Stereotyping or Something More Sinister?

No one should like being stereotyped. Not only is it insulting to you personally, it's downright offensive to an entire group of people. If you're not offended to your core by it, then you haven't been enlightened because it should offend anyone with a modicum of common sense. Sadly, most people are so apathetic these days that they can't muster up enough interest to care what's happening to others around them. But heaven forbid should someone, like the mainstream media, stick a label on them! That would just be wrong. Really? Wow, funny how self-interest will change a person's whole attitude.

Let's take a good look at what stereotyping by Hollywood, mainstream media and others has done to entire groups of innocent people. It's amazing what images come to mind when we hear certain words or think about certain concepts. When I say "trailer trash," an immediate image springs to mind. Do you conjure up images of white folks with little or no self-esteem living in a tin house on wheels? Are they drinking and/or doing drugs, riding Harley motorcycles, driving rusty cars and trucks when they aren't up on blocks, having too many children running wild in the streets with at least one wearing a dirty diaper and in need of a tissue for that snotty nose? Are the obese women wearing stretch pants and oversized t-shirts to shop at the local Wal-mart as the fat, lazy men sit around with their beer guts hanging out of undersized t-shirts watching the grass grow and guzzling cans of Keystone or whatever was on sale at the local Pak a Sak? Since "Trailer Trash" is a close cousin to "white trash," does that call up additional images of dirty, uneducated, white people with bad dental hygiene living in squalor in some rundown shack with a living room sofa sitting out front, in the knee high grass, where it's being used as lawn furniture? Do you imagine a rusty a car or truck sitting on concrete blocks somewhere in the vicinity of the sofa and at least three or four large mixed breed dogs napping under the sagging front porch? Apply the same descriptions from "trailer trash" to "white trash" and you're good to go. And let’s not forget, "Rednecks" are a kissing cousin to the "trashy" folks but usually involve overalls and guns - never a good combination. If you listen closely, will you hear the sound of banjos? It may just be in your head but you hear them; I know you do.

If I said, “Think Southern Baptist” would images of the good folks from the Bible Belt pop into your head? Does a roadtrip through Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi have you imagining all kinds of things about some of our most devout Christians? After all, aren't these the folks in their crisp white shirts and ties and the floral print dresses thumping their bibles and praising God on Sunday; even though, Saturday night the men got dressed up in those snowy white robes with the pointy hoods, as the women waved them off, to go plant a burning cross on the front yard of some unfortunate black person? Can't you just hear them saying in that slow, sinister southern drawl from the shadows outside the firelight – “We don't want your kind in our town so maybe it'd be best if you just move on away from here”? Now don't that just curl your toes? Of course that's what they all sound like, right? Obviously, you can't miss it; so, be sure to listen for it the next time you're on vacation down south and you stop for gas after dark.

Only a very small percentage of our population is anything like what I've portrayed above but Hollywood and the mainstream media persist in displaying those derogatory images to us. I didn't make them up; I took what they’ve repeatedly shown us and put it into words so you could see for yourself what they do on a daily basis to influence how we think about each other. None of this even begins to cover what they do to other ethnic groups around the country; African Americans, Hispanics, Arabs, etc. We’re become so disinterested in those around us and what they’re being subjected to that we literally don’t pay any attention to the swill we’re being fed about our friends and neighbors. All because the color of their skin is darker; they practice a different religion or maybe they just didn’t have the good fortune to be born here. What’s sadder and more sinister is when the police look at someone and conjure those same images with different results in mind; they call it racial profiling. In the last year, over 600,000 people were racially profiled on the streets of New York. Many were interrogated on the spot and subjected to searches of their personal property. One was a 16 year old boy who had forgotten his house key and was looking in his own window to see if anyone else was home to let him inside. Another was a business man that was stopped almost daily on his way home from the bus stop in his neighborhood. He began taking other routes home just to avoid being harassed by police. The majority of these stops are unreported with no written record as proof that these innocent people were ever harassed by police. I wonder, has any of this gotten through to you yet? Saddest and most disturbing of all is that you probably still can’t summon up enough interest to care – until it’s your turn.

VOTE OUT THE INCUMBENTS - ALL OF THEM!

