By Definition

[Author’s Note: Before I begin today’s scree, let me start by saying I’m not on anyone’s side. Most likely I am opposed to whatever insane, cockamamie ideas you have. Well, maybe not ALL of them, but probably most of them. For example, while I take aim at the Woke Mob today, this does not mean I am on the side of right-wing Republicans who are, by-and-large, pretty big assholes. I’m on the side of reason, thought, and interesting discourse. If you’re not on the side of these things, you, too, are probably an asshole. Only, what defines an asshole…]

 

I should have known better than to get into a Twitter spat with a Woke Mobster. Much like your average Trump cultist, there is no reasoning with them. Much like that average Trump cultist, the Woke Mob operates on pure emotion and this is why there is no reasoning with them.

 

See, I made the white man’s mistake of pointing out that a Woke Mobster’s definition of ‘racism’ was being redefined for the sake of convenience in propping up the alt-Left’s narrative, a narrative in which they intimate that only white people can be racist. The mobster in question, allegedly a doctor (a term which used to presume a certain level of intelligence along with it), went so far as to say that white people invented racism. Of course, they couldn’t say where or when this happened probably because this alleged fact was in fact not a fact.

 

Now I’m not going to sit here like your average Trump cultist and tell you systematic racism hasn’t existed in the U.S. since its inception. Yes, some groups of white people in the U.S. have been guilty of oppressing people of color for two-plus centuries. Naturally, while the Woke Mob recognizes this, they neglect to notice that other groups of white people have been instrumental in advancing rights for people of color. To be sure, more effort is needed to make people of color truly equal in the U.S. among the predominately ‘white culture.’ The problem is, in the Woke Mob’s narrative, because of the oppression people of color have suffered, all white people and all their institutions are oppressors and it cannot be the case that white people cannot be racist. It is understandable that unfair treatment might result in this kind of mindset, but this is unreasonable thinking nonetheless. To actually point this unreasonableness, though, is only more proof of the white man’s racism. But what is racism?

 

As philosophers do, we should agree on our definitions before proceeding. Per Merriam-Webster’s definition* which has been the definition of racism for, I don’t know, a while now, “1-Unfair treatment of people of a particular race in a society to the benefit of people of another race (and) 2-The belief that certain races of people are superior to others.” This as opposed to a Woke Mobster’s definition which in not so unsimilar and goes something like this, “The systematic oppression of a racial group to the social, economic, and political advantage of [white people].” The latter of these two definitions is the only one that will suffice for the Woke Mob since it excludes any group besides white people from being racist. This has to be the case because, as everyone knows, all other races around the globe treat each other with nothing but dignity and respect. Nevermind the hatred between the Chinese and Japanese. Nevermind Africa being the epicenter of genocides in the modern age. There’s nothing to see here.

 

[*I was challenged on this, my opponent asking me if I was going by Webster’s definition. Well, yes, I was. However, because Merriam-Webster was compiled by white men one assumes, the definition is not to be trusted, obviously.]

 

And so because I, as the white man in the conversation, was wrong by virtue of my existence. For this to be the case – forgive my poor white man’s ignorance – seems kinda racist, at least according to Merriam-Webster. Ah, but since white people hold most of the power in the U.S. I can’t be oppressed on an individual, much less societal, level. That’s the way the Left’s narrative goes, so it seems.

 

What would be interesting is to peer into the future and see the U.S. being headed by people of color – that day is coming – and see whether the Woke Mob’s current definition of racism holds. According to the logic, it shouldn’t if people of color wield most of the power in the country. In fact, according to the logic, it would only be people of color who could be racist then. But, you just can’t expect people who operate solely on emotion to conduct these kinds of thought experiments much less come to that conclusion.

 

It should not be forgotten that racism is an act, not an objective object that exists when no one is around. As such, anyone or any group can be racist, unless you change the definition to suit your narrative as the Woke Mob has done. Unfortunately, words are fluid in definition (and even spelling and pronunciation). Case in point, the word ‘literally’ literally no longer means ‘literally’ when used by lay people, and this is very sad. The same could be said of the word ‘theory’ when used by a scientist as opposed to the common citizen who doesn’t understand anything about science. But I digress; it is a time-honored tradition of Sophists to change definitions to win arguments. There’s not much that can be done about that unless we all start talking mathematics.

 

It should also not be forgotten that it was the philosophy of (mostly) old-timey European white men that argued for the equal treatment of all people. (To be fair, by ‘all people’ they were largely referring to ‘people’ who were only ‘people’ because they had dicks. It’s a matter of definition that was convenient for men at the time.) If not for those philosophers, the Woke Mob would not even be in a position to voice their displeasure about their systematic oppression. No other philosophers from any other continent or culture argued so fiercely for equal rights. I’M NOT SAYING people of color should be undyingly thankful to those philosophers but history is what it is. And, yes, I know that as a white man that’s easy for me to say.

 

Now, before any of this goes any further or before I get cancelled, let us argue over the definition of ‘definition.’ I’ll pour us some whiskey. Or is it ‘whisky’? Fuck.

