The Romantic Spirit of the Harlem Renaissance: Claude McKay

Writen by Mary Arnold

Claude McKay (1890-1948) was born in Jamaica to “relatively prosperous peasants” (Hathaway 489). In his youth he “studied classical and British literary figures and philosophers as well as science and theology” (Hathaway 489). McKay’s earliest poetry was written in traditional English forms, but later he was encouraged by his mentor Walter Jekyll to write “dialect poetry rooted in the island’s folk culture” (Hathaway 489). His first two volumes of poetry, Songs of Jamaica (1912) and Constab Ballads (1912), are primarily written in dialect. McKay immigrated to the United States in the fall of 1912, and after studying agriculture at Tuskegee Institute and Kansas State College, he moved to New York City in 1914 (Hathaway 490).

In New York, McKay became “increasingly involved with political and literary radicals” (Hathaway 490). His third volume of poetry, Spring in New Hampshire (1920), reflects his changing political stance; his previous use of dialect is gone, and the poems are divided between commentary of race relations in America and nostalgic images of life in Jamaica (Hathaway 490). Dissatisfied with American leftist efforts to combat racism, McKay escaped to the Soviet Union in 1922 and spent six months traveling throughout the country, attending Communist symposiums and lecturing on art and politics (Hathaway 490). While in Russia, McKay “republished a series of articles he had written for the Soviet press” under the title Negroes in America (1923), which delivers a “Marxist interpretation of the history of African Americans” (Hathaway 490).

In 1928, when McKay was recuperating from illness in France, he published his first novel, Home to Harlem, which is his most widely read work. Even though the novel describes the lower class culture of Harlem, rather than middle class values, Home to Harlem is inherently propagandistic. The central theme of the novel is the internal conflict undergone by an educated, intelligent African American (Stoff 133). Ray, through his friendship with Jack, the ‘natural, instinctive man’, realizes he has “been robbed by his ‘white’ education of the ability to act freely and impulsively” (Stoff 133).

According to Stoff’s interpretation of McKay’s work, “only the instinctive primitive can survive happily in white civilization, its dehumanizing tendencies are irrelevant to his innately free existence” (Stoff 134). While McKay’s politics and philosophy are at odds with most of the Renaissance elders, he still uses his art for propaganda purposes, in this case to condemn the African American intellectuals who have traded their own culture for the middle class values of white America. In his last novel Banana Bottom (1933), McKay offers a Jamaican heroine whom is adopted by white missionaries (Stoff 142). Unlike Ray, Bita Plant, “who rejects the civilized value system but not her intellect, can move easily from one world to another without impairing either instinct or intellect” (Stoff 142).

Like the characters in his novels, McKay himself was “forever seeking fulfillment of his desires to escape color-consciousness and recapture lost innocence” (Stoff 146). McKay, in his later life, stated that “As a child, I was never interested in different kinds of races or tribes. People were just people to me” (Stoff 128). It was in America that he became aware of his race consciousness through bigotry and discrimination. McKay, for the rest of his life, strove to transcend racial boundaries, but ultimately failed. Many other Renaissance writers, such as Jessie Fauset, would also explore racial boundaries.

Bibliography

Hathaway, Heather. “Claude McKay.” The Oxford Companion to African American Literature. Eds. William L. Andrews, Frances Smith Foster, and Trudier Harris. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997. 489-90.

Stoff, Michael B. “Claude McKay and the Cult of Primitivism.” The Harlem Renaissance Remembered. Ed. Arna Bontemps. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1972. 126-146.

Mary Arnold holds a B.A. in literature and history. She is an author on http://www.Writing.Com/ which is a site for Writers.

NAZI and the Jews

Writen by Sharon White

Christianity became the main religion of Europe in the 4th century, thus Judaism became hated by everyone on the simple basis that it “killed Jesus Christ”. This is how Anti-Semitism originated in Europe, and stayed there all the way through to the 20th century. Jewish extermination In Spain in 1400s, Russian “pogroms” in the 19th century. Hitler picked up this trend and perfected it, spreading anti-Semitic hatred to the rest of the world.

Jewish business and professionalism had been very successful in Germany after 1871 due to German Jews gaining civil rights making jealousy and anti-Semitic hatred increase in Germany especially amongst the white-collar workers. Hence, a popular political policy since 1918 has been anti-Semitic policies. The Jews became the focus for every problem of Weimar Germany, i.e. inflation, unemployment, economic weakness and the treaty of Versailles.

When Hitler came to power in 1933, his anti-Semitic policy/aims were indecisive except he wanted them removed from German society explained in his book, Mein Kampf. There was no direct hint towards the creation of extermination camps. The evolution of the Final Solution in regards to the Jewish question involved a number of stages.

Between 1933 - 37, certain government legislations were passed withdrawing civil rights from Jews leading a mass exodus of Jews from Germany. The first Nazi racial law that was passed (April 1933) was the categorising Jews as “non-Aryans”, stripping Jews from a number of civil rights including the prohibition of working in civil service, the army and other professions. In that same month, Jewish businesses were boycotted with the aim of making the move permanent. However, economic weakness and foreign pressure caused it to last for a single day.

The formalising of Nazi anti-Semitic law was enacted under the Nuremberg Laws on 15 September 1935. Hitler chose the most moderate version of the Nuremberg Laws and wrote up the conditions that made people eligible to be affected by them, which was basically any person with a direct or indirect connection to a Jew. The second major law was “For the Protection of German Blood and German Honour”, which prohibited marriage between Germans and Jews, resulting in the abolishment of Jewish political rights, defining Jews as non-citizens. The Nuremberg Laws made Jews officially second-class citizens.

Due to the Olympic games in Berlin in 1936, Jewish treatment actually improved because although their anti-Semitic attitudes to the German Jews was known world-wide, actually seeing it would cause the failure of the Second Year Plan, which Hitler believed and therefore, discouraged prejudice towards the Jews.

