously at that point? The untrained spectator of political movements may believe the answer is no, but that is tragically misguided. The endgame for movements that portray themselves as innocent victims of injustice that are perfectly righteous and can do no wrong is, of course, conquest. The truth becomes distorted in such a sea of righteous indignation. Everyone seems to have a bit of a point, and one quickly tends to believe that the middle ground is the answer, that some settlement can be reached. Has this always been the case? Will there be a deal of any consequence with violent dictatorships? Can you soothe a religious extremist with sweet melodies about the Id, the ego and the superego. I have no idea. Perhaps, but I would imagine it would be quite difficult, not some quick fix one would search up on webmd. In the course of being in the middle, one often gravitates toward one side or the other on most issues. This is not a true middle, but a facade of political centrism that is convenient for election season, and painfully annoying every other season. We live in an age where it is a crime to be proud of being different. You are supposed to be like everyone else in this world. Coexistence was simply a facade for a the same political agenda that has always been, the consolidation of power. We cannot live for others. We can only live for ourselves or else we are doomed to despise those around us. This does not mean that we cannot help our fellow humans when the are in need, but it does mean that we should take care of ourselves first. How are we to help others if we do not ensure that we are alright? How do we achieve happiness if it is our responsibility to see to the happiness of those who hate us? These are the questions the false middle of the road politicians fail to answer. Jim Crow has prevailed mostly because people do not care to admit that it is real; they like to believe that history is a book, and that we have already moved past that chapter. They fail to realize that just because you think that you have moved on, it doesn't mean that you actually have or that it is even possible to move on.  I do not frequently call into question the ideas of peace, happiness and love because I prefer the cold reality of truth. I seek out the truth, and question my emotions because emotions cannot be trusted. Perhaps we are so deeply infatuated with the emotional world, that this is making the real world seem more harsh than it actually is. There is much pain, struggle and misery amongst us, but there is also wonder, mystery and excitement if we are willing to look below the surface. Always remember that reality is a multi-layered experience. It does not simply exist; it permeates through you. Anything that exist within you can be manipulated to make you happy. The key is to make your happiness the truth. That way you will not try to escape existence, instead you will stand up for yourself. 

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We all have dealt with our ups and downs, but they are all unique. So, it becomes difficult for us to share when we are in emotional pain. Instead we put up walls, mostly for very practical reasons. We don't want to harm our loved ones with harsh comments. We never want to cause a scene or start a fight. Most people do not want to do that anyway. The most common thing we say is that we do not want to be a burden on others with our depression. We don't want to depress others, as if depression is some sort of contagious disease, something that you can catch from someone who is too close to you. A great deal of us suffer in silence, as if this is the admirable alternative. The modern day hero does not suffer on the battlefield, but in his own mind, constantly tormented by failures and successes. It almost seems like a form of self punishment to deny yourself a sound state of mind, yet we continue to neglect ourselves. Why do we do this? Why do we strive for happiness and forget to check in on our own happiness? Is it really so difficult to find happiness in truth that we must create or deny our own realities? It would seem so for many people. The world is not enough; it must be enhanced for optimum benefits. There is a treasure trove of knowledge somewhere waiting to be discovered, and everyone knows it is there. Why? It just has to be. This cannot be it, not this harsh, unforgiving world. There must be more. There just must be. But what if that is untrue? What if this really is paradise, or the idea of paradise we have formulated? And what if we are the ones destroying it, or at least trying to anyway? It is difficult to say, but it is not difficult to think critically about such things. We are naturally curious, and that can lead to great knowledge that can take us to places we never thought that we would see, but our knowledge can also lead us to dark places that we never wanted to go to. Does this mean that we should fear knowledge? This possibility of being swept away by it? Of course not for that will ensure our gullibility. We must learn with a steady eye, not a speculative one. We cannot trust too readily, nor can we seek out the antihero. It is up to us to navigate through life, and find whatever happiness we can in the truth, the reality we live in. It is up to us to to find this happiness, so let us all find it in our own way, on our own time. Let us not adhere to frilly articles or can do cures. Let us turn off the how to tips, and hacks to success talks. They have had their time in the sun. Always remember that happiness is an important decision. You do not become happy like you fall in love. Love and happiness are different. No one has ever fallen into happiness. You must create your own happiness, not your own reality. Only you can do this, and no one can show you how. There is no quick fix for making depression fade either. I can't offer you a fast fix for your anxiety, though I can tell you that I know the pain that you are in. I can empathize with you. I can let you know that you are more than a number on a doctor's paper; you mean something to someone, somewhere, even if you don't know it yet. The silence of loneliness can be deafening. Despair can numb you to the world, both its joys and its pains. However, you do have the power to rebuild yourself hidden in there somewhere. You too are allowed to pursue happiness, true happiness. There is such joy in reality, the spontaneous combustion of existence. Just stop for a moment and remember that life is accessible. You have a stake just like anyone else. You're not out of it, not by a long shot. Quitting is for the people who don't listen to this show, who don't face reality. Whatever is holding you back from happiness, do not let it torture you into thinking that there is no such thing as happiness. Instead let it remind that happiness comes and goes, and that, no matter what, you will spend your entire life in pursuit of it.

