the end of the world
(part six)
((human(e) meat - the flensing of sandor katz))


"'cuz i believe that one can only relate with another living creature by completely destroying it"

(the following resumes a series last seen around these parts fourteen months ago)

listening to propagandhi on the way home this afternoon reminded me that i left this little series dangling last year around the time i got my, you know, "news". seriously, fuck cancer. moving on...

if you've never heard of sandor katz, you're life is no worse off because of it. here is his wiki page. not much too it, right? the fact that he's a culinary author holds no interest to me. his only mark on my life will be that he inspired the best band in the world to write this righteous song.

while the song riffs and finds humor in the idea of "being one with the food you eat", there is also a deeper message to be found.

i am the worst at this. i'll go ahead and admit it. internally or out loud, how many of us are guilty of tearing down our neighbor to feel better about ourselves? this blog stands guilty as the vast majority of its posts are doing just that. i throw the word "hate" around like it's candy. i talk about things and people being "terrible" and "worthless" and accuse fellow humans of being bad to worse than bad people, pastors and workers. me acknowledging my guilt doesn't make we want to stop tearing others down. it just, say it with me, IS WHAT IT IS.

removed from the comfortable walls of HACAM, though, i am usually more sensible. and patient. and kind. when someone offers a, in my opinion, terrible idea, i don't call them stupid to their face. i usually nod my head, try to process where their opinion is coming from and relate to them on some common ground. it's only several days later when i find myself in front of my computer will i completely obliterate the idea with some subtle sleight of hand via wordplay that infers one thing when it usually is poking somewhere else. even then, though, by the time those days have passed, i usually don't care about the stupid idea any more and write about the (horrible) girls or the (terrible) braves or (worthless) alabama football. most stuff thrown up against the wall that is me doesn't stick. and if it does, i'll be damned if i show you that it affected me.

our society (that term is big and vague enough, right?) rules at "relating to" other "living creatures by completely destroying" them, doesn't it?

lebron "sucks" 'cuz he didn't stay in cleveland, so we offer our loyalties to the more innocent kevin durant, who, as far as we know, hasn't spurned anybody yet.

marcel dareus is "stupid" because he couldn't resist whatever temptations were luring him to some party in miami in the offseason, leading to his hurting himself and his team while suspended indefinitely.

yunel escobar is "cocky" because his flair and his game doesn't really mesh with the redneck and white nucleus (think about it...huddy, chipper, mccann, lowe, wagner) of that braves ball team.

obama, god love him, can do no right at this point. the boondocks has done a wonderfully deft job of insightfully satirizing how the hope and change of his platform is now being held against him, his opposition casually lobbing "what have you done for me lately" grenades at him from the sidelines or rival newsdesks.

"i believe that one can only relate with another living creature by completely destroying it."

"be careful what kind of world you wish for. someday, it may come knocking on your door."