Dept. of Is It Gone Yet?

[kaffy_r]

2020: the year of "Oh, Fuck Off."

That's how I've come to think of this hell year. The most recent "Oh, fuck off" I've given came a few minutes ago, when something ate my original post. As is always the case, I know that that post would have been much more erudite, civilized and amusing than this one. Leave it to 2020 to eat a post. Fuck you, 2020, I'm going to write another post! *eyes narrow, daring the year to do anything more to my post*.

More seriously, the reasons I'm calling it  the year of "Oh, Fuck Off" are probably clear to most readers.

It's been, as mentioned earlier, a hell year, with a pandemic and multiple right-wing populists proving that their various rules have been as incompetent as they've been hateful and dangerous. Ignore the pandemic, then downplay, then pretend you're doing something about it when you're not; lather, rinse, repeat.

It's been a year where we've seen people in power, who should know better - who should care more - doing things that hurt the vast majority of people within their political reach. Then they've had the audacious mendacity to claim they are being this destructive precisely because that's the best thing for everyone . They also claim, when people try to hold them accountable, that they are the victims. 

Some of them, like Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruz, Bill Barr, and the rest of Trump's inner circle and Court of Sycophants, are in or near power, able to set reactionary policy and block progressive, or even somewhat decent centrist, policies, that hurt the most marginalized and vulnerable among us. 

Others, social media types like Ben Shapiro and various "gender-critical" TERFs who spread and promulgate ignorance and hatred, made this a hell year by doing just that.

Still others, like anti-maskers, Trump cultists, Proud Boys, and the like are out there, make people's lives worse, even their own, by signing on to all that ignorance and hatred.

Outside of the United States, there are incompetent assholes like Boris Johnson and his ilk, like Victor Orban, like Chinese administrators, like the rulers of Saudi Arabia, were also out there making it a hell year. And they all got an "Oh, fuck off!" from me. 

And so we're back to "Oh, fuck off!" which I should explain. 

Somewhere along about April, I started responding to people of the sort that I listed above by shouting that phrase at whatever outlet had alerted me to the horrible things they were doing. Thus, my television got shouted at a lot; my radio got shouted at a lot; my newspapers got shouted at, a lot. Twitter, needless to say, got shouted at a lot.

And along about October, I realized that I had shouted it so often, at so many lies, so many absolutely unbelievable bits of hypocrisy and cruelty, that I lacked the number of spoons needed to do anything except quietly, bitterly, say "Oh, Fuck Off." No shouting. No exclamation points. Just 2020, cutting it down to a whisper.

So here we are, at the end of 2020. Do I have other things I can respond to without "Oh, Fuck Off."? 

I have my Bob. I have my beautiful son and daughter in law. I have my beloved brother. I have Dr. Gonzo and Dr. Bob and Jack, our three closest friends here in Chicago, and so many more 3D friends and family. They have brought me joy, they've supported me, they have allowed me to support them. They are treasures.

And I have you all. Thank you for being there. Here's hoping that 2021 will be better than 2020 for all of us. 

Comments

[eve11]

Happy new year! Maybe we are halfway out of the dark about now. It would be nice.

[kaffy_r]

Being halfway out of the dark would be a great thing, wouldn't it?

Here's to safety, sanity and social justice this year (it's taken me this long to get back to people; heya, 2021!)

[masakochan]

"oh fuck ofF!" is my go-to response whenever my crazy aunt says anything to my mom.

[kaffy_r]

Congratulations for your go-to response! And you're responding on behalf of your mother, which is cool and admirable.

[masakochan]

I should have mentioned that I don't actually say it to my aunt's face- I just say it whenever my mom gets home and tells me anything ridiculous that my aunt's said.

She'd probably try to throttle me if I ever said it to her face.

[kaffy_r]

I'm giggling a bit; I should have realized you'd be a lot smarter, and safer, to say it when she wasn't around.

[masakochan]

lol more like spoken from experience. There was one time where I told her (to her face) that 'she needed to stop being such a negative person, and stop being so full of shit'. She pretty much snapped, power walked over to me, physically grabbed me by the shoulders, and started trying to push me out of her front door.

My dad's take on it: "Well, Glenn. What happened was Ashley opened up her mouth, and told your wife what everybody's been thinking of her for a good number of years now."

[kaffy_r]

Your dad sounds like someone I'd like to know.

[masakochan]

oh boy. for the most point- he's alright. Until you get into politics with him. He's a Trump supporting Conservative who was a fan of listening to Rush Limbaugh daily. Follows a bunch of conservative "news" sites like breitbart and freerepublic.

[shipperslist]

Oh, I feel you.

Happy new year. 💜

[kaffy_r]

And Happy New Year to you!

[smallhobbit]

Yes. I've got to the point where I won't listen to Johnson and have to read to find out anything important he's said.

Here's to a better year for all of us!

[kaffy_r]

Every time I check back on the British situation, I'm surprised at how incompetent a government y'all have. It's almost as if Johnson wants to be mistaken for his Yankee mentor.

[cmcmck]

At least we get to vote Bojo out eventually if his own party don't do a no confidence before then!

Thank you for being here too! :o)

[kaffy_r]

I hope that your succession situation, once you vote him out, doesn't devolve into the absolute clusterfuck to which the U.S.'s post-election goings-on did.

[thisbluespirit]

Happy New Year - let us up that it will be. ♥

[kaffy_r]

I'm willing to be as hopeful for this new year as I possibly can; and Happy New Year to you as well.

[maruad]

Please never speak again then name of that year which should not be named lest it return.

[kaffy_r]

I promise to try as hard as possible to not name it. Happy New Year!