Vote for Assholocracy as Word of the Year.
Apparently the best way to vote is simply to Google the word a lot.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Damn Bieber Hair
This is another post that has absolutely nothing to do with anything. I fucking hate those Justin Bieber hair cuts! They've been showing up everywhere for the last few years, on TV shows, in commercials, even in real life. And I really really really detest them! Every time I see them I want to grab the kid, and tell him to comb his hair back or get it cut. It has got to be one of the stupidest hair cuts I've ever seen. And I'm guessing it has the added side effect of getting boys to use hair dryers.
You know how there's always one commercial on TV that you can't stand, and then it gets shown over and over and over again until you want to scream? That's how the Bieber hair cut makes me feel. ARGH! When will it finally end!?!
You know how there's always one commercial on TV that you can't stand, and then it gets shown over and over and over again until you want to scream? That's how the Bieber hair cut makes me feel. ARGH! When will it finally end!?!
Monday, October 3, 2011
Pink Body Scans
Well, it's October. You know what that means! I had actually intended to boycott my annual Pink Ribbon Rant, until I saw something on the news this morning: The NFL is going pink this month to support breast cancer awareness. Their Pink homepage says "Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among women in the U.S."
I will state again that I am not attacking women who have cancer. I am attacking the fact that breast cancer is "trendy." That some people think it's a joke that men really do get breast cancer. That breast cancer is not the deadliest form of cancer, or the most common cause of cancer deaths, but it seems to be the ONLY cancer that we talk about.
Okay - that's the pink ribbon rant for now. I originally wanted to rant about the NFL, so I thought I'd combine this into one post. In the interests of public safety, the NFL wants stadiums to pat down everybody entering the stadium! Since the pat downs are described as pretty useless in the article, I can't wait for the full body scans to start up if anything ever goes wrong at a football game.
Edit: Just found this great link listing a number of airport molestations . . . er pat downs.
I will state again that I am not attacking women who have cancer. I am attacking the fact that breast cancer is "trendy." That some people think it's a joke that men really do get breast cancer. That breast cancer is not the deadliest form of cancer, or the most common cause of cancer deaths, but it seems to be the ONLY cancer that we talk about.
Okay - that's the pink ribbon rant for now. I originally wanted to rant about the NFL, so I thought I'd combine this into one post. In the interests of public safety, the NFL wants stadiums to pat down everybody entering the stadium! Since the pat downs are described as pretty useless in the article, I can't wait for the full body scans to start up if anything ever goes wrong at a football game.
Edit: Just found this great link listing a number of airport molestations . . . er pat downs.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
The Prejudice Post - Part II
Yes, there are actual bigots out there. And yes, sometimes it's not that obvious. I'll give you a few examples and let you decide if it's racism or not.
1) A few years ago I got a viral e-mail about the problem with government workers. Because we all know how good they've got it, right? Anyway, this was a short little video of two government employees stuck on an escalator. The problem: the two stupid employees are a black man and a white woman. So I was rather offended and thought the video was racist and sexist. And then something happened. I found out that that isn't the whole video. I found the entire video on Youtube. There are still a few problems. The black man and white woman are stuck on the escalator. And the white repairman comes to save them! But then he gets stuck too. The whole thing made me think though - why did the viral e-mail have the short version without the white man?
2) Nivea is facing cries of racism because of an advertisement. In the ad, a black man is throwing away a bearded, scraggly version of himself, and the tagline is about "Re-civilizing" yourself. A lot of people were offended and thought it was racist. But I didn't hear anyone crying racism for the white version of that ad. So. . . if you're African-American I'm not allowed to talk about certain things because they might offend you? A lot of these problem ads that pop up seem to be from European companies, which makes me think that maybe the problem is actually us.
3) A few years ago I read an article about racism at universities. There was mention of some black American students who studied in the UK. They were offended because when someone asked where they were from, the student would say "I'm American." And the Brit would say, "You are now. But where are you from?" The Brits assumed that people of color immigrated to America from Africa or the Caribbean. They didn't understand that for many black Americans, their families have been here for hundreds of years and were brought here as slaves from somewhere in Africa. These Brits weren't asking white American students where they were from. But is it really racism if they don't know American history?
The whole race situation in America reminds me of an episode of the TV show Bones. The title character goes to a club and says that the music has a tribal feel to it. Her friend tells her not to say that. But a black woman overhears them and is offended. Even though tribes are not a black thing. Yes, Africa has tribes. So do North and South America. So did Europe. There's still a white tribe in northern Scandinavia. And don't forget the Jewish tribes, or the Ainu in Japan.
