Usually I begin my pieces with some type of epiloguish opening and then I start bringing the baby in for a landing; not that that is a bad thing but I wanna try to get away from doing that and just begin by jumping into my writing the way I assume some of my readers jump into their reading. I was compelled to do the epiloguish approach one more time due to the title of this piece. I know right off-hand what some folks reaction may be - "Why is he writing about that, did he just start Atripla or what??" You all should know me well enough by now to know that there is a reason behind everything I write. With that being the case.....
Yesterday I did something that I view as kind of naughty (in the priority-sense) but most likely something that most folks wouldn't even shrug at, let alone think twice about. When I returned home to my tiny apartment after Physical Therapy - only 2 more weeks! Yes!!! - I sat down in my easy chair in my minute living room and said to myself "Today, I am not doing jackshit!" No sorting through paperwork and bills, no cleaning or organization projects - after all, there is only so much you can do of that crap when you have been virtually homebound for the past 4 to 5 weeks, ya know? - and no turning on the computer, not even to check messages. And I think it would be very healthy if we all could do that from time to time, just take one single day off to do nothing. Some of us do not have sucha luxury but for those who do get that opportunity, please, treat yourself, you deserve it - hell, everyone deserves a day like that once in awhile.
What did I do? I sat on my 44 year old ass in my easy chair and watched TV all day AND all night - and I loved it! No cooking, no phonecalls, no nothing - just simply watching tv and leaving that chair for only 2 reasons - to throw freezer food in the microwave for meals and to use the sandbox. I thought of no one but myself and damn, once-in-a-blue-moon solitude is underrated. There are several of my very dear friends whom I wish I could give that kinda day to whenever they needed it - and even to those of you whom I do not know personally, I hope that you too can have a day like that from time to time.
I watched the Ghost Hunters International marathon on SyFy and it was beyond fantastic!! I haven't watched the American version of it starring the TAPS team from Rhode Island in years so when I flicked the tv on and saw it I thought to myself "Well, even if I get a teeny tiny bit scared, it's not like I'm in one of those creepy-looking, three-story Victorians out in the boondocks, I'm in a tiny hole-in-the-wall located next door and across the hall from other tiny hole-in-the-walls!!" Seriously though, it does take a lot to give me a good fright - I'm the type of person who could watch several showings of "Psycho" one-after-the-other and take a shower totally in the dark and not be scared, though please, do not try that, it's meant to be analogous! I haven't really watched much tv since I bought my laptop over a year and a half ago but I gotta admit, it was great watching Ghost Hunters though there sure are a ton of commercials on tv these days arent there?
The basis of this show, which is very similiar to the American/TAPS version, is that the investigative team attempts to debunk and/or validate paranormal phenomena and the like when it comes to the suspected/alleged existence of ghosts. Personally, I think they do a great job but between the two I like the International version better because for some reason the European peoples seem to be more accepting and open-minded towards the concept of "the other side"or an afterllife than the majority of Americans. However, there is one thing I do not like about the show, more specifically, that I do not like about a certain tactic used by some of the actual Ghost Hunters themselves and I feel compelled to address it.
On numerous occassions at the various haunting sites, one or more of the Ghost Hunters, would demonstrate the concept of "provoking" or more like "rigorously insulting" the ghost(s) as a stimulus to draw them out, to encourage them to communicate clearly with the hunters. In a few very rare instances this method did work but in most cases nothing whatsoever happened. And then I thought about it - why the hell would that apprroach work? After all, if someone was trying to communicate with you and they attempted to do so by insulting you and making derogatory comments towards you, how would you respond? In most cases, you would either ignore them or lash out at them; after all, that's how most of us would react to such behavior anyways.
But this needs to be taken one step further. Regardless of what your religious and/or spiritual beliefs are, I think it is both wrong, as well as hypocritical, for anyone, trained investigator or not, to provoke anyone, not just another human being but especially a ghost. Yes, I realize it may sound crazy to some, but I am defending the rights of ghosts. Actually, I'd be more apt to use the correct term -spirits - but for sake of clarity I will take the liberty of calling them ghosts in this piece.
