100 days and counting...

A beacon that currently isn't beckoning to people in my situation

Like an old Seinfeld episode, another blog post about nothing. Today is Bastille Day; it's also Day 100 of our confinement Authorized Departure (AD) in Arlington, Virginia. And there's still no light at the end of the COVID-19 excavated tunnel. AD has been extended for another 30-day period, up until August 10; more importantly, the powers that be back in Addis Ababa አዲስ አበባ have decided the embassy should remain in Phase 0 for the time being. So what this means is that we remain stuck in the D.C. suburbs, watching the country seemingly go down in the coronavirus flames, while much of the rest of the world (or Asia, Europe and Oceania, at least) seems to have gotten a handle on the pandemic.

There's no point any longer is getting outraged over the government's handling of the crisis, or of society's numerous ills. The daily video doses of anti-mask imbeciles or privileged Karens going off on perceived slights or supposed human rights violations no longer hold much entertainment. Even Facebook hasn't given me much to rant and rave about. The closest argument I've had recently was on YouTube, with a woman named "Susan Murray" who felt the need to point out a black person and a slightly obese woman in a video taken in the Enoshima 江の島 area, to the southwest of Yokohama 横浜. Her response to my query was to write that "black people have chips on their shoulders" and that "the best amongst them rise above their peoples' history", W(ever)TF that means, and then to share a link to a video showing a black guy getting angry at a Japanese Starbucks. It just boggles the mind how people like Ms. Murray seemingly function in the modern world. Not worth the time nor the trouble...

So I spend my days when I'm not sleeping or teleworking by spending way too much time online, to the point where I now have to use an elbow support pad due to the nerve damage in my fingers from too much typing. Even the view from our 21st-floor balcony is starting to lose its luster, with only the occasional brilliant sunset...:

...or passing rainstorm to break through the ennui:

Perhaps I'm slowly losing touch with reality due to this lockdown, but a few weeks ago I had a "Twilight Zone" moment. Looking from west to east from our balcony you can see the highrise buildings in Bethesda, several antennas and the Washington National Cathedral:

However, on one overcast morning, all those familiar landmarks seemed to have vanished in the mist (they were apparently returned via a dimensional slip later that morning):

Another break from the monotony came with the 4th of July fireworks on the National Mall, which we could partially glimpse from our balcony:

About the only thing still keeping me (arguably) sane is walking. Though I've stopped going for morning walks due to the heat (temperatures are now routinely in the low 90's F, or over 30° C for those of you in the rational world) and humidity, once a week I wake up early and go for a lengthy stroll to generate some sweat and further wear down my shoes. These days I'm up to 90 minutes one-way, and my usual route takes me from Ballston down to the Potomac River:

On the way back I sometimes pass by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea Chancery Annex, representing one of many countries difficult for Americans to visit at the moment (with the fault, of course, being entirely ours):

For a change of pace, last week I took my walk in the opposite direction, i.e. away from the river. Other than the occasional historical marker (like this one for the Travers Family Graveyard, located in an otherwise nondescript suburban neighborhood), there was little of interest to see, so I'll stick to the water on future walks:

This license plate sums things up nicely:

I suppose if we had a car things might be a bit more interesting. We do occasionally rent a vehicle so the wife can do some shopping at Asian supermarkets - our affluent white neighborhood has plenty of cafes, gyms and nail salons, but for some reason the white hipsters haven't demanded any Asian grocery stores be sited within walking distance of our building. I used one of the times when we had access to a car to drive to Windy Run Park in order to take what the Japanese call a "green shower" 森林浴:

The scenery wasn't quite as soothing as the photos suggest, for the sounds of traffic from the George Washington Parkway and the planes from Reagan National Airport flying overhead were a constant reminder that I'm sharing the NOVA region with approximately 3.2 million other souls. The trails themselves turned out to be a tease. One branch supposedly led to the Potomac Heritage Trail, but deadended on a small cliff:

Military helicopters are a common sight along the Potomac:

The other branch led under the G.W. Parkway, where someone had written "I Can't Breathe" under the bridge, only they seemingly ran out of spray paint before they could color in the final "E":

The path did parallel the road but apparently isn't much used, because the trail soon became too overgrown to continue. At least there were views of the Potomac:

Despite the trails to nowhere, and the 79°F (26°C) and 76% humidity weather, it was good to bathe in the forest:

