Yup. Here's another blog pretty much guaranteed to piss off somebody. If it does? That's your fucking problem, not mine.
For all the rights we claim to have as Americans, we willingly support policies that make this one of the most unequal countries in the free world.
Think I'm kidding?
Ask someone who's GLBT how equal our country is. Ask someone of color how equal our country is. Hell, ask a naturalized US citizen how equal our country can be.
Frankly, we've managed to bullshit ourselves into believing this country is so fucking equal that we're better than everybody else.
Now, before you come after me like the villagers after Boris Karloff, I do believe that, in a great number of ways, this is the best country in the world to live in. After all, there are countries out there where I'd be killed merely for posting the comments I have been on this little blog thing of mine. So, don't think I hate my country and want to leave it, because I love living here.
But, I'm disappointed that my country has left so many behind. This country was founded on the idea that ANYBODY could get ahead or rise to the top. The reality is not quite as rosey.
Before I continue, let me lay a little knowledge on you: it's called "white priviledge", and it's the unwritten policy of this country that basically follows that whites, specifically white males, have more rights and priviledges than anyone else. Ask someone of color if I'm bullshitting right now. I'll wait......
See? I wasn't lying.
Let's be honest with ourselves. This country was founded on a contradiction. Our country was founded by slave owners who wanted to be free. Let me say that again, just in case it didn't hit you. People who OWNED other people fought a war to be FREE from another nation, then had the balls to write about how "all men are created equal." Nice start.
But, if we're really being honest with ourselves, the "freedom" that our Founding Fathers were talking about really only applied to older, rich, white men. Poor men, regardless of color, didn't have any rights under their idea of government. That's why the Electoral College was created in the first place: these old, white men so feared that the, in their words, "ignorant, poor men" would so FUCK UP their little game, they decided to put the actual election of a president into the hands of what were intended to be other rich, old, white men.
See a pattern here?
And, let's not even talk about the role of women. You ever get curious where the concept that "a woman's place is barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen" came from? See the above mentioned old, white, male assholes. Just saying.
So, with a beginning like that, we really shouldn't be surprised that our country continues to give those who aren't old, white, and male the big shaft.
But we shouldn't stand idly by while they do it.
Think about the absolute balls it took to be a part of the Civil Rights Movement. To be black and living in the hate-filled areas of the south at that time, knowing there were racist assholes out there who'd hang a black man just for talking to them, and deciding you'd had just about enough of the bullshit of inequity, so you'd stand up for your rights.
Look at news footage from the time. It's all over the web. Cops beat the absolute shit out of black men, women, and children, set dogs loose on them to chew them up, had the fire department blow the hell out of them with fire hoses on full blast, then would lynch, shoot, or otherwise mutilate and kill them.
That's a hell of a lot to risk for your rights. But, these folks did it. And what did they get for their troubles? Sure, things got somewhat better, but in the overall scheme of things it took another 40 years for a man of color to be elected President, and even HE can't seem to catch a break. We still see a disturbing lack of progress of people of ANY color throughout our government, federal, state, AND local.
Same thing for women. At least for them, the 1980's provided a certain level of glass-ceiling-shattering, providing for more opportunities in the workplace. However, I think you can still ask a lot of women whether or not they feel equal, and they'll probably tell you they don't.
Then, there's our friends in the GLBT community. Talk about not being able to catch a break.
Look, I'm as hetero as it gets. But, I'm not so archaic in my thought that the concept of a man and a man having a loving relationship is wrong. I say, whatever.
The problem over time has been in the way homosexuality has been viewed. Go back and read articles from the early and mid 20th century. You'll see homosexuality referred to as "perversion", and homosexuality referred to as a "choice".
Let's grow up and be honest with ourselves, people. Homosexuality is NOT a choice. I believe in my heart of hearts that you're born with sexual orientation. From the day you're born, you're headed down the path you will lead for your life in this area. The difference is that the social pressures placed on people force them to hide their orientation because of the prejudices that exist in our world.
And, how fucking SAD is that?
Here's the thing: What two consenting adults do is their fucking business. Not mine. And, for those who would point to the Bible and call homosexuality a sin, I would remind you that white men for hundreds of years pointed to the Bible and swore beyond a shadow of a doubt that it said slavery was not only okay, but mandated by God. Sorry, not buying the religious argument.
And, besides, so many of you follow certain tenants of your religion but not all of them, so why, as an intelligent human being, would you choose willingly to believe something that you know in your heart and mind is morally wrong? You KNOW that discrimination is wrong. Don't hate because of your religion. Hell, DON'T HATE.
The fact that some states are passing laws allowing for gay marriage is a positive step. However, the federal government needs to step up and allow for full protections of these marriages. And that includes property and insurance rights, among other things.
While we're at it, let's elect a woman President next go around. Men have had 200 years of fucking up and disrespecting the post. Let's let the ladies have a go at it.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, let's be in fact what we claim to be in writing: a land where EVERYONE is equal, with equal rights and supports under the law.
I'll vote for that.
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