Imagine being homeless in winter

Many homeless suffer from mental issues. But what's the cause and what's the effect? Are people homeless because they have a mental problem or does homelessness cause mental issues?

In Finland they had been studying the problem for years. Conclusion of the report: the problem most people have with homeless people is that they are out on the streets and cause irritations by begging, being drunk, relieving themselves in alleys, smell bad and so on. The problem for most homeless people turned out to be...not having a home.

This is what Finland did to solve the problem and is now the only country in the world where the number of homeless people has dropped: they gave homes to the homeless.

Click here to see how many homeless people (per 100,000 inhabitants) your country has. For The Netherlands (one of the richest countries in the world!) that number is 23.

What's the number of homeless people in your country?

The good news is that governments are looking at Finland's succes and follow its example. On a tiny scale, but still. Like in Dorset. But only until temperatures rise again. Because apparently homelessness is less of a problem when it's not freezing.

Another 'real English' solution is this plan, launched by The Conservative Party:

(It's not photoshopped but authentic)

But if it solves the problem? Great! But perhaps it's a bit more effective to halve the amount of money billionaires receive in government handouts and use that money to help the homeless.

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Want to read (more of) my short stories? My author page: Terrence Weijnschenk at Amazon

Said (a short story about a sunrise)

The only sound he heard did little else than emphasise the silence that followed his unspoken question.

The slowly waking sun dressed the landscape gliding by in the magnificent display of colours you normally only see in artistically intended Science Fiction movies. 

The mood in the car was expressed in a delicate balance between serene peace and unspoken tensions.

She sat on the passenger seat and he on the back seat. That night they had worked together amicably and without noticing he had developed a slight crush on her. 

He leaned forward and put a hand on her shoulder. As if to say something. Outwardly unperturbed she let him for a little while.

Then she touched his hand with hers. First it was just her fingers, then she applied some pressure, radiating from her palm. The meaning was clear: his hand could and should not stay there.

Withdrawing his hand he also swallowed his unspoken words. They were no longer needed as everything had been said.

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Want to read (more of) my short stories? My author page: Terrence Weijnschenk at Amazon

Why is it logical to be illogical?

'Follow the money!' is what is said when people want to know who really is behind a scheme, a campaign, a war. Although not always (sometimes people are simply stupid) very often a scheme is set up, a campaign is divised, a war is started by the person(s) benifiting the most.

The 500 world's richest individuals added 1.8 trillion (just a bit more than an insane amount of money) to their wealth in the past year. Just Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk made enough in 2020 to send $2000 checks to 100 million suffering Americans. But have or will they? Nah. It's almost like only the rich profit from a crisis.

Of course that makes you think: is it coincidence that milions of people and companies have lost revenue since the outbreak of the Coronavirus, except for 'the 1 percent', meaning the world's most wealthiest?

Yes and no: they are the biggest 'winners' in every single crisis for the simple reason they have the most resources. Meaning they can anticipate more quickly, invest more money in counter-measures and so on. Often they have first hand knowledge. Because - for example - they are US senators.

Or do you think they are really such good invensters that they get a far higher percentage on their investments than civilians? Of course not. They simply know laws are in the making that will benefit certain companies so they start investing in those.

Would you do it? Probably. Because it's hard not to. The temptation is simply too great.

As we speak wealthy people are getting wealthier because they invested in the companies that are producing the anti-COVID19 vaccine and respirators. Does that mean they are the ones behind the pandemic? Not necessarily. Just people who are out for a quick buck. Take for instance the politicians Barr and Loeffler that knew a pandemic was at hand in February 2020, sold and bought millions of dollars worth of stock but in March still publicly denied Covid-19 was a serious problem. 

Just like the people who tell us masks don't work, the vaccine won't work and 'the Cabal' is behind the pandemic. How come those people themselves don't suffer from the virus financialy? Simple: they use mindtricks to get visitors to their websites to buy 'health products' like vitamins, food supplements, anti-5G radiation clothing, workshops that teach you 'how not to be a sheep that anyone who claims to be a doctor tells you is true'. Sold Told to you by someone who calls him or herself  'doctor' or 'The Healthranger'. 

You may have heard of Andrew Wakefield, the 'doctor' who is responsible for millions of people thinking having your children vaccinated will lead to them suffering from autism. Millions of people would now rather have a dead child than one who is a bit different from his or her friends. 