F*** the USA

It seems so long ago I was what a modern ‘red’-blooded American would consider a patriot. When I joined the army when I was 18 (and for the better half of my military career) I was a Republican, I believed in the rule of law, I believed in the country’s elected officials, and I believed that – all things considered – the United States was a country every other country should be looking up to because her citizens warranted that respect. Three decades later, I could not have been more wrong. While I have figuratively renounced my U.S. citizenship years ago, this morning’s news item finally caused me to spit, “Fuck the USA.”

Various news agencies reported that the owner of a Massachusetts ice cream parlor decided to close his door one day after re-opening during the current pandemic due to the harassment of his employees because…because people had to wait in line to get ice cream. (Please read that again, pause, and let it sink in.) Apparently his best employee quit at the end of her shift due to the harassment. It is absolutely unbelievable that this happened because, again, ICE CREAM was at stake. Although the operation basically returned to ‘normal’ soon thereafter, what with a renewed emphasis on safety and ordering procedures, it cannot be dismissed that people simply forgot their manners after weeks of being in quarantine.

It’s a common criticism by the alt-right that the alt-left hates America and I dare say the alt-right is not totally incorrect. But the alt-left also has a point insofar is that a love of the U.S. is simply not warranted and in fact perhaps should be hated. Donald Trump’s favorite saying ‘Make America Great Again’ really gives a thinking person a moment’s pause as it is not known exactly when America was so great. (Perhaps briefly upon entering WWII?) While many of you reading this right now may think ‘hate’ is a bridge too far, let us not forget the very recent history in which a black man, Ahmaud Arbery, was peacefully jogging until he was hunted down by apparent white supremists and shot to death, and then his assailants went free for two months until a video of the incident surfaced. To be certain, the assailants were not arrested because Georgia law enforcement saw the video but because the rest of the country saw the video. So is this the ‘great America’ the current U.S. president thinks the country should be? If it seems like I’m digressing, I’m not.

The Polar Cave Ice Cream parlor incident is indicative of almost everything that is wrong with the U.S. (By the way, this happened on the same weekend a group of white men carrying large-caliber weapons went to a Subway sandwich shop in North Carolina in an apparent attempt to protest lockdown orders.) Because Americans are not particularly well known for their intelligence, I will briefly enumerate what makes the U.S. such a terrible place to be these days (assuming you’re a non-white, unarmed, non-male person, though, the alt-left is certainly not without problems given their philosophy).

·       The Polar Cave Ice Cream parlor incident reveals the utter entitlement Americans feel they have to everything they want and to have it immediately. (Surprisingly, Americans haven’t yet stormed Amazon warehouses because they have to wait two whole days for their Prime shipments to arrive.) Americans feel so entitled to everything – including ice cream – that to too many people it was acceptable to harass ice cream shop employees for having to wait too long (a few minutes?) with language that would embarrass a sailor. Americans feel so entitled to what they want that involuntarily celibate men think it’s okay to shoot up college campuses because they shouldn’t have to do anything to get laid. And naturally Americans feel entitled to the guns they use in such incidents because they are part of a well-regulated militia. FFS, these days, Americans even feel entitled to their own facts. And when Americans don’t get their way, the play the victim card.

·       Being entitled to their own facts demonstrates America’s now nearly complete war on intellectualism short of killing university professors. A friend recently posted a blog (here) on the intellectual dishonestly so often associated with memes that is, of course, so completely on point we should be thankful Americans are able to communicate through posting memes at all and not still smashing rocks together to make crude music. Can a country that made the Kardashians, creationists, and flat-earthers famous and can’t answer basic questions about how their government works but is somehow mind-controlling them really be considered great? The U.S. is a country whose citizens can’t be asked to wear a facemask for a few months for everyone’s protection. It’s not like these people are being asked to go off to war to fight Nazi’s – which they wouldn’t do now anyway – or suffer a famine ala The Great Depression or stop taking selfies. The U.S. is a country that elected a president that cannot maintain a train of thought for more than two minutes, which no one should have sought to do because most people should not be electing people like themselves to high office seeing how unqualified the average American is for such a task. Exerting power by fiat has never worked out well for anyone, but the average American has no idea what I mean when I say that anyway. America is the same country whose Republicans foam at the mouth when the word ‘socialism’ is spoken but gladly took their pandemic stimulus checks and think big businesses and farmers deserve government bailouts.

·       Anti-intellectualism and racism go hand-in-hand, so it’s no surprise that hate crimes increased dramatically after Trump took over the U.S. presidency. True, it’s not like many white Americans weren’t already racist, it’s just that the person they elected to high office emboldened them to act on that racism. While we probably didn’t have too many incidents during the

Obama Administration in which the police were called on a black cop searching for evidence in between houses, but today it’s basically the norm. White people are so willfully oblivious to what black people go through, they dare not take a moment to figure out what Black Lives Matters really means. Does that sound ‘great’ to you? America is simply an evil place for allowing racism to go unaddressed and unfettered. It is an evil place for what happened at the ice cream parlor. If Americans cannot get over the frustration of not having ice cream in a ‘timely’ fashion, then how are they great?