Another reason for renting a car was to drop off the application forms at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) 臺北經濟文化辦事處 in Washington D.C. to renew my daughter's Republic of China 中華民國 passport. In true teenage fashion, Amber was less than thrilled to be pulled away from her computer games in order to have a proper passport photo taken at a studio near our residence:

Due to professional courtesy, I'll only briefly describe our morning at TECRO. Considering the building is Taiwan's unofficial embassy, it was surprising to find only two women working in the Consular section. One was seeing to Taiwanese visitors, while the other was taking care of non-citizens, and both were also answering telephone calls. Although Shu-E had called ahead to make sure we had all the proper paperwork in hand, the woman at the Taiwanese counter told her they couldn't accept our daughter's birth certificate because she couldn't be sure she could "trust" it. She was also hesitant to accept Amber's Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA). Following a discussion with her colleague, she informed us they could accept the CRBA, but not the photocopy that we had brought with us. This meant we had to drive home (fortunately only 20 minutes away) to retrieve the original document. However, upon returning to TECRO, the same worker wouldn't take it at first because it wasn't notarized! Finally, in true universal bureaucratic fashion, she announced that she would send all our documents back to Taipei 台北 and let the home office decide if all was in order:

Shu-E was contacted by TECRO a few days ago and told everything was fine, which means Amber's passport will be ready...in 6-8 weeks' time. I don't ever want to hear anyone complain about American Citizens Services again.

And so that's how things stand 100 days into our departure from Ethiopia. How long this will last I have no idea. The longest period of time I can be reimbursed for our housing expenses here is 180 days. After that, it's anybody's guess where we go from here.

In the meantime, I know where I'm going right now...

Older though not necessarily wiser

Not all the storms that have been battering this country recently have been of the figurative variety...

As I write this, we're into the 70th day of our incarceration extended stay in Arlington, Virginia. With the extension of Authorized Departure for yet another month, we're here until at least July 11, but more likely for longer than that. The COVID-19 numbers for Ethiopia show so sign of slowing down, with 3166 confirmed cases and 55 deaths from the virus - yesterday, in fact, saw the biggest daily increase in new cases. Without evidence of a downward trend, it's unlikely the embassy will be given the go ahead to resume normal operations anytime soon.

And so here we continue to stay, living out of our suitcases, as almost all of our worldly possessions are still back in Addis Ababa አዲስ አበባ. Other than telework and the daily walks, there isn't much to do. The book the girls gave me for my birthday today seems apropos for our present situation, though the prints included within show people in outdoor situations, not practicing social distancing as they work to further the goals of the revolution:

Coronavirus aside, at least things are going well in the country as a wh...oh, who am I kidding? To remind me of all that is wrong in America these days, a relative of mine shared the following on Facebook yesterday, which is how it ended up on my feed. The relation who thought I needed to see this is married to the man who called my wife a "mail order bride", whom I "bought" using my late father's money so she could give birth to my child (see here for the ugliness). If you're wondering why the U.S. is the way it is today, keep in mind that the fear, ignorance and ugly racism you're about to read is how literally millions of people in this country (including some of my relatives) view the world:

Normally I don’t repost things. Normally I don’t post political. But I saw this and thought it hit home with what is going on in the world today.
This may open up a ton of outraged comments by some. Many who will argue how "wrong" this post is. My suggestion, save your time and effort! You're not changing the reality of what we are living by trying to somehow justify this insanity. Nevertheless, I couldn't resist because we are becoming the Twilight Zone.
We have become a nation that has lost its collective mind!
• If a dude pretends to be a woman, you are required to pretend with him.
• Somehow it’s un-American for the census to count how many Americans are in America.
• Russians influencing our elections are bad, but illegals voting in our elections are good.
• It was cool for Joe Biden to "blackmail" the President of Ukraine, but it’s an impeachable offense if Donald Trump inquires about it.
• Twenty is too young to drink a beer, but eighteen is old enough to vote.
• People who have never owned slaves should pay slavery reparations to people who have never been slaves.
• Inflammatory rhetoric is outrageous, but harassing people in restaurants is virtuous.
• People who have never been to college should pay the debts of college students who took out huge loans for their degrees.
• Immigrants with tuberculosis and polio are welcome, but you’d better be able to prove your dog is vaccinated.
• Irish doctors and German engineers who want to immigrate must go through a rigorous vetting process, but any illiterate gang-bangers who jump the southern fence are welcome.
• $5 billion for border security is too expensive, but $1.5 trillion for “free” health care is not.
• If you cheat to get into college you go to prison, but if you cheat to get into the country you go to college for free.
• People who say there is no such thing as gender are demanding a female President.
• We see other countries going Socialist and collapsing, but it seems like a great plan to us.
• Some people are held responsible for things that happened before they were born, and other people are not held responsible for what they are doing right now.
• Criminals are catch-and-released to hurt more people, but stopping them is bad because it's a violation of THEIR rights.
• And pointing out all this hypocrisy somehow makes us "racists"?!
Nothing makes sense anymore, no values, no morals, no civility and people are dying of a Chinese virus.
We are living in an upside down world for sure.

