Another One "Gone Woke" That Already Was

 

I recently visited the home of Laura Ingalls Wilder in Mansfield, Missouri.  Where she wrote the Little House books that made her famous.  I'm sure my older sisters read those books to me until I was able to read on my own.

I remember when they made a TV show based on the books.  I remember being disappointed that TV Pa had no beard.  Growing up with the books, Pa's entire description was beard and blue eyes.  But I let that go.  Even as a child, I understood about compromise. (How could I not?  I had seven siblings!)

As it happened, Pa's facial hair was the least of the changes.  On a previous visit to Rocky Ridge, at some point in my twenties, I spent most of the time saying things like "that person did not exist" and "that didn't happen that way" to a TV-show fan.

That said, the television show clung to the values of the books.  Even the books were altered from historical fact.  Laura's recollections were rearranged to fit a juvenile fiction format, but she accepted that as long as her deeper truths, her values, remained.

I did post previously about the Laura Ingalls Wilder award for children's literature getting a name change, because of things in the books that are racist by today's standards.  Negro and Indian, in her time, were not racial slurs.  The minstrel show in a later book was a common event for the time. 

The entire family's lives are saved early on by a black man (historical documents tell us he was Dr. George Tann) and the Ingalls family demonstrates compassion for the Osage of Kansas even as Ma fears them.  When the old Indian warns the citizens of De Smet about the deadly winter storms of 1880-1881, his knowledge is respected.  

There have been countless other LIW projects. But the books and TV show are the benchmarks. 

Netflix is producing a new show based on the books.  The town is Independence, Kansas, which lines up with the third book in the series.  The actresses playing Laura and Mary are eleven and fourteen, which closer to the fifth book.  Carrie doesn't seem to exist, which lines up with none of the books.  Dr George Tann exists, consistent with book three.  So already they've shattered any continuity with reality or the books' timeline.  

As for the values that Laura insisted upon?  People are complaining that the show's "gone woke".  How dare they push pretty much the same values Laura did, that Michael Landon did!  The details of the Ingalls' history may be distorted, but the values look to be holding and I see nothing historically inaccurate in the broad strokes.

I gotta laugh so I don't cry.  Or get angrier than is good for me. 

Professionalism in Politics

 It wasn't all that long ago that Americans were freaking out over the POTUS wearing a tan suit.  Cries across the land of "unpresidential" "unprofessional" and even "tacky" echoed from the purple mountain majesties and the fruited plain.  

Maybe it's because I'm nonpartisan, I saw nothing wrong with the tan suit.  I thought it made a nice change from the usual navy or black, a bit of individuality in a cookie-cutter profession, but ultimately I'm more invested the the POTUS's policies and character.   

Today I'm sure I'm not the only one wishing for the tan suit scandal. Not because of how the current POTUS dresses, but because of how he and many of our elected officials are behaving.  I'm not talking about what these people say and do in private, or even in a casual public moment.  I'm talking about official communications (and yes, that includes the social media of any given office.)  

Partisans are quick to point out that the other party forced a dementia patient onto us.  Some nonpartisans suspect said patients were put into place by "handlers".  But dementia is not so much a question of professionalism as it is a question of capability.   So I'm going to ignore that question. 

It upsets me that two of the most common current political catchphrases -- ones used by professionals -- are FJB and FDT.  Imagine walking into a job interview and saying that about the other applicants.  Imagine telling the interviewer mean things about the previous holders of the position.  Smear campaigns used to be the most unprofessional thing they did... not any more. 

Politics has always been an ugly thing.  But up until 2016 (yes, I'm beating that dead horse again) everyone put on their company manners.  Profanity, especially words that get bleeped on TV, would be career suicide.  But now... slogans like FDT and FJB are shouted in the streets.  

I don't want a POTUS who looks like he just mowed the lawn, but I'd prefer that to one who acts and sounds like a frat boy.  Or something worse.  

Still Dreaming

During the months between Christmas and Easter, I develop Seasonal Affective Disorder on top of my Dysthymia.  The worst manifestation of this is the nightmares. The details change, but the theme remains: everyone is mad at me for something beyond my control.  

Sleep is usually a refuge for me.  It's an escape from a world that sees me as a failure.  Part of my waking routine is to remind myself of all the ways that I did not fail.  I usually refer to it as "waking up slow".  I probably picked up that term from one of my minions (speaking of ways in which I did not fail). 

