Racism is a Sad Reality

Racism is a hot topic right now.  From the mess happening on Big Brother 15 to the Zimmerman trial.  The discussion is everywhere.  I don't want to talk about either of those things.  I want to talk about the reality of racism in every day life.

This is my dad.

He's a nice enough guy and a professional, but he's kind of scary looking if you don't know him.  He has the beard and his eyes don't open equally (Bell's Palsy).  He's large and when he rides his motorcycle he usually wears a leather vest.  

Once upon a time Dad was on his motorcycle going about 20 over in front of a school.  He got stopped and he was carrying a loaded pistol in his pocket and didn't have his concealed carry permit with him.  After asking him about his gun and why he was going so fast the officer gave him a warning and let him go. 

This is my brother-in-law Billy.

Tall, thin (but strong), well-groomed black man.  This outfit is as casual as he gets.  No kidding, Billy is FANCY.  

Nearly every time Billy gets stopped by a traffic cop they ask him to get out of the car.  Now, he's very careful.  He turns off his car, puts his keys on the dashboard and hands on the wheel.  He asks permission before reaching for his registration and explains exactly where his license is before taking his wallet from his pocket. 

Once in college he was handcuffed and held on the hood of a car (he still has some scarring from the burns) until the ran his ID and realized who he was. 

Now tell me racism isn't real.  Tell me these discussions are overblown.  No.  It's not ok that you're racist against a certain group because of where you're from.  It's not ok to use a racial slur just because no one from the group it refers to is present.  

I want to make it clear that I'm not saying we have to be ultra PC all the time.  I told my students that my brother-in-law was black and they told me to stop being racist.  That's not racism and that level of sensitivity needs to be eliminated, but this is a real thing that real people are dealing with daily.  And it's not fair. 

Reaction to Reactions on DOMA Decision

With the Supreme Court's ruling on DOMA and Prop 8, there has been a lot of interesting kick back on my facebook and twitter feeds.  I certainly welcome the opinions of everyone and support their right to express them.  However, one frequent comment bothered me and I wanted to respond to it.  I chose this forum because I don't want to get into an argument with anyone.  

Several comments and retweets I've seen have lamented the fact that the courts in California (alternately the governor of California? I'm admittedly not super well-researched so I'm not sure which is accurate though I know the courts had at least something to do with it) had the power to overrule what the people made law via popular vote.  In my view that's a necessary part of government (that should be used on occasion only when absolutely necessary).  Majority rule minority right.  That's what this is all about.  So it didn't matter if Fauquier County, VA didn't want to integrate schools in 1970 right before my dad started kindergarten.  There wasn't a choice, even though the majority there was opposed to the integration.  The government said that you can't discriminate and separate but equal is not a thing (which I find somewhat relevant to this case as well).  People were kicking and screaming and protesting, but the minority vote has rights just like the rest and integration happened.  In my mind this is very similar (though I do completely support the right of all people (particularly those with religious reasons) to disagree with the decision).  

I fully expect Stefanie to correct me if my understanding of the legality of any of this is flawed. 

Also, if you google "supreme court gay marriage" (I was trying to find a picture) there's a cool rainbow around the search box.

I Need to Talk About Politics

Guys, I'm having trouble deciding who to vote for.  I posted a little bit about it on facebook, but I didn't want to get too much into it there.  Here's my problem: both guys are smart, and both have ideas that make sense.

I'll give one example to explain my thoughts, then I'll leave you alone.

Good old Brother Mitt says that keeping the tax rate low for the extremely wealthy helps grow the economy.  I see the logic here.  If the rich have more money they will spend more money.  If they're spending more money on stuff, there have to be more people employed to make this stuff and sell the stuff and pack and ship the stuff.  I know that's grossly simplified, but I get his point. 

Barack says the rich are rich and should definitely pay more taxes.  They can afford it.  That money can be used to help the poor and out of work.  It can be invested in all the things taxes pay for like education (hello, I'm a teacher and this matters to me), and infrastructure  etc.  Also, why should the rich get a break that the poor (who seemingly have no breaks ever) don't? Even the principle of the thing seems backward. Again, I definitely simplified this to a awful level, but I get his point too.  

So, how do I decide?  How do I get past their awful attack adds and the nasty debacle of a debate the other night and choose a candidate?  

Right now, I can't.  So I'll just blog my frustration. 

P.S. Holla to anyone who still reads my blog despite my irregular updates. 

I Love This Picture, Alot

"Ok, look. I don't actually care about your political views (no really, I don't). But if you are a human being, you have to admit that this is adorable. That's the leader of the free world, people. Sitting on a pink giant bouncy ball."


(Quote not mine.)

Remember

I hope my friends don't think I'm copying them by doing this post, but it seems wrong to let this day pass without blogging about what I remember.

I was in seventh grade living about 40 miles from the Pentagon. School had already started because it was the east coast. We started getting tiny bits of gossipy information from the kids that had cell phones then. Then parents started flooding the hall ways. The teachers wouldn't explain what was going on and we really wanted to know. My mom picked me up just before lunch and we went back to my grandmother's house where we were staying for a month or two. We watched the news all night (and, I'm ashamed to say, watched and hoped for school in our county to be cancelled the next day like most of the surrounding counties). Once it got dark we went to the fence and held candles. Most of the neighbors did the same thing. There were about a million vigils to hold and people to pray for.

A lot of the messages I've seen posted about 9/11 today seem to be trying to get across a political point (about the war, about the mosque, etc.). For once can we just remember how it was that day just to remember? We could learn something from how we acted that day. We all became Americans and stopped battling each other for once.

I say this because I mean it, not to be trite: I will always remember.

On Global Warming

Note: This particular post is likely going to be filled with blatant bias and ignoring of general facts. The end.

So, today in geology class (my final one for the record) I started thinking about global warming. We were talking about how we are currently in one of the six coldest times in all of Earth's history (which is 4.5 ish million years according to most geologists). So the earth has to warm up anyways. It's a natural cycle the earth goes through. I don't particularly care if humans are causing it to warm up faster or not, but I do think I've figured out the reason why people seem to care so much. They pretend it's about the environment and saving the earth and all of that mess, but it's natural for the world to warm up! That basically shoots a big fat hole in that argument. The real concern is that the ice caps and glaciers will melt which will cause sea level to rise and will pretty much drown the coast. Most of the cities that contribute the most to pollution and supposed global warming are close enough to the coast that they'd be under water or at least severely inhibited. These people say it's about nature, but really it's about themselves. That's my two cents. The end.

A fun picture I found because I like pictures.

Also, if you're not already (and like Seriously So Blessed and the like at all) you should read this blog: Normal Mormon Husbands. It's hilarious. And the latest post about women's infatuation with Edward Cullen is spot on.

George W. Bush

Until two days ago, this was the President of the United States.

I don't know whether you guys supported him or didn't. I am not even exactly sure what I think of him completely. I do think he was a good man. I also think he got caught up with a whole lot of difficult circumstances. It's impossible for any of us to know exactly what went on and what happened. We are not privy to that sort of information. Anyways, to the point. I didn't notice it on the broadcast I watched, but apparently when he stepped out onto the platform during the inaugural ceremony, a few hundred thousand people started singing, "Na na na na na na hey hey hey, goodbye." Have I mentioned how ignorant people are? Have I mentioned how I hate it? I don't care if you agreed with his politics or not, that was the President and you should have shown some respect. Sometimes I'm ashamed of my fellow Americans.

Also, for the record, this will probably be my last political post - at least for a long time.