Jessica Kent vs. J.D. Delay

 

Asking Too Much

Am I asking too much when I tell you to stop?

Did I break any laws, Mr. Keystone Cop?

I refuse to be someone’s damsel in distress

I shouldn’t have my freedoms be put to the test

Am I asking too much when I say back off?

I hate your stupid jokes, does that mean I’m soft?

I refuse to take abuse from my inner circle

I shouldn’t have bruises of black and purple

Am I asking too much just to live my life?

Do I need permission from a nonexistent wife?

I refuse to dignify your insults with a response

I shouldn’t have to justify my needs and wants

Am I asking too much to flee the country?

Can I do it with my own hard-earned money?

I refuse to let you take control of my cash

I shouldn’t have to watch it burn into ash

Am I asking too much to forget the pain?

The kind that feels like getting hit by a train?

I refuse to let the past put me in the grave

I shouldn’t have to be my own traumatic slave

Am I asking too much? No, I’m clearly not

I’m undoing all the damage of shitty lessons taught

I refuse to carry on without breaking the cycle

I shouldn’t bear the burden of a bastard psycho

I’m asking very little

No meeting in the middle

I’m a human fucking being

That’s all you should be seeing

Goddess of Hate

VERSE 1

You took a struggle for many and made it a big joke

Taking the biggest of shots at the biggest of folks

You’re no beauty yourself, you’re ugly as sin

Your war on the world is one you cannot win

Eighty percent of people don’t look like you

I bet that makes you want to boil and stew

We called you out and you hid from the limelight

Hated being knocked from your perch so sky high

CHORUS

Goddess of Hate! X4

VERSE 2

Beating your boyfriend must make you so tough

But when he puts you on blast, you’ve had enough

Projecting yourself when you call him a bitch

Claiming every story is about getting rich

He doesn’t need you or your jealous ways

He doesn’t need you to make his family prey

If there was ever a time for the phrase “lock her up”

It applies to you, you disgusting mother fuck

CHORUS

Goddess of Hate! X4

VERSE 3

Are you happy now? You got your attention

In the hall of shame, you got your due mention

But that’s okay, just flip the double birds again

I’m sure that will get you plenty of new friends

EXTENDED CHORUS

Goddess of Hate!

Sealed your fate!

Took your own bait!

Gotcha! Checkmate!

Goddess of Hate!

Throwing your weight!

Give us a break!

From all your hate!

"Born a Crime" by Trevor Noah

BOOK TITLE: Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood

AUTHOR: Trevor Noah

YEAR: 2016

GENRE: Nonfiction

SUBGENRE: Apartheid Memoir

GRADE: Extra Credit

Before he replaced Jon Stewart as the host of The Daily Show, Trevor Noah had a difficult childhood in both Apartheid and post-Apartheid South Africa. Having a white father and a black mother, Trevor was already the product of racist laws that could have kept him and his parents imprisoned for several years. He spent most of his childhood in hiding to evade the police, which included not being around his white father as often as he wanted in order to keep the subterfuge alive. With poverty, an abusive stepfather, and life in general working against him, Trevor still managed to keep his sense of humor intact with the help of his jovial, yet strict mother, who he credits as his number one fan.

This glimpse into Trevor Noah’s life is as educational as it is entertaining. It’s a firsthand look into how structural racism worked in Apartheid-ruled South Africa and how it’s still alive in the world today. Racism isn’t just about calling somebody the N-word or beating black and colored people to death. It’s psychological torture as well. The whites in charge purposefully divided their non-white peers into separate groups and treated them as less than human. The education was watered down, the living conditions were crappy, poverty was by design, and violence became a social norm. None of that changed after Apartheid was over, in the same way that structural racism never ended after slavery in America. You can change the laws all you want, but the damage has already been done. The damage continues to be dealt in subtle ways behind the scenes of politics. The one thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history.

