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Sep 7, 2011 at 4:00 am
A Monstrous Decade, a Fanatical Family, and the Worst Birthday in Human History
Chromogenic print of artist-made construction from McDonald’s french fries and Heinz ketchup. Photographed by Richard Nichol.
Courtesy of Greg Kucera Gallery.
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800 Maynard Ave S, Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98134
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It's a personal essay. There are thousands of articles people can read if they want to read about 9/11 survivors, kids, etc. Fuck off. This is fine work.
Thank you for sharing, Christopher Frizzelle.
I'm glad to hear Mike's okay.
My father (WWII - Philippines) would never talk about the war. My brother (Vietnam, and closeted) never would either. Both were clerks/office workers and not in the "shit" as infantry.
Although the personal pain almost oozes from the screen.
The words of Aunt Betty towards the end of the piece is a bonus that makes the story doubly good.
Doesn't stop me from being freaked out by Flyover Jeebusland maniacs, though.
For me September 11th has always meant something - as the anniversary of the (CIA backed) military coup in 1973 in Chile, which precipitated the disappearances and deaths of over 2000 people and the torture and exile of tens of thousands more.
So the fact that it's also your birthday brightens the date considerably. Wishing you a very Happy Birthday for Sunday!
@15: Look up the word "allegory".
As for 9-11 its a jug fuck of human flaws combined with red neck Americans who cant think too fast or too well.
the term "ground zero" dose not in any form represent New York or Manhattan or anything the "United States" Represents. It's purely a Media spun Federal description.
The Iraq war and the Afghanistan war and the entire middle east conflict involving the American federal government has about .0001% to do with 9-11.
Being Gay? not the reason you have such a factual perspective on your life as jerks are jerks and the good is the good.
Christianity is warped as are Republicans and the American Military? and all are of extemly out dated un dated or wrong way right way Ridge way or the hiway concepts.
One of the best articles I have read in the stranger as it made Me thing of how I can relate to all you typed and thus made me visualize your story but that is definitly a bummer and a reality check
9-11 was not our fault.
9-11 was not our fault.
9-11 was not our fault.
Why do we have to keep playing it over? ($$)
I just want to fly domestically without having to choose between a skin dose of radiation or a junk check.
I didn't expect to be drawn in by a personal story, yet I read with fascination and keen interest. Nice job once more, Mr Frizzelle, and I *do* hope your family can take itself a bit less seriously re: this article. Alas, xtians and righties have a hard time laughing at themselves.
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/9/8/a_f…
and, part 1:
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/9/8/epi…
As with the piece on restaurant work (hardly comparable, but there you go), The Stranger has outdone itself yet again - A. Birch Steen's snide deprication aside.
As an English major (yes - like many of you, I was one once), I was often told "write about what you know". What I was not told is what you've discovered through your own work - personal writing means exposing old wounds to the world.
Good work, Chris. Great piece.
ONE The Event is a 3-day FREE event happening NOW in Seattle and online via Webcast (link above). Seattle Firefighter Erik Lawyer's vision has manifested in the form of a Solutions Summit at UW (yesterday & happening through today) followed by a celebration of the shift from FEAR to LOVE on this profound day, 10 years after the attack. Head over to UW, we're in Kane Hall & Mary Gates Hall today. Tomorrow we will be at Seattle Center's Memorial Stadium starting at NOON.
This was well written, but ultimately pointless.
While autobiographical takes on events can be illuminating of the larger changes they provoke in a country, yours isn't. In the end it's just 'I hate that my family is conservative and uncomfortable with my chosen homosexuality. And lesbian Aunt Betty agrees with me and talks trash about them too! So I'll publicly express what any decent person would save for their therapists office, not to serve any real purpose but out of sheer vindictiveness.'
That took a few sentences and expressed everything it took you many hundreds of words to write. Nice bit at the end by the way. Way to twist the knife.
Happy birthday. I hope that with a few more you'll attain some basic level of maturity.
@33
You missed a couple of the 'I hate America' Huff Po talking points of the day. 2 out of 10 for effort, 0 out of 10 for original thought, or indeed any thought at all.
That's what you get for not reading with an open mind.
