(no subject)

[aerdran]

Sigh.

Why must people send me stupid things? I got this in my e-mail from Ed, who is not the first who sent it to me. It's by Andy Rooney, who I have decided annoys me.



This is great. Andy Rooney says several things here I wish I had his audience to say them to.

Ed

I don't think being a minority makes you a victim of anything except
numbers. The only things I can think of that are truly discriminatory are
things like the United Negro College Fund, Jet Magazine, Black
Entertainment Television, and Miss Black America. Try to have things like
the United Caucasian College Fund, Cloud Magazine, White Entertainment
Television, or Miss White America; and see what happens...Jesse Jackson
will be knocking down your door.

Guns do not make you a killer. I think killing makes you a killer. You
can kill someone with a baseball bat or a car, but no one is trying to
ban you from driving to the ball game.

I believe they are called the Boy Scouts for a reason, that is why there
are no girls allowed. Girls belong in the Girl Scouts! ARE YOU LISTENING
MARTHA BURKE?

I think that if you feel homosexuality is wrong, it is not a phobia, it
is an opinion.

I have the right "NOT" to be tolerant of others because they are
different, weird, or tick me off.

When 70% of the people who get arrested are black, in cities where 70% of
the population is black, that is not racial profiling, it is the Law of
Probability.

I believe that if you are selling me a milkshake, a pack of cigarettes, a
newspaper or a hotel room, you must do it in English! As a matter of
fact, if you want to be an American citizen, you should have to speak
English!

My father and grandfather didn't die in vain so you can leave the
countries you were born in to come over and disrespect ours.

I think the police should have every right to shoot your sorry ass if you
threaten them after they tell you to stop. If you can't understand the
word "freeze" or "stop" in English, see the above lines.

I don't think just because you were not born in this country, you are
qualified for any special loan programs, government sponsored bank loans
or tax breaks, etc., so you can open a hotel, coffee shop, trinket store,
or any other business.

We did not go to the aid of certain foreign countries and risk our lives
in wars to defend their freedoms, so that decades later they could come
over here and tell us our constitution is a living document; and open to
their interpretations.

I don't hate the rich. I don't pity the poor.

I know pro wrestling is fake, but so are movies and television. That
doesn't stop you from watching them.

I think Bill Gates has every right to keep every penny he made and
continue to make more. If it ticks you off, go and invent the next
operating system that's better, and put your name on the building.

It doesn't take a whole village to raise a child right, but it does take
a parent to stand up to the kid; and smack their little behinds when
necessary, and say "NO!"

I think tattoos and piercing are fine if you want them, but please don't
pretend they are a political statement. And, please, stay home until that
new lip ring heals. I don't want to look at your ugly infected mouth as
you serve me French fries!

I am sick of "Political Correctness." I know a lot of black people, and
not a single one of them was born in Africa; so how can they be
"African-Americans"? Besides, Africa is a continent. I don't go around
saying I am a European-American because my great, great, great, great,
great, great grandfather was from Europe. I am proud to be from America
and nowhere else

And if you don't like my point of view, tough...



Why the hell do people send me this shit? Ed knows my opinion on a lot of these thinge, yet he forwards it to me, along with others. He was all proud of himself when we saw him today about sending this on, and I just got around to reading it. Grr. I replied to him, and I wish I had saved that so I could post that here, too. Oh well. I'm sure he'll probably respond. Some of this I don't have as much an issue with as other parts, but the parts I do feel really strongly against piss me off.

I guess we'll see if he responds and how. For whatever reason, he's usually not as belligerent with me when I disagree with him, so we'll see if it carries over to this. If nothing else, I'm sure Mikel would agree to debate with him on a lot of the things, and Ed never stands a chance there. Ed tends to bluster a lot around him, and maybe Charlie will get involved as well.

Poo.

Must do things.

Comments

Response: Part I.

[dj-rabid-angel.livejournal.com]

Here's my response to that whole thing. Please feel free to point Ed to this, or even better, email it to him. I have it as a text document if you want it for that purpose. :]

------------------------------------------------------------

>>I believe they are called the Boy Scouts for a reason, that is why there are no girls allowed. Girls belong in the Girl Scouts! ARE YOU LISTENING MARTHA BURKE?<<

And there are no gays allowed in the Boy Scouts either. Should they be in the Girl Scouts too? Or should there be a corps of Gay Scouts, just for that ten percent or so of the population that wants to live a full life, learn skills that are useful in society and...you know...have the same chances and opportunities that everyone else gets?

