Random Logic

Hate words or bad words?

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 10:41:21 -0400

For some reason, there is this incredible policing going on about the use of certain words. All being done in the name of equality, racism, sexism, etc… I, personally, have used just about every term in the English language. I harbor no hatred, racist, sexist, anti-Semitic, homophobic and any other prejudices. While I may be guilty of saying them, I am most certainly NOT guilty of hatred.

The PC police have gotten out of control, plain and simple. How many people have seen and laughed at the movie “Blazing Saddles”? Mel Brooks is a very well respected director/producer. He also happens to be very very funny. Yet, is there any chance that movie could be made today?? It was all written in jest and many of my friends, black and Jewish included, find his movies hysterical. truth be told, they are just funny movies. They are even classified as comedy. Today, the mere verbalizing of many words will bring a protest against you or, worse, claims of hatred/bias/prejudice. Vince Vaughn made a joke, referencing gay people, in a movie. It really was just a joke. Yet, activists out there made a big deal about and wanted to know what it is teaching our children. Ron Howard, director of the movie “The Dilemma”, is a well respected actor/director/producer. It is ridiculous to suggest he is bashing anyone or any group.

This is all getting blown out of proportion. I have friends from many different walks of life and lifestyles. Living on both coasts and spending a lot of my life in two of the largest metropolitan areas in the country, New York and Los Angeles, I am exposed to many cultures. The PC police are really hypocritical. If you want the entire population to stop saying the word “fag” or some derivative of it, then ask the gay population to stop using it. A very close friend is gay. We go out bar hopping and, at times, we go to a gay bar in West Hollywood. I hear that word thrown around all night. Are they exhibiting signs of hatred and homophobia? Why is it ok for them to say it and not a heterosexual? Not a single time have I been asked to curb my language when I am there. The reason being, I speak like them NOT in the vein of hatred. If it is a bad word to say, then it is bad for everyone to say. Period. Many words are used in jest and that is all that is meant by it.

Ever listen to rap/hip-hop? How many racial epitaphs are said in that genre? Why hasn’t the PC police charged them? How many songs are misogynistic, suggest all women are “hos”, etc… Why does the media not crack down on them? The rapper Common was invited to the White House by the Michelle Obama, herself. As an African-American woman, should she have been offended by his lyrics? Common has a song titled, “Real Nigga Quotes” and it includes the lyrics, ” This Craig nigga stole a style and ain’t take the tag off, Playin yourself, you can’t come with it, so you jack off”. Where was the outrage on this? How could he be invited to the White House to read poetry using those words?? I, personally, believe he is exercising his right to free speech. The First Amendment gives him the right to say that and he should be allowed to say what he wants or write how he feels like. If I were offended, I can simply turn it off. My issue is with the powers that be. Common is allowed to say those things and his race is not offended because he is one of their own. If a Caucasian were to say the same thing, the media would be up in arms, they would be branded a hater, racist, etc… If it is wrong for me to say it, it is wrong for him to say it. Wrong is wrong. I do not think the words are bad, the context and meaning are what makes any statement bad, hurtful, or filled with hatred.

I have a friend in Los Angels that is a white female in her early 30s. She is completely caught up in being politically correct, at all times. She has blasted me for some of the choices of words I use and says she is greatly offended by it. How is she offended? I am not making any comment about a white female. How is anyone offended about something they can not relate to? There are things that I find offensive and/or terms. I will not use them in ANY way. If I did and then were to be upset because someone else uses them, that only makes me a hypocrite. I am offended by them and will NEVER use them under any circumstance. My female friend went off on her high and mighty PC routine one night when we were hanging out with my gay friend. He told her to shut up. He told her she was lost. She was completely at a loss and had nothing to say for a good five minutes.

Recently there have been some unpleasant things happen during a professional hockey game. Wayne Simmonds, an African-American player on the Flyers, was exposed to an ugly incident. A fan threw a banana peel on the ice as he skated in on goal. The meaning is fairly obvious, to all but the thrower and his attorney. They, of course, claimed the fan was trying to impede the players ability to get a goal. Nonsense. Simmonds’ remarks after the game were of class and taking the high road. He blew it off as a show of ignorance and left it at that. Did not look for sympathy, play the race car or look to turn it into a PSA. The less attention given to such acts of stupidity, the better.