So many people think we need the government to tell us how to live every aspect of our lives. I’d just like for them to butt the hell out. We’ve given the government too much power now and we’ll never get it back without a rebellion & civil war. People don’t understand that they’ve created a monster that they can no longer control. Congress has no incentive & no desire to hurry up and find a solution for anything - not to ease our financial burdens nor to create true diplomatic foreign policies. Legislators have all the time in world to research ideas, study possible effects and make decisions because we've given it to them in the form of unlimited terms in office. Maybe the general public is too stupid or just too apathetic to vote the incumbents out of office and set term limits. {I’m not sure the public could vote for and institute term limits now even if they wanted.} If our representatives & senators feared for their jobs, they’d get off their asses and fix what’s wrong with the country. Instead we let those carpetbaggers sit on Capitol Hill till they’re so old they’re practically rotting from the inside out. And all the while, we’re taxed to death for every bad bailout, every welfare & government hand-out, and every global warming/climate crisis scam they can invent. This doesn’t even begin to cover the raises & perks those shysters give themselves hidden deep in the pages of various bills that go from house to senate. Aw, let’s vote more money for teachers & education and while we’re at it, on page 435 article 62 paragraph 17 sub-paragraph 9, we’re going to vote ourselves a tidy little raise of 4% for all the work we do to run the country for the idiot masses and the poor & down-trodden.


There’s no recovery from where we are. We’ve given the people in power all the rope they need to hang us and damned if they aren’t doing a brilliant job of it. All we can do is ride it out until the turmoil reaches its natural conclusion, which is the eventual civil uprising, the freedom fight (again) & the installment of a new government after this one has been beaten back and crushed into submission. Americans should be paying closer attention to the government of Honduras and how they’re handling Zelaya's misbegotten attempt to stay in power beyond his allotted term limit. We might learn a thing or two from the Hondurans, if we’re smart enough. Of course we may not have to worry about any of that if the H1N1 flu kills off two-thirds of the world’s population in the next year or so.

I believe we’re past the point where we could vote a real change at the ballot box. I’m afraid that we’ve given away all our rights & freedoms so that if we were to try and take them back now, we’d be accused of home-grown terrorism and thrown under the jail without legal representation or a fair trial. We may have the right to bear arms but have you tried to buy bullets lately? We have the right to assemble but when we do, we’ve got to be careful what we say or we’ll be turned in for inciting to riot and heaven forbid if you hand out a leaflet - even if it is a copy a of the US Constitution - it's now considered terrorist propaganda to do so. We have the right to life but not if it costs the government too much to treat us so we have a quality of life worth living. We have the right to liberty but only after we’ve been told what liberties we’re allowed to have. We have the right to the pursuit of happiness but not if it means leaving the country and taking our money with us. Tried leaving the country lately? Even that is getting harder to do. Irony: It's easier to get in than it is to get out. Now that ought to scare the hell out of people.

Wake up people and VOTE OUT THE INCUMBENTS - ALL OF THEM! - before we lose the right to decide anything ever again.

US Open 2009: Serena Williams Goes Nuclear

Serena lost her temper and got seriously pissed. Yes, it was unprofessional, but it was human and I don't fault her for it. Sadly, as a society, we've become so caught up in being good little unemotional robots on the playing field that we aren't allowed to display our true feelings or voice how we're feeling while we're IN THE MOMENT. And that's like trying to remove warts from a frog. We need to remember that athletes are pumping so much adrenaline through their systems that it's damn near impossible to keep emotions in check. If we act happy or celebrate a victory, we're taunting the other team with our prowess. Well, so what - we won didn't we? If we act sad or get angry, then we're sore losers and babies. Well, so what - we lost didn't we? We should be able to celebrate and bask in in the glory of our victory. If that includes telling the loser that he lost and he's a loser because of it, then what's the big deal. He lost - by definition, he's a loser. Maybe he'll practice more, work harder, prepare better and annihilate us next time. The declaration I am better than you coupled with a desire to prove it in the arena is the basis for competitive sports. Having our emotions sucked out of us takes away the essence of competition. Emotions are the core of us and if we cut them off, we're shutting off what makes us human and not robots.

Serena will be required by polite society to issue a public apology for her meltdown. She'll do it and be contrite and show remorse for her actions. All will be well. I just feel bad for her because she was being truer to herself with the outburst than she will be with this apology. Either way, I still love Serena Williams and enjoy watching her play with all the emotion that entails.

When Celebrities Self-Destruct

Michael Jackson, dead at 50. How sad and heartbreaking. If Michael had any true friends that cared about him and not his money, they're nowhere to be seen. It's just not possible for friends to allow another friend to deteriorate the way Michael did these last few months in preparation for this comeback concert in London. And where was Michael's family, for God's sake? Didn't anyone care enough about this man to try to save his life?

