Are We Becoming a Nation of Intolerance?

From my perspective, America is less intolerant than it has ever been. When exactly was this golden age of American understanding? Our culture has struggled to believe in the equality of human beings and their essential goodness and/or worthiness from the beginning. I see less oppression and hatred than I ever have, and the very vocal-ness of the lunatic fringe is nothing other than the fact that sane, rational Americans are flipping over the flat rocks of bigotry. Yes, it is disgusting and even frightening to see what comes scuttling out--but it has ALWAYS been there, and used to be so woven into the social fabric most people couldn't see it. Human beings inevitably assume "the other" is less than they are, and that has colored societies, conflicts, and military struggles since the beginning of civilization. If you are short-sighted, it can seem things are "worse." I love this country, and feel like I'm watching its birth struggles as it transforms, yet once again, into it's 21st Century avatar. Human beings rise naturally to higher levels of connection. But the process is not always pretty.



www.realherosjourney.com
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Steven King's "The Stand"

Social Media is fun. Facebook is much like a never-ending cocktail party where you can drift from conversation to conversation. I'm reading "The Stand," which is a terrific book. But it started grating on me once I became aware of certain racial aspects. There were no black people for the first few hundred pages, but many uses of the word "Nigger." Hmmm. Then there was a reference to a white woman feeling "as if she were being treated as if she was black"--in other words, badly. And then a couple of other negative references. Then when the first black characters appeared they were half-naked, grotesquely animalistic, murdering buffoons. Then the next was a very stupid junkie. And then finally Mother Abigayle appeared, the ultimate spiritual guide.

Catch the pattern? No human beings. Just the extremes of fantasy evil and fantasy good, with no stop at normal human. The white characters? A full spectrum along the entire range of human beings, weak to strong, rich to poor, good to evil.

I commented on this (multiple times, as I came across references) on Facebook, triggering defensive responses. King grew up in New England, they say, which is 97% white. He doesn't know black people...

Well, that would explain the lack of black people. It DOESN'T explain why those who appear are exclusively ghastly, or supernatural. And 100% out of the "Breeding Circle" (too young, too old, too gay, too obese or too dead to be reproductively competitive.) And it doesn't explain why King, coming from this position, would be the most popular author of the 20th Century. That wouldn't be possible unless his core values were shared by his audience.

Now, King may have been born in New England, but he's traveled the country hugely since then, criss-crossed it on motorcycle, done hundreds if not thousands of signings, worked in Hollywood extensively, performed dozens of concerts, etc. Treatment of black characters in his books hasn't improved much, despite the fact that he's met lots and lots of black folks (myself included). The temptation is to make a few speculations:

1) The social images formed in childhood stay with us the rest of our lives, absent large amounts of very specific consciousness-raising.

2) Fans will rush to the defense of an artist who has such thoughts. In their hearts, they are actually defending an entire class of thought.

3) That if you are not exposed to members of a group as individual human beings, all that remains is the extremes of imagery--very negative, or very positive. Humanity is reserved for "us."

Now, I love King. Have met him, and think him a good and decent man. But what is most frightening about his work is how he seems to reflect the hidden heart of America: the Other is strange, and terrifying, and either impossibly evil or a Spiritual Guide born to guide white folks to Paradise. Readers will try to imply that this is a singularity.

I maintain it is not. The science-fiction and fantasy field is FULL of this. I've dealt with it all my life, and every time I point out the imagery used by authors from Heinlein to Tolkein, it is explained away.

But this is all the "10% disconnect" stuff. It explains every negative aspect of our racial landscape without demonizing either side--this is a human characteristic, and only intimate contact can ameliorate it. Why do we do it? It is a survival value to assume the "Other" can hurt you, that's why. So human culture overflows with such imagery. It is a higher form of thought to attribute fully human attributes to the "Other." Oddly, it is easier to assume those others are fantastic and alien than that they might be just...human.

Don't we see this everywhere? In the "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" stuff that implies we can't know each other even if we grow up in the same homes? In the "Liberal versus Conservative" stuff where people rant and rave that the "others" are stupid, traitorous troglodytes? The Christian versus Muslim thing where, right here on this blog, arguments were made that Muslims worship a different God, value human life differently, and cannot be reasoned with?