·       America no longer appears to adhere to any rule of law. Just this past week, the Trump Administration’s DOJ dropped charges against former national security advisor Michael Flynn, a man who admitted to lying under oath twice. There are various reasons for this which have nothing to do with Flynn being an honorable man, but as it is for many in the Trump administration, being legally accountable is laughable. (Yes, Bill Clinton lied under oath, too, but at least he paid for it.) Meanwhile, President Trump has routinely said he is above the law as president…which would mean all the crimes he’s accused Obama of committing in office are irrelevant. Meanwhile, white men are walking into capitol buildings and sandwich shops with guns in an attempt to intimidate elected officials, but they are not charged with domestic terrorism because white. Meanwhile, in the 1960’s the Black Panthers were charged with domestic terrorism for doing exactly this. Meanwhile, a white salon owner in Texas openly defies a court order and judge and is hailed a s hero while the people hailing her as a hero keep telling black people that they wouldn’t get shot if they just did what they are told by law enforcement. What officials in high office and white people get away with, to say nothing of corporations, is reprehensible, to be polite.

·       Not surprisingly, the current pandemic has exposed the weaknesses of capitalism, that weakness being that it cannot survive something like a pandemic without the aid of socialism as I mentioned earlier. The strange thing is, not even liberals are questioning the fundamentals of capitalism. I expect such a thing of Republicans, but not Democrats. Even Bernie Sanders is mostly silent about the recent turn of events. I’ll say that capitalism may be the best monetary philosophy going, but that is not the same as saying it’s good at all.

·       For those of you who have forgotten, the U.S. consistently lags behind other Western and some Asian countries in math, science, and reading. You don’t see the Trump Administration doing anything to rectify that situation. No, instead Trump installs a completely unqualified person (because that’s what he does with his cabinet) to head the DOE because she’s a campaign donor with a vested interest in college students repaying their student loans. No, trump doesn’t see to it that Americans get an education because that would disrupt his base, that being uneducated citizens. As we’ve seen from China, Japan, and the Scandinavian countries, an educated population is in a country’s best interest. That simply cannot be allowed in a country held hostage by mega-corporations, though.

So we’re left trying to figure out when the U.S. was great and deserving of being loved. Was it when it institutionalized slavery and even fought a civil war to preserve it? Was it during Prohibition when the government was poisoning beer so it could use the dead as propaganda? Was it during the Trail of Tears? Was it during the McCarthy era? Was it when it dropped TWO nuclear bombs on Japan? Was it during the Tuskegee Experiment? Was it during the My Lai Massacre in Vietnam? Was it when it lied its way into invading Iraq post-9/11? Was it when the wholesale spying on Americans by the NSA was greenlit? Was it when the Supreme Court ruled that corporations were people or ruled that super-PAC money didn’t have to be transparent anymore? Was it when the employee of an ice cream parlor quit her job because of the harassment she received because people couldn’t get their ice cream on demand?

It might be argued that many countries behave reprehensibly but this means nothing more than the U.S. being a country no better than any other. Yes, the U.S. may have a higher standard of living and all the money and goods it could ever want (gotta have the latest iPhone!), but U.S. citizens seem to equate these enviable qualities with some kind of moral high ground. That is how stupid Americans are. That’s how undeserving of America’s status it is.

Is it really such a big deal to be an American, to live in the USA.? Not when your job at an ice cream parlor entails threats to your life. Not when it’s more important to re-start the economy than to save people’s lives. Not when Americans are too stupid to see that capitalism cannot survive without socialism. Not when a black man cannot go jogging without being hunted down by Trump supporters. Not when the alt-left has ruined any sense of fairness on college campuses (they’ve turned out to be almost as bad as their alt-right counterparts). Not when you’re considered a lower form of life because your credit score is terrible.

The next time you see someone post “We’re better than this” on social media in response to the next example of human depravity, please remind them that the U.S. is not and never has been. Given history, both past and present, you might even want to say to them, “Fuck the U.S.A.” I sure do.

How to Defeat Trump

It’s looking more and more like Donald Trump is going to win the next U.S. presidential election. Why? Mainly because the economy is doing well and that issue is the biggest issue of all. People are content as long as they are able to buy stuff. It doesn’t matter if income disparity is growing at an ever increasing rate or if tax cuts for the rich burden the middle class as long as people have enough money to buy stuff. After all, being an American means being a consumer, so the economy has to do well enough for people to at least have a job. (Or at least a better job than the ones they’re not willing to do which these same people accuse illegal immigrants of taking away. SMH.) If the economy is okay, the sitting president gets elected. That’s all there is to it.

Trump has added benefits, too, as far as his base is concerned. He appeals to evangelicals (despite every evidence to the contrary of being one himself) and white supremacists who still don’t know that white people didn’t invent agriculture, mathematics, clocks, or even the gunpowder and bombs they love so much. Jesus, not even their religion – Christianity – was invented by white people.