Michael Jackson's death is a supreme tragedy and sounds eerily familiar. We watched as the mystery unfolded around the death of Anna Nicole Smith a couple of years ago. Anna's 'handlers' kept her doped up, sedated and isolated while they drained her money away. Her true friends were nowhere to be seen either. They had all let themselves be driven away by unscrupulous people that only had their own best interests at heart. According to Anna, with or without input from her handlers, her family was not any better than rest of the vampires sucking her dry. How sad is that? But in reality, blood relatives are nothing but an accident of birth. 'Family' can be whoever you want them to be, blood or no. It's just a matter of deciding whether you love them enough to make them a part of your family.

Frankly, I expected Britney Spears to follow the same path to destruction but intervention from her dad may have saved her from this particular macabre 'circus.' I applaud his decision to do something instead of standing idly by and allowing his daughter to continue to self-destruct. Good for Jamie for stepping up and being a parent. I make no comment about him managing her career. That's not for me to say but I will say this much: Britney's not dead, career-wise or in actuality. That's gotta count for something. FYI people, Lindsey Lohan could use a parent, too. Is there anyone out there that's up for the job?

What would it be like to have cameras, nosy photographers and reporters for every magazine and newspaper known to man, and some that aren't, constantly taking pictures, recording video and writing stories - factual or embellished - to feed the public's appetite for celebrity news? I couldn't begin to imagine because I'm a huge fan of personal privacy and have a hard time dealing with other people living in my house, even if it is my own daughter and her boyfriend. So what then must it be like to have your every move recorded and scrutinzed by the court of public opinion? The public demands so much of their stars (actors, singers, supermodels, etc) but it breaks some of them mentally and spiritually. John Q Public, for the most part, couldn't care less either.

Amy Winehouse is a perfect example of the public's disdain. She's self-destructing and the majority of public opinion says - how sad but it's her own fault for taking all the drugs. All right, she's responsible for her own mess but doesn't anyone care enough to try to stop her from killing herself? Isn't anyone a close enough friend to keep trying instead of just walking away and letting her continue with her self-destruction?

Sometimes, I think the public builds a celebrity up and up and up until they've reached the pinnacle of their success and waits, hoping that a scandal will topple the star they've worked tirelessly to build, just to see how far that celebrity can fall. Why? Because John & Jane Public are human and as such are prone to envy, pride and wrath. Confused? Don't be, it's simple. Everyone thinks they can do what Tom Cruise, Heidi Klum or Britney Spears does and do it better. That would be pride, misplaced though it is. Their only problem is that no one has given them a break to launch their career. That would be envy. Finally, they sit at home nuturing imagined slights, feeding them with every rumor and disasterous news story they read, just waiting for the moment when they can say, "I told you so!" and feel 'oh so much better' about themselves. That's wrath, in case you missed it. Extremely disturbing behavior and more true than most would be willing to admit.

What's even more disturbing, or should be, is that society has grown so inured to all the damage inflicted on others that we don't even blink anymore. Celebrities are blamed for bringing it on themselves by becoming the actor, singer, supermodel that we helped to create when we bought the magazines and watched the celebrity news shows. When they ask for privacy, or ask for help of any kind, or fight back against the constant intrusions, we soothe our consciences by absolving ourselves of any participation in all the drama. We aren't responsible, we tell ourselves. We didn't do it; we weren't involved.

The lack of humanity and compassion for Anna, Michael, Amy, Britney and all the others that give of themselves to entertain us is astounding. Celebrities don't belong to us. They aren't toys or our personal property to use and abuse as we desire.

French Open 2009: Martinez Sanchez Cheats in Match Against S. Williams

Nothing disgusts me more than to watch a sporting event and see a competitor cheat. Sanchez did just that when the ball hit her arm and she said nothing to correct the misconception that the ball hit her racket instead; it gave her a game winning point and the all important mental edge. Serena attempted to apologize for hitting Sanchez but when Sanchez refused to acknowledge being hit by the ball, Serena then called Sanchez into account on it and appealed to the umpire, Emmanuelle Joseph, who did nothing to correct the injustice. He didn't even bother to ask Sanchez if the ball hit her. At the speed the ball was traveling, it would've been easy to see a mark on her arm but the umpire didn't even spare a glance in that direction. For the umpire not to ask a direct question of Sanchez or even inspect her arm for what would have to be an obvious mark, I consider that incompetence and a serious indiscretion. There's no way to make this a fair contest between two reasonably matched opponents now. Human error, incompetence and a desire to win at any cost - even to the point of cheating - has entered the arena. Sanchez should be ashamed of herself but probably isn't nor will she be if her attitude is any indication and the umpire, Joseph, should go back to watching instant replay film until he can learn to identify correct calls.