I was actually nervous about writing this post about prejudice because the whole topic seems verboten in America. We simply aren't allowed to discuss it. And because of that, we can't seem to get past it. Which is why I finally decided to write about it. As a white person, I have to admit that there are times when I feel like I'm walking on eggshells, so that I don't accidentally offend someone who isn't like me. It's very stressful. Because if I offend someone, it's going to be because of something like the Bones episode. Like, if I'm going to Popeye's for lunch, and I ask my co-worker if he wants something from there, if he's black will he think I'm racist? I wouldn't mean it to be offensive, but some people would take it that way. And since I'm the white person, it's possible that I could get in trouble for it.
And the very fact that I say "I could get in trouble for it because I'm white" will cause some people to think I'm racist. I just happen to think that racism cuts in all directions. Another example: I used to live in a state in the Southwest, and I worked in an area that was mostly Hispanic. There were about 12 of us in this department, and my boss and I were the only white people. One of the women bought a new house in a "white" subdivision. And proceeded to regale all of us with tales of how weird and crazy white people are. She even told a few "white people are so stupid" type jokes. I consider that racist. But I never reported her to Human Resources. I brushed off the incidents as her being ignorant. But my boss was really offended and wanted to report her. She never did, because she was worried that it would make the situation at work worse.
The whole situation in America is ridiculous and we have to get past it.
1) A few years ago I got a viral e-mail about the problem with government workers. Because we all know how good they've got it, right? Anyway, this was a short little video of two government employees stuck on an escalator. The problem: the two stupid employees are a black man and a white woman. So I was rather offended and thought the video was racist and sexist. And then something happened. I found out that that isn't the whole video. I found the entire video on Youtube. There are still a few problems. The black man and white woman are stuck on the escalator. And the white repairman comes to save them! But then he gets stuck too. The whole thing made me think though - why did the viral e-mail have the short version without the white man?
2) Nivea is facing cries of racism because of an advertisement. In the ad, a black man is throwing away a bearded, scraggly version of himself, and the tagline is about "Re-civilizing" yourself. A lot of people were offended and thought it was racist. But I didn't hear anyone crying racism for the white version of that ad. So. . . if you're African-American I'm not allowed to talk about certain things because they might offend you? A lot of these problem ads that pop up seem to be from European companies, which makes me think that maybe the problem is actually us.
3) A few years ago I read an article about racism at universities. There was mention of some black American students who studied in the UK. They were offended because when someone asked where they were from, the student would say "I'm American." And the Brit would say, "You are now. But where are you from?" The Brits assumed that people of color immigrated to America from Africa or the Caribbean. They didn't understand that for many black Americans, their families have been here for hundreds of years and were brought here as slaves from somewhere in Africa. These Brits weren't asking white American students where they were from. But is it really racism if they don't know American history?
The whole race situation in America reminds me of an episode of the TV show Bones. The title character goes to a club and says that the music has a tribal feel to it. Her friend tells her not to say that. But a black woman overhears them and is offended. Even though tribes are not a black thing. Yes, Africa has tribes. So do North and South America. So did Europe. There's still a white tribe in northern Scandinavia. And don't forget the Jewish tribes, or the Ainu in Japan.
I was actually nervous about writing this post about prejudice because the whole topic seems verboten in America. We simply aren't allowed to discuss it. And because of that, we can't seem to get past it. Which is why I finally decided to write about it. As a white person, I have to admit that there are times when I feel like I'm walking on eggshells, so that I don't accidentally offend someone who isn't like me. It's very stressful. Because if I offend someone, it's going to be because of something like the Bones episode. Like, if I'm going to Popeye's for lunch, and I ask my co-worker if he wants something from there, if he's black will he think I'm racist? I wouldn't mean it to be offensive, but some people would take it that way. And since I'm the white person, it's possible that I could get in trouble for it.
And the very fact that I say "I could get in trouble for it because I'm white" will cause some people to think I'm racist. I just happen to think that racism cuts in all directions. Another example: I used to live in a state in the Southwest, and I worked in an area that was mostly Hispanic. There were about 12 of us in this department, and my boss and I were the only white people. One of the women bought a new house in a "white" subdivision. And proceeded to regale all of us with tales of how weird and crazy white people are. She even told a few "white people are so stupid" type jokes. I consider that racist. But I never reported her to Human Resources. I brushed off the incidents as her being ignorant. But my boss was really offended and wanted to report her. She never did, because she was worried that it would make the situation at work worse.
The whole situation in America is ridiculous and we have to get past it.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
The Prejudice Post - Part I
This has been bugging me for a while, so I thought I'd finally comment on it. When is racism actually racism? If a white person does something to a black person, is it automatically racist? If a straight person does something to a gay person, is that automatically homophobic?