>>I think that if you feel homosexuality is wrong, it is not a phobia, it is an opinion.<<

True in a sense, but semantically false. A phobia is an irrational fear of something, and I've yet to met one of those bigoted morons who can provide a rational explanation as to why their "opinion" is valid. God says? Oooh...there's a great defense, relying on a piece of written work that has no scientific proof. Men can't reproduce with other men? Yeah, but is that all the sum and total reason for intercourse in humans? What about love, emotion, attraction and gratification? You know...all those other reasons that we, as Homo Sapiens, have evolved to hold as the meaning of intercourse?

If someone wants to proudly hold onto their irrational fear of someone who's different, more power to them. Idiocy is both a right and a privilege.

>>I have the right "NOT" to be tolerant of others because they are different, weird, or tick me off.<<

Speaking of rights, one does indeed have a right to be intolerant. In turn, those of us who are not such idiots have a right to see those idiots for who they are. And to dislike them accordingly.

Re: Response: Part II.

[dj-rabid-angel.livejournal.com]

>>When 70% of the people who get arrested are black, in cities where 70% of the population is black, that is not racial profiling, it is the Law of Probability.<<

The Law of Probability is great when dealing with statistics, but when talking about human beings it becomes the same cold, callous dehumanizing factor that allowed Nazis to keep ledger books summing up all the people they packed onto trains and murdered. I find it hysterical that people like this rant against racial profiling when they've never, ever been subjected to such discrimination. It's easier to direct scorn against someone when they've been a victim of something that one will never, ever be a victim of themselves. This is the same white-bred, white power, white-avarice mentality that allows people like this to sleep at night. By dehumanizing actual human beings and saying, "they deserve it, they committed crimes..." these morons can overlook the fact that they constantly put other people in situations where they have no other choice but to fend for themselves in the only way that they can do so.

It's the ivory tower approach, this blind belief that everybody has the same chance to succeed and thus anyone who commits a crime had other options that they chose not to take. It's bullshit. But then again those who will never be in that boat, ever, can't speak from experience and first hand knowledge, can they?

>>I believe that if you are selling me a milkshake, a pack of cigarettes, a newspaper or a hotel room, you must do it in English! As a matter of fact, if you want to be an American citizen, you should have to speak English!<<

Funny...we're the only country in the world with an advanced educational system that is too fucked up to make it nationally mandatory to learn other languages. This particular portion of the rant speaks more to the belief that advanced education is a bad thing than anything else. Why do people stick to points like this in the first place? I have a feeling it's less an issue of national pride and more a point of people being afraid of looking like uncivilized hicks in the face of cultural and national diversity. The truly funny thing is that I know more people from other cultures who speak English better than most Americans than these idiots could possibly imagine.

>>My father and grandfather didn't die in vain so you can leave the countries you were born in to come over and disrespect ours.<<

Bullshit. Utter bullshit. The American way of life is that of "The Great Melting Pot." Our ancestors fought to make this country an open, accepting place for people of all persuasions, religions, creeds and nationalities. The whole take on people coming here and "disrespect[ing]" our country is based on a few peoples' petty take that THEIR opinion is more valid than others', and especially when considered against the opinions of those not born here. As an American who served this country I fought for the right of EVERYONE WHO LIVES HERE, regardless of where they were born, to hav3e their opinions and to speak them freely, in whatever language they'd like. And to those who didn't serve they're entitled to speak their opinions too, on the grounds that while I will hear their hypocritical patriotism out and then judge them as pompous blowhards accordingly.

>>I think the police should have every right to shoot your sorry ass if you threaten them after they tell you to stop. If you can't understand the word "freeze" or "stop" in English, see the above lines.<<

Yes. Because we know that ONLY people who don't speak or understand English commit crimes. What a sad little straw man. And Ed actually believes that this is somehow great thinking?!

>>I don't think just because you were not born in this country, you are qualified for any special loan programs, government sponsored bank loans or tax breaks, etc., so you can open a hotel, coffee shop, trinket store, or any other business.<<

Re: Response: Part II.

[dj-rabid-angel.livejournal.com]

SORRY...this is the correct Part II. I miss cut-and-pasted. And there's no delete post function that I can find here.