Think about it. Thanks to the love that many folks have for horror films and things of a supernatural nature, most of us have been indoctrinated to think that ghosts are the bad guy, if they are encountered they must be gotten rid of or destroyed because everyone knows this has to be done for look at how they lash out at people and attack and possess people! As much as I treasure my beloved Hollywood, almost every supernatural film having to do with ghosts is nothing but a grand canyon of lies as well as a perennial banquet of purely unadulterated bullshit. It's very similiar to the "us-versus-them" concept that destroyed the great Native American populations when the Amercan West was settled. Just as with ghosts, the Native Americans weren't harming anyone, they were just living their lives, minding their own business - and, I think that's exactly what ghosts are doing too; after all, who's doing the hunting here? Definitely not them.
And no, don't retort back with "Well, ghosts really don't belong here, they need to move onward." True as that may be in most cases, who the hell are any of us to judge, let alone demand, that a ghost do this or that? They exist on a totally different level of the universe than we do. Plus, they aren't taking up any space that is intended for us human beings only so the divide-n-conquer approach is non-applicable in their instance as well. One needs to ask - what right do the living have to make demands on the dead, or even vice-versa for that matter? Yes, I will agree that the veil between our two plains of existence can be extremely thin and fragile at times but damn, this pre-pubescent concept of "Well, we are here to seek you out and you must speak to us whether you like it or not" is something I find both extremely irrational and irritating. Why if I was a ghost and someone said that to me my reponse would be "Oh yeah? Why dont you go fuck yourself with something hard and sandpapery Sparky!" I'm not being funny here, I am very serious about this.
But the #1 Kicker of it all is the blatantly prejudiced concept of "Well, we're living and they're dead so it doesnt matter what they think/feel, plus that makes us better than them." Who the hell came up with that one I'd like to ask? One of the main bottom lines is this - we go out about our daily lives and mind our own business - they go about their daily deaths and mind their own business. The majority of people are extremely startled when they encounter a ghost, they are frightened and it bothers them, to the point where they begin to hate what they fear and want to eliminate it. But here's where the human concept of ghosts totally falls apart - doesnt one find it interesting that in almost every single documented case the ghosts aren't the ones doing the hunting?
Try to look at it this way - if some stranger came into your home and started talking to you in a very offensive manner, in addition to becoming angry and asking them to leave, wouldn't you be taken aback by the experience and possibly become even more infuriated if they refused to leave? Why is it so hard for people in general to understand that a ghost could feel the same exact way when we come seeking them out? The issue isnt whether or not a ghost should be here or there - most ghosts that choose to communicate/interact with us humans are very much like us humans to begin with, not just because they were once living but because if you are nice to someone and talk to them kindly, 9 times outta 10 they will be extremely reciprocative with you. It doesnt take a big leap of faith to understand that, does it?
I'm not gonna tell Ghoster Hungers International, or any other paranormal investigative organization for that matter, how to run their business; but, I would like to make a suggestion - please try to tone down on that verbal provoking crap a bit, will you? Cause damn, if the shoe were on the other foot and a ghost was saying those exact same things to you guys & gals, why, that would be the end of the world. Not only is provoking of any kind wrong but why in good conscience would you provoke someone who is already dead? As much as I treasure the Universe and the world we live in, this is one of those few instances where human stupidity perplexes the living hell out of me. And one other thing - all those times their EVP recordings are played back with the phrase "Get Out" surfacing on them? Here's where the difference between ghosts and humans is crystal clear - if someone invaded our space, we wouldn't be so polite, would we? Think about it.
When I was growing up, I was always taught by my grandparents and the other elders of my family to always have respect for, as well as never make fun of, those things you dont understand because the Universe was created for a reason and so was everything in it. Communicating in a negative, offensive manner can only bring about unpleasent consequences or in some cases, literally no consequences at all. So I think if you're gonna attempt to communicate with any ghosts, I think being nice and pleasent will get you much further with them. Taking a few steps back from the subject itself, I think it's a very good thing when ghosts and humans can communicate with each other because there is so much about the afterlife they can share with us, and I don't mean just them giving us the reassurance that there is indeed an afterlife, but by sharing with us they are making a lot of us feel less fearful about what happens to us when we die. When you really think about it, they're actually the ones doing us a favor. Thank you for reading.
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