My December to Remember 3: Day Thirteen
News: Hunter Biden defies House subpoena, skips deposition, shows up to the Hill to complain and claim dad was not “financially” involved in his crimes business dealings, contempt of Congress proceedings occurring.
NY Post alleges Harvard threatened legal action around their investigation into Claudine Gay’s alleged plagiarism two months ago.
COP28 countries agree to move away from fossil fuels.
Pro-Palestine protesters shut down L.A. highway.
I must have undiagnosed Adult Oppositional Defiant Disorder or something. It’s like I’m almost immune to listening to authority figures. But with the dingbats supposedly leading our country right now, can you really blame me? In all seriousness, I do have trouble listening to people who are ‘in charge’ of me. I catch myself rolling my eyes when a person with seniority asks me to do something I either don’t want to do or I think is dumb. I can’t help it. It just happens. But I know I need to pick my battles better. Because sometimes the hardheadedness can be an asset, even if the results don’t always play out in your favor.
Last August, I got called for federal jury duty. It was a scary moment in time because I don’t trust this federal government as far as I can throw them. And in a place like New York City, corruption runs deep. So who the hell knows what I was about to walk into? There are some funny instances during my day-and-a-half in the system which I’ll get to at a later date. This time it’s about the masks. Yes, in August 2022, New York was still requiring citizens to “mask up” in certain places. And federal property was certainly one of those places.
I had just come off being “required” to wear a mask inside the control room of my building (because of my “status”), and I wasn’t sure if I needed to wear one at the building on Pearl street. So I shoved my sparkly see-thru mask I got off Etsy in my bag just in case. Sure enough, the dreaded “FACE MASK REQUIRED” signs greeted me just inside the building. With a deep breath I kept on walking, watching all the people in front of me either already in a mask, or happily take the KN-95s they were handing out to us good citizens. When I got up to the guard, he handed me a mask. “No thanks,” I said, which baffled him a bit. He gave me a look (I think, I can’t really tell when half their faces are missing) and pointed me to the metal detectors. The female guard there asked me where my mask was, and didn’t the guard give me one at the front? “No, he did, but I refused it,” I told her. I knew I was not going to win this war and would eventually have to put one on, but something in me just kept pushing forward. She walked over to the guard at the front, grabbed a mask, and said I needed to wear it.
“But why?” I asked, not anticipating an answer. “It’s the rules,” she told me. “But I’m not sick,” I said. That didn’t matter. I told her I have this sparkly mask and that I’d wear that, but that wasn’t good enough. “It has to be the KN-95,” she said. “What am I, a painter?” my sarcastic ass fired back. Another guard came over to see who this defiant little weasel was, and I just kept saying over and over again that I don’t like wearing the masks, that I’m not sick, that I think this rule is stupid and I don’t get it. The guard just shrugged and told me I had to wear it. So I compromised. I said I’d put it on but I’m putting the sparkly mask over it because I don’t want to look like I’m sick. That seemed to satisfy everyone, even though the KN-95 was only half on my face, and my nose remained exposed. It was a bit of a character-defining moment for me, and solidified just how much of a stubborn prick I can be.
When the court dismissed me the next day, I walked out of the jury room and passed by the security team again, with my mask down, waving like I was a pageant queen on the homecoming float. Some waved back. But I bet you anything they were cursing that little sh*t who gave them such a hard time. I’m sorry, everyone. Sometimes I just need to make an abrasive and steely kind of point when I think no one else will listen.
There are some days I wish I wasn’t like this. That I’d know when to shut my big mouth up and just play the game. But then again, that might have gotten me the shot, which I know I would have regretted. I think this kind of defiance reveals a lot about a person, and not all of it is a good thing. It can get you in trouble, as I think the First Son is going to find out. But I’d rather people reveal who they truly are rather than put on a show and keep people guessing. You want to pretend your cause is righteous? Go right ahead. It’s all going to come out in the wash anyway. Even some of the most stubborn stains can be cleaned with the right solution.
Rules are there for a reason. Order is what keeps us going. But when the rules go against what’s natural, a little rebellion here and there never hurt nobody, right?
