Yesterday, one of my writing jobs people sent me a potential job where the client wanted a story about a sex addict, who travels the entire Yoonited States and fails to find a virgin to 'cure him' of his addiction.
So by some accident of fate or I don't know, lack of google maps/men don't ask for directions thing, he ends up in Africa. Where he finds a village where naked African virgins are running wild, not speaking English, reading or writing; just hanging out being naked.
If you have sex with one of these virgins, you have to marry her or lose a finger.
So the guy finds his magical African virgin sex addict cure vagina and has sex with it. And voila! Cured.
Except...
He's tempted by three other virgins and has sex with them too. As a result, he loses three fingers. Virgin number one takes care of him, lovingly, gently and after seven years, he marries her.
I firmly declined to write it.
I know somewhere on Rihanna's internet, a man is asking "what's wrong with this storyline?" They're saying "I'd read it."
Yeah, okay. So you write it.
I, as an African, a former virgin forcibly relieved of that virginity, and as a woman, cannot.
Let's start with the sexism that says, a. there are no virgins in America because...reasons.
b. virginity is a cure for disease - this is an actually harmful idea that has seen children raped by men infected with HIV because 'virginity is a cure'.
c. Africa has villages of naked virgins - okay this is sexism/racism. I'm surprised the word 'natives' was not used. A simple breed, easily led, have not discovered clothes, have no purpose other than to satisfy the sexual desire of males...the ways in which this is wrong is endless.
"But Annemarie, you're a ghostwriter. You're getting paid to write. What does it matter what you write about?"
As long as you're getting paid, what's the problem? is an answer I see to many things on Donald Trump's internet. Yes, Michael Joseph is a racist but if he makes money for Safaricom, who cares? Donald Trump is trafficking children, but he knows how to make a deal so what's the problem? Jobs for African Americans have risen by 50%!
If you're making money, then what's the problem?
Integrity.
It's a thing that used to exist.
Now it's been strangled by consumerism.
Well...not completely. Pockets of resistance do remain. I saw this story on Twitter about a Starbucks throwing out five cops because 'they made the customers feel unsafe.'
I mean...
High five guys.
Finally, someone is looking at cops and seeing them for what they are; the biggest most violent, gang in the world.
Nike actually listened to Colin Kaepernick about racist sneakers, they've stood behind Caster Semenya in her battles as well as Serena Williams.
Also, Rihanna exists.
So these are all good things.
Of course, it's easier for me to talk about integrity now, in 2019, when I have more work than I seriously have time for; maybe if I hadn't worked for two months, I would have shut up and written the damn story. There is, after all, a difference between consumerism and poverty. I'm glad I did not have to make that choice between my integrity versus necessity. Been there, done that and it still bothers me to this day.
So perhaps it's counterproductive to judge what people are going through when they do things that just seem out there. These days Twitter just seems full of angry people sifting through the internet looking for things to be mad about. An Arab guy posted an email - with the email address displayed - from a white supremacist essentially saying white is right and white power. And this new zen me was like, 'gosh this guy must be so afraid. Because now everyone else is discovering what white people have known for centuries. Their only talents are stealing from other races and taking credit for the hard work of black and brown people. Now if black and brown people discover what they're up to, it's over for them. Hence, the escalated shouting about whites being better.'
I felt kinda sorry for him. Standing to lose everything that has kept you going must be so hard.
Well, I have a secret for you Mr White Supremacist - you already lost.
But even with all the horrific things going on in the world, mostly in America according to my tl, there is just so much anger on the Internet. People are 'angry' at DJT but instead of mobilizing voters or impeaching him - you know, something practical - they just repeat his words online with the disclaimer that they're very angry about it. Nobody cares about your feelings. Fuck your feelings. Put up or shut up. It's a waste of time to articulate your self-righteous anger if there is no action behind it. It just becomes posturing to prove to the internet that you didn't vote for Trump (you did). The faux shock at everything Trump does as if he has changed even one iota from when he was campaigning is just...
Anywho, me and my zen self refuse to participate.