There was increasing persecution of the Jews during 1937-39 resulting in Jews being driven out of certain towns that claimed themselves Judenfrei (”free of Jews”). The Jewish society was isolated from German society, encouraged by most Germans without disapproval. From this point we can see that Nazi treatment of the Jews as a society was worsening, as the German population is appearing to encourage their racial policies. Exemplified by random attacks on Orthodox Jews and verbal and physical attacks by the German community, largely Nazi activists. This was largely common especially in Austria where Jewish hatred was common, when after Anschluss, extremely violent acts against the Jewish population occurred including waves of attacks on Jewish property. By 1938, further Jewish anti-Semitic legislation was passed i.e. Jews were prohibited from being doctors, lawyers or dentists, which meant that Jews were being excluded from German economic life, a crescendo of increasing discrimination and maltreatment by the Nazis. These anti-Jewish laws meant that open acts of Jewish prejudice resulted in one of the most openly violent acts pre-1939, Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass) on 9-10 November 1938. This resulted in the destruction of many Jewish businesses and synagogues and the deaths of over 90 Jews, all spearheaded by Goebbels. Acts like these emphasised the increasing poor treatment of the Jews and by 1939, they had been outcast from all aspects of German life.

The euthanasia programme established in 1939-41, although not aimed at Jews, paved the way towards the creation of gas chambers constructed for the mass extermination of European Jews. The euthanasia programme was directed towards the extermination of the “racially inferior”, or in other words, the mentally ill or physically disabled. It was carried out in secret in 6 mental hospitals without the consent of either the patient or their relatives.

The Nazi expansion into Europe marked the increased abuse of the Jews. Due to the invasion of Poland (1939) and Russia (1941), there was a mass influx of Jews under German rule. Hitler gave the role of dealing with them to Himmler (SS) and Heydrich (SD) both fierce anti-Semites. It was decided that Poland, a country with 2 million Jews would be rounded up and be placed into Ghettos, most notably Warsaw. The Nazis believed that by placing them into these fenced cages many would starve to death or die of “natural causes”. The conditions were appalling, starvation and disease were rife leading to many uprisings against the Nazis, namely the Warsaw Uprising (1943), which involved an uprising numbering 60,000 and although it was bold and brave it was severely crushed by the SS. People living in these ghettos and other Jews were forced to wear to Star of David so that they could be recognised easier. This degradation and inhumane treatment of the Jews is an example of the ill treatment that they were experiencing under Nazi control. The mass influx of Polish and Russian Jews especially forced the final decision to be made on the “Final Solution” because the ghettos were becoming inundated with inhabitants that there was not enough space to house them all. A number of ideas were put forward, e.g. the Madagascar Plan, which would involved the transportation of European Jews to the island of Madagascar, where they would be worked as slave labour to death. However, this proved impractical because the British Navy controlled the seas, but the solution would involved the slave labour and extermination. These plans obviously spelled a worsening of treatment for the Jews and by June 1941, Himmler was given the order supposedly by Hitler to begin the construction of gas chambers and crematoria for mass extermination, no official documentation was found of the order. The invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 saw the beginnings of the mass killings and murderous treatment of the Jews. Behind the Nazi advance, 4 action squads (A-D), consisting of SS men, police forces and other ordinary Germans were deployed to begin systematic execution of Russian Jews, called Einsatzgruppen. These extermination squads caused the deaths of 1.2 million Russian Jews, but this method proved mentally taxing on the men and was not achieving the figures the Nazis wanted. Hence, more emphasis was put into the construction of the gas chambers.

The Wannsee Conference in 1942 meant that the European Jews would receive their worst treatment post-1933. This meeting involved the mapping out of a coherent and efficient programme for the extermination of the 11 million European Jews. By spring 1942, the programme was officially put into practice. Adolf Eichmann controlled this and the co-operation of many civilian services e.g. the booking of trains for the transportation of the Jews and the use of I.G. Farben for the production of Zyklon B. Despite the horrific treatment the Jews were to receive, the Nazis attempted to keep the camps secret from the public and Jews, claiming that they were being “resettled” to ensure compliance.

At these extermination camps the mass extermination of the Jews and inhumane treatment of them would occur. The gas chambers were disguised as showers surrounded by well-attended gardens. The most renowned was Auschwitz, which averaged the extermination of 6,000 Jews per day. By the end of the war, camps such as Auschwitz (e.g. Chelmno, Treblinka and Belzec) contributed to the deaths of millions of European Jews coming from countries as far as Greece. Himmler described the Holocaust as a “glorious page in history, which has never been written and never can be”, emphasising that in his eyes this was a great thing that the Nazis were doing, but saying that it could never been written exemplifies the fact that this was horrifying and atrocious treatment of a the Jewish population. From 1933 - 45, the Jews experienced a crescendo of increasing maltreatment from the Nazi regime resulting in the deaths of 6 million, a page in history that has to be told and understood in order to prevent another catastrophe like this occurring again.

Illegal Aliens March 3 Miles To Prove A Point?

Writen by Lance Winslow

You know our habit watching these illegal alien marches in generally they are less than three miles in one has to ask themselves why are they so short? For instance the black Americans in their million man March had over 100,000 people who marched three point to miles as opposed to these illegal aliens who only March 3 miles.

Look, if you want to impress me I want to see you run a marathon carrying your G-darn flag. Because it seems to me if you can run, jump or swim you can become an American. If this is why the Mexican government has such a small Olympic team. Because anybody who can do any of those three things is already here.

Additionally, if these illegal aliens are such great workers and take off a whole day’s work to March, then why can’t they do more than three miles? Had he picked up to many bad habits from Americans were eaten too much American food and got so fat they can’t make it any further, well? Answer me.

