If you'd like to get an overview of SwiftUI, book me today

Intro to SwiftUI


Last night I spent the evening on a Zoom call with an "intro to programming" class at Nassau Community College in New York. The call was just over an hour long, and the goal was to show this class how easy it is to get started with Apple development using SwiftUI. 

It was a major success! In an hour's time we built a fairly functional Directory app from scratch (of course, the data was all entered in manually, but they saw how when the data changed, the entire app did, too!)

If you would be interested learning what it's like to build an iPhone app in 2021, please get in touch with me and let's get something on the calendar!

The approach I take is interactive. I encourage you to ask questions and to decide the features for the (very simple) app.

I'm looking forward to hearing from you!

Last night I spent the evening on a Zoom call with an "intro to programming" class at Nassau Community College in New York. The call was just over an hour long, and the goal was to show this class how easy it is to get started with Apple development using SwiftUI.

It was a major success! In an hour's time we built a fairly functional Directory app from scratch (of course, the data was all entered in manually, but they saw how when the data changed, the entire app did, too!)

If you would be interested learning what it's like to build an iPhone app in 2021, please get in touch with me and let's get something on the calendar!

The approach I take is interactive. I encourage you to ask questions and to decide the features for the (very simple) app.

I'm looking forward to hearing from you!


Your God is that which you see in everything


This idea that "racism" is the foundation in all interactions and that it's just a matter of seeing "how much" racism there is, misses the mark by a lot.

That which you see in everything is your God.

I see Truth, Hope and Good in everything. Sometimes it's easy to see and sometimes it's hard, but it is everywhere and it doesn't care about your skin color.

Drawing again


I decided to pick up drawing again. Mainly, it's because I want to draw some of the assets for a game idea I have, but yesterday I decided to practice by drawing the most beautiful person I know. :)

I need a lot of practice, but I still like how this came out.

![Kat and John 2](/images/kat-john-2.jpg)

I decided to pick up drawing again. Mainly, it's because I want to draw some of the assets for a game idea I have, but yesterday I decided to practice by drawing the most beautiful person I know. :)

I need a lot of practice, but I still like how this came out.

Kat and John 2


T-minus one month


In exactly one month, I will be marrying my best friend. 

January 30, 2021 will merge two life stories into one, and I am looking forward to it tremendously. On that day will be the birth of a Mr. and Mrs. John and Katrina McGlone, and I couldn't be more thrilled.

![Kat and John 1](/images/kat-john-1.jpg)

In exactly one month, I will be marrying my best friend.

January 30, 2021 will merge two life stories into one, and I am looking forward to it tremendously. On that day will be the birth of a Mr. and Mrs. John and Katrina McGlone, and I couldn't be more thrilled.

Kat and John 1


Allegory of the cave outside the cave


The man who leaves the cave in Plato’s Allegory of the Cave doesn’t realize that he’s only discovered a bigger cave.

![Allegory of the Cave](/images/allegory-of-the-cave.jpg)

### Links

(1) Allegory of the Cave - Full PDF

[https://yale.learningu.org/download/ca778ca3-7e93-4fa6-a03f-471e6f15028f/H2664_Allegory%20of%20the%20Cave%20.pdf](https://yale.learningu.org/download/ca778ca3-7e93-4fa6-a03f-471e6f15028f/H2664_Allegory%20of%20the%20Cave%20.pdf)

The man who leaves the cave in Plato’s Allegory of the Cave doesn’t realize that he’s only discovered a bigger cave.

Allegory of the Cave

Links

(1) Allegory of the Cave - Full PDF

https://yale.learningu.org/download/ca778ca3-7e93-4fa6-a03f-471e6f15028f/H2664\_Allegory%20of%20the%20Cave%20.pdf


If someone tries to set the congressional building on fire because they’re mad Trump is nominating a new Supreme Court Justice, let’s agree to not vote Democrat for at least a century, ok?

Congressional Fire


If someone tries to set the congressional building on fire because they’re mad Trump is nominating a new Supreme Court Justice, let’s agree to not vote Democrat for at least a century, ok?

### Links

(1)
SCOTUS battle prompts threats, calls for arson: 'Burn Congress down'

[https://www.foxnews.com/media/ginsburg-death-burn-it-down-threats](https://www.foxnews.com/media/ginsburg-death-burn-it-down-threats)

If someone tries to set the congressional building on fire because they’re mad Trump is nominating a new Supreme Court Justice, let’s agree to not vote Democrat for at least a century, ok?

Links

(1)
SCOTUS battle prompts threats, calls for arson: 'Burn Congress down'

https://www.foxnews.com/media/ginsburg-death-burn-it-down-threats


Comments and time-to-read!