My answer is No! I'm a woman, and I have actually been discriminated against for being female. I have friends, who are black, who have been discriminated against for being black. I even have a friend who was discriminated against for being white! Anyway, I'm not trying to say that racism or sexism or homophobia don't exist. Obviously, they do. But not EVERY single problem is prejudice-related.
I'm going to let you in on a little secret about me now - I'm fat. I tell you this to illustrate a point. You keep seeing "undercover" specials on TV where people put on fat suits and then get discriminated against. And yes, it does happen. But not all of it is because of being fat. A lot of the people putting on the fat suit are famous or beautiful. So they're going to get better than normal treatment from a lot of people. In disguise, they get normal to sub-normal treatment. As a fat person, I can tell you that I have, in fact, faced very little discrimination. Most of it seems to be sub-conscious discrimination from my students. In general, students seem to have more respect for male teachers than for female teachers. Really, ask around your department. If you're also fat, that's just one more strike against you, male or female.
The point I'm trying to make is that, yes, sometimes it is discrimination. But a lot of the time it isn't. Unfortunately, we're so racially aware in our culture that it causes problems. Let me give you two examples:
1) The recent kerfuffle over a sign at a football game. The sign said "You mad bro?" Now, if this had been two all-white teams playing, or two all-black teams playing, no one would care. But as the losing team was mostly black (and I'm guessing the winning team mostly white) there have been accusations of racism. The problem is that "You mad bro?" is a relatively common meme online. And it's not racist. Now, I could see some of the white team finding it "extra fun" because the other team is black. But it's not necessarily racist. The word "bro" isn't only used by people with dark skin.
A few years ago a woman running for office in California was accused of racism, because she used the expression "call a spade a spade." That's a gardening term that has existed for a long time. A spade is a type of shovel. But some people just seem on the lookout for offense. That's next.
2) My Little Pony has a new cartoon series out. I've watched some of it. But I was surprised to find a blog posting ranting about how prejudiced the series is. Here's the original blog post. And here's a rebuttal post from the show's producer (white female). You should read both of them. The original poster (also white female) seems to take a few screen shots of the series, and read an episode description, then decide that the entire series is racist, sexist, homophobic, and anti-smart people. WOW! What an amazingly thorough job! As the rebuttal points out (and my own viewing corroborates) the show is NOT prejudiced. But this is the problem with our society. The original poster wanted it to be prejudiced. Or she just wanted to stir up some shit, without caring about the truth. Both of those are big problems today. And it has to stop. Because there actually are racist people out there. So stop castigating the non-racists. Don't make up shit that distracts us from the real problems.
More tomorrow.
My answer is No! I'm a woman, and I have actually been discriminated against for being female. I have friends, who are black, who have been discriminated against for being black. I even have a friend who was discriminated against for being white! Anyway, I'm not trying to say that racism or sexism or homophobia don't exist. Obviously, they do. But not EVERY single problem is prejudice-related.
I'm going to let you in on a little secret about me now - I'm fat. I tell you this to illustrate a point. You keep seeing "undercover" specials on TV where people put on fat suits and then get discriminated against. And yes, it does happen. But not all of it is because of being fat. A lot of the people putting on the fat suit are famous or beautiful. So they're going to get better than normal treatment from a lot of people. In disguise, they get normal to sub-normal treatment. As a fat person, I can tell you that I have, in fact, faced very little discrimination. Most of it seems to be sub-conscious discrimination from my students. In general, students seem to have more respect for male teachers than for female teachers. Really, ask around your department. If you're also fat, that's just one more strike against you, male or female.
The point I'm trying to make is that, yes, sometimes it is discrimination. But a lot of the time it isn't. Unfortunately, we're so racially aware in our culture that it causes problems. Let me give you two examples:
1) The recent kerfuffle over a sign at a football game. The sign said "You mad bro?" Now, if this had been two all-white teams playing, or two all-black teams playing, no one would care. But as the losing team was mostly black (and I'm guessing the winning team mostly white) there have been accusations of racism. The problem is that "You mad bro?" is a relatively common meme online. And it's not racist. Now, I could see some of the white team finding it "extra fun" because the other team is black. But it's not necessarily racist. The word "bro" isn't only used by people with dark skin.
A few years ago a woman running for office in California was accused of racism, because she used the expression "call a spade a spade." That's a gardening term that has existed for a long time. A spade is a type of shovel. But some people just seem on the lookout for offense. That's next.
