Journal entry- "Racism in America"

Hey if some one and I mean anyone harassed me inside my own home and arrested me ?? Oh you had better believe I'd be pissed !
The neighbors didn't know he lived there ?
I mean come on this poor professor was probably a little miffed about having problems getting in in the first place.

Well, if a cop is investigating a "possible break in" and finds somebody in the house, don't you think he should at least talk to him in the daylight and check his ID?? That is exactly what the cop did, according to his side of the story.

The cop is a lying SOS trying to cover his racist butt.

Your basis?? Other than decades of experience with cops, I mean.

Well gee my uncle was Chief of Police in Kirkland, Washington State for over 20 years. Gee seems to me I'd know a thing of two about it. His last name was Doss check it out !

"don't you think he should at least talk to him in the daylight and check his ID?? "

when this happened to my son in my home the officer came into my home to talk to him

I was actually referring to SugarMamma's comment about "covering his racist butt".
Some cops are pigs, no doubt about it but this wasn't LA, it was Cambridge, Mass. Speaking as one who has, on many occasions (sometimes with success), tried to get night-sticked (if that isn"t a real word, Sandy and Ron, it is now) and thrown into jail, it is relatively difficult. Cops really hate it because of the paper work.

may I point out that all words are really real works and the todays slang will make it into the dictionary sooner or later.

Thank you very much, VP. That was the exact point I have been trying to get over to Ron and Sandy for most of the afternoon. See below.

“Each day, a different Gather member Writing Essentials Editor will moderate the group and feature work based on quality of writing and possibly a theme that the Editor has chosen.”

Tuesday’s theme is interactive creative writing. I accept fiction (based on quality of writing) and feature responses to my Interactive Creative Writing Project theme. This does not meet Tuesday’s theme and will not be listed in the Gather Writing Essential group today. You might check to see if it meets another editor’s theme and resubmit on that day, or if it meets another Essential group theme and submit it to that group today.

Sandy Knauer
Gather Tuesday Writing Essential Member Editor

Don't want to be too persnickity but.... one of the above stories is fiction and...I am inviting interaction ...so???

Y'all have such strange and arcane rules.

Jericho, this is not fiction. You called it a journal entry and then asked questions of an audience. That confuses the matter of what it actually is even further, but my job doesn't include defining your work for you.

You posted to Gather's Writing Essential Group, where the format is clearly defined on the home page. You may call me persnickity if you want and I will want to accept that as a compliment. Thank you.

(I am also persnickity about punctuation.)

Actually, if you read closely, you will see that I referred to my self as persnicikity. And, of course I know it isn't fiction, I was just yanking your chain. And, as far as punctuation goes, I feel privileged to make up my own if I want. I'll bet you used to be an English teacher. Least creative writers on the planet. Too worried about punkuation speling and gramer.

I know you referred to yourself (one word) as 'persnickity' (spelled persnickety by those who truly are) and hoped my comment might encourage you to see that persnickety can be something to aspire to.

Sorry, you are not privileged to make up your own punctuation. But you do have a right to ignore the rules of punctuation, just as I have the obligation to reject your content because you exercise that right.

And no, I am not and never have been an English teacher. I might have been the English teacher's pet a few times, though. I'll leave review of my creative writing ability to my publishers, editors, and readers. But thanks for your concern.

HA! "He who knows does not speak. He who speaks, does not know."
Chuang Tsu.

My mother spelled it "persnickity" so, I guess I'll just keep right on.

Speling, punkuation and gramer is fer editors, not riters.

Writers write.

You might take heed of Chuang Tsu's recommendations. Jericho, you obviously don't know who you're speaking to here, and have just, to anyone that does, made an ass out of yourself. Published writers, accomplished ones, apparently do care about that stuff, because Sandy sure seems to. Sorry.

Well, she started it, Oh humorless bearded one. Don't tell me about punctuating dialogue, Talk to me about dialogue. (If you feel qualified to talk at all.) I just started this out to get some DIALOGUE going about racism in America, not raise the wrath of a bunch of amatuer literary snobs.

Admirable intent, Jericho, but the truth is, it was posted to the wrong group. Most don't care, most don't say much when it happens, if they do. That doesn't mean it isn't in error. I understand what you are saying, but you need to know there are those that have been here almost from the beginning, and understand how things were supposed to work here. The sad state of affairs is that most don't care, or even bother to read how it's supposed to work, but if you're serious about your writing, and I sense you are, you might learn more than a little from those that came here to write, seriously, in the beginning. Very few still exist here, most got disgusted and left, but Sandy is one that has stayed, albeit a little thorny at times, and has helped a lot of writers attempt to hone their craft, myself included. She is pretty selfless in that regard, and you certainly aren't the first to mistake her intent, or to take offense. Hopefully you will not make it worse. I'm not kidding about learning a lot, it's up to you. I'm truly not trying to put you down, here. I hope you know my intent is only to try to ameliorate a misunderstanding, and allow you to take advantage of a resource available to you, for the benefit of your craft. Your mileage may vary, of course.