I've added two new features to the site!

##### 1. Disqus comments section

To use this feature, scroll to the bottom to any post. You will need a [https://disqus.com/](Disqus) (1) account. Please sign up (it's super easy) and please recommend, react, and comment on this post below!

##### 2. Time-to-read

On the main page, in the list of posts, you'll now notice it shows you how long it takes to read a given post. For example, the post [Racism is a public what?](https://johnmcglone.com/post/racism-is-a-public-what/) (2) is estimated to take 14 minutes to read. (Please let me know if I need to adjust the estimate!)

### Images

![Racism is public what?](/images/racism-is-public-what.png)

### Links

(1) Disqus 

[https://disqus.com/](https://disqus.com/)

(2) Racism is a public what?

[https://johnmcglone.com/post/racism-is-a-public-what/](https://johnmcglone.com/post/racism-is-a-public-what/)

I've added two new features to the site!

1\. Disqus comments section

To use this feature, scroll to the bottom to any post. You will need a https://disqus.com/ (1) account. Please sign up (it's super easy) and please recommend, react, and comment on this post below!

2\. Time-to-read

On the main page, in the list of posts, you'll now notice it shows you how long it takes to read a given post. For example, the post Racism is a public what? (2) is estimated to take 14 minutes to read. (Please let me know if I need to adjust the estimate!)

Images

Racism is public what?

Links

(1) Disqus

https://disqus.com/

(2) Racism is a public what?

https://johnmcglone.com/post/racism-is-a-public-what/


According to a new Pew Charitable Trusts article, multiple public health studies over the last three decades have concluded that racism is "a public health crisis." Here are my thoughts on that.

Racism is a public what?


According to <u>The Pew Charitable Trusts</u> article linked below (1), multiple public health studies (2) over the last three decades have concluded that racism is "a public health crisis."

These are the states and local governments that have either passed or are considering racism as a "public health crisis" 

![Racism is a public what?](/images/racism_public_health.png)

A public *what* now?

I read the article and its referenced material, and it's clear to me that this is just yet another shoddy attempt at pushing more divisive and Marxist propaganda into the Western psyche.

These studies and this article are riddled with poor arguments made from poor assumptions.

The first quote that caught my attention was of Dr. Georges Benjamin:  

> “We do know that health inequities at their very core are due to racism" 

How, sir, do you *know* that? I read the study referenced in this article, and it says nothing of the sort. *This* is what it says right in the beginning:

> Empirical evidence is scarce and hard to interpret, but much public opinion and some scholarly analysis in the United States and the United Kingdom place racism at the hub of ethnic and racial inequalities in health and health care.

If I understand the "study" correctly, they surveyed people's opinions on racism, admit there's little to no empirical evidence of said racism, and then took a fact: "it is **popular public opinion** that racism is at the hub of ethnic and racial inequalities..." and presented it as if the opinion is automatically true: "racism is a public health crisis."

Where's my "Jump to Conclusions Mat" when I need it?

![Jump to conclusions mat](/images/jump-to-conclusions.jpg)

I agree that we have a public health crisis worth addressing, but I reject that it's racism. More on that in a little bit.

Benjamin goes on to say:

> “As a black man, my status, my suit and tie don’t protect me.”

Why would anyone assume that their suit and tie protects them? Do suits and ties protect white men? Is that what's implied? What is meant by this, and what does it have to do with the study?

The article goes on to list a few popular statistics, such as the famous "Black men are more than twice as likely to be killed by police as white men" while completely (and predictably) ignoring other statistics like the fact that black men are more likely to commit violent crimes than white men, and that black men are more likely to kill cops than white men--statistics that should be taken into consideration when trying to figure out why it is that black men are being killed by cops at a higher rate than white men. 

Did you know that **men** are killed by cops at a higher rate than women? Is this proof of sexism or misandry? No, it is not. Think it through.

Has the public (or the *scholars* mentioned in the article, for that matter) spent any time considering that *mental illness* and *an irrational fear of racism* are worthy candidates of being a "public health crisis"? We've seen more physical attacks on people and society by those who *fear racism* than by those they allege to *be racists*. Actually, the alleged racists are typically out there following the law and getting permits to hold rallies **defending** everything from the first and second amendment, to statues and unborn life, while the progressives are out there blocking traffic, burning down police precincts, destroying businesses (many owned by black entrepreneurs) while demanding reparations (among other free things) for blacks. Where's the study for that? Could a study (or survey) on this behavior even be conducted safely in modern society? Or will the mob do what ever it takes to silence you?

