It's Not Bigotry When We Do It

Friday, August 04, 2017

Ok, so here is a quick quiz:  What to all these statements beginnings have in common?  "All black people are..."  "All white people are...", "All asian people are...", "All gay people are...", "All trans people are...", "All cis people are...",  "All men are...", "All women are...", "All straight people are..."

Go on, think it over.  I'll wait.  Ask a friend if you need to.  Those of you who said, "They were all just typed by you.  Weren't you paying attention?" are technically correct, but that is not the answer I am looking for.  Give up?  They all signal that the speaker is about to say something bigoted and more than likely, colossally stupid.  To those of you who just pointed out that I just said (typed) all of them,  touché. 

Am I the only one who finds amazing the level of hypocrisy, narcissism and utter lack self awareness that is on display when someone says something along the lines of  "All men are misogynistic", "all white people are racist". or :"all cis people are transphobic.".  There is a disturbing idea that seems to be gaining in popularity that bigotry is something that only certain types of people can be guilty of.  "Certain types of people"  My, doesn't that sound familiar?

To be specific, that "certain type of person" is usually a straight white male.  Now before everyone loses their shit, take a deep breath, relax..  I am not sure why but when someone says something along those lines people immediately jump to the conclusion that that person is saying that bigotry against others either somehow less.  This is ridiculous, there is more than enough stupidity within the human psyche for all.  One group's struggle does not lessen the struggle of another.  Not every discussion of the struggles faced by the various groups needs to turn into an oppression-based pissing contest.

Am I saying that everyone who is not a straight white male is a bigot or that a straight white male can not be a bigot?  Absolutely not.  The statement that someone is incapable of bigotry simply because they belong to one group or another would not only be prejudice but colossally stupid.  If you subscribe to that philosophy, keep this in mind, I fall into a few groups that are generally considered to have been oppressed so clearly I can not be bigoted.  See how silly that sounds?

Think I am overstating the matter?  Think of our popular culture and what we consider acceptable and unacceptable to say.  Think about our various groups that seek the advancement of one group or another.  Now replace the stated group with straight, white or male.  When it is ok for a black character who is not at base a racist character rolls their eyes and says with exasperation " White people!" it is okay but if a parallel white character were to do the same thing except saying "Black people!" what do you think the reaction would be?  Which statement is racist?  Trick question, they are both just as racist. "Dear White People"?  Why is that okay?  "Black Entertainment Channel"?  What would the response to a "White Entertainment Channel"?  A women only club?  How is that any less sexist than a men only club?

I take issue with any group that seeks to separate humankind.  The issues that face one of us face all of us and need to be addressed by all of us.  Separation is counterproductive at best.  All of us working together is far more effective than all of us working separately.  Now that may sound idealistic but that doesn't make it any less true.

There is a great deal more to say in this subject but this will do for now.

Rant Over... For Now

Paging Darwin

Saturday July 08, 2017

A while ago a young woman and man decided that they wanted to be stars.  More, specifically, they wanted to be internet stars.  More, more specifically, you tube stars.  Even if you haven't heard the story you can see where this one is going.  True to your suspicions, the decided to do something very, very stupid to achieve this goal.

They decided that it would be a good idea to pull a stunt with a gun and a phone book.  The gun was a .50 cal Desert Eagle and the phone book, well, it was just a regular phone book.  The stunt was this:  The young man would put the phone book against his chest and the young lady would take the pistol and fire it into the phone book from a foot away.  The thought, if one could call it that, was that the phone book would stop the bullet from hitting the young man.

As I have said before, I am not a "gun guy" but even I could have figured out that having a high caliber gun fired at your chest from a foot away is a really bad idea, phone book or no.  I generally do my best to avoid having guns pointed at me at all.  It is a policy that seems to have served me well over the years.

These people did not have that policy.  As you can guess the stunt did not quite go according to plan.  The gun was fired and the bullet went through the phone book.  Yay!!  What a great stunt.  The bullet then proceeded to go through the young man's chest.  Boo!!  And this spectacular entry to the annals of the Darwin Awards was all captured on video.  Ok, technically, they are only runners up for the Darwin Award.

