Boys and Girls, I Think I’ve Gone Cray

“Drown inside my vices all day.”

I was going to use the chorus to this song for the title of my post, since it’s basically the title song of post-election, but I decided to be kind of hipster, LOL.

I would say that this is going to be my last election post, but it probably won’t be, so why lie?

Although this post will be similar to my previous post, it’s more so something to clear things up, for you and my conscience.  I posted that piece on Wednesday, the afternoon that the results of the election were announced, after Hillary Clinton’s concession speech and President Obama’s speech.  I was heartbroken, scared, and hurting when I wrote that post, and it translated.  I look back at it, and I regret it: my emotions got the best me.  I always feel like the best arguments are the ones that a person is clearly passionate about said argument, but can tame their emotions enough to get a coherent and clear thought out.

My previous post was nothing like that: it was full of emotion, and although I stand by the things that I said, I know that there are some stuff that I should have reworded and clarified.  So, that is the purpose of this post.  If you’re tired of reading stuff about the election, feel free to leave.  I understand your frustration, but this election is pretty groundbreaking, so I will continue.

First point, and the most important: I DO NOT HATE WHITE PEOPLE.  I don’t hate anyone, really, because it takes a lot of energy to hate people, and life is too short to hate.  I’m more of a person that strongly dislikes people.  🙂  That’s besides the point though, what I am trying to say is that I try my hardest not to judge people on the basis of their race and skin tone, and I’ve been pretty successful at it for, like, ever.  Haha.  I do make jokes concerning race based on extreme stereotypes though, that is my one flaw.  I’m trying to work on it.  But, I don’t hate white people.  However, the majority of the people who backed Trump were white people (majority, not all), and with the condescending and offensive things he has said, it makes it hard for me to accept Trump supporters, no matter what color they are.

The second thing I want to say, is that I realize that neither candidate is perfect.  I was going through this huge battle with my heart and my head when I was casting my vote.  My heart was telling me to vote third party, which essentially wouldn’t have mattered because I live in CA and the state was going blue no matter what, but my head was telling me not to chance that, especially considering the possibility of a Trump presidency was imminent, and I wanted to make sure I stopped him.

It hurt my heart so, so, so much that I voted for Clinton.  She supports and has done SO many terrible things that I don’t support.  Especially when she stood by her husband and silenced the women that came forward and accused him of rape and sexual assault.  It seriously hurt me when I cast my vote for her, and I repent for what I did.  In a weird and very minuscule way, I’m kind of glad she didn’t win.  Clears my conscience a little.  But, I’m still really, really, really, upset that Trump won.

And the thing is, is that I hear a lot of people who voted for Clinton say similar things as I said.  That they voted for Clinton, but hated the fact that they did vote for her.  They believed that she was the better of two evils, as did I.  However, I don’t hear Trump supporters say anything along these lines.  Maybe because my closest exposure to Trump supporters is my Facebook feed, as well as the fact that it is hard to find news from either side from unbiased news outlets.  Typically, no matter what the outcome, you support your President-elect, but in this case, it is really hard for me to see why anyone would support Trump.

I can see why people voted for him.  His platform was enticing for a lot of people: he championed for poor and working class Americans, who have become seriously forgotten in the political world.  He spoke against the TPP and vowed to stop outsourcing jobs to other countries.  He pushed to “build the wall” between Mexico and the US and stop illegal immigration into the United States.  He also vowed to kill ISIS, and no one wants to be terrorized by ISIS again.

But Trump has said some incredibly ignorant and offensive things throughout the campaign.  He has disrespected women, people of color, Muslims, Mexicans, immigrants, and the LGBTQIA community.  He has cheated the federal tax system for years (people who call him saavy, ugh, please stop) and hasn’t supported the troops and education system and other programs that our federal taxes pay for.  He also has some serious mental health issues and psychopathic tendencies, and this person is going to be the leader of the free world.

Don’t even get me started on Mike Pence.  He is a true bigot, and has a crap ton more experience that Donald Trump in politics.  His political savviness, coupled with Trump’s lack of experience, means that he is most likely going to have a huge say in the Trump administration. He’s already taken on a larger role in the transition, and it probably won’t stop there.  Can we say Frank Underwood in House of Cards, much?  LOLOLOL, I friggen love that show.

But it hurts me that through all the negative things have been said by Trump about already marginalized groups, people support him to the ends of the Earth.  I understand that people are tired of being unrecognized by the elites in Washington, and Trump is someone that might be able to break the cycle.  But, Trump is also an elite himself, so I don’t know how he could be much different aside from the fact that he has ZERO experience in government or has not served our country.  But, when his supporters defend everything he has said, saying that he’s not racist, homophobic, or everything else, that is not being supportive, that is being ignorant.  And maybe you think of yourself as not racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, Islamophobic, or homophobic, but by supporting Trump, you’re saying that you don’t care about any of these groups.  Maybe if the supporters say something along the lines that they only supported his policies, maybe I will forgive their vote.  But even then, I’m not fully convinced about it.  I’ll just have to see if and when it ever happens.