I grew up learning about racism, but much of what I learned was quite generic. There were stories of heroes and evil-doers in the struggle for civil rights, but the history of the struggle remained a bit of a mystery. Obviously I knew that slavery had led to a kind of superiority in white Americans because they had never been enslaved. However, I did not realize the extent to which the Jim Crow era had played in solidifying the idea that blacks were inferior to whites. I recently read an article where all of these laws are laid out and discussed in painful detail, shedding light on this nation's history of white supremacy. The laws I read about are mostly from the south, where Jim Crow really took off. However, it is important to note that this mentality was shared by Northerners and Westerners, who, instead of making segregation legal, relied heavily on government and financial institutions to keep blacks from moving to their states. Northerners and Westerners knew damn well what was going on in the South, that blacks were being lynched and persecuted, yet they chose to do nothing for years. Western and Northern members of the union could have offered more jobs to black people from other states if they wanted to. There were plenty of low skill jobs available all over the nation during the Jim Crow era, yet liberal whites specifically went out of their way to not hire blacks, and to not allow them to move into their neighborhoods because they wanted money from powerful southern business interests, the same backroom deals continue to this day, which is why progressive laws on civil rights never make it past the powerless "squad's" desk. Since blacks were stuck, and had no other place to go, they had to deal with Jim Crow as a part of their life. Jim Crow etiquette plainly stated that blacks were inferior to whites. In order to demonstrate this, a series of laws were initiated instructing blacks on how to behave around white people. I cannot stress enough that this was written into our law system, and respected by every white person in America as the way to deal with the burden of the black race. White people during Jim Crow did were still very upset that they could not own slaves. Business owners specifically, believed that freeing slaves was one of the worst mistakes the nation had ever made, forcing them to pay a living wage to people who they felt did not even deserve of job. Whites of the day thought, as most of their relatives still do today, that making them behave in a civil manner around black people was an infringement on their rights. Generally, in America, when a white person starts going on about their rights being infringed upon it is because they are asked to treat blacks with respect. This is unthinkable to the white psyche. I have only met a few white people who actually practice what they preach, and treat blacks equally. Could one of those white people be you, the person listening to this show? It could be. I don't know you personally, so I have no way to make the judgement. But is it really an insult for me to assume a white person is racist in a nation that has racists laws respected by the vast majority of white citizens up until the present day? The war on drugs is nothing more than a war on minorities and those who associate with them. Also, black protesters were ritualistically brutalized by white police officers, and the various white supremacists who showed up to "help". Also, just as one brute was sentenced for the killing of George Flyod, another white cop was exonerated and allowed back on the force after executing a black man. So please, spare me the "things have changed" argument. Nothing has changed. You still think I'm inferior when I listen to music, or if I don't use your grandiose and quite pretentious form of English. I'm still inferior when I don't smile and dance for you if you send me a paltry 1400 check for years of abuse and neglect. It's all still exactly the same. 