In other words, this survival trait is also the cause of huge amounts of human misery, war, bigotry, and fear. Steven King is insanely popular because he knows what we fear, and trust me: most of that is at the level of Unconscious Competence. If his values didn't match the values of his audience, they would never have flocked to him, he would never have known how to get under their skin. Popular media, the images people absorb eagerly for entertainment, is my very favorite straw poll.

I've proposed a fairly universal answer to the "why" of much human misery: we don't fully extend our own humanity to others. It allows me to predict behavior, and understand our past. It amuses me when people squawk, proclaiming that "their" group doesn't do this. We're better because we don't think we're better.

Thank God I can laugh at this stuff, or I'd cry.

That's How We Roll

A comment was offered hoping that blacks aren't still looking at slavery 350 years from now, a response to my notion that it takes longer to heal a wound--any wound--than it takes to inflict it.

A few thoughts on that, and the commentaries that followed.

1) If you can think of an instance of a wound that heals in LESS time than it takes to inflict it, I'd be very interested.

2) The subject of the Irish came up, and the fact that there actually were real slaves, and not just Indentured Servants. The difference? The exact difference between rape and seduction. Now there are some fascinating things to look at here. One, these cases seem to have been confined to island locations, and not in the Continental U.S. Therefore, no direct comparison can be made with the status of Americans. If you do make a comparison, it would have to be between blacks of island descent and Irish descendants of island slaves. Two, I would not expect the differences to be as drastic: Irish resemble their oppressors sufficiently to "hide" among them far easier than Africans. If the pain gets too bad, you can "pass". Third, I would bet that, on those islands, descendants of Irish slaves are poorer than descendants of their former European masters. Fourth, the Irish kept their names, religions, and culture to a degree FAR beyond that experienced by Africans. Blacks basically had their hard disks "wiped" and then horrifically negative "software" installed: you are inferior, dare not protect your families or chastity, and we will kill you if you say different. Without the self-definition of culture to fight back against this, you are screwed.

3) The period of healing begins when the last piece of shrapnel is removed from the wound. The common mistake made in (for all practical purposes) 100% of white argumentation in this arena is to measure this period from the end of slavery--about 150 years ago. How comforting it must be to forget Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and Segregation. In my book, it is reasonable to say blacks became citizens of America as of about 1965-70, somewhere around the Voting Rights amendment. THAT is when the damage really began to heal. Three hundred years of hell, followed by about 45 years of relative equality. If you were fifty years old, and had been abused for the first forty years of your life, I think we could expect some dysfunction still.

3) Will blacks "catch up?" No, I don't think so. Not as a group. All things considered, they would have to be superior to whites to do so, and they ain't. Or there would have to be a period imposed externally of equal disadvantage to whites. That's not going to happen. But what WILL happen is that blacks with 110% of average ability will be able to get 100% average results. Close enough. African immigrants will do well--they still have their mythology, heritage, language, and relationship to their Gods. But looking at the descendants of slaves will be a lot like looking at people who experienced abuse in childhood. As an average, there will be problems.

I'm sorry to seem pessimistic about this...but the other side is that interbreeding is going to make the majority Brown rather than white or black, anyway. In some ways, this is a non-issue long term, similarly to the fact that people worried about the Chinese ruling the world are, in my opinion, missing the fact that countries are becoming obsolete.

None of this implies that blacks are intellectually inferior, or whites morally inferior, although I sympathize with those who interpret the data that way. One of my problems--or advantages--is that in my meditations I flow from black to white, male to female, young to old, human to animal, animate to inanimate, matter to energy. It is too easy to see the sloppy logic use to justify bigotry or political position. When Nicki was a little girl, I watched like a hawk for any signs that the culture would slide backwards in terms of gender relations--or male power. And would not tolerate anyone who tried to place females into a category in any way inferior to male.

Now I have a six year old boy, and I'm seeing that he is going to have to take crap about being male. You guys know that I like Huffington Post. But the Left-leaning Post is just as sexist as some of the Right-leaning organs it decries. The only difference is that...wait for it...Huffpost is bigoted against males. Never, ever, in any column there have I seen a comment to the effect that rights and privileges should be taken away from women. Or that women are inferior to men. But commonly one finds posts suggesting that men are responsible for the evil of the world.

