The Chastisement of the Sea's Star (Poem)

The Chastisement of the Sea's Star
by Emmanuel Mendoza Hernandez
11 May 2020

Written by an abashed friend comforting his bashed friend.

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A post shared by Emmanuel Hernandez (@reversetheleon) on Apr 22, 2018 at 9:32pm PDT

Copenhagen, 2018. This was the photo I remembered when I wrote this poem. I wish you well, friend.

She is a nymph of the sea, and I a mortal wizard. She is my friend by platonic covenant deep and a true. I cannot forbid her from her lover. I can only offer wisdom and comfort.

The madman Neptune calls for her violently when the temporal lords have forbade it. She will break oaths and laws to be with frothy-mouthed Neptune.

Wizard: What can you do when the wisps of the sea call you?

Her: I will endure the whips of judgment upon me by the forbidding time and seasons, covertly breaching protocols of binding. No spell can these temporal lords bind me away from him.

Wizard: Deny him, deny yourself. The calls of the sea has its moment but now is not the time to be reunited to Aphrodite's plaything, drastic Neptune!

Her: Alas, my love calls for me, forbidden is our meeting.
I shall come upon his far shores and speak untruths to the bloody gatekeepers to be with him, sweet freedom, he is.

I have longed for his charging tides and sandy, shifty yet serene paths, my love, the sea!

I will lie to my teeth to be with him, my frothy mouthed lover, warm to the touch of the sun! I shall drink the wines of wrath, I care not the consequences.

Alas, my wise friend, I care not for their idolatrous cries or your truthful words of protection.

I am hurt by the chains of being enclosed two moons far away from my frothy sea, forbidden to touch him, until the plague's required isolation ends.

Let me be, seize me not! You have no hold on me, wizard! My friend, depart.

Wizard: Be on your way. I have indeed no hold on you, old friend.

And thus the wrath of the population of the earth cry out for blood and the Wizard was swept by the tides, helpless.

And the Earth, and all its denizens, gnashed their teeth against her flesh and spat her out.

- End.

On Toxic Relationships, A Very Short Reflection

We hurl the term "toxic" around too much, too many times and with the attitude to end relationships to heal ourselves alone. 

I fear for the forgetting of the fact that healing can come in repairs and reparations between people too.

It's been a while.

Writing is therapeutic.

The Zaofu Question: An Overthinking of the Legend of Korra's Post - Earth Empire Politics

The City-State of Zaofu of the Metal Clan. Taken from Google Images.

I’ve seen a few posts about the Legend of Korra recently and I remembered writing about Zaofu a few months back. I would appreciate your inputs and feedback on this. I did a little research while writing this and the feedback of more knowledgeable people would be really helpful. I actually consulted a law student friend on this but I haven’t gone full scale research on this topic.

The Zaofu Question

My mind went rant-y and crazy when I tried answering a question posted in Avatar Wiki, a wiki website concerning itself with the Avatar franchise containing articles about the Legend of Aang, Legend of Korra and everything in between and beyond. The question was: “Do you think Suyin will accept Wu's plan for democratic Earth states?” by Gilgamesh777 of the Avatar Wiki. I couldn’t post my lengthy reply in the wiki somehow, so I decided to post it here.

A supporting statement even followed the main question:

“At the end of Lok, Wu stated he intended to abolish the EK monarchy in favor of independent states with elected leaders. However, do you think Suyin would step down so an elected individual could run her city, or at the very least submit to the elected leader of the state Zaofu is located in (as it has been shown not to obey the monarchy in the past)?”

Yes, I overthought about a fictional animated series’ state of politics. Yes, I overthought about the state of affairs of a series that ended almost three years ago. To quote Avatar Korra, “deal with it!”

My elaborated answer is as follows:

Most likely Suyin Beifong will agree to it, in terms of all the other Earth Kingdom States. However, will she allow this to happen in her own city-state of Zaofu? At some level she might agree to this but we have to tackle her views based on what was presented in the series and the unique state of Zaofu.

I. Suyin Beifong's views

She did speak out against the old system of the Earth Kingdom, saying that the Earth Queen should "step aside" (Episode, The Metal Clan). However she also showed her disagreement with the imposition of her political views upon the entire Earth Kingdom through force, in contrast to Kuvira. This gives me the impression that goes along the lines of continuing the old system through new leaders, as with installing King Wu, or as far as she prefers a peaceful transition out of the old Earth Kingdom Monarchy, to a new kind of government. What kind of government that would be, she is not shown to be clear on that. She might tend to have the other States decide for themselves as to what kind of government they want to have. If elections are to occur in all States of the Earth Kingdom that would mean Zaofu would tend to follow this. Would Suyin allow this? This would be a very important question to Suyin as it will directly affect her and Zaofu's status.

II. Zaofu as both city-state and private property

Effectively, Suyin is again the Matriarch of Zaofu after the fall of the Earth Empire. Suyin might agree to the new system that King Wu and Avatar Korra might establish but as for the fate of Zaofu itself, it really depends on many factors: Suyin herself, the Avatar and the about-to-abdicate King, the people of Zaofu (the Metal Clan), and the State/s around Zaofu especially the government involved in some capacity in the selling of the land that became Zaofu to Suyin.

