Society

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By Reid Fitzsimons

Greta Thunberg achieved, at a young age, global celebrity as a professional protester and activist. She did not find activist fame in the usual way- first become a celebrity (eg actor or author) then exploit their status to preach about whatever they perceive as “injustice-” rather she ascended to the top by being perpetually and publicly aggrieved. She was born in Jan. 2003 in Stockholm, Sweden to parents of moderate fame: her mother is an opera singer and her father an actor and manager and seemingly are of at least moderate affluence. Thunberg apparently became depressed and anorexic when she was 11, perhaps over “climate change” (“I saw and heard these horrible stories about what humans had done to the environment, and what we were doing to the climate, that the climate was changing…”) and was soon thereafter “diagnosed” with Asperger’s syndrome, as compared to simply being a troubled child.

Left: Greta Thunberg at the UN 2019 Right: Blocking the entrance to the Swedish parliament 2024

Thunberg first appeared on the radar locally in 2018 when she was 15 via her Strike School for Climate campaign, where she skipped classes on Fridays to protest outside of the Swedish parliament. This led to invitations to speak at various rallies in Europe. A year later she was awarded global celebrity status by being a passenger on a hi-tech/ low carbon emissions yacht crossing the Atlantic Ocean and arriving at NY City to speak at a variety of climate protests and “strikes.” The culmination of this adventure was a speech she gave in Sept. 2019 at the UN, where she chastised the ostensibly climate concerned establishment with a speech that included “You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet I’m one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!” It was noted by critics that sailing to NY rather than flying- making a statement, so to speak- was a bit silly because others had to fly across the Atlantic to deal with the logistics of the yacht. There was also cynicism in the fact that the vast majority of the world couldn’t reasonably sail across an ocean, let alone in an approx. $3 million yacht co-captained by a Prince of Monaco.

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by Reid Fitzsimons

There is a sense of personal liberation in being unburdened by thought and the pursuit of knowledge. If one can avoid uncomfortable experiences and banish from their sphere annoyances like different perceptions and opinions, they are freer to engage in self-gratification and pleasure, such as watching streaming TV, caressing an Iphone, sipping crafted coffees, getting tattoos, attending various protests, and all-in-all having a good time. If someone can dispel and render moot disagreement with their world view using a single word or mindless phrase, so much the better. After all, having to come up with a well-reasoned argument to support a position can be hurtful to the brain of certain people.

IRAN. August 27, 1979. After a short show-trial, 11 people charged as being "counterrevolutionary" were executed at Sanandaj Airport. Nine of the eleven men in this photo were Kurds. This photo won the Pulitzer Prize in 1980. The recipient was known as "anonymous" until 2006 when Jahangir RAZMI told the Wall Street Journal that he had taken it.
Left: Anti-red rally in the 1950s Right: One way to deal with people you disagree with in the newly created Islamic Iran, Aug. 1979

This approach goes back to ancient times and continues to the present. In the historic dark days of Christianity, for example, one merely had to make the accusation of heresy or witchcraft and the person who didn’t fit comfortably in your insulated world was gone, often literally. Or in the current dark days of Sharia Islam where calling someone an infidel can have a similar result. In the US, this isn’t necessarily a political right/left phenomenon, and there are recent examples of of it being used by putative conservatives: during the post-WW2 “red scare” it didn’t take much beyond accusing someone of being “red” or a “commie” to have a real negative impact on their lives. Presently, and for the past decade or so, this approach has been on the ascendancy with the progressive left, and is ubiquitous today.

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by Reid Fitzsimons (Note: This article is primarily about intraracial crime, especially black-on-black murder. It also discusses killings by police. I am far from the mindset of "police can do no wrong," but to concentrate only on the small fraction of black people killed by police - sometimes truly in cold blood- and ignore the 1,000s upon 1,000s of black people murdered by other black people demonstrates that, to the elite, black lives really don't matter)

LeBron James is a black basketball player of renown with a net worth in 2025 around $1.2 billion. In April 2021 he posted on Twitter, in part, “I’m so damn tired of seeing Black people killed by police.” This was in response to a shooting of a 16-year-old black female by a white Columbus, OH cop. The associated headline on NPR (4/21/21) stated, “Columbus Police Shoot And Kill Black Teenage Girl,”and their URL for this story was, “16-year-old-black-girl-who-called-for-help-fatally-shot-by-police-ohio-family-said.” It wasn’t until the 8th paragraph that NPR mentioned something kind of pertinent, which will be discussed in a moment.

