Cellar Scribblings

[Front-Ranger]

... most of the people speaking focused on broad social justice issues -- a housing shortage, systemic racism, etc. -- that they would have talked about otherwise, mostly problems that existed when Obama was president.

Heck, those problems existed when Washington was president.

...I talked to one woman who said she was 78 and had scolded a 20-year-old man for using foul language. She kept going on about that. And I talked to a woman who kept saying "How can there be more votes than there are registered voters?? Does that sound right to you?" I said I had no idea, feigning neutrality but secretly thinking, wow, it's going to be a long few next months.

It's odd, when you hear Trump supporters interviewed they always say the same thing, as if they're speaking from a script. When progressives are interviewed, they sound way different from each other. Could it be that Trumpers are actually brainwashed?

Regarding the woman who obsessed on a man's foul language...that reminds me of a community Zoom I was in recently where the facilitator asked what were the things people liked/disliked about our neighborhood. A couple of the respondents said homeless people. They went on and on about people living under a bridge (not in our neighborhood), walking along the street looking unkempt (not in our neighborhood), and camping out in downtown (ditto). There are also people who obsess about looters. Whenever you talk to them, the subject always comes up.

Katherine, what you are going through is horrific and I applaud your professionalism and your perseverance! I'm trying to support journalists with my subscriptions and the occasional email about good articles written. I wish I could do more.

[CellarDweller]

Hiya BetterMost friends!!!!

It was nice to have a bit of a sleep in today. 


I went out and got the supplies I wanted today, including what I need for Thanksgiving.  The only other items I need are fresh garlic and milk, and I can wait for those.

Only two more days of work, and then the weekend is here. 

[CellarDweller]

I accidentally hoarded toilet paper at the beginning of the pandemic. I always order my TP from Amazon (it's more convenient and cheaper) and it was coming in a little more often than needed when COVID hit. So I had, I don't know, maybe 40 rolls. I thought, well, at least that's one thing I won't have to worry about.

I have a small supply of toilet paper that will last me.  I live alone, and usually get a 4-pack, but now those can't be found, so the last time I went shopping I had to get a 12-pack.  That will last a while.

I buy toothpaste on special. I have to buy Sensodyne. I end up with 5 or 6 tubes in the bathroom drawer. For the last few months I have been not checking if it is on special and now only have one spare tube left in the drawer so guess I can start checking as I walk past again. I do not use mouth wash, shaving cream, razors or sleep aids. My Grandfather died when I was 14 or 15 so I inherited his electric shaver and have never used anything else.

I buy TP in the supermarket. It sounds strange to buy it from Amazon, that would mean importing it from the USA.There is now a branch in Australia but NZ items come from USA. I use to buy books from Amazon but the postage is horrendous. The only things I buy on mail order are the very occasional book (NZ book companies) and Nespresso coffee capsules.

I have no choice but to use sleep aids.  I've always been a 'bad' sleeper.  I can fall asleep, but I'll wake up a few times during the night.  The natural sleep aid I found works well.  As for TP, I just get mine at the market when I get my regular groceries.

Right, it wouldn't be worth doing if you have to pay for overseas shipping and/or live alone.

I have an Amazon Prime account, which offers free quick shipping along with access to movies, etc. I buy toilet paper and other household items from their Subscribe & Save account, which automatically sends products on a scheduled basis and gives you 15% discount you buy five things at a time. And I don't have to go to the store and wrangle giant packages in and out of my car.

I just looked at my account and saw that I'm scheduled to get 32 rolls of toilet paper on Dec. 7. I currently have 24 in my storage closet.  Guess I'd better postpone that order.

I also am scheduled to receive 16 rolls of paper towels. I currently have 30. Might have to postpone that one, too.

Although at one point during the early pandemic hoarding days, the site ran out of paper towels in my brand. It asked if I would accept a different brand. I said yes. But the "paper towels" that arrived weren't really equivalent  -- they were rolls the texture of newsprint paper. I kept them to use to pack things when I move.