We now live in a time where feminists like Meghan Murphy, who make factual statements like "Women aren't men," have their lives threatened and are banned from public discourse (3) and where having the "wrong" philosophy on life, like Stefan Molyneux, gets you labeled as dangerous and banned from all of the major sites that allow *you* (this is what "You" in YouTube used to mean anyway) share your ideas and content (4). 

* **Note:** Stefan Molyneux is not a white supremacist like Wikipedia has him libeled, and he is not a danger to anyone. At the core of his philosophy is the "non aggression principle" (5) a libertarian idea that says initiating or threatening any forceful interference with an individual or their property is inherently wrong. Does this sound dangerous to you? Progressives openly say things some speech is violence and think it's ok to punish people for their wrong thoughts, so I am not surprised.

I don't think many people deny that the economical outcomes for blacks (and some other non-white populations in the West) are disproportionately worse than that of whites (and Jews, and Asians, and Indians...), but I reject the claim that this is due to racism.

"Well, then what *is* it due to?" is the obvious question being begged here, and the fact is, the real answers are all much more nuanced (and much less comfortable) than "because whitey is racist."

But instead of going into those reasons, I would rather take this time to point out the absurdity of calling racism a "public health crisis" and tell you why I think this is all happening.

Public health crises usually come in two forms. The first is in the form of hazards (natural or otherwise). The Zika virus was a public health crisis. The Haiti earthquake led to a public health crisis. The anthrax attacks of 2001 created a public health crisis. In this form, you'll see that a virus, a natural disaster, or a terrorist attack was the catalyst for the health crisis, an event where the health of the nation's people was in jeopardy, and it was because of elements out of the people's control.

The other form is a failure of self control and responsibility on the individuals, as we see with obesity or mental health. In America, 40% of our population is obese (which is up from 34% in 2007-'08) (6), and 20% of our population (that's over 65 million Americans) are classified as living with a mental illness (7) -- these are conditions that can be remedied or managed by lifestyle changes.

So why, then, would we call racism a public health crisis? Which form does that fit? Who is carrying it? Who is imposing it? Who is the victim? And who is responsible?

You'll see that this particular claim borrows the language of politics and medicine, but embeds it in the structure of Marxism. 

![Communist Manifesto](/images/communist-manifesto.jpg)

Marxism, simply put, is a political theory and mental model that frames the world into two classes of people, the oppressor and the oppressed (8). As Friedrich Engels, German philosopher and close collaborator of Karl Marx, put it:

> The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles. Freeman and slave, patrician and plebeian, lord and serf, guild-master and journeyman, in a word, oppressor and oppressed, stood in constant opposition to one another, carried on uninterrupted, now hidden, now open fight, a fight that each time ended, either in a revolutionary reconstitution of society at large, or in the common ruin of the contending classes.

I can't think of any "health crisis" that has been framed this way, can you? Slavery was certainly a relationship between the oppressed and the oppressor, but was slavery ever considered a public health crisis? No, it was a human rights one.

The progressive types have been pushing claims of racism and systemic racism for decades in the West without much success, which is why I think they keep changing both the framing and the language. Please pay attention and notice that every time the framing updates, they borrow *your* language and then wrap it around a Marxist worldview. For instance, progressives have recently influenced Merriam-Webster to include a new definition of "racism" that involves "systemic oppression", which is clear Marxist language and framing. (9)

Progressives today paint whites as the oppressors and everyone else (especially blacks) as the oppressed, and they see no need for responsibility on the part of the alleged victims except to battle and win against their alleged oppressors. 

Marxists see the world as a battleground for power, and they see power as scarce; a zero-sum game. The irony is that they'd actually have so much more power if only they held on to it; if they took responsibility for themselves and were very careful with whom they surrendered their power to. 

* **Note:** *we all make sacrifices and surrender to others. In a free society, we get to choose who we surrender to and how much. In an unfree society, that choice is made for you. Free people engaging in free trade often land on deals they're happy with.*

Progressives tend to have the mindset of *wanting to have their cake and eat it too*. They tend to want to relinquish their power while at the same time holding on to it, they want free themselves by giving up their freedom, and they want everyone to have things of value without anyone having to produce things of value. This is logically paradoxical, like much of their thinking, and perhaps we need to start marking *paradoxical thinking* and *irrational fears of racism* as a "public health crisis."