You're a fucking ass.
There. I did in four words what you proved using many, many more.
Well, yes. But I didn't want to actually say that Frizzelle was an ass, though he's acting like one. After he bared his families soul for everyone to mock and jeer at, I thought I'd spare him the personal attack. Kind of tactless on your part, really.
You're reading comprehension problem is eclipsed only by your calloused bigotry.
It is YOU who are the fucking ass.
Keep up the good work. We need morons out there spouting the diseased workings of your minds so that we can ridicule, scorn, and ultimately avoid you.
No family is perfect. None. But they're usually doing the best they can with what they know, and usually your people love you in a way no other human being on earth ever will.
So you can whinge on about how awful your parents were because they voted for either George Bush and watch football after Thanksgiving dinner without a preceding discussion of the evils done native Americans since that first Thanksgiving. And anyway, the Packers haven't released an 'It gets better' video, damn the homophobic bastards! Besides that the United States is an evil empire run by defense contractors and Monsanto! You can piss and moan about how your insensitive father makes the odd sexist comment. And on and on and on.
Or you can accept that they are imperfect human beings doing the best they know how to, that they love you though they may be poor at showing it. You can learn from what they did right and what they did wrong. You can enjoy the time you have with them while you have it.
Kind of your call.
Well said.
Frizzelle brings his own story - something that was and is doubtless difficult to share on a number of levels - to the table. Unless these detractors you reference are willing to do the same, to expose and analyze the myriad of mixed feelings, memories, events and results of the 911 attacks on a similarly personal basis then really they've offered nothing more than further exposure of their frothing bias and profound ignorance.
Which of course isn't news to anyone at all.
Apparently irony wasn't taught in the schools you attended.
@69 and 70
Or-
This was an essay written by an emotionally immature young man, though well written. When or if he grows up it will be interesting to see what he's capable of writing.
Further, I love and respect my parents though I don't agree with them on everything and I would never publicly shame and insult them just to make some cheap political point I could as easily make without doing so.
I think I've figured out why it is you're here. It wasn't to debate, or give a different POV, or bring anything intellectual to the table; but it wasn't just to troll either. So it's this.
Seattleblues, you're not in much position to criticize the relative maturity of anyone. I hope you're bringing up your children to be better than that.
#69 - Well said. Given that this is going to be that event that is regurgitated ad nauseum for decades and centuries to come, a new take on it -especially such a personal one- is refreshing.
#71 - l suppose you have issues with all other autobiographical pieces as well? How do you feel about, say, the Diary of Anne Frank? Too narcissistic?
As I wrote, using personal experience to illuminate a broader experience faced by others around you is one thing.
But though this may come as a surprise to you folks- not every issue has to do with homosexuality.
I'm sorry that Mr. Frizzelles decisions put him at odds with his family. That's too bad. Family is important, and we should do what we can with integrity to maintain that primary relationship. (Mr. Frizzelle, accusing your family members of not really serving their country or being unpatriotic for serving in the military really doesn't advance this goal, since you seem confused about that.)
But how this relates to the terrorist attacks of 9-11 is a bit obscure to me. Know why? Because there isn't any relation. Frizzelle just wanted to get his own back on his folks for worrying about the life choices he's made, as parents will. This wasn't an essay on 9-11 but on Christopher Frizzelle and his narcissism.
Thanks though for pulling the Godwin and citing Anne Frank.
"Apparently irony wasn't taught in the schools you attended."
No sorry. I attended good quality public schools, where they taught us facts and critical thinking instead. Apparently you did not.
FYI this was Frizzelle's story to tell.
Who the fuck are you to tell him it shouldn't have been told?
Dipshit.
"(Mr. Frizzelle, accusing your family members of not really serving their country or being unpatriotic for serving in the military. . ."
Apparently whatever backwater idiots who taught in that useless right-wing private school you want to didn't bother to teach you how to read
He neither said nor implied any such thing.
Read the article again. Better yet - have someone read it to you (or use Dragon!), as you apparently have serious comprehension issues.
"decisions"? Really, that old canard?
