{"id":244,"date":"2015-06-20T14:38:41","date_gmt":"2015-06-20T21:38:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tidbitsandtantrums.com\/?p=244"},"modified":"2015-06-20T14:40:25","modified_gmt":"2015-06-20T21:40:25","slug":"i-got-nothing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tidbitsandtantrums.com\/?p=244","title":{"rendered":"I Got Nothing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><em>I got nothin<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>I am suffering the same despair that many of you feel when you turn on the television or pick up a newspaper these days. \u00a0It appears that by most accounts, the world is going to hell in a handbasket. No witty comeback or heart-tugging words of wisdom readily come to my mind as a way of explaining why some individuals do the bizarre and hurtful things that they do.<\/p>\n<p>One of my colleagues posed a great question: \u201cWith all the mental health information out there, with many of the services offered for free, how did the United States become the biggest open-air asylum on earth\u201d?\u00a0 In the absence of an obvious mental illness or alteration by drugs, again, <em>I got nothing<\/em>.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tidbitsandtantrums.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/I-GOT-NOTHING.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"  wp-image-245 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tidbitsandtantrums.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/I-GOT-NOTHING.jpg?resize=684%2C212&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"I GOT NOTHING\" width=\"684\" height=\"212\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tidbitsandtantrums.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/I-GOT-NOTHING.jpg?resize=300%2C93&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tidbitsandtantrums.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/I-GOT-NOTHING.jpg?resize=644%2C200&amp;ssl=1 644w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tidbitsandtantrums.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/I-GOT-NOTHING.jpg?resize=1170%2C363&amp;ssl=1 1170w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tidbitsandtantrums.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/I-GOT-NOTHING.jpg?w=1468&amp;ssl=1 1468w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tidbitsandtantrums.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/I-GOT-NOTHING.jpg?w=2202&amp;ssl=1 2202w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 684px) 100vw, 684px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>My blog this week will be confusing to some, I\u2019m afraid.\u00a0 I debated whether to put these random shared thoughts to print, but based on what I am hearing from you and others, obviously I am not the only one having \u201cone of those weeks\u201d.\u00a0 If misery loves company, we are having one heck of a block party! \u00a0Here is what you are telling me:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<ul>\n<li><em>I don\u2019t understand how anyone can get out of bed one day, attend a prayer meeting in any church, and then proceed to brutally murder nine innocent victims in the hopes of starting a civil war.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>I don\u2019t understand how an actual case of \u201cracism\u201d is tragically missed or blatantly ignored by family and friends, while with ease \u201cnon-racist incidents\u201d (as they are now called) are incited by race baiters, white \/black privileged promoters and politicized by media for personal\/political gain. <\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><i><em>I don\u2019t understand how two \u00fcber dangerous, previously incarcerated-incarcerated prisoners are currently wandering free for almost a third week.<\/em><\/i><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><em>I don\u2019t understand how any person could make a conscious decision to have a relationship with an incarcerated prisoner that isn\u2019t her husband then plan with said prisoner to murder her lawful husband, and THEN facilitate the jailbreak of two dangerous men into society!<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><em>I don\u2019t understand how people can leave a child in the care of a person who has not been fully, legally vetted and certified as a competent caregiver. For that matter, I don\u2019t understand how people can decide to bring ANY child into this world without parenting information and reasonable emotional and financial support.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><em>I don\u2019t understand how individuals can place their aging parents in a nursing home\/assisted living facility believing that ALL their needs will be met if they pay enough money, ignoring the necessity to physically visit them as often as possible if only to monitor the care given.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><em>I don\u2019t understand how people can leave a poor, defenseless animal in a hot car. I really don\u2019t understand why people take their animals for a walk on hot asphalt, causing severe burns to their paws. I really, really don\u2019t understand why people take animals into their homes and then refuse (or are unable) to care for them properly!<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><em>I don\u2019t understand how people can be tight-friends one moment and practically strangers in another.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><em>I don\u2019t understand why people vote for any of the political candidates without doing personal research into their performance records, policy standards, integrity and character.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><em>I don\u2019t understand\u2026<strong>trust me, the list is endless<\/strong>.