Other headlines included (CNN) “ Ma’Khia Bryant was shot 4 times by officer, autopsy shows,” and the Columbus Dispatch newspaper “Ma'Khia Bryant was helpful and kind, her friends and family say.” Lebron James preceded his “I’m so damn tired...” post by one that included a photo of the cop involved and stated "YOU'RE NEXT:"

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by Reid Fitzsimons

In regards to violence

In April 2024 eleven people were shot, one fatally, at a family celebration Chicago; a 39-year-old suspect- Octaviano Romero- was arrested. The mayor stated, “Today, we mourn the loss of an 8-year-old girl whose life was tragically taken from her by gang violence. This heinous and cowardly act of wanton violence that leaves our city mourning children is beyond reprehensible and has no place in our communities.”

Mayor Brandon Johnson marches in the 52nd annual Chicago Pride Parade on June 25, 2023.
Left: Brandon Johnson, Mayor of Chicago, Right, mugshots of Octaviano Romero from 2022 (felon in possession of a firearm, et al), then from 2024 after his arrest for murder, etc

In Dec. 2024 eight people were shot, three of them fatally, at a “social gathering” in Chicago; all of them Hispanic. As of May 2025 two suspects were in custody, both young males from Venezuela, and both in the US either illegally or as “asylum seekers,” depending on one’s point of view. At the time of the shooting the activist mayor of Chicago, who combines the qualities of both haplessness and fecklessness, stated, "On behalf of the entire city, I want to extend my condolences to everyone impacted by the mass shooting that took place in Gage Park. We as a city are praying and grieving for all the victims, survivors, and their families. There is no place in our city for senseless acts of violence.”

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by Reid Fitzsimons

My first semester of college: Jan. 1977, Univ. of Wyoming, English 101, required reading included The Brothers Karamazov by Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881). I have to confess my reading practices were limited to newspapers, Reader’s Digest, and the bare minimum for school, and a 100 year-old, 800 page novel was just too much. In my juvenile mind refusing to read it was an act of resistance and the subsequent F was somehow noble, but I knew I was really just lazy. My reading habits changed significantly over the following decades, so I can say, for example, if you feel you need to read War and Peace by fellow Russian author Tolstoy, it’s really awful- a feudal soap opera, with lame dialogue such as Princess whatever saying “He (Prince something or another) loves me, he REALLY LOVES ME!” Admittedly I don’t think of Dostoevsky often but ran across his name recently in a modern cultural/political context (next paragraph) and this prompted me to begin his other great work, Crime and Punishment; so far it’s not too bad.

Dostoevsky experienced a mock execution when he was 27, then was banished to Siberia for 10 years

A few weeks ago I noticed a posting from a “Facebook friend” of a quote attributed to Dostoevsky: “The more intelligent the man the more he begins to notice suffering.” If you think about this, there is more than subtle arrogance associated with the implied sentiment. I tried to “fact check” it and reviewed dozens of quotes by Dostoevsky and could not find it, so maybe yes, maybe no (an 18th century German philosopher- Arthur Schopenhauer- seems more likely). Nevertheless, invoking a quote, correct or not, by Dostoevsky hints at a high degree of education and sophistication, which perhaps is the goal.

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by Reid Fitzsimons

June is an enchanting month, with the longest day of the year on the summer solstice and memories of the beginning of school summer vacation that still seem fresh over 50 years later. Unfortunately, for the past 20 years or so, June has been tainted with the concurrence of “pride month” and the self-involved in-your-face activism associated with it. Somehow pride is demonstrated by marching down streets wearing skimpy leather bondage apparel, overweight white guys riding bicycles naked in front of children, and revelers chanting “We’re here, we’re queer, get used to it,” or the more recent incarnation of “We’re here, we’re queer, and we’re coming for your children.”

How curious some people find "pride" by riding bicycles naked in public; the reality is people who engage in such displays are lamentably selfish, attention seeking, and lack personal dignity

I find myself nostalgic for the long-gone time when the homosexual community simply wanted to be left alone, to live their lives without being hassled. They had the moral high ground and it was easy for any decent and compassionate person to stand up with them and for them. Regrettably, mutual respect and tolerance morphed into acceptance, then “embracing” and celebration, and finally into a cultural morass of almost indecipherable letters and symbols, LGBTQQIAP+ or perhaps 2SLGBTQQIPAA. Any pretext of civility disappeared, to be replaced by a demand for absolute obedience and submission to the powers behind the bizarre alphanumeric totems: the only option permitted became to smile and nod one’s head in agreement..or else.

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by Reid Fitzsimons

Recently I've been seeing a TV ad that involves a goodly number of overweight and black people, all women, dancing about to rap music while joyfully applying a 72-hour full body deodorant (“pits, package, feet, and beyond!”); apparently overweight and black ladies and females in general are highly susceptible to malodor, along with commercial exploitation. I fear I am far removed from what our society has become. Does a 72 hour deodorant especially targeted for overweight women, black women, and women overall reflect a new cultural paradigm, or are the marketing people trying to create one? Is it simply more convenient to smear and spray redolent chemicals on our bodies than go through the hassle of bathing?