We often hear the phrase "fear is a liar". Up until recently this was a mainly religious concept used to embolden followers of extremist religions and cults, but now you hear the term everywhere. It is a rallying cry for athletes, a repetitive mantra for undiscovered artists, and yet another reason for society, disenchanted with bad news, to dive deeper into the realm of fantasy, neglecting the very real problems we have to face. Well, in this episode, my guest Pierre Johnson and I, put that myth to rest. Fear tells the truth far more than it lies. Fear doesn't have to lie. It is a reaction that you experience because you feel threatened. Even if there is no threat, fear is still honest because there could be a threat there one day. We've all been called worry warts from time to time, but when we worry, another expression of fear, we come up with amazing inventions and cures for illnesses. Our fears also motivate us to improve our infrastructure and to demand equality for all people. Fear is definitely not a liar. It is vital for any type of progress to be made. However, there is one emotion that you must always question the honesty of, and this emotion is despair. Despair informs you that you are in some way useless or inconvenient to this world. This is self deception. The value that you assign yourself is very much the only thing that should concern you. Sure, there are some tasks that are impossible. But then there are those tasks that are only impossible when we lack adequate knowledge. Those are two entirely different situations that deserve their own unique attention. And, depending on the person, that attention could come in many forms, perhaps even medical. But despair prevents us from seeking the proper attention that are problems deserve. It tells us that we are "too strong" for therapy or that "our negativity" is the only thing preventing us from achieving our goals. Either way, it is always our fault. Self-blame can be quite motivating; it can compel people to do amazing things simply because they lack fear. But is lacking fear an admirable trait? After spending a lifetime subjected to paranoia induced news stories, one may begin to believe so. A fear free life compared to the everyday worries of the modern world seems preferable to most. Escapism and "being in the present" seem almost synonymous in this treasure trove of mysticism. We eradicate fear in this world of fantasy, and we do as we please. This seeming achievement of utopia, where no fear exist, quickly dissolves when faced with the harshness of reality. Doing as we please often brings sickness and death, but when it doesn't, it brings despair. If you do not have the will to begin anew, then life becomes infinitely more difficult. Despair puts one in a state of mine that is beyond any "negativity" that one could imagine. I almost feel as if I am not doing the sheer terror associated with despair enough justice. Yet at the same time I feel as if I am being a bit cliche. Can a writer truly encompass the feeling of never wanting to try again? Can one really communicate the full effect of feeling insignificant? Have you ever been so depressed that you did not even want to move, let alone get out of bed? Even eating and basic hygiene become worthless chores because those in despair do not care if they live or die. There is a difference between nihilism and despair, thought they are often thought of as synonymous. A through point with despair is this idea that, "well, things are meaningless, so, why try?". Not all nihilists come to this simplistic conclusion. Indeed, not every nihilist is searching for a conclusion for to do so in a world of so many people and, thus, so many different perspectives, would be virtually impossible to discern. It is those in despair who race to such conclusions. We must indeed have fear, a fear of loneliness, a fear of emptiness, a fear of being unfulfilled, a fear of despair... 

Kristallnacht, or The Night of Broken Glass, was the national pogrom against Jewish German citizens devised by Hitler and his associates, and carried out by soldiers, and what we now refer to as "everyday German citizens". They myth that there was a more rational Germany hidden beneath the rabid lust for blood displayed by the nazis is nothing more than historical revision. Hundreds of thousands of people, some in uniforms and some not, actively participated in the bloodshed, beating Jewish people in the street, burning their places of worship to the ground, and robbing their places of business. Millions more "everyday German citizens", most of them good Christians by today's standards, cheered as the blood flowed freely in the streets. On that fateful night 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and taken to concentration camps, the first time Hitler issued orders to arrest people strictly because they were Jewish. As is the fashion of fascistic dictators, Hitler blamed the event on the murder of a German diplomat, but the plan had been in the works for some time prior. The nazis then codified their dastardly plan to exterminate the Jewish people by initiating a billion Reischmark atonement tax, and enacting discriminatory laws. Of course the only way that such an horrible plan could come to fruition was the evil genius factor or at least that is how some historians recall it. In fact, Hitler was an awful leader. His famed promise of a 1,000 years of German supremacy lasted only twelve years. Further, he completely ruined his own burgeoning economy, much of which was acquired by denying Jewish people the right to conduct business, by fighting battles that he had no chance of winning. His obsession with exterminating the Jewish race was also his downfall. Had Hitler not poured so much money into the despicable final solution, he may have been able to pull off a sound defeat of the allies. So, how did such an obvious buffoon become the nation's fearless leader? What happened to the moderates? Where were, as they like to call themselves, the voices of reason? Well, moderates are one of the reasons Hitler came to power in the first place. The motto back then, as it is today, was to simply not get involved, to allow god to handle it, or, in a blunt sense, to ignore all wrong-doing. This avoidance allows one to distance themselves from violent actions committed against their neighbors. You can always place the blame on others when you do not feel obligated to act. Had the German people not sat back and observed Hitler's party go from an obscure group of clowns to the identity of the nation, I would not even be doing this episode in the first place. I cannot possibly overstate the need for outspokenness in a time when our civil liberties are under constant attack. The right does not bow to intimidation, and neither should we. However, instead of charging the capitol like a bunch of buffoons, or subjecting our families to fear with unchecked militias, it is high time that we raised our voices against the pervasive idiocy of right wing extremism. The right has clearly demonstrated that they have no interest in working together, so it obviously follows that we should remain apart on certain issues. There is nothing wrong with disagreeing. Civil disobedience must be our call to action. We need not waste our time attacking conservative institutions; we need only show them for the shams that they all are, built upon the blood and sweat of our ancestors, they are the hollow tombs that Christians love to refer to. So raise your voice before it is silenced by the oath keepers who have rejected our way of life. Shout at the top of your lungs. Sing the song of freedom out loud for if you do not someone will force to sing a different song, a song that will no doubt be built upon the blood and sweat of your children. Do not be silenced. Do not be complicit. Do not be moderate. Do not be another innocent bystander. 

