Around in Circles

This is not my own text, but it is by far one of the most influential things I have read in my life. on reddit user breakfastpotato provided the following:

Don’t rock the boat.

I’ve been thinking about this phrase a lot lately, about how unfair it is. Because we aren’t the ones rocking the boat. It’s the crazy lady jumping up and down and running side to side. Not the one sitting in the corner quietly not giving a fuck.

At some point in her youth, Mum/MIL gave the boat a little nudge. And look how everyone jumped to steady the boat! So she does it again, and again. Soon her family is in the habit of swaying to counteract the crazy. She moves left, they move right, balance is restored (temporarily). Life goes on. People move on to boats of their own.

The boat-rocker can’t survive in a boat by herself. She’s never had to face the consequences of her rocking. She’ll tip over. So she finds an enabler: someone so proud of his boat-steadying skills that he secretly (or not so secretly) lives for the rocking.

The boat-rocker escalates. The boat-steadier can’t manage alone, but can’t let the boat tip. After all, he’s the best boat-steadier ever, and that can’t be true if his boat capsizes, so therefore his boat can’t capsize. How can they fix the situation?

Ballast!

And the next generation of boat-steadiers is born.

A born boat-steadier doesn’t know what solid ground feels like. He’s so used to the constant swaying that anything else feels wrong and he’ll fall over. There’s a good chance the boat-rocker never taught him to swim either. He’ll jump at the slightest twitch like his life depends on it, because it did .

When you’re in their boat, you’re expected to help steady it. When you decline, the other boat-steadiers get resentful. Look at you, just sitting there while they do all the work! They don’t see that you aren’t the one making the boat rock. They might not even see the life rafts available for them to get out. All they know is that the boat can’t be allowed to tip, and you’re not helping.

Now you and your DH get a boat of your own. With him not there, the balance of the boat changes. The remaining boat-steadiers have to work even harder.

While a rocking boat is most concerning to those inside, it does cause ripples. The nearby boats start to worry. They’re getting splashed! Somebody do something!

So the flying monkeys are dispatched. Can’t you and DH see how much better it is for everyone (else) if you just get back on the boat and keep it steady? It would make their lives so much easier.

You know what would be easier? If they all just chucked the bitch overboard.

It’s currently holding a little under 19000 rounds of ammo.

I just finished setting it up about an hour ago, so I only have an initial review:

It was not packaged well, the cheap foam was basically turned into powder in the box (and was a disaster to clean up). the safe didn’t seem too malformed, door open/closes/locks without issue, and it sits flat on the carpet.

The center support was slightly bent though.. I was able to straighten it out, so what ever. it was just flopping around in the cabinet, along with a box containing the shelves and the screws/nuts. FedEx was not kind to this shipment.

You have to assemble the shelves, the instructions suck. It’s a simple process, but trying to follow the directions actually made it harder.

I wish it had more shelves, since I just shoved my kid’s rifle in there for fun, I would rather have two more shelves.

The locking mechanism is not strong. It would not last long against a serious attack. My goal was to keep my kids out of it. My wife and I are also working on possibly getting custody of a niece, so wanted to make sure ALL gun stuff was behind lock and key since we’ll have advocates and lawyers in our house at some point in the near to distant future. it’s also in my home office that has real door with a real lock on it as well, that is always locked when I’m not in here.

For $190 with free shipping I cannot complain too much. at least my ammo isn’t just crammed into my closet, and is locked away from the kids.

There is a big issue when those, who have to enforce laws, know that the laws that are being passed are insane and based on 0 fact, only fear and control. I applaud the Yuma County Sheriff, and I Look to other leaders in our community to also recognize the insanity that is happening at a federal level.

In the last month or so, 20+ US states have passed laws declaring their support of our constitution, and rejection of Federal laws that remove God given rights. there are more that are following. At what point do we start calling things what they are? We have entered a cold civil war, where the federal government is over stepping it’s bounds, and the states are starting to push back.

Our constitution is a divine document, Written through the inspiration of God, our church leaders have been clear on that issue. This is not a democrat/republican thing. This is us, fighting against the devil and his angels. Fighting against evil. Fighting to keep the agency our God has given us, to fight off the control of Satan. His plan has always been the same. To force us to his will, to bend us to his creation, to remove all ability to chose, so he can gain the glory.

I implore you, Support those who support our constitution, reject those who seek to subjugate us, and take away our will, take away our freedoms. The bill of rights is not the government giving us rights, it is the government recognizing the rights we have as children of our God, as Humans, as people.

For anybody reading this, I have been in a months long legal struggle to get custody of a niece. The situation she lives in is untenable. It is not safe for a child, it’s not healthy for a child, and she is lacking some very necessary developmental milestones, and she is nearly a teenager. We tried to support the family member she lives with, but they have cut us off, and refuse any and all help.

So we started legal proceedings. Before Christmas. It is now nearing the end of march. What is taking so long? The “process” and a judge who refuses to make a decision.

Paperwork pending for weeks, several hearings only to have to hire more lawyers to “gather more information”. all while a child is at risk of abuse and neglect. Tens of thousands of dollars spent on lawyer and court fees.

The system doesn’t care about the kid, they care about not being responsible for the decisions they should be responsible for, and they care about sucking as much money from people as possible. Who cares what happens to the kid? Not their problem

I 100% understand why kids fall through the cracks. I never understood it before, but now I 100% do. It’s utter bull crap. People just give up, because they run out of money and emotional stamina. The only winners are the lawyers.

-AIC