HAMOUSE IN THE HOUSE

Mouse-o-Ramp

Last week, I participated in an event for Washington County where I was a panel member for a middle school kinda job fair...which means I got to talk about being an author. I met lots of seriously interesting kids, learned most middle school boys intend to play for the NBA, while many girls but certainly not all, still leaned toward service fields like nursing and social work. I sat next to a guy who was a rhythmic/music therapist, and he was way more interesting than I was. I drove home in a blinding, unseasonably heavy rainfall and when I walked into the basement, I heard what sounded like water hitting the bucket I keep on the shelf. It wasn't water....it was a mouse trying to escape, but I didn't know that so when I reached up to grab the bucket, the mouse jumped up. I screamed (startled not scared of mice) and dropped the bucket. The bugger ran behind the furnace. "Moron!" I yelled. "Had you stayed in the damn bucket I woulda taken you outside and let you go! Now, I must employ the Death by Peanut Butter Mouse-o-Ramp!" 

Needless to say, the offending mouse was in the bucket the next morning. Things were quiet for a couple of days, but knowing how mice work in Minnesota, the bucket remained. Then Saturday, I found mouse evidence on the baker's rack in the kitchen, but no mouse upstairs. Sunday morning, there was a mouse in the bucket. This morning, there were 3 in the bucket: mom, dad, and a little guy. It was time to call Dr. Mouselin, my mechuten who knows about these things. We checked the foundation, the basement, and the garage for possible entry points. We found one...and stuffed it with steel wool. We'll see what the next couple of days bring. 

Mice are a fact of life in suburban and rural Minnesota. Yes, they are cute, no I don't like drowning them, and would prefer to release them back into the wild when possible. HOWEVER, mice are rodents and I would prefer not to share living quarters with guys who spread a variety of diseases. But that does not prevent me from feeling bad about killing them. 

They are terrorists in cute, little, furry packets; quiet, sneaky, operating in the dark, with no remorse about destroying/contaminating your food supply. So tonight, as I was checking Mouse-o-Ramp before heading off to write tonight's episode, I caught myself saying, "There you go, you little terrorists. Mess with me, will you? You will not win!'  And then I thought about the movie MOUSEHUNT with Nathan Lane. And then I thought about me calling them terrorists. 

I know there are all sorts of metaphors and similes used in the propaganda war surrounding Israel and Hamas, and I do not make light of what's happening there. Not in the least. But the similarities made me think long and hard about my own world view. 

Obviously, there is no equivalency here. There just isn't. Or maybe it's my imagination running rampant as I plot the death and destruction of the mouse in the house. Truth is I really don't want to kill mice. Even the thought kinda creeps me out. But the bottom line is that they cannot live in this house. There is no way for me to communicate with them, to convince them to go back outside to be free. They're just lookin' for a warm nest and free food. BUT...and this is an important point....this is my house, and if I take away the bucket prematurely, they will invite all their friends in and this will escalate to something really, really ugly. 

And that's the reason there can be no cease-fire with Gaza. Even a humanitarian pause is risky, but less risky than a ceasefire. Gaza has always been the one to break the ceasefire agreements, there is no reason to believe a new one would do anything more than allow them to rearm and regroup...much the same way removing the Mouse-o-Ramp will allow mice to return to their friends to invite them in. 

Am I a terrible person for not wanting mice in the house? No. Nor am I a terrible person for not wanting to give Hamas any room to rearm. An idiotic, simplistic comparison to be sure, but for reasons I cannot adequately explain, it made me think about my positions, and arrive at the conclusion that a ceasefire is non-negotiable at this time. 

UPDATE: A little terrorist just ran past me and dashed under the fridge! Not to worry, a second Mouse-o-Ramp has been deployed. This has got to stop! But now, I may have a clue as to where they're coming from.....

The other thing that needs discussion is the wide ranging support for Hamas on college campuses and across the 18-28 age group. I think they're called GEN Z, but who knows and who cares? These are the members of the safe-space generation, the ones who think critical thinking is unnecessary for people who support extreme positions, because, quite frankly, thinking isn't one of their strong suits. Whatever. I just want to share this video asking people to sign petitions in support of Hamas.

Please watch this video. 

A lot of people will complain this is cherry-picking, or manipulating interviews, but they are missing the point. When you see people cheering for Hamas on campuses and in urban demonstrations, when you see LGBTQ folks protesting to free Palestine, they are completely unaware of what Hamas is, what Hamas does, and how Hamas kills its own citizens. When confronted with what they are supporting, not everyone chooses to believe facts on the ground, or admit, at the very least, that they are uninformed. The clip just shows it up close and personal. 

Do you think Germans went around saying "Gas the Jews" back in 1932? Probably not. 

It is the refusal of an entire generation of Americans to do their own research or homework to understand the positions they are taking. That puts us Jews in the crosshairs on both the extreme Left and the extreme Right wing of each party. And now that it's out in the open, it's apparently okay to talk about it. Take this guy Klingenberg running for the school board in Roseville, MN. Did you know that the Nazis were really trying to save Jews? I didn't either.  But this guys and his followers make it a point to spread this information as though it was true. 

On an interesting note, I do want to comment about Dean Phillips' run against President Biden: do not dismiss this guy out of hand. He is the only one who is playing the long hand. I hope by next week Feckless is sitting is a jail cell, but we can't count on that. Nor can we be so sure that Joe Biden's health will not be impacted by the incredible stress he is under. Oh, yeah, there may be other Dems playing the what if game, but Phillips is the only one currently putting it out there. I think he's cagier than the rest of us....and I'm not convinced he actually wants to be POTUS. Still....

The GOP is bound and determined to run a criminal with signs of dementia for president. What does that say about this country?

Frankly, I'm afraid to ask.

The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week

I'm writing this on Monday

Election Day is tomorrow.

Whatever races you have going, GO VOTE.

Especially in school board elections. 

They are way more important than you might think.