Humanity
Vocal I Tip My Hat to You Even as I Burn in Rage at You
I have to give credit where credit is due. After three of my first six submissions were rejected for content related reasons, two for "religious content" and one for "graphic material content" at least the crew at Vocal media have the stones to publish my reworked pieces in which I was more than a bit critical of these ridiculous, arbitrary, and totally not possible to enforce fairly policies. I guess these "rules" are supposed to be in place to prevent the publication of "controversial" content which might offend the fair and tender youth who frequent this very popular (lol!) new media website. They are well known to wither and faint at the very thought of a graphic description of oral sex or the dropping of a non redacted F-bomb. And heaven forbid (oops, religious content) any discussion of religion might be forced upon their agnostic and atheistic impressionable minds. What would their friends and family think if they knew their own pals and sons and daughters were accidentally exposing themselves to religious content. The horror! The fact that I, possibly one of the least religious people on the planet, had not one but two stories rejected for religious content, is irony of the highest order. So ironic in fact that the very definition of irony itself might have to be adjusted and expanded to account for it. Perhaps even a new word is in order. How about ultrirony (short for ultra-irony). I like it, I like it a lot. It certainly was an ultrirony in addition to being ultrididuclous, ulttridumb and ultratarded. I cannot believe that in this day an age a corporation with any sense, and any sort of competent legal team, would believe they could actually get away with something like this. We are talking about old school, old fashioned, classical censorship right out of George Orwell. If it wasn't so sinister I would laugh at how unbelievably insane it is. Crazy indeed. And don't even get me started on the 600+ word count minimum. What the frack is that all about? Gheesh. Right now I am really wishing Medium would not have suspended my account. For the second time. Buttfaces. lol!
By Everyday Junglist5 years ago in Confessions
Becoming an American
I am celebrating my birthday today and I have now lived in the US more than I lived in my native country, Egypt. I am proud of being a naturalized American citizen but my journey of becoming integrated in the American society was not an easy one.
By Asiya5 years ago in Confessions
Madness of Rage
"How's your beer?" "I'm good." It had become the phrase that we spoke to each other, mostly manners but really just a habit. Mike and I were playing cribbage and drinking beer in my kitchen. When lockdown came it would break up the monotony of him sitting at home. We would play a couple of games and talk about different things. I would tell him stories from my past. He mostly talked about his kids or his family. He had been a bit distracted the last couple of times he had been over. His Mom had recently lost a foot to diabetes. She was slowly getting back to normal after getting out of the hospital. She was going to get a prosthesis fitted and Mike and his step-dad had made some modifications to the apartment to ease her day.
By Bill Kelly5 years ago in Confessions
Things I regret now that I'm 29
This week I turn 29 years old. Typically, celebrating my birthday has always been a positive experience for me. I would make a countdown starting at the beginning of the month and announce to my family everyday how many days were left until my special day. This year however my birthday is joined with a bitter sadness as we held a funeral for my step dad who attempted suicide this year after a hard and tragic struggle with alcoholism and prescription meds. On Father’s Day weekend, we held a tree planting ceremony for my step dad in 115ºF weather in the Las Vegas desert, coming together for the first time in over a decade. Seeing all of my extended family again had all the opportunities to catch people up on my life. The last they saw me I was a young teen, graduating high school, fresh eyed and ready for anything. Now I am 29, two kids, married, and burying the ashes of my step father under a tree at a park he was responsible for landscaping. The conversations that insued about myself and my step dad led me to thinking about where I was now that I am 29 and where I want to go next.
By Rhea Sunshine5 years ago in Confessions
Odd One out
In my world, I have always had trouble fitting in. Whether it’s because I’m vastly different from the person I’m surrounded with or unwilling to conform to their version of normal, I’ve just never fit. This has been never more clear than the first initial months of my former job.
By InkGalaxies~5 years ago in Confessions
A Woman and Her Fears
Here fear doesn’t define only the fear of being tortured physically. It is about violating the liberties of a woman, Restriction to openly speak. If this fear of the women of the country is not eradicated, then the dream of women empowerment will remain dreams.
By Unbounded Soul5 years ago in Confessions
Bless your heart.
I'll never forget meeting my ex boyfriend's family in Cington Georgia. It was 1978 and I was twenty three years old. I had never been to Georgia and my only association was peaches. I was excited to taste one fresh from a farm. The land was rolling hills, often thick with kudsu. It felt wet and dense. We were deep in the country and the history and energy of it was quite old. Very Southern Baptist.
By Susan Kulkowitz5 years ago in Confessions
"SHANITA" MEANS A BEAUTIFUL GIFT FROM GOD
When I awake in the morning, I make sure to start my day off with gratitude and prayer. It is what sustains my day and provides mental preparation for how I handle my external environment. Meditation proceeds, but I’m still working on how to clear my mind longer than ten seconds. I stay dedicated. I drink a glass of water before I exercise, and complete my other recreational tasks, so that around 11 am my day begins.
By Beautiful Intelligence5 years ago in Confessions
Curved Bowls and Medicine for Melancholy
A few years ago, the city council of Monza, Italy, barred pet owners from keeping goldfish in curved bowls... saying that it is cruel to keep a fish in a bowl with curved sides because, gazing out, the fish would have a distorted view of reality. But how do we know we have the true, undistorted picture of reality? Stephen Hawking
By Tom Brad5 years ago in Confessions
Reverse Immigration
My first day at the job I was lectured by another teacher for wearing shoes inside the school. He scolded me in a language familiar, yet completely foreign to my ears. I was late getting on the bus, so it didn't phase me in the slightest. I remember hearing him laugh later on with the other teachers thinking that I was another student. I laughed too. I was fresh out of college and everything about my face and features looked the same as them. It was reassuring knowing that for once in my life everyone else around me looked like me.
By Dan Lee5 years ago in Confessions