Mister Wakefield (when found out on cheating in his 'scientific' reports he got thrown out of his profession) wrote bad things about a vaccin for the sole purpose of promoting his own vaccin of which the worth of the patent skyrocketed. If Dante was still alive he would create a special ring in hell for people who profit of gullible people.

And people fall for it en masse, misguided (Click. Interesting article.) by website url's with the words 'truth' or 'natural' in them. Being pushed off track by repetition. As every politician and marketeer (the one sells ideas, the other goods and services) can tell you: if you state something often enough most people will automatically start believing it.

People like Andrew Wakefield and Mike Adams love stupid gullible people. So they absolutely adore Donald Trump.

Just an example: how many of you know the actual origin of Thanksgiving Day in stead of the story that has been told to you many times via several sources as a child? How many of you believe Santa Claus has been giving presents to kids for hundreds of years and not since the 1930s, when the character was invented by a marketeer on behalf of Coca Cola, a company that simply wanted people to buy their refreshing soda not only in summer?

So, how do you give 'anti-vaxxers' some facts so they will start thinking for themselves in stead of spending way too much on vitamins they could easily ingest- and for far less money - by eating oranges? You don't. Once people believe something they will defend that belief at any cost. Even if that means making a fool out of themselves because they now believe something that contradicts something they strongely believed in, just a few weeks earlier, depending on what's populair in their bubble. That system is called 'cognitive dissonance'. Sometimes just a way for people to deal with reality. Because they can't, they create their own.

I bet you have some strong beliefs too that, if you really think about it, actually are unbased. Perhaps you belief all homeless people are thieves, all muslims want to whipe out all christians, your neighbour is poor because she has a shitty car, the iPhone is the best device ever, there is no better singer than Justin Bieber....whatever you belief, it's okay. As long as you don't attack people for what they belief.

But how do you convince people that what they see as facts are really not?

Try this method:

So, what do you strongly belief in even though rationally you know it can't be true? For me it was: 'I can convince people their facts are often just fears.'

Want to read (more of) my short stories? My author page: Terrence Weijnschenk at Amazon

I'm sure it's true because I think I heard it

By know most people know a certain ex-president had the great thought of nuking hurricanes after he saw an old SciFi movie in which that was the preferred solution. In short: if something was on TV he believed it to be a fact. That doesn't only happen to old people with signs of dementia or drug addicts. We descend from people who didn't rely on Facebook and bad SciFi movies for information but relied on 'their own eyes and ears because they don't deceive you'. Guess what: they do. Because they make you think that wat you see and hear is true 'because you witness it personally.'

Most people have developed and can tell facts from fiction.

Yes, even kids who believe in Santa. They are not stupid. Of course they know that reindeers don't fly. But that they can in some other realm. Look at yourself crying over the death of a beloved soap-character. You know the person is not real. But does that mean your emotions are fake too?

Sometimes people are so convinced that something is true that not even cold hard facts can't convince them from the contrary. That means that either: they got their knowledge from social media but don't want to admit it or they were taught by their beloved parents and it would feel like betrayal to them to admit their parents were wrong.

So, in their minds they prefer to stay in this other realm where their parents or 'Karen on Facebook' are right. Don't argue because they suffer from cognitive dissonance. Like we all do, from time to time. I bet there was a time you were convinced of something even though the facts clearly stated you were mistaken. 

People who love to read know there is this 'other realm' where sometimes impossible things happen. They close the book and are back in reality. Some stay in the other realm. Don't get angry with them, don't call them fools. Just tell them that if they don't want alligators roaming the neighborhood, they should put a banana in their ears.

If people don't believe you, show them this clip - it was on TV as well as Facebook so thus must be true! - proving it works:

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Want to read (more of) my short stories? My author page: Terrence Weijnschenk at Amazon

Why did anyone ever think Donald Trump would make a great president?

Most elderly who would move, think, say and write like he does

would be institutionalised

It's okay to make stupid statements but from a president people expect he will have practiced his speech or had at least mastered the art of reading from a teleprompter:

In 1968 Republicans stated everyone who even looks at a Russian is a communist and should be put in jail. Or be hanged. In 2019 the same people say it's okay for their president to take orders from Russia.

Trump supporters in general support 'strong leadership'. By which they mean dictators.

Like this guy wearing a 'Pinochet did nothing wrong' t-shirt.