![Mental Illness](/images/mental-illness.png)

Despite the fact that black people do better in America than any other country, despite the fact that people from all over the world flee their own nations to pursue a better life in America, despite the fact that we have many laws that explicitly or implicitly benefit non-whites (but none the other way around), despite the fact that so many Democrat and black run cities are failing (some of which are literally on fire) and despite the fact that black families who stay together, put their kids through school and run businesses do as well as anyone else, the left would rather die on the hill that "America is a racist nation", and now, with what is being pushed in these new articles, insist that somehow, racism in America is a *public health crisis*.

In the pewtrusts.org article, they tell us about Steve Huffman, who committed the crime [[obviously sarcasm]] of wondering aloud if there were reasons other than racism that blacks might be getting COVID and other illnesses at a higher rate than whites.

> “Could it just be that African Americans or the colored population do not wash their hands as well as other groups? Or wear a mask? Or do not socially distance themselves?" said Huffman, who is an emergency room doctor. “Could that be the explanation for why the higher incidence?”

> Huffman clarified that he meant to say “people of color” rather than “the colored population,” and that he had asked the question to further his understanding. His employer, TeamHealth, subsequently fired him.

*"His employer, TeamHealth, subsequently fired him."*

For what? For having a hard time believing that his nation is generally racist against blacks? And an even harder time believing that the black population's COVID rates are somehow related to racism? He has a hard time with this because he nor anybody he knows personally fits the bill of "racist" and because it's absurd to blame every woe of the black community on racism.

I see what they're doing. 

Ask yourself, what comes next? What resources will be wasted addressing this phony "public health crisis"? And when does this all end?

I think it's obvious that they want to label racism a "public health crisis" so that they can get all the "benefits" of one. The precedent around public health crises is that we pass legislation that sidesteps the constitution and infringes on your rights, all for the sake of keeping everyone healthy and safe (of course); The precedent is more power for the government and their serfs, in this case, the Democrats.

![Ben Franklin](/images/ben-franklin1.png)

The fact of the matter is, in an actual crisis (it's 2020, we're in an actual crisis, dealing with COVID-19), there are more than enough civil men and women who rise to make the sort of sacrifices and compromises needed for their family and community. New laws to force them to do so are frankly unnecessary, but there are those in power who will never let a good crisis go to waste and will capitalize on the opportunity to wedge yet another tyrannical, constitution-breaking law through legislation. The heap grows bigger and bigger each year--and although we may manage to remove a few over the next 4 years or so, that's about as big a win as putting out parts of a house fire with spoons of water.

The way progressives behave reminds me of the bad guys in The Lion King. Scar and his hyenas, due to their bad ideas and lack of self control, found themselves not being able to live among the rest of the animals because, when they did, they'd eat all of the resources and upset the delicate balance of the ecosystem. They were kept in check by a noble king, Mufasa, who made sure their needs were met, but banished them to the elephant graveyard for as long as they were unwilling to follow the same laws as everyone else.

Scar deceitfully kills Mufasa, tricks everyone into believing Simba did it, and becomes the new king of the land. Within no time at all (how long does it take a cub to become a full grown lion?) the resources were all drained, and by the time Simba returned, everyone (including Scar and the hyenas) were hungrier (and angrier) than before.

The progressives are as shortsighted and resentful as Scar and his hyenas, and if we let them run things, we'll be on a fast track to destroying our very own Pride Rock, the United States of America (and the rest of the West if we're not careful. I actually think the UK might have it worse than the USA right now).

I think we need to respond strongly to this obvious attempt to slowly, but surely, take over a once-great, unique nation that set trends for freedom all around the world. We cannot let the so-called "progressives" regress our nation into one that resembles Soviet Russia, Communist China or worse, an anarchist third world country. 

I understand a significant portion of our country has the opinion that "systemic racism" is a problem that our society faces and must address today, but, as the article points out, there is very little empirical evidence for this claim, it's a nuanced issue and is hard to demonstrate. 

Opinions are not facts, and these particular opinions aren't even based on facts; they are speculations of a generation of people captivated by the drama promised by a Marxist worldview. 

If we are going to start going around labeling and considering which phenomena are mental illnesses (10) and public health crises, the paradoxical and destructive mind of Marxists seems like a better candidate than racism does.

If you'd like to learn more about the mental health crisis in America, please watch the presentation by Stefan Molyneux titled ["The Destruction of America's Mental Health Care System"](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7cyjt9) (11) and ask yourself if, perhaps, the public health crisis we are enduring and needs addressing is unchecked and subsidized mental illness--not racism (which, mind you, is overly checked and never subsidized).