We welcome Pierre Johnson to his first episode of More Content Talk on this awesome episode. Pierre is a college buddy of mine from San Jose State University. I was fortunate enough to get him away from his busy schedule for this episode. We discuss the famed term, "the pursuit of happiness", and what that means in the context of contemporary America. We do not talk so much about the technical aspects of obtaining happiness (budgeting, work ethic, etc.) because those are dealt with in depth on other podcasts. You can hardly look up a podcast in any topic without being inundated with some magical cocktail of hair brained schemes to tap into your inner billionaire. We instead look at the history of the term, and analyze whether or not it is even still obtainable today. We draw no real definitive conclusions in this discussion. Instead we focus on the realities of the day, and contemplate whether or not it is time for a new framework for thinking, and applying the term. No matter what Tucker Carlson fantasizes about when he goes to sleep, there is no hoard of communists coming to rewrite the constitution. Rethinking cultural norms is not radical; it is hardly revolutionary, and it is certainly not extremism. Yet serious discussions about the dark realities of America's violent past are silenced because they are painted by purists as insults. This is simply propaganda. American culture belongs to every American, not just the parent teacher school board of your perspective district. It is nonsense that it has become a sin to insult the founders or their documents. Constitutions are written to be criticized, and, if they can stand the test of time, they shall endure. However, when injustices have been written into a document, it is the duty of those interpreting it to make it known. Returning to the nation that we once had when George Washington walked the earth means that we have to recognize that the man owned slaves. The fact that this has been mostly censored by loud apologists for slavery is not just the fault of the apologists, but of the academics who are supposed to protect us from such vitriol. It is yet another systemic failure piled upon other failures of the same kind, but concerning different issues. Besides, what does it mean to pursue happiness when you are poor? The saying is almost oxymoronic in that we know damn well that most of these people are doomed. I'm sorry to be the one to say it, but someone has to focus on the worst outcome. Someone must be negative. Someone must look at the loss of opportunity that comes from the consolidation of power. Are there really people who believe they will be billionaires someday who are over the age of ten? You would have to be crazy to think that such a thing remains a possibility today, not when you can only name a few billionaires off the top of your head. Will there be more billionaires? Sure. Is it something you can rely on? Only if you're stoned. Sometimes the inequality seems so great that making your first millions seems an distant dream. I'll never forget the time I had to take my son's piggy bank so I could take the bus to get to work. I remember him asking me about it, and just feeling so embarrassed, as if I was the worst person to ever live. Was I not pursuing happiness when I cashed my son's years of pennies into a Coin Star so I could be in a community theater production of The Taming of The Shrew? Was I not sacrificing everything? Was I not demonstrating that I was willing to go all the way? Would it finally be enough? That night, as I walked home alone in the cold after the show without enough money for bus fare, and still feeling quite ill, it didn't really feel like I had gotten anywhere. But I was certainly pursuing happiness. Now I wonder if that just led me down a path of self destruction. I wonder if I had divorced myself from my career a bit more, not making it synonymous with my happiness, if I would've prospered more. 