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>For the record, I want you to know that I share many of the same thoughts you have, but I can\u2019t possibly know exactly how you feel. \u00a0The door swings both ways. For example, I felt mind-blowing<em> rage<\/em> when I heard about the senseless South Carolina killings!\u00a0 Did you see the insolent smirk on that perpetrator\u2019s face?\u00a0 I wanted to smack it off, and I\u2019ve never hit another human being in my life! \u00a0How could anyone possibly wrap their brain around the brutal murders of innocent loved ones in a church just to achieve\u2026 <em><u>what<\/u>?<\/em>\u00a0 What were his thought processes?\u00a0 I could hazard a guess, and I certainly have my opinions, but how could I possibly know?\u00a0 Was it racism?\u00a0 It sure as hell looks like it was.\u00a0 Is he insane or on drugs? \u00a0I\u2019ve got a few ideas on that, too.<\/p>\n<p>What I actually did at the time, however, <em>in the face of insufficient facts<\/em>, I urged those who felt the same rage that I felt to use that negative energy to pray, pray really hard for the victims and families.\u00a0 Praying is my first and last resort for everything not easily handled with sarcasm and a hug. \u00a0It works for me.\u00a0 Just making that suggestion out-loud or in print irritates others. \u00a0Oh, well.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tidbitsandtantrums.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Anger1.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" size-full wp-image-189 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tidbitsandtantrums.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Anger1.jpg?resize=237%2C149&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Anger1\" width=\"237\" height=\"149\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Therapists and counselors are people, too. \u00a0I was disgusted by the news of the prison employee in cahoots with the escapees.\u00a0 I sobbed when I saw the pictures of the horrible burns on the paws of puppies walking on scalding streets.\u00a0 I was furious to hear of a child abused by a daycare worker, and my feelings were genuinely hurt when a \u201conce friend\u201d questioned my intentions when our children were in the midst of a messy divorce. \u00a0My head literally threatens to fly off my shoulders when someone suggests that Hillary is the only viable candidate for president! \u00a0<strong><em>Superlative events and actions inspire similar heightened responses but cannot and must not evoke equal actions!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As mere humans, how could we possibly begin to understand all the recent carnage and utter stupidity in the news?\u00a0 I admit that I get totally perplexed when something happens that so appalls me or is unexpectedly worse than I could ever imagine.\u00a0 Many good Christian, intelligent and compassionate people rush to judgement before all the facts are known. Such superlatives in life happen, but they just seem to be happening more frequently lately.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know why, but\u2026<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>I do understand how people of faith can rise above horrendous incidents to comfort each other, strive to learn the facts before expressing their opinions, banding together to facilitate change wherever, whenever they can, until the problems are resolved.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>I do understand how a person who has been \u201cbeaten down\u201d, broken and rejected can ultimately find the strength to rise above failure through love and support to become a stronger, healthy person.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>I do understand how faith, integrity and character are the unbreakable glue that bonds humans together despite their differences in race, religion and creed.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I don\u2019t always need to understand why things happen the way they do or why some people are destined to be idjits <em>forever<\/em> because they are unwilling to see the stupidity in their actions. \u00a0What I don\u2019t understand, couldn\u2019t possibly understand, is then relegated to text-book examples for a <strong>faith<\/strong> in the Almighty\u2019s ability to handle anything and everything that occurs, no matter how frequently!\u00a0\u00a0 That qualifies for good common sense, doesn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I got nothin. I am suffering the same despair that many of you feel when you turn on the television or pick up a newspaper these days. \u00a0It appears that by most accounts, the world is going to hell in&#8230;<br \/><a class=\"read-more-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tidbitsandtantrums.com\/?p=244\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5,8,15,6,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aberrant-behavior","category-attitudes-and-behaviors","category-faith","category-mental-health","category-spirituality-and-relegion"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5NvLm-3W","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tidbitsandtantrums.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tidbitsandtantrums.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tidbitsandtantrums.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tidbitsandtantrums.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tidbitsandtantrums.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=244"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.tidbitsandtantrums.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":247,"href":"https:\/\/www.tidbitsandtantrums.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244\/revisions\/247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tidbitsandtantrums.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tidbitsandtantrums.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tidbitsandtantrums.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}