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I don’t have very many photos of me during my early childhood.
As the third kid, my parents must have grown tired of taking photos and Super 8 movies. I do have a photo of my grade school class from PS105 and I vividly remember the kids in that photo. The interesting thing I asked myself as I pondered it is: to which of those children was I drawn as friends?
Six decades later the answer is clear. Jennifer jumps off the tiny photo’s paper. She always had a sweet smile, a kind word and was ready to help her classmates. She got top grades, always had her homework done and carried herself with confidence and poise. As I go through the rest of the people sitting on the floor I see some who were friendly, some shy and a small number downright mean.
I was bullied by a few of them, beaten up, called names, the target of pranks. Clark, in particular, was the bane of my existence. As I wrote in a long ago column, my grandfather had taught me not to let words wound me and I overcame having the nickname he gave me by pretending I liked it. Clark’s taunts transitioned to saying I seemed more like a girl than a boy. Once when he punched me harder than usual and I cried, he yelled “Aww … The little girl is crying for her mommy!” Funny, right?
And now I look at the other children in that class and realize there was an overall clear division. Many of the kids, boys and girls, were drawn to people like Jennifer, but around half the boys were drawn to Clark. Like many bullies he could make people laugh, broke all the rules, lied whenever caught, and it was far safer to be on his side than against him. I remember the division during recess. Me, alone on a bench reading, Jennifer and some kids playing together, and Clark and his entourage alternating between playing together and menacing me and a few other unlucky kids.
So what does this have to do with 2024? Well, I’m in Arizona right now volunteering as a poll chaplain/peacekeeper. Part of the training involved knowing what to do if a truckload of people with AR-15s showed up at my polling place and got near the voters waiting in line. “As long as they don’t point their weapons directly at anyone you should do your best to keep everyone calm. It is an open carry state.” What’s the point of showing up outside a polling place or near a dropbox openly armed?
When I look at this election there couldn’t be a clearer metaphor for our choices than Jennifer and Clark. Yes, Democrats, Republicans and independents in this giant classroom we call the United States of America care deeply about issues, policies, past performance and future possibilities and are choosing their candidates rationally, based on their behavior, platforms and track records. Grocery prices, world conflicts, tax policies, freedom (bodily autonomy, bearing arms, freely loving whom you love, presenting your gender, speaking your mind, book banning, gas versus electric, unionizing, etc. … ) are all issues where folks are reasonably divided. Then, frankly, there’s recess.
With Vice President Kamala Harris I see Jennifer. Smart, well prepared, helpful, thoughtful, strong, surrounded by people I respect and someone I can count on to do the right thing. I look at the Democratic platform and listen to Harris on the campaign trail, during interviews, and I resonate positively with most of what she says. As a veteran, I believe she’ll make a great commander in chief. As a shopkeeper I believe she’ll be good for business. As a columnist, I believe she supports freedom of the press. There are issues I wish she’d take a different stand on, and I have faith that I can safely openly disagree.
I watch Donald Trump and see Clark and his cohorts. Trump calls people like me “the enemy within, radical left lunatics, evil Communists, lowlifes and crappy Jews,” promising to destroy us.
The FOX News pundits say they love Donald Trump because he never backs down and knows how to throw a punch. They laugh and echo the names he calls people. They say Harris supporters, especially men, are “wimps with mommy issues.” They warn that not embracing Trump’s form of “masculinity” and electing Kamala Harris will destroy the country. They cheer when he says “I will be your retribution” (threatening domestic enemies). Trump’s opponents, including retired generals and many others who served his administration, say he’s a fascist who will undermine democracy.
So, it’s time to decide, Jennifer or Clark (I changed their names). Kamala or Donald? This isn’t a schoolyard game. The stakes are high. Please vote!
Craig Wiesner is the co-owner of Reach And Teach, a book, toy and cultural gift shop on San Carlos Avenue in San Carlos.
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(30) comments
Craig, Kamala is not “Jennifer” unless you think -which you might- that “doing the right thing” is being party to mass murder and genocide in avoidable conflicts that have brought the world to the brink of World War III.