### Links

(1) Racism Is a Public Health Crisis, Say Cities and Counties

[https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2020/06/15/racism-is-a-public-health-crisis-say-cities-and-counties](https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2020/06/15/racism-is-a-public-health-crisis-say-cities-and-counties)

(2) Spectre of racism in health and health care: lessons from history and the United States

[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1113412/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1113412/)

(3) Meghan Murphy: Canadian feminist's trans talk sparks uproar

[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50214341](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50214341)

(4) Stefan Molyneux suspended from Twitter just days after receiving YouTube ban

[https://theunionjournal.com/stefan-molyneux-suspended-from-twitter-just-days-after-receiving-youtube-ban-rt-world-news/](https://theunionjournal.com/stefan-molyneux-suspended-from-twitter-just-days-after-receiving-youtube-ban-rt-world-news/)

(5) Non-aggression principle

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-aggression_principle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-aggression_principle)

(6) Rising Obesity in the United States Is a Public Health Crisis

[https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2018/rising-obesity-united-states-public-health-crisis](https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2018/rising-obesity-united-states-public-health-crisis)

(7) NIH on Mental Illness

[https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness.shtml](https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness.shtml)

(8) Wikipedia - Marxism

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxism)

(9) Merriam-Webster has a new definition of “racism”

[https://www.vox.com/identities/2020/6/10/21286656/merriam-webster-racism-definition](https://www.vox.com/identities/2020/6/10/21286656/merriam-webster-racism-definition)

(10) Vice News | Is Racism a Mental Illness?

[https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/dyzd57/is-racism-a-mental-illness](https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/dyzd57/is-racism-a-mental-illness)

(11) The Destruction of America's Mental Health Care System

[https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7cyjt9](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7cyjt9)

According to The Pew Charitable Trusts article linked below (1), multiple public health studies (2) over the last three decades have concluded that racism is "a public health crisis."

These are the states and local governments that have either passed or are considering racism as a "public health crisis"

Racism is a public what?

A public what now?

I read the article and its referenced material, and it's clear to me that this is just yet another shoddy attempt at pushing more divisive and Marxist propaganda into the Western psyche.

These studies and this article are riddled with poor arguments made from poor assumptions.

The first quote that caught my attention was of Dr. Georges Benjamin:

“We do know that health inequities at their very core are due to racism"

How, sir, do you know that? I read the study referenced in this article, and it says nothing of the sort. This is what it says right in the beginning:

Empirical evidence is scarce and hard to interpret, but much public opinion and some scholarly analysis in the United States and the United Kingdom place racism at the hub of ethnic and racial inequalities in health and health care.

If I understand the "study" correctly, they surveyed people's opinions on racism, admit there's little to no empirical evidence of said racism, and then took a fact: "it is popular public opinion that racism is at the hub of ethnic and racial inequalities..." and presented it as if the opinion is automatically true: "racism is a public health crisis."

Where's my "Jump to Conclusions Mat" when I need it?

Jump to conclusions mat

I agree that we have a public health crisis worth addressing, but I reject that it's racism. More on that in a little bit.

Benjamin goes on to say:

“As a black man, my status, my suit and tie don’t protect me.”

Why would anyone assume that their suit and tie protects them? Do suits and ties protect white men? Is that what's implied? What is meant by this, and what does it have to do with the study?

The article goes on to list a few popular statistics, such as the famous "Black men are more than twice as likely to be killed by police as white men" while completely (and predictably) ignoring other statistics like the fact that black men are more likely to commit violent crimes than white men, and that black men are more likely to kill cops than white men--statistics that should be taken into consideration when trying to figure out why it is that black men are being killed by cops at a higher rate than white men.

Did you know that men are killed by cops at a higher rate than women? Is this proof of sexism or misandry? No, it is not. Think it through.

Has the public (or the scholars mentioned in the article, for that matter) spent any time considering that mental illness and an irrational fear of racism are worthy candidates of being a "public health crisis"? We've seen more physical attacks on people and society by those who fear racism than by those they allege to be racists. Actually, the alleged racists are typically out there following the law and getting permits to hold rallies defending everything from the first and second amendment, to statues and unborn life, while the progressives are out there blocking traffic, burning down police precincts, destroying businesses (many owned by black entrepreneurs) while demanding reparations (among other free things) for blacks. Where's the study for that? Could a study (or survey) on this behavior even be conducted safely in modern society? Or will the mob do what ever it takes to silence you?

We now live in a time where feminists like Meghan Murphy, who make factual statements like "Women aren't men," have their lives threatened and are banned from public discourse (3) and where having the "wrong" philosophy on life, like Stefan Molyneux, gets you labeled as dangerous and banned from all of the major sites that allow you (this is what "You" in YouTube used to mean anyway) share your ideas and content (4).