That being said, it looks like it’s going to be hard for Trump to lose to any one of the Democratic contenders, especially when all of the contenders’ platforms revolve around immigration. While the situation at the southern U.S. border is terrible, no amount of suffering by illegal immigrants is going to override the economy’s health. (Making any social issue the focus of their campaign is going to get the Democratic nominee defeated.) So not only do the Democrats need to shift their focus away from immigration – sorry, I know it’s really tough –  they need to target the only demographic Trump may not be able to secure: Independent voters. And the only way to sway those independent voters who may have voted for Trump in the previous election is to make Trump look like an ass in debates. Trump already always looks like an ass when he goes off-script but realize that most of the time he’s under control due to the pandering of sycophants such as when he’s talking with Fox News (which is always). While many of us already know Trump’s incapable of making logical rash decisions and sound judgments, this needs to be witnessed on a national stage by the casual independent voter. Independent voters need to be able to say to themselves, “Wow, this guy’s a maniac. And not in a good way.” Get Trump going off-script in debates and the Democratic contender will at least stand a chance.

Democrats, heed my following points well. You risk ignoring me at the country’s peril. The stakes are too high to lose again. Bite the bullet, take the low road for once, and do what needs to be done. Defeat Trump in the debates by following the suggestions I’ve laid out before you:

·        1-The one rule to rule them all (do it immediately and do not let up): Get under Trump’s skin – challenge his vanity, for example, by alleging that Trump wouldn’t have won the election without Russia’s help. Bring up Russian interference and all the people around him that have faced criminal charges. (So much for appointing the ‘best people’ who either leave because they were incompetent or have faced criminal charges. Heck, go so far as to imply Trump has partied with underage teenagers with Jeffery Epstein. The Trump administration can’t vet anyone properly, it seems. Of course, Trump never needs to because he is a great judge of character.) Bring up Russia and the Mueller Report a lot. Point out that Hillary won the popular election. Trump hates that. It doesn’t even matter if what you say about him is true – we live in a post-fact world anyway – say his golf swing sucks. The thing is, once Trump gets flustered, he wings it, and we all know how well that turns out.

·       2-In case you didn’t just hear me, keep bringing up Russia and how Putin is an enemy, not a friend. Ask Trump about election security since he has no plan whatsoever.

·       3-Oh, I forgot to mention that it’s really important that Trump faces a woman for the presidency. Trump has been very successful at challenging every man’s but Putin’s masculinity, so if the Democrats put up Biden or, God forbid, Bernie the Dems will need to get nasty and talk about what Stormy Daniels said about his genitalia. I know that’s wishful thinking but it’s the only defense. Again, it would fluster Trump. He’ll already be annoyed to be facing a woman.

·       4-Bring up all the times Trump has ignored the Constitution – challenge Trump’s knowledge on the Constitution since he has none.

·       5-Trump’s foreign policy has been a disaster and we all know why he wants desperately to be friends with Russia, North Korea, and Saudi Arabia – hotels. Make it known that the Democratic contender will rebuild confidence with our traditional allies and fight terrorism against journalists with sanctions. Accuse Trump of being played for a fool by North Korea.

·       6-The Trump administration’s environmental record is another (literal) disaster to harp on. A central issue of the Democratic nominee’s platform should be combatting climate change and cleaning up the environment. Bring facts about how environmental disaster is impacting areas Trump voters live in. This will have Trump frothing at the mouth about global warming being a hoax. Ask him which oil company told him that.

·       7-Ask Trump where his health care plan is after saying the GOP would become the party of healthcare. Healthcare should be another central issue for the Democratic nominee. And sorry, the Democratic nominee will need to back off of saying free healthcare for illegal immigrants. That annoys even me and I’m pretty liberal on most social issues. If you’re not going to take care of Americans first, you’ll lose the election in a landslide.

·       8-If Trump says he’s doing well and the economy proves it, bring up the tariffs and the farmer bailouts. This is how you’re going to combat accusations of socialism, which Trump is going to do often. Ask Trump if he even knows what socialism is. For that matter, ask him if he knows what fascism is and how it relates to how private companies like Twitter and Facebook do their business. He won’t know how to answer. Watch him talk out of his ass.

·       9-Take Trump to task for all his vacations at taxpayer expense, which Trump accused Obama of doing. Ask Trump why it is okay for him and why it wasn’t for Obama. Point out his never ending hypocrisy; if Obama was such an ineffectual president why has Trump spent so much time rolling back so many of Obama’s implemented policies?

·       10-Like Trump’s associates who face criminal charges, accuse Trump of pandering to ‘good people’ like racist white supremacists and fringe evangelicals who are curbing women’s rights. Attack Trump for attacking the four congresswomen who are supposed to ‘go back where they came from’ even though three of the four were born Americans. Bring up Trump’s racism which has now been fully realized. When Trump mention immigrants, outline the horrible things Trump’s base is doing. Statistically, you’re more likely to be shot by a white male than an immigrant and everyone knows it.

