It would be a little more current if I hadn't had my meltdown yesterday. I was in the process of a final edit when my finger slipped on the mouse. With the exception of two paragraphs the entire blog entry vanished. I was more than a little upset.
N.C.I.S.'s Abby or McGee can take a blown-up or burned-out computer and find a five-year-old e-mail or a bank deposit from the last decade. I can't recover a seconds old file.
I know I've been bitching and moaning about the time change. I'm sorry about that but it really affects me in strange ways. For instance, I can't sleep but am tired at the wrong times. I'm not hungry at dinner time but ravenous leading up to it. I'm eating junk food, candy from Halloween and nuts, chips, or anything with crunch. I didn't lose forty pounds by eating crap. I'm depressed a little and angry. Now this may be because we got back from the cruise two weeks ago, or, I can blame it on the time change.
Everyone I know hates it. Yesterday I did a Facebook search for "Stop the Time Change." Apparently I'm not the only rabble rouser. There are several pages advocating a permanent change. There were a few hundred likes and the last entry on one was 2010. I guess people (me included) like to complain but not work toward a fix.
And speaking of complaining here's another example.
Yesterday Walmart's on-line catalog had some incredible prices. Big screen TVs were listed for $48, a kayak was $11 and a treadmill $33. These are just a few examples. Word spread across social media like wildfire. You know the saying, If it sounds too good to be true...etc. etc. Well it was. Walmart had a glitch in its website. Walmart is not honoring the prices and is refunding customers money and sending them a small gift card.
A Walmart customer this morning: "I think it's unfair" (not honoring the prices). "Lots of families are not going to have the Christmas they expected."
Hey mister.....SCREW YOU!
I was about to write: When did we become such a selfish society? But there's no I in we. I missed something when self-interest and self-serving behavior was passed out.
Hey mister.....DID YOU ACTUALLY THINK THEY WERE SELLING A TV FOR $48?
Wanda and I tell the checker at Safeway when we're undercharged. We also tell them when we are overcharged. Fair is fair, a $33 treadmill isn't.
Oh, and Walmart was also selling a $92 can of Lysol and an action figure for $200 plus. Curiously, no orders were placed for these items.
Once again proving males think with their sex organs and wallets a U.S. Navy commander, a NCIS agent and a defense contractor face federal charges in two bribery schemes involving hundreds of millions of dollars in Navy contracts with payoffs that included among other things, prostitutes, luxury travel and concert tickets.
OK....money and whores I can understand, but tickets to a Lady Gaga concert?
"You want me to tell you where our ships are going and I get to see Lady Gaga? This deal is almost as good as the one at Walmart. I'm in."
As soon as the 'ugly sweater' ornament was released critics took to social media accusing the company of making a political statement by using the word "fun" to replace "gay." Some Facebook commenter's said they would never again buy Hallmark merchandise and that the change amounted to the company rewriting Christmas classics in the name of political correctness. Others suggested removing the word "gay" demonstrated a homophobic bias.
It's an ugly x-mas sweater ornament....get over yourself.
It's getting to the point of ridiculousness. No matter the situation, it seems someone or some group is pissed off about something. If Hallmark prints the 'ugly sweater' ornament with the word "GAY" it has more trouble. What about "UGLY?" Perhaps people who consider themselves less than beautiful would revolt? How about men named DON?
How many years has political correctness been rammed down our throats? Hallmark can't win on this thing, no way, no how.
I have friends and acquaintances that are in same-sex relationships. I don't think of them as GAY or FUN. I think of them as people.
Another country heard from.
The Washington Redskins name and logo has been a source of controversy between its owners and certain Native American groups. Some insist the term redskin is a racial epithet, and as such, it perpetuates demeaning stereotypes of Native Americans.
Every Friday night, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Thursday watching (and betting on) football is promoted. Watching men try to hurt and mangle each other is "sport." It's OK as long as an Indian brave is not depicted on a helmet.
Kansas City Chiefs...NFL
Atlanta Braves...MLB
Golden State Warriors...NBA (they no longer use indigenous imagery)
Edmonton Eskimos...CFL
Chicago Blackhawks...NHL
I guess these teams are safe from name scrutiny? By the way, I only listed North American professional teams. I counted sixty potentially offensive high school mascot names and I only counted through the C's of the Indians. I did not count the Apaches, Aztecs, Eskimos or Eskymos. The Braves, Cherokees, Chiefs or Chieftains. I also neglected the Chickasaws, Comanches and Mohawks. And last come the Mohicans, Red Raiders, Redmen, Redskins, Renegades, Savages, Seminoles, Sioux, Thunderbirds, Tribe and Warriors.
There are hundreds of high school and college nicknames that could be considered offensive to some group. Many schools don't have enough funds to provide art and music education. They certainly don't have the funds to make name and uniform changes.
According to census records there are 5.2 million "Native Americans" living in the U.S. The estimate for July 1, 2060 is 11.2 million or 2.7% of the population.
Optimistic for 2060. If football is still played the water person may be the most important position on the field. (I keep forgetting you can't read my mind....alluding to the scarcity of the wet stuff).
I've experienced some prejudice in my life. A short, Jewish, glasses wearing person who was born in the late 40's...it was inevitable. I don't care to get into details here and now so please take my word for it. I've been able to take the difficult circumstances and internalize and understand them. I don't expect I'll lobby for cosmetic surgery for the Gingotts goblins in Harry Potter.
I love the Showtime series "Shameless". Kevin and Veronica are friends and neighbors. Kev and V (as they are called) are a 'mixed race' couple. Kevin is Caucasian while Veronica is African American. Last season they were trying to make a baby. Kevin said, "I am so happy we're going to have a 'tomorrow person.'"
See, Kevin said that sooner or later color wouldn't mean a thing. The people of tomorrow or tomorrow people wouldn't see differences.
Wouldn't that be nice?
He ain't heavy...he's my brother. I have no frigging idea what that means. But, fun, gay, straight or ugly, short, tall, thin or overweight, black, white, red or grey, American, Chinese or Hungarian. This world is getting smaller and more crowded every day. Everyone better stop thinking about me and start thinking about us.....or one day there won't be any us to think about.
1 comment:
I usually find myself nodding in agreement and so rarely comment, but this one has bothered me for a couple of days.
The reason that the name of the Washington football team is offensive is that it has been used by Europeans for hundreds of years to denigrate the American Indian whose skin never was red, by the way. The reason that the other team names you listed aren't considered offensive is that they are simple names that were never used to put down another group of people.
If Jewish names were used for the teams, the Chicago Blackhawks would perhaps be the Judahs, the Chiefs might be called the Rabbis, the Indians could be the Jews. None of them particularly offensive to those of the Jewish faith. And Native Americans have not objected to those names.
But the Washington team name equivalent would be the Kikes. A name which conjures up a long history of persecution and discrimination. Seeing it on the TV and newspapers every week might be troubling.
I think if I were a team owner with a name that so many found a painful reminder of a time when they were denigrated and hunted down, I would probably find another name.
But then, as you have probably figured out, I am one of those annoying left wing, bleeding heart liberals. :-)
Susan
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