Trump may not be a nazi, his fanbase seems to think he is their Führer.

The last couple of years he has said some really amazingly stupid things:

But his fans simply chose the smartest among them:

Magats seem to be scared that by sharing their rights they will lose them.

Facts don't matter much to Trumpians. As a matter of fact (...), facts are considered a nuisance.

Information doesn't need to be real to them. As long as the info is presented as a fact, they will believe it. Even when they know for a fact (...) it can't be right.

When social media bans them or removes their posts, they like to scream: 'But my free speech!'

'Free speech' simply means you can't be jailed for making your statements. It doesn't mean a private company (social media, your local bar) can't ban you for saying stupid, racist things.

The people who bought $20 'Made in China' MAGA hats often behave like cult members.

Sometimes they even seem possessed:

Are they themselves so angry or is it the demon inside them?

There's an organisation called 'Proud Boys'

that acts like Trumps stormtroopers.

I googled a picture of them but am confused now:

Are these the 'Proud Boys' that see Trump as their Führer

or the gay men who though it'd be funny to hijack the hashtag #ProudBoys? 

And how come so many of them find it hard to read and understand simple facts?

While he really leave the White House on his own free will?

Some of his fans think he is adorable:

Why are people still defending him? They know he's got no money:

Is his regime a fascist regime? Maybe not. And it simply has all characteristics. That could be it, right?

He didn't write his own books and he probably never really read a book. So what's the presidential library going to look like?

Yes, he inicited a riot and practically ordered his 'troops' to attack the capitol to prevent Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to be officially chosen as the new president and vice president of the United States of America.

I wonder what he now thinks of his own tweet:

How come the Capitol was to poorly defended while the attack was announced weeks beforehand on social media sites like Parler and Gab?

The president did not condemn the violence and looting. Not until a few days later.

Did you know 'Hercules' is a Trump fan who is quick to condemn 'Antifa' but refuses to look at easy to prove facts? But 'Xena' put him in his place!

Somebody conjured up this picture. I love him or her! My caption: 

'This is what happens when you leave your five years old son alone for four years.'

What's yours?

The 35 years old US airforce veteran who was killed wasn't a very nice lady. She also thought she wouldn't get shot when she broke through a window and a security officer shouted 'Stop or I'll shoot!'. Perhaps thinking only black people get shot by law enforcement officers.

Thanks to Donald Trump a new symbol of hatred and bigotry has been added to the list

'Jake Angeli' (not his real name because idiots know all too well their actions and words are wrong) was probably surprised when he got arrested for braking into and entering a federal building.

This man, sitting at the desk of Nancy Pelosi, is also still alive. But arrested.

Ivanka seems to be saying: 'I'm smiling but my father has me hostage'. Could also be something else.

I've seen eyes like this with people on XTC.

Many Trumpists thought they could get away with stealing state property. Luckily they were wrong.

On privelege

This man stated the blood on his hands was from Ashli Babbit,

the young QAnon-believer who he claimed he held in his arms.

                                                             

Perhaps he has four arms and his other two arms are not holding his phone

but crawled over the floor to hold the woman who thought the guard

wouldn't shoot her because of her light skin colour.

In this picture it seems the police are telling people to stop what they're doing for a moment because the press wanted to take some pictures.

Known Trumpfans thought this really was Donald Trump, returning to Twitter after the medium banned him. Had they clicked the profile name they would have easily been able to tell it's fake. But that's Trumpfans for you: if something fits their narrative they don't question the authenticity.

Trump has even been banned from Pinterest!

What do you call it when a person in power gives all the best jobs to his friends and relatives?

Trump tried to run the military - just like the USA - as a business. It's not.

His followers seem litererally blind to his racism, bigotry and misogyny

Are all his supporters racists? Probably not. Just many.

Police clearing the way so Trump could walk to a the church across the strreet from the White House

Beware of people showing you a holy book and telling you they live by its contents

While in reality they have no clue what the words mean

Data shows this is how US law inforcement determines if someone is a protester or a rioter

'All the best people' show how much they love Trump

A field guide to civil unrest. And the reason why 'only five' people died when Capitol Hill was stormed by an angry mob.

I still think it's strange when in the first couple of months of his presidency his daughter and not his wife stayed in the White House with him

What is patriotism?