2) My Little Pony has a new cartoon series out. I've watched some of it. But I was surprised to find a blog posting ranting about how prejudiced the series is. Here's the original blog post. And here's a rebuttal post from the show's producer (white female). You should read both of them. The original poster (also white female) seems to take a few screen shots of the series, and read an episode description, then decide that the entire series is racist, sexist, homophobic, and anti-smart people. WOW! What an amazingly thorough job! As the rebuttal points out (and my own viewing corroborates) the show is NOT prejudiced. But this is the problem with our society. The original poster wanted it to be prejudiced. Or she just wanted to stir up some shit, without caring about the truth. Both of those are big problems today. And it has to stop. Because there actually are racist people out there. So stop castigating the non-racists. Don't make up shit that distracts us from the real problems.
More tomorrow.
Posting
Wow - it's been a while since I posted. There have been a number of things bugging me lately that I feel the need to rant about, so bear with me as I begin.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Body Scanners & Molestation
Well, it's been a busy week for the TSA. First, a woman in Phoenix grabbed a TSA agent's breast, and is being accused of molestation. Remember, it's not molestation when they do it to you! Secondly, several TSA agents are being prosecuted for stealing from passengers' luggage. What a great way to make extra money! [At least they weren't playing practical jokes.] Last, but definitely not least, finally, finally, FINALLY the TSA is getting rid of those damn naked pictures of us. The newest body scanners just show a "block figure" with a box near any area that needs extra screening. Hopefully they'll get those rolled out before I have to fly again! And I really like the way the article points out that the new body scanners will probably take over soon, because THEY'RE CHEAPER.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
I used to love flying . . .
It looks like it may finally happen. Remember all my rants about how evil body scanners are? And how the terrorists will find some way around it and we'll all end up getting cavity searched before we can get on a fucking airplane? Well that may be just around the corner. Because now the terrorists are thinking of implanting bombs inside people! And that means new detection methods!!!
So now if I want to fly, I have to pay outrageous fees for my bags, sometimes even a carry-on; I can't have any liquids more than 3 ounces that fit in a small baggie; I must have a picture ID, unless I'm using the wrong boarding pass; I have to let the TSA either see pictures of me naked or molest me (although that may change for kids); and I probably won't even get food or drinks on the plane unless I buy my own, after security.
Weee..... I feel safer already.
Of course, if kids aren't getting molested by the TSA, then they would make the perfect people to implant these bombs in. Which I'm sure Al-Qaida already knows. When will the US learn that you can't make air travel 100% safe, and that most of us would rather still have some of our civil liberties instead of leaving them at the airport door? I mean, what's next???? No carry-on baggage, and we all strip down and don scrubs for our flight? Because that's about the only way you could make things safer.
I'll see you in the anal probe line.
So now if I want to fly, I have to pay outrageous fees for my bags, sometimes even a carry-on; I can't have any liquids more than 3 ounces that fit in a small baggie; I must have a picture ID, unless I'm using the wrong boarding pass; I have to let the TSA either see pictures of me naked or molest me (although that may change for kids); and I probably won't even get food or drinks on the plane unless I buy my own, after security.
Weee..... I feel safer already.
Of course, if kids aren't getting molested by the TSA, then they would make the perfect people to implant these bombs in. Which I'm sure Al-Qaida already knows. When will the US learn that you can't make air travel 100% safe, and that most of us would rather still have some of our civil liberties instead of leaving them at the airport door? I mean, what's next???? No carry-on baggage, and we all strip down and don scrubs for our flight? Because that's about the only way you could make things safer.
I'll see you in the anal probe line.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Levitating Woman
You may have seen this already (I found it on Yahoo!): A Japanese woman who takes photos of herself "levitating." I thought they were pretty cool. Here's the link (and it's on my side menu now too).
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
What the hell is wrong with people!
Okay, this has been bugging me for a while. What the hell is wrong with people on the internet!?! How can a seemingly normal person, in real life, get on the internet and turn into a raving lunatic bully?
Example: That really horrible song Friday by that teenager. I mean, yeah, I hated the song. But I don't feel the need to log in to YouTube or e-mail her and call her names or send fucking death threats!
Other examples: I remember watching a news program who talked with a family whose daughter had died in a car wreck. The pictures wound up on the internet, and the family was getting e-mails from people saying "I'm glad she's dead," "she deserved to die," etc.
More examples: Sites like Slate Magazine are now requiring commenters to log in with a Facebook or Yahoo! or etc. ID. Because people are nicer when others know who they are.