Note: Stefan Molyneux is not a white supremacist like Wikipedia has him libeled, and he is not a danger to anyone. At the core of his philosophy is the "non aggression principle" (5) a libertarian idea that says initiating or threatening any forceful interference with an individual or their property is inherently wrong. Does this sound dangerous to you? Progressives openly say things some speech is violence and think it's ok to punish people for their wrong thoughts, so I am not surprised.

I don't think many people deny that the economical outcomes for blacks (and some other non-white populations in the West) are disproportionately worse than that of whites (and Jews, and Asians, and Indians...), but I reject the claim that this is due to racism.

"Well, then what is it due to?" is the obvious question being begged here, and the fact is, the real answers are all much more nuanced (and much less comfortable) than "because whitey is racist."

But instead of going into those reasons, I would rather take this time to point out the absurdity of calling racism a "public health crisis" and tell you why I think this is all happening.

Public health crises usually come in two forms. The first is in the form of hazards (natural or otherwise). The Zika virus was a public health crisis. The Haiti earthquake led to a public health crisis. The anthrax attacks of 2001 created a public health crisis. In this form, you'll see that a virus, a natural disaster, or a terrorist attack was the catalyst for the health crisis, an event where the health of the nation's people was in jeopardy, and it was because of elements out of the people's control.

The other form is a failure of self control and responsibility on the individuals, as we see with obesity or mental health. In America, 40% of our population is obese (which is up from 34% in 2007-'08) (6), and 20% of our population (that's over 65 million Americans) are classified as living with a mental illness (7) -- these are conditions that can be remedied or managed by lifestyle changes.

So why, then, would we call racism a public health crisis? Which form does that fit? Who is carrying it? Who is imposing it? Who is the victim? And who is responsible?

You'll see that this particular claim borrows the language of politics and medicine, but embeds it in the structure of Marxism.

Communist Manifesto

Marxism, simply put, is a political theory and mental model that frames the world into two classes of people, the oppressor and the oppressed (8). As Friedrich Engels, German philosopher and close collaborator of Karl Marx, put it:

The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles. Freeman and slave, patrician and plebeian, lord and serf, guild-master and journeyman, in a word, oppressor and oppressed, stood in constant opposition to one another, carried on uninterrupted, now hidden, now open fight, a fight that each time ended, either in a revolutionary reconstitution of society at large, or in the common ruin of the contending classes.

I can't think of any "health crisis" that has been framed this way, can you? Slavery was certainly a relationship between the oppressed and the oppressor, but was slavery ever considered a public health crisis? No, it was a human rights one.

The progressive types have been pushing claims of racism and systemic racism for decades in the West without much success, which is why I think they keep changing both the framing and the language. Please pay attention and notice that every time the framing updates, they borrow your language and then wrap it around a Marxist worldview. For instance, progressives have recently influenced Merriam-Webster to include a new definition of "racism" that involves "systemic oppression", which is clear Marxist language and framing. (9)

Progressives today paint whites as the oppressors and everyone else (especially blacks) as the oppressed, and they see no need for responsibility on the part of the alleged victims except to battle and win against their alleged oppressors.

Marxists see the world as a battleground for power, and they see power as scarce; a zero-sum game. The irony is that they'd actually have so much more power if only they held on to it; if they took responsibility for themselves and were very careful with whom they surrendered their power to.

Note: we all make sacrifices and surrender to others. In a free society, we get to choose who we surrender to and how much. In an unfree society, that choice is made for you. Free people engaging in free trade often land on deals they're happy with.

Progressives tend to have the mindset of wanting to have their cake and eat it too. They tend to want to relinquish their power while at the same time holding on to it, they want free themselves by giving up their freedom, and they want everyone to have things of value without anyone having to produce things of value. This is logically paradoxical, like much of their thinking, and perhaps we need to start marking paradoxical thinking and irrational fears of racism as a "public health crisis."

Mental Illness

Despite the fact that black people do better in America than any other country, despite the fact that people from all over the world flee their own nations to pursue a better life in America, despite the fact that we have many laws that explicitly or implicitly benefit non-whites (but none the other way around), despite the fact that so many Democrat and black run cities are failing (some of which are literally on fire) and despite the fact that black families who stay together, put their kids through school and run businesses do as well as anyone else, the left would rather die on the hill that "America is a racist nation", and now, with what is being pushed in these new articles, insist that somehow, racism in America is a public health crisis.

In the pewtrusts.org article, they tell us about Steve Huffman, who committed the crime \[\[obviously sarcasm]] of wondering aloud if there were reasons other than racism that blacks might be getting COVID and other illnesses at a higher rate than whites.