Kamala is the apparent preferred choice of the establishment and the neocons, like Dick Cheney, who have backed her. She has signaled her willingness to go along with the agenda of never ending war. She appointed Blackrock execs to head her economic advisory team. She has made bellicose statements that have inflamed conflicts in the Middle East and Eastern Europe.
Freedom of the press has gone down the drain with Biden/Harris. Biden has the FBI and CIA monitor social media and ban accounts and posts that don’t go along with government/corporate narratives. Kamala’s close ally, Hillary Clinton, has called for penalization of internet companies that do not curtail “misinformation.” So called “liberal” governments in the West, such as the UK, Australia, Canada and Germany have already passed laws curtailing free speech by prescribing fines and jail time for speech that counters government propaganda. In 2019, Harris stated social media companies “are directly speaking to millions and millions of people without any level of oversight or regulation and it has to stop.”
Craig - if I were Jennifer, I would be insulted. Should Trump win, he may become Jorg's best friend based on your and his stories.
Dirk: ME best friend with grouchy Trump, and contaminate my very clean selection of real, honest, trustworthy and accomplished friends?
poll chaplain? do you hear confessions? someone might want to confess they voted for Trump..
I think the good people of Arizona can monitor their own polls not sure why out of state people need to be at their polls. I would be very upset if I found out someone was doing this in my community.
These days, election workers and their families are being targeted in their homes and communities for retribution. That is why it helps to have people from farther away work the polls. There is a growing contingent of unbalanced citizens willing to kill people who are pointed out to them by republican politicians.
That's the Republican way, Westy, to threaten, cheat and lie their way to a false, EC-selected shallow victory, inspired by their grouchy cult-leader, Trump! Don't they grasp where that would lead us?
Westy - there is no evidence of such retribution but few Trump supporters have his sign out on their lawns. Why would that be? You are spewing unnecessary nonsense.
I guess you haven’t followed the news much, Dirk. Rudy Guliani was ordered to pay 2 election workers $150 million for the violence he set upon them by defaming them. It got so bad that they had to move from their long-time homes.There are many other cases as well.
Here’s Westy, along with her cheerleader mini-me, Jorg, with her version of logic: blame Republicans for what Democrats do. To wit, there have been at least two assassination attempts on Trump and none on Harris or Biden. Seems to me that as usual, Westy’s backward logic should be corrected to say, “unbalanced citizens willing to kill people who are pointed out to them by Democrat politicians.” And if you haven’t noticed, it’s the Dems who are targeting Trump and Trump supporters for retribution. Vote for Trump to Make America Great Again.
What a joke, TY: "assassination" attempts on Trumpy? Staged, or what?
And Terrence, Trump is now a Nazi, one who incinerates Jews... but Westy and Jorge and the Jorgidian Cult followers don't now the truth because they are reading hate articles at Mother Jones, ACLU, Huffington Post, CNN, MSNBC etc...
NutSo: You forgot to list Fox Lie Ch, which I visit regularly in order to stay informed about the latest lies, which the Trump cult members swallow raw without thinking, - not suggesting they have anything to think with.
Jorg is attacking again without facts and with his lies. I was right he is a narcissist. an egomaniac and can only argue ad-hominem. His poppy and mommy wouldn't be proud of how their little cuddly Jorgy failed debate class and has become the town bully.
NutSo: As a friendly advice, I suggest that you ask Miss Google to explain to you what "ad-hominem" means, just to prepare you better for next time you feel the need to use it out of context.
You’re hilarious, Jorg. You don’t understand how the Second Amendment or the Electoral College works, along with not understanding the definitions of “assault weapon” or “insurrection” or “incendiary” or “credit” to name a few, and you’re expecting us to believe you know what “ad-hominem” means? It sounds like your Miss Google is Miss Misinformation.
TY: Having tried so many times, and failed every time, to explain even the simplest thing to you, I won’t waste my time trying again.