Yea, I would think that postponing those deliveries is a good idea. 

Newsprint paper towels?  Ugh.  Doesn't sound like they would do the intended job.

Heck, those problems existed when Washington was president.  It's odd, when you hear Trump supporters interviewed they always say the same thing, as if they're speaking from a script. When progressives are interviewed, they sound way different from each other. Could it be that Trumpers are actually brainwashed?

Regarding the woman who obsessed on a man's foul language...that reminds me of a community Zoom I was in recently where the facilitator asked what were the things people liked/disliked about our neighborhood. A couple of the respondents said homeless people. They went on and on about people living under a bridge (not in our neighborhood), walking along the street looking unkempt (not in our neighborhood), and camping out in downtown (ditto). There are also people who obsess about looters. Whenever you talk to them, the subject always comes up.

Katherine, what you are going through is horrific and I applaud your professionalism and your perseverance! I'm trying to support journalists with my subscriptions and the occasional email about good articles written. I wish I could do more.

I don't know about being brainwashed, but I think that a lot of people are unable to admit to being wrong.  Everyone wants to be right, so rather than saying that they made a bad decision, they will believe anything that they are told, which prevents them from having to admit they were wrong.

[brianr]

I had to go and check the brand of TP I currently buy. It is 'Earth Safe'. I know where it is located on the Supermarket shelf. I hate it when  the supermarket rearranges their shelves, completely throws me. With TP it has to be 100% recycled and made in NZ. I also want the packaging  to be paper not plastic. My previous brand was a bit rough and I bought another softer brand for visitors. However I am not sure what happened to that brand and I have changed. This brand seems better. I can vaguely remember as a child having to use cut up newspaper during shortages. I assure you no brand I have ever bought compares.

[Front-Ranger]

Chuck what you said about people not wanting to admit they are wrong hit home with me. I vow to sit with this idea and think of times I was wrong. Off the top of my head, I was wrong about not wanting to take the pills that were prescribed to me. I've gotten used to taking them now and it's not a burden anymore. I think they are doing me good.

There are certain things that I think of as core values for me and I hope they never change. I think all people deserve respect and to have their basic needs met. I think we are only as good as how we treat those who are poor or suffering. I believe in being kind and giving each person a chance. I believe people have a right to decide what happens to their own body. No one has a right to threaten or force others. That kind of thing. And maybe these people Katherine was talking about have hate as one of their core values. Maybe they experienced childhood trauma that pushed them away from other people.

This may be pollyannish, but possibly the act of admitting you're wrong could be reframed as changing your mind. I do know that people changed their mind about Trump and voted against him in the latest election. Sadly there are those who changed their minds the other way, including some people in our circle, including Brokies! 

[serious crayons]

including Brokies! 

 

[serious crayons]

I'm trying to support journalists with my subscriptions and the occasional email about good articles written. I wish I could do more.

Thank you! At least my paper is doing fairly well, relatively. Nobody's been laid off -- in fact, they're hiring. I heard just yesterday that there are now NO daily papers in North Dakota.

maybe these people Katherine was talking about have hate as one of their core values. Maybe they experienced childhood trauma that pushed them away from other people.[/b]

I think their core values are things like "People should have to work to support themselves, not expect support from others who earned what they have." Which is why they don't like universal health care, welfare, immigration, taxes, etc. "People should follow the law, and if they don't they should be punished." Which is why they like harsh crime bills and capital punishment, why they think Trump would have been a good "law and order" president who'd crack down on crime, why they were more alarmed by the unrest following George Floyd's death they were by the death itself. "The police are there to protect us and they have a difficult, dangerous job."

I could go on an on. They think people of color are more likely to be poor because they don't work hard and are disproportionately in prison because they commit more crimes, rather than that they have a harder time getting good jobs and are treated unfairly in the criminal justice system. They think the 1950s were the good old days because everyone lived pretty peacefully and shared similar values. They think society got out of hand in the 1960s and needs to go back to the traditional ways.