Zaofu, before the fall of the Earth Queen, was effectively a city-state. It was initially autonomous and transitioned to a sort of independent status when the Earth Kingdom's central government fell. Even Kuvira recognizes this in some level when she calls the people of Zaofu as "citizens of Zaofu" and not rebels or something to that effect, even affording full citizenship to the people of Zaofu to her Earth Empire (Episode, Battle of Zaofu). Kuvira recognized their innate citizenship to the old Earth Kingdom and incorporated them into her new Earth Empire, the supposed successor state. With the fall of the Earth Empire however, Zaofu reverts back to Suyin Beifong's Matriarchy. She could allow for free elections to occur in Zaofu to determine a new government. She might even run and be elected herself but the fact remains: Suyin Beifong and her successors have a special claim to Zaofu: Zaofu's land is private property owned by Suyin Beifong.

Remember that in essence, Zaofu is a plot of land bought by Suyin and is therefore private property (Episode, The Metal Clan). It has to be considered though that the private property depends on how huge the plot of land she bought is; whether Suyin refers only to her estate in Zaofu or the entirety of Zaofu or even a portion of it. The Earth Kingdom's successor state/s and/or King Wu, as the head of the central government, might respect this fact and allow Suyin some freedom, either full or to some extent. Assuming that the entirety of Zaofu is the land she bought long ago and also assuming that all parties accept the fact that the land occupied by Zaofu is indeed Suyin's private property, she will have rights to the land of Zaofu. However, since Zaofu is also a city-state, this does not mean that the people are mere settlers or occupants of Suyin's private property. Most of them are Earth Kingdom citizens and will determine how. It's a really hybrid mix of private property and a de facto state existing in it.

III. Personal conclusion

In the end, I believe it will be resolved through a dialogue with King Wu and Avatar Korra, all the States of the Earth Kingdom, Suyin Beifong, and representatives of Zaofu other than the Beifongs. Suyin has been presented as “enlightened” (Episode, After All These Years), innovative and compassionate. The facts above will be considered in their discussions to bring about a new deal that would be ultimately for the good of all, Zaofu and the Earth Kingdom States.

#IceBearForPresident...or Emperor/Lord/What-have-you

"What's life without whimsy?" - Dr. Sheldon Cooper

    I realized that blog posts don't have to be lengthy or serious. I should just write about whatever's on my head. Sure, politics, religion, philosophy and so much more are always in my head but hey, I'm no super serious guy. To quote Sheldon Cooper, "what's life without whimsy?"

I've recently been hooked to this new Cartoon Network show, We Bare Bears. It's not out of character for me to like a kid's show but this show has similar themes to the likes of Adventure Time. It's audience is wide, from little kids who don't get the innuendos to young adults who just laugh like kids.

My lord, Ice Bear is scheming...

Anyway the point of this devotional post is Ice Bear. #ICEBEAR #TEAMICEBEAR #ICEBEARFORPRESIDENT

ICE BEAR WANTS JUSTICE! JUSTICE FOR ALL!

I swear, every episode makes me love him more and more. The monotonous voice, the suave, his independence in contrast to his brothers' neediness, the cooking skills and the cultural awareness. I'll shorten the spazzz: I love you Ice Bear. I'm pretty sure I am not alone in my devotion to this fictional polar bear of awesomeness.

Essay: My Personal Brand of Social Justice, Essay II - Chivalry is Dead To Me But Equality Is Immortal

Essay II
Chivalry is dead to me but equality is immortal.

"Knight in Shining Armor" so they say. Puh-lease! Those days are over! We should be each others knights, defending each others' rights. Taken from Google.

     I remember this one time in college, I think it was a lecture of sorts and the auditorium was packed. Even when I decided to go to the venue early, the hall was packed. I moved around looking for any place where I can sit on. Luckily, I was able to hunt a seat down near the front. A little while later a girl passed by, also looking for a seat. A male acquaintance was standing by the wall, near my seat, and told me to vacate my seat for “the lady”. I told him no. I found this seat first and she and I had equal opportunity to look for seats and I just happened to see the seat first. He insisted I stand because she was a girl and I was a guy. Good grief. Chivalry. Ugh. 

I may come off as undignified in the earlier paragraph but I made my stand. I was tired, eager to listen to the lecture and came earlier. She was the same. Why should I give up my seat? I didn't know her personally but I saw her around and I think we had a class together. I was sure she wasn't sick, had a physical disability or pregnant. Why should I give up my seat just because of an old notion of chivalry?

For the record, I would have given up my seat on the basis of need or want. We were in equal footing at that point so I see no point to give her special treatment. I value sex and gender equality and equal opportunity very highly.