·       11-Bring up Trump’s nepotism and how he overruled the FBI to give his family members clearances. Ask him what makes his family more qualified for certain positions rather than people with actual qualifications.

·       12-Accuse Fox News of being state run TV and all their instances of fake news. Bring up Trump attacking journalists just because they’re not kind to him. Call Trump a snowflake who is so easily offended that he shouldn’t be running the country.

·       13-If for some reason Trump should talk about the Democratic nominee’s personal relationships, they’ll need to get nasty and talk about Donald’s affairs and how the women he sleeps with aren’t exactly the brightest. Sucks to have to insult the First Lady, but remember that she’s an immigrant and us Americans don’t like immigrants.

·       14-Bring up his taxes and investigations. Ask him what he’s hiding; if he’s not guilty of any wrongdoing, he should release his taxes.

·       15-Address his tax cut for the rich and the future consequences. For once, do some fearmongering. Except it’s not fearmongering. As always, it’s going to come down on the middle class and they make up the majority of voters.

·       You may have to go way off topic to point these things out and Trump might even recognize you’re off topic (doubt it) but it’s the same as trying to get Trump to stay on topic. The chances of Trump staying on topic are about the same as him staying on top of the same woman.

It’s going to be a longshot for the Democrats to pull off a presidential victory in the next election unless they get ballsy. You can’t fight insanity with sanity. You will lose every time. Are your principles really worth four more years of a complete shit-show? Please, Democrats, please grow a spine just this once. Asking for more than one-half of the United States.

The Farce of July

Hello! Welcome back to my blog, my three loyal subjects! I’ve been gone for some time working on my first novel in an attempt to distract myself for the daily nonsense that is the world. Distraction is hard to come by in this day and age given the degree of insanity popping out of anyone’s mouth day in and day out, least of all from the guy who allegedly won the last U.S. presidential election. Since this will be President Trump’s first Fourth of July as the U.S. President, we can all be sure to be hearing the phrase ‘MAGA’ for the next week. And, we’re going to hear it from people taking no part in making that actually happen. That brings me to recap a ‘funny if it weren’t true’ article about Trump supporters I recently read, “If you still support this guy, I know 7 things about you instantly.” I’ll briefly recap the article with my own thoughts and add a few numbers of my own. If you’re interested, you can find the original article here.

If you still support Trump as U.S. President, here are 7 (or more) things I know about you instantly:

One – You like to be ruled, not governed. Absolutely true. You don’t even need a study to understand that some groups of people, say, Evangelical Christians, love to be told what’s good for them as long as you invoke God, the king above kings, while doing it. Being ruled requires no thinking and, well, you see what I’m getting at. If not, that proves my point.

Two – You have no class. Also true, at least for the average middle-to-lower class U.S. citizen. In classifying a reporter who criticizes him as having been ‘bleeding from the face’ thanks to bad plastic surgery, Trump surely scores points with people who think it’s okay to refer to your own daughter as a nice piece of ass (shocker). They also think Trump’s low-brow tweets are ‘fighting back’ against a media that routinely thumps him while forgetting he actually won the presidential election and is well protected by the Secret Service.

Three – You are not someone I would trust to do business with. No doubt! While the article groans about shady business practices and tax evasion, I wouldn’t do business with anyone so adverse to regulations. Sure, businesses and industries can be over-regulated, but no regulation? That means you’re up to no good.

Four – You are racist or a racist enabler. Not always true but true often enough. White people, men in particular, voted for The Don. Overwhelmingly. I mean, when the KKK endorses a candidate, well, they don’t endorse just any ol’ person! I’m pretty sure Trump is racist himself – I could be wrong – though he does hire just enough black people to make us question his racism just a tiny bit.

Five – You have issues with women. Obviously. Three wives, affairs, certain ‘comments’ I won’t reiterate, the Megyn Kelly debacle. Surely this often stems from evangelicalism which hates that women are even allowed to leave the house with shoes on. Of course, some women voted for Trump, so what’s their deal? See One; sometimes thinking for yourself is just too…too…difficult.

Six – You aren’t quite as Christian as you claim to be. Please refer to my previous blog “You are Not a Christian.” Or if you’re in a hurry, think about Jesus being alive today and following last year’s presidential election. Can you imagine Jesus saying, “Oh, yeah, I’m voting for this guy!” I’m sure Jesus wouldn’t be happy with voting for Hillary either, but if forced to choose, I think he’d go with the lesser of two evils. Or be crucified instead. Heck, I considered it.

Seven – You are anti-constitution. Yes. The Emolument Clause means nothing to you – which is why you’re okay with the Muslim travel ban that doesn’t include countries that actually attacked the U.S., like, um, Saudi Arabia where Trump does some business. You also don’t care about the separation of church and state (for obvious reasons) and free speech (to spare your guy any criticism, which is funny because Obama).