Virtually every single point expressed is so clearly wrong, and yet so readily accepted and believed by so many Americans. Just check out that xenophobia - immigrants voting illegally! Immigrants with TB and polio (Polio?!)! Immigrants getting free college educations! And we're all dying from a "Chinese virus"!

It's because of sentiments like these above that we can't have a nice country. And it's because so many espouse sentiments like these above that I fear for the future of the United States. Despite all the progress made over the past several decades, there are still significant numbers of people who favor "law and order" over ending police brutality, who despair over the "browning" of America (notice how the original poster frowned over the difficulties "Irish doctors and German engineers" were supposedly having in getting into the U.S.), who think universal health care is "Socialism" that will result in the collapse of society (like it has in all the other developed nations that ensure their citizens have access to working health care systems) and so on and so on. And it's due in no small part to sentiments like these above that I'm anxious to return to work in Ethiopia.

Oh well, one should always look on the bright side. The outpouring of demonstrators on the streets is a hopeful sign that real changes are possibly on their way, even if it means people like the poster (and the relative who shared it) will have to be dragged kicking and screaming into the real world. But with age comes cynicism (or more of it, in my case), so as the old saying goes, I'll believe it when I see it.

On at least one positive note, for the first time since we were in the Seychelles back in mid-March, we actually went out for a meal this evening, celebrating my 57th at Urban Tandoor. Hopefully we can do this more often from now on, provided we don't catch that COVID:

The rainstorm pictured at the top of this post actually missed our location, but did provide an entertaining lightning show as it went by:

I'm now up to 75 minutes one-way on my weekly trek along the Curtis and Mount Vernon Trails, which took me to this point alongside the Potomac with views of the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Watergate complex:

And when life when gets you down, there are always sunsets to appreciate:

In reference to an earlier blog post: 

The white thing to do...

I'm now up to 70 minutes one way on foot from our apartment building in Ballston. This is the point at which I stopped this morning and turned back. Inching my way towards Reagan National...

I've just learned that Authorized Departure has been extended for another month, meaning we'll be here until at least July 11. On that happy note...

The fear keeps popping up in my Facebook feed. A couple of days after "Prepared Not Scared" (complete with a bullet) was posted by a friend, this was put up by a relative:

For the sake of harmonious familial relations I didn't engage with said relation on their FB page. Rather, I'll do it here for all the world (or at least a couple dozen people) to see. Here are five reasons why I feel the need to comment on memes such as these:

1. They demonstrate fear, not toughness. Who is the target audience of such a post? The potential home invader/looter? That's doubtful, as those people are unlikely to be checking up on Facebook first before launching their assaults on the poster's residence. No, the poster is demonstrating to their FB friends that they aren't afraid to do what is necessary to protect their freedumb. Their friends are no doubt putting up similar memes, so everyone reassuring each other that they're armed and ready for...for what?

In real life, in the highly unlikely event that fantasy turns into reality, they would probably only injure themselves and their loved ones, and not the attacker. Movies and TV shows present an image of the calm warrior coolly disposing of his foes with uncanny accuracy and a follow-up witticism. In the real world, fear, nerves, perspiration and sweaty hands would more likely result in a family member being mistaken for an invader, with tragic results.

2. Their moral compasses have become skewed. Many of the folks who posture in such aggressive manners will state they're willing to do what it takes to protect their family and their property. Family I can understand - on more than one occasion I've acted quickly to put myself between my wife and/or daughter and someone acting inappropriately. But property? I find it chilling that someone would brag to the world that they wouldn't hesitate to unload a cartridge into another human being in order to protect their flat screen TV. Dude, just take it and leave my family alone.

