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.