Those are the original article’s point’s which I think left a few things out…

Eight – You hate science. Of course you hate science; you’re religious! Despite the fact that your life is incredibly cushy and convenient thanks to science, you are thankless to a fault. That’s all because you don’t want anyone questioning your religious beliefs. You think everyone else should question their religious beliefs because you – uneducated white guy who counts on Fox News for real news – you’ve got it figured out. That’s likely.

Nine – You want Trump to install a theocracy. You whine like holy hell about Sharia law because a Christian theocracy would be SO much better, said no evidence ever.

Ten – You’re oblivious to the obvious. White Americans are FAR more dangerous and likely to shoot and kill you than an illegal alien terrorist. By like, A LOT. You’re also more likely to be shot by a toddler who got their hands on a gun than a terrorist. But, you do nothing to curb these incidents because…you like guns. No reason to have them, you just like guns.

Nine – You cant spel. Trump supporters are notoriously horrible with the English language they so desperately demand everyone else speak. If you’re a Trump supporter, it’s highly unlikely you’ve noticed this blog’s numerous spelling or grammar typos. Want MAGA? Try spelling it out with no mistakes.

Ten – You’re a snowflake. Surely the average Trump voter has already called me a ‘libtard’ or some other innovative metaphor by this point in my spiel even though I’m a registered independent. Another point proven. 

Eleven - You don't care if people are unqualified to do important jobs. You figured Obama was a community organizer with little government experience, so why not abandon experience altogether? Why not have a brain surgeon in charge of housing or a science denier who campaigned on fossil fuel industry money in charge of the EPA? Meanwhile, you keep complaining that the barista at Starbucks got your order wrong. Again.

Twelve - You have no sense of history. Make America Great Again? When was it great before? When there was slavery? Before women could vote? Before civil rights? When there was child labor? Before there was an EPA? When we used nuclear weapons on civilians? When we put a man on the moon thanks to a Democratic President? What happened to all that greatness, I wonder. Oh, yea, the internet. Sigh.

Sanders, Trump, and the Cult of Victimization

The year is 2016.

When people act like cavemen, in ‘unevolved’ sorts of ways, it is inevitable that someone is always there to ask “What year are we living in?” meaning, there is something allegedly shocking to a person of reason about how slowly large groups of people evolve socially over time. As Donald Trump grows closer to securing the Republican nomination, he continues to indirectly but not so subtly pander to the racist, misogynistic (largely) uneducated white voters who are not above rising to violence who happen to think Trump’s presidency will ‘change things.’ The question is, what is it Trump supporters hope to change? It’s not like a whole lot of racist, misogynistic (largely) uneducated white voters haven’t benefited from the status quo for, well, pretty much all of American history.

And that’s just it; for Trump supporters, what they are hoping to change is the direction in

which the country is changing. Trump’s overwhelmingly white supporters see the writing on the wall; for example, they’re currently under attack spiritually as the number of diverse religions grow within U.S. borders. Heaven forbid a Christian from Bala’ama be forced to share the street with a non-Christian! (For the sake of brevity, now replace ‘Christian’ and ‘non-Christian’ with ‘white folk’ and ‘people of color,’ ‘men’ and ‘women,’ ‘the uncultured and illiterate’ and ‘a gay from New York,’ etc.) Of course, least we forget that the Mexicans are stealing jobs Americans don’t want to do. Somehow, Trump supporters feel victimized by the growing number of people who don’t think conservative white men should be allowed to keep victimizing people the way they have for over 200 years now. Oddly, if there is anything Trump supporters should be fighting, it’s the narrative of victimization that seems to be the driving force in the lives of U.S. citizens these days.

The middling success of Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign is indicative of this narrative. People of Color, gays, Millennials, left-of-left leaning liberals and people who don’t want another Clinton in the White House are flocking to a socialist who sounds like a Sweathog from Welcome Back Kotter. While blacks more than any other group of minorities have suffered from institutionalized racism (Native American aren’t around much to persecute anymore), it is hard to see why they think a frazzle-haired Jewish president would suddenly make them equal in the eyes of conservative white men, seeing how Obama’s presidency hasn’t helped much. Really, though, blacks and gays are the only groups of people who have truly been victimized throughout U.S. history, though it is arguable the LGBT community has had a great deal more success in being accepted. Meanwhile, Millennials and left-of-left leaning liberals feel victimized by being born into a culture that is largely a meritocracy. People who don’t want another Clinton in the White House feel victimized by the lack of Whole Foods supermarkets in their neighborhood (that are owned by a Republican by-the-way).

What both sides have in common is that they feel victimized by the status quo. The difference is slight at best; Trump supporters want to stop the status quo from ceasing to be the status quo while Sanders supporters think the status quo can’t change fast enough. In the meantime, both groups of supporters (read: fanatics) are being forced to live in a world that is utterly horrible, one that doesn’t kowtow to their respective beliefs. This is, however, merely indicative of a larger problem insofar as it has become every American’s prerogative to perceive any transgression – no matter how slight – into being victimized. Politically, both sets of supporters want to sell everyone on the idea that their candidate is for freedom when in fact both candidates are diametrically opposed to freedom – one is out to curtail freedoms for certain people while the other is out to curtail the freedom of certain ideas. The U.S.’s currently culture of victimization is born directly out of having too much freedom: The fact is that in almost no other country do the citizens have so much freedom to protest that their freedoms are under attack. Keep in mind that this is despite the media in the U.S. almost entirely being under the control of a mere five corporations.