But, if you’re ever brave enough to show us your face, which we all doubt you will, I will try once more, explaining it to you face-to-face, and try to find where I lose you, and where my old teaching experience wasn’t enough! Oh, yes, I have had some students that didn’t get it all the first time, even in my advanced classes.
Yawn, snore…you’re boring us Jorg. You’ve failed every time because you can’t explain things with fake news and lies. If you couldn’t explain things in the thousands of words you’ve written in the past, why would a face-to-face meeting make any difference? You won’t become eloquent or have any better approach in person – in fact you’d do worse. Besides, if you don’t understand the definitions of “assault weapon” or “insurrection” or “incendiary” or “credit” to name a few, simple concepts are still out of your wheelhouse. BTW, why so stingy with the exclamation points? The only valid points you ever have.
Thanks for your column, Mr. Wiesner. Over three months ago you “promised” to write columns that would move anyone who isn’t already on one side or the other, to give people hope or motivate them to do better, or to spark mutually helpful discussions? In just about every column since, if not all, you weren’t honest about holding to your promise. If you can’t be honest about keeping your promise, how can we take anything you write to be honest?
Assuming your stories about Jennifer and Clark are true and you see Jennifer in Kamala, I’d have to add that you’re a lonelier voice than before. The LA Times, the Washington (Amazon) Post, The Nation, and several large unions who previously endorsed Democrat presidents are now refusing to endorse Kamala. I guess these folks don’t see anything smart, well prepared, helpful, thoughtful, or strong about Kamala.
And then we have the disastrous showings by Kamala on her recent interviews and the harsh comments from Dem-friendly CNN on her disastrous performance. We have Mel Gibson waxing poetic on Kamala, “Miserable track record, a falling track record, no policy to speak of. She’s got the IQ of a fence post.” It appears more and more folks, even those on the left, who do not see Jennifer in Kamala. Rather, I’d say these folks see more of Clark in Kamala than Jennifer.
Here are two of Kamala’s numerous word salads:
“I am here, standing here on the northern flank, on the eastern flank, talking about what we have in terms of the eastern flank and our NATO allies, and what is at stake at this very moment. What is at stake this very moment are some of the guiding principles around the NATO alliance.”
“So, I think it’s very important, as you have heard from so many incredible leaders, for us at every moment in time — and certainly this one — to see the moment in time in which we exist and are present, and to be able to contextualize it, to understand where we exist in the history and in the moment as it relates not only to the past but the future.”
So with those verifiable facts and word salads, Mr. Weisner, you still think Kamala is smart, well prepared, helpful, thoughtful, or strong? Maybe for the Jennifer or Clark from six decades ago… And what’s with Kamala mocking Christian attendees and Jesus Christ in her rallies? Yep, that’s thoughtful. NOT!
Good morning, Craig
Did any of Jennifer's friends sneak up Clark, aim a slingshot at Clark's head, and let a projectile fly?
Nope. But something changed by High School and he became a really decent person. He played football and was surrounded by great people on the team and other good friends. While I was not in his circles he was friendly when we both worked briefly at the same supermarket.
Your columns often bring back my own memories, Craig. Man, can I identify with being bullied in school, both because I was just mid-sized, well behaved, and with too good grades for some to swallow. In 6th grade I had had enough, so I told my Dad, who took me down to the basement and taught me the basics of self-defense. Yes, basement, not to offend my Mom, teaching her son to fight! As expected, the next day I was attacked again by the school bully #1, - but this time, HE was the one left on his back, bleeding in the snow. All of a sudden, I had new friends needing protection!
Later in my teens, my Dad’s right-hook teaching may have saved my life when I was attacked by a lunatic with a knife aimed at my stomach. The last I saw of him, was when someone scraped him up from the deck of the ferry to Copenhagen and carried him away, still unconscious.
Let me also add that the top bully from back then, is now a good friend of mine, letting me know I taught him a lesson and turned his life around.