Oh, and before someone calls me a hypocrite, because I'm semi-anonymous and I said that Rush Limbaugh needs to die! - Rush dishes it out every day on his show. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about ordinary, innocent people, who someone get their name known and then get attacked over NOTHING! People need to grow up and realize that if they wouldn't say something to that person's face, then they shouldn't say it on the internet. [And I would happily tell Rush Limbaugh to his face that he is an asshole.]
Example: That really horrible song Friday by that teenager. I mean, yeah, I hated the song. But I don't feel the need to log in to YouTube or e-mail her and call her names or send fucking death threats!
Other examples: I remember watching a news program who talked with a family whose daughter had died in a car wreck. The pictures wound up on the internet, and the family was getting e-mails from people saying "I'm glad she's dead," "she deserved to die," etc.
More examples: Sites like Slate Magazine are now requiring commenters to log in with a Facebook or Yahoo! or etc. ID. Because people are nicer when others know who they are.
Oh, and before someone calls me a hypocrite, because I'm semi-anonymous and I said that Rush Limbaugh needs to die! - Rush dishes it out every day on his show. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about ordinary, innocent people, who someone get their name known and then get attacked over NOTHING! People need to grow up and realize that if they wouldn't say something to that person's face, then they shouldn't say it on the internet. [And I would happily tell Rush Limbaugh to his face that he is an asshole.]
Friday, April 29, 2011
Boycott Body Scanners! Update III
The latest victim of a pat down is Miss USA 2003. She has started a Twitter campaign against the invasive pat downs and talks about the experience in a video on her blog.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Boycott Body Scanners! Update II
I started reading Wil Wheaton's blog last year. It's pretty good. Well, he just flew to Vancouver and as he left LA he was basically molested by the TSA agent giving him a pat-down. It was so bad he became physically ill and says he's going to contact an attorney. At least he has some name recognition. But how many people have to be irradiated or molested so that I can be "safe" when I fly on a plane?
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Learn To Spell!
I've recently discovered a site called Passive Aggressive Notes. It's hilarious! Weird notes from people all over the world, in English. The problem is that most of these notes are misspelled. And I don't mean difficult words. I mean words like "stupid" (stuiped). Admittedly, some of these notes are written by kids or by people who have English as a second language. But the majority are written by English-speaking people who supposedly graduated from high school. After hours of scrolling through this homage to our educational system, I became rather depressed. How can I expect my students to spell, if regular adults can't?
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Free Speech is Free Speech: Part 5 Supreme Court is Correct
Those idiots at the Westboro Baptist Church do have the right to protest military funerals. I'm glad the Supreme Court made the correct decision but I really feel for the military families that have to listen to that crap. Maybe individual cities can enact some kind of law that funeral protesters need a license and they can deny the license for Westboro.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
More White Terrorists
So what counts as terrorism these days? Brown-skinned people in strange clothing? What about white people killing light-browned skinned people? Apparently that's not terrorism, that's activism. And it hasn't really made the TV news much either.
An anti-illegal immigrant militia (read terrorists) killed a man and his 9-year old daughter in Arizona. Who were actually American-born US citizens. But these terrorists aren't called terrorists in the news, just activists.
What really pisses me off so much about this is that the Spanish were the original conquerors in the Southwest and "Hispanics" lived there long before white people showed up. But once these areas became "American" then anyone who wasn't white became an outsider, even if their family had lived there for hundreds of years.
An anti-illegal immigrant militia (read terrorists) killed a man and his 9-year old daughter in Arizona. Who were actually American-born US citizens. But these terrorists aren't called terrorists in the news, just activists.
What really pisses me off so much about this is that the Spanish were the original conquerors in the Southwest and "Hispanics" lived there long before white people showed up. But once these areas became "American" then anyone who wasn't white became an outsider, even if their family had lived there for hundreds of years.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Who's a Terrorist?
I just saw this article on Yahoo! A man in Dearborn, Michigan was arrested. He's a Muslim and he was outside of a church, carrying banned explosives. But he's not called a terrorist!
Oh wait - maybe I should tell you the truth: it wasn't a Muslim. It was a white man with explosives outside of a mosque. He was arrested for a terroristic threat. But so far, I haven't seen one word of him being called a terrorist. Look at my first paragraph of this post - if it was a Muslim outside a Christian church with explosives, this would be all over the news. But it's not. Because white people aren't terrorists.
Oh wait - maybe I should tell you the truth: it wasn't a Muslim. It was a white man with explosives outside of a mosque. He was arrested for a terroristic threat. But so far, I haven't seen one word of him being called a terrorist. Look at my first paragraph of this post - if it was a Muslim outside a Christian church with explosives, this would be all over the news. But it's not. Because white people aren't terrorists.
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