Romanticizing The Past

When I was little, I was fascinated with the Old West. I know, I know, people got sick & they died horrible deaths, but let me explain. I saw freedom in it. I saw adventure. I saw the generosity in the community.  If you didn't like the town you were living in, it was so easy to just pick and leave. No two week notices. No worrying about if you could find a house or an apartment in your price range. No monthly bills to forward to your new address. Don't get me started on how the banking system has changed. You were just able to be without Big Brother up your derriere. 

Since I had insomnia last night, I was able to watch 'Late Night Black & White' on GSN. What that consist of is two game shows from the late 50's & early 60's, "What's My Line?" & "I've Got A Secret". The reason I love these shows was how people dressed. The women wore tailored dresses, had their make-up & hair done, walked up straight, and talked like ladies. The men wore tailored suits. They were respectful. At the end of each round of "What's My Line?", the male panelists would stand to shake your hand. 

Don't get me wrong, I love living in present time. I have indoor plumbing and cable. Also, by today's standards, I not considered an old maid.  Which is a plus.
 
I guess what I miss is the mutual respect. 

Oh, The Things I Learn!

This past week has been full of learning experiences. So I decided, me being the awesome person that I am, I would share them with you. That way you don't have to learn them on your own. 

* People who don't believe in God, want Him wiped from society also blame him for mass shootings. I spent 2 hours with this one last night. This is pretty much how the conversation went, "There is no god. How could your god allow this to happen? Your god sucks."

* New racial epitaphs regarding the black culture. Not that I knew a lot of them before hand, but with the country being quickly divided, I hear them all over the news.
From ESPN, I learned 'cornball brother'. Not sure why he would be a 'cornball', the only thing I can think of is if someone is light enough to pass as white, they're refer to as 'high yellow' & corn is yellow.
The other one made me go, huh? 'Black is skin color only.' Let that one sink in for a bit. I thought the amount of melanin in your skin was what made you the 'color' you are.  Is there something else that can make you a 'color'?

* First amendment is for liberal thought bubbles only. All others is not allowed. A conservative radio show host simply stated in a tweet that "Pres. Obama shouldn't politicize a memorial service" Didn't call him a name, wasn't being mean or sarcastic, a clear statement is all she made. She was berated by hundreds. How dare she say anything against Obama! (if you didn't know, the woman I'm talking about is none other than Dana Loesch (@DLoesch on twitter))

* Unions in Lansing Where do I begin? I think I'll just stay on the tent issue. A great majority of these we'll call them people didn't care that there were elderly & handicap people in tent as they tore it down. They didn't care that small business owner was inside protecting his investment when they tore it down. They also didn't care as they damaged his private property & called him vile racial names. When these 'people' found out there was a propane heater in there, they shouted for the tent to burn! Then we it finally fell, they took knives to cut the fabric to hand out as 'spoils'. After the people from inside left the scene, all you could see were capsized tables, the lawn covered with pamphlets, & one kicked in computer tower.

Basically what I learned is that a lot of the so-called free thinkers have the smallest thought bubbles.

So I Went To A Protest

On Tuesday, December 11th, I went to Lansing with my union local for the Right To Work protest. Here's a tip for anyone that has an anxiety disorder like myself, I don't recommend it without proper medication. 

When I first got to the fringe part of the protest, there were some talkers. Upset, loud, but the crowd was somewhat calm. The angriest group outside were on the capital steps. If you ignored the talkers & the signs, it looked like a street fair. 

After taking some video of the talkers, I went for a little walk. I was trying to find the AFP tent that a friend was in. I found it. Wasn't hard. When I got there, there was a heated discussion between some union guys & this nicely dressed gentleman. So I got out my video camera. Taped that discussion when another one started behind me. I heard (& hopefully captured) a white union guy ask a well dressed black man 'how does it feel to be bought?'

After that talk calmed down, I found I was near the door to tent. So I sneaked in. Where I was greeted my 2 lovely women offering me coffee. I turned it down & went searching for my friend. Found him. We talked a bit. He knew I couldn't stay long. While I talked to him, I noticed a lot of union people looking in the tent. It made me queasy because I to go back out. I got back out with no problem.