If you're at all monitoring this stuff (as you guys occasionally and sometimes frustratingly do) understand this: I'm a simple man (tm). I'm straight. A guy who spend time as a military guy (like your brother); a social worker; and these days God forbid a bus driver - I think you sharing your story is AWESOME, and all it represents. I know your goal is not to impugn your family (whom you clearly love). Not to promote an agenda (we all have 'em). But simply to SHARE. It takes a lot of guts, courage, and chutspacha to "put it all out there". Clearly you weren't out to malign your family. Clearly you weren't out to make any kind of partisan political point. You were just sharing your experience.
God (or whomever/whatever) bless you for doing so.
Thank you.
Everyone has enough ugliness to remain wall to wall column inches.
Yours somehow makes you special, because of a date.
Great. Are you over it yet? You're an Editor. Get your shit together and stop playing this out, man.
Guess what. Nobody gives a fuck. Come up with your own theme, your own birthday, whatever. All you are doing is humiliating yourself and your family to a National Readership.
You probably dig that though. Get a grip man. You are not paying legos with publishing: your paper is failing, as are you.
You never were.
Eat lots of cake and God bless!!
One thing, though. You wrote that the plane in Pennsylvania had been shot down based on "working knowledge" in the newsroom. What the fuck does that mean? People standing around the TV reached that conclusion?
good luck with your family, man. glad im not your brother.
You didn't even change the names, dude.
For the duration of your brother's life, or your mom's, or aunt's, or anybody who googles "Frizzelle", this is what they will see.
You are grossly incompetent to be in a position of having access to a pulpit that now reaches across and through the wires, not just Seattle.
The Weekly had it right when they fired you: Mr. Keck and Mr. Savage should take notice before you humiliate them too.
Great article! And happy birthday!
I was sexually abused when I was a kid, which ended up having consequences for me as a young adult: addiction, felony, mental problems - and if you ask Chris, he can tell you a lot about sexually abusing children and how that can fuck a person up. Chris is perhaps the most mean-spirited and narcissistic man I've ever met. Which is why we were a great match - until I got into recovery. Once I started to clean up my life he had little use of me. Maybe he's different now, but I try to avoid Chris at all costs. He seems to have tenaciously clung to his victimization, which I think you can gather from his writing. It's been ten years since we split and I've been clean and sober and living a good life. Do say hello if you recognize me on the street. I'm Giulio.
Actually, it just happened to be the first autobiographical example l thought of. lt wasn't Godwin's law, either, unless l'm wrong about the fact that l need to compare you to Hitler or his minions in order to qualify. Gimme a fucking break.
You need to work on your reading comprehension; Frizzelle wasn't attacking his parents; in fact, quite the opposite where he both points out his mistake in his treatment of his father, and goes on for some time about his mother's generosity. He's merely outlining the facts of his family history, but at no point does there appear to be a vengeful tone to his writing, although there is clearly some sadness around what seems to be quite a bit of dysfunction in the family.
That said, who gives a good goddamn? He's a fucking writer, and a healthy number of writers highlight their various fucked up histories, and that can often be cathartic for those who also had dysfunctional families (for the record, mine was not, but l can see how this kind of piece might identify with others'). Who the fuck are you to judge? Do you share the same disdain for anyone else who chooses to write about how nuts their family is, or just this one? l mean, really. You don't know his family or the challenges that faced the children that grew up under that roof. None of us do, other than what he's shared here.
l think your issues here are more with the author than the content of the article. Or maybe being a prick just comes naturally to you.
There is nothing personal with his family. He's a writer, but this is not a book. It is a paper. That other people read. People like journalists and politicians and others who are currently slamming their doors in the face of the Stranger if this type of behavior is manifest by its managing editor.
Who cares, this is a rag, I shouldn't have said anything at all.
Your contribution is appreciated because it really fills out the rest of the story though. Congrats on your recovery.
None of this is anybody's business. That's kinda the point.
However, for some reason I just decided to read this article in the print version on the bus a couple days ago. And I was sort of blown away at just how spot-on it is. I mean, my family's not quite the same but it's still a similar brand of dysfunctional. I get it.
Great job, Christopher. I'll go out of my way to read more of your articles in the future.