Random musings on politics, society, and pop culture from the Internet's marketing curmudgeon.
Words. We writers live by ’em. And sometimes (if you offend the wrong Muslim lunatic) die by them. But they are the essential part of how we do what we do. Words mean things. But not all words mean the same things to all people. And living in the Age of Political Correctness, not all wordsmiths are created equal, at least as far as permission to use certain words goes. Allow me to give you some examples… [Read more…] about What’s in a Word?
I grew up in the South, in the 1960s. It was a time of racial unrest. I remember seeing posters around Shreveport, advertising a concert planned by James Brown – the hardest working man in show business. What a lot of people don’t know about Brown is that he also helped to defuse the ticking time bomb of racial unrest, rather than work to exploit racial tensions, as so many self-styled ‘leaders’ do today.
Fast-forward to 2015. Two incidents in the news make me think that racism is still a huge problem in the USA, but not for the reasons – and the people – that you’d think. I’m afraid that this time around, it’s not Conservatives that have a problem with race. It’s Liberals. And there’s a litmus test that determines just how “black” or how “brown” you are, and it’s got nothing to do with a color swatch book. Let me explain… [Read more…] about Ranking Race.
I’ve been getting a lot of questions, messages, and comments about the incident that happened this weekend in McKinney (where I live), about a video posted to the ‘net, showing three McKinney PD officers detaining and arresting some kids at a pool party. If you watched the video, (shot on a cell phone by a bystander) you see very angry cops, one of whom pulls his gun (and then re-holsters it, when the other two officers flank him), and a young girl grabbed by her pigtails and forced to the ground, face in the grass and handcuffed. Pretty shocking stuff. So what really happened? And is this as bad a situation as it looks on the video?
Let’s everybody take a step back, and then take a deep breath. [Read more…] about Yes, Virginia…it CAN happen here…
When I was a kid, life was simple. There were boys. There were girls. Boys played “Army.” Girls played with dolls. Boys wore pants. Girls wore dresses. Life was good. I think I was 12 or so, before I heard the words “queer” and “gay” and learned that they meant “homosexual,” and was told what “homosexual” meant. I soon learned there was a whole panoply of people who had different ideas about sexuality. Boys who liked boys. Girls who liked girls. Boys who liked girls and boys, and vice-versa. Boys who liked to dress up like girls (and vice-versa). And then boys and girls who had their bodies altered to look like girls and boys, respectively. Confusing. I thought it was weird then. I’m not sure I think it’s any less weird now. Especially given that Bruce Jenner has “transitioned.” [Read more…] about Transitory State
Hello, and we’d like to welcome you to this emergency meeting of the Kiowa Council of the Boy Scouts of America. As the Chairman of your Equality Compliance Committee, I’ve been charged with overseeing the transition of our organization into one that will be a model of politically-correct thought for the new millennium. As you might expect, there are a lot of changes in store for the Scouts. I’m sure you’ve heard rumors. We’ll I’m here to put all those rumors to rest. We have a crack team of experts on ethics, working ’round the clock to insure that we move to the cutting edge of correct thought. [Read more…] about Scouting Today.
NEWSFLASH: There is NO Constitutional right to ban something that might offend you.
I know this comes as a huge shock to Progressives, Atheists and Muslims everywhere. And I hate to be the one to break this tragic news to you (not really) but I looked it up. Nowhere in the United States Constitution, the Bill of Rights, or the other Amendments is there language that guarantees that you should be protected from any- and everything that causes you to be offended. [Read more…] about Offensensitivity.
I’m on the mailing list of a site called “Change.org.” It’s a site that allows people to post petitions to lobby for changes in public policy. Some of them make sense. Some don’t. This morning, I received an impassioned plea from one Megan Perez, regarding food allergies and vending machines. Here’s a condensed version (emphasis mine): [Read more…] about Where Does It End?
I got some insight this evening to the whole “diversity” thing, regarding the difference in approach by those who lean Left and those (like me) who lean Right.
I was talking with a friend and the subject of Walmart came up. She is quite a bit more Liberal than I am. She hates Walmart and all (she thinks) it stands for. I don’t. We agreed to disagree. But one of the things she said really stood out in my mind. She said that she values a place that is culturally diverse.
I thought about that, long after the conversation ended. [Read more…] about Wither diversity?
Last week, I’d read where Pamela Geller’s group was staging a “Mohammed Cartoon Contest” in little ol’ Garland, Texas, just on the Eastern border of the DFW Metroplex.
First thing that popped into my head wasn’t “Wow…I wonder what kinds of cartoons they’ll come up with.” Nor was it, “I should do a cartoon and enter the contest.” (No problem with that…just too busy to do it.) No, my first thought was “I wonder if they’ll be a radical Islamic attack on the event.
I needn’t have wondered. Of COURSE there would be. [Read more…] about Shoot em, if they can’t take a joke.
On the day that the Communists of the world celebrate their hopelessly-flawed, failed social system of governance, it’s time to think about the tools of oppression – and recognize them for what they are, for as the great Joe Bob Brigs (drive-in movie critic of Grapevine, Texas) says “Without eternal vigilance, it can happen here.” [Read more…] about Doublespeak.