Tag Manipulators

It’s Been Real…

Elle Reverie Leave a comment

Disappointing.

Life, as we know it, in the here and now, can be so damn annoying, tedious, infuriating and exhausting. We establish boundaries, set clear intentions and then the world’s biggest narcissists and gaslighters blow right past those carefully erected safeguards without any consideration of the harm they cause. They simply do not care and act as if anyone who dares get upset with being treated poorly is merely over-reacting or are too sensitive. The scent of gas follows them everywhere, as does the stink of purposeful manipulation.

And, why should they care? In the entitled history of many a soul-sucker’s existence throughout time, the word NO doesn’t register. Nor has it been used with great frequency to correct, castigate or call out their bad behavior. Horrible people will exploit others…you know how this story goes.

But, does it really have to GO this way? Nope. It does not…we just continue turning the cheek and ignoring the red flags because Little Johnny is just doing what his parents taught him to do, piss all over anyone different from him in a flagrant attempt at establishing dominance. Winners win! Losers get tricked, cheated, lied to or, worst yet, guilted into conceding because Little Johnny is going to get uglier until he gets his way. It’s just easier if you step aside and let him win you know?

Spoiled to their rotten core.

But, you can’t say that to Johnny’s face or his pampering parents will carry on, in like manner, threatening legal action, shouting about how they are being discriminated against or oppressed. We know they aren’t and they know they aren’t but projection and deflection are powerful tools for liars and cheats.

Now, before we go too far, yes, I am white and yes, I am talking about the atrocious behavior of other white people. No metaphors here. I can only speak to that which I personally know and I know how terrible white people can act when they see a win on the horizon but there are minority obstacles in the way. It may sound harsh to word it that way but how else can I describe what I see? The willful trampling of others to get to the top of the heap while crowing about the need for those less entitled to pull themselves up. “I did it! Why can’t they?” Yeah, why can’t they Johnny? Is it because you are still standing on their necks?

HOW DARE YOU DRAW ATTENTION TO OUR EVIL SKELETONS!!!

I do dare because it is important. I am fucking tired of tone deaf, willfully ignorant people who say insensitive things as an afterthought because if they didn’t experience it then they don’t believe the lived experiences of others not like them. To live in such a pristine bubble! But, is it really? No, it’s messy and full of contradictions that scream hypocrisy while those of the same ilk look the other way. Not me! I’m superior!

Jesus Christ, what a bunch of losers.

Hell, even Jesus, if he actually existed, wouldn’t like the loud and obnoxious crew that marches around claiming to be his righteous disciples. Okay, now that cat is way out of the bag so I suppose I should address the fact that I don’t prescribe to any religious book club so before anyone comments that they will pray for me just save it. I don’t believe what you believe and therefore your rules of deluded engagement don’t apply to me. That IS how it works you know? Your beliefs are yours and my beliefs are mine and that’s perfectly fine. Relax. You have your ticket to heaven all set right? So why do you care what I do?

*I wrote the above collection of words prior to the 2024 presidential election and am just now looking through my drafts folder. So apropos!

Now, back to little Johnny. Apparently, half of America is full of entitled, asshole Johnny’s who don’t give a shit about anyone else but themselves, their fragile egos and, apparently a few cents off on gas. Offer them a coupon for 50 cents off a hamburger and they would vote for satan himself over protecting women’s rights, LGBTQIA+ rights, or any other rights marginalized groups deserve. Get that? They value money above all else and even the dirt poor ones think they will be rewarded monetarily by Donald “The Shart of the Deal” Trump. Nah, he hates the poor, even the ones that fawn all over him and send in their last Social Security dime in exchange for a cheap-ass, ugly red hat made in China.

“It’s the red hat that replaced the white hood”

Awww, now that’s not fair! Not all of his cult followers are racists!! Hmmm, to align one’s self with darkness is to condone the darkness and by DARKNESS I mean hateful racism, xenophobia, homophobia, sexism, ableism, fascism, anti-semitism, authoritarianism, all the bad isms. He is that and more all rolled up in a bloated orange bag of flatulent gas. Own him and his “concepts of a plan”, he’s your albatross now.