Personally if they can do more than three miles in the take a whole day off of work to do this, then I don’t think we need any more lazy people in our nation. Thus, they should leave. Recently I was a carwash getting my car cleaned and the border patrol showed up and everybody started screaming “La Migre, La Migre” as they jumped over hoods, ran around cars and took off like a bunch of bats out of hell.

Now mind you I did not chase any of them down, instead I grabbed my keys because it is mine I do not want to give it to any one who borrows it to ditch the border patrol and drive it all the way back to Mexico. But I digress, my point is if they can run that fast, surely they can walk more than three miles a day. Consider this in 2006.

Lance Winslow

Peruvian Artist Shares Why Preservation of Culture and Rituals Sacred To His Art

Writen by Ernesto Apomayta

My artistic endeavor have led me towards a personal sense of mission, because the visual arts are more than a passive representation of the life style and culture of the Incas, Aztecs, Mayas and Chinese of the Asian-pacific.

Through my work, I seek to preserve and stimulate an alternative vision to the modern industrialized twenty-first Century. Western culture has moved away from the serene life style that my ancestors lived. It is more important to recognize that we indigenous hold on to a distinct culture with other values other ways of seeking the world.

I am forty-nine years old and was born in the Peruvian altiplano of Puno. The traditional indigenous highlands of the Andean Mountain are portrayed in my art. My parents had been driven there from their home near the ancient Andean ruins of the Incas. This was the result of their families disapproved of their relationship. I returned my home village at the age of seven and since then I have committed my art to indigenous roots, my art expresses my indigenous roots and Asian influences.

My mother has always said that in our culture, we use choose to use strong colors to appease the spirits so that they are happy and will not bring about darkness. It was not expected for the son of an Andean Mountain family to attend in fine arts school, because it is very expensive.

I began to paint at the age of seven and at seventeen studied fine arts in Peru. Afterwards I went to France, China and Mexico. I am presently studying in Salt Lake City and I am also painting full time. Through my formal training, I have been able to explore more than one theme. These themes are within Peruvian, Chinese and Mexican cultures.

In Peru, it is not common for Peruvian artist to step out of the European style taught to them in college.

I choose to emphasize in Incan, Aztecs and Mayan organic cultures of our ancestors. Rather than naming old masters and legends as my inspiration, style, and subjects I choose to name my mother as my true inspiration.

My mother Ceferina has lived a tranquil life until now. I pay direct tribute to women such as my mother. She gave me tenderness care, dedication and guidance to pursue my career.

I paint Mother Nature as the Creator of All Cultures. His is a tribute to Incan Indian women because they often work harder than men. Most of them spend all day working in the fields with three to five children to care for, and often carrying one of them on their backs.

They are willing to fight for a better life. I render an emotional tone of every rhythm of the Andean life through my vibrant use of color. I also use bright and radiant

Combinations of reds, turquoises, purples, and oranges characterize the textiles and ceramics of the Peruvian Andean Mountain.

I use many colors of the Andean Mountains. When I asked my mother why the Andean Mountains have such vivid colors, she once again replied that it is to appease the spirits so that they will be happy and will not bring forth darkness. I employ simple swirling patterns to transmit a sense of the peace and harmony that radiates from the Incan Indian close interrelation to the land. It is this sense of the sacredness in nature that comes from deep within my works. I think art is the “mother earth.” Since in Peru, there are few artists who step out of the European style; there is no a vision of our own way of seeing things. It is the same with mother earth. In expressing this relationship with the land, my paintings have a profound ecological message. In Incan Indian culture, there is always a close relationship between man and his environment. There is a connection with the ecosystem in the Incan Indian world. The people are dependent on it for their very existence. !

For this reason we give thanks to the mother earth.

There are repeated historical themes in my work related to festivals. My paintings represent festivals of the countryside that originated before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. One painting depicts a traditional Andean ritual known as the festival of blood, in which a condor is attached to the neck of a bull. The condor pecks at the bull’s head until the bull dies. The image from this ritual is very strong. The condor represents the people of the Andes and the bull represents Spain.

This festival signifies the recovery of the Andean dignity and religious imagery. The imposition of Christianity in the Incan world was never completed. Indigenous cultures of Peru have mixed their beliefs and practices with the icons and lithography of the Catholic Church. I blend indigenous and European religious symbols to show this cultural mixture, also know as mestizo.

Another strong Incan ritual still strongly practiced is to give offerings to mother earth. A type of drink is thrown to all four corner of a room before an event or before eating and drinking. This ritual is done to give thanks to the fruits of the earth that mother earth provides that we may live.

For example, the square cross was a sacred symbol for the indigenous people across the Americas before the arrival of the Spanish. The cross was found in Machu-Picchu, in the ancient civilization of the Incas as well as in the ceramics of the North American Indians and is considered part of a cultural Christ. I see synchronicity between these religions. There is a blend of pre-post Colombian religious symbols to create Andean Virgins, Christ’s and Arch Angels. I am returning them to a more indigenous theme, making them Indian with dark skin and traditional symbols such as the moon.

My paintings are driven by a more ambitious goal that represents an Andean Mountain Incan Indian way of being. My work is a defense against the encroachment of Western values, because of a high level of migration of my people into the cities. Tribal people that come to the city do not want to speak the Incan Indian dialects and they forget their traditions and practices since now they rely on movies and television for self expression. My cause is to retain the cultural integrity of my people which I believe is a noble one. Through my work I seek to preserve and stimulate an alternative vision to the modern industrialized twenty first century. Western culture has moved away from the serene life style that my ancestor lived. I am in a rare position to help promote the Andean indigenous cosmic vision of the world.

In Peru, we are 60% indigenous and outsiders are relatively few in our tribal villages. We want to have our culture valued and that my people can feel proud of their cultural differences.