There's something to be said for Fair Play. It's just a real shame that some people don't understand what that means. Of course these are only my own opinions but I stand by them.

Unemployment, Government Corruption & the Ties That Bind

I'm unemployed. The company that I work - ok, worked - for is either going to be sold or it will merge with another local company. Regardless, it no longer exists as it once did. I'm not entirely unhappy with that because there are many things I'd like to do now that I'm free to pursue other avenues of interest to me. The big GLITCH in all of this is my right to draw the unemployment benefits that I paid to the state when I had a job. Let me just say right now, up front and in no uncertain terms - I hate our government and the system it operates under with a white hot searing passion.

Today, I was supposed to be at an orientation meeting getting enlightened as to how my money will aid me in finding another job in the field I was last employed in or to help me get training in something new to avoid yet another layoff in that same old industry. I left 45 minutes early, got slightly turned around in a city 30 miles away and one that I've spent markedly little time in since the last time I was unemployed, which was over 6 years ago. I did the correct thing and called for directions and arrived 7 minutes late. The group for the orientation meeting had already been called in and the meeting was under way. I was informed that I couldn't enter now as it was too late and I'd have to return next week - driving another 30+ miles one way and leaving even earlier to ensure that for whatever reason I was NOT even a single second late, just in case. After shaking my head in frustration, irritation and bemused speechlessness over government ignorance, I walked out. As I drove away, I called the same number back and informed the woman that answered that I would not be back next week because I hadn't been paid all the benefits I had previously filed claims for in recent weeks and therefore, did not have the gas money to make yet another 60+ mile round trip. This was the woman that had called out to me as I walked away that there was a meeting next week I needed to attend. Over the phone, she informed me that "by not attending the orientation, it could affect your benefits." In straight talk, she had just informed me that I was being extorted - blackmailed - to show up or I won't get the unemployment money I've already been informed, in writing, that I'm to receive and that should be mine by rights as I was forced to pay it out of my own salary with every paycheck I took home. I felt the need to point out that I lived over 30 miles away and that if I had received the benefits that I'd filed claims on, it might not be such a burden to me financially. She asked if I'd applied for food stamps. No, I assumed it would be part of the information presented in the orientation that I wasn't allowed to attend. She informed me that if I came back she would explain how things worked so I could make the most of the programs available. Funny, she didn't mention me waiting around a few minutes so she could provide explanations when she was informing me that I'd have to come back next week. Plus, my immediate reaction to leave may have taken her by surprise but it was for her own "benefit." Love the irony of that one. I had no desire or reason to stay in the miserable atmosphere surrounding that office one minute longer than necessary. In fact, let me state unequivocally that I completely understand some peoples' need to go postal. I do not condone it but I get it with the full understanding that there are some folks out there that deliberately provoke others into violent behavior and do so because they believe they are inviolate and untouchable. With my new-found understanding, I will never again condemn the ones that take action. If I hadn't left right then my emotions may have gotten the better of me. I wanted to yank that woman across her desk and scream in her face until her ears bled. Then I wanted her to be unemployed with no money, no food, no gas and no power to get anything unless she performed tricks for the puppeteers. Of course after I got my emotions under control, I realized that I wanted all of that to happen to the legislators that are bleeding me, and the rest of this country, dry through taxes whichever way I turn. I also figure if they don't give me those unemployment benefits, then I'll just wait until I'm homeless and the county or state will be forced to care for me. It's really pretty under the trees there in front of the Texas Workforce Commission office and when I have no place else to go because I can't pay my rent, it'll make for a nice place sleep, hang out and sing the "praises" of our system to each new unemployed lost soul that enters through those doors. Wonder how quickly they would respond to get me "relocated" so I'm no longer "disturbing the peace"?

I'm under no illusions about our government. They want our money, all of it, and God forbid, should we ever demand any of it back. My government feels I'm too stupid to handle my own unemployment money and the responsibility of having that money to pay my bills, buy groceries and maybe pay to take a class. So, they must dole it out to me like a child getting an allowance. Just like people are too stupid to handle their own retirement money (social security) but guess what? There's not going to be any of that left either soon enough and the idiots running that circus did it without any help. How nice that the ones that were forced to pay into Social Security so they could one day retire won't have any of that so-called security after all. It's been leeched out bit by bit for other government "social" services. Isn't that comforting? Doesn't that make you feel secure? But hey - that's a rant for another day.