During the Christmas/Easter gap, though, that routine becomes harder.  It's difficult to remember I'm loved when I'm waking from a nightmare that tells me otherwise, night after night.  It's a long dark haul from Santa's visit to the Bunny's.

Recent events and the current political climate have shaken my resolve, I won't lie to you.  My pie-in-the-sky dream of winning Publisher's Clearing House is over.  PCH is gone.  Sometimes I pick up a lottery ticket, keeping that dream alive.  I know it's unlikely but I freely admit to needing that crutch.  

My faith in the Founders' checks and balances has been shaken badly by partisanship, which shows us exactly why the Founders were opposed to political parties.  But the party currently in power is experiencing a schism and elections are coming. There's hope still. The American Dream ain't dead.

Easter is almost here. Spring has already sprung.  And I'm still dreaming. 

Artificial Intelligence

 I joke about my aversion to AI.  I say things like "I've seen Terminator".  That's an extreme take on the situation.  It's unlikely that things will ever reach that point.  But I said the same thing about Donald Trump doing the very things he is now doing.  Make of that what you will.

Anyway, my aversion to AI is based more on the misuse of the tool and the environmental impact.  We aren't curing cancer, we're making cute little cartoons of ourselves and videos of Barbie committing arson.  We already have tools to do those things!  Tools that do not autonomously commit plagiarism and taint ground water! 

When AI gets a prompt, say "write a children's book, with illustrations, about divorce", what it does is look through its database and steal bits and pieces of copyrighted works and smush them together.  And I'm not even going to get into the data-mining it does on the prompter.  It can lead to misinformation because AI does not fact check.  

Not to mention that the purported author has poured none of their blood, sweat, and tears into the work.  Literally or otherwise.  This applies to all art forms and homework.  

The processors generate a lot of heat and are usually water-cooled.  The water picks up contaminants and is then released, thus sharing them with the world.  If it is possible to use a closed system for cooling - some sources say it is not - the companies that operate the AI don't use them.  Because they cost more.  We're tainting our water supply so we can giggle at bunnies on a trampoline. 

I freely admit to being something of a Luddite.  I worry that we humans depend on it too much. And it's hard to detect the line between Photoshop and "make a picture of Aunt Suzie in Rome".  One has, after all, grown from the other.  But art is a uniquely human thing.  Better to use this technology for science.  Creating an affordable closed system for cooling the processors would be an excellent start. Then march into the battle against incurable disease.  

Snow and ICE

I'm one of the many people living in the path of Winter Storm Fern.  That name makes me picture the little girl from Charlotte's Web merged with Old Man Winter.  Which is funny.  The rest of it, not so much. Most of the worrying I see people doing has to do with snow.  How many inches of snow are we getting?  Get the plows out onto the roads.  

I'm concerned about power outages.  I have food that doesn't need cooked.  I have means of communication with the outside world, at least for a while. I have plenty to do, even after the computer battery dies, given my plethora of books and Barbies.  But the temperature outside is 19F.  Without my furnace, it would get really cold in here really fast. That scares me.

Oh, I've got places I can go (provided they have power).  I've got a million blankets I can pile on the bed and burrow into.  I've got ointments and ibuprofen for my aching joints.  But I do not do well with temperature extremes and these are forecast to stick around for at least a week.  I'd rather have six feet of snow.  

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Also on my mind is ICE.  Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  We've all seen the news, so I won't rehash it here.  Except to summarize the problem: This agency, which did its job within the law during previous administrations, has become a threat to life and liberty.  I've been quite vocal for the past year, educating people about Due Process and how it is not just for citizens and/or legal immigrants.  The Constitution is clear.

This is not just my opinion, as I've been told.  The Supreme Court has spoken on the subject.  Besides, it's just plain common sense.  Due Process is how they find out if you're in the country legally.  

I have at least one family member who has taken to keeping their birth certificate on them at all times.  Proof of citizenship.  I worry that ICE will not let them show the paper, or will declare it a forgery.  (Show us your papers, you runaway slave.)  I worry that if they reach for the papers, they'll get killed. (We thought they were going for a gun.) 

I also have family members who defend ICE's overreach. I blocked one of them on FB because I am many things, but I am not "clueless" or "stupid". The most ridiculous is the fact that I've explained Due Process repeatedly to a veteran, a man that took an oath to defend the Constitution. 

 

Marketing vs Mental Health

 I've been seeing a lot lately on Facebook about how to market my books.  There are even posts from a group for those of us who published via kdp.  A few years ago, before I was even published, I was scolded for weeding out my FB friends list because, as a writer, my first priority should always be getting readers.  

