The America I Want

I saw something on my daily walk today around my apartment complex that my heart, brain and soul really needed to see. Every day around a quarter to four in the afternoon the school bus pulls up and unloads all of the neighborhood kids. Shortly after the kids arrived today I was walking by one of the many ponds on the golf course that surrounds the apartment complex and witnessed two black kids, one white kid and one Hispanic kid – all probably middle school aged – throwing rocks into a pond and laughing and having a good time.

That's the America I want.

That’s the America we would live in today if all of us retained our beliefs of adolescence where race, religion, sexual preference and such don’t seem to matter or come into play.

However, the America we do live in will likely have these kids hating each other – or at the very least having nothing to do with each other – by the time they're done with high school.

There seems to be something between adolescence and adulthood where humans realized the differences in others and something about those differences bother them, oftentimes to the point of hate.

Maybe those days will come to an end before these young boys grow up and they won’t have to live in a world that’s deemed the “Land of the Free,” but remains far from equal.

But, the chances of that frankly seem unlikely when you realize the reason why things continue to be vastly unequal in this country are because of the generations before us passing down prejudices and racism to their children.

Sure, there are fewer prejudices and less racism today than say 50 or 60 years ago, but it won’t completely disappear because there are enough people who continue to pass it down and at times – like today in this country – it seems to bubble over.

In Tom T. Hall’s great 1972 song “(Old Dogs, Children and) Watermelon Wine” he wrote the line “God bless little children while they’re still too young to hate.” Hopefully the children I saw playing today and not caring one bit about their differences or the way they looked will maintain that innocence into adulthood. Hopefully the generation before them will allow that to happen.  

Could Malcolm X's 'Ballot or the Bullet' Apply to America's Gun Epidemic

In 1964 Malcolm X gave a historic speech that would become known as "The Ballot or the Bullet" speech in the fight for civil rights, named the seventh most important speech in the American 20^th century by a panel of 137 scholars.

He said: "It’s time now for you and me to become more politically mature and realize what the ballot is for; what we’re supposed to get when we cast a ballot; and that if we don’t cast a ballot, it’s going to end up in a situation where we’re going to have to cast a bullet.  It’s either a ballot or a bullet.”

It was a revolutionary idea, but one that the country was headed toward without important legislation and change.

We might get to a point in this country where “Ballot or the Bullet” becomes a relevant statement for the gun epidemic. Of course, that would mean anti-gun people would have to throw away their beliefs, at least for the time being to prove their point.

Malcolm X said "it's either a ballot or a bullet" and when it comes to this particular issue in America it doesn't seem the ballot is working.

Dammit

“Dammit.”

That’s what I said aloud to myself when I found out that one of the shooters names in the mass shooting that claimed the lives of 14 people and injured more than 10 others in San Bernardino, Calif. on Wednesday (Dec. 2) was Syed Farook.

This might sound horrible, but every time there is a mass shooting in this country – and it’s become such an occurrence that there have been more mass shootings (shootings with at least four persons shot) in this country this year than there have been days (351 mass shootings to only 336 days) – I quietly hoped to myself that the shooter wasn’t Middle Eastern (or really any minority for that matter). It’s not because I fear ISIS and believe an attack by Middle Easterners on Americans would signal the beginning of a full scale ISIS attack in this country, but I believe that Middle Easterner shooters give more fodder for the racists who have run amuck about all things Muslim in this country since the tragic France attacks last month.

Syed Farook was an American citizen. We don’t seem to know anything else about him in the short amount of time since he was named the shooter, except for that and that he was a county health inspector. We don’t know that he was a Muslim, despite his name. We don’t know that he was targeting anybody on the basis of either religion or race – but that’s not stopping people from going on an all-out assault against Muslims or even people who they may view as Muslims.

And, that’s one of the problems with this country. The country is blind to its own racism in that many feel Muslims are synonymous with terrorism. The bigots of this country don’t trust an entire religion or race of people simply because of the actions of others.

And, yet when a white Christian perpetrates terrorism for a cause as Robert Dear did at a Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs, Colo. just last week, that resulted in the deaths of four people and injuries to almost 10 more, people don’t go off in a racist tangent about either Christians or white people.

This is a nation built by white Christians and still run by a majority of white Christians. Because of this it seems many in this country give a pass to killers who are white (as most mass shooters tend to be) and Christian. Some lunatics even build a terrorist (which Dear absolutely is no matter how many want to define him as a “lone wolf” instead) as a hero because of his “stand” against Planned Parenthood due to their beliefs against abortion.