>>When 70% of the people who get arrested are black, in cities where 70% of the population is black, that is not racial profiling, it is the Law of Probability.<<

The Law of Probability is great when dealing with statistics, but when talking about human beings it becomes the same cold, callous dehumanizing factor that allowed Nazis to keep ledger books summing up all the people they packed onto trains and murdered. I find it hysterical that people like this rant against racial profiling when they've never, ever been subjected to such discrimination. It's easier to direct scorn against someone when they've been a victim of something that one will never, ever be a victim of themselves. This is the same white-bred, white power, white-avarice mentality that allows people like this to sleep at night. By dehumanizing actual human beings and saying, "they deserve it, they committed crimes..." these morons can overlook the fact that they constantly put other people in situations where they have no other choice but to fend for themselves in the only way that they can do so.

It's the ivory tower approach, this blind belief that everybody has the same chance to succeed and thus anyone who commits a crime had other options that they chose not to take. It's bullshit. But then again those who will never be in that boat, ever, can't speak from experience and first hand knowledge, can they?

>>I believe that if you are selling me a milkshake, a pack of cigarettes, a newspaper or a hotel room, you must do it in English! As a matter of fact, if you want to be an American citizen, you should have to speak English!<<

Funny...we're the only country in the world with an advanced educational system that is too fucked up to make it nationally mandatory to learn other languages. This particular portion of the rant speaks more to the belief that advanced education is a bad thing than anything else. Why do people stick to points like this in the first place? I have a feeling it's less an issue of national pride and more a point of people being afraid of looking like uncivilized hicks in the face of cultural and national diversity. The truly funny thing is that I know more people from other cultures who speak English better than most Americans than these idiots could possibly imagine.

>>My father and grandfather didn't die in vain so you can leave the countries you were born in to come over and disrespect ours.<<

Bullshit. Utter bullshit. The American way of life is that of "The Great Melting Pot." Our ancestors fought to make this country an open, accepting place for people of all persuasions, religions, creeds and nationalities. The whole take on people coming here and "disrespect[ing]" our country is based on a few peoples' petty take that THEIR opinion is more valid than others', and especially when considered against the opinions of those not born here. As an American who served this country I fought for the right of EVERYONE WHO LIVES HERE, regardless of where they were born, to hav3e their opinions and to speak them freely, in whatever language they'd like. And to those who didn't serve they're entitled to speak their opinions too, on the grounds that while I will hear their hypocritical patriotism out and then judge them as pompous blowhards accordingly.

>>I think the police should have every right to shoot your sorry ass if you threaten them after they tell you to stop. If you can't understand the word "freeze" or "stop" in English, see the above lines.<<

Yes. Because we know that ONLY people who don't speak or understand English commit crimes. What a sad little straw man. And Ed actually believes that this is somehow great thinking?!

Re: Response: Part II.

[dj-rabid-angel.livejournal.com]

>>I don't think just because you were not born in this country, you are qualified for any special loan programs, government sponsored bank loans or tax breaks, etc., so you can open a hotel, coffee shop, trinket store, or any other business.<<

Ahhh, but if you were born in this country you're exempt from the above statement? This is the main logical flaw of Capitalism in general. It's the presumption that everyone is on equal footing to achieve as they may from step one. And that's not the case at all. As long as prejudice and bias like the tripe posted here remains no one will be on equal footing with white-bread dominants like these people, and that's the way they want it. Capitalism revolves the theory that those who control the wealth of society are alphas, and alphas like these are concerned only with staying alpha. Fuck everyone else, right? Ever those who just want to make a living and better their lives? Funny how the same people who advocate that social enrichment programs be curtailed are also the same people who fail to understand that when others are denied jobs, education and a stable way of life, they turn to crime. And funny that those same power-mongers are the same people who shit on those who commit crimes, even when they have no other choice. Because they've been forced into whitey's self-fulfilling power-grab prophecy.

>>We did not go to the aid of certain foreign countries and risk our lives in wars to defend their freedoms, so that decades later they could come over here and tell us our constitution is a living document; and open to their interpretations.<<

Um...yes, actually we DID do that. Dumbass. If we protected their freedoms originally, then logically it would be foolish to say that they no longer have those freedoms once they are Americans. Our Constitution is a framework, as originally stated in the writings of our founding fathers, designed to protect the inalienable rights of all. Inalienable, by the very definition of the term, means that these rights are guaranteed and vouchsafed. As a society evolves those vouchsafed rights are to be defended, and no single historical perspective can be the litmus strip by which a changing society grows. The concept of a framework implies that everything built within that frame is not constant. Only the structure of the frame itself, with its cornerstone of freedom -- THE FOREMOST PURPOSE OF THE CONSTITUTION -- is immune to constantly being tested, defined, challenged and redefined in the face of society's needs.

