Current Post On Trae’s Blog:
My grandmother died last night. This wasn't a shock or a surprise. Her health has been on the decline, and she's been in hospice for the last month. She lived a long life, and in her final days she was surrounded by her three adult children.
My grandma was a kind woman. She wasn't perfect, but I always felt loved in her presence. She was a retired kindergarten teacher, and was still working when I was a kid. I have so many happy memories sitting at her kitchen table, and I'm going to carry those with me for the rest of my life. She was also proof that anyone who claims that you get more conservative as you get older is full of shit, because she certainly didn't.
I think it's interesting how the body processes grief sometimes. I don't know that I'll cry, but over the past month, knowing this was coming, I've felt a tension in my gut. Now that she's passed, instead of relief that tension is replaced by a sense of emptiness. That something is missing that should still be there. Something has been taken away, and I feel it.
Of course, as I wrote that, I immediately started crying... so I guess my body processes grief in pretty ordinary ways too.
I wanted to come up with something profound linking this to Beltane, which we sit in the middle of right now, but it just seemed hackneyed. Like I was trying to dig out some greater significance when the truth is death comes whenever it wants. The only predictable thing about it is that it's the end of all of our journeys. I hope that when I pass I'm so lucky to have lived such a long life with people that I love around me in my final days.
For the record, I will be fine. I just needed to get these words out while they were still in my head. I don't have some rousing conclusion or deep insight to tack on here at the end, just that gut feeling that something is missing.
Because it is.
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Probably better punch Jim, too.
I’m actually kinda loving the unlikely alliance between Lynn and Garner. May they develop a better understanding of each through the punching and mutual dislike of Nazis.
What would Jim do anyways? Kick Lynn out of the con? Well probably but I think he knows that Lynn has done much to save the con from going extinct. Plus I think Lynn could have helped explain her case to Jim by saying the con goer was also breaking the law by violating a restraining order against 2 of the staffers. Of course could retort with the fact that hitting someone isn’t right either but Lynn also has other bullets in her chamber too. She also has the hate speech policy, and the fact she knows the con goer from Bork Con staff and knows he is flat out an asshole. So yea this whole thing is a mess that probaby would be best sorted out a week or two after the con.
Probably quietly angle things toward getting her out eventually, but that’s about it, unless she pushes it further. This appears to be how he does things as shown so far. Had a boss like him for a while.
He’s been reasonably good at that so far – it’s too bad that his motivations here are crap. Err – to to be clear his “Nazi crap isn’t that big a deal” motivations. His boss motivations are reasonable enough here, it’s his attitude toward the triggering incident that needs slapping.
Well, when the elections come around for the next year’s staff, I bet Lynn can persuade the staff to vote Jim out as the Con Director/Chairman. Although Lynn could also say “F**K It* and leave the staff and let them do their own thing.
I agree that it would be best for the con to wait a few weeks and have a serious discussion about this and what to do about it.
I mean Lynn does have a violent history at cons so this could be seen as her just punching another person. That isn’t a great look no matter how much the people punched deserve it.
Considering Jim seems to hate confrontation he would probably back off if more than one staffers back Lynn.
All of that is valid and I’m also someone would rather sort stuff until after everything is done. I think of the Convention being a like a forest fire, bare with me here, it’s a literally an event that requires all the staff and volunteer help and there is not need for the “firefighters” to be arguing with themselves over something they did yesterday. I mean if there is some proven incompetence on the staff, then by all means get rid of them, but this is more like two of the firefighters disagreed with the Chief’s instructions because it clearly went again the most ethical way of handling things and so they do it the way they think was the right way even though it went against the Fire Chief’s orders. Sure the Chief could chose to address the decisions these firefighters made, but that would be inappropriate of the time because right now there is still a fire put out, which hypothetically it’s the con. I know it’s not the best analogy but I was picturing this whole event as something to prioritize over a petty dispute that can be sorted out after the convention is over.
I like that Garner is showing that he may be an asshole, but he’s not *that* asshole.
Seriously? Keeping to a lie when the lie is unsupportable? Lynn’s best clue this was a bad course of action was when Garner backed her up.
My RW alignment is lawful-good. I would have told Jim everything and accepted responsibility. He seems very willing to work around people’s personal quirks, which may include a hot temper such as Lynn’s. But for that to work, trust has to run both ways and Lynn just showed it doesn’t. That’s a big deal.
Jim was wholly in the wrong though. They had an attendee violating their con’s stated policy in a way designed to make other people feel uncomfortable and threatened. Jim actively ordered Lynn to overlook that. Right there he proved he’s clearly incompetent at handling this situation.
Lynn and Garner handled it, on their own, and are now just making sure Jim doesn’t have another opportunity to make terrible decisions around this issue.
As Lynn said, “When you see a Nazi, punch a Nazi.”
Otherwise, you get this:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/10/27/pittsburgh-police-report-active-shooter-near-synagogue/1788556002/
So keep punching Nazis. Pittsburgh will love you for it.