tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284893230469697578.post9092615342208383161..comments2024-03-27T19:35:11.320+07:00Comments on <b>Postcards from the End of [the] America[n Empire]</b>: Linh Dinhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00328959360983573810noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284893230469697578.post-47289519453439502232015-04-01T21:15:42.722+07:002015-04-01T21:15:42.722+07:00Hi Dabney,
Since I go into countless places where...Hi Dabney,<br /><br />Since I go into countless places where I don't quite belong, and since I'm often drinking when I'm out and yakking with people, you can say I'm not a very guarded person. Honestly, I did not think Don would turn nasty on me, and I believed that partly because I thought I had made some friends in that bar, and also because I had approached Don before I left the bar momentarily with the other guy. I thought Don and I were cool.<br /><br />LinhLinh Dinhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00328959360983573810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284893230469697578.post-53134710297847227522015-04-01T21:10:30.184+07:002015-04-01T21:10:30.184+07:00Have you heard of Gavin de Becker's book, &quo...Have you heard of Gavin de Becker's book, "The Gift of Fear?" He describes how most women, before they are raped, have an instinct that something bad is going to happen to them, but dismiss it as paranoia, or reason away their suspicions.<br /><br />I guess you could chalk it up to the booze, or the nature of your work (soliciting stories from a variety of characters), but didn't you see it coming with Don, even a little?Dabneynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284893230469697578.post-87777523308708345102013-10-08T02:25:26.241+07:002013-10-08T02:25:26.241+07:00Hi Todd,
All of my photos are here, on this blog!...Hi Todd,<br /><br />All of my photos are here, on this blog! There are nearly 6,400 images to look at...<br /><br /><br />LinhLinh Dinhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00328959360983573810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284893230469697578.post-78315899856893221362013-10-08T00:37:16.278+07:002013-10-08T00:37:16.278+07:00I want to see your photos, but won't join Yaho...I want to see your photos, but won't join Yahoo to do it, any other options?<br /><br />Cheers,<br />-ToddAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284893230469697578.post-1893927496444455292013-10-04T20:36:40.928+07:002013-10-04T20:36:40.928+07:00Hi gypsytravash,
Since "the bars are the onl...Hi gypsytravash,<br /><br />Since "the bars are the only spaces left for the lumpen proletariat," in your words, I can't help but go into them.<br /><br />When inside a business, I don't use my camera if people object, but it's not like I have a choice, really. Sometimes I ask for permission. Sometimes I take photos of people I was already engaged with. Sometimes they ask to have their pictures taken. Sometimes, though, I do sneak. <br /><br />Some examples of my bar photos: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/15845742@N03/6060113938/" rel="nofollow">1</a>, <a href="http://linhdinhphotos.blogspot.com/2012/04/its-poetry-month-so-im-blogging-at.html" rel="nofollow">2</a>, <a href="http://linhdinhphotos.blogspot.com/2010/07/woman-at-new-ontario-cleveland-by.html" rel="nofollow">3</a>, <a href="http://linhdinhphotos.blogspot.com/2010/03/couple-overland-park-by-linhdinh99-on.html" rel="nofollow">4</a> and <a href="http://linhdinhphotos.blogspot.com/2009/11/laughing-women-overland-park-by.html" rel="nofollow">5</a>.<br /><br />LinhLinh Dinhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00328959360983573810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284893230469697578.post-13858404795649512652013-10-04T14:19:12.908+07:002013-10-04T14:19:12.908+07:00Hi Linh,
Personally, I am wary of bars when I vis...Hi Linh,<br /><br />Personally, I am wary of bars when I visit a new town. I still travel, but bars can be sketchy and especially in the KFEA, or USA. I don't even like visiting certain restaurants and cafes. A few of those places can attract the wrong crowd - and obviously, you encountered one of those joints. <br /><br />In the actual KFEA, there are few spaces now open for the ex-felons, low life indigents and trailer trash. Most inner city public libraries are filled with not just reading patrons, but the homeless and the down and out - and especially on cold days. At least in the public library the cops don't harass them or put them in prison. Now many urban public libraries have anxious security buffoons, and this is also the main reason why some urban politicians want to close down the local libraries. <br /><br />Bars in the KFEA wasteland are even worse because bars in our land don't care about any community ambiance. They only want our money, so you got that nasty experience with the asshole owner who got pissed over you taking photos inside the bar. After a hard night drinking in a bar, I have even lost close to 100$! I don't make enough money to waste it all on booze. I never give the bar my bank-credit card, I have had too many bad experiences in the past with that one. And we still have to tip those bastards! Most Amerikan bars just have alcohol, boredom and 24 hour TV media propaganda - a deadly mix for the emotional hurting. <br /><br />But besides hard Evangelical Christian churches, or what I call them, religious hucksters and fascist recruiters, the bars are the only spaces left for the lumpen proletariat, or as we call them in the US, the trailer trash to congregate. Inside both the church and the bar, the low life patrons can simply let loose. <br /><br />And when those people let loose under alcohol, they explode with all of that institutional violence that they have experienced in their lives of unending suffering: general poverty that causes broken families, rat infested buildings, no social safety nets, prison-jail time, cop beatings, day to day bullying, periods of homelessness and chronic unemployment. <br /><br />Where I live out west, I rarely go out drinking even though I have been living in this small city for a few years. There are too many nasty drunks, guys that can't hold their booze, and the most dangerous element, the angry and frustrated men that are looking to literally 'go out with a bang.' Now most people in town drink inside their own homes - and it is a lot more safer and cheaper. I would rather die fighting for my dignity and freedom. <br /><br />I am super wary before entering inside a new bar-club in a new town when I am out alone. I look for certain signals by glancing quickly through the windows. This has to be done prudently because certain bars are nervous for danger outside. The signs I look for are the lonely-looking, both men and women, drinking alone, gangs of rough guys drinking in packs: cholos, rednecks, wiseguys, bikers, cowboys or super jocks, or if I notice that the bartenders' or owner's friends and buddies are the only ones sitting at the bar. <br /><br />If the dark bar, resto or cafe has no windows, then I won't go in alone to explore. Those days are definitely over. When I was young, it was fun - but now? I also avoid bars and clubs that have gorilla-door guys hanging out front. This means that the bar-club has had trouble before. One never knows these days. <br /><br />Also, one has to take into account the whole DUI thing. Donut cops now hang out around bars in order to swoop down and destroy the lives of the unwary - and I just don't mean at night anymore.<br /><br />Sorry you had that nasty experience inside the dive in Norristown. But at least you are truly experiencing the actual rot and the leftovers from the Amerikan nightmare of institutionalized violence. <br /><br />Good luck, bro.gypsytravashnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284893230469697578.post-27439021378336151642013-10-03T06:38:05.926+07:002013-10-03T06:38:05.926+07:00drunks can be like wild beasts in the zoo -- they ...drunks can be like wild beasts in the zoo -- they may seem tame and docile, but when they sense vulnerability that instinct to kill comes out. hell, a man doesn't even need to be drunk if he's desperate or down-and-out enough, and will take your life for a few dollars. while we think of this as typical of some uncivilized society, today's USA has a finely cultivated culture of senseless and random violence... so stay safe, man. you don't the doctor bills.Uncle Buckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07858055093280587359noreply@blogger.com