So, as you may start to be realizing (if you have actually been keeping up with my latest blogging), the "Monday Morning Rant" is not always going to happen in the morning. Actually, it will occur quite rarely in the morning, as I usually have actual work to do in the morning. But "Monday Afternoon Rant" or "Sometime in the Vicinity of Monday Morning Rant" didn't really have the same ring to it. So the name sticks!
On to more important rantings for this beautiful (but frigid) mid-December Monday...
Michael Vick got sentenced today for pleading guilty to financing a dogfighting operation and helping kill some dogs. He got 23 months in the federal penetentiary. Just shy of two years seems about right. Yeah, the allegations that came out and the gruesome stories about how they treated the dogs were pretty revolting. But he has been trying to make some ammends and apologies and whatnot (albeit after his "friends" all plead guilty and agreed to testify against him). What really gets me is the fact that the race card is once again being played. I was reading through the comments section attached to the ESPN story on his sentence (side note: if you are ever in need of an ego boost, go read through the comments on any story ESPN posts and admire the idiocy. It will immediately make you feel better about yourself and how smart you seem in comparison). Anyways, for the most part the comments were along the lines of "I hope he gets straightened out over the next two years" or "yeah, he got what he deserved." However, every 10 comments or so, there would be the "this is bullshit, the only reason he got 23 months is because he is black. If he was white, he'd be free already" which is complete and utter bullshit.
Vick got 23 months because it was his financing that made all of the dogfighting possible in the first place, and he was the last person indicted to plead guilty and try to get a deal. If he had come out from the beginning and said "shit, I fucked up. I'm sorry. I'm going to plead guilty and hope for the best, since I know what I did was wrong" he'd be looking at probably a one year sentence...no more. But instead he said things like "I'm innocent. I had no idea what was going on at that house. I plan to clear my name. Oh shit, my friends are gonna talk, I'm guilty, my bad." You don't exactly earn brownie points for coming clean because you are obviously fucked. Vick got the sentence he deserved. Everyone who wants to claim racism, you need to shut the fuck up and stop trying to play the race card.
This is the biggest problem today in America with regards to race and racism, the fact that any time someone gets caught doing something wrong, and they aren't white, the race card automatically gets played. Vick is one huge example. Bonds is another one. Numerous polls show that black people think Bonds is innocent, while everyone else thinks he's probably guilty. Parts of the black community have been saying that "bonds is only being indicted because white people want to keep another successful black man down." This is absurd. I fully believe that, for the most part, people don't care what someone's skin color is. No one is trying to keep anyone down. If Bonds broke the law, he should face the consequences. Vick broke the law, he should face the consequences. If Bonds is truely innocent, then the facts will show this and he will be let go. It's called the legal system.
I'm also tired of people trying to use statistics such as "X% of the prison system is populated by blacks while >X% of the population is black. Obviously the man is out to get the black man." Terms like "perpetuating the cycle" are thrown around like candy. It's ridiculous. Instead of trying to blame everyone else for the crimes committed, why don't people look into their own communities and try to fix what is creating these statistics. The race card is the single biggest obstacle to a racism-free society we have in America today. All the races don't seem to want to be treated as equals, they want to be treated better than equal. They want to be treated special because of what happened in the past. That is not a way to foster brotherhood and camaraderie between the races. If everyone is always trying to get out of taking responsibility for their actions by saying "they're only arresting me because I'm black...if I was white, they'd let me kill these guys" no one is going to trust anyone. Until people just stop thinking in terms of color, and I'm talking of their own color, then there will always be some sort of underlying animosity between the races.
I should conclude this by saying that I am not a racist. If anything, I am the anti-racist in that I see nothing in terms of race. I do get mad when people want to be treated equal and then keep bringing up their differences. But that isn't racist. Or maybe it is. Since I'm white, I'm not sure I'm allowed to talk about this. Ah well, if you have a problem with it, its only because you dislike the color of my skin and want to keep me down.
Bonus Mini-Rants!!!
Mini-rant #1: I was at the mall this weekend, in the middle of Christmas Season, and I just want to say that shoppers with strollers are insane. I got rear-ended like 5 times by people with strollers who were trying to push past me. They use those things like battering rams. The worst ones are the shoppers who have small kids, but the kid will be walking and the parent will still be pushing a stroller around for the sole purpose of ramming it through crowds of shoppers. It almost makes me want to have a kid so I'd have an excuse to bring my own battering ram to the malls. This is a prime example of my firmly held belief that most people in America need to just chill out. Everyone's got themselves in a big damn hurry all the time, and no one takes time out to enjoy life. You see it on the freeways, in the malls, in the workplace, everywhere! No one wants to just slow down and take it easy.
My philosophy in life is to just chill out and roll with the punches (which sometimes comes back to bite me in the ass, especially when it relates to girls and my inability to push too hard because I'm just too damned laid back). Yes, there are times when urgency is necessary. But, for the most part, it's not. On the road? Enjoy the free time you have and listen to some music you like. Take some deep breaths and enjoy the time to relax between work and home. Shopping? Bring someone with you who you don't despise and enjoy their company. Sean and I go to the malls every year. And we just kinda go with the flow and enjoy hanging out with one another. If more people would just chill out and have fun, this world would be a way better place.