Now...it is possible to make that comment and still be intellectually honest. But damned few are. My standard? If you give men the blame for the wars and violence, and say this is due to intrinsic problems with men, then also give them credit for creating most of the science, art, and exploration...and maintain that this is also due to their innate differences.

But of course there are damned few who would take this position. Usually, you get "well, men have accomplished more because they oppress women. And they are more violent because they are inherently violent. " In all honesty, I see this as intellectual cowardice.

What do I think? That thousands of generations ago, men and women made a deal, and both agreed to it: women, whose bodies carry children, would raise those children and maintain the home circle. Males, who were larger and stronger, would specialize in dealing with aggressive threats, and take the dangerous jobs (and how many women died in that mine collapse? Anyone? Anyone?). Both sides contributed to the social rules, myths, songs, stories and cultural reinforcements that encouraged men to be "men" and women to be "women." It worked...for the production of children, but with a caveat: women's dreams were disposable. As were men's lives. I have been horrified at the callous reactions of those who say it doesn't matter if far more men die in wars...since men start the wars. As if when women start wars, they send women to fight in them. As if to the man dying on a beach with his intestines blown out, it matters that Stalin or Hitler or whoever were men. As if women don't encourage men to be aggressive, and profit when their men bring home the loot.

I've known whites who thought blacks were superior, and thought them sick. Blacks who think whites are superior. Sick. Women who thought men were superior. Brain-washed.

You can guess where THAT line of reasoning goes. But as the pendulum swings, and women take more of the power in the world (a natural consequence of effective birth control and expanded educational opportunities) watch for women dominating men in commercials, situation comedies, academic environments. Watch for it to be "funny" for women to strike or dominate men in ways that would be abhorrent if the shoe was on the other foot. Watch for political organs like HuffPost to allow comments that would be seen as rabidly sexist if said by men about women.

And never, ever let yourself forget: they're the same as men, only they have female reproductive organs and secondary sexual characteristics. Sexism is sexism, and if they were guys they probably would have been "a woman's place is in the home" types. "Barefoot and pregnant" types.

In politics of all kinds: national, gender, racial, sexual...I automatically discount the opinions of the most radical 10% on either side: Liberals who think Conservatives are fools or knaves...or vice versa. Blacks who think whites are evil, or whites who think blacks are mental midgets. Men who think women are weak and manipulative, women who think men are violent and evil. Straights who think gays are diseased perverts, gays who think straights are sexually repressed hypocrites. And on and on. I am quite certain that my insistence on staying to a point of balance creates its own problems--there really are times that one polarity or another is simply correct. It happens.

But as I've said before, what I see is whites who conveniently forget the history of race relations. Women who forget that those who stop the raping men...are also, usually, men. Straights who forget that homosexuality exists in nature. Christians who forget the history of aggression between the West and the Arab world.

When will blacks stop talking about slavery? When individuals stop blaming their childhoods for their obesity, depression, and bad relationships. When religious groups stop orbiting their lives around events that took place thousands of years ago. When nations stop celebrating events that took place before any living citizen was born. When American women stop blaming men for their status in life.

In other words--when human beings stop being what they are: strong, smart, tough...and also whiny little bitches.

That's how we roll.

'The Male Brain': Ladies, He's Not A Pervert Just Because He Wants More Sex Than You Do (PHOTOS, POLL)

If you consider women the "norm" men look twisted and broken. If you consider men the "norm" women seem stunted and manipulative. It is always amusing to hear sexists on either side demanding that one side be blamed, controlled, or forced to conform. Men and women have collaborated for countless generations in selecting each other for various survival and attraction traits. Growing up, I heard mucho sexist talk from guys about how women couldn't handle responsibility, needed to follow male leadership, etc. I never bought it. Nowadays, you hear women using the exact same arguments: men are violent, irrational, etc., and to fault for all the world's problems. The problem is that these women, were they men, would be horrific sexists, the very thing they abhor. You can't blame men for the world's problems unless you are also willing to give them credit for the world's science, art, and exploration. Attribute both good and bad to complex factors both social and biological...sure. Blame them as a way to elevate your own group? You're just another bigot.



www.diamondhour.com
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Obama Hits Bob McDonnell: Omission Of Slavery 'Unacceptable' In Confederate History Month Proclamation