This is America’s blatant racism on stage for everyone to see and yet we still ignore it, because for some reason we aren’t scared of white guys with guns the same way we are about Middle Easterners with guns, despite having every reason to be with the majority of this country’s mass shootings perpetrated by white men.

That’s why I cringe at the fact of a Middle Easterner shooter. It will lead to not only more racism, but will become a religious/race issue when it should remain a gun and gun control issue all along.

“Dammit.” 

I Have Opinions (And You Should Too)

I have a lot of opinions … a lot. I have more opinions than anybody I’ve ever known and truth be told I probably have more opinions than most of the people I’ve ever known combined. Those who know me know this to be true. Those who follow me on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter also know this to be true. I can’t help but feel that this annoys people. I know for a fact I’ve even been blocked and unfriended in the past on social media sites because of my opinions – and most of the time it’s not necessarily because of the opinions themselves, but simply the sheer quantity of them.

That has always bemused me.

I post stuff – usually my opinions on topics like sports, music, television, movies and politics – very frequently on social media. It’s not unusual for me to make more than a dozen posts on social media, many of these my thoughts, opinions and critiques of stuff, on a daily basis. Sometimes I’ll even go on spurts where I’ll post maybe a half dozen things in the span of an hour.

Because of some unwritten social media rules that apparently exist this seems to bother people. Most of the people who it bothers have probably already blocked me from their social media timelines so I guess those that still see my stuff must not mind too much or either they’re better at ignoring it.

But, it bothers me that my quantity of opinions and thoughts on a wide range of subjects annoys people. It bothers me because there is simply no good reason why it should annoy people. People should have a wide array of opinions on a large group of topics and they should freely share those opinions. That is a good way to not only get differing opinions out there, but also a good way to teach people how to debate and defend those opinions when others disagree, instead of resulting to immature things like name-calling. Nobody seems to know how to debate anymore – maybe that’s one of the reasons you don’t see many opinions out there?

When did this unwritten rule about posting too much on social media or “clogging timelines” come about and why? Which social media Nazi dictated that social media is simply for things like memes, viral videos and checking in at various locations – it’s stuff like that I frankly find annoying on social media, never the opinions of others.

Social media has pretty much become a vast wasteland of nothing but trash. I say become, but actually it’s pretty much always been this way. But, we could make it so much more by actually turning it into a place for conversation on maybe not important topics, but at least interesting topics.

I feel like I do that or at least I try.

I understand there are those out there who might not want to see a whole lot of sports opinions, but I feel like I offer enough thoughts and opinions on other topics to remain interesting to even non-sports fans. It’s the sports thing that always seems to bother people the most, which is why I point it out. But, even if you’re not into sports I talk about so many other things that it’s not completely one-sided – as say only whining about one’s life, as so many social media members do.

Maybe I just have more things that interest me than other people? But, that’s kind of sad if that’s the case. Maybe other people have a bigger group of friends and family to share their thoughts and opinions with?

It’s not just that I have all of these opinions it’s that I enjoy having the audience for them and I really enjoy it when people respond in some way, even if it’s just by hitting the ‘like’ or ‘retweet’ button because they agree with my opinion. I really enjoy debating those with differing opinions, as well, as long as those people can remain mature about it and actually try to debate.

What I’m really trying to say with this entire piece is why are we so afraid of 1) having opinions and 2) sharing those opinions with others these days. And, why does it seem those of us who do it are made to feel like outsiders for doing so?

There’s the old saying about everybody having an opinion, but if you look around social media – especially on Facebook – you really wouldn’t believe it. 

Some Things Should Remain Private Even in Age of Social Media

Apparently anything that’s done in public in the age of social media is fair game. That’s what I’ve gotten from the recent story of how a woman tweeted the unfortunately public breakup of a couple on a delayed flight.

A woman named Kelly Keegs experienced a couple’s breakup and the fight that ensued after it on a flight and tweeted it all, including photographs of the couple.

The whole breakup, as one would imagine, was hurtful for both parties involved – who had no idea they were being overheard, photographed and certainly couldn’t have imagined that their pain was being broadcast across the globe via Twitter.

The couple would’ve been wise to keep their breakup private, but we all know emotions can bubble up at any time, oftentimes in the worst possible of places.

Keegs’ social media broadcasting of this couple’s breakup made her a social media star for a couple of days, as the saga became the top trending topic on Twitter and has exploded elsewhere on the Internet. But, her decision to turn something so hurtful and something that should be private into an online sensation makes her a total asshole, as well. She probably could’ve gotten away with the whole thing too, as long as she hadn’t posted photographs of the couple.

