Over the last couple of weeks I have seen a manifestation of the ridiculous vitriol that has been directed at President Barack Obama. The recent uproar spearheaded by Donald Trump (who I now will have absolutely nothing to do with in any form or fashion) against a sitting president about something that he had no authority to speak on, is abhorrent! Did Trump and the birthers somehow think that all of the secret service and the justice department FORGOT to thoroughly vet a man running for the highest office in the country? And he now struts around taking credit for making this country look like a fool by focusing on this craziness.
I have seen countless reactions to the situation but this didn't JUST happen. It's been brewing and will continue to do so. We have all seen the signs: the creation of the 'tea party', the "i want my country back' slogans, the completely brazen unwillingness of the Republican party to co-operate on ANYTHING regardless of whether find it agreeable or not. This president is under attack and I have TRIED (lawd I've tried) to not believe that it is because he's black. But I can't. Goldie Taylor said it best on www.thegrio.com and on Rachel Maddow's show. We as a nation have gone too far and if someone or some people don't do something about it, we are all in trouble.
Which brings me to the topic of this post: what are you going to do about? The detractors are extremely vocal but what of those of us who believe that this country is being torn apart by its seams and something needs to be done. Regardless of the party or of your politics, no presidents should be the topic of this level of venom. Even the second Bush didn't get this treatment and BOTH parties agree that he was the worst president in recent history! There was no national movement to get his grades from school or his service record or the incident reports from his drunken days! It makes the country look bad when that happens and internationally, we look weak. And that's not just the CURRENT president but anyone that follows him. Why? Because this won't stop if Obama gets re-elected an if a Republican defeats him, the Democrats will be sure to return the favor because politicians are petty and childish adults with power. Period. But it has to stop.
But where do we begin the cessation? Well I'm going to start with the little things. I have a voice so when I see blatant miscarriages, I'll point it out. I will remove my support and encourage others to do the same from people Donald Trump and anything associated with him. I will encourage as many people as I can to vote for candidates who don't utilize this level of hate-mongering to get elected.. But most importantly, I will not just SMH and muse to myself "dat ain't right what they doing to that guy". It's time for the masses who understand that this is a dangerous road to go down to be more vocal.
So what are YOU gonna do about it?
These are my thoughts...what are yours?
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Big city, big hearts
New York gets a bad reputation for being a city filled with people who don't care about each other. That manifests itself most often on the subway where acts of selfishness and just ridiculous actions are the subject of many a NY story. I myself have chronicled my train stories here numerous times and there many more instances that I just am too weary to share with you.
But there is another side of the city that doesn't get played up as much because bad news sells more that feel good topics. This city is also known for being kind to each other, a little known fact that gets scoffed at when mentioned in mixed company. Just today I got on the train at the beginning of my afternoon commute and I rushed to get a seat and a woman held it and motioned her friend to come over and take it. I decided not to fight that battle and looked around for another seat. If you have ever been on a NYC subway during rush hour, you know that if you don't identify a seat within seconds and head directly to it, you can forget about getting one. By the time I spun around, all seats had been taken and there I was standing, visibly frustrated because I knew that I would be standing for an hour and who wants to do that after a long day? One guy noticed that I was exasperated and gave me his seat because he was only going two more stops. He said I looked like I was tired an would appreciate the seat more than he would. It was a gesture that I see more often than not on the train but people don't make a big deal about it because it's what you're supposed to do: be kind to your fellow riders. It's the jackasses that get written about because they didn't get that memo!
But today, I am going to celebrate those among us who understand what it really means to live in a big city: it matters more to people when you're kind to them here than in small towns. It's easy to be nice to people you have known all your life. Being nice to strangers because it's the right thing to do is a much harder skill and appreciated more.
These are my thoughts...what are yours?
But there is another side of the city that doesn't get played up as much because bad news sells more that feel good topics. This city is also known for being kind to each other, a little known fact that gets scoffed at when mentioned in mixed company. Just today I got on the train at the beginning of my afternoon commute and I rushed to get a seat and a woman held it and motioned her friend to come over and take it. I decided not to fight that battle and looked around for another seat. If you have ever been on a NYC subway during rush hour, you know that if you don't identify a seat within seconds and head directly to it, you can forget about getting one. By the time I spun around, all seats had been taken and there I was standing, visibly frustrated because I knew that I would be standing for an hour and who wants to do that after a long day? One guy noticed that I was exasperated and gave me his seat because he was only going two more stops. He said I looked like I was tired an would appreciate the seat more than he would. It was a gesture that I see more often than not on the train but people don't make a big deal about it because it's what you're supposed to do: be kind to your fellow riders. It's the jackasses that get written about because they didn't get that memo!
But today, I am going to celebrate those among us who understand what it really means to live in a big city: it matters more to people when you're kind to them here than in small towns. It's easy to be nice to people you have known all your life. Being nice to strangers because it's the right thing to do is a much harder skill and appreciated more.
