Summer Of The Pig

Years of Lard, Years of Lead Paint, BurgerReich, Years of Whatever continue apace. As I write this there are two confirmed ex-Iraq war vet shootings in the space of 24 hours. One in North Carolina by a man who was diagnosed w schizophrenia after being shot in the head in Iraq during a "friendly fire incident". He spent the last decade suing the VA and self publishing a book that described how he was being hunted by "LGBT white supremacists". How his country had abandoned him. The second shooting involved an ex Marine (who served in Iraq 2004-2008) ramming his truck into a Mormon church, opening fire on the congregation and burning the place down. He was killed by police. No motive yet, but the two massive American flags on the back of his pick up don't exactly scream "left wing terror attack". We are now living in the American Years of Lead. Every mass killing and assassination (with a few exceptions) FEELS political, but when we learn about the "motives"...or rather, the combination of material conditions, choices and events that bring these men over and across the precipice of televised ultra-violence we find...nothing. No real motive. No manifesto. No coherent political beliefs at all. Just a collection of extremely PERSONALIZED grievances, clashing beliefs, perceived slights, misguided attempts to "protect" or "balance the scales". Nothing. Just the loneliness of the individual in the year 2025. Killing as posting. One final BIG POST to end all posts. We are fully in Guy Deboards society of the spectacle these days and we cannot get off the ride. For me, the way out has been to simply go outside. Every second i spend with my weird neighbors or pulling weeds or playing with my dog or being with my partner or writing songs is a second i'm not being exposed to the Videodrome signal of the spectacle. You may feel weird doing it. Like you're missing out. You're not. Everything, the blood and psychosis and broken consensus reality and ads for a new kind of microphone or lamp are there whenever you decide you need to go back in and check your DMs. I think the key is to limit exposure. And not give in to loneliness. THEY want us lonely and afraid and angry. Mass violence (like these two shootings) for them is an acceptable price to pay to keep everyone beaten down and constantly posting, working harder than ever for less, lonely and consuming. I reject this. Everyone I know rejects it. Unfortunately we have to stay strong as we move through The Years of Lead Paint. We can do it though. We have Outside. And each other.

PS Yes the drums are from Gimmie Shelter