Now, I am not a nice person (you probably figured that out already, huh?).  Misanthrope, though not one hundred percent accurate, has been used to describe me.  I prefer to think of my self as more of a cynic, and as we know, a cynic is nothing more than a bruised romantic.  Anyway, I cemented my status as a not terribly nice guy when my first response upon hearing this story was "good".  It is not that I wanted anyone to die, per say, but it has long been my opinion that sometimes the gene pool needs a little chlorine.  Harsh? sure, but look at the world we live in.  Dealing with folks like this will tie up resources that could be used to help people that don't think it would be a good idea to be shot with a .50 cal pistol.

Now, while I feel no sympathy for these two, I do feel a great deal of sympathy for their children.  They had one and one on the way.  These kids are down one parent and, depending on how the trial goes, may be down one more, at least for a while.  Now I am hoping that being away from this couple dense enough to bend light will, in the long run, be good for them.  I know it is hard to have to grow up without parents but I know from personal experience that it is even harder to grow up with bad ones.  On the up side though, at least the couple won't be having any more children.

My hope is that maybe this experience will shock the stupid out of this young woman and she will be able to, in time, redeem herself and become a useful member of society.  My experience with society, however, makes me think that that hope may be a bit too high.  Here's hoping that the children can learn from their parent's impressively dumb-ass display of poor choices in action.

Rant Over... for now

Go Us!

Friday, July 07 2017

So, every once in a while surfing aimlessly around the net I will be lucky enough to come across something really cool.  That was the case with a group called Steam Powered Giraffe.  This band has an interesting shtick.  They paint themselves up as steampunk robots when they play.  Well, I would imagine they actually do the make-up before they actually play.  Although, that would be impressive if they did both at the same time...  Anyway as you might guess, at least some of them, have backgrounds in mime.  Sure, I could look up exactly how many of them have this background but I have always wanted to be a reporter, well, columnist anyway, and if the fourth estate doesn't really worry about research and accuracy any more then I don't have to either!  So there!  100, 300 of the 11 current and former member have backgrounds in mime,  Watching these folks makes me question the wisdom of the near universal hatred of mimes.  Up is down, left is right, all is lost!!!

...That's it.  That's the post.  Hope you enjoyed it.

Yeah, I didn't believe I could be that short winded either.  The point of this post (shut your head, there is to a point to my inane ramblings sometimes) has to do with two of the members, David Michael Bennett and Isabella "Bunny" Bennett.  So as I often do when something takes my interest, I looked for more information on the group.  I clicked on the link for Bunny and the first thing I noticed was that her birth name was "Christopher".  It is interesting that the first thing that popped into my head was: "Wow, I bet she had a hard time in high school!".  As you have probably guessed Bunny was born a male and transitioned to female.  Given my experiences in high-school, I would imagine that she did have a rough go of it, just for different reason than being a girl with a "boy's name".  Although, if you want to get technical, I guess she actually was a girl with a "boy's name".

Now I am a firm believer in the idea that the brain can have a gender that does not match the body one was born into.  The thing that I found interesting was that not one did the Wikipedia entry refer to her as "he".  The only mention that was made of her body being born male was in the "Personal Life" part of the entry.  I thought that this was great, especially when you considering that just a few years ago she would most likely be referred to as "he".  It is things like this that gives me hope for our species.  Then, of course, we turn around and do something profoundly stupid and toss that hope away.  Who knows, maybe one day we might notice that pattern.

Huh, I Guess He Really Does Exist...

Monday 06/05/17

And here I thought Rosco P. Coltrane was just a fictional character from that old show. 

I really should apologize to the creators of and the actors who portrayed the character over the years.  But, really, tell me you don't see the parallels.  Now tell me with a straight face.

So, Unless you have been living under a rock, or in a cave with crappy wi-fi, for the last little while, you know all about the bombing in Manchester, England that killed 22 and injured a crapload more last month.  Now, looking back, one might think that it was a terrorist bombing carried out in the name of ISIS, you know, because they claimed responsibility for it.  If you though so, don't worry, I thought that same thing.  Thank your deity-of-choice that this man is here to set us straight!

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the savior of common sense.  I give you Sheriff  Tracy Murphree of Denton County, Texas.  Clearly a paragon of intellect!  I actually typed that with a straight face.  I am so proud, and nauseated.