These are my thoughts...what are yours?
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Smoking weed for free
Ever have one of those conversations that leave you with more questions than answers? Recently, I was talking with one of my students and she is currently working with a drug testing lab. You know: one of those places that gives you a blue pill and you are either cured of what ails you or you grow a third hand dead center in your chest. In this particular lab, they are studying the effects of marijuana and crack on the brain. They put ads in the paper looking for heavy smokers to come in for a trial study. The program is government funded. Their hope is to develop a drug that blocks the effects of these two drugs on the brain just like the one that exists for alcohol. I get the logic: if smoking or shooting up doesn't give you a high then you'd stop doing it and you'd probably kick the habit. Makes sense but I can't help but ask some basic questions:
Firstly, since the study is government funded, it means that the government is buying weed and paying people to smoke it! I know that it is in the name of science but sometime doesn't seem right about this. Also, it doesn't seem right that there young men in federal prison because of Rockefeller Laws for possession/using while other are being paid to indulge. The lab should stop advertising for participants and judge should start sentencing people to take part in the study. Solve two problem at the same time.
You hear about a new study proving X theory or a new study proving Y concept all the time. I am always pissed off because they get taxpayer money to prove something is blatantly obvious: "a new study shows that driving a car into a brick wall will result in serious damage to the vehicle. Researchers came to this conclusion after a $4M study that was conducted all over the world to prove that climate, altitude, and sangrias did not affect the outcome..." C'mon son! The conversation with my student left me wondering again what else I'm paying for unbeknownst to me.
Let's talk about these ads that they place in the paper. I thought that weed heads were generally paranoid people, even when they're not high. When my student said that they get pages and pages of names of people responding to this ad, it boggled my mind! What morons are answering these ads!?!? If I saw an ad looking for heavy weed smokers and the study would be providing weed for free, I would immediately think its a set up! I wouldn't trust it at all but I guess the lure of free pot is stronger than skepticism!
Lastly, I have to tap into my bleeding heart liberal side: I don't know how much is being spent on this study but is this the right way to spend government funding? Something seems wrong when this study get approved but music programs in schools are being eliminated. I understand how politics work and that drug companies have far better lobbyist than educators, but that doesn't make it sit any better. And if your ARE going to spend money on developing a drug, can it be a drug that has a more practical use like a pill that could be given to every dead beat dad that would cause him to be repulsed by the site of a woman that he is attracted to. Or a pill for pedophiles that causes them to experience explosive diarrhea every time his thinks a kid is sexy. Or one that makes garbage men less ornery and more considerate! I'm just sayin...
Well like it said, my conversation with my student left me with more questions that answers. Sometimes I really think that we live in a very odd country...
Anyway...these are my thoughts...what are yours?
Firstly, since the study is government funded, it means that the government is buying weed and paying people to smoke it! I know that it is in the name of science but sometime doesn't seem right about this. Also, it doesn't seem right that there young men in federal prison because of Rockefeller Laws for possession/using while other are being paid to indulge. The lab should stop advertising for participants and judge should start sentencing people to take part in the study. Solve two problem at the same time.
You hear about a new study proving X theory or a new study proving Y concept all the time. I am always pissed off because they get taxpayer money to prove something is blatantly obvious: "a new study shows that driving a car into a brick wall will result in serious damage to the vehicle. Researchers came to this conclusion after a $4M study that was conducted all over the world to prove that climate, altitude, and sangrias did not affect the outcome..." C'mon son! The conversation with my student left me wondering again what else I'm paying for unbeknownst to me.
Let's talk about these ads that they place in the paper. I thought that weed heads were generally paranoid people, even when they're not high. When my student said that they get pages and pages of names of people responding to this ad, it boggled my mind! What morons are answering these ads!?!? If I saw an ad looking for heavy weed smokers and the study would be providing weed for free, I would immediately think its a set up! I wouldn't trust it at all but I guess the lure of free pot is stronger than skepticism!
Lastly, I have to tap into my bleeding heart liberal side: I don't know how much is being spent on this study but is this the right way to spend government funding? Something seems wrong when this study get approved but music programs in schools are being eliminated. I understand how politics work and that drug companies have far better lobbyist than educators, but that doesn't make it sit any better. And if your ARE going to spend money on developing a drug, can it be a drug that has a more practical use like a pill that could be given to every dead beat dad that would cause him to be repulsed by the site of a woman that he is attracted to. Or a pill for pedophiles that causes them to experience explosive diarrhea every time his thinks a kid is sexy. Or one that makes garbage men less ornery and more considerate! I'm just sayin...
Well like it said, my conversation with my student left me with more questions that answers. Sometimes I really think that we live in a very odd country...
Anyway...these are my thoughts...what are yours?
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