Moderate independent, liberal and conservative voters alike have long mocked the ‘special snowflake’ narrative of left-of-left liberals and Millennials when it appears all groups suffer from this delusion that they are special and deserve special or preferential treatment. Chances are, unless you’re an overweight, militant, gay Native African-American who wears glasses, you haven’t been victimized by anything other than your own ego. While both Trump and Sanders supporters would like to get rid of a culture that is a meritocracy (in theory, anyway) it is perhaps best if we actually employed a culture of meritocracy. Special or preferential treatment should be earned regardless of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, political affiliation or nepotism. I say this because employing a true meritocracy is the best way to ensure everyone is treated fairly and no one can be victimized except by themselves.

Trump and Sanders supporters will never admit they have anything in common which only further demonstrates their inability to recognize their own humanness and the flaws that accompany it. Both groups think their candidate can fix what ails the country, but it is highly unlikely that more poison is the cure. Common ground is the cure, not a sharp divide.

You Forgot To Say Thank You

Stardate March 1, 2016: Donald Trump has taken the Super Tuesday presidential primaries by storm…

As horrible as it is, there is a reason why Donald Trump is ruling the Republican roost as of late. It has a lot to do with the Regressive Left’s narrative that is washing like a wave over people of color (POC) who were once a minority but now stand to become the majority of people in the United States in the coming decades. The extreme leftist narrative that has taken the ‘earning’ out of learning across the nation’s colleges has fully unveiled male Caucasians for who they really are – xenophobic, misogynist devils that the world would be better off without. To this it should be expected that Caucasians would rally behind a demagogue like Trump as they fear getting bred out if not lynched altogether once the tide has fully turned against them. (As the comedian Louis C.K. said, “Oh, us white people just wait. We're gonna pay hard for this shit.”)

But as POC rise to power they become just like their former oppressors who often refuse to acknowledge their own racism. Unsurprisingly – and perhaps on purpose – POC neglect to think about how their rise to power in the U.S. even came about in the first place. To take that measure of history into account would mean having to say to male Caucasians, “Thank you.” Obviously this will not do, but history is often difficult to ignore.

Despite a good measure of institutionalized racism that is nonetheless slowly dissipating (not quickly enough, I will grant), young POC do not seem to realize how well off they are to live in the U.S. While they look around and see that in many instances they are outnumbered by Caucasians, this numbers game somehow translates into victimization. Yet, these victims are given a chance to speak across multiple platforms, be it on college campuses, social media or taking over a Bernie Sanders rally. Last time I checked, this opportunity to speak appeared difficult to come by in most other countries.

This is to ask any given POC who has grown accustomed to living in the U.S.: Would Asians-Americans rather live in China where the government censors the media, discriminates against the handicapped, is horribly polluted, and actually governs people’s lives, or live in Japan where the emphasis is not on individuality but on conformity? Would Hispanic-Americans rather live in Mexico, Puerto Rico or Cuba where the standard of living is much lower? Would Indian-Americans rather live in India where a rape culture persists and marriages are arranged? Would African-Americans like to live on the African continent without potable water, access to a decent education and among religious extremists? (We have religious extremists in the U.S., too, but they usually don’t murder you for blasphemy.) Really, the only Americans who should be complaining about not being able to go back where they came from in order to compare living situations are Native Americans. As a Caucasian who really doesn’t care that they are Caucasian probably because it’s never been an issue in a mostly Caucasian country, I understand completely how bad this will sound, but, POC should be a little more thankful they live in the U.S. and not some other country. After all, if living in the U.S. is so terrible, maybe POC should try living in Scandinavia where it is so cold, the only way to get Caucasians to stay is to give everyone free stuff (that is, after you’ve taxed the hell out of them).

If, as POC contend, that Caucasians have instituted racism to such an extent that POC find themselves still able to bring the issue of racism up, who is to thank for this situation? While the Forefathers of the U.S. Constitution probably did not foresee POC rise to prominence in the U.S., they still included a key phrase that to this day makes all U.S. citizens equal, in theory anyway. It is precisely because these ‘white male devils’ included such a philosophy in their constitution signifies how advanced their social philosophy was in their day. And where did George Washington and Thomas Jefferson and company get their ideas? From mostly Caucasian Enlightenment-era philosophers like Jean-Jacque Rousseau, Baruch Spinoza, Francis Bacon and Immanuel Kant. (Okay, Spinoza was actually Portuguese, but looks Caucasian in portraits, kinda like what the white-devil did with Jesus.)