Jorg, thanks for sharing your life experience as a child, it provides a ton of insight as to who you are. Jorg was most likely a rolypolly book-worm kid, or most commonly referred to as a nerd. Jorg would be bullied because of his outward looks and demeanor. (not that it's right) When Jorg got home, his mom and dad would coddle little Jorgy and say, "my sweetie do not fret, these bullies are jealous because you are the smartest boy in school." This response turned you into who you are today, a self absorbent narcissistic human who thinks he is the smartest boy in the room and on SMDJ. Today you have become the bully and you bully people you don't agree with by calling them names, making fun of them, or dismissing facts that you aren't familiar with. I'm sure there were times when you thought "what kind of God would allow the brightest boy in school to be bullied?" No loving God would allow this, thus there is no God and I hate God. Today, you gather with like minded self absorbed people who nod in approval, and you laugh at, make fun of and bully the people you disagree with.
Craig on the other hand took another road, he decided he wanted to be liked so he pretends to be a moderate and kind and makes backhanded comments that he thinks make him loving and open-minded. Then every six months he vows to change his ways but his ways are too embedded in Craig to change without attending a rehab center.
Liking all people, regardless of your differences should be easy, it's only difficult when people like you and Craig feel you are better than everyone else and you are the know it alls.
Among all your nonsense, NutSo, I'll only correct one of your silly assumptions about something you obviously know nothing about, like most of what is being discussed on this site that you don't get: I never had to study very hard!
I’m glad you agree with everything else, you are a narcissist, and egomaniac, and you think you’re better than everybody else. That’s why you were bullied, and now that’s why you are a bully today.
You guys from the Trump cult are really a good laugh and a dime a dozen!
But, to be honest about it, besides the daily laugh you all so generously give me, I also get from you a lot of stuff for my next book! Thank you so very much, - all you devoted Trumpians!
Yo Gazoo - you there?
Pretty spot on here imo. There's always some unresolved childhood trauma behind these staunch liberals. The quote from Joseph Alpert always comes to mind "If You Are Not a Liberal When You Are Young, You Have No Heart, and If You Are Not a Conservative When Old, You Have No Brain." They never grew up. These liberal adults are just stuck in between a state of arrested development and cognitive dissonance. You can always tell when they romanticize their past so much. They all hate God so they have no concept of truth actually coming from within - so they need to seek out the truth externally from their preferred flavor of bought and paid for legacy main stream media. Whatever warm milk and cookies makes them feel good about the mistakes they have made. Then they internalize the energy of these corporate media sponsors and go out into the world and do their puppet masters bidding without even knowing they are being emotionally mind controlled. The pride and elitism in these people prevents them from any real empathy and any true self awareness and critical accountability. That's why I kinda stopped engaging with folks on the DJ as much. I grew up loving to debate because if I did my job well enough there was always a chance to change an intelligent persons mind even if they did not like me - now that is all out the window. I personally love to be proven wrong because it shows me an area that I need to improve in - for these infantile liberals it would be the end of the world and the ceasing of their identity.
Two for one…
Not So Common – thanks for the analyses of our fellow contributors, Jorg and Craig. Every time Jorg brags about his alleged feats of derring-do, I get the feeling Jorg read (or somebody read to him) “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” and Jorg now envisions himself as Walter Mitty. The reality is likely much different than what Jorg tells us, kind of like the reality Jorg doesn’t want to live in. Maybe in the upcoming days, Jorg will tell us Javva the Coffee-Hutt and Boba Tea-Fett were after him and Jorg and his sidekick, Chew-tobacca, were successful in avoiding them.
Hey Jorg, when you say, “I never had to study very hard,” I’d completely agree. Your nonsense letters and throwaway comments show us you’re more of a lemming than one with independent thoughts. And that’s the problem. Perhaps you should begin to study. Have a blessed day.
That gave me a good laugh, Jorg. Your right hook to a kids face in elementary school is what "turned his life around". Nothing his parents did mattered - the kid would have just listlessly floated through the ether for his entire life if it wasn't for the divine intervention of The Great Jorg (Gazoo) Took me a while to make that connection but that's the vindictive/narcissistic energy you bring. This comment is just pure clownery.
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