“Could it just be that African Americans or the colored population do not wash their hands as well as other groups? Or wear a mask? Or do not socially distance themselves?" said Huffman, who is an emergency room doctor. “Could that be the explanation for why the higher incidence?”

Huffman clarified that he meant to say “people of color” rather than “the colored population,” and that he had asked the question to further his understanding. His employer, TeamHealth, subsequently fired him.

"His employer, TeamHealth, subsequently fired him."

For what? For having a hard time believing that his nation is generally racist against blacks? And an even harder time believing that the black population's COVID rates are somehow related to racism? He has a hard time with this because he nor anybody he knows personally fits the bill of "racist" and because it's absurd to blame every woe of the black community on racism.

I see what they're doing.

Ask yourself, what comes next? What resources will be wasted addressing this phony "public health crisis"? And when does this all end?

I think it's obvious that they want to label racism a "public health crisis" so that they can get all the "benefits" of one. The precedent around public health crises is that we pass legislation that sidesteps the constitution and infringes on your rights, all for the sake of keeping everyone healthy and safe (of course); The precedent is more power for the government and their serfs, in this case, the Democrats.

Ben Franklin

The fact of the matter is, in an actual crisis (it's 2020, we're in an actual crisis, dealing with COVID-19), there are more than enough civil men and women who rise to make the sort of sacrifices and compromises needed for their family and community. New laws to force them to do so are frankly unnecessary, but there are those in power who will never let a good crisis go to waste and will capitalize on the opportunity to wedge yet another tyrannical, constitution-breaking law through legislation. The heap grows bigger and bigger each year--and although we may manage to remove a few over the next 4 years or so, that's about as big a win as putting out parts of a house fire with spoons of water.

The way progressives behave reminds me of the bad guys in The Lion King. Scar and his hyenas, due to their bad ideas and lack of self control, found themselves not being able to live among the rest of the animals because, when they did, they'd eat all of the resources and upset the delicate balance of the ecosystem. They were kept in check by a noble king, Mufasa, who made sure their needs were met, but banished them to the elephant graveyard for as long as they were unwilling to follow the same laws as everyone else.

Scar deceitfully kills Mufasa, tricks everyone into believing Simba did it, and becomes the new king of the land. Within no time at all (how long does it take a cub to become a full grown lion?) the resources were all drained, and by the time Simba returned, everyone (including Scar and the hyenas) were hungrier (and angrier) than before.

The progressives are as shortsighted and resentful as Scar and his hyenas, and if we let them run things, we'll be on a fast track to destroying our very own Pride Rock, the United States of America (and the rest of the West if we're not careful. I actually think the UK might have it worse than the USA right now).

I think we need to respond strongly to this obvious attempt to slowly, but surely, take over a once-great, unique nation that set trends for freedom all around the world. We cannot let the so-called "progressives" regress our nation into one that resembles Soviet Russia, Communist China or worse, an anarchist third world country.

I understand a significant portion of our country has the opinion that "systemic racism" is a problem that our society faces and must address today, but, as the article points out, there is very little empirical evidence for this claim, it's a nuanced issue and is hard to demonstrate.

Opinions are not facts, and these particular opinions aren't even based on facts; they are speculations of a generation of people captivated by the drama promised by a Marxist worldview.

If we are going to start going around labeling and considering which phenomena are mental illnesses (10) and public health crises, the paradoxical and destructive mind of Marxists seems like a better candidate than racism does.

If you'd like to learn more about the mental health crisis in America, please watch the presentation by Stefan Molyneux titled "The Destruction of America's Mental Health Care System" (11) and ask yourself if, perhaps, the public health crisis we are enduring and needs addressing is unchecked and subsidized mental illness--not racism (which, mind you, is overly checked and never subsidized).

Links

(1) Racism Is a Public Health Crisis, Say Cities and Counties

https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2020/06/15/racism-is-a-public-health-crisis-say-cities-and-counties

(2) Spectre of racism in health and health care: lessons from history and the United States

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1113412/

(3) Meghan Murphy: Canadian feminist's trans talk sparks uproar

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50214341

(4) Stefan Molyneux suspended from Twitter just days after receiving YouTube ban

https://theunionjournal.com/stefan-molyneux-suspended-from-twitter-just-days-after-receiving-youtube-ban-rt-world-news/

(5) Non-aggression principle

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-aggression_principle

(6) Rising Obesity in the United States Is a Public Health Crisis

https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2018/rising-obesity-united-states-public-health-crisis

(7) NIH on Mental Illness

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness.shtml

(8) Wikipedia - Marxism

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxism

(9) Merriam-Webster has a new definition of “racism”

https://www.vox.com/identities/2020/6/10/21286656/merriam-webster-racism-definition

(10) Vice News | Is Racism a Mental Illness?