Writers shouldn't talk about writing, they should WRITE. And if they are going to talk about writing, they talk about writing, not punctuation. That is for secretaries and English teachers. I visited your posts. Now, visit mine.

If she is John Steinbeck, reincarnated, well then, pardon me. Otherwise, she is just another struggling writer AFAIC.

Whatever.

Ron you are arguing with an unarmed opponent.

No, Sharon, I think an ego got bruised, and from there it's gone steadily downhill... Jericho, Namaste, I won't darken your door again, sorry.

Oh, please, is that the best you can do?? I don't know anything about Sandy or this particular posting site or you, for that matter. I posted this (as I have many other items) on many sites. I surely didn't mean to run afoul of anybody's "rules". But, as long as we're on the subject, I am not offended by anything you or she has said so far but I do find writing workshops a little offputting because, as I have said, writers should write, not talk about it. You learn to write from reading and then from writing, and then suffering over what you have written and then writing some more, not by engaging in this or that project. I really don't see how you would think "time in grade" on this site has any bearing at all??? And, BTW, anyone who corrects my Mother's spelling needs to be taken down a peg. That is the height of literary snobbery. I suppose she would correct ee comings punctuation?? "I sing of olaf proud and big whos warmest heart recoiled at war a conscientious objector..." Now that is writing and no punctuation necessary. I rest my case.

Actually, it is "ee cummings". My spell check abandoned me w/o the punctuation. But then, I think ole ee wouldn't care how I spelled it. He was not, after all, an amateur literary snob. So, since I don't resort to name calling I will just say adieu to Ron and to Sugarmamma I say, stay out of this, it is a private fight between me and the Sandy Groupie. Sawadee kup, SG.

I posted a critical reply, but I deleted it, not wishing to make this any worse. I think you meant ee cummings, though he himself preferred E.E. Cummings, when others referred to him, and that, my friend, says much about your theory, and why spelling and punctuation are occasionally, at least, important.

Well, you discovered your own mistake, or read my critical reply before I deleted it, while I was writing the new one. This is no fight, Jericho, or you are fighting with yourself. I'm out of here.

Actually, I didn't say it wasn't. However, it is the concern of editors and secretaries, not writers. If I have to punctuate and spell check, I do. I just don't think it is worthy of freaking blogging about. The rules are what they are and they are written in a book that hasn't changed much since I was in grade school. I am, as a professional writer for over 30 years, quite adept at them. However, they have editing programs that do most of the heavy lifting.

You have now actually dragged me into the exact discussion over minutiae that I sought to avoid.
And, BTW, ee cummings used whatever punctuation he felt like. It was just another medium of creation to him. Write me a poem, don't give me any lectures. And that goes for Sandy and SugarMomma (her spelling, not mine) as well.

From Wikipedia - "He did, however, write to his French translator that he preferred the capitalized version ("may it not be tricksy").[2] One Cummings scholar believes that on the occasions Cummings signed his name in all-lowercase, the poet may have intended it as a gesture of humility, and not as an indication that it was the preferred orthography for others to use for his name.[3]"

And if you want to make fun of this amateur, here's a link to my poetry. I didn't say it was good, now. Be well, Jericho, gotta run now.

My poetry

I said you were an amateur literary snob, not poet. I already read your poetry. If it sucked, I would tell you so, believe me. Go back and review. This all started because I got a snotty comment form Sandy about how to spell "persnickity" and her rules about posting to your precious project. I never said anything negative about you. Well, except that you and Sandy are literary snobs, which is true and self-evident by your vociferous defense of form over substance.

Well, some of it does suck, I am well aware, as I write to get things out, as much as to produce eternal truths or even things that mean anything to others, but I'm not thinking literary snob, as much as defending someone I know to have good intent. I think some things went before the "parsnickity" thing. Let's just call this a misunderstanding, and chalk it up to different perspectives, can you do that?

Why are you trying to pee all over a good exchange of ideas?? That was the whole intent to begin with. The problem with this entire Gather (whatever you call it) is that it is a mutual admiration society of niceness. Sometime I just want to puke. Where are the Jack Londons and Norman Mailers of tomorrow?? All taking some kind of writing seminar or encounter session, I bet. What happened to JD Sallinger and Henry Miller. Not pollitically correct for today's delicate intellectuals?? I think I'll just sign off and have a good, cleansing cry.

