Pick Your Battles, Choose Your Class

Okay, kids, get ready for me to ramble on a bit.  If you're here, you're either already a regular follower of my blog (all six of you), or you clicked one of the links I have up on Facebook, possibly attached to my profile or cover pic.  To keep this in historical context for anyone coming across this in the years to come, it's been a little over a month since George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis by a cop who knelt on his neck for close to nine minutes.  Since then, the outrage over Floyd's death -- along with the deaths of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless other people of color as of late -- has exploded into protests across all 50 states and around the world in an effort to end police brutality once and for all.  Over three weeks ago, we saw a protest outside the White House in Lafayette Square that led to an act that shocked people on both sides of the aisle.  I imagine the scope of these protests wouldn't be so large were it not for the fact that so many people -- especially people of color -- are out of work due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it is happening.  It is still happening, and now that it appears to be bringing about actual change (even as a certain someone continues to push back against it), I don't think they'll be stopping anytime soon.  The wedge has been inserted, and it needs to be pushed in further to have real effect, lest things so back to the way they were once pressure is relieved.

Please understand, this is not a call to violence on my part.  Looters, rioters, and those who willfully bring harm to others should be charged, but those who are protesting peacefully should always be allowed to do so...and keep in mind, there are many ways to support the #BlackLivesMatter movement, as this lovely chart I found illustrates:

Going by this, I'm apparently classified as a Bard, as I do my best to share important information far and wide, as well as try to keep folks amused in an effort to give them a bit of a mental break.  You'd think that would be an easy job, but as I've discovered recently, it's not.  The current struggle has just about worn me out, at least in regards to being an ally on social media.

Nearly seven years ago, I set up a Facebook account, not because I'm a sociable person, but because I was getting ready to self-publish my novel and knew it would be a good way to reach potential customers.  Just setting up the account was a pain in the ass, but I did it, and soon found myself sucked into all the dumb shit people do on Facebook, along with my admin duties on both my book page and the Jonah Hex fan page started by Darren Schroeder.  The last few years, I've been trying to avoid the unending feed and just look at individual pages so I don't spend forever there, but with everything going on the past month or so, I couldn't help myself, and I've been sharing stuff and weighing in on debates and unfriending people as the divide between all of us grows wider and wider.  The last couple of days, my soul has been hurting over an argument that started just because I shared something I felt needed to be seen by more people (I'm not going to go into it, I don't want to go into it, I've already deleted the damn thread and wish I'd done so sooner).  I spent a good part of yesterday doing one of two things: crying because I'm already getting exhausted from fighting this battle, or getting angry at myself for deciding to self-censor and back away from a battle that is worth fighting.

So I'm trying to find a middle ground, starting with essentially "turning off" my personal FB page.  I can't fully delete it because that'd cut me off from my admin duties for the other pages, but I am going to reduce my postings on it to near-zero.  No more endless scrolling for hours on end, no more sharing stuff unless I really feel it's necessary.  Y'all need me for something, go to Swords & Sixguns or Jonah Hex, Via Pony Express because I'll still be posting stuff there on a regular basis.  Or send me a note through Messenger because that's actually a useful FB feature.  Or send an old-fashioned email.  Point is, I'm not really hard to find.

So, what am I going to do to be an ally that doesn't involve sharing news and info on my personal Facebook page?  Well, I'm still putting things of that nature up on my book page, I just usually make sure they have more of a historical bent to them (consider it my contribution to #WhitePeopleHomework.).  And on VPE, I recently addressed the big gray elephant in the room in regards to Jonah's uniform (if you go to the "About" section for that page, you'll find an essay titled "The Clothes Do Not Make the Man" -- it was reviewed by all members of the Via Pony Express podcast, so this is effectively our public statement on the subject).

Then there's the second book...yes, I'm still working on it.  That's the other reason for prying myself away from FB: so I can actually find time to work on my writing projects.  All this stuff going on recently has given me a renewed sense of urgency because -- in a roundabout way -- the plot of the second book addresses it on some levels.  Y'see, years ago, I wrote out the beats of where I wanted Richard's story to go, so as I wrote the first book, I already knew where he'd end up in the second one, and planted a seed.  You may recall a conversation between Richard and H'landa on Page 185 about the various countries that make up Arkhein:

“I have been to six of the Seven Known Lands,” [H'landa] said.  “Here, of course, and my birth-land of Nevasile, as well as Gobaira, Ikara, M’salnek...I even went to Keto once, but that place barely counts.”

“What’s the seventh?  Why haven’t you been there?”

His mouth twisted.  “Haru-D’keng.  No one goes there, especially Kana-Semeth.”

“Why not?”

“That country is full of madmen.  Their idea of ‘order’ and the Kana-Semeth’s have very little in common.”  He poked at the fire some more.  “The borders between Haru-D’keng and the rest of Arkhein were set long ago.  As long as we each stay on our own side, all is well.”

“Oh, come on, how bad can the place be?”

He gave me a sideways glance.  “The less you know, the better you will sleep at night.  Trust me.”

So, what is it about Haru-D'keng that's so awful?  That's what the second book is about.  Something happens near the beginning of the story that'll convince Richard he needs to travel to Haru-D'keng, no matter how much others discourage him from doing so.  He soon learns that the majority of the people there live in virtual slavery, yet the Kana-Semeth -- who otherwise swear to protect all people -- seem unconcerned with helping to end the situation.  Better to maintain the status quo than to provoke a war.  Richard does his best to go through proper channels, but it soon becomes apparent that he'll have to put his own life on the line in order to change things.  If he truly believes in granting the people of Haru-D'keng the same level of freedom that himself and others in Arkhein enjoy, he'll have to take on an entire country.

Or to put it in 2020 parlance, Richard is about to go a little Antifa on their asses.

When I came up with this idea years ago, I never imagined it'd end up reflecting current events, but it is to a degree.  He sees a people oppressed and wants to help, but those in charge want to stop him.  Going back to that chart, Richard's gonna act as a Tank at multiple points, literally putting himself between those in need and those who wish to harm them.  Will it bring about actual change in the end?  You'll have to wait and see...same as all of us in 2020 are doing in regards to what's going on right now.  We've all got to pick our battles and choose what class we're best suited for.  I'm a Bard, and I've got stories to tell.  Wish me luck.