"El!"
That low, guttural, echoing scream was never good. Elin just sat back down at her desk, but Chief Cam Glendale, a below-average sized brown haired, brown eyed man with a kind of Napoleon complex didn't give a shit.
"My name's already pretty sh..."
"Listen to me very carefully--" Cam interrupted abruptly with a kind of soft, seething tone. Cute and cuddly like a bear attack. Elin was about to say something semi-sarcastic and self-important, so it was best that she, maybe-probably didn't get to say anything this time. "--If you so much as breathe in a way I don't like, I'm going to suspend you without pay. How is it. That every time. A major event. Is happening here, like, I don't know, a fucking press conference for a pretty peculiar murder that just happened last night, YOU'RE M.I.A!?!" Cam emphatically slammed his hand down on her desk to promote attention. He liked the staccato of his inflection when he scolded people. Kinda like he was "Chief Dad" on the force. Elin winced with her left eye, neck cocked in the same direction as if she just heard nails run along a chalkboard. She got out of her chair, went behind Cam, and slowly closed the door; thus, lowering the curtain on the stage-show given to the rest of the station.
"Now that we have a scosche more privacy, I just want to be sure whether your question was rhetorical or brazenly obtuse," A silence descended upon the room. Cam's face looked like a Bob-omb inside his head was about to explode, but Elin continued before he could utter another sound. "You're the only person in this office that knows my side gig. Yes, I was late. I fucked up. No excuse. I shoulda been here on time for Broward's fucking everybody-calm-down-it's-no-big-deal conference, but here's your problem: I'm the best you got. The Carrolly Murders. The Ribbon Project. All of that shit was me bringing the fuckers in! The fucking Tropicana Cult--do you remember those fuckers!? The leaders literally got people to believe that if they gambled for them that their god would give them some immortal life, and..."
"Alright alright." Cam knew that the list was going to continue as long as he let it. He knew the truth, and the truth was she's right. Elin is a meteoric pain in the dick, who has never presented well to the media, but she gets the job done exactly when it needs to be.
"Plus, you and I both know that his bullshit, Care Bear persona he has in front of the cameras only hurts this city and..."
"That's enough! I heard you, but so help me--you don't get to live by your own rules. You know procedure. Put your fucking pants back on, and get here when you're supposed to." Cam paused for a moment, "Oh, and quit shitting all over Jim. He's. Not. The problem."
Cam opened the door to head back out into the station, but before he could, Elin grabbed his arm and looked directly into his eyes, seriously.
"Elin. Ee. Lin. I'm not your fuckin' friend."
Dry heat and petty crime were the only two things anyone living in the greater Vegas area could count on. Every once in a while a serial killer or cult seeped through the wood works, but the scary part wasn't that they happened, it was that hardly anyone would notice. In a city wrought by the footsteps of tourists year-round, it was never easy for law enforcement to keep people as safe as they could be. And the "Whatever Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas" slogan that attracts millions of people to The Strip every year, doesn't exactly beg for the best behavior.
"Jim, come here!" Elin finally started investigating into the Flag Pole Murder, as eloquently dubbed in the station-wide email sent from Cam. Jim, whose desk is three work spaces outside of Elin's office, turned to face his other coworkers, who were much closer, barked like a dog, and then proceeded to meander in her direction. He entered.
"So, Cam does it to you. You hate it. Then you do it to me. How am I supposed to feel?"
"Like you have a job that you love, and a boss that you love more. Can you head to the evidence room and grab me the rope and the vic's clothing from the F.P.M.? I'm going to head down to the examiner's room today to see if I can snag some prints." Jim glared back at Elin without saying a word. Elin, still looking down at a swath of preliminary report papers, looked up quickly to see the body language of a pissed off Jim, "Please!?"
"Yes. Be right back." Jim turned to leave the office, but before crossing back into the station mustered up some confidence to turn back and face Elin, "Ya know, you could ju..."
"Piss off, James!"
"Right," and with a deep sigh, Jim left.
END OF PART 2
Monday, October 29, 2018
Tuesday, October 16, 2018
We Talkin' 'Bout Standards, Not the Game
Buckle your seat belts, ladies and germs.
I haven't written a politically charged post in quite some time, and the one stressed thread in the seam that has kept those opinions in is close to snapping. In order to release some of that pressure, let me just talk about one quick little topic: Standards.
In case the news hasn't hit your social media feed(s), Elizabeth Warren took the DNA test that Trump bribed her to take a couple years ago for $1M towards a charity of her choice if the results came back positive. His words. No, really. Trump said that. It wasn't written. It wasn't some words put into his mouth by a liberal cog whom writes some meaningless blog no one reads. He said it. On camera. Indisputably.
A few things came out of this news: 1. Democrats, Warren supporters, and people who just like the truth looked at the facts and said, "Ha! It's the birther shit all over. Wrong again. Give her charity-of-choice the money, Trump!" 2. Trump FIRST denied ever saying this. Camera shows that not only did he say it, but he also called her racial slurs and condescended the #MeToo movement in the same sentence. 3. Some Republicans called BS. Even if it's not BS, she loses. Trump wins. She played his game. "This is why Democrats lose." 4. Trump admits to the bribe, but he then stipulates he would have to test her personally--himself. No, really, he says that, too. On camera. Indisputably--in order to grant her the $1M. 5. A Cherokee Native American makes a statement saying the DNA test doesn't matter. She's not Native American enough to call herself Native American. 6. Elizabeth Warren's political currency decreases. Trump uses Cherokee's words to tarnish ancestry and, potentially, her career.