Because Trevor grew up with an abusive stepfather named Abel, his memoir also gives us a glimpse into how psychologically torturous domestic violence is. Abel was regarded as a nice guy around town who would always help out those in need. That was the disguise he needed in order to secretly beat Trevor and his mother and get away with it every time. Trevor’s mother was met with skepticism from the police every time she tried to file a report. Abel would always be apologetic and life would go on happily for a while until the next beating. The scary thing about him was that he was always calm and collected when he struck his family. He wasn’t as psychotic as The Joker or dramatic as Darth Vader. He was just a regular guy with a good reputation outside of home. Even when he would drink himself into stupidity, he always came across as a cool guy. Those are the worst kinds of villains that are too realistic for superhero movies. Trevor Noah was haunted by this man’s evil deeds for many years to come. Abel is still walking around South Africa today as a free man. How sick is that?

Through all of the racism, violence, and troubled times, Trevor Noah never let any of those things strip away his individuality, morals, or sense of humor, all of which he got from his loving disciplinarian mother. She always taught him how to question everything and never lose sight of who he was. And that’s the thing with Apartheid: the education quality for blacks and colored people is significantly reduced for the sake of maintaining the status quo. Without an educational mother who bought him books and allowed him to explore the world beyond his impoverished home, Trevor wouldn’t be the well-informed man he is today. There are none so blind as those who will not see, and Trevor Noah’s eyes were wide open. He had a rough childhood, but without it, his worldview would have been watered down to where he could never fill Jon Stewart’s shoes, let alone live his own way. Trevor lives life with no regrets and that’s something we all need to learn if we’re to move forward.

The eye-opening educational aspects as well as the humorous writing style make Born a Crime a must-read for anybody who wants to explore the world without actually being in the crossfire of South African racism. Trevor Noah went through hell so that he could nourish the world with love and thoughtfulness. His story is genuine and his emotions are passionate. He could never be bitter, because bitterness would strip away everything he worked so hard to become. An extra credit grade is what this book deserves, nothing less, maybe more.

"Reaching For the Light" by TL Katt and Marie Krepps

BOOK TITLE: Reaching For the Light

AUTHORS: Marie Krepps and TL Katt

YEAR: 2017

GENRE: Fictional Short Stories

SUBGENRE: Mental Illness Fiction

GRADE: Extra Credit

In a joint effort to promote acceptance and love for the mentally ill, two back-to-back short stories are collected in this one volume. Marie Krepps’ story is called “High Heels and Ice Cream” and focuses on Brianna, an anxious, depressed, bisexual college student who struggles with her attraction to her beautiful roommate Carla. TL Katt’s story is called “Bloom” and takes a dark plunge into the world of domestic violence through the eyes of traumatized wife Jen. In the end, you will cheer for Brianna and Jen to reach for the light and live wonderful lives outside of their past traumas. If you or someone you know is suffering from mental illness, don’t wait to get help. Every second counts when it comes to healing fresh wounds.

High Heels and Ice Cream is clearly the more lighthearted of the two stories, but it still tugs at the reader’s heartstrings. As someone who is shy around beautiful women, I can relate to Brianna on a deep level. Hell, there are many things I have in common with her whether it’s mental illness of my own or aspirations to be a successful author. College was a lonely experience for me, so watching Brianna curl up inside herself as she fights her urges is heartbreaking to watch. I want her to find love and happiness with Carla, but there’s always that small chance Carla isn’t gay and might actually be homophobic. While I won’t spoil what happens at the end of this story, you will believe in love once again and you will reach for the light one of these days.

And then we have the dark and dour Bloom, a domestic abuse story that nearly drove me to tears. All Jen wants is a happy marriage with her husband Cam, but the way he beats and insults her is way too realistic of what goes on in these situations. Every traumatic nightmare Jen has, the reader will have as well. TL Katt’s descriptive language is so on-point that you have no choice but to squeeze your eyeballs dry at this one. Even more frustrating is when Cam’s family blames Jen for everything rather than see him for the psychopath that he really is. If they won’t help her through the PTSD, somebody else has to. Jen needs her friends and family in the worst way. Will she reach for the light and look forward to a better day? Read and judge for yourself.