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/dyzd57/is-racism-a-mental-illness

(11) The Destruction of America's Mental Health Care System

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7cyjt9


I don't drink caffeine


I don't drink caffeine.

At least, that's what I say every time I quit drinking caffeine. This is probably the 5th or 6th time I have quit (cold turkey, by the way). The longest I've gone without it was almost 6 months. Usually, though, I quit for a month at a time, or a couple of weeks at a time.

My last bit of caffeine was 9 days ago on July 13, 2020, one day before my 32nd birthday, and that's because I made a few commitments this month, including:

- No social media
- No caffeine
- Write more

I'm 9 days in, and I'm doing really well! Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Parler and other sites have been deleted from my phone and logged out of, I haven't had a drop of caffeine, and my journal has more writing in it from the last 9 days than it does from the last 9 months!

So why did I title this "I don't drink caffeine" and not "I'm taking one month off caffeine?"

Well, because I've decided that who I want to be includes not drinking caffeine. It's a bold declaration, but I mean it.

Hold me accountable!
 


I don't drink caffeine.

At least, that's what I say every time I quit drinking caffeine. This is probably the 5th or 6th time I have quit (cold turkey, by the way). The longest I've gone without it was almost 6 months. Usually, though, I quit for a month at a time, or a couple of weeks at a time.

My last bit of caffeine was 9 days ago on July 13, 2020, one day before my 32nd birthday, and that's because I made a few commitments this month, including:

No social media

No caffeine

Write more

I'm 9 days in, and I'm doing really well! Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Parler and other sites have been deleted from my phone and logged out of, I haven't had a drop of caffeine, and my journal has more writing in it from the last 9 days than it does from the last 9 months!

So why did I title this "I don't drink caffeine" and not "I'm taking one month off caffeine?"

Well, because I've decided that who I want to be includes not drinking caffeine. It's a bold declaration, but I mean it.

Hold me accountable!


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Hello, world!


Welcome to johnmcglone.com!

This website is distinct from my other website [jpmcglone.com](https://www.jpmcglone.com). Here, I am myself; John Patrick McGlone, Jr. 

JP McGlone is the pen name I use for my work and for my LLC.

Please stay tuned as I make updates to this site and share my mind with you. As of today (July 21, 2020), this site does not yet have RSS capabilities. I hope to change that very soon!

![John McGlone](/images/me.jpg)

Welcome to johnmcglone.com!

This website is distinct from my other website jpmcglone.com. Here, I am myself; John Patrick McGlone, Jr.

JP McGlone is the pen name I use for my work and for my LLC.

Please stay tuned as I make updates to this site and share my mind with you. As of today (July 21, 2020), this site does not yet have RSS capabilities. I hope to change that very soon!

John McGlone


Writer's Block

 
Plenty of ideas

Cluttered in my head,

Instead of screaming out,

I write them instead.

Too many ideas,

Flutter out together,

Thoughts of love,

News, sports and weather.

"But what do I write about?" I say,

Where do I start?

So I split my ideas

Into three different parts.

Part 1: Emotions -

Like love and hate.

Part 2: Memories -

Both bad and great.

Part 3 is for everything else

That didn't quite fit.

Then I write and I write,

And eventually quit.

I can't think of anything

That's catchy or rhymes,

I try to control myself,

But I don't have the time.

I want to write a good poem,

Really I do,

But I have writer's block,

How about you?

Secret Crush

 
I look, I stare.

For you I care.

But I don't dare

Let you know how I feel.

I've been hurt before,

My heart's still sore,

And although its you I adore,

I keep my feelings hidden,

Locked, and forbidden

From everyone's knowing.

So I don't tell you how I feel,

Instead my heart is sealed.

But I promise to you

That when my heart is healed,

I will let down this shield

And let you know how I feel

about you.

But for now you remain

Just the same.

<br/>

You're my secret crush.

I look, I stare.

For you I care.

But I don't dare

Let you know how I feel.

I've been hurt before,

My heart's still sore,

And although its you I adore,

I keep my feelings hidden,

Locked, and forbidden

From everyone's knowing.

So I don't tell you how I feel,

Instead my heart is sealed.

But I promise to you

That when my heart is healed,

I will let down this shield

And let you know how I feel

about you.

But for now you remain

Just the same.



You're my secret crush.


All posts