Step right up! Step right up! Come one, come all for the most spectacular event you have ever laid two eyes on while your children mercilessly beg you for eighteen dollar cotton candy. That's right folks, for a limited time only you can see stuntmen break their necks, trapeze artists fall and get concussions or ride a giant animal that has no business performing whatsoever. You heard right everyone. It's time for a death-defying act that will leave you wondering why on earth you enjoy watching the pain and suffering of others. It's the lamest show on earth, and you have front row tickets! Circuses, extreme magic shows, horrifying stunts, and unsafe working conditions do not mix. Many of the physical stunts you see in live shows are, in fact, even more dangerous than the performer lets you know. No matter how trained one is, tempting death is never a good idea. Sure, it may look amazing, before you get bored and change the channel anyway. But is it really worth it to risk your life for the entertainment of a few? Do the people making the choices to swallow swords, breathe fire and nearly drown themselves really know the brevity of the situation? And, if they do, should they even be allowed to make such choices? We have crafted a society that is supposedly opposed to self harm, yet these dangerous acts are still heavily attended around the world, including western nations. The obvious response is to say that it's not about watching the person die, but I am not sure if that is entirely true. Every one of these shows is heavily publicized so it's not as if people do not realize the danger involved in the acts that they are paying for. Indeed, the danger involved is the whole reason people show up. Young children see and hear the cheering and adulation that is given to such performers. They are then influenced to pursue such careers. So, while you may think that this topic doesn't effect you, remember that your child may very well be training to join the circus or the Hollywood stunt crew without your knowing it, all because you took them to see some flaming idiot jump out of a plane or some such nonsense. Don't get me wrong. I don't care what you do. You want watch some tool cover himself in mayo and try to escape from a cube made of strawberry jello, go right ahead. I am much more concerned with the effects of such behavior on the mental state of the society, not the individual. For me, individuals are mostly harmless. Though serial killers exist, they are shockingly rare. Besides, performing is no crime. There is no need to make such things illegal. Further, I cannot tell these performers what to do with their bodies. We know all too well that restricting the ability of others to choose freely often inspires extremism, and the last thing we need are a group of circus performers and magicians storming the capitol. I would instead like to challenge society as a whole to do some serious thinking about why we enjoy such acts. Why is death, something we generally fear, seen as entertaining? I cannot stress enough that this is not a repudiation of these types of performances, but a questioning of their validity to our society. We like to pretend that we are far more sophisticated than the ancient Romans, who also watched death-defying acts in large stadiums. Why do we say we are superior when we do the same things or like the same events? Why do we consider ourselves superior to ancient civilizations when we borrow so heavily from their cultures? While preparing for this episode I watched several near death performances where the performers were either seriously injured or died, and one thing I can tell you is that, whether it be good, bad or inconsequential, ancient Rome is still alive and well in the Christian west. This leads one to question whether or not the Christian religion in any way changed human behavior after the fall of Rome. In my opinion, probably no so much. Image by Alexa Soh. Music by bensound.com  

One of the dumbest reports I have seen during the pandemic recently came out. I know, I know, you've heard me say that a lot, but, hey, what am I supposed to do about that? We're living during a deadly pandemic that some people think is real, and others think is a scam devised by Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates to infiltrate...I don't know, something... The point is, these are not times that are oriented for happy news. Pretty much everyday there is at least one headline that makes you consider throwing your phone at your computer to kill two birds with one stone, a stupid, stupid stone. When will it all end? It doesn't appear as if it will anytime soon. It turns out that I am not the only person skeptical about the great return to work experiment. There are now more jobs than there were before the pandemic started, so good job creating jobs I guess. Unfortunately, they are bottom of the barrel jobs that you can barely afford to get by one, a mere pittance for the people who lost very lucrative careers with safe working conditions. After all of these people, including me, went to college for however many years, we are now expected to go work as waiters and amazon factory employees. It is perhaps the biggest collective slap in the face from corporate America that has ever been spewed upon the working classes of this world. There is no greater slap in the face than for these wealthy idiots to demand that people who have actually worked hard to earn their second class status, must now go down yet another class to appease the greed of these same wealthy individuals. To hell with them, and to hell with their wealth! Are we to simply shuffle back with our heads bowed to fetch some dumb asses underwear order in an Amazon factory? I really hope that you're joking; I really do. This all seems like a cruel joke. Everywhere there are disgusting people with oodles of cash. It sucks the will out of anyone to even want to work. No good people get this money. People