Working class white Americans, I hear, understand, agree with your concerns.  Too many American jobs are being shipped out to other countries, and they should stay here.  There are so many Americans out there that have been stripped of their jobs and deserve to have them back.  But, America was only great for you back then because you had jobs.  That same America that you miss so much was a pretty shitty America for people of color and other marginalized groups.  We need to be able to find a balance for all people of the United States.

To say that I hope Trump doesn’t succeed is an ignorant thing for me to say.  I don’t want this country to go to shit, so I hope that he is able to do good things.  But if he resorts to any type of bigotry against marginalized groups, I will be along side the people to protest it.  Washington hasn’t been working for a while, so maybe Trump is what we need to break Washington and create the change that we want to see.  The election of Trump has brought together so many people who strive for social justice and equality for all people.  I hope that through this sad time, we are able to rise above the bigotry and hatred, and fight for what is right.

I’m sorry for all the hate filled things I said in my last post, and hope this clear things up.

What’s It Gonna Be

‘Cause I can’t pretend.

This post has really has nothing to do with sports, but was inspired by a story I saw yesterday.  Stay or leave at your own discretion, but please stay. 🙂

Yesterday, Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks and member of Team USA’s basketball team from the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio came out with a statement apologizing to Vanessa Carlton for “negatively” reacting to her song “A Thousand Miles” when his fellow Team USA teammates were belting the song.

The video, filmed by DeMar DeRozan, featured at overzealous Jimmy Butler belting the song, a strangely robed KD, and, in my eyes, a pretty indifferent ‘Melo.  But I see how it can be interpreted as the face of someone who is slightly annoyed at his younger teammates.

But I have a serious case of RBF, so I’m pretty sure my normal face looks like that, which is why I think he looks indifferent.

I have two issues with this story:

1. Why is this even a story?  Seriously, who actually gives a flying fuck that the guys were singing a song brought further into prominence by a metrosexual Terry Crews in a terrible-yet-so-good movie?
2. Is Carmelo Anthony not allowed to have an opinion, especially an opinion regarding a song?  Why did he have to apologize to a virtually irrelevant one hit wonder singer who I often get confused with Michelle Branch?  He came out saying in his apology that he actually likes the song, but I have to ask, does he really like it, or is he simply saying it to save face and appease the masses?

Which brings up a bigger philosophical equation: are we, as people, not allowed to have opinions on anything, in an attempt to not hurt others’ feelings?

As a Millennial, I can say with confidence that it is hard to have a conversation with my fellow Millennials without offending some of them.

I am someone with a very crude sense of humor.  I find many things funny, or can find the humor, in situations that are typically considered reprehensible.  This doesn’t apply to everything, such as dog fighting or rape; there is nothing funny about those.  But it does apply to racially charged, satirical jokes.  These jokes, which harbor such a heavy amount of stereotypes about the race in question, are funny, because although a stereotype, there are cases in which these stereotypes hold true.  Do I believe in these jokes and stereotypes?  No, but I find the racial satire hilarious, hence my love for The Boondocks.

But there are times in life when there are overly sensitive people that take these jokes, and really everything, so damn seriously.  And unfortunately, most of these people are of my generation, which is why I say that this generation needs to grow a fucking backbone.  It is so tiresome to constantly keep myself in check, and censor everything I say just so I don’t offend someone.  This isn’t to say that social norms in society are good; there are definitely things that need to get fixed, but there are things that we need to get over.  I can’t say anything without offending someone.

For example, I said the word, “Bitch,” to an overbearing feminist acquaintance, who was subsequently at my throat, yelling that the word is offensive to women, and as a female, I need to stop saying the word.

My response: “Bitch, shut the fuck up.”

I do believe in equal rights and treatment for women, but if I say that word, it’s my choice. You choose not to say the word, and that is your prerogative; you have an opinion on whether or not using the word is socially correct, and whether or not I agree, I respect the fact you have an opinion.

However, the majority of my generation doesn’t have the same mindset as I do.  All they care about is not offending someone, and if offended, they get incredibly butt-hurt (big words, I know) and express that emotion to everyone, whether or not anyone actually cares.  This fragile mindset of my generation utterly disgusts me, and I can’t help but wonder how we became like this.

I am a first generation American; I was raised by two immigrant parents who taught me to stand up to others and to criticize myself before criticizing others.  These two ideologies have blossomed into my being as a woman who has strong beliefs, but who can take criticism because I criticize my beliefs often, finding the holes in my ideologies, so I can strengthen them.  Because I practice this, I am able to take criticism and other negative opinions about me or my beliefs relatively well.  However, many of my millennial counterparts are unable to do so, and it aggravates me.

So, to my fellow Millennials, grow a backbone.  Realize that not everyone is going to agree with you, no matter how right you may be.  So instead of getting offended at worked up at someone’s obviously reprehensible views, take the time to educate them in a non-overbearing manner.  If they are unresponsive, let it go, and realize not everyone is going to change.  Realize that there are bigger problems in the world than someone not liking a song by an irrelevant artist.  Realize that getting offended by everything in the world will literally get you nowhere in the world.  Yes, there are plenty of ideologies that need to be changed in the world, but we cannot constantly sweat the small things.

So, my message to Carmelo: Take your apology back.  You’re entitled to your own opinion.