r/kzoo

Happy Fourth of July.

Welcome to the recounting of two hundred and fifty years of our great nation.

Two hundred and fifty years of one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all.

Wait.

No.

Because we didn't have that at first.

We were never meant to kneel at the feet of a ruler. We were never meant to pledge our allegiance to anything before one another—to ourselves, our families, our friends, our neighbors.

Living, breathing, warm-blooded human beings.

I have, and I will never again, pledge my allegiance to a piece of cloth. A man-made, flammable fabric, dyed with chemicals, stitched in a factory somewhere across the world. A flag is a symbol. It is not the people.

The original Pledge of Allegiance was written by Francis Bellamy and first published in The Youth's Companion on September 8, 1892—more than a century after the founding of the Republic.

For nearly a hundred years after George Washington's death, Americans were never instructed to pledge themselves to a flag.

Even then, the pledge reflected the separation of church and state. The words "under God" were not added until 1954, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the change into law.

In 1942, Congress officially recognized the Pledge in the U.S. Flag Code.

In only twelve years, it went from an official civic ritual to something more.

We were, are, and always will be freer than any government can grant or take away.

Even now, some of the greatest Americans alive are demanding that this nation become better than it is. They ask for reform, not because they hate this country, but because they love it enough to refuse complacency.

Even now, our bravest friends, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, and uncles put on the boots and helmet, stand at attention, and march toward danger so that the rest of us remain free to speak our minds.

Some of them have died defending freedoms they themselves struggle to fully enjoy.

They deserve better than empty slogans.

All of them.

All of us.

We studied. We fought. We learned. We protested. We rioted. We challenged an empire because it believed it could govern people who had no meaningful representation.

That is the nation we celebrate today.

The British Crown taxed paper, sugar, tea—ordinary necessities.

History remembers the men who answered with boycotts, destruction of property, civil disobedience, assault, an open rebellion.

Today we call them Patriots.

Happy Fourth of July.

You're free from tyranny...

Never mind.

You're free from exploitation...

Never mind.

Where loitering can be a crime.

Where sleeping outside can be a crime.

Where poverty itself is often treated like a crime.

Happy Fourth of July.

You're free to go to work.

Free to pay surge pricing for the ride home.

Free to pay taxes on your drinks.

Free to pay fees for using the card that paid the taxes.

And, if you're lucky—

You're free to complain about it.

Because tomorrow morning, your obligations will still be waiting.

The promise of America has never been that freedom is finished.

The promise is that every generation inherits the responsibility to defend it, question it, and leave it stronger than they found it.

******

Thank you.

Is there anywhere in the area to book a trail ride or other one-off horseback riding session? I’m visiting and would love to take my niece.

I think it’s about time we put some pressure on consumers for their shit service and maintenance. They easily ask and get rate increases approved, we should ask/petition our local government for improving infrastructure and storm response times + credit for the ridiculous amount of time they take to restore power. Consumers should be penalized not rewarded for subprime service when they have a monopoly.

A question to ask: what is being done to harden the system to prevent this?

Consumers said it has restored power to more than 66,000 customers and hopes to restore power to most remaining customers by the end of the weekend.
“We continue to prioritize those areas hardest hit by Friday night’s storms,” Consumers Executive Norm Kapala said in a statement. “These storms packed a major punch that left a path of damage across much of our service territory, and we want to assure our customers that crews will continue to work around the clock over the holiday weekend to ensure a safe and efficient restoration.”

So we gained power. Then it went out again after two hours. Then almost immediately there were two trucks at the end of our street working. That was 10 hours ago still no power. Please someone explain to me what the hell is going on.

Nevermind not having power... My issue is that I've got power lines down across the street outside my place and, aside from the tree crews who were done by noon on Saturday, no one has been out. Not one consumers or utility vehicle all day. Same with my friend in Milwood.

On top of that my ETA for restoration has gone from 2:30pm Saturday, to 12:45am Sunday... To now being noon on Monday. So, are they actually doing work on the 4th? Or are they just saying they are, saving the money on Holiday pay, and letting us all cook while they tell us what we want to hear? The only utily trucks I saw all day were parked at the hotel on Kilgore.

I really wish their was a limit to how loud the fireworks can be i.e. the huge boom ones. My neighbor did like six in a row. Went to my basement to cry. PTSD sucks...I know it's a celebration but man I am over it.

Update: Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. Just knowing I am not alone is so helpful. I hope everyone is able to get some rest soon or calm their nervous system down. ❤️

Wanted to share in case anyone else is struggling service interruptions during this outage!

I recommend reaching out to them via call or chat (I used the chat in the mobile app) to reach out regarding a credit for interrupted service days (as we’ve paid for them)!

I reached out and it was a really easy and respectful experience. The representative I spoke with was understanding. I was promised that, once energy and internet are restored, they will analyze my interrupted time and credit me accordingly. I then got a text and email from Spectrum confirming this plan (admittedly comforting lol).

It may be $1, it may be $15… who knows. But it’s at least something! I won’t be able to afford grocery replacement entirely, but at least Spectrum is accommodating their customers and treating them well right now! Consumers told me “no credits will be provided for any lost items or service interruptions.”

Good luck to you all!

Its my first time ever going to a gym, ive been working out at home for a couple months. Is anybody willing to join me around 530 tomorrow and kinda show me the ropes? Im new and could probably use some advice on the machines they got.

EDIT: Its actually om stadium. Sorry guys lol for somw reason I thought it was on west main.

Hi! Where can I find gourmet red licorice in Kalamazoo/Portage?

That really sucks what happened? I had power until like 9pm

Large sections of the neighborhood have lost power. If the night wasn't stressful enough

Hi! I’m looking to make some friends and get more exercise. I love Pokémon and play Pokémon GO and I’m wondering if there’s anybody reading this that likes Pokémon GO as well and would be interested in joining me for walks and playing Pokémon GO, a walking group I guess hah. I just don’t really know where to start making friends at this age, sadly. Im 37, I’m a single mom to a 10-year-old so my social life was put on the back burner etc. but if Pokémon GO isn’t like your thing, I’m still interested in making friends. I love video games and board games, reading, I have a pool and I love swimming. Feel free to send a message or something if ya want :)