About The Author

Born and raised in Puno, Peru, Ernesto Apomayta was identified as an artistic prodigy at the tender age of five. As a boy, Apomayta was first influenced and inspired by the natural marvels surrounding the humble home he shared with his family. In close proximity to shimmering Lake Titicaca, the striking beauty of the Andes and the awe-inspiring Incan ruins of his ancestors, Apomayta was spiritually compelled to express his wonder visually through his paintbrush. A direct ancestor of the legendary photographer, Martin Chambi, Apomayta derived inspiration from the same native influences and his legacy that encouraged Apomayta to fulfill his own artistic destiny.

To view many of Ernesto Apomayta’s pieces of artwork please visit www.apomaytaart.com for full information on Mr. Apomayta.

apomayta@hotmail.com

If Real People Ran the Bank - I (a spoof for the heart)

Writen by Lynella Grant

Banish Loans Forever

If ordinary, hard-working, people ran the bank… the very first thing to get rid of would be loans. Absolutely no more loans!

Because once they’re gone, there wouldn’t be any more:

- Due dates

- Interest charges - at any rate of interest

- Late fees or penalties

- Liens

- Applications or rejections

- Credit reports [Old joke - If it weren't for bad credit, I wouldn't have any credit at all]

- Playing catch-up month after month

And that means all the related emotional frustrations vanish as well. That would certainly make a lot of people happier. Don’t you think?

Instead of lending money, how about just giving it away? That should make everyone happier still.

Imagine a bank saying, “Help yourself - and never worry about paying it back.” If it doesn’t matter whether money ever gets repaid - there goes accounting and bookkeeping. There goes financial records. There goes debt - along with bad debt. But that’s not a stretch for a bank that re-writes the rules. If you thought familiar bank policies were cast in stone, think again.

Up with Emotional Solvency - Down with Debt

A whimsical bank that just started on the Internet eliminates debt and loans. Won’t touch ‘um. No way, for nobody. That’s because it rates a person’s emotional health higher than their financial wealth.

This quirky website places more value on emotional solvency than wealth accumulation. Huh? How’s that possible? It’s the logical (illogical, more like it) outcome of putting feelings first. And its other policies are equally unprecedented and unique. http://www.joyfulbanker.com/goofypoliciesdept.html

The Joyful Banker is a parody of all things financial. It just wants to make you happy - and it wants to keep money worries at bay (even if only for a little while). It exists solely to amuse and delight. To make people feel both generous and rich - with access to unlimited money (admittedly funny munny). This site delivers a high level of frivel (wordplay), giggle, and absurdity in the process.

People are More Valuable than Money… Really

Joyful Banker’s avowed purpose is to deliver joy and up-beat energy to all comers. But it can’t pull it off without putting money in its rightful place - which isn’t first place. Or even second. This is the only bank on the planet devoted to what’s really valuable - relationships, generosity, kindness and joy.

Joyful Banker is the Mother Lode of Binkle Lore and Wisdom

A binkle is the energy that’s created when people really connect with each other, with nature, or anything that inspires. It’s the zizz of energy one feels. Although the word is new that feeling is not. It’s been part of every profound or happy experience you can remember. That sensation is always called something else: love, awe, the thrill, peace, inspiration, etc. But the energy of that moment is binkle energy.

This joyous website is devoted to increasing binkle energy in any way possible http://www.joyfulbanker.com/binklepage.html It’s not hard to find binkles showing up anywhere - if you’re looking for them. Can’t have too many. But if you run low, just come beck to fetch some more.

Probably should warn you - it’s addictive. The zizz of binkle energy keeps you constantly alert for how to get more. And if you can’t find any… that’s a downer. But a moment of caring and sharing is sure to get them flowing.

The Binkle Standard Simplifies Your Life

1. Spend MORE of your time and attention with people (or activities) that give binkles

2. Spend LESS time and attention on people (or activities) that drain binkle energy

3. Pass it around! Leave a trail of binkles wherever you go

That’s it! But the rewards you feel cannot be exaggerated. Playing “spot the binkle” sure beats a Do List when it comes to banishing stress. Not to mention, it attracts some pretty nice people.

There are still a few bugs being worked out. The funny munny is just for fun. Not to knock fun, but you can’t use joy bucks to pay the phone bill.

Come to the Joyful Banker for Binkles and Joy

Anyone who comes to the website has an account (their email address), so can partake in the Unlimited Withdrawals or Open Vault policies. This is one financial institution that won’t leave you empty handed. Or empty hearted, either.

©2005, Lynella Grant

This is Part 1 of a 5-part series.

Read the rest http://www.joyfulbanker.com/articles.html

–Lynella Grant The Joyful Banker, a parody of all things financial http://www.joyfulbanker.com The funnest, most joyous fool service non-bank in the world. With unlimited withdrawals. Off the Page Press (719) 395-9450 mailto:banker@joyfulbanker.com

Bushisms: Endearing Words From Our 43rd President

Writen by Pamela Beers

I finally found something our 43rd President, George W. does well; mangle the English language. It would be interesting to know who writes his speeches. Whoever it is needs to be fired and replaced by someone who can at least put two sentences together.

Whenever I see and hear George W. on television, I’m continually amazed at his lack of decorum along with his lack of command of the English language. However, he does make for some entertaining humor. He really should resign and become a stand-up comic.

Below are some of President Bush’s most recent quotes that make me wonder how he passed his high school SATs (or maybe he didn’t):

"See, the irony is that what they need to do is get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this s**t, and it’s over." –George W. Bush, chomping on a dinner roll while talking about the Middle East crisis with British Prime Minister Tony Blair at the G8 summit, St. Petersburg, Russia, July 17, 2006

"One thing is clear, is relations between America and Russia are good, and they’re important that they be good." –George W. Bush, Strelna, Russia, July 15, 2006

"I’ve reminded the prime minister-the American people, Mr. Prime Minister, over the past months that it was not always a given that the United States and America would always have a close relationship." –George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., June 29, 2006

"We shouldn’t fear a world that is more interacted." –George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., June 27, 2006

"I think — tide turning — see, as I remember — I was raised in the desert, but tides kind of — it’s easy to see a tide turn — did I say those words?"–George W. Bush, asked if the tide was turning in Iraq, Washington, D.C., June 14, 2006

President Bush: "Peter. Are you going to ask that question with shades on?"

