I hate summer. With all my heart. The heat, the mosquito bites (to which I’m allergic), allergies, and did I mention the heat? By heat, by the way, I mean anything over 70. I really prefer under 60, but 60 – 70 is tolerable. I am at my happiest at 0. as long as I have heat, of course, which I set at 62 during the day and 60 at night.
When I say I hate heat, it’s not hyperbole. And I don’t mean that I intellectually dislike it; it negatively affects me in every way. I get red, flushed, sweaty, short of breath, and I can’t breathe. I get cross, irritable, and ready to fight the air.
Add to that the mosquitos. I’m allergic to them and when I get bit, they swell and puff up. One time, I was in Taiwan for the summer, and my legs were covered with bites the size of silver dollars. Mosquitos love me and if I’m outside, they will bite me.
Many years ago, Angry Black Lady and I were riffing on white people and their love for the great outdoors. We were joking about how white camping is and how it speaks to a mentality of being rich enough to pay to sleep outside your house when many people of color can never dream of owning a house in the first place.
It’s something that is encouraged when you need to take a break or get away from the hustle and bustle of your daily life. Which, I get. If you spend most of your time in an office chained to a desk and on a computer, a breath of fresh outdoor air can seem like a great thing.
But for someone like me, stepping outside is an exercise in misery. I’m immediately hot, prickly, and sweaty. I get heat rashes, too, so that’s fun. I’m allergic to everything under the sun–and maybe including the sun. Every plant, flower, tree, and probably even the air. I’m acutely aware of how miserable I am and how much I want to be inside.
Now, you would think I have my AC on at all times because of how much I hate the heat, but I don’t like to waste energy like that. I have it set for 78, but I will admit to bumping it down to 76 when I really can’t stand it. I’m still in the elite of the elite in my neighborhood when it comes to energy use, however, so I’m happy about that. I do have a fan blowing at all times when it reaches 80 degrees outside.
It’s funny. I live in Minnesota. We are a state that is known for its brutal winters. We prided ourselves on dealing with cold and snow, not uttering a peep of protest. Then, over time, it slowly morphed into people complaining about the cold and snow. I noticed this around a decade-and-a-half ago.
Now, very few people will admit to liking winter. I think it’s partly because there are many non-native Minnesotans now, but that can’t be the only reason. I’ve learned to keep my mouth shut about how much I love the cold and snow. It’s not something I mention in casual company because I don’t want to open that can of worms. I don’t feel bad about liking the cold and snow, but I also don’t feel like I need to announce it.
Which, by the way, is pretty much every aspect of my life. I get pissed when I read about people in the majority whining about how they can’t say anything any longer. Or griping about cancel culture. I mean, what really happens to them? They have to endure a couple hundred people (or thousand) scold them on Twitter for being a jerk? Then they get to go back to their daily lives of making money by being jerks.
They just got Roe v. Wade struck down, for fuck sake! An ‘inalienable right’ for the past 50 years. Gone. Like that. And they’re not stopping there. The Don’t Say Gay bill just got signed into law in Florida. Clarence Thomas said they’re coming for marriage equality and contraception, but notice that he did not mention interracial marriage. Because he’s in one (of course he is).
So fuck them. Honestly. Fuck them with my rusty pitchfork. It’s been in the toolshed for several years, but I’m bringing it back out again. Making sure it’s still as pointy and pokey as ever. Rustier, too. It enrages me that my niece and nephews have less repro rights than I did at their age.
Goddamn. Where did that come from? Well, the bullshit SCOTUS decision, to be frank. I honestly thought they would not want to strike down Roe v. Wade because it’s a big fundraiser for the Republicans. It’s more politic for them to keep it in place and just threaten to get rid of it. What I forgot, however, were the zealots and the Christian assholes who didn’t care about politics. They just wanted Roe v. Wade gone.
I did not come back for this. I did not rise from the dead to grapple with a country that hates women so much. I had a joke after I woke up that I was going to get t-shirts made saying, “I’m better than Jesus” on the front and “I rose from the dead twice” on the back. I wouldn’t do it because it’s rude, but I have never been more tempted to do it than right now.
We did not fight on this issue for decades only to be told that the rogue justices can toss aside Roe v. Wade like it was a wet towel. They didn’t give any valid reasons for overturning it; they simply brute-forced the answer they wanted. That’s what astounds me. And there is not a fucking thing we can do about it. Because they are appointed for life. The last three elected pinky-swore that they would follow precedence and not overturn Roe v. Wade. I knew they were full of shit. Every Democrat knew they were full of shit. Well, except Joe Manchin who is shocked–SHOCKED I say–that Gorsuch and Kavanaugh lied when they said they would uphold Roe v. Wade.
Bruh. Bro. Dude. I haven’t followed politics closely since 2016, and I knew they were lying. You are a fucking United States Senator who has been doing this for decades. Come. The. Fuck. On. Same with Susan Collins, but she’s not a Democrat. Do not insult my intelligence like that. Either you’re dissembling, Joe, or you’re fucking incompetent. Those are your two choices.
I’ve joked about moving to Canada before. I wasn’t joking after the 2016 elections, and I’m not joking now. This country is not one I want to live in. I know this post went far afield from where I started, but that’s what in my heart now.