I know, I know, the hackles are raising on the back of the necks of the MAGA faithful. Salty tears are welling up in those blinded eyes, darkened to reason, kindness, empathy, dare I say, love even? How can these good “Christians” who claim to love Jesus so much resort to covering up lies and looking the other way each time their manly Genghis Don sins openly while dancing like he’s jerking two dicks to an iconic gay anthem like YMCA? Does he realize? Do his followers get it? Probably not, he’s their Orange Jesus and can do no wrong.

Catastrophic meteor! Kill us all now!!!!

I really don’t know where I was originally going with this when I first started writing it months ago. Maybe I was planning to discuss how I wished people were kinder, more thoughtful, less brainwashed, less gaslighty. “I know you are but what am I?” It’s SO tiring and I think I’m done wishing for the impossible. Chalk it up to long COVID brain, lead poisoning for the older folk, mental illness, fetal alcohol syndrome, I don’t know. What I DO know is that I am done debating, pleading, educating and hoping they will change. They are gone and I, and every other wise person I know are moving on.

It is time to move through life as if these lost souls are nothing more than sad ghosts, because they are absolutely not living in this reality anymore. They are on the brain eating worm, decapitate a whale, dump a dead baby bear in Central Park and laugh about it train with RFK Jr. It looks pretty crazy when it’s written out like that doesn’t it??? And believe me, if I hadn’t seen the interviews and podcasts Robert F. Wackado did confessing the depravity above I would say it was nuts too.

These are MAGA’s best and brightest. And, ya’ll gave that shit the stamp of approval when you voted for him. Can’t pick and choose, Trump and his band of miscreants are a package deal and you can’t have one without the whole insane bunch of rotten bananas. You will be known both by the company you keep and by the behavior you silently condone. You may have not committed the acts but each time an excuse is offered or an offense is brushed off it becomes a mark on your character, your integrity, your honor and, ultimately, your soul.

It has been disappointing and frightening to watch so many people become lost to the virus that is MAGA but now that I understand there is no rehabilitation, I can breathe. I am not afraid and am at peace with everything and anything that is about to happen. We get what we get and we don’t complain but I also know that the main lesson I have learned from all of this is that MAGAism has broken the spell of wanting to help everyone in need for many people in America. I will help MAM only moving forward. Me. And. Mine. It’s the consequence that naturally occurs when people continually show you exactly who they, that they will never change, and that they don’t care about you.

Congratulations MAGA! My most fervent wish is that you all get everything you voted for. It was what you wanted after all and I accept that. I’m happy for you. There will be no “I told you so” admonishments because everything that went down happened because you felt it was the right thing to do. No regrets! No looking back. No asking if we can still be around one another, if we can put differences aside. That can’t happen anymore because it would fly in the face of everything you proclaimed you stood for. MAGA good, Democrats evil. Don’t jeopardize your souls, I would never ask you to!

So, bask in your victory because you earned it and kudos on all the winning.

© 2025-2026 L.A. Cobb

Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to “In the Land of Reverie” and L.A. Cobb (formerly L.A. Askew) with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Whose Grudge is it Anyway?

Elle Reverie Leave a comment

Have you ever gotten stuck in the middle of a drama trap and you had no idea how or why it started? You know I have! And, I am currently stuck in it for the entirety of the unforeseen future. It’s a soul-sucking loop of insanity that appears to have no end!

Now, in the middle of this battle, a fight that I didn’t start, comes the missive that I am STUBBORN. Yes, I know I can be but, in this case, I think I have a pretty good argument for why I should not concede. Does that make me the grudge holder or the grudge refuter? Not it!

Not my grudge, not my responsibility I say. But, does that mean that I won’t jump to help those who keep pulling me back into drama should they need it? I absolutely WILL help them and I have been trying desperately to make that clear. Got it? One has nothing to do with the other.

So, you may call me stubborn but am I stubborn because I refuse to let emotional bullies shit on me and my loved ones or is it because I refuse to roll over and accept responsibility for a conflict that I haven’t a clue about its true origins? Where does the desire to be THE BIGGER PERSON conflict with the need to protect ones immediate family from negative forces that have shown they cannot be trusted and most likely WILL do it again?

It conflicts right here I say.

And, even as I say that we can go back up two short paragraphs. Although I don’t trust the Grudge Family any further than I can throw them I would still save them from a burning building without hesitation. Because I’m not a dick and I do love my sisters and two of my misguided brothers. I can’t reserve a place in my heart for the brother that abused me or the parents that let him and then heaped their own shit-ton of abuse on me but…I do not wish any horrific tragedy on them. I just want them to stay in the past for good.