Peter Wallsten of the Los Angeles Times: "I can take them off."

Bush: "I’m interested in the shade look, seriously."

Wallsten: "All right, I’ll keep it, then."

Bush: "For the viewers, there’s no sun.’

"Wallsten: "I guess it depends on your perspective."

Bush: "Touche."–An exchange with legally blind reporter Peter Wallsten, to whom Bush later apologized, Washington, D.C., June 14, 2006

If you want to become a speech writer, I suggest you call the White House for an interview. I hear they’re looking for one. 202-456-1111 or 202-456-1414 or email: comments@whitehouse.gov

Quote Source: Media Cynic

Quote source: Pamela Beers

Leave a comment on this article. I’d like to visit your website.

Personal Protection Specialists and Celebrity Stalking

Writen by Henrik Bramsborg

Celebrity stalking has become the way for the socially inept to; A. “normality” or B. stardom. They may have no friends, they may never have had a date or spouse, but when stalking someone perceived as significant to the public, the stalkers feel in control and may feel that they have a “normal” relationship.

No two cases are alike. Some will stalk from the shadows, never bothering their victim and subsequently they are seldom discovered. Others will write a dozen letters a day and mail gifts or other items to their victim, thereby inducing fear in the victim and the victim’s surroundings. Celebrity stalking differs from other categories of stalking (i.e. former spouse stalking) because the perpetrator, conscious or subconscious, is seeking to elevate not only his self-esteem but also his social status by the victims fame.

No matter the type of stalker, it is a crime in most countries to follow and harass people and therefore the law will be called upon. As a personal protection specialist there are a few things to consider before contacting law enforcement officers.

1. Is your client interested in reporting the stalker to the police?
You may think that it is a natural thing to do but your client may have a different view. It could be that the stalker was once employed by your client and/or emotional issues precede the juridical ones. It may be that your client is afraid of worse persecution if the stalker walks free. Or as it so often happens; the company that your client are contractually engaged with, has their own agenda and will not risk bad publicity (At least not until they can use it in their promotional efforts). The palette of colorful excuses is too big for a single article, but hopefully you get the picture by now.

2. Do you have enough evidence?
Your client may be well known to the public. But is he/she famous or infamous? Either way you need strong solid evidence. This includes pictures or surveillance film taken when the stalker is trespassing, Witness reports and the witnesses willing to testify, letters and E-mails, voicemail etc. As much info gathered as possible. If your client is infamous, known to provoke people, the evidence should be so much stronger and a change of lifestyle may be needed in order to convince the public/a judge, that your client did not instigate the stalking.

3. How will you handle the press?
When a report is made by the police, the jackals of the press will do whatever they can to uncover the story in its full length. Some will, if the story is too thin (read: boring for their target group!), create an “angle”. This can be a fictitious relationship between the stalker and victim or whatever. As long as the story sells. To avoid this you need to carefully consider what to tell the press. Do so BEFORE reporting to the police. Remember: telling too much will give the stalker what he wants, namely some degree of fame. Telling too little will most definitely animate the press to speculate and the tabloids to create stories. Both situations can become a nuisance and in worst case, hazardous. Normal procedure is that a press officer from the clients company or a production company makes a press release and handles the press. Hopefully that person will work in liaison with the client, security (you) and the legal department, before publicizing the release.

4. Do you have adequate security back-up?
Once the show is on, the police have been called upon, the press release publicized and the client advised to avoid any and all communication with the stalker, the pressure begins. Paparazzi, copy-cat stalkers, show hosts making jokes, people walking up to your client to show support or the opposite and security companies trying to sell their products are all a part of the game. It may only last a couple of weeks, but the workload rises significantly and you will need some sort of backup. A worn-out personal protection specialist is of use to no one. Hire someone experienced. It is worth the extra money and will make you sleep better at night, knowing that your “temp” is a seasoned pro, with no interest in glamour, bribe money and media coverage. Temporary use of a residential security team, if such a team does not already exist, should be considered as copy-cat stalkers could be tempted to trespass so that they can get arrested, with media coverage to follow.

Besides from all of the above mentioned, the general rules of stalking countermeasures apply, and you should as a minimum instruct your client to:

Say no once and then avoid all communication with the stalker, unless a life or death situation occurs

Vary routes and routines

Do not discuss the matter in public, unless it serves a clear/legal purpose i.e. letting neighbors know, so that they can report suspicious actions to the police

Seek refuge in police stations or places with armed security guards and video surveillance if followed by the stalker without a personal protection agent being present

Confronted by the stalker; always run if possible and only fight in self defense if absolutely necessary

Though there is a lack of books on celebrity stalking, the Personal protection specialist should consider buying literature on the subject of stalking in general, not only to himself, but also to the client being stalked, as most victims will benefit greatly from reading about the illness it is. I suggest the following books: The gift of fear, by Gavin De Becker, The psychology of stalking, edited by J. Reid Meloy, How to stop a stalker, by Mike Proctor and Surviving a stalker, by Linden Gross. All four are great informational sources on stalking.

Celebrity stalking is actually quite rare. It is the media focusing on the few existing cases, which makes it “common” and makes the lives of the stalkers as well as the victims miserable. When dealing with stalking cases, even though it sometimes can be difficult to foster sympathy towards them, try to remember that the perpetrators are mentally ill. I don’t mean to imply that it should cloud your judgment, when protecting your client. When a criminal gets in your way, you deal with it! - But use reason before power.