Only by understanding slavery, and its cost to the enslaved, does the status of their descendants make perfect sense. Want it quantified? The following numbers are approximate:

In 1800, the average life span of a white person was about 48 years. The average life span of a slave was about 32. Post-emancipation, that life span increased to about 44 years, similar to that of Kalihari hunter-gatherers today. That's about twelve years of life stolen from every black man and woman, and the value invested in the community that owned them. Multiplied across the three hundred years or so slavery existed in America, and that comes to hundreds of millions of years stolen, along with the attendant labor. There is no conceivable way that this could have happened, and not have massive effect on descendants who have been free about 1/2 the time they were enslaved. Takes a wound longer to heal than it took to inflict, folks. There are many elements who would like to ignore statistics like this. Justifies their world view.



www.diamondhour.com
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Re-watching "Sherlock Holmes" I like it better on the small screen. More and more movies are being formatted for DVD rather than theaters.

"Two More Minutes"

"Two More Minutes!"

I was in the pool with my six year old son Jason yesterday, and when it was time to go in, he begged for a little more play time. I said: "how much more time do you want? It's time for dinner."

"Two minutes!" he said.

I said, "all right...if I give you two minutes, do you promise that when that time is up, you'll get out, and no arguments?"

He readily agreed. Then, when the time was up, of course he wanted more time. I had to laugh. I knew that was coming. Four times out of five he can't help himself, always wanting a little more, a little more. And that's one of the reasons I love kids. They so closely resemble the voices in our own heads that always want a little more...break their promises just a little bit...try to change the rules just slightly...beg and plead and whine and try to convince us that if we do less than our best JUST THIS ONE TIME, it will never bother us again. Just one more forkful. Sleep in just this once. Cheat just this time. Skip exercise just today. Start a budget plan tomorrow, instead of today.

Start writing that award winning story...tomorrow.

Just this once. Just today. And that is the way our lives get stolen, one day, one broken promise, two minutes at a time.

PAY ATTENTION to the voices that beg you to be less than you can. Jason is six--he can get away with it because he has a Daddy who loves him, and will do whatever it takes to make him safe and well and whole. You have to be your own parent now. YOU are the bottom line. And if you are going to reach your dreams, you must commit to being loving but firm with that inner six-year old. Your very life, your very future is at stake.

Have time for some free coaching calls in the next week. Interested in writing or balanced living? Write me at: steven@diamondhour.com

"Why is Daddy Naked..?"

"Get one. I never carry my Airbook any more. Other than for heavy-duty writing, it's perfect.

That is the first review I've gotten on the

Ipad. Saw one over the weekend at Norwescon. Beautiful. Apple just changed the computing world--Tablets are here now, and if everyone else's stuff trumps the IPad, Apple can still be credited for creating the first successful tablet, opening the door to this hybrid device. "Only" a big Ipod touch? That's fine by me. But I suspect we're just starting to understand what a connected future is going to look like.

##

Over on the 101 board, there was an inquiry about hyperthyroidism and exercise. What I know is that

1) you should involve your health professional in any such decisions.

2) Health first, Fitness second. Yoga and Tai Chi are probably ideal until proven otherwise.

##

Someone asked me about the difference between love and lust. Hmmm. That will take a little thought. How to tell the difference? Well, for guys, if she looks better AFTER you've made love to her than before, that might be love. If you find yourself itching to get out the door afterward, probably just lust, y'know?

##

I worked all day Monday with Charles Johnson on a collaborative project, a book I'm not gonna talk about just yet. Greg Bear made me promise not to talk about it publicly--said the idea was too good. I have to be honest and admit that Charles ("Middle Passage") intimidates me a bit. He is so low-key that I could almost believe that we're just two friends and writers working on a book...then I remember that one of them has his own postage stamp, and it ain't me. A great time to practice controlling my emotions. Really, really want to bring my "A" game this time, the way I did for "Lion's Blood." Pull this off, and it's a game changer.

##

I was in my hotel room Sunday, coming out of the shower after a "TacFit Commando" session, and glimpsed myself in the shower. Whoa. Who is that underwear model in the mirror? Took a slightly naughty shot of myself with my iPhone, and mailed it to Tananarive. Who put it up on the computer screen as Jason walked into the room. "Why is Daddy naked..?"

