The Conundrum of Sochi

I can't quit the feeling that the Sochi Olympics happening as planned is just such an impossibility. There he is, Vladimir Putin, presiding over the Opening Ceremonies, all smug, that cold, soul-less look in his eyes that makes Dick Cheney seem warm -- all this happening while Russia's gay citizens are being rounded up, Nazi-style, Putin's own "Pink Ghetto" realized in our time.

And nothing happens? No acts of protest, not a single rainbow flag, even a pin? Just business as usual, Bob Costas commenting on some peculiar factoid of country X.

Too many gay voices arguing against a boycott (namely Johnny Weir, but soon to be followed by many more) would seem to doom that possibility, although world events should sort that out (I still say unlikely to happen).

Moving the Olympics to another venue seems a pipe dream, for many reasons. George Takei has taken up this mantle, along with MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell. Takei says it is still "possible". Rhetoric like that usually means pipe dream.

So that leaves Sochi 2014 Winter Games, fill in the blank. I can't fathom a total IOC-censored event, given the European representation.

And -- Figure Frickin' Skating! Johnny Weir! The IOC may warn athletes against openly political symbols during the OCs, but that doesn't prevent the commentators, friends and former athletes from showing up and displaying same. And exactly where does Bob Costas stand on this?

This is such a big deal, the huge, gigantic Elephant in the Stadium that can't be ignored. Tilda Swinton said it all in that rainbow flag-waving act of defiance in Red Square.

An ego-maniacal madman such as Putin couldn't stand the embarrassment that's about to descend on him, could he? Will All Of It be whitewashed? Or will all these laws just magically go away -- never happened, just a typo, sorry for the confusion?

Because somehow or other there will be a showdown on gay rights for all the world to see. And gay people in lots of countries are indeed persecuted, jailed, tortured and killed. And frankly Putin can't afford the unavoidable embarrassment resulting from the havoc his laws would wreak upon hundreds of influential foreigners. Putin is nothing but a pathetic Joseph Stalin-wannabe coward. He doesn't have the guts to stand this down, nor frankly the religious conviction of, say, an Ayatollah. He will be forced to squirm like the 12-year-old bully he is.

What an unexpected turn of events these Olympics have spawned. And it's about time.

Showdown in Sochi

Vladimir Putin has won the prize for Biggest Bully in the World. Now it is time for the World to strike back.

Vlad, your days of glory and self-declared greatness are about to come to a screeching halt, you sad, sad motherfucker. One way or another, the good citizens of the world will defeat your hate, will defeat your hyper-machismo posturing, will defeat you.

And I will be there to watch you squirm.

Come Opening Ceremonies, be they in Sochi, Europa or Vancouver, your world of sycophantic sheep and jack-booted thugs rounding up an oppressed minority will crumble like a house built of wet toilet paper.

It'll just take one athlete holding up that Rainbow Flag you deem "propaganda" worthy of jail time. Go ahead, motherfucker, arrest Johnny Weir, and watch the spectacle as others follow and are arrested while the world watches in horror. How will you like your splendid little country then?

We are coming for you, gay haters around the world. Yes, that means you, Jamaica. And you, Uganda. Yes even you, Singapore.

A thousand rainbow flags waved proudly while two billion people watch. Hey Vlad, you won't be able to do a thing about it. Go check out the dustbin of history and you'll see what I mean.

Go check it out!

Oops -- didn't mean to push ya!

Murder and Hate In My Back Yard

Mark Carson's death is a wake-up call for all of us. We need a ban on all hand guns, and I don't  give a flying fuck whether you think this will stop criminals from killing, the fact is it will, asshole. I don't want a stupid gun. This murdering hate-mongering piece of filth a.k.a. Elliot Morales should never see the light of day, but I'm not angling for his torture in solitary confinement in our abysmal prison system.

The U.S. to a great extent harbors and nourishes a culture of death like no other in the Western world. America is a nation that arms itself to the teeth with increasingly lethal and military-style firearm, yet nary a firearm death is reported as an act of self-defense. Add to that our utterly stupid political class that fetishizes the notion of a Wild West -- the myth of carrying around AR-15s in the farcical hope they will protect against intruders is indeed a deadly one -- statistics tell us that more deaths arise in households with guns than those without them.

I really hate our culture, and I no longer feel safe here. I'm finding myself longing for a safer place to live in Europe, maybe even Canada, a place where sane gun laws and gun control do indeed result in orders of magnitude fewer deaths by guns.

I hate guns. Period, now. I don't give a fuck about the Second Amendment. It is our death sentence.