Henrik Bramsborg is the managing director of Bramsborg Security & safety, a security company based in Denmark. Henrik is a stalking- and surveillance detection specialist and the author of several Danish books and materials on security. Latest is the “Simple Risk Assessment Model” for Personal Protection Specialists. Henrik is also an experienced instructor in personal protection, having trained NATO S-FOR forces, police officers, correctional facility officers and private bodyguards. He holds a management degree and is furthermore a certified motivation instructor.

Bramsborg Security & Safety, http://www.bramsborg.com, have been quoted and profiled in several Danish media as the “Danish stalking experts”.

Have I Ever Told You How Much I Hate People? Written by Two Little Old Ladies With No Friends

Writen by Marge Holley

People keep asking me who the other little old lady is. She must remain a mystery. Linda is her alias and she has used it many times to stay out of trouble. If I say anymore, I may blow her cover. As it is now, I may have to move to Boise and lose myself in the big city and also change my name if I can find someone to marry. And find a new dentist who hasn’t read my book.

My requirements for a husband are simple. He doesn’t even have to be tall. I’m only five foot two inches myself. Linda helped me come up with this: Wanted: Single, white male; non-smoker, no drugs, no addictions of any kind, no serial killers, no bald heads, no hard-of-hearing unless he wears a hearing aid, no stubborn men need apply. We then decided to be more positive. Wanted; SWM Over five foot two, drug free, addiction free, hair on head, must roller skate and read. Must not wear floral boxers. False teeth must fit. No plaid Bermuda shorts with white socks and black shoes.

More about Linda. She got called for jury duty a third time, believe it or not. When the question went out, “Does anyone here have a problem with anybody involved in the case” Linda chimed right in, “I don’t like that lawyer.

He sold us down the river.” Bingo! She was gone. You would think that by now she would be blacklisted or something and never summoned again.

Marge published her first humor book at age 61, Have I Ever Told You How Much I Hate People? Written by Two Little Old Ladies With No Friends and her second book, Granny’s Journal, at age 62. She is a library director in a small town in the Northwest and writes a local column, Excerpts from Granny’s Journal.

A Conversation with my Dog

Writen by Robert Crane

I really don’t know how to say this any other way. My dog decided to talk to me the other night and he had a lot to say.

It initially played like any other night really. Once again, I was tossing and turning, in and out of sleep. I was half awake, mulling over my job situation: I want to make money writing but I need an income more. Then the most bizarre thing happened.

“Hey human Bob! This is your best friend speaking! Wake up!”

Who the hell was that? It was a deep, low voice; strong and certain with a hint of a bourbon induced slur. Sounded like Dean Martin actually. I immediately sat up. It was pitch black. The radio clock blurred 3:53 in a dull crimson light. All I could make out was the shadowy outline of Parker, my trusty beagle, sitting upright at my feet.

“Hey boy, did you hear that?” I whispered instinctively. “Someone’s in the house.”

My vision was starting to warm up to the darkness. Parker just stared back at me, his head tilted, his long ears hanging to the side of his head like hand towels on a wall. He turned his head to the bedroom doorway, lifted his nose to the night and sniffed. He turned back to face me.

“Don’t think so.”

I swore Parker spoke but it couldn’t be. I mean his hound drawn lips seemed to move to the words I heard but that was impossible.

“Who’s there?” I yelled into the night. “Whoever it is, I am warning you that I am at this moment retrieving my loaded double-barrel twelve gauge from under the bed. I will shoot you. So leave now and I want to hear the door slam behind you.”

I made some dumb noises in a lame attempt to fool the intruder into believing what I had just proclaimed. I took the ruse to the next level.

“Okay. I’m fully armed and about to call 911 from my fully powered cell phone. Oh yeah, strong signal, four bars. Oh yeah, this is going to be a very clear 911 call.”

“You’re breaking me up. Put the phone down human Bob.”

It was Parker talking. I was certain of it. Nah, it had to be a sick trick.

“Okay, good one Steve. You wired up the dog with a little speaker. Very funny.”

My brother Steve was known to go to great lengths to pull off pranks. But I was pretty sure he was at his apartment in the city, sixty miles away, God knows doing what, and at 48 years old, unlikely to suddenly bother me with a prankit had been 25 years since his last one. But the mind scrambles to the most implausible scenarios when so duly challenged.

“Don’t think so. Nope it’s me, Parker,” the dog mumbled.

I was positive he spoke again. By now I was sitting straight up, leaning towards him. He just sat there and looked at me with those big dark eyes. His poker face was on.

“Parker? Are you talking to me?”

“Well I’m not talking to myself.”

I leaned back against the headboard. He yawned.

“This can’t be. I’ve got to stop watching Animal Planet.”

“Listen, I’ve got something to say and I’m not sure how long this talking stuff is going to work so “

“You are talking!” I interrupted incredulously.

“Should you want I bow wow?”

“Holy cow! Parker you are talking.”

“Yup. But I’m not sure for how long. So can I say a few things before “

“I can’t believe this.”

“Yeah I know. Either can I but if you don’t mind.”

I looked at him with a giant smile plastered across my face. Parker can talk. The dog was talking. Who was I kidding? It had to be a prank. He continued.

“I’ve been listening to a lot of that talk radio and that C-SPAN channel you watch while you write. I’m here to tell ya I don’t like what I’m hearing.”

“You’re kidding me right?”

“Afraid not.”

Oh this was good. I was really hallucinating. Talk-shmalk, I had a few nagging questions of my own.

“Hey, can I ask you something before you get to your stuff?”

“Make it quick. I haven’t got all night.”

“You like smell things a hundred times more than we do, right?”

“Four hundred.”

