THE EXCLUSIVE MANUAL ON THE ONLY WAYS TO SKIN A CAT

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WARNING: CAT NAPPING WHILE READING THIS POST MAY BE CATEGORICALLY  CATASTROPHIC TO CATCHING THE ANALOGIES 

"There’s more than one way to skin a cat," is a proverb and a common saying that illustrates a principle, gives advice and shares a universal truth. We will examine and apply the meaning of this particular idiom. We no longer believe that"curiosity killed the cat," nor that "a cat has nine lives." The exact origin of the "skinning" phrase is debatable. Our research indicates that this idiom probably originated in a reference to "Money Diggers" back in 1840. "There’s more than one way to skin a cat" MEANS that there are many ways to do something or to achieve a goal. The oldest known "use" of the phrase dates back to 1854, in the work Way down East; or, Portraitures of Yankee Life by Seba Smith. However, this platitude also has its roots in older, similar phrases such as "there are more ways to kill a cat than choking it with cream." It may be that originally the animal in question was a dog, as a seventeenth-century proverb says that "there are more ways to kill a dog than hanging it." Enough history. Regardless of  who, how, when or where it came from, we have the definitive answer to this question. There are only two ways to skin a cat! The two methods are either "dead or alive." Which ever way we chose the cat will not be in favor of it. This analogy extends to many of the things we do in life and how we do them. Life is about finding solutions, there is no neutral place for "scaredy cats." Anything we attempt to do in life will result in making things better or worse. Contrary to how we feel or think about it, there is NO middle ground. Let's use a "fruit" analogy to illustrate this principle. Fruit exists in one of two states, it is either ripening or rotting. The exact moment of transition from one state to the other is unknown. Our attitude, behaviors, consciousness and spirit embellish this principle. Most of us would like to believe that there is some magical impartial zone in life but as Jesus said "let your communications be yea yea or nay nay: for whatsoever is more then these cometh of evil." In another scripture Jesus exclaimed, "He that is not with me IS against me and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad." The failure to stand for something make us susceptible to falling for anything. An apathetic, indifferent or "sheepish" attitude does not exempt us from the responsibility of being our brothers keeper. Cats may get skinned and sheep do get sheared as well! But with sheep, at least the fur grows back. However, when it comes to felines; there is no win-win scenario because the cat must die. Our domesticated friends label it as a "doggone catastrophe."

PRIVILEGE HAS NO COLOR UNLESS WE GIVE IT ONE

Many people are shocked when they come to a realization that we all live within multiple systems of privilege. When the pains of poverty like hunger, sickness and homelessness threatens our well being, or the scourge of calamity like natural disasters and pandemics beset us, the power of higher privileges are generally applied. In this example privilege refers to the sociopolitical immunity one group has over another that is derived from particular societal benefits. The "lions share" of oppression that falls upon the lest fortunate, generally persists because most individuals fail to recognize it. While they pretend to be "catnapping" many of the groups with privilege over gender, race, or sexuality, seem to be unaware of the power that their privilege holds. Such inequalities are further perpetuated by a society that systemically keeps those who are oppressed from accessing the resources that would allow them to escape their maltreatment. This also can lead to internalized oppression, where subordinate groups essentially give up the fight to get access to equality, and accept their fate as a non-dominant group. In reality racism, sexism and most other discrimination is simply terrorism in disguise. Cultural, race, religious and social oppression has been "invisibly institutionalized" to keep these cats under control. Historically, oppression is generally accepted and allowed by the oppressors until the "cat gets out of the bag" and a CRISIS appears. Any crisis represents an element of change. Crisis is a catalyst for change. It is important that "crisis" is recognized and identified as early as possible in order to deal with it before it gets to a critical stage. Unfortunately today, most of us are blind to, in denial of or apathetic towards our common plight. The crumbling fabric of our planet through environmental issues, wealth and health disparities and racial inequalities to mention a few, are destructive. Expecting or waiting for others to right wrongs without lifting our voices is how society abandons its responsibilities. It's like splitting hairs on the results caused by child abuse or child neglect; either way the child's needs are not being met! Human psychology is full of many dualities. Although we know that change is a normal and necessary process in life, we still become conflicted with any change that seemingly affects us personally. We generally consider it to be irritating and unwelcomed. We all know and trust what has worked in the past and it's hard to deal with the inevitability of "what got us here may not get us there." Almost everything changes. Life is about change. Unfortunately most people have inverted expectations relative to change. Most of us would rather be "copy cats" and follow the same patterns. The more comfortable we get with the way things are, the more we resist change. Meanwhile, the more comfort we desire, the more we encourage "progress," the process of change. 

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ALMOST EVERYTHING CHANGES BESIDES LAWS OR PRINCIPLES!

