Bickmore Buzz August 23, 2020
Hi Everyone!
Here's what's going on with our family--
Isaac is a rock star and replaced the alternator in our Honda Odyssey. He watched YouTube videos--many of which were unhelpful. LOL. Our next door neighbor, James, helped him and lended some tools. Jake drove Isaac back and forth to the car parts store. Thank goodness for helpful friends and neighbors! And three cheers for Isaac for fixing the car!
Isaac is teaching online this semester. He set up an office space in our guest bedroom.
I've been cleaning up my computer and finding gems- I love this picture with Isaac's grandparents.
My sister in law, Darci, lost her father, Gary Bringhurst. It was unexpected. He was 84 years old and had a cerebral hemorrhage. He was an awesome dad and grandpa and will be greatly missed.
Ryan and Sara's daughter, Courtney, delivered her baby girl, Remmi, this morning. She's so cute! I can't believe my brother Ryan is a Grandpa!
There are a lot of interesting things going on in our country this summer that I want to document for future reference and get off my chest.
We are still in the middle of a pandemic. There are a wide range of opinions surrounding the issue. One of my friends believes it's the flu and that the government is using it to control us. She will not vaccinate her kids when they come out with a vaccine. Another one of our friends will not leave the house for fear of getting the virus. I'd say personally I'm a little past the middle on the spectrum. I believe we should wear masks and socially distance ourselves. I think with this being a new virus, they are still learning the long term affects of it if you're tested positive and recovered. Because of that, it's good to proceed with caution. When they have successfully come up with a vaccine, I will get it myself and have my kids get it as well. There are some conspiracy theories floating around that the vaccine will be actually some kind of tracker, which is interesting to me because do people even realize what Facebook, Amazon, and the entire internet is? We're already being tracked.
Another conspiracy theory I've seen is that this is a PLANNEDemic so that Democrats can take over in November. Also, that George Floyd's murder was planned so that the Democrats could take over. Another one is that there are people in high places like our government officials who are part of this major undercover sex trafficking operation and that pedophilia is going to be legislated as a sexual orientation.
It's just all exhausting. I hate election years anyway, but now that people have more time to surf the web, it seems like these theories that have no merit are spreading everywhere.
So, how do I feel about it all? I think the virus happened just like other viruses have happened. I don't think it was planned or invented by a government. I think we were very unprepared as a nation in dealing with a pandemic and are suffering from the effects of that. With the Black Lives Matter movement, I think we need the police, but they need reform. It's been proven statistically that black males are targeted and fatally wounded by police at a higher rate than white males. I think the people of color in our country are treated unfairly and have been since America was founded. Obviously things have gotten better, but we are still behind in a lot of ways. I don't think either political party has proven that one or the other is better for black lives. I sure hope that whoever is elected in November will actually make systemic changes. I've been learning about this issue the past few months, reading different perspectives, studying history, watching films, etc. It's been eye opening and motivating to help make changes.
People are protesting the murder of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Some protests have turned very ugly. It's hard to watch the rioting and the police response. It's also frustrating to me that so many people own guns in our country. I've been hearing lately about record breaking homicides here in Kansas City and St. Louis. So what the Attorney General is doing is sending in the national guard to these cities with the high homicide rates. I feel like it's just a bandaid fix. Here we are sending in the military to protect children from guns, guns that we insist on having access to to protect us from the government. Does that even make sense? I really wish we could see what a problem guns are in this country. We wouldn't have the extent of problems of PTSD between police officers and black citizens if guns weren't in the picture. There would be very little worry of a citizen shooting you down if guns weren't so rampant.
I also hate when the political parties use these issues and really pander to their base. I'm beginning to rethink my approach to politics. I'm thinking about doing more to fight for issues I want to see change in and support organizations rather than politicians. I understand that who we have in office matters. I'm just wanting to change my focus. It's really depressing to me that the two candidates running for president have both been accused of rape. I mean, WTF? I believe that Joe Biden does align more with my values--at least I hope so. I don't like Donald Trump. He does not stand for what I stand for-- that, I definitely know. I think he's a liar. I don't like the Muslim ban, separating migrant children from their families at the border, the way he treats people is so demeaning. He paid hush money to a porn star. His friends are corrupt. I think he is very unqualified to hold such a high office. He's much better suited for television and entertainment. So, ya. That's what Lesley Bickmore thinks about things. If you read all of this, thank you for listening.
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