This is now the morning after the night before.usually refers to the unpleasant results of an earlier activity, especially overindulgence in alcohol. OR the day something has happened or someone has done something, especially something that they regret.
Fortunately that was not true in this instance. I did not have a hangover, nor did I do anything I did not regretted.
The night before was the FABULOUS Grand Opening of Lyf Hotel. It was nothing short of spectacular and I was there, dressed in my Nigerian abaya – one of the best dressed women there, if I do say so myself and I just did. It was definitely a gala event. Some photos and a reel or two will follow so you can see me in all of my glory. I am acting like I was drunk, but was not. Well, drunk on rich chocolate ice cream.
And I have something to show for it. I received a media bag which will be pictured. The media bag contained a cup. A LED fan, and stickers. It made me most happy. It was an affair to remember. I did get tired, stopped mingling retreating to Mojo Jojo where I was joined by Two young men – PSS and cousin PSN. More about their nicknames at a later time.
The evening was a bright light in the midst of a dismal time for the rest of the world. Well, we are all – all of us the world over are feeling a bit depressed, down, disheartened, all of that stuff. I am too despite the fact I have SO much to be grateful for. I do not live in California for one thing, do not pray Canadian taxes for another and have a defined benefit retirement pension plan for another. But oh my goodness – those fires in California, the Gaza genocide and Trump taking office. Oh my Allah.
Along came, just in the nick of time, an email containing the curative force of satire. I rejoiced and laughed when I read this. I do love you Sir Borowitz.
“WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—District of Columbia officials confirmed on Tuesday that they are constructing a fence around a federal government building to keep a sexual predator 500 feet away from the public. With a Monday deadline for completion of the barrier fast approaching, the calls to “build the wall” have only grown louder. “Once we got official word last week that the felon in question would not be going to prison, we immediately got to work on the fence,” D.C. spokesman Harland Dorrinson said. “We’re doing everything we can to keep people safe.” D.C. residents praised the decision to build the fence, but warned that one is still needed around the Supreme Court.”
You see what is funny and NOT FUNNY about that is that both the White House and the US Supreme Court house sexual predators. Indeed this is absolutely true. If one would speak of this in a rant (as I often do) no one would listen. Satire opens closed ears, laughter is a weapon against oppression.
Satire has been a topic in prior blogs. The search engine mentioned 41. This from my November 5, 2022, written when I was living in Canada.
“Evil exists and will continue to exist in this world. But one must learn how to deal with it, not get angry because anger is self defeating in all instances but particularly when dealing with evil. Laughing at it is the best remedy, which is why Andy Borowitz is an absolute treasure. Canada does not have an Andy Borowitz but there is an underground movement here in Edmonton. I was talking with many Edmontonians by phone, seeking guidance on several matters. One woman and I were talking (briefly) about our local evil – Alberta Premier Smith. There are underground jokes about the new Premier, her mandates and her funding of outrageous causes done to appease her supporters. This is one joke that is circulating.
She: The Premier is going to mandate not face masks but aprons. All women must wear them and she will supply funding so that each woman can have an apron of her very own – even if they do not have a kitchen to wear it in or even if they already have a vast collection. All shall be treated equally.
Me: Oh my goodness. That is SO funny. But I can see why she is going to do this – at a tremendous cost to taxpayers. It will appease her supporters who are, in the majority, white male chauvinists. It does make perfect sense I suppose to a warped mind.
Appease means to pacify or placate (someone) by acceding to their demands.
So Premier Smith’s supporters will be mollified, soothed, softened and tranquilized seeing women in aprons instead of business attire which provokes and inflames them. The expenditure of monies for useless aprons may have a different effect on other voters when they hear statements like the following.
Homeless Woman: I do not have a kitchen. I do not have a place to live. I do not have a job. This does not make me warm. This is useless.
Rich Entitled Woman: This apron is of such low quality! I have a hundred aprons that I do not wear anyway. I will throw it on the garbage heap.
This, of course, is satire. Satire is the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues. Humor, irony and exaggeration is easy to take, easy to listen to. But rage, and anger is not. Satire, if it is topical and funny can be a weapon, almost a lethal one. This is something that I must remember.”
I responded to an Instagram reel making good clean fun of the atrocities in Gaza,
Me: Excellent!! Humor is so important in these times. Laughing at Israel’s absurdities is a weapon, very rarely used and must be deployed.
My comment has received 1564 Likes at this moment in time.
So at this moment I am feeling proud of myself. I have remembered that satire, humor and irony can be a weapon.
It is now later in the day and just received news of a ceasefire from The National from Abu Daubi. . It seemed unbelievable. Turned to Al Jazeera to see a more somber and measured response, written by Afaf Al-Najjar a Palestinian journalist from Gaza.
“The announcement of a ceasefire agreement in Gaza undoubtedly marks a critical moment in the ongoing conflict. For those of us who have witnessed, experienced, and then watched, mourned, and advocated from afar, this pause in hostilities provides an opportunity to reflect on the past 15 months, and the heavy price paid for this fleeting calm.
As a Palestinian, receiving this news feels like standing in the eye of a storm, in a moment of ghostly calm surrounded by chaos and destruction. For me, at least it marks the end to the bloodshed, but the fact is, the ones we lost will never return, and these scars will never heal. How would a ceasefire ever change that fact.”
“The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Criminal Court (ICC), and their arrest warrants, which were meant to address crimes committed against our people, are overshadowed by political inaction. Will the world pursue these mechanisms when the war ends, or will justice be buried under a mountain of bureaucracy and indifference? The failure to enforce accountability before, during, and after the conflict reveals how deeply flawed these institutions are.Aid is vital, but it cannot heal the wounds of oppression. Temporary peace cannot replace the right to live freely and to dream beyond survival. This prompts another crucial question: Will Palestinians ever get their rights to have full control over their political and diplomatic path to justice, or will they always be eliminated from the political stage and portrayed to fit in the victim’s role? While international recognition of our plight is critical, we must chart a path towards independence from unreliable global powers She ends strongly. This is not to diminish the significance of the ceasefire for those whose lives hang in the balance every day. For many, it means the difference between life and death. But as a Palestinian, I cannot ignore the deeper truth: peace is not just the absence of war. It is the presence of justice. It is the freedom to live without fear, to rebuild without the certainty of destruction, to dream without limits. Anything less is not peace. It is survival. And survival is not enough for people who deserve so much more.”
The last two sentences are so powerful, and must be reread.
The blog is ending on a slightly optimistic note. One photograph taken the night before the gala opening shows a Lyf ballon floating high, with the colonial E and O in the background. A reel of the spirited Anandani family, a photo or two of my celebrating then a funny Me Time reel posted as a Story on Instagram. Received a response from a follower
He: Boyfriend?
Me: Not exactly. Proposed Step Son. PSS
Later I threw in Incredible to make it a four letter nickname. Hahaha