Wait a minute!!! You site me to Wikapedia?? What kind of scholarship is that? For all I know, you just wrote that. Additionally, it is double hearsay under suspicious circumstances. And, of course, you misintrepret me once again. I said that he probably didn't care which form I used, not that he didn't have a preferred one in his life time. He probably didn't care because he understood that literature is loose and flowing, not etched in granite like the Ten Freaking Commandments!!

Goodbye Jericho. I'm not into arguing over nothing. And I do have to go. Hopefully, we'll meet again in better circumstance. I think though, if you check the footnotes in that Wiki piece, you'll find the references to other writings, where those segments were taken, to be valid.

Well, what have we been doing all afternoon??? Sandy started it!!

Oh brother.

And you're nearly as annoying and condesending as she is. I am done with you, too.

I think you ascribe to others your own attributes, but hey, at this point, I could give a damn.

Then why do you keep replying?? If the above is the best you can do, go back and repeat "Play Ground insults, 101" Nanny Nanny Boo Boo!!!

huh ??? !!!!

I know! He knows how to stir up trouble, doesn't he!

Holden Caufield lives on though his English was spotty, I recall

Long live White Fang though he couldn't speak English at all

Live Free or Die

That's my "Battle Cry!"

BUT, poems should rhyme, after all.

Jericho, I appreciate that you found a thought-provoking subject, wrote about it in your own words, and invited discussion. Ask anyone (since you didn't bother to find out about me) and they will tell you that I complain about people who take the easy way out and post questions like, "What's your favorite color," or who copy and paste an article and ask, "What do you think." In my personal opinion, you are ahead of many others. If I hadn't spend part of the day cleaning out posts that didn't belong in the group I was monitoring, I probably would have joined the conversation. If you had taken the time to clean this up a bit and show me that you care about it, I probably would have saved the link and returned tomorrow for the discussion. Instead, you told me you don't care. Why should I?

The fact that you admit you know nothing about me, this site, or the group you posted to is distressing and is what keeps me from agreeing with Ron's assessment of someone who wants to write but is letting a bruised ego stand in the way. You obviously have internet access at your fingertips. You could have saved your ego a bit if you had taken the time to look me up on Gather and/or Google me. Instead, you damaged your case.

I would like nothing more than to be able to accept your work in the groups I monitor and edit. Honestly. Encouraging others to realize dreams is my thing in life.

My gift to you - Let's Talk About Dialogue

The e e cummings argument is old and won't fly. In order to break the rules, you must first know the rules. It's obvious to the reader whether or not the person breaking the rules knows them or cares about them. And you can't copy someone else and hope to win the same recognition that person received for being unique.

I extend a personal invitation to join my Tuesday Writing Essential group and learn along with the rest of us. The way it works is that we are come together with different strengths and at different levels, and we grow together. The link is in my first comment if you decide to join us. You will be most welcome.

(Thank you, Ron.)

I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you actually mean well and don't know how pretentious you come across. I actually both googled and Gathered you but you became superfluous when your Groupie called me an ass for pricking your "rules" and SugarMamma chimed in with banalities. It would take a whole lot more than you light weights to bruise my ego. BTW, I read your Let's Talk About Dialogue at the beginning of this exchange. Finally, I have a fair working knowledge of the rules of punctuation, grammar and syntax and, therefore, feel privileged to bend them at will. You might want to Google me. I will avoid your group in the future. I just blundered in by accident, anyway.

"I will avoid your group in the future. I just blundered in by accident, anyway."

Thank you. Personal responsibility in the first place would have been nice but I'll accept it now. If everyone would just read group descriptions and be careful where they post, group owners would have an easier time and readers would be able to find what they are looking for.

My gift to you- Search "by Author"- "Jericho Ring"

http://www.ijustfinished.com/review_search.php

You can down load a copy and correct my speling, punkuation and gramer.

spend should be spent and are should be all. Sorry. If you see other errors, please point them out to me.

U shuld ALLWAYS prooof rede befor u poste!!!

It's in the book.

Look it up!!

I don't think that there was racism in this case.
I think a cop saw a guy going through the back door of a home, where the front door had been fiddled with.
He was investigating a break-in and was just doing his job.
According to this news piece.
Of course I don't know the whole story..
Do you have a link to it?



Myspace Thank You Comments

for posting to my group, Anythingwriting

I think that one of them committed an overt act of racism, depending upon which story is true.

TROLL ATTACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TROLL ATTACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!