I want to say, about 10:15ish, we marched around the capital building. I don't know why. One guy had a megaphone who lead the chants. The people I met while walking. I met a teacher who was texting while marching. Met the guy that stuck out the most to me at the beginning of the march. He was in his young 20's (if he was even 20). Nice guy. Very gay. Which automatically made me love him. (I have a thing for gay guys) But he told me that one the other union guys took a swing at him. Now I should mention, my friend was dressed with union logos at the time. I asked him what happened. He said this guy came up to him, called him a tea-bagger & told to get the f*ck out of there! Then swung. I couldn't believe it. When I told one of my coworkers about it, she was fine with it, blaming the younger one.

After the march, I went back to the tent. Got good video the first time, thought I try it again. When I got there, I noticed one guy trying to take down the tent. He was stopped by security. When I got up to the front, I got out my camera again. This time I taped a teacher 'teaching' one of the AFP guys about the Gadsden flag & how it came to be. (You'll have to watch the video, she was funny)

Shortly after I shot that video, I got my camera out again to tape what the firefighter was saying. I swear about 20-30 seconds later, I'm getting shoved from behind by the guys from AFP so they could save the tent. (They apologized while they shoved me) Then I saw people charged the tent. The next 5 seconds I'm not sure how I got out. Hear what I saw after that, people trying get the dog to chew up one of the banners from the tent, the pamphlets from the tent being tossed in the air, & police horses. I was a bit scared. I knew people in there.

When the police horses showed up, I left. I decided I needed a walk & a drink. If you all must know, I had a Jack & coke. If you ever meet me, buy me one. I'd appreciate it. After I left the bar, I crossed paths with the teacher & her union guy. They gave me the evil eye. Apparently they thought I was with the AFP. 

By the time I got back to the protest site, they had stormed the Romney building. I watched one guy with an escort of about 14 or 16 cops getting taken away. He got pepper sprayed. The rant I heard from the building was 'No one in! No one out!' 

To tell you the truth, it all became a blur after awhile. I know I did one on-camera interview.  Like I said, I have an anxiety disorder. I was more amazed that I didn't completely shut down. I remember seeing riot police, anger, billy clubs, litter, & children.

So I went. If I go again, I want to be on the other side. If I remember more, I write another piece.

I Am Offended

Apparently America is offended by everything lately. Someone can breathe wrong & someone will be offended. So here are some things that 'offend' me.

I despise calling someone or someone calling me a racist. How are you supposed prove them wrong? Say "I can't be racist, my baby daddy is black", "my dealer is Mexican", or "my gardener is Asian". Will that really work? (You can change those to how you want by the way) 

Same thing with the calling someone 'homophobe'. How can you prove them wrong? As a straight woman, how would I be able to say I'm not a homophobe. (Beside that I do not fear homosexuals which is what a 'phobia' is) Say I can't be a homophobe because I experimented in college? Ridiculous.

Now on to gender roles/feminism/emasculation. Chose your word. I don't care. A community college made construction workers stop working on campus until they changed their sign. What did the sign say that was SOOOO offensive? "Caution: Men at Work" It wasn't gender neutral. Give me a break. It's a sign put there for the workers safety! Not only that, there were no women in the crew. It was an all male crew!! Get over yourselves. 

Here's something I'm pretty sure we all can agree on. Bubble kids. Do you know what a 'bubble kid' is. A bubble kid is a child whose mother wanted everything in life to be easy for them. Can't let them get frustrated learning hard things like learning to write neatly, tying their shoes, cleaning up after themselves, and proper manners. Do you know what these children grow up to be? Occupiers.

This one is just a real big pet peeve annoyance of mine that kind of offends. Sports players talking about how hard they have to work. I'm sorry. They get paid how much? No job is ever easy. If it was, it wouldn't be called a job. It's the whininess of their voices when they say it. Meanwhile, we have men & women overseas, working basically around the clock, having bullets & rockets aimed at them for very little pay. That offends me!

Last thing. I promise. People who don't read past the headlines and want to tell me how to think about news stories.

Now I don't feel so offended.