I encourage all of my readers to pick up a copy of Reaching For the Light and spread its message to everybody they meet. Proceeds from the book sales will go to mental illness charities. Being mentally ill isn’t something society should be afraid of. It’s not about “craziness” or “bats in the belfry”. These people need love and respect just like any other member of our community. Treat them well and end the stigmas surrounding mental illness. As someone with schizophrenia and autism, I’m a proud supporter of this book’s goals. An extra credit grade is in order for this beautifully-written collaboration by two amazing authors.

Bury the Past

***BURY THE PAST***

In my college days, I used to talk candidly about my past like it was no big deal. I would write little essays of my most negative and emotionally draining experiences and post them online as if I was hotter shit than Tobias Wolff or Alison Bechdel, both authors masters of the memoir style. I even had aspirations of writing my own autobiography and talking about high school in Chehalis, living with my former step-dad Art, and being depressed at Western Washington University. Every negative experience I had in my life would bring me gold and silver, I thought to myself.

But then people would see these nonfiction postings and would want to know more. So they prodded me with questions like “What did he say?” and “What happened?” and anything else that would be considered nosy and detective-like. Talking about these experiences doesn’t bring me peace of any kind. It brings me sadness and heartache, so I try to avoid these conversations as much as possible. But then the nosy people would ask me why I posted my memoirs online whilst refusing to talk about it afterwards. I could never argue with that logic. I knew in my heart it was wrong, but I couldn’t disprove it. So please, if I don’t want to talk about the past, don’t make me. I keep those memories buried beneath the dirt forever, never to surface again.

I say these things not just as a warning to anybody digging into my past, but to anybody who wants to write memoirs themselves. If you publish something, people will be nosy about it and ask you about traumatic memories until the end of time. A prime example of a memoir gone bad is “My Fight/Your Fight” by UFC fighter Ronda Rousey. I haven’t read it yet, but I do know about it through Rousey’s Wikipedia profile. In the memoir, she talks about a time when she beat the shit out of her ex-boyfriend because he wanted to post revenge porn (nude photographs) of her online. Ever since then, domestic violence groups dropped the hammer down on Rousey while completely ignoring the cyber abuse her ex-boyfriend tried to commit, which is just as bad in my opinion as any physical beating.

Rousey has her own reasons why she wrote the memoir and none of her public backlash is her fault. But after hearing about that part in her book, it makes me want to read it more. Make no mistake about it, though: if there comes a time when the two of us talk online, neither of our pasts will be on the menu. Same thing goes for authors like Jaycee Dugard, Randy Blythe, and Amanda Knox: if I want to know their life stories, I’ll read their books and make no further comments other than to leave an online review.

Privacy is always a fuzzy gray area with the internet being as abundant as it is today. People love to share their lives online, but when the sharing becomes too much, their followers still want more. I personally enjoy my offline privacy. I keep my past buried beneath the earth, I refuse to write memoirs, and the only pieces of my life that I do share are clean photographs and occasional updates of events that might affect my artistic performance. Being an introvert and being a private person go hand in hand. When privacy is violated, the introvert becomes bitter at whoever violated it and rightfully so. So please, don’t force anybody to talk about something they don’t want to. Talking doesn’t bring peace for everyone, mostly just traumatic flashbacks and chilled blood.

　

***CREATIVE WORK***

A new week at the WSS is on the horizon, so expect another Poison Tongue Tale to come from that prompt as well as my independently written short story “Zombie”. The biggest update I have so far is for the Dark Fantasy Warrior drawings I’ve been doing. Up next is Rosie Moonbender, the antelope wizard from Unleash the Animal. She is the epitome of the “colorful, over-the-top violence” Edward Davies at the WSS likes to talk about when commenting on my short stories. Unleash the Animal was a bizarre story to say the least, which is what will make this picture of Rosie Moonbender all the more special.

　

***WRESTLING JOKE OF THE DAY***

Q: What does Stone Cold Steve Austin say every time he changes a baby’s diaper?
A: Austin 3:16 says I just wiped your ass!