According to my expert armchair analysis, this is the result of a society that emphasizes the acquisition of material goods and the pursuit of wealth at any cost, instead of prioritizing social programs that would benefit the society as a whole (can you say "universal health insurance"?).

3. There's that whole Freudian thing when it comes to firearms and the displays thereof. Suffice it to say, depending on your anatomy, you're either compensating or substituting for something when demonstrating your supposed love of weaponry.

4. The racism behind these memes. Oh sure, the posters will deny it. But when they fantasize about protecting their family and property from those seeking to harm the former and seize the latter, I doubt they're imagining white, college-educated males breaking down the door to their house. We know who they're afraid of, which leads us to the last reason...

5. This is why we have police brutality. White people in the suburbs are terrifed of young African-American males. This is why black men have the police called on them, and why they often end up arrested or brutalized or worse. The police are well aware of the fear, and act accordingly to "protect and serve" the community. For years we've heard about unarmed African-American men being shot dead by police officers, and yet the people who post the aggressive memes will either remain silent on social media; or, if they do react on FB, it will be along the lines of "all lives/blue lives matter". Or they will go to great lengths to point out that not all police officers are "bad", which is true, but at the same time obfuscates the real issue that there are serious abuses going on in the name of law enforcement. As long as scared white suburbanites either ignore or seek to explain away police brutality, or divert attention to looters and the so-called threat to their families and properties, the problems will go on...and on...and on...

 Bridges

OK, let's finish this post on a lighter note. I've always been fascinated by lightning and thunder (much to my wife's bemusement), and living on the 21st floor gives an interesting perspective on passing rainstorms. Yesterday evening I went out onto our balcony, looked to the west and saw the approaching clouds:

It wasn't long before the storm was upon us:

After a few minutes, the rain clouds continued on their merry way:

But in the distance another burst of rain loomed. In all, three storms would blow over us by the time I went to bed last night:

The white glow in the background is the closest I've ever come to catching lightning in a photo:

The BBC has video of lightning striking the Washington Monument last night. As I tidy this up this rant before posting, yet another lightning show is going on outside, though the rain hasn't started falling on us yet. Hey, 61 days into authorized departure, entertainment options are still somewhat limited...

What we have here is failure to communicate

With all the turmoil currently going on in this country, I thought a sunset photo would be a nice way to kick off this post...

OK, time to face facts - I suck at trying to get my point across. I used to chalk it up to people deliberately misunderstanding what I was trying to say in order to play the victim card, or to the fact that some folks are just plain stupid and struggle with the nuances of the English language. But seeing as it happens time and time again, I have to accept that I am a poor communicator. A very recent case in point...

I have a Facebook friend whom I've known since college in the late 1980's. After graduation, said friend moved to a city in the foothills and has been there ever since. According to census data, the ethnic makeup of said town is 84% white, and less than 1% African-American. Considering those demographics, you would naturally expect the residents of this town to lean a bit towards the right on certain issues. In recent years my friend would post on FB their outrage over President Barack Obama supposedly wanting to take their guns away and, more recently, that ALL lives matter. So it came as a pleasant surprise to see them supportive of the demonstrations that have broken out across the country in the wake of the death of George Floyd.

Until this appeared:

It turns out that according to unsubstantiated rumors that were subsequently passed along to the townsfolk by local law enforcement officials, outside agitators were on their way to loot and pillage the downtown business district. Shopfronts were boarded up, and following that, the testosterone started to flow as chests were thumped, and penises whipped out and made erect in the name of scaring off those bad people coming to do harm to their wholesome town.

Now I have certain relatives of mine - uneducated, untraveled white males - who love to post such tough-sounding memes on their FB pages. And so I wrote on my friend's thread the following:

"The bullet and the military-style lettering looks like something racist, right-wing relatives of mine would proudly post."

To which they replied:

"...if it were in script would it be nicer? There is absolutely nothing racial behind my post....just dont vandalize my town....whoever you are....we won't have it."

At no point did I intend to suggest they were "racist"; rather, I was trying to point out that a meme such as this could be taken the wrong way, and so I clarified:

"I know that but others may not. Taken out of context it could easily be taken for something else. It really does look like something these relatives of mine would post, who don't share our views on what's been going on in Minneapolis and other cities, but who do think our president is doing a fine job."