    I see a problem of three conflicting matters here: the now general and accepted notion of sex and gender equality, the chivalrous notion that women should have special treatment because it was a man’s duty to provide that and the tendency of some women to use only what is beneficial in the earlier two.  These three were in play in the earlier story. I’ll focus on the latter two. 

     First, chivalry should be dead in the mistaken notion that it is a man’s duty to provide and serve a woman on the basis of the shallow fact that simply she is a woman. It implies that a woman, by nature, is weak and needs to be helped by a man and I find that offensive. Second, the female in the story only wanted the benefits from both chivalry and equal opportunity without any regard to the indignity of the former and the responsibilities of the latter. When women clamored for their rights, the idea was equality and not special treatment. Though special consideration must be afforded them because of the unequal position they were in for the most part. This is done to balance the scales so they are able to rise into a position of equal footing, in terms of providing them safe passage into opportunities and protection of the law. We also have to admit that biologically, males are stronger than females. The special laws and policies exist to balance both sexes. We should not give special treatment because of an outdated and ridiculous notion. The situation is not the ideal yet but we’ll get there. 

     Long story short, I believe chivalry is dead and equality is immortal. I believe a lover should afford comfort and ease to his beloved because of love and not because of sex or gender.

Rant: "I will not speak ill of the dead because you are dead to me"

I will not speak ill of the dead because you are dead to me.

I will honor your past and not look forward to your future.

Sometimes I falter and slip and join in the festivities of hate against you.

But mind you, I can never bring myself to hate you in full.

And I take my words back and recall your goodness too.

I balance out the bad I say with the good you've done.

To be objective, so to speak.

I mean you aren't evil incarnate, after all

Even if it feels like it.

You will always be loved.

Somehow, somewhat

But for sure that will dwindle.

I pray for my friends,

Harder for my foes.

The only way for me to get a grasp of things,

Is to kill you,

In my head, in my heart, my fantasies and my imagination

But let you live in my memory and in the scars,

That toughen me and bind me together as a person.

I try not to speak evil of you but I cannot lie

When the faults are so cracked before all.

But I will always be your advocate somewhat,

A devil's advocate in a sense.

You are zombie to me.

I should not speak ill of the dead.

But I should stab the living death out of you.

Essay: My Personal Brand of Social Justice, Essay I - Eww, Cooties!

My Personal Brand of Social Justice

Essay I

Eww, Cooties! (How I liberated the slide for girls and boys alike)

I remember it was a red free-standing slide. It was iconic to me and my views of feminism and egalitarianism. Of course, the slide from my experience was less fancy.

Even as a kid, I've always had this egalitarian notion. The first episode of this, as far as I can remember was when I was playing with my classmates during recess. It was way back when we were all first grade. A friend of mine barred all the girls from using the slide. When the girls insisted in using the slides, he would shove them off and even ask the other boys to help him out. I guess even in that tender age, I had this sense of justice and I felt it was violated. I went to ask him as to why we wouldn't let the girls use the slides. He said, with so much conviction, that they were different and he didn't want anyone too different and weird to play with him and his friends. He said that he was a boy and he would rather play with his own kind. I retorted quickly with a mild violence. I walked up to his face, starred him down and told him “Different? That doesn't make sense. We’re all very different here”. It caused a rift between us for a while but it cooled off after a few days, after all, we were all first graders. Children at this point have not learned to keep grudges, well generally speaking. We made peace later on and he told me that he didn't like playing with girls because he was scared of the cooties he has heard of in the cartoons he saw.

Let’s look at the details of these events. My friend was scared of cooties. Cooties, for those of you who were wondering and too lazy to search it on the web is this kid’s myth about germs or parasites that are said to be present in girls. If you think about it, my friend’s reaction was valid. He was tenderly young and to be presented with this threat would make him wary and avoid whoever had this threat. However, we know that there are not such things as cooties. Human-loving parasites yes, but not actual parasites that particularly reside in females. I found it ridiculous as a young child. The multitude of encyclopedias and my early access to the infancy of the Internet probably shaped my thinking to be critical of these things even at that young age. I don’t know but what’s for certain, I didn't buy into that cooties myth at age seven. I was also later affirmed when I saw this cartoon that a boy was labeled as having cooties instead and girls feared him. Powerpuff girls. Go figure. LOL

Even as young as seven, the seeds of my egalitarian or even feminist views were growing. I look back into that event, now armed with education, experience and insight. That tale of old has become the core of future beliefs on justice and equality.

    In later reflections, I recalled that event. I realized that fear was a powerful thing. Misunderstanding can lead to baseless violence and hatred. Fueled with ignorance and misinformation, fear blazes enough to make people do the most heinous acts. Relating this early experience with further experiences and stories of history, I realized it was ignorance and fear that kept people separated. People receive bad information about other people and create prejudices against them. From these prejudices flow stereotypes and rots into racism. These prejudices, as you may know, aren't exclusive to the categories of race, gender, sex, religion, what Game of Thrones house you swear fealty to. Whatever sense of division or categorization can indeed sprout to divisions, prejudices and violence. All it takes is fear, ignorance and misunderstanding to make things worse.