There is nothing within our physical and tangible world that is immutable or does not change. Some changes are foisted upon us while others are implemented by us. Change itself is impartial. It offers us alternatives, choices, differences, progress and solutions but "change" has no will of its own. We can embrace or resist change but we cannot deny it. Although most people embrace a need for change conceptually, their day to day "habits of thought" overpower their own intellect through the ego. We can no longer play "cat and mouse" games with change, it has to many long term ramifications that must be dealt with one way or another. Our response to the need for changes in our approach to artificial intelligence, cyber-security, genetics, global warming, public health, religion and science has been SELFISH and short sighted. Resisting the need for change is just another attempt to not letting "the cat out of the bag." Eventually the cat gets discovered in the bag or gets out on its own. Our failure to recognize change and then further reject the need for it generally signals the beginning of a crisis. When we fail to adjust to change, it tends to "look like something that the cat dragged in." On the other hand, some innovations and "novelties of change​;" the newest, latest or greatest, are readily embraced as a sense of privilege. Privilege today is strongly associated with price and scarcity, but change has different meanings and associations dependent upon circumstance. What many of us consider as a civic duty, others are privileged to not have to deal with at all. Making a change may not necessarily make us right, but everyone has the right to change. History and the past are extremely powerful. The narratives given to it by politicians are often manipulated to shape future policies. Individually, we all have the choice and opportunity to adopt or abandon change. Dealing with change gives us the option to influence or control it. But we do not have the ability prevent it from happening one way or another, change is inevitable.

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CURIOSITY MAY NOT KILL A CAT BUT SKINNING IT WILL

"Skinning a cat" is never good for the cat. Capturing and subduing a cat may cause "excited delirium" and should be considered while restraining any beast. Injecting a drug called ketamine into a wild, disgruntled and struggling feline is a reasonable course of action isn't it? We would ask Elijah McClain but after being forcibly drugged and put into a catatonic state he died. This skinny 145 lb "Black Cat" was "reportedly" behaving like a feral or a stray while walking home from a convenience store. This "Black Cat" was subsequently apprehended by (the police) animal control, wrestled to the ground, held in a choke hold while vomiting, threatened to be attacked by a police dog and then tranquilized by the EMT's at the oppressors request. "Lacking privilege," unfortunately, they inadvertently killed the gentle 23 year old massage therapist. South Park had it right all along. They had a Black Cat named Kenny, but "those bastards" always killed him! Everybody knows that "Black Cats" crossing peoples paths is bad luck. Why didn't he conduct himself accordingly. The "takeaway" here is that "Black Cats" wearing hoodies walking home from convenient stores at night can be caught, caged and euthanized without notice. That's the same mistake Trayvon Martin made and he's dead too! Anyone with a minuscule bit of morality knows that "skinning" these unarmed "Black Cats" was wrong. But when it comes to justice it seems as if "the cat has our tongues." Many of the most notable "Black Cats" have become "Hidden Figures" in American History. This means the memories of Bessie Stringfield, Juanita Blocker, Blanche Thompson and Victoria Delee will not get mentioned with the other iconic "Black Cats." Any "Black Cat" that escapes being skinned will likely get buried in the catacombs of history. Incidentally, cats are categorized by breeds much like humans are categorized by race. The "Black Cat" breed is an endangered species in the United States. Yes, along with the Siamese, Persians, Tabby's and Angora's "Black Cats" matter too. The key to "skinning a cat" is to not having to skin it at all. This is why "prevention" is an essential strategy in never "letting the cat out of the bag." This is done in the hope of never having to deal with a "crazed cat." Unfortunately, now "the cat is out of the bag" in every sense of this phrases' meaning. Now, The origin of this phrase is also sketchy. It may have come from a ruse or swindle that involved substituting a cat for what was thought to be a piglet in a sack. Piglets grow into profitable farm animals, a cat substituted in its place may be good for nothing but skinning. The expression, letting "the cat out of the bag" is a common colloquialism that has several meanings. We "let the cat out of the bag," when we expose facts previously hidden and carelessly or mistakenly reveal a conspiracy to its target. We are constantly engaged in trying not to "let the cat out of the bag" by preventing others from seeing or becoming aware of how partial or poorly they are being treated. Letting an outsider into an inner circle of knowledge or revelation "lets the cat out of the bag." In America our "catastrophe's" are already out of the bag and they are not going back inside. That means we'll have to deal with it or skin them. 