Sheriff Murphree took to facebook and posted his sage wisdom.  In the interest of brevity (yes, I know that ship has sailed) and to avoid the crippling depression that comes with knowing that people like this exist, I will not be reposting his entire post.  Hopefully the depression will be slightly less crippling that way.  Well, I can always hope.

So, anyway, this guy took to facebook to enlighten us all.  Apparently, ISIS was not responsible for the bombing at all.  England was.  I know, I was shocked too.  But apparently (in the man's own words): “This is what happens when you disarm your citizens.  When you open your borders without the proper vetting. When you allow political correctness to dictate how you respond to an enemy that wants to kill you.”

And now you know.  Refreshing isn't it?  England did it by not letting people have guns and trying not to offend people.  Oh, and let's not forget letting those foreigners in.  The bombing simply would not have happened if England had a better vetting process.  They would have been able to keep terrorist out in the first place.  You know, like the guy who carried the actual bomb.  Guys like him, guys who were born there.  Wait, what? 

Yuppers, this guy was born in England.  True it looks the guy had some terrorist training outside the country.  So then the solution is simple don't let anyone who leaves the country back in.  Problem solved.  You are welcome.

While I am one who believes that in some cases political correctness has gone overboard, I don't think it allows people to blow things up any easier.  I am pretty sure the guy would have done it even if people were not politically correct around him.  I realize that he was talking about the reluctance to use the term "Islamic Terrorist".  I do understand the reluctance to use the term.  We, as a species, are a very all or nothing people.  You bandy about a label like that and many, not all to be sure but many, will latch onto it and reduce it down to the easiest and, more often than not, most inane form.  In this case that would be deciding that since this nozzle was ostensibly a "Muslim" and a "Terrorist", all Muslims must be terrorists!  After all, terrorists are hard to find, its kinda their thing, but Muslims on the other hand, find a  mosque and you have found a whole bunch of them.

Hey, it is easier than actually think for yourself, right?

In the rest of his post he seems to make it clear, at least to my mind (stop laughing, I have one...-ish), that when he refers to a certain ideology,  he is referring to Islam, not terrorists.  In the phrase "radical Islamic terrorism" the operative word there is "terrorism", not "Islamic".

One thing that I find hilarious (yes, I sometimes have a dark sense of humor, but only on days that end in "y") Is that he refer to "A ideology that treats women as property, kills gays and women and Christians [sic] with complete impunity."  Does that sound familiar to anyone?  If you said "Damn near every religion that ever existed" Well done. I find it interesting that he mentions "killing gays" in his post considering he said that he would send a trans woman who tried to use the same restroom as his daughter to the hospital.  I, of course,  realize that there is a great difference between a gay person and a trans person but do you really think that someone with his apparent mindset worries about those types of distinctions?  Hey, maybe I am wrong and he does make that distinction but whether or not he does or not that doesn't make it okay to beat up trans-folk or anyone for that matter.  It is especial egregious when it is a representative of the law saying these things.  And just to make things extra depressing, keep in mind, sheriff is an elected position.  Yay, humans (heavy sigh).

As far as guns go, I am actually in favor of gun ownership but in this case I am pretty sure it wouldn't have helped.  I am not a "gun guy" but I have yet to hear about a gun that generates a magical explosion-proof force field.  If you know of one, by all means, let me know.

I would really love to say that this guy is an isolated situation but we all know that is not the case.  We have all met these people and we continue to do so and they will continuously and inexplicably end up in public office.  If you are looking for a reason, the reason is simple.  It is so much easier to listen to the crowd and just go along and there are mechanisms in place to help us along with that attitude. 

I would like to say good on Ariana Grande for putting on a benefit concert in the city so quickly.  I know nothing about her but good on her none the less.

Rant Over... for now

From Murderland with Love

Tuesday May 30, 2017

A 73 year old retired construction worker was attacked by a 9 foot great white shark while fishing. Wait, this gets good. The man wasn't actually in the water when he was attacked. He wasn't even leaning over the side. He was sitting in the boat. The shark jumped into the boat with him!

Where could such a thing happen, you ask? Where else but Murderland, aka Australia! It is a place where critters want to fuck you up so badly that they leap into an environment that they are completely incapable of surviving in to do it

.

