RUDIMENTS, pt. 1,391
(what a load of crap that was)
(Princeton/Labyrinth, pt. TWELVE)
One of the things that I always
noticed, and always noticed myself
wrongly doing, was to get too much
involved in the sob-stories of others.
Even once I got established at Princeton,
the same old crap began happening. I'd
wind up loaning people, upon request,
(why me?) 600 bucks for a car repair
(this crap was always paid back, on my
terms, except for once), a few bucks here,
a few bucks there, for miscellaneous crud.
Another time (same person, again) I sold
a car I'd been driving, back and forth, to
that Huck Finn character from the earlier
chapters, for like 5100 bucks. I made a
little payment book up, kept it up to date,
clipped her little coupons, etc, until, yeah,
eventually all the good intentions and vibes
fell away to shit, and all the payments stopped.
Then all her other stuff happened, the lawsuit,
the money-owned stuff, with the owners, and
I was shot. So that, later, when she offered me
the free lodgings, and thousand dollars, etc. to
photo and film her wedding to the other girl
from Princeton, in Urbana, and Yellow Springs,
Ohio, I jumped at it as at least a way of getting
something back. It worked out fine enough, and
in the back of my head was the idea, as well, that
if she got shitty about reneging on the Photos/film
stuff, I'd just withhold it all back, from them. It
never came to that...and I probably couldn't have
done that anyway.
-
I've always instructed my wife, Kathy (we keep
a running code of 'life-lessons' between us, things
we've learned over the years). One category I've
kept is what I call 'Power v. Innocence.' This was a
good example if it, all this 'I feel for you' stuff, and
'I want to help.' A person really can't just go about
doing that. It's a fool's errand, and no matter what
the Bible lessons or the Golden Rule stuff tell you
about it. 'Innocence' somehow always ends up
destroying power. And 'Power' unwittingly gets
messed up big time by stepping in. And I think the
lessons and applications of this are universal. Just
think, to apply it, literally right now, to Ukraine.
Russia is a bestial, sniveling dog of a culture -
rude, foul, delirious and Godless. Our best intentions,
as 'Americans' is probably to get all gung-ho about it
and go on into Ukraine with guns, bombs, tanks and
jets blaring. But it would destroy us. Innocence -
in this case Ukraine - doesn't deserve us, and would
probably like nothing more than to see US (USA)
step in and get bogged down into an ever-ascending
spiral of death and expense. And the same for the rest
of the world - but begging along like an alley-cat in
need, the bereaved here, Ukraine, undertaking the
role of Innocent, Seeks constantly to implicate others
into their same dead end chase. Let it go; the world
doesn't care. Remain on the Power side; let the
innocence fend for themselves.
-
That's Real-Politik, as Kissinger and those guys
used to say. The political 1970's were run by it.
It's a quandary, however, because it also arranges
the same things that have come to be seen as
cowardly and 'appeasement-like' over the years
too. No matter, I say, about Ukraine. Not my
problem. The real answer would have been to say,
'Take your crap and go away!' Every time I had
trouble, it always seemed to come out of that
same Power/Innocence cesspool. It's a set-up.
-
Princeton, the Boro itself, was filled with those
sorts of people too - but they weren't alone. The
same crud could be found in Highland Park, certain
crossings in New Brunswick, all those food bank
and free giveaway places. I know a welfare guy,
have known him for years, living in Highland Park.
Absolutely no-brain, an alcoholic, always burrowing
out from another disaster. He's living high on the
hog, boxes of free food and 'refreshments'. Pocket
money, free bus fare, and more. Free housing too,
by living in this church mission layout. Everything
is taken care of for him, except a job, which he can't
seem to sensibly hold, but no matter. For a while
when I knew him there, he was a WalMart cart guy,
but failed at that; then he delivered things out to
peoples' cars, and that went south on him too.
This is all the work of the same sorts of Power
types, who ceded themselves all over to Innocence.
Which he surely represents, though it might too
just as well be called Ignorance. As a nation, I
sense that we've failed our own best intentions,
and exactly by turning our keys over to 'Goodness,'
by thinking we are doing well by catering to these
sorts of people - and it's only gotten much, much
worse. We let COVID use it as a way to despoil
the national character. Spitting out money by
the shovel-ful. Idiot politicians, and Fauci - a
moron if I've ever seen one - taking ignoble
stands over tings they know nothing about.
-
Princeton, and the 'Princeton' Bookstore was
always too wrapped up in two main issues that
I thought detoured it from any good purpose.
One (combined) was Women's Issues and ultra
Liberal/left self-righteous political stances. The
Katrina Vandenheuvel stuff of that entire world.
That was probably the idea of the sort of stuffy
'propriety' that is always a dead end. Primness.
No curses. No twisted language. No gaps to be
filled in with 'rubbish'. That was the concern of
the Librarian factions that also kept seeping in.
There was another movement too, of sending
immense boxes of books, filled with deep tomes,
to Prisoners, Lifers, and Death Row guys on hold
in Trenton State. This was done, and selected by,
a few of the highly esteemed and nationally-ranked
Professors of Princeton University. What a load of
crap that was.
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