“Okay, four hundred. Wow! Then I really wonder about this.”

“Yeah I know. Why do we like to sniff every morsel of excrement or yellow patch of urine we encounter on our walks?”

“Now that you bring it up, yeah, why? It must smell like the inside of Dick Cheney’s or Ted Kennedy’s septic tank? And you know how much crap they’re filled with.”

“That was a funny one human Bob. But it isn’t like what you smell. We pick up a lot more notes. It’s a broader pallet if you will. We don’t smell stink. We smell identity, mood, and illness. For instance, you know that crazy cairn terrier down the street?”

“Yeah.”

“She has stomach cancer and her humans don’t have a clue.”

“You are kidding me?”

“She probably has less than six months if they don’t get her to a vet soon.” He paused to lick his right front paw. “Yeah, and another thing. Don’t take me out at nights for awhile.”

“Why?”

“Cause there is a rabid possum living under the porch. That’s why.”

“You know this from the smell of possum poop?”

“Excrement.”

“Whatever.”

“Yup.” Parker yawned as if bored. “So is that it? Can I say what I need to say?”

“Well there is that thing you do with that licking your, you know, your “

“Penis?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Jealous are we?”

“Well, it’s just that “

“It’s all about keeping clean. Nothing pleasurable if that’s what you’re driving at. Nothing like what you do with your hand. By the way, I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t pet me afterwards. Nope, no pleasure; it’s all business. You made sure of that when you had me “fixed”, remember. Thank you very much.”

“Oh yeah, sorry about that. I had no idea you knew any different.”

“No idea my butt. I’ll ‘no idea’ ya.” He paused again to lick his right paw again and then continued. “But I don’t hold it against you. We don’t hold grudges. Heck, if we did, we would have mauled most humans dead by now. Which brings me to why I am talking to you.”

“No grudges. Really? I mean that “fixing” stuff is pretty serious. That’s pretty good if that doesn’t bother you.”

“You done? Can I get to my concern?”

“Sure. Sorry. Go ahead.”

“How can humans be so smart supposedly, while they single handedly are destroying the Earth?”

“You mean global warming?”

“It’s more than that. It’s the air. It’s the water. It’s the dirt. It’s the forests. It’s the killing. It’s the anger. It’s the hate. It’s the grudges. It’s the fear. It’s everything.”

“Oh come on. You’re being a little dramatic.”

“We don’t know dramatic.”

“Well give me examples of what you mean.”

“First of all, the air is filled with danger. Dogs, cats, birds, animals of all kinds can smell it. It is our biggest topic when we get together.”

“I don’t smell a thing.”

“Yeah, that’s part of the problem. And you can’t taste the troubled water either.”

“Scientists don’t seem to be complaining. So I should be listening to a dog?”

“We have no agenda. Dogs call it as they smell it.”

” ‘call it as they smell it’; I’m suppose to just accept that?”

“Yeah, there is a lot you should just accept.”

“Oh yeah, like what else?”

“Well, and here is what I think is the crux of the problem, you keep choosing the wrong alpha humans.”

“What?”

“You’ve got this alpha thing all wrong. Just because animals order their packs based on physical size and strength doesn’t make it so for humans. We do it because we are simple. You do it because you are thoughtless. That’s what we, and I think it is fair to say I am speaking for all animals, don’t get. Humans are able to think things through. But they never do. Well, that’s not completely true; some have but they are mocked or marginalized.

An alpha dog barks and gets all puffy, like that wacky shepherd Sarge from around the block. The worst he can do is break out of his electronic fence and charge one of us. But you humans take it up a notch.”

“Can you give me a for instance?”

“God there are so many. Let me see. Okay, you’ve elected a president who pounds his chest and walks around like a gorilla with its arms all out to the side, all tough and all, carrying on with ‘bring it on’. When he jumps the fence, he brings tanks and bombs and humans loaded down in weapons and in body armor. Meanwhile, you have alpha males all over the place, flexing their muscle in their packs, threatening to obtain nuclear weapons, the great equalizer, giving the president one excuse after another to hop the fence. It’s nuts. And I for one am telling you, you’ve got it all wrong.”

“Well, I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t need to say anything. Just start picking the right alpha humans; humans whose visions see beyond fighting, whose hearts hold no grudges, whose thoughts and reasons are not the products of testosterone, whose collective knowledge is rooted in the concept that true peace is never the consequence of war but the outcome of constant learning, negotiating and adjusting.”

“This is what you want to tell me? Nothin’ for nothin’ but it’s a little heavy for a little chat with a dog at 3:30 in the morning.”

“In a nut shell, yeah.”

It was hard to accept this from my beagle. I mean, he’s a dog; a sleeping, eating, sniffing, crapping dog. I was chalking this whole episode up to stress. I was apparently snapping.

“That’s it. I’m pretty much done. Just one last thing while I have the chance.”

“What? World hunger? String theory?” I asked sarcastically.

“You get the right alpha humans and the world hunger thing will take care of itself, smart ass. As far as string theory, who do you think I am, Hawking? I’m just a dog. No it’s more pedestrian than that, something I think you can manage.”

“Then what, already?” I asked impatiently.

“You know that thing you do occasionally where you empty the dish washer in the buff.”

“Ummm yeah I guess.”

“Put some clothes on. It’s disturbing. I’m beggin’ ya, please!”

“All right, but only if you lick your privates in private.”

“I’ll see what I can do. No promises.”

“So this is it? No more talking? You know we could make a fortune on Letterman with his stupid pet tricks.”

“It’ll never happen. You see, this is a one time deal. Not sure why or how this is happening. Maybe that God guy is involved somehow. All I know is that when it is done, it is ” He abruptly stopped talking.

“Parker?”

Not a grunt. He yawned and as he did he stretched his front legs out and spread across the foot of the bed, his ears resting flat on the blanket.