Of course, I think all these core beliefs have strong counterarguments. I think they're either wrong or don't see the whole picture. But those are their beliefs and they don't change easily.

Researchers have found that people who identify as Democrats or liberals and people who identify as Republicans or conservatives have very different core values when you take politics out of it. Respect for authority vs. questioning authority. Personal responsibility vs. societal support. Tradition vs. change.

This may be pollyannish, but possibly the act of admitting you're wrong could be reframed as changing your mind.

I think something like realizing you were wrong about your pills isn't as hard as some of these other things. And if you strongly believed that Trump is a good, smart, regular guy working on behalf of your best interests, it's hard to acknowledge he's just the opposite and admit you were fooled all along.

But another problem I've seen in politics is that when politicians DO change their minds, realizing some policy they supported had negative consequences, we label it flip-flopping.

[Jeff Wrangler]

they were more alarmed by the unrest following George Floyd's death they were by the death itself.

I believe you get your point across--George Floyd's death was a horrible tragedy and a criminal act-- but I also believe that's a bit unfair to people of whatever stripe who were in danger of losing businesses they may have spent many years building, especially in cities that had no connection to Floyd's murder.

[serious crayons]

I believe you get your point across--George Floyd's death was a horrible tragedy and a criminal act-- but I also believe that's a bit unfair to people of whatever stripe who were in danger of losing businesses they may have spent many years building, especially in cities that had no connection to Floyd's murder.

Good point. But in Minneapolis, at least, very few of those people were likely right-wing Trump supporters, given the neighborhood (mostly low income and/or lefty), with the possible exception of corporate-owned chain stores.

So yeah, people whose stores were destroyed -- I talked to one guy, the manager of a looted thrift store -- would have good reason to be upset. But most people think that some of the looting and burning was committed by opportunists. For example, they caught six white teenage boys who had driven in from Wisconsin expressly to loot liquor stores.

I would have thought one exception would be the police station that was burned. Protesters would have motive for that (it's the precinct of George Floyd's killers). And I think some have been arrested. But a couple of weeks ago they arrested a guy who shot an AK-47 into the building with people inside and apparently did other arson-y things. That guy identifies with the Boogaloo Boys (per Wikipedia: a loosely organized far-right, anti-government, and extremist political movement in the United States. ... Boogaloo adherents say they are preparing for, or seek to incite, a second American Civil War which they call the boogaloo.)

That said, circumstances may have been entirely different in other cities. In Chicago, for instance, I believe stores were attacked along the swanky Miracle Mile.

Around here we usually distinguish between protesters and people looting/burning, etc. Obviously there's no doubt some overlap, so in general we call it "unrest" to cover both phenomena.

But yeah, in my previous point I meant people alarmed by the rioting -- which, fair enough, is certainly alarming -- but aren't equally alarmed about racist policing. And of course the protesters aren't solely concerned about George Floyd's murder, but also the pattern of similar killings in other cities, or even just Black people being more likely to get pulled over for minor things, etc.

[CellarDweller]

Hiya BetterMost friends!!!!

I hope you're all doing well this weekend.

This has been a chore-free weekend, and I'm happy about that.  Except for laundry tomorrow, I've been able to relax and not worry about anything.

I have a friend who is a Scentsy representative, and he has a relative to was affected by Hurricane Maria, and back when the hurricane hit, he posted a message to Facebook that if anyone (back then) purchased items from him, he would be donating his income to his relative.

I had not been looking for any scented things to buy for the apartment, but I went to the site anyway, and saw this, and decided to buy it.








instead of burning a candle, you plug this into an outlet, and place scented wax in it.  As it warms and melts, it releases its scent.

I recently ordered some holiday themed waxes to melt.  Mint hot cocoa, frosted cranberry, and pumpkin muffin.  The wax bricks can sometimes be 'hit or miss' on their scents, but all the holiday ones smell good, and the pumpkin one is my favorite.   Some of the past scents I've had are blueberry muffin, cinnamon vanilla, and brownie batter.