This is my line in the sand…don’t cross it!

God, what a confusing ball of contridictions family can be! Love them, hate them or hold them at arm’s length like you would a hissing cat. Do I apologize for another’s crimes in order to artificially piece back together the shame-filled family vase or stand my ground and maintain a steady footing in healthy reality? I love a good fictional tale but this one has an ending I can pretty much predict will not be enjoyable so I choose to not play and can only love from afar in hopes that reason finally breaks through.

https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/the-psychology-of-the-grudge

Why would any reasonable person accept responsibility for a one-sided, passive-aggressive argument fueled by assumption and paranoia anyway? When an irrational, hot-tempered blowtorch of, “Oh, you probably think I’m a bad parent!” is the first shot fired over a sinking boat’s bow a reasonable and RATIONAL person would tell that person to back up and try again. Nope, we don’t put words in anyone’s mouth here nor do we assume we know how anyone else thinks. Crazy making at its finest! No one wins when crazy is in charge.

The above passage may contain some of the words that launched this battle but, they aren’t the cause. That infection started many years before as just an annoying itch. And that itch fed on decades-long feelings of resentment, even abandonment maybe? I have no idea. We never had any REAL talks remember? Just scratching the surface; “How are you?” “I’m good.” “Let’s bitch about Mom/Dad/Brother/Sister.” Never once did I ever hear, “I really resent that you didn’t make an effort to hang out with me more when I was younger.” “You just left me here with THEM.”

https://chopra.com/articles/how-to-release-the-past-and-return-to-love

Is THAT what this is really about? I can only guess. The odds of getting a reasonable and honest answer are pretty slim so I won’t hold my breath. I would like to know though, it’s part of my curious nature, and I would also like to be part of helping work through that mess of feelings. I honestly would.

The main reason my life record is currently stuck and skipping over and over on this topic is that, maybe, I am using writing as a way to sort through my own emotions about this unpleasant chapter as well. Call that stubborn or call it emotional protection. Either way, if you, the creator of a grudge are reading this then maybe no one needs to apologize at all. Maybe we all just need to promise to do no further harm.

You may think that the vitriol you served up was justified but think about it from where I stand for a moment. Do you protect your immediate family? Yes? Without hesitation? Well, so do I. Simple as that. Now, it’s time to protect myself and as I am doing that I am also learning, growing and prioritizing my energies.

The amazing irony here is that it’s really hard to hear that it’s all on me to fix a problem that I never knew I had until a flurry of text temper tantrums and social media diarrhea proved otherwise. Cat’s out of the bag now, can’t hide that mangey disgusting thing anymore so either admit you own it like me or walk away.

The choice is yours.

© 2019 L.A. Askew

Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to “In the Land of Reverie” with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

An Ode to Rage…

Elle Reverie Leave a comment 
Bark! Bark! Bark!
Finger Point! Outrage!
Blame. Blame. Blame.
I know you are but what am I?

Lurk. Lurk. Lurk.
Eyes scan for evidence.
Blame. Blame. Blame.
You've always been this way!

Whatabout? Whatabout? Whatabout?
Face reddens. Hot! Steaming!
Blame. Blame. Blame.
Adicted to the rage and cannot walk away.

Anger is an energy. Sometimes it spurs on positive action and sometimes it fills up the negative well inside those void of personal insight, those who thrive on conflict. Gotta rant. Gotta rage. It’s all they know so I guess I shouldn’t have expected anything else.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/01/charles-duhigg-american-anger/576424/

I am not a devotee of chaos like some but I will say that given the option of being treated like an afterthought, only good for the occasional favor, and saying how I feel no matter the consequences…I will choose the latter. Like it or not.

https://www.everydayhealth.com/news/whats-your-anger-type/

And, to those that choose to take offense and those who purposely fan the flames of discord in order to keep the grudge going? I’m going to let it burn out. I’m done. You can win this hollow victory.

When you burn shit down you go all the way to the ground

Take offense or take my carefully considered words to heart, I care not which is chosen. Just do something different because this worn-out record is excruciating to listen to any longer and I am tired.

© 2019 L.A. Askew

Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to “In the Land of Reverie” with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.