with money pay publicity agents to make them look good. These idiots want us to die. They don't give a damn at all. You must have lost your damn mind if you think I'm working these go nowhere jobs. You're the one who needs to see a damn therapist. I highly recommend it! Only a trained professional could possibly measure the stupidity of a person who expects their employees to work in unsafe working conditions during a pandemic. I'd say this is unprecedented in this country, but I don't feel like joking right now. It is a historical fact that this nation is notorious for work place accidents, which are often the result of the employer failing to follow safety standards. Anyone who has had a gig job in this nation knows all too well how willing employers are to cut corners to save a few bucks, generally at the cost of the employee. That could mean wage cuts, firings or, their favorite, abusing their workers. So, exactly what is the media implying when they say people have "anxiety" about going back to work? Is that supposed to be an insult, more salt in an already gaping wound? It should be expected. This the same media that demonized the millennial generation, and failed to alert the public about the Capitol riots in a timely manner. It's the same media that allows Tucker Carlson to spew hatred, and it's the same damn media that is telling you to go back to work without even thinking it over. I can't do that. You do what you want to do. I'm not hating on poor people for working, some of them have no choice. But some of us are in precarious positions. If I die, my family will lose their house. Poof, gone! Has the media factored that into this "anxiety", as they have termed it? I also can't drive because I haven't been seizure free long enough. It's a messed up situation, but it's not my fault. I'm not going to blame myself, and I'm not going to kill myself. I'm going to keep living, and being a thorn in the side of this arrogant ass establishment. Image: Icons8Team

What is more callous? Shooting someone in the head with an AR-15 or allowing them to slowly and painfully waste away without access to proper medical care? I am no gun expert, so there is no way I could tell you for certain. The only thing I can say for certain is that there were many times, as I crossed a dark street to get to yet another lonely bus station, that I wished for the first to occur. I wasn't suicidal. I didn't attempt to kill myself at all, at least I didn't think I had. Looking back on it now, it is difficult to know exactly how far I would have gone for jesus christ. I was willing to stop taking epilepsy medication for jesus; i had received what I thought was a revelation from god (I never saw god visibly, but I certainly felt inspired by messages from the bible), and that medicine was an evil vice promoted by man to manipulate the masses. You see, back then suffering made perfect sense. Indeed, christians are taught that suffering, pain and mockery are a way of life, mere precursors to eternal bliss that only the weak cannot endure. This culture of flippancy when it comes to struggle causes the good christians of America to leave those with epilepsy for dead. They cast us out of their homes, and leave us to wander in the night with no access to proper education. However, we are, simultaneously, expected to maintain successful careers or die. Those are the only two options. There is no in between. Americans have no place in their hearts for people with epilepsy. Epilepsy is a joke to America, often featured on lame ass sitcoms or in two-bit stand up comedy routuines. Americans would love nothing more than to gas people with epilepsy in one foul swoop and finally be done with us, but it's currently busying itself trying to kill every unarmed black man who is outdoors near a white person in uniform. I don't give a damn about these so called christians that are now being "persecuted" by whoever the hell they are being persecuted by this week; it's different every time you speak to them. The reality is that faith has ruined any real chance that a person with epilepsy has at living a normal life in this country. America is already a huge safety hazard, ranking dangerously low in everything from education to infrastructure (the number one killer of Americans is preventable accidents, often related to improperly built or outdated infrastructure). But that isn't enough. We have to give a huge middle finger to people who are ill, kick them in the nuts by making laws that will make it difficult for them to get around, and then do nothing to make amends for that in any way. It's a brilliant scam. You trick everyone into hating people with epilepsy, their friends and loved ones ignore them, and then they die a slow and painful death. That is the only charity this nation has for people like me. Yet they would love to call me evil, as their bible repeatedly calls me evil. They want you to think I am some demon, the scum the earth, the lowest form of being, the evil "other" who disobeyed god, and so must be punished. That is my lot in life. I will not be ashamed when you call me a demon or a devil oh non-judgemental one. I marvel at your indignant piety, your insistence that you are somehow better than nazis, who also reviled at the sight of people with epilepsy. I applaud your feigning of interest in those who are afflicted with medical conditions. You have done well in your quest to convert the heathen; that is all you are good for, oh pious one. America has fooled the world into believing health is not life. Now, if that is not a rallying call for genocide, I do not know what is. America left me for dead because I have epilepsy. There will be no trials, no interest from the press, no civil rights bills. America does not care about me. And so I am standing up for the children of epilepsy who do not know that they must fight for themselves because everyone else is too much of coward to do so. Photo: Kenrick Mills