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THE WORLD'S LACK OF UNITY COULD END UP BEING CATASTROPHIC

When "the cat is out of the bag" it usually indicates that "the chickens have come home to roost" and maybe it's time to "call off the dogs." Everyone can see "the elephant in the room" so let's not be "pig headed." We must address these issues and stop playing "cat and mouse" games. "Hold your horses" some say, but after "watching like a hawk" we can no longer "move at a snails pace." We won't be able to "weasel out of this one." We've got to get "busy as bee's" fixing this mess or we'll just be opening up another "can of worms." Dealing with cats is nothing new. Cultural, race, religious and social oppression has been invisibly institutionalized to keep all kinds of cats under control. Historically, the way we've handled "cantankerous cats" has been to skin them. The numerous attempts of genocide against just about every kind of cat-race, cat-creed, cat-culture and cat-nationality confirms this. Today it's becoming increasingly difficult to cull these herds of cats without the rest of the world taking notice. This "wild goose chase" is slowly coming to an end. Although cat skinning is still prevalent throughout the world we are now more aware of these atrocities. Most think that dogs are the biggest threat to the cat kingdom, but it is not the dogs behind most of our problems its us cats ourselves. Another class of cats have been exposed for what they really are. These high class "privileged" cats can be classified by their "spirit of selfishness." These "finicky cats" are found among our population of privileged people, "the cats meow!" These are the "cat burglars" that historically rob us of intangible qualities like harmony, love, peace and unity. With so many breeds it's always been difficult "herding cats," so how do we expect to achieve "HERD IMMUNITY?" Different breeds have different habits and tendencies. Some cats are so fussy and picky that we consider them as superior breeds. Like any master race all other races are considered to be inferior to theirs. These elitist consider themselves privileged and entitled. But all cats have fur and whiskers in common. Usually a common enemy promotes some degree of unity among all of its victims. The enemy of a friend is normally considered to be a mutual enemy. Although Covid-19 is the enemy of us all we are not united in our fight against it. Different factions are the main differences between us. Other then that aren't we created equal?  What happened to "united we stand" as we fall victim to the germs that divide us? Does "the cat have our tongue" and our wills too? Can't we all agree to do the same thing? Many people are saying that these days are unprecedented but in terms of dealing with cats this is nothing new. Even this pandemic is not a totally unique experience. These days are not really unprecedented but they certainly are unusual. Let's "look at what the cat dragged in" or what problem we dragged in with the cat. Another"cat" that we've called a pandemic has yet to be skinned. This world as a whole has mounted a rather pitiful response against this breed of "Covid" cats. With all of the resources at our disposal why do we continue to "SHARE OUR AIR" with strangers? We have the means but not the will. Technology offers us multiple solution if we apply them unilaterally. Anyone who has lived long enough should be amazed at the amount of data (information) that is available today.  We've landed on the moon, traveled to mars and with all of our prowess the sky is the limit. So why do we appear to look like "the cat that swallowed the canary?" Is it because that despite all of our unlimited potential as a species we are guilty of being physically, politically and spiritually divided? Is it due to the fact that many of us are so egocentric that we willingly victimize one another for riches, power or pleasure? No one wants to sacrifices their life in vain. Self preservation is a fundamental instinct we all share.

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THE SOLUTION MAY BE FOUND IN OUR SELFISHNESS

Today our Advancements in medicine, science and technologies worldwide have connected us all together. In spite of our lack of unity, income inequalities, "fat cats" and separatist policies; the reality is that we are now more interconnected then ever before. Yesterday it seemed that we were on top of the world, but today it appears that the world is on top of us. While we fight like "cats and dogs" one virus has some-how single-handedly beaten the majority of the planet. Our protest regardless of their cause or goals must lead to progress. Too many people seem to be preoccupied with saving their own skin. The idea that "we've already made up our minds and don't want to be confused by the facts," is the barrier we must cross. The motivation for self preservation may be exactly what we need now. Although it may seem to be raining cats and dogs, its mostly cats. Maybe we can explain it and even remedy today's problems through using the "spirit of selfishness" as a tool. One of the main reasons that many people aren't too concerned about climate change is because they don't see its effects personally. The possibility of a cataclysmic outcome is difficult to imagine without seeing the overwhelming evidence of impending doom. Before "the flood" Noah experienced this same phenomena. Maybe we can incite people's selfish desire to survive as motivation to unify. Christian dogma supports this notion and even the "Devil" uses it against us. The book of Job in the Bible illustrates this point. In order to find a way to get to Job, Satan presented this rationale. "Skin for skin, yea all that a man hath will he give for his life" is how he put it. Most of us get serious when the problems get personal. Unfortunately too many of us feel that others problems are not our problems. When we finally see life as it really is we'll realize how connected we all are, and that makes it personal. In past posts we advocated the theory that if the entire world faced a common enemy, like aliens from another planet, we would all come together, at least until we defeated the common foe and afterwards go back to our normal infighting. This belief appears to be somewhat shortsighted. The country seems to be operating in a catatonic state when it comes to this pandemic. We keep hearing that we are all in this together, which is true, but we continue to nurture selfish separatism. Why has an intelligent and sophisticated nation like ours embarking on such a suicidal path? Germs do not spread themselves we spread them. The fact that this country and the rest of the world hasn't devised a "unified plan" to mitigate its effects and protect one another simultaneously is baffling. This was our grand opportunity to prove ourselves as the "true" leaders of the world, "but we blew it." Watching what we're doing to ourselves and one another is both depressing and infuriating. The majority of our countrymen are not over 60, have few comorbidities and are not black, Latino or native Americans. If those among us that feel insulated by the privilege of youth, wealth or affiliation would only consider the welfare of the rest of us, we would all do better. If the "spirit of selfishness" is deployed and managed properly it can be used as a catalyst to push us to the ultimate goal of survival, guided by our self centered ego. If we fail to heed these warnings and keep whipping ourselves with a "cat-o-nine tails," we just might end up ALONE like a "cat on a hot tin roof."

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