I hope that cleared up things for them, but I can't say for sure. Certainly their friends didn't seem to get the point, especially when I followed up with this:

"Isn't the posting of something as overtly aggressive as this meme an admission of fear?"

And the responses from the peanut gallery:

1. "...we've a right to protect our families and ourselves don't we???? It's not fear it's just a fact as I'm sure if someone was breaking into your house threatening your family would you just offer them tea and try to talk sense into them or would you do whatever it takes to protect your family and yourself???"

2. "...if I had to I’d empty every weapon I own to protect my family and property."

3. "Hell yes I will protect my home if some asshole comes storming in like those piece of shit looters!"

4. "As we see when things play out, we are left to defend ourselves. Exercise your second amendment right!"

Note that the person who made comment #1 also shared a video on FB showing lots of overweight, bearded middle-aged white men hanging around the boarded-up business district, with the original caption:

"Lets do this scum bags PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE bring it! Waiting on Antifa to legally beat the shit out of them"

And this is why we're never going to have nice things in America. But more on that later. First, in answer to No. 1's question, yes, it is fear. Because what is driving the terrible racial problems in this country is the fear demonstrated by white suburbanites like those who made the above comments. This fear is covered up by bravado, by a show of arms and tough-talking rhetoric, but these are people who are afraid, plain and simple. Ironically, were those "looters" to have actually showed up in their town and commenced "looting" (they didn't, of course; presumably "Prepared Not Scared" frightened them off), these heroic white warriors, once they stopped urinating in their pants, would probably have ended up shooting themselves and their loved ones as a result of their trembling hands, but that's another story...

The problem in this nation isn't so much institutionalized racism per se. Jim Crow laws died off a long time ago, to be replaced by civil rights legislation, and legal recourse exists now to protect those whose rights have been denied. No, what continues to drive this racial tension in America is the terrified white suburbanite cowering in fear that someone is coming to harm them, their family and their property. And who are those terrible people coming to rape, pillage and loot? Does it need to be said? When commenters 1-4 above are fantasizing about defending their homes and loved ones (while bringing themselves to a climax thinking about their 2nd Amendment rights), the skin colors of the "assholes" they are imagining taking out do not resemble their own hues. 

It's because of this fear that the Beckys and Karens of this country call the authorities on people having barbecues in the park, or why self-appointed vigilantes, once their dicks are sufficiently hardened, go out and murder the Treyvon Martins and Ahmaud Arberys. The role of the police is to calm such fears, even if it means taking a knee on someone's chest to the point where they stop breathing. Blue lives matter!

The sad thing is that many of these suburbanites may very well consider themselves to be progressive, reminding one and all who they voted for in 2008 and 2012. And yet they wouldn't hesitate to call 9-1-1 if they saw an unfamiliar black man walking through their neighborhood, and to ask their partner to get their gun "just in case". They may express support for the demonstrators marching against police brutality, but upon hearing rumors that people are coming to destroy their town, they quickly post images and statements that would have a hardcore Trump supporter whooping it up in glee. 

So what's the solution? The fuck if I know. Try to convince the media to tone things down, and the government to actually enforce the "well-regulated Militia" part of the 2nd Amendment? Neither of those things is going to happen anytime soon, if ever. As long as the fear remains, the police will act accordingly, and the outrages will continue. Sure, there are a lot of white folks jumping on the bandwagon now, but the depth of that commitment is questionable. I honestly don't see much hope on the horizon. Once the next big issue takes attention away from George Floyd, the abuses will continue and America will agonize over why it can't live up to its ideals. Meanwhile, the fear will go on...

OK, so have I made my point(s) clear? No? Fuck it, I tried. I just want to get the fuck out of here...

A postscript: I posted the same "Prepared Not Scared" image on my Facebook page yesterday, asking people for their impressions of the type of person who would put up something like that. I wanted to see if my initial reaction (that it was something those racist relatives of mine would post) was wrong (not the first time that's happened!). However, after a few minutes, I thought better of it and deleted the post. Soon after, I learned from another friend that Facebook's algorithms had busted me for the bullet image! And yet, the original post from my college friend is still up on their page, along with their friends' comments about wasting people, nearly two days later! Hey, Mark Zuckerberg, what gives? 

This was the scene from our balcony yesterday afternoon: