Tag Archives: Ferguson riots

Political Correctness – Boo Hoo, I’m a Victim!

The age of information, spawned by the advent of the computer, personal devices and social media, is truly a marvelous invention.  One can go on the internet and get instantaneous news, weather, sports, or buy parts for your weed whacker with just the click of a button.  You can earn a degree without leaving your home.  We can get instant videos of traffic crashes, riots, and sometimes even murders because of the capabilities of those personal devices.   But like all good things, these devices can be used for nefarious purposes such as child pornography, spamming or a membership to join Ashley Madison.

One of the negative benefits of all these marvelous capabilities in the advancement of ‘political correctness.’  To me, ‘political correctness’ is an excuse to minimize the responsibility of an individual, turn that person into a victim, and then beat their cause over the heads of everyone else to prove they are a victim.  I am so disgruntled with all the crap that is being expounded in the name of ‘political correctness’ that it has turned my blue eyes brown!  Enough already!

This really hit home to me this summer.  While Grandma P and I were visiting our grandchildren, we got onto the subject of bullying.  I am aware of three types of bullying; physical, verbal and cyber.  If there are other types, I plead ignorance.

Unfortunately, as I was growing up, Polish jokes were common.  Why does a Pollock have a ‘ski’ at the end of their name?  Because they don’t know how to spell toboggan!  It went on and on.  As I was the token Polish person in a community full of Swedes and Norwegians and the only Pollock in our school, I was the target.  One day, I mentioned this to Big Daddy G.  Big Daddy G gave me some sound advice.  He said, “Son, if you can’t take a joke, you better become a good fighter.”  I chose to take the joke.  I took all of these jokes in stride and eventually the Polish jokes subsided.  I was being teased in a good-natured way and I oftentimes laughed with the joke.  Some of them were funny.  I heard most of them about a hundred times.  Was I a victim?

Back to the grandchildren.  The subject comes up about bullying.  My eight year old granddaughter, who happens to be cute as a button, friendly as can be and extremely personable says to us, “Grandpa, I have been bullied.”  What?  You just finished the second grade.  So I asked, “Did someone hit you?  Has someone verbally abused you?”  She did not have an answer.  I am positive that my granddaughter was being teased by some second grade boys to get her attention.  If I were in the second grade, that is what I would do.  Unfortunately, she is too young to know the difference between bullying and teasing.  I blame the internet sensation of political correctness in creating victims, even of  our youngsters.

LGBTQ

Never has such a small group of people, approximately 2.5% of our population, garnered as much media attention as this group.  A true case of the tail wagging the dog.

Over the years, I have known many gay men.  I did not agree with their lifestyle, but I tolerated it as their choice of lifestyle.  So be it.  I did not think that it was fair that they had to be ‘in the closet.’  What I am beginning to take offense with is that they have moved from the closet to the podium, and it doesn’t look like they are giving up the spotlight any time soon.

Last week, some actress of unknown merit, berated presidential candidate Ted Cruz while he was stumping in Iowa.  Her question?  “Senator, how do you plan on protecting gays and lesbians in the workplace?”  How do you answer that?  What would an appropriate answer be?  Are we going to hire armed guards to accompany every openly gay or lesbian in the workplace?  What about the BTQ’s of the LGBTQ organization?

Grandma P and I are both upset about all the displays of lesbian and gay affection on our TV shows and movies.  It is being injected even though it has nothing to do with the central theme of the show.  We are not so naïve to believe it does not happen, but do we have to watch it, too? Most of this is a deliberate Hollywood movement to desensitize us about same-sex affection.  Apparently it is working because in a recent poll, the under 25 crowd thought up to 50% of our population is gay, when in reality it is less than 3%!  (As an aside, we both do not appreciate any overt risqué sex scenes in any of our entertainment.  We are not prudes, we just don’t think it is appropriate.)

This week, an openly gay black man shot and killed two of his former coworkers while they were televising live in Roanoke, Virginia.  I will predict and it has already been intimated that he was distraught because he was discriminated against because of his race and because of other people being homophobes.  He will be made out to be a victim.  Never mind the two dead people that are the real victims.  Get a grip, America!  This guy was two bubbles off of level.

Black Lives Matter

I find this whole affair about ‘back lives matter,’ to be both offensive and ironic.

I find it offensive because I believe all lives matter regardless of race.  I find no reason other than because of political correctness or a liberal biased media to assume for one minute that a black life is more or less valuable than any other life.  However, by expounding this drivel, we can make the entire black race victims.  Why?  More government funding for social/welfare programs comes to mind.  Have we entirely eliminated the ‘quota system’ for minority hiring that was popular in the 70s and 80s?

The irony of this situation is that most of the murdered blacks are being murdered by other blacks.  That was prevalent last month in Baltimore when 43 black homicides were attributed to 43 black murderers.  A 25 year homicide record for the city.  So why is the black community holding vigils and conducting marches in ‘other than black communities,’ when the real problem is in the black community.

There is no question that some black men have been recently shot by white police officers.  Ferguson and Baltimore come to mind.  What got more media coverage, those two events or the 43 black homicides in the month of July in Baltimore?  Both of the Ferguson and Baltimore shootings by white officers of two black men in the conduct of a criminal act caused rioting.  The 43 homicides in Baltimore?  Hardly a newsworthy event.

To add to this situation, the POTUS and his former AG Eric Holder have come out to say that police officers need additional training while dealing with the black community.    It is not the police needing additional training that is the problem, Mr. President…its the black community itself.  Gosh darn if I just am not politically incorrect in saying that!

Christianity and the Muslim Religions

In Walton County, Florida, the sheriff patrol cars have bumper stickers that read, “In God We Trust.”  Recently, Sheriff Michael Adkinson received a letter from an individual representing a group called the Freedom From Religion Foundation requesting removal of the bumper stickers.  The letter said, “It is inappropriate for the Sheriff’s Office to display “In God We Trust” on county property,   Statements about a god have no place on sheriff cars.  Elected officials should not use their government position and government property to promote their religious views.”

Sheriff Adkinson’s response?  ” You are obviously unaware that ‘In God We Trust’ is the state motto of the state of Florida, and has been since 1886.  Additionally it is the motto of the United States.”

Bravo Sheriff Adkinson!  We have all heard about people wanting to remove the 10 commandments from government buildings, now bumper stickers….anything to erase God and Christianity from our country.  All of this in the name of the dreaded political correctness. It is refreshing to see someone make a stand for the silent majority than for the loud, boisterous, militant liberal minority.

I researched the Freedom From Religion Foundation.  I went to their website and the first thing to pop up was their ‘donate’ button.  They are headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin and claim to have 22,500 members.  If you want to picket them or join them, they are having their annual meeting October 9-11 at the Monona Terrace in Madison.  22,000 members?  Talk about the tail wagging the dog!  Apparently, it is not politically correct to recognize  our country as being founded on Christian-Judeo principles or to profess your belief in those principles.

So how is this for political correctness?

The shoe bomber, the beltway snipers, the Fort Hood Shooter, The underwear bomber, The U.S.S. Cole bombers, the Madrid train bombers, the Bali Nightclub bombers, the London subway bombers, the Moscow Theatre attacker, the Boston marathon bombers, the Pan-Am flight #93 bombers, the Air France Entebbe hijackers, the Iranian Embassy takeover, the Beirut U.S. Embassy bombers, the Libyan U.S. Embassy attack, the Buenos Aires suicide bombers, the Israeli Olympic Team attackers, the Kenyan U.S. Embassy bombers, the Saudi Khobar barracks bombers, the Beirut Marine barracks bombers, The Beslan Russian school attackers, the first World Trade Center bombers, the Bombay and Mumbai India attackers, the Achilles Lauro Cruise Ship hijackers, the September 11th airline hijackers………………..were ALL MUSLIMS!

And yet……….we are continually being told that the Muslim religion is a religion of peace!  Wow!  It is politically incorrect to say a word about or against this religion.  But don’t their actions speak much louder than their words?  All of this is before we even get to the atrocities being committed by ISIS.

Donald Trump (The Donald)

Many people are surprised by the recent popularity of Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump.  I am not surprised.  Why?  Because, the Donald does not seem to care about or be concerned about ‘political correctness’ and I think the silent majority is finding this appealing.  Do you know what Obama is thinking or doing other than to circumvent Congress?  Have you ever known what he was doing?  With the Donald, you know exactly what is on his mind and he is very outspoken about his opinions.  He is also appealing because he is not a career politician.

He is the antithesis of political correctness, and the diehard, lifetime Republican politicians are having a tough time dealing with that.

