Things That Make You Go, "Hmmm"

Maybe this will be the year that finally kills me.

How the dominoes fall

http://reason.com/blog/2014/12/01/chris-rock-stopped-performing-for-studen The last line, though interesting and relative to the article, whether by the author's volition or not, indicates a much more troubling fact: Americans are being taught from the earliest ages possible they should downright fear anything contrary to keeping the status quo of everyone is equal and everyone is the same; parents, teachers, religions, administrations forcing the next generation to avoid at all costs even hinting someone may not be exactly like themselves, even though another may be as akin as the Earth is to our sun. This is not merely developing the next generation(s) into overly-sensitive, wishy-washy, dull, cowering "pussies" (as the general term ascribed to such people); this grooming causes these generations to embrace an intellectual plateau no higher than the lowest-common-denominator, refuse competition in any form, expect handouts based on non-extant achievement, abhor anything that may cause their limited intellectual capacity to grow beyond what's been spoon-fed to them (via older generation, media, equally-misinformed peers, media, and media [Did I mention media?]), and absolutely, never, ever, do anything that may require more than a modicum of effort, especially when it may cause someone else stress. What this did to my generation and those following was allow the leeching older generations to maintain a foothold of their xenophobia, technophobia, and epistemophobia while ensuring they retained their comfortable lifestyles as bigots, profiteers, fear-mongers, corrupters, and saboteurs of human progress. This all for the sake of keeping their power until their otherwise parasitic lives end with them having more than everyone else because they made sure no one could upset their apple cart. Our generations (mine and following) were bred to be indecisive, afraid of change, and lost in order for older generations to perpetuate a near religious dominance over us. They are the shepherds, they know better than we do, they can lead us, they have the resources, they have the power, they know more than we ever can, and all we have to do is twist our rationale to convince ourselves we need them. We are being lied to. We've been lied to. We are not special. Of all the creatures on this planet now and that have ever been, why in the fuck would humans all be equal? This mentality has helped make our generations the most apathetic, stagnant, weak, and mindless to walk our countryside. WE are to blame for racism. WE are to blame for classism. WE are to blame rampant stupidity. WE are to blame for violent, arrogant, and ignorant interpretations of religious texts. WE are to blame for saying there's nothing we can do. WE are to blame for our country's downward spiral. We are not our parents. They didn't have what we do, and it's our job to learn to deal with that. Our grandparents and great-grandparents cursed us all by giving us wondrous contraptions that can shatter our planet. Our parents were all too happy to play off the fears of our ancestors in order to turn a quick buck, but since our parents don't want their children doing the same, they've perpetuated a system to make each generation after less like Men (not gender, actual species) and more like sheep. The fact I had to add that parenthetical addendum clarifying what I meant by "Men" is evidence enough our generation is all too eager to misunderstand, take offense, and argue mundane details amongst ourselves rather than look at the larger picture. Men are men. Women are women. Black people are black people. Yellow people are yellow people. Brown people are brown people. White people are white people. Grey people are grey people. Red people are red people. What turned these labels into slurs were not why they were used in the first place. The way our generations are receding, we'll have to stop calling planets "planets" or water "water" because someone might get offended that the planets or water might get offended. We won't have basic colors anymore because those might be racist or sexist somehow. Do you know what you people complaining about everything not catering to the least-common-denominator and faceless masses have done? You people, our generations, have caused more racism, more religious intolerance, more intellectual intolerance, more violence, less education, less cooperation, and greater poverty on a massive scale than any government administration in our country ever has. Your incessant complaints, lawsuits, and threats have backed our own Bill of Rights into a corner, and gave opportunists rule of law. WE are hanging ourselves. WE are letting our generation be the absolute worst. WE have let bias, greed, apathy, arrogance, and ignorance become our battle standards from under which we shout misinformation and hatred at each other. Are we truly this downright stupid? Are we so utterly blind? Our generations are an insult to our species. We've fed the trolls, and they did a great job making us hurt each other. It seems we enjoy getting duped.

https://www.facebook.com/robertfrank615/videos/1902394196638792/

Glad this guy is as out of touch with stupid, fucking pop-culture/millennial shit as I am.

A very rare, "I can't even" moment.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/06/real-american-sniper-hate-filled-killer-why-patriots-calling-hero-chris-kyle At first, I thought I'd go off on a ridiculously long rant responding to this article. Then, I attempted to think. Instead of analyzing her article, what if we analyze her in a similar fashion as a movie? We are going to take someone we know absolutely nothing about, and develop a treatise which will, hereafter eternally, be viewable the Internet over. Outwardly, she is obnoxious, unfit, self-serving, prejudiced, narrow-minded, and untalented. Her life's story is no different than millions; her life is of no more consequence than millions. She feels she deserves something for the relative nothing she has put into her life. She reviews the purpose of films as if she is a victim of something she will never experience. She thinks she has knowledge and wisdom of a world she has not lived. Her award(s) is unfounded and no more than a "Thank you for playing" in the journalist community. She demonstrates a North American, West Coast, hipster ignorance that has become popular for its supposed open-mindedness. Inwardly, however, I'd like to believe Ms. Lindy is as much a human as everyone else on the planet. Though her societal stature has demarcated an ability to assume the role of several humans, which gives her that many times more credence to critique the character of others, I will hold faith her heart is no nearer failure than anyone half of her own character. She means well in that she feels people should research those they would call a "hero" before bestowing the title; however, if the details of everyone's life were available to the public, Muhammed, Jesus, Buddha, etc., would be grey characters in every history book. We all need heroes. Sacrifice their bad for their good. Emulate their good side, but do not forget their humanity.

I will never allow anyone I care about to own a minivan.

Seems I've underestimated my capacity to hate.

Is anyone else disturbed by the direction it looks like the political, social, and economic world is heading toward?