My mental health is my priority.  I weed out my FB friends periodically because it becomes overwhelming.  After the incident mentioned (and other accusations of bidding for attention) I no longer give a heads-up.  The boundary remains and if someone wants to get upset about it, that's on them.

I don't want book sales if I have to hector people into it. I feel like I'm running up to people in the street and screaming "buy my books" in their faces.  I do occasionally share a picture on Facebook with a playful caption.  

I published via kdp to avoid rejection, frankly, especially after seeing some of the garbage "real" publishers are putting out there.  I do not cope well with being told I'm less capable than people writing about physically impossible interactions, be they romantic or violent.

There's also the problem of the gatekeepers.  The bulk of my characters are Cherokee.  Some of them are gay.  I've been told I've no right to this muse because I'm straight and white.  (I do have a previous blog post about this if you'd like to read it.  I think the title is "You Can't Write That".) 

I have to pay for my own copies of these books.  I was not sent a truckload of free copies to give away or sell in a local market.  That's simply not how kdp does business.  They don't even print until they get an order for a paperback version.  Most of the sales are digital.  Therefore, unless some windfall comes my way, I won't be setting up a sales booth at a local event.  

I love writing.  I love my stories.  But even more than that, I love the little girl inside me who is still learning that she deserves happiness.  That she is a good person despite what others say.  I won't risk her for the sake of sales.  

Anyway... if you're interested... search Amazon for PJ Schmidt Stillwater Farm.  Titles are "Seventh Son" and "Ghosts".  It's listed as a series, but either one can stand on its own.  Thanks for listening. 

Traditional Values

I've been watching a lot of The Waltons and Little House on the Prairie lately.  Then I saw something about someone (Netflix?) rebooting Little House and, of course, there they were... the pearl-clutching army in the comments worried about THE WOKE AGENDA is gonna ruin it.  

I got news for y'all.  If this happens, and you don't like it, nobody says you have to watch.  I stopped watching the original TV show when they decided to divert from the "facts" of the books.  Mary never married and Albert didn't exist.  That's how you deal with offensive TV shows.  

Anyway, that got me to thinking about the question of how these wholesome shows might have handled certain topics. 

 I realized Little House did handle a lot of the topics.  Mary's blindness gave them the vehicle to show that the disabled are not so different from the abled.  They brought in nonwhites from time to time and, again, focused on the similarities more than the differences. Nellie married a nice Jewish boy.  I have come to the conclusion that, given the limitations of television in the 70s and 80s, that Little House is yet another example of something that was WOKE all along.  

I don't recall a lot of the specific storylines on The Waltons.  But in recent viewings, I saw Elizabeth deal with possibly being paralyzed and an attempt to heal her by a "gypsy".  The Waltons are friendly with a "colored" family.  Well damn, that's some DEI stuff right there!  

All of this led me to wonder how these shows would handle certain other topics.  

Homosexuality:  The Waltons made it a point to be historically accurate, but I guess they could have a couple of "confirmed bachelors" or "old maids" sharing a home.  Maybe they did and I just don't remember. Maybe the Baldwin sisters weren't really sisters!  Little House would probably take a similar route, but given the pattern of that show, it'd be some stranger who wanders into town just long enough to confess the deep dark secret to an Ingalls.  

Interracial Marriage: Maybe one of the Walton boys could bring home a Japanese bride after WW2.  Maybe some local natives want to court the citizens of Walnut Grove.  But I can't see how a black/white pairing would work without destroying any semblance of historical accuracy.  One takes place not long after the Civil War.  One takes place in the American South.  Both predate the Civil Rights Movement. 

Transgenderism: This would be handled much like homosexuality.  (The girl-disguised-as-boy-for-protection trope does not count here!)  Little House's setting could set up an Albert Cashier type scenario. Albert Cashier Hell, maybe Grandpa Walton served with an Albert Cashier... when did the military actually start examining recruits? 

Which leads me to why I gave this blog post the title I did.  Often when we hear about traditional values, it's people raving against the sort of things I just mentioned, but considering how these topics could have worked in the shows... some of our traditional values aren't bad.  

These fictions reflect the world as it once was.  Did Olivia Walton or Caroline Ingalls bother much about what the neighbors did in the bedroom?  Did Charles Ingalls and John Walton assume the the new guy in town was female because he had no beard?  I don't think so... not unless they were hurting people.  These are traditional values - if a person is harmless, what they do is none of my business. 

But maybe I'm just pushing that woke agenda.