It's not just politics which is exhausting. Fan wars can get so juvenile sometimes you have to continuously remind yourself that these aren't Onion affiliates. I cannot even repeat some of the posts because girl...too much. It's only fiction guys, relax. Find a hobby. There are just too many real things in the world worth getting upset about. But I guess, white privilege.
Anyway
I want the parents of the world to do me a favour and help their kids find an internal compass that is not dependent on what is going on around you. You do this by allowing your kids to make decisions from as early on as possible and then validating those decisions in terms of letting them carry out the actions behind those decisions and letting them learn from their own mistakes. Let them form their own opinions about people and things without trying to impose your own on them. You have society trying to mould them into whatever is easiest and it's a battle to constantly push back on that and let them be what is right not just for you or them, but what is right, period. No qualifications. You know what it is, it's maybe just too hard to always do the right thing. Isn't that sad?
Here's a book about someone who struggled constantly with the right thing, as opposed to the easier one. She kinds of reminds me of Ilhan.
So by some accident of fate or I don't know, lack of google maps/men don't ask for directions thing, he ends up in Africa. Where he finds a village where naked African virgins are running wild, not speaking English, reading or writing; just hanging out being naked.
If you have sex with one of these virgins, you have to marry her or lose a finger.
So the guy finds his magical African virgin sex addict cure vagina and has sex with it. And voila! Cured.
Except...
He's tempted by three other virgins and has sex with them too. As a result, he loses three fingers. Virgin number one takes care of him, lovingly, gently and after seven years, he marries her.
I firmly declined to write it.
I know somewhere on Rihanna's internet, a man is asking "what's wrong with this storyline?" They're saying "I'd read it."
Yeah, okay. So you write it.
Let's start with the sexism that says, a. there are no virgins in America because...reasons.
b. virginity is a cure for disease - this is an actually harmful idea that has seen children raped by men infected with HIV because 'virginity is a cure'.
c. Africa has villages of naked virgins - okay this is sexism/racism. I'm surprised the word 'natives' was not used. A simple breed, easily led, have not discovered clothes, have no purpose other than to satisfy the sexual desire of males...the ways in which this is wrong is endless.
"But Annemarie, you're a ghostwriter. You're getting paid to write. What does it matter what you write about?"
As long as you're getting paid, what's the problem? is an answer I see to many things on Donald Trump's internet. Yes, Michael Joseph is a racist but if he makes money for Safaricom, who cares? Donald Trump is trafficking children, but he knows how to make a deal so what's the problem? Jobs for African Americans have risen by 50%!
If you're making money, then what's the problem?
Integrity.
It's a thing that used to exist.
Now it's been strangled by consumerism.
Well...not completely. Pockets of resistance do remain. I saw this story on Twitter about a Starbucks throwing out five cops because 'they made the customers feel unsafe.'
I mean...
High five guys.
Finally, someone is looking at cops and seeing them for what they are; the biggest most violent, gang in the world.
Nike actually listened to Colin Kaepernick about racist sneakers, they've stood behind Caster Semenya in her battles as well as Serena Williams.
Also, Rihanna exists.
So these are all good things.
So perhaps it's counterproductive to judge what people are going through when they do things that just seem out there. These days Twitter just seems full of angry people sifting through the internet looking for things to be mad about. An Arab guy posted an email - with the email address displayed - from a white supremacist essentially saying white is right and white power. And this new zen me was like, 'gosh this guy must be so afraid. Because now everyone else is discovering what white people have known for centuries. Their only talents are stealing from other races and taking credit for the hard work of black and brown people. Now if black and brown people discover what they're up to, it's over for them. Hence, the escalated shouting about whites being better.'
I felt kinda sorry for him. Standing to lose everything that has kept you going must be so hard.
Well, I have a secret for you Mr White Supremacist - you already lost.
Anywho, me and my zen self refuse to participate.
It's not just politics which is exhausting. Fan wars can get so juvenile sometimes you have to continuously remind yourself that these aren't Onion affiliates. I cannot even repeat some of the posts because girl...too much. It's only fiction guys, relax. Find a hobby. There are just too many real things in the world worth getting upset about. But I guess, white privilege.
Anyway
Here's a book about someone who struggled constantly with the right thing, as opposed to the easier one. She kinds of reminds me of Ilhan.
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