I have been asked what I think of the Donald.  While I am not ready to endorse him, my standard answer has been that, “Donald Trump may not be who you want for President, but he may be who we need for America.”  Our country has become so left-leaning and socialistic, we may need someone who rights the ship of state, balances the budget, seriously addresses terrorism, reduces the national debt, and restores individuality and responsibility into our lives.

Last September in 2014, I launched the Grumpy political party.  (See Grumpy -The Party that Dwarfs all Others)   Donald may not get the Republican nod, but he would be a great candidate for the Grumpy Party.

As you can see, I am very tired of political correctness. I am very tired of being branded a racist, a homophobe or a religious zealot because of my mainstream views.   We as a country have become so worried about not offending anyone that we forget about what is right and just.  Give me a break!

Common Sense: the ability to know the difference between right, wrong and stupid.

Choose Your Heroes Wisely!

As I am getting older, my hearing loss is beginning to worsen.  In my youth, I could hear a pin drop anywhere in the house.  Now that I am older, I would have difficulty hearing a bowling pin drop on my foot!  In addition, I realize that my sight is beginning to worsen.  It really sucks to go to the Dollar Store to buy those $1 ‘cheaters’ just to read the newspaper.

My next concern about getting older is that my mind and thought processes may begin to degrade in the same manner of my hearing and sight.  I find that I am continually doing ‘self-check’ exercises to find out if that is occurring.  Because Grandma P is on Facebook, I often look to see if there are any new postings relating to the grandkiddies, the nephews and nieces, and all of their children.    While looking for those pictures, one cannot miss all the self-evaluation tests available.  What state should you live in?  What classic painting would you be?  What percentage of evil are you?  These are all self-evaluation tests available on Facebook.  I must admit I have taken those tests.  What state do you live in? (Confusion!  Ok, I am lying.  It really said I should live in Louisiana, but I will never admit that to the Bayou Mauler!)  What classic painting would you be?  (Edvard Munch’s, The Scream)  And, my absolute favorite.  What percentage of evil are you? (80% – Which is disappointing as I was hoping for a perfect score!)

All in all, I think my mind is still good for a few more miles.  Do a service check, rotate the tires and change the oil every 5000 miles, and I should be good to go!

The one issue that is befuddling to me, however, is this……………who are today’s heroes?

As I was growing up, we had many heroes.  More importantly, it was not difficult to separate the heroes from the villains.  My favorite hero was Roy Rogers.  How could you not like Roy Rogers!  He had a beautiful palomino named Trigger.  He had a German Shepherd named Bullet.  And he had a girlfriend (in real life, his wife), Dale Evans.  He only shot to wound, if he had to shoot at all.  He always brought the bad men to justice.  He and Dale never kissed on air, and I don’t believe they ever had a show where they acted as if they were married.  Nowadays, they would have had to do an R-rated sex scene just to get on television!  But, I digress.  This was geared towards kids and it was done well.  He was my favorite onscreen hero.

There were plenty of other heroes.  Hopalong Cassidy was dressed in black.  Sergeant Preston was a Canadian Mountie.  Gene Autry was the singing cowboy.  In real life, he made more money singing ‘Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ and owning the California Angels than he did as a cowboy.  I always loved Superman, played by George Reeves.  If I could have been any of my heroes, I would have wanted to be Superman.  He was bulletproof, and he could fly.  Two qualities that would be very useful in today’s society.  More importantly, he was for….”Truth, Justice, and the American Way.”

We were brought up to respect the military and the people who served in the military.  This was not difficult, as we were baby boomers and were born right after the end of WWII.  In my hometown, you could not sling a cat without hitting a dozen veterans or a VFW.  I had five uncles, all of whom served in the military as did my father and grandfather.

Being from a small Midwestern town that was located in a small, rural county, we knew all the police.  That included our town cops, the county sheriff and his deputies, and the highway patrolmen.  They were all great guys, and they were our neighbors.  I personally witnessed a drunk stagger out of a local bar and the highway patrolman give him a ride home because he was too drunk to drive.  My…how things have changed!

Our local fire department was solely staffed by volunteers.  There were no full-time fire fighters.  When the very loud siren went off, these dedicated men would drop whatever they were doing and rush to the fire hall.  My father worked at a car dealership.  Two of the mechanics rushed out to the fire station when that siren sounded.  Many of the volunteers were local businessmen.  I recall seeing the owner of the local hardware store dashing out of the door while serving a customer when the siren sounded.  All of the fire equipment was serviced ‘after hours’ by the volunteers.   I did not appreciate until I was older, all the time these men spent training, maintaining equipment and fighting fires to help their neighbors.  It was not uncommon to have three fires in a day during a dry summer.  Grass fires would begin, threatening a house.  Those volunteers were always there.  This was quite a sacrifice on their part, considering there were less than 1,000 people in our town, but the fire department covered an area of about 300 square miles.

Now we fast-forward to today and this is where I begin having difficulty separating the heroes from the villains.  Is it today’s society or is it my mind riding off into the sunset?  So help me out.

Who are today’s heroes?  If I were to believe the media, I would think the current heroes are Freddie Gray, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, and Michael Sam.

Why would I think that?  Because the first four on the list, as a result of their untimely deaths, have provoked either rioting and looting or retribution on the police.  In some instances, their deaths have resulted in both.

Freddie Gray and Eric Garner both had impressive arrest records.  Without going into specifics, it has been determined that they each had over 30 arrests.  Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin did not have as impressive an arrest record as the other two, perhaps because they were both younger.  Make no mistake, they both had difficulties with the law, but much of their records were minimized because they were minors at the time.

These four individuals have been portrayed in the media, and by the highest levels of our government, as being victims.  The media implication has been that by resisting authorities and by being victims, they are heroes.  I can somewhat dismiss the media’s role in this ruse because of their desire to ‘sell the news.’  What I cannot dismiss is that the President of the United States, or his Attorney General, have either indirectly or directly gotten involved with each of these incidences – thereby lending credence to the notion that these four individuals were victims (and ultimately, heroes!)  (Remember…”If I had a son, he would be like Trayvon Martin.”)  More importantly, it has been implied by the media and the POTUS that the police are at fault for these deaths.

The police?  The police have come under fire (LITERALLY!) since these events have occurred.   The same people that feel justified to riot and loot now have been unofficially sanctioned by the media and by our government to declare war on the police.  Officers were shot at and killed immediately following the Eric Garner arrest in New York City.  Numerous officers were injured, some seriously, whilst trying to quell the riots and looting that were taking place in Ferguson and Baltimore.  Two officers were killed recently during a routine traffic stop in Mississippi.  The mayor of Baltimore, Mayor Stephanie Rawling-Blake, gave the order for the police to stand down…”Let them loot, it’s only property.”  What?  Are you kidding me?  The one detail she conveniently forgot to mention was her home address.  If those looters were coming down her street, do you think she might have changed her mind?

My confusion about who are villains and who are heroes gets amplified when it comes to Michael Sam.  Michael Sam was a former college football player that admitted he was gay just prior to the beginning of the NFL draft.  No big deal, right?  Well, it was such a big deal that, once more, the POTUS got involved by calling Michael personally to tell him how ‘brave’ he was to admit he was gay.  (Taya Kyle, Chris Kyle’s wife, did not receive a phone call after her husband’s untimely death.)

Brave?  When I was growing up, brave was running into a burning building to save a child.  Brave was serving your country and fighting in a war to defend that country, your family and God.  Brave was running into a burning car crash to pull unconscious victims from a fiery fate.  Bravery is a policeman trying to quell a riot while having rocks or Molotov cocktails thrown at him.  Bravery is a fireman trying to save property and lives under threat of incineration.   Compared to those deeds, I would say that Michael Sam coming out of the closet would post a negative number on the bravery scale!

As I have mentioned, I can give the media a partial pass because of their willingness to sell advertising.  I cannot give the POTUS a pass, however, because his actions are geared for only one thing…to garner more votes!  Specifically, black votes.  Either he is confused or I am confused about who the villains and heroes really are.

It amazes me that people willingly want to be military, law enforcement and firefighters, especially when they are vilified for trying to do their jobs.  Treat them well.   Honor them.  Thank them for their service.  After all………..if you dial 911 and no one answers, what would you do?  Choose your heroes wisely, for your life may depend on it!

P.S.  Last year, I declared the first week of June to be Corporation Appreciation Week.  American corporations are still paying the highest corporate tax rate in the world.  Be nice to them.  Contrary to what Hillary Clinton has said, they do create jobs.  Thank them for giving you a job, or paying their corporate taxes so the government can hire you.