Still shots from the Dove 72-hour whole body deodorant
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By Reid Fitzsimons. Note: The weekend of April 5th and 6th brought widespread and at times large protests under the banner of “Hands Off!” These were mostly directed at Donald Trump and Elon Musk, expressing opposition to reducing or eliminating a large variety of government expenditures. Though I could find no demographic data regarding the protesters, a review of the many photos available on the internet suggests a very significant portion we’re socioeconomically advantaged white people. In fact, to find a non-white person is almost a Where’s Waldo exercise: there doesn't even seem to be many token non-white people, as is evident in the photos that accompany this article.

Around 20 years ago, as my spouse and I were laying the foundation for our rural children's charity project in Honduras (which opened in May, 2007), we did a few R&R overnights on Utila Island. As we were strolling along the water’s edge we came across a rustic touristy beach bar that had a sign stating something like, “Funded by a grant from USAID.” I wondered aloud why in the world USAID would be involved with a tourist bar on a Caribbean island, but put the memory aside. It recently emerged, however, with the Trump administration shutting down USAID because of spending tax dollars on questionable, and even pernicious, things.

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by Reid Fitzsimons

The preacher opens his mouth and out comes fury, like always. He doesn’t have to be a Christian preacher- other religions could do the same- but his sermon is filled with venom and righteousness. He talks about sinners (or perhaps infidels), and how they will be thrown into the eternal hellfire of damnation. God is angry, and He judges severely. Somehow the actual message of Jesus Christ isn’t mentioned because it’s not really important. What is important is manipulating and controlling susceptible people, those with whom the message of fire and brimstone resonates because they are convinced they are the chosen, the righteous ones, and that they are better than everyone else.

Left: prosperity Christianity televangelist Kenneth Copeland, net worth about $300 million Right: Egyptian-born American Imam Ammar Shahin, who gained a certain version of celebrity in 2017 when he preached, “Oh, Allah, count them (Jews) one by one and annihilate them down to the very last one.” He is currently affiliated with the "non-profit" Islamic Center of Davis, CA

The enraged and violent approach to religion has waxed and waned throughout history, sometimes marginalized, but at other times the predominate cultural and political force. Insane Christianity had its moments and was the source of massive misery, wars, and genocide, but thankfully this approach involving righteous atrocities has pretty well faded away over the centuries, largely because it never was based on Jesus to begin with. And yes, the statement, “Kill them all and let God sort it out,” is historically accurate. Not to malign Islam, but unfortunately too many people who control things in Muslim areas pervert Islam for their own greed and power in modern times: kind of where Christianity was 500 years ago.

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by Reid Fitzsimons (this is an article about elitism, with photos of people deemed to be elite, past and present)

Most people want to feel they belong to something, almost an innate human characteristic. Historically people belonged to, and had allegiance to, family-clan-tribe. As great migrations and the such led to interactions of different people and cultures (and assimilation, forced assimilation, and destruction of cultures and people), blood relationship ties to some extent gave way to other commonalities, geographic being an important one, and things such as kingdoms and countries evolved. There were also smaller associations of people with shared interests, guilds being among them. Of course, any discussion of belonging to a group has to include religions. It would be wonderful to say all these relationships, loyalties, shared beliefs, senses of belonging, etc led to a world of perfect harmony, as when in the early 1970s Coca-Cola exploited a gentle but overall silly song in a cynical ad campaign. Yet there would be no perfect harmony for humans,rather endless raping and oppression and pillaging and slaughter and lots of other atrocities. To be fair there have been plenty of bright and hopeful moments in human history; sometimes it almost seems to cycle.

L: a scene from the 1970's ad for Coke R: James Quincey, apparently a white male, is the CEO of Coca-Cola with an annual salary of about $25 million and a net worth of $135 million. For his company, "Diversity, equity and inclusion are at the heart of our values and our growth strategy and play an important part in our company's success," though there has been some DEI backpedaling since Trump's election.

Associations in today’s world actually still include those from long ago,for example countries in Africa are largely artificial remnants of European colonialism, and tribal affiliations remain strong and important. Likewise class structures, especially along economic lines, continue omnipresent. A sense of belonging can range from benign to violent, including everything from being a member of a bowling league to a member of an urban gang. There are people who feel they belong especially to a small community (“hometown pride”), a country (patriotism), and a more supercilious claim of belonging to the world (a “global citizen”). Some of these belongings- memberships- are more imagined than real, which leads to a group in which lots and lots of people believe they belong, or at least yearn to: the elite.

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