Sigh. Kids.

Met with my animation agents. Pitched four ideas. They liked three of 'em. Nice. What were your all-time favorite cartoons?

Norwescon was great, capped marathon work session with Charles "Middle Passage" Johnson...we have a killer idea for a mind-bending novel.

iPad Release: LIVE News Updates On The iPad Launch

"Just a bigger iPhone." And for those of us who would have loved a bigger screen, a bigger keyboard, etc, that may be enough, and terrific. Why all the venom?



www.diamondhour.com
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Obama Census Choice: African-American

I am very mixed (Black, white, Native American) but generally just consider myself "black" for simplicity's sake. Genetically, I am a mutt (Native American varies from Asian to mixes similar to Russian, filtered through lotsa generations of open-air living which produce darkened skin.) My sister considers herself "multiethnic" which is her right. I could give a damn, but understand that part of my public definition has to do with communication to others. Whites usually just consider me "black" and that is certainly what the definition has been throughout American history (down to 1/8th, you could still be sold). In any purely logical sense, I'm just a mixture, but the sociological definition has been clear for hundreds of years. My self-definition? I'm Steve. The rest of it is interesting but archaic labels many racists (black and white) fall into from old programming. Cool. A label isn't the thing itself. I contain multitudes, as do we all.



www.diamondhour.com

www.realherosjourney.com
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Scientists Identify Rare 'Supertaskers' Who Can Text And Drive

I'm sure there are some who can, just like there are probably drivers who can ignore stop signs and red lights and not have accidents. Or drive against traffic. But consider: the average person considers themselves to be an above-average driver. If they are right? They message a little faster, maybe make an extra deal a year. Maybe. If they are wrong? Somebody DIES. Maybe multiple people. And what do they say then? "Oops. I thought I was the exception?" How insanely inconsiderate. Don't risk my family's life so that you can Twitter what you had for lunch. Please. It can wait until you park.



www.diamondhour.com
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

At Norwescon. Room party 8pm Saturday Seatac Doubletree room 912. See some of you there, I hope!

Arrgh. Let my driver's license expire, couldn't rent a car in Seattle. Totally changes my plans for Portland. Checked into a motel, gonna just get work done tomorrow. I blew it!

Yours truly will be in the Northwest the next
few days: Portland tomorrow, and Seattle over the weekend. I'm going to be getting together with
friends at the "Kennedy School" restaurant/pub in
Portland tomorrow night about 7pm, and you are
invited if you're available. The
address: 5736 NE 33rd Avenue.

Drop me an email if you want to come by, and I'll
be sure there's room. Then Friday/Saturday/ Sunday,
I'll be at the Norwescon SF convention at Seatac.
If you drop me an email and let me know you're coming,
maybe I'll do a room party...and we can talk about
some of the things we've explored over the last months.

Hope to see you soon!

Steve

This morning, talking to one of my coaching clients, we spoke of his emotions, and that
his belief systems "were him." Really? Was my computer my computer before the buggy
programs? Was it my computer after I removed them? You bet! And your
beliefs (programs) influence your behavior massively. And the most influential beliefs:
"I can" "I should" I'm bad" "I am" are those given to you...or inflicted upon you...
before you were ten years old. All meditation practices aim to calm and/or focus the mind so that, among other things, you can "wipe the hard drive" clean, and then re-install only those programs you want.

You need to seek out the teachers and techniques that allow you to walk you through your life, every level of it, and give you the tools you need to "wipe" the negative
programs and "re-install" your basic instructions. It is more than your birthright--it is your responsibility to be as healthy, happy, successful and energetic as you can be.

After all--there is no Carbonite backup system for your life.

'Battlefield Earth' Screenwriter Writes Hilarious Open Apology

I knew "Battlefield" was in trouble when Travolta showed up at a Science Fiction convention in Seattle to promote it. The man looked like a deer in the headlights. My wife was sitting next to Forest Whittaker and mentioned "Battlefield" as a textbook example of a bad movie. Oops!



www.diamondhour.com
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Just talked to one of my coaching clients' mastermind groups. It is SERIOUSLY important to have people you can trust with whom to share your hopes and dreams. Find at least one, no matter what. Expand from there, so long as there is total harmony among you.