In one picture: how Trump left America to Biden

He has so many court cases against him piled up that this might well be his home for the rest of his life

I know of one person who would love to look him up there and gloat

Trump holds a unique record

His fans must be devastated.

Most suffer from cognitive dissonance

Yes, Twitter finally suspended his account for braking the Twitter-rules on lying, inciting violence and throwing insults to other users of the medium. 

People started cracking jokes on which medium Trump would resort to. Here's his 'Grindr profile'

Oh yeah, private companies can refuse people to make use of their service. Don't you forget!

More jokes were doing the rounds on social media

He actually had the audacity to create a new Twitter account, thinking @Jack wouldn't find out.

So he joined Parler, 'Twitter' for people who got kicked of Twitter because of their racist and violent behaviour

And that whole 'coup' on January 6th 2021? None of the attackers actually had a goal, other than to get a few new selfies for their social media accounts.

It's easy to blame them for raiding the Capitol. It's hard to blame them for feeling abandoned. GOP Law makers telling them they should comply to rules while they themselves refuse to even wear masks inside the Capitol Building, a known hotspot for contracting Covid-19, is hard to digest. But for some reason they still think Trump will end their unemployment, boost the economy and what else. I simply don't get it.

Rudy Guiliani played an important role in the staged attack on the Capitol. During the siege (...) he tried to convince senator Tuberville to delay the confirmation of Biden and Harris. But called the wrong number. On top of that: Trump's lawyer was very friendly with 'The man with the horns'.

According to these two people and their boss, mr. Trump, this is a real patriot:

The role of police is being investigated. What's the deal with refusing access to press but simply let rioters (or - as police call them when they're not black - protesters) walk in to disturb a meeting, which is strictly forbidden?

When rioters gain access to a building you are defending,

don't arrest them but take selfies with them! Right?

Of course some law inforcement people tried to actually defend the Capitol. Like this brave cop who's leading a pack of QAnon-folk away from the chambers where state legislators were hiding.

The following footage is really disturbing so I'll just put the link here. Clicking it is at your discretion. It shows how an angry mob tries to kill a police officer. An other officer (and according to his socials a Trump loyalist. Killed by the same people who like to shout 'Blue lives matter!') was beaten to death with a fire extinguisher. After he was beaten with a lead pipe someone had taken to the Capitol. That makes it murder. Because you don't take a lead pipe with you because you're expecting rain.

Let's see if one day we will know why the police did not use their firearms. The protesters not being black couldn't have anything to do with it, right?

On the side of the protesters people died too. Ashli Babbit when she got shot when breaking and entering. A protester - wearing a sign 'don't tread on me' - got trampled to death. And another protest...rioter...died of a heart attack after he tasered himself in the family jewels and perhaps that's why the police was reluctant to say how those rioters died and left it to state 'medical issues'. Goes to show these fanatics are not the smartest of people. 

One of the people in the mob was Derrick Evans, on normal days a lawmaker, on this day a lawbreaker.

In 2016 he lost elections as a Democrat. Retried as a Libertarian but came in last. So he decided to try again, this time posing as a Republican. And won because his constituents are even dumber than he is: 'Hey, Trump is a Republican and this guy is a Republican. I have no idea what he stands for but he's part of our tribe so let's give him our vote!' In Dutch we call such a person 'Windvaan', the thing you see in top of large poles and are often red and white so from the ground you can easily see where the wind is coming from. I believe in English the word is 'Windbag.' It's their job to look colourful and to turn on every wind. You'll find the same description under 'Politician' in Republican dictionaries.

(Speaking of windbags: Trump registered as a Republican in Manhattan in 1987 and since that time has changed his party affiliation five times.)

He livestreamed his criminal actions and later deleted the video, hoping none of his 30,000 Facebook followers had made a copy and his boss would never see what he did. Like fistbumping and officer who let mr. Evans and his fellow rioters in. In his defense: mr. Evans did ask some of the idiots swinging bats and knives not to touch the artwork in The Capitol. How very nice of him.

Did Trump incite the violence? Perhaps not. But somebody threw him as a lit match into a box full of unused matches:

Republican politicians were forced to take a standpoint. Some of the had the guts to publicly denounce Trump. But most responded like this:

People all over the world - including most Americans - are relieved this president did not get a second term. Except maybe for comedians: they will have to make up their own jokes again.

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Want to read (more of) my short stories? My author page: Terrence Weijnschenk at Amazon