Every elected government official needs to suffer and do without just like the many thousands out there. No one can know what's best for you until they've walked a mile in your shoes. The spoiled, the rich and those clueless to the everyday lives of the poor should never be allowed to hold office or vote on issues pertaining to the poor until they've lived in those conditions themselves for at least a year. No safety loophole either. They should all have to live in abject poverty without medical care, wondering where their next meal is going to come from and if the water is clean enough to drink. People do not learn life lessons without experiencing them. Just as a child doesn't learn that a hot stove should not be touched until he's burned himself; then, and only then, the child has learned a lesson he will not forget for the rest of his life. How are our elected officials supposed to learn how to help the poor and unemployed if they've never experienced poverty in all its despair and misery?

One-upmanship

One-upmanship or as it's more commonly called: The Pissing Contest. Why is it that when something happens in your life, whether it's good or bad, there's at least one person that you share the news with that invariably has it better or worse than you do? Not only that, but however bad your news is, they don't just have it bad - their news is catastrophic bad? So, instead of your friend commiserating with you over your bad fortune, you wind up consoling them over whatever problem has reared its ugly head and stolen your moment. Doesn't that just suck?

Now, imagine that the person one-upping you constantly is your own mother! How's that for a kick in the head? It wouldn't matter if I won the lottery; she'd win a bigger lottery or else marry someone with more money than the Pope. It's virtually impossible for me to call her and have a conversation relating to anything that pertains to me. She might ask me how I'm doing but she immediately turns the conversation around to her and her aches and pains, her stomach problems and how she can't sleep at night. Oh, and don't worry, she's got more doctors than the President, takes more pills than Courtney Love and has had more surgery than Joan Rivers has had face lifts. My mother is 70 years old so I tend to let her rattle on about it all as I work a crossword puzzle. Trust me - It's just easier.

My sister-in-law is just as bad as my mother. She will interrupt you or talk over you to make her point about how bad her back pains are or how difficult it is to get up, sit down or straighten up. All this from a woman who substitute taught some aerobics/jazzercize classes and the students referred to her as the Terminator. She'll be getting her personal trainer certification, or whatever it is, soon. I don't have much sympathy for her; she's younger than me and in much better shape, obviously. I let her rattle on, too, because if I didn't, she'd just talk over me or interrupt me again seconds later. We don't talk much anymore; I got tired of all the interruptions.

Is there anyone in your life that drives you up the wall by always one-upping you? Leave a comment and tell me about. I promise not to interrupt or to one-up you.

Petition to Change Monday to FirstDay

I believe we should petition to change Monday's name. Mondays SUCK. No argument there and I'm not trying to change anyone's mind about it either. We should have an alternative to Monday. A day that doesn't induce depression and a desire to slit one's wrists when its name is mentioned. I don't know about the rest of you but I've been working most of my life, since I was 15 and I'm on the backside of 45. That's 30 years of my life and that sucks, too. Being a slave to the time clock only makes Monday seem that much worse. Think about it. Thirty years worth of Mondays are enough to drive even the sanest person to drink and that's probably the least awful option. I've had some really bad Mondays, too. I've walked through the workplace door and thought, "If he says one word to me in the wrong tone..." or if she had looked at me cross-eyed, I would've snapped. I do understand how people go "postal" and for me, it's because there's just not enough time away from the pressures of the job and coworkers. Add to that, all the errands that have to be run on the weekend because you're too tired after work or don't have time to do them during the week. There's laundry, house-cleaning, yard work, and just trying to rest up from the work week. What happens when kids are added to that mix? I'd have the screaming mimi's nowadays if I had to deal with obnoxious kids on a Monday morning. I still dread waking up on Monday morning knowing I have to go to work. Now that I can't afford to retire in 4 years like I had planned, having a business where I love what I do sounds like a dream. I'm just not sure whether it would be enough to support me and mine in this current financial climate. Or maybe if I didn't have to wake up to yet another Monday, I could get through the week without wanting to kill myself or some idiot coworker that won't shut up. So, my plan: Change Monday to FirstDay.

Right now - today - we need to unite and take a stand! Mondays are detrimental to our mental health and as such, need to be addressed during the upcoming universal healthcare discussions. Add your name to the comments section below. We can do this!

Sure Happy It's Thursday!

It's Oh SHIT day, yay! That's Sure Happy It's Thursday for the un-initiated. It's also my first post. I would've liked something more profound but really, all things considering with the economy, etc., this is working out to be just right. This post pretty much sums up what you'll find here on any given day. I hope you won't be disappointed but if you are, tell me about it. Leave comment or send me an email.