Because not only has the couple gone through the pain that is every breakup, but now they’ve been thoroughly embarrassed by a stranger online. This is frankly the kind of thing that could lead to a weak or already depressed person’s suicide, but Keegs didn’t think that through or care.

What’s almost worse than Keegs sharing something that’s in no way her business with what’s become millions of people online all across the world is that so many of those paying attention to her tweets and sharing them themselves are getting a kick out of others’ pain. That’s disturbing and a pretty damning example of the social media generation’s views on others.

The photo I’ve attached to this blog post is Kelly Keegs from her Twitter profile. She decided to publicly shame a couple during one of the most devastating moments of her life. Now she can see

how it feels to be publicly shamed with her face attached to it, as well.

America Doesn't Care About Gun Violence And You Could Be The Next Victim

Add another one to the list … a shooting that people are horrified by, but ultimately won’t care enough to do a damn thing about and will forget until the next one.

Broadcast journalist Alison Parker and her cameraman Adam Ward were slain today live on WDBJ in Roanoke, Virginia on the morning news by a madman coward who used to work for the station and was fired a few years ago.

You’d think at some point these shootings would be enough to scream to Americans to do something about the gun violence that runs so rapidly in this country and almost nowhere else. You’d think a murder on live television while eating your breakfast might be the final straw, but then again if a mass murder of 20 elementary students wasn’t enough nothing likely ever will.

And so we’re going to keep on adding gun deaths and mass shootings to the list and the bodies will keep piling up because Americans care more about their guns and their second amendment rights than they do innocent human lives.

There's no doubt in my mind that there are worse places to live than the United States, but it doesn't feel like there's any other place in this world who's citizens hate others as much as we do.

We disrespect human life so much that watching them die repeatedly from guns is something we just gloss over and forget. Or even worse something we callously disrespect by claiming the deceased don’t matter as much as an almost 250 year old document created in an age when it couldn’t have even been fathomed how many people could be killed and how quickly by just one firearm.

It doesn’t seem we’re ever going to care and that’s a scary feeling, because it essentially means each and every one of us could be the next names on that gun violence list. The next incidence of gun violence is coming and the victims could be you and me – and a couple of days later no one will even remember our names.

NRA's CEO Arrested for Indecent Exposure at Screening of 'American Sniper'

National Rifle Association CEO and Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre was arrested on Wednesday, Jan. 7 for indecent exposure and public lewdness when he was caught manually pleasuring himself at the Bethesda Row Cinema movie theater in Fairfax, Va. during a screening of the new Clint Eastwood directed movie “American Sniper.”

LaPierre was spotted physically stimulating himself by a theater usher near the midway point of the movie, a biopic of U.S. military sniper Chris Kyle. Kyle was proclaimed to be the most lethal sniper in U.S. military history with 160 confirmed kills out of 255 probable kills. All 160 kills are shown in the film, which is more of a slideshow of headshots than an actual movie. Academy Award-nominated actor Bradley Cooper portrays Kyle in the film.

“American Sniper” has been hailed by many film critics as one of the best films of the year, with Gerry McBride of the Boston Globe saying, “’American Sniper’ is a wet dream of epic proportions for conservatives everywhere.” Hank Baker of The Courier-Journal out of Louisville, Ky. added “you will jizz your pants every time Chris Kyle takes a shot. I guarantee it.”

The usher reportedly asked LaPierre to stop stimulating himself, to which LaPierre mumbled something about his God-given rights as an American. The usher then notified the police officer assigned to provide security at the theater who halted the screening and arrested LaPierre for the indecent exposure and public lewdness.

LaPierre was booked and released on bail from the Fairfax County Police Department within hours of his arrest.

LaPierre has been the CEO and Executive Vice President of the NRA since 1991 and a member of the NRA, the nation’s largest gun rights organization, since 1977. LaPierre has been the controversial voice of the NRA in recent years with statements about how tragedies like the one that occurred at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Ct. in 2012 were direct results of schools being “gun-free zones.” LaPierre and the NRA have also been strictly against gun control laws that would make background checks on gun buyers stricter, despite the fact that the majority of the country is in favor of them.

LaPierre released a statement through his attorneys that read: “My self-pleasure was in self-defense. The only way to stop a bad guy wacking it in a public movie theater is with a good guy wacking it in a public movie theater.”