That's the basic layout. So why the unrest? Good question.
The problem here isn't that Elizabeth Warren's political currency decreased, but rather why Elizabeth Warren's political currency decreased. Why does racism, misogyny, and, ultimately, trash talk prevail over truth? I don't actually know the answer to the question, but I know it's reality.
To give Republicans credit, they're not wrong. They're not wrong when they say, "This is why Democrats lose." That certainly does seem to be the case. "This" being the constant and undying search for the truth, for facts, for decency. Many democratic politicians care so much about the truth that they do not recognize how "uncool" the truth is nowadays. What it looks like to me is that people--because I'm not so sure it's just Republicans anymore--don't want the truth; they don't want political correctness; they don't even really want to talk about policy--they just want to be entertained. So, by Elizabeth Warren getting the DNA test done "the people" got what they wanted! They got entertained! The aforementioned domino effect from 1 to 6 seems to be what people *really* wanted based on their reactions. So, why doesn't Warren get credited for the entertainment value? That's easy: Trump's the MC and Warren's the heckler.
"Why" identified.
We come full circle. Is this the standard we want our country to be held to? Do we want entertainment value to supersede the values of truth, trust, and loyalty? No. We don't. Even the people that believe that's what they want don't want that. Our country's democracy is at stake if we allow entertainment to rule over truth.
If you want to know why people show their emotions--wearing their hearts on their sleeves--when others belittle them for seeking the truth--that's why. The potential to lose our democracy. The potential for all of the positive change our country has experienced over the last decade being wiped away, because too many people are caught up in the game not to realize how detrimental playing along impacts our society.
We're better than this. Let's keep trying to raise our standards instead of allowing racism and misogyny to win the day.
Hard to believe this still needs to be said in 2018.
- PatInTheHat
I haven't written a politically charged post in quite some time, and the one stressed thread in the seam that has kept those opinions in is close to snapping. In order to release some of that pressure, let me just talk about one quick little topic: Standards.
In case the news hasn't hit your social media feed(s), Elizabeth Warren took the DNA test that Trump bribed her to take a couple years ago for $1M towards a charity of her choice if the results came back positive. His words. No, really. Trump said that. It wasn't written. It wasn't some words put into his mouth by a liberal cog whom writes some meaningless blog no one reads. He said it. On camera. Indisputably.
A few things came out of this news: 1. Democrats, Warren supporters, and people who just like the truth looked at the facts and said, "Ha! It's the birther shit all over. Wrong again. Give her charity-of-choice the money, Trump!" 2. Trump FIRST denied ever saying this. Camera shows that not only did he say it, but he also called her racial slurs and condescended the #MeToo movement in the same sentence. 3. Some Republicans called BS. Even if it's not BS, she loses. Trump wins. She played his game. "This is why Democrats lose." 4. Trump admits to the bribe, but he then stipulates he would have to test her personally--himself. No, really, he says that, too. On camera. Indisputably--in order to grant her the $1M. 5. A Cherokee Native American makes a statement saying the DNA test doesn't matter. She's not Native American enough to call herself Native American. 6. Elizabeth Warren's political currency decreases. Trump uses Cherokee's words to tarnish ancestry and, potentially, her career.
That's the basic layout. So why the unrest? Good question.
The problem here isn't that Elizabeth Warren's political currency decreased, but rather why Elizabeth Warren's political currency decreased. Why does racism, misogyny, and, ultimately, trash talk prevail over truth? I don't actually know the answer to the question, but I know it's reality.
To give Republicans credit, they're not wrong. They're not wrong when they say, "This is why Democrats lose." That certainly does seem to be the case. "This" being the constant and undying search for the truth, for facts, for decency. Many democratic politicians care so much about the truth that they do not recognize how "uncool" the truth is nowadays. What it looks like to me is that people--because I'm not so sure it's just Republicans anymore--don't want the truth; they don't want political correctness; they don't even really want to talk about policy--they just want to be entertained. So, by Elizabeth Warren getting the DNA test done "the people" got what they wanted! They got entertained! The aforementioned domino effect from 1 to 6 seems to be what people *really* wanted based on their reactions. So, why doesn't Warren get credited for the entertainment value? That's easy: Trump's the MC and Warren's the heckler.
"Why" identified.
We come full circle. Is this the standard we want our country to be held to? Do we want entertainment value to supersede the values of truth, trust, and loyalty? No. We don't. Even the people that believe that's what they want don't want that. Our country's democracy is at stake if we allow entertainment to rule over truth.
If you want to know why people show their emotions--wearing their hearts on their sleeves--when others belittle them for seeking the truth--that's why. The potential to lose our democracy. The potential for all of the positive change our country has experienced over the last decade being wiped away, because too many people are caught up in the game not to realize how detrimental playing along impacts our society.
We're better than this. Let's keep trying to raise our standards instead of allowing racism and misogyny to win the day.
Hard to believe this still needs to be said in 2018.
- PatInTheHat
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