“Parker are you done? Is that it?”

He slowly closed his eyes and floated off to sleep.

“Parker just like that?”

He began to twitch; in hot pursuit of a fox I imagined.

“Holy smokes. I must be dreaming myself.”

I curled back down under the safety of my covers, scratched my butt and thought about the conversation I had just had with Parker or myself or both. I sniffed the air. It smelled fine to me. What the heck was he talking about, ‘danger in the air’? It had to be a dream.

As I drifted off to sleep, I thought about getting a real job real soon, apparently this writing stuff was getting the best of me. I also made a point to remember to talk to the owners of that crazy cairn terrier. I thought it was the least I could do. One can’t be too dismissive of the unexplainable these days.

This article was written by humorist Robert Crane. Please visit his popular and free website for a lot more of the same.

http://www.cranelegs.com

A Look at the Heart of American Beauty

Writen by T.S. Johnson

Sam Mendes’ darkly comic portrayal of suburbia in his first movie, American Beauty (1999) takes a hard look at what happens when you’ve accomplished the American Dream only to realize that it isn’t enough. Lester, the film’s anti-hero wakes up one morning deep in a mid life crisis and decides that he wants something more then the life he has carved out for himself and proceeds to search for that something and in the process, disrupts the lives of those around him, particularly his wife Caroline. Through his use of color and surrealist elements Mendes shows how passionless and unhappy Caroline and Lester are in their seemingly perfect world and how true happiness lies not in doing what’s expected or in material goods but in finding the beauty in being true to yourself.

The color red and roses are a symbol of passion and desire and Mendes uses the combination to symbolize the lack of passion and in turn the misplaced desires in the character’s lives. Caroline, Lester’s wife is a woman who on the outside seems to have it all: a family, a big house, and a great career. But we soon find out that nothing in Caroline’s world is perfect except for the red roses she takes great pride and care in growing.

These roses can be found everywhere: lining the yard, on end tables, the center piece on the dining room table and even in the home she’s trying to sell. The roses represent the passion that Caroline has lost for life but can’t admit she no longer has. She is a deeply unhappy woman who tries to mask that unhappiness by projecting forth an image of perfection. She believes that if she thinks positive then everything will be okay. She listens to and recites daily affirmations to herself to keep up her positive mental state. The truth of the matter is that she is in a loveless marriage, is estranged form her child and is in a career she hates.

She envies and later desires the success (and attention) of her rival, the “Real Estate King” whose image is portrayed by big red signs placed in the yards of the homes he is selling. She learns form him that “In order to be successful one must project the image of success at all times.” Caroline’s roses are the embodiment of that idea since they are the only thing in her life that she is succeeding at and are as perfect as she pretends the rest of her life to be.

Lester realizes that his wife’s roses are representative of the lack of desire she has for him and their life together. So, it isn’t a surprise that his own misplaced desires are represented by the very flowers that he loathes because they get all the affection and attention he does not. As Lester begins to find his way first by standing up to his wife and then by quitting his job he begins an unhealthy fantasy for his daughter’s teenage friend, Angela.

These fantasies are very surrealist in nature and are some of the most beautiful and disturbing scenes in the movie. Each of these breaks in reality feature Angela intimately involved with the roses: they are coming out of her blouse or she is only covered in roses or she is immersed in bath that is filled with rose petals. Lester uses this fantasy as the only hope he has in his otherwise miserable life. His desire for Angela spurs him to make life changes that he believes will allow her to desire him and ultimately make him happy. Lester eventually learns that this fantasy isn’t they way to his happiness, yet using Caroline’s roses as a part of the lust he has for someone else turns the flower that’s representative of his misery to one of power and hope for Lester.

Mendes continues to play with the theme of color in Caroline’s life as a means of showing her unhappiness in the way that she dresses. She is the only one of the main characters that is brightly dressed. Most everyone else in the film can be found in muted colors: earth tones, grays and blacks but Caroline can always be found in color. Under her earth tone suit she has on a bright red slip. Her nightgown that she wears to bed is a light blue.

Later in the film in a very comic moment at a drive thru at a fast food restaurant she can be found in a red suit. Her desire to convince the world and herself that she is happy isn’t just saying or telling people she is happy but dressing happy as well. This obsession for projecting perfection even through her dress makes for poignant moments in the movie as reality breaks through a happy veneer.

Caroline cries as she isn’t able to sell the house though she has on her red slip and her roses on the table. She loses out on a moment of closeness with her husband because of her attachment to material goods as she looks perfect in her blue dress and high heels. Her attempt at finding happiness is abruptly lost as she’s caught in a compromising situation in her sexy red suit.

Throughout the movie Caroline misses the fact that she isn’t going to find happiness in all of her stuff or on how pretty the image she projects seems to be but only taking an honest look at herself and her life will bring her the happiness she finds so elusive. Her brightly colored garb makes her stand out in the movie but also makes her unhappiness more obvious.

Lester also tries to find happiness in colorful material objects. He turns in his boring Camry for a fire red 1970 Pontiac firebird a car he’s desired since he was a kid. He purchases and plays with a red remote control car, yet unlike his wife his use of material goods is a stepping-stone in trying to figure out what will make him happy, not as a way to cover up his unhappiness. As the movie progresses Lester finds searching for happiness out side of himself is pointless, that it starts from within. In the end it isn’t a brightly colored car or fantasies of a young girl that make him happy but black and white memories of his childhood, of his daughter of the early years with his wife that give him peace and happiness.

Mendes makes us question how we define happiness and success as he explores the inner-lives of a marriage that on the outside seem like they have it all, that they are living the American Dream.

(C) T.S. Johnson 2005

T.S. Johnson is a Florida Based Freelance Writer for Hire, Providing Nation-Wide, Professional, Freelance Writing Services. Visit http://prologuezine.com Today!