It's hypocritical fallacy to say that we defended others' freedom and then to deny others the right to be free.

>>I don't hate the rich. I don't pity the poor.<<

There's a huge gap between hating and pitying versus understanding. Everything in this missive speaks of ignorance, which operates outside of the human moor of empathy.

Re: Response: Part II.

[dj-rabid-angel.livejournal.com]

>>I know pro wrestling is fake, but so are movies and television. That doesn't stop you from watching them.<<

And NASCAR too, I'll bet.

>>I think Bill Gates has every right to keep every penny he made and continue to make more. If it ticks you off, go and invent the next operating system that's better, and put your name on the building.<<

Where the hell did this line come from? I think it's hysterical, on several fronts. Foremost, people like to use Bill Gates as either a scapegoat or a paragon, depending on which side of the capitalist argument they believe in. Bill Gates didn't invent shit; he took others' ideas, found the best way of marketing them for the masses and built an empire. I don't begrudge that. What I do resent is the idea that anyone else could do it. The simple facts are that he's a white boy, he came from money, and he had the silver spoon that was needed to make himself successful. The analogy is that the guy was born with the ammo to fire off the guns of his talent; everything else about this stupid little ignorant email proves that not everyone is born with that kind of ammo, that the writer of this piece is dead-set against making sure that they will ever get the ammo that is needed, and that the writer is not only content but proud of maintaining that status quo.

It must be nice to be able to support that mentality with any level of pride. I wish I was so morally bankrupt as to just blindly believe such crap, as then I wouldn't have to think about anything other than myself and how to fuck other people over just to claw my way to the top.

>>I think tattoos and piercing are fine if you want them, but please don't pretend they are a political statement. And, please, stay home until that new lip ring heals. I don't want to look at your ugly infected mouth as you serve me French fries!<<

I'm an American, you twat. I can say -- or pretend -- that anything is a political statement. It's a right, dingleberry. Just like it's your right not to patronize an establishment that allows such things. See ya.

>>I am sick of "Political Correctness." I know a lot of black people, and not a single one of them was born in Africa; so how can they be "African-Americans"? Besides, Africa is a continent. I don't go around saying I am a European-American because my great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather was from Europe. I am proud to be from America and nowhere else<<

I know a large number of people, including myself, who refer to themselves as Irish-Americans, Italian-Americans, Poles [even though their families have been in America for five generations...], et al. And somehow that's OK, because at least we're of European descent? Why the negativity against black people? Perhaps because you resent that after centuries of trying to wipe out their cultures, they still won't roll over and play dead for you and become just another shade of white-bread?

>>And if you don't like my point of view, tough...<<

Way to go, asserting your machismo in the face of diversity. Oh...wait. Machismo is a Spanish word. Um...way to go asserting your callous bigotry in the face of others' ideas, rights and freedoms.

Re: Response: Part II.

[aerdran.livejournal.com]

I love you, Jim.

::hugs::

Re: Response: Part II.

[dj-rabid-angel.livejournal.com]

*Hugs proudly returned.*

Re: Response: Part II.

[aerdran.livejournal.com]

I just sent off your response along with the fact that Andy Rooney didn't say those things. I included the link and even put the quote from him into the e-mail. We'll see if Ed answers at all, though he doesn't check his e-mail regularly.

I see him reacting one of two ways. One, he'll say that he was just sending it as some sort of joke. Two, he'll backpeddle once he finds out Andy Rooney didn't say it, because part of the reason he agreed was because Andy Rooney said it (or so he'll say. Ed's opinions change depending on who he's talking to a lot of the time). I think the harshness with which Rooney denied writing it might take Ed aback since I know he does have some of those same beliefs that are in the piece. He did, after all, suggest once that all gang members and all racists should be locked on an island together to just kill each other off. I wonder if he even thinks it possible that there are white gang members, even when he's met them.

Of course, he might react another way. It's hard to say with him. Maybe I'll find out and maybe he'll just try to pretend it never happened. I'll keep you posted, though.

Re: Response: Part II.

[ras-pantheon.livejournal.com]

all gang members and all racists should be locked on an island together to just kill each other off.

I know he's acted in racist ways. Can I kill him?

Oh, sorry.

-Ice Queen/Sizzlin' Hot