If you live in Murderland, my hat is off to you. You are braver than I (although, admittedly, that is not a difficult task). You have the courage to live in a place where there spiders big enough to eat birds and even the beaver-ducks are venomous! Don't even get me started on the koalas. Those little buggers are up to something.

I mean watching Jaws when I was little kept me out of the pool for quite a while (stop laughing, it is a well known fact that giant great white sharks occasionally visit pools for vacation. I think they get a buzz off the chlorine and enjoy snacking on unwary children.), imagine what would have happened if I had found out that they can fly as well?!? I would have had to find some way to survive while embedding myself in dirt. Ah, but then I would have to worry about the dreaded land shark. I know you have doubts, but I have seen actual photographic evidence of the land shark. You know, way back before Saturday Night Live started to suck.

This guy, though, I love this guy. I would have love to have been able to listen in to the distress call:

Captain Awesome: Um, yeah. I was just attacked by a great white shark.

Rescue Person: Sir, you seem remarkably calm for someone who was just attacked by a great white.

Captain Awesome: Well... he wasn't very good at it.

And indeed it wasn't as the gentleman walked away with only a couple of stitches. Now this could have been because the shark was a lousy shot but I prefer to believe that he avoided injury through sheer intimidation of the very fabric of reality. He gave several great quotes to the media but my favorite so far is: "I think next time I might find a crocodile to wrestle just to stay in the limelight." You, sir, are a bad ass!

A Bit Behind

I am a bit behind on blog posting here so the next few will be ones that were written a bit ago and posted elsewhere.  So thank you for your patience, non-existent reader.

Excelsior, Dear Friend

As most of you probably know by now, yesterday we lost Stan Lee.  Normally, when I speak about someone I have not met I will refer to them by their last name but in this case I refer to him by his first.  After all, despite never meeting him, to my mind, he was always just Stan.

To say that Stan was a national treasure would be to drastically sell him short.  He was a global treasure.  His work touched the hearts and minds of children of all ages, 3 - 3000, and all genders and races.  Like any person, he was not perfect but he was, it seems a good man. 

I never met Stan nor would I most likely ever have even if he was still with us, but never the less, he has played a very important part in my life.  I grew up in a very bad place enduring very bad things and the universe that Stan created along with so many others offered a hurting sad little boy, who's almost entire world was fear and pain, a place to feel safe and even hopeful.  I don't think I am exaggerating when I say that Stan's work along with the many many other talented people that have worked with him over the years are part of the reason I am still alive.  No matter how dark things got, there was always that small flicker of hope off in the distance, and some times, just that tiny flicker can makes all the difference.  So, thank you, Stan.  Thank you for all you have given us and all the ripples in the water you made that will travel out through the centuries.

To close, here is a copy of an edition of Stan's Soapbox.  This one has been popping up all over the internet since his passing but I think, is shows a little insight into the man's character.  While the views expressed are ones that show of the man's character, it becomes absolutely extraordinary when you consider that this was written in 1968 and was written in a book that, for the most part, would be read by children.  In 1968 there were a great deal fewer adults reading comics.  It makes me wonder how many children read this and had it stick with them throughout their life.  Again, thank you, Stan.

"Let’s lay it right on the line. Bigotry and racism are among the deadliest social ills plaguing the world today. But, unlike a team of costumed super-villains, they can’t be halted with a punch in the snoot, or a zap from a ray gun. The only way to destroy them is to expose them — to reveal them for the insidious evils they really are. The bigot is an unreasoning hater — one who hates blindly, fanatically, indiscriminately. If his hang-up is black men, he hates ALL black men. If a redhead once offended him, he hates ALL redheads. If some foreigner beat him to a job, he’s down on ALL foreigners. He hates people he’s never seen — people he’s never known — with equal intensity — with equal venom.

Now, we’re not trying to say it’s unreasonable for one human being to bug another. But, although anyone has the right to dislike another individual, it’s totally irrational, patently insane to condemn an entire race — to despise an entire nation — to vilify an entire religion. Sooner or later, we must learn to judge each other on our own merits. Sooner or later, if man is ever to be worthy of his destiny, we must fill out hearts with tolerance. For then, and only then, will we be truly worthy of the concept that man was created in the image of God – a God who calls us ALL — His children.

Pax et Justitia, Stan."