Mini-rant #2: I've ranted on this before, but Americans are crazy when it comes to work and making money. Americans work longer days than any developed country in the world. They spend less time for leisure, and less time with their families and friends than anyone else. This kinda spins off my last rant about chilling out, but more importantly, I think the drive to make as much money as possible has taken the fun out of life for Americans aged 20-60. Now, as is the case when I make blanket statements like that, I should state that this obviously isn't true for everyone. But I believe it to be true for many people. Employees will take on more work and put in 12 hours a day at their job with the hopes of impressing the big wigs enough to get that promotion that will net them more money. Of course, they don't have too much time to spend the money they are making, but it always seems to go out the window and you need more. I guess this is the beast that is capitalism.
I love capitalism. I believe it is a necessary system to keep product qualities high and prices somewhat reasonable. However, there needs to be some give and take. If I have to work 12 hours a day for the next 4o years, I'm going to go insane, no matter what I end up doing. Right now I've set the goal at making enough money to get a chance to travel around and see some different places. I don't overwork myself most of the time, but I put in enough time that I do my job well enough and I still have free time to spend with friends and go places. Now, this is partially due to my situation (in that I'm not concerned with advancement, and I do a good job with the time I put in), but it will be a goal of mine in moving forward to set aside some time every week to just enjoy myself and make sure I'm not overworking myself. We should take a lesson from Spain. Work 8 hours a day, have siestas after lunch, and start late enough in the morning that we can go out at night and not be burdened with having to be up before God is up (i.e. before 7 a.m., which is when his alarm clock goes off and the sun comes up). That sounds pretty sweet to me.
Mini-rant #3: So, this is more of a personal pet peeve of mine, but I've noticed and increasing lack of courtesy and respect among people these days. It's not always big things (like being an openly outrageous jerk to people), but sometimes the small, irritating things are the ones that bug me the most. Like if someone says they are going to hang out with you some day or some night, and then forget...and don't call. It's not the fact that they blew me off, but moreso the fact that they didn't have the courtesy to call (even after the fact) and say "oh shit, sorry, I totally forgot, my bad. I just got too busy." It takes like 30 seconds and it shows that you care. Holding doors and elevators for people is a small thing you can do, even if you don't know the person. Just being aware of your surroundings and recognizing when someone could use your help (someone struggling to their car with two grocery bags and a kid in their arms, someone drops a piece of mail and it's blowing towards you in the wind, etc.).
One of my biggest peeves on this is when a friends will blow off plans with another friend because they think they can get some ass that night. I've been on the other end of that (not for a while now, but yea, been there) and it's stupid. My personal views on "premarital sex" aside (views I don't think I've ever written about or really talked about all that often, but are uniquely mine), I've always thought that if you make plans with someone, it should be an important reason to have to cancel them, and the potential to get some ass from someone you just met really doesnt qualify as such, at least in my book. If you are gonna get some, and she (or he, i guess) decides to change their mind about it because you already had plans with a friend you didn't want to cancel on, then what's the point of even wanting to be around that person in the first place? I guess I just don't understand what drives kids these days. Even after college and all...
But, honestly, it takes little to no effort or time to be a courteous and respectful person to the people around you. Especially to your friends. So, please, don't take your friends for granted and treat them like garbage just because you assume "oh, he's my bud, it'll be fine if I blow him off today." This is something everyone can work on (even me...I'm not getting all high and mighty here...I know I need to work on this too).
So, there ya go, 4 rants for you to ponder. Think I'm amazing or an idiot? Let me know in the comments!
3 comments:
Pat, you bring up a number of interesting topics in your "racism card" rant. And, while I would love to go through and address them all, I still have to put some more work in on my 16 hour day (though I don't do it for personal gain, I do it for the Delta children).
The point I did want to address was your idea of "not seeing anything in terms of race." I would like to suggest that this is a potentially dangerous view. What it sounds to me like you want to avoid is the "pity me" mentality that many minorities (and note minority doesn't mean non-white as much as it is dependent on environment) seem to adopt. That leads to many of the comments that seem to anger or upset you because of their core and sometimes unwarranted claim of racism.
However, to not note race is to also not note the beautiful diversity that is the human race. Race is not the only aspect of diversity, but it is one that has a high correlation to many others, and to not see race seems sad to me because it could lead you to miss out on the many perspectives that human cultures, experiences, and history have to offer.
Thus, I suggest that you shift your mindset towards one of disliking those who do not take stock of their own choices and those environmental factors in their own control, especially with regards to race. That is, reserve your ill thoughts for those who make race a negative issue. But do not ignore something that adds to the awe-inspiring complexity of people.
You many disagree with what I say, but I know that I for one would dislike it if I were not seen as an Indian man because a part of me is inherently tied to how that has shaped me. It does not mean that I look to seek anything to come out of people noting my being Indian, whether those things are in my favor or disfavor. Race is simply a fact that has influenced me and IS important to recognize, especially on the part of anyone whom I consider to be a good friend and with sincere interest in understanding me.
- Sameer
P.S. I will be back from around the 22nd until the 2nd, so we should catch up.
Good point on that one Sameer. I think you caught me in one of my "blanket statement" moments again. I do mean the negative aspects in regards to race, and in terms of judging someone differently because of race. Obviously we are all different, as you put it, in very beautiful ways. And yes, our backgrounds do affect how we are brough up. My rant was meant more to focus on the negative use of race and the overuse of the race card. Good catch.
I'll be in Vegas from the 29th through the 2nd, but I'm around before that, so we will definately have to hang out.
Regarding Pre-Marital sex....
It's only pre-marital if you plan on actually marrying that person.
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