And so the question as I put it to angry POC who are quick to criticize Caucasians is: In what other culture of predominantly non-Caucasian people is their social philosophy that all people should be equal? Moreover, if such a culture exists, does their country’s constitution or charter state unequivocally that all men are created equal? Of course, the answer to this question is, “There are none” which is why no one on social media ever gives me an answer when I ask this question – they don’t want to acknowledge that the idea of equality of for all was mostly the idea of Caucasians who also (and here’s the kicker) have actually tried to implement this philosophy.

This being the case, I really don’t understand what is referred to as ‘white guilt,’ the idea that Caucasians should feel guilty for the transgressions of their brethren that actually are racist. Logically speaking, this would mean that any time anyone of any ethnicity is racist, the rest of their race should feel guilty about it. Opponents of this argument say the guilt in question assumes some kind of power imbalance such as African-Americans being oppressed by Caucasians in the U.S. (or African-Americans being oppressed by Asians and Indians who are hogging up all the decent, wage-paying majors in colleges) or, say, me as a Caucasian walking through Harlem at night. If in that case I were attacked for being Caucasian, it would be a racist crime and all African-Americans should feel guilty about it according to ‘white guilt’ logic. I might also ask the question of what makes me responsible for the actions of others regardless of my race and theirs. There is no objective moral philosophy that says I am.

While it is certainly true that there have been many accounts of institutionalized racism in U.S. history, I am not so sure that such cases are any worse than what is included in the history of any other country.* However, because of the U.S. Constitution, because of its basic moral and social philosophy, an advancement in the social status of POC, women and homosexuals has been achieved. Is there further to go? Absolutely, but let’s not take a step back by electing a racist, misogynist ego-maniac. But let’s also not point to Caucasians and claim every problem POC face is their fault. If one is going to claim that, they’re going to have to claim that equality is the fault of Caucasians, too.

[I hope that doesn’t sound belittling of such situations. It’s not meant to be.]

What You Are Not Entitled To

“You are not entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to your informed opinion. No one is entitled to be ignorant.” - Harlan Ellison

My previous blog bemoaned the current state of affairs on college campuses, noting the extreme narcissism among student that have resulted from the extreme liberal views of their parents. While it is easy to understand extreme liberalism as a consequence of the extreme conservatism that proceeded it, such a backlash has resulted in a county-wide culture in which far too many Americans believe they’re entitled to whatever it is they want. But entitlement is never a given without some explicit written agreement such as a work contract. “Joe Smith and I agree and sign here that I will build a house for him and in exchange I am entitled to be paid by Joe Smith X-amount of dollars.” No appeal to any unwritten social contract can be made either as if such a thing actually existed, everyone would play by the same rules. It is clear not everyone does. So, for the sake of clarification, here is what you or anyone else is not entitled to:

You are not entitled to take up two spots in a busy parking lot. You are not entitled to park wherever you want because you have a nice car. You are not entitled to speeding because you left the house late. You are not entitled to reckless driving because you don’t know where you are going. Nor are you entitled to reckless driving because you want to answer an unimportant text. You are not entitled to other drivers being careful around you because you display a ‘Baby On Board’ sign. You are not entitled to play your car stereo way too loud at 3am because you have a small penis. You are not entitled to take up two seats on public transportation.

You are not entitled to act out because your parents didn’t get you a pony when you were seven. You are not entitled to an award or a grade for simply trying or showing up. You are not entitled to a corner office because you have a college degree. You are not entitled to take care of personal business on company time. You are not entitled to a tip for shitty service. You should be entitled to fair compensation for a job but unfortunately someone is always willing to do more for less pay.

You are not entitled to be a dick because you can’t handle your liquor. You are not entitled to riot whether your team wins or loses a big game. You are not entitled to be a bitch because it is your wedding day. You are not entitled to make someone else’s wedding day all about you. You are not entitled to leave trash wherever you want because you are too lazy to put trash where it belongs. You are not entitled to leave dog waste lying around because you ‘forgot’ a plastic bag when you left the house for a walk.

You are not entitled to believe whatever you want and force it upon other people. You are not entitled to have your beliefs go unchallenged. You are not entitled to your own facts. You are not entitled to make racist or sexist comments without expecting a backlash. You are not entitled to be a racist because you are a minority. You are not entitled to call all men pedophiles because you are a feminist.

You are not entitled to receive love from another person no matter how much you love them. You are not entitled to kiddie porn under the assumption it constitutes ‘free speech.’ You are not entitled to drug women who won’t sleep with you. You are not entitled to anyone else’s body. Ever. For any reason. You are not entitled to welfare because you cannot keep your legs closed.

You are not entitled to your privacy if you actively seek fame. You are not entitled to special treatment because you are famous. (Famous people receive special treatment because businesses want their money. This does not equal respect or admiration.) You are not entitled to special treatment when you say, “Do you know who I am?” If you think otherwise, you are entitled to a punch in the mouth.

You are not entitled to be happy. You are not entitled to anything. The world doesn’t owe you a living.

I am entitled to key your key if you park like a jackass.