Fast forward several nights later and he had a 180 degree turn around. It was he that used a “bad” word. He called another player on the ice a “f*cking f*gg*t” It was clear on all the video replay he said it. He danced around the question in a post game interview and said he did not remember all the things that were said. The player he said it to was Sean Avery. Avery is a hotbed of controversy and has been for years. He recently came out in defense of gay marriage and helped pass the law in the state of New York. When questioned about the remark Simmonds said, he said he thought it was wrong and could not imagine someone using those words. He is being castigated by the media and fans of the NHL as being a hypocrite. He has said some pretty severe things in the past and now he was looking for sympathy, so says the majority. What was he supposed to do? He did not bring it up, he answered a question. He recently stood in defense of marriage equality; how could he not have made those remarks?? The fact that he has said questionable things in the past does not mean it is okay to say the words that were said to him that night.

I played hockey for twenty years, I can tell you that what Simmonds said is far from the worst thing I have heard on the ice. I have heard many comments about peoples mothers, children, girlfriend or wife. When the game is over, it stayed on the ice,. No one really meant to demean anyone’s family members. It was meant to get a reaction and hopefully a goal or power play. They were words. That is all they were. The First Amendment say all Americans can use them. We can not alter the right of free speech to not include certain words. Especially when the words that are “bad” are used as common place by the groups they offend.

Words are just that, words. How they are grouped together and the context they are used determines if they are racist, homophobic, misogynistic, anti-Semitic, etc.. Believe me, one can offend any group without using the so called “bad” words, just ask anyone that has truly experienced prejudice.

Kobe Bryant was recently fined for using the same term that Wayne Simmonds used. He then was ordered to give a PSA speaking out against homophobia. Maybe he did it because he was required or maybe he did it because he truly has no hatred towards someone because the are homosexual. I would hazard a guess, that if he was presented with a very strong opportunity to win another championship but only if a gay player were to join his team, he would jump at it. I would bet Wayne Simmonds would, too. I do not for a second believe Wayne Simmonds is homophobic, insensitive maybe, homophobic, no.

Stop policing vocabulary and start paying attention to the context of what is being said.

Dumb and Stubborn in Charge

Sun, 14 Aug 2011 12:20:33 -0400

I just do not get it. How is it every one of our elected officials do nothing but point the finger and say it was “their fault”?? Our supposed leader, President Obama is STILL running against President Bush. Even though he never faced off against President Bush, he blames everything on the former Commander in Chief. Every organization teaches that leadership accepts the blame of others and the weak point fingers and assign blame.

During the recent debt ceiling “crisis”, the members of our two party system could only look at their own personal agendas and spent no time considering the welfare of the country. It should be a crime to ignore your duties. If a president of a major corporation were to take the same kind of posturing, they would be forced out. The SEC may even step in and file charges for their actions. Yet, our elected officials can do nothing but argue. It is not constructive argumentation, it is all about assigning blame.

During the primary of 2008, Senator Clinton argued that during a time of crisis, her adversary, Senator Obama would step up and give a great speech. She was right on the money. The President has failed to lead every step of the way. During his speech to the American people, prior to a deal being agreed upon in Congress, he let us all know that he inherited a bad economy from President Bush, repeatedly. I run several businesses and not a single time have I ever corrected or settled a problem by pointing out who was/is wrong. To fix a problem, we need to go forward, ie. come up with a solution and a plan to correct the issue, NOT go back into the past and discuss it to death.

Our leaders are now pointing the finger at Standard and Poor’s downgrade. While their reasoning seems to have both good and bad logic, including a miscalculation, Congress is missing the boat on this. We are under review for our lack of a real plan to get spending under control. No business or household can run into endless debt and come out financially sound. Spending MUST be cut and revenues raised. That is the only way to reverse things. Another rating service has us under review for the same reasons. The time is now to stop this endless bickering and do what is right for the country, NOT your party’s agenda. A downgrade increases spending. The downgrade means far less to the countries that we owe money, after the downgrade, US bonds and notes were at a high! As the equity markets were getting beat up, BILLIONS of dollars from around the world were pouring into our debt, because they all know that there is no chance of a true default. All we accomplished was showing the world how self-centered and entitled our political leaders can act. There is no fear by our debtors that their money is truly at risk.

We need to shape up and stand up, now. The two party system is a complete disaster. The idea of raising corporate taxes is idiocy in the making. The board of every company has a fiduciary responsibility to it’s shareholders. If we raise their taxes during a period of no growth, they still need to keep their earnings going to appease the shareholders. When the earnings take a hit, the company looks to cut costs. One of the ways is to find cheaper labor. That can be found in many other countries. So many of our US jobs are now outsourced to other countries. Raise the corporate tax and more jobs will go. It is not brain surgery, if our raw costs for manufacturing are through the roof and I can build my widget for 20% less in China by a lower cost in material, energy, etc.. that will offset my tax burden, out go the jobs. Unemployment increases, expenditures of the government increase and the debt increases, too.

As a business owner, I will not expand or hire until my profits get ahead of the curve. Further burdening of liabilities and taxes will push me in the direction to cut costs. If I do not, then I will end up closing the doors and even more people are out of a job.

Which brings me to increasing revenues, greatly. two tremendous sources of taxes, consumption based, are out there and our government is trying to fight a losing battle against controlling them, online gambling and marijuana. Both are personal choices, mind you I do not smoke, and generate billions in untaxed revenue. In regards to marijuana, more people are killed via alcohol or tobacco. Some states, California for example, have legalized medical marijuana and reap the tax dollars on the sales. It is a move that will eventually become legalizing marijuana, period. Some accounts have a third of the population under 39 as people that have tried/use marijuana. Regulate it, job creation, and then tax it. The taxes on cigarettes have gone through the roof and sales continue along. Consumption tax.

Online gambling is an entirely different issue. Where would Nevada be without gambling revenue?? Every state has a lottery/lotto. There is ZERO skill in that, yet no problems there. Is it because the state controls everything? If it is legalized, how many online rooms will be created?? That puts people to work and in the important technology field we are falling further and further behind. The casino gets taxed, the winners get taxed. A creation of jobs AND revenue is created. Win/win, it is just one example of how to create jobs AND collect needed revenue.

Our left is consumed with taxing the rich. It sounds good to the middle and lower class, yet does not make much sense. The truly rich have VERY little income. It is capital gains. They also have accountants set them up so their money is almost completely sheltered and protected. Usually set up in a country with no taxes and no extradition. They forget to tell you that. It is the job of their accountants to protect them from taxation. You want to increase taxes on the rich? Consumption tax, they spend money. A 20-25% consumption tax will do just that. Any items purchased overseas, higher tax. Does anyone really think they will give up their Mercedes AMG?? The left also does not believe in trickle down economics. Perfect example of why it DOES work. Take someone making $60,000 a year. Give them a windfall of $2,000,000. DO you think they bank the money? Probably buy a car, commission to the salesman, maybe add an extension to their home or buy a new one. Either way, construction workers will be needed. They will take the $2,000,000 and spend it. Taxes generated, commissions and wages generated, too. That is trickle down economics.

The right is obsessed with controlling our personal life. They find such horror and outrage in the idea that two people may fall in love with each other, want to marry and even have children. Actually, they only find the horror in it if two people of the same sex did that. The same horror decades ago that was be-spelled upon two people of a different race. Stay out of our hearts and pants. We are free to love who we want and more than one if that is something we all agree upon it. Just because I find someone attractive you do not, gives you no right to not allow me to be happy. No one is asking religious institutions to agree to marry homosexuals. The state marries people also. The last administration wanted to create the very first amendment that LIMITED rights. An amendment for marriage would have been the only amendment that ostracized a group of people. That is very dangerous territory, as is the current administration wanting to fine people for not making a purchase. Both are radical ideas outside of a democracy.

Democracy is about freedom, a freedom of choice, freedom to agree or disagree. Freedom to play online cards, marry whom I choose and for that matter, say a bad word or tell an offensive joke. We are moving further and further away from a democracy. Government is growing at a ridiculous rate, rights are being taken away. Our leaders are out of touch with the people that they are supposed to represent. They offer no new solutions and entrench themselves deeper into their party’s agenda. We are truly facing the death of common sense. Thomas Paine would not be amused.