Christian Self-Righteousness is Not a Virtue

I suppose in all groups you have extremists, but there's one group of extremists that I find to be self-righteous and annoying as hell: Christian Conspiracy Theorists, in particular a man named Mark Dice. These are the kinds of people who believe that Hollywood, and the rest of the ungodly secular world is controlled by a devil-worshipping cult called the Illuminati. I wouldn't be so hard on Mr. Dice if he weren't so damn self righteous.

For example, in 2007 he posted a Youtube video dumping various forms of garbage on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. This was supposed to represent the ungodly filth that is Hollywood. Note to Mark: Your childhood antics have to be cleaned up by some poor attendants, who may not actually agree with you.

Also, he has accused Jay-Z of being a child rapist, and has referred to Rihanna, Kesha, and Lady Gaga as satanic skanks from Satan's sewer. I know by evidence of this he probably has a few screws loose, but he still annoys me. Mark, get off your Christian high horse and get raptured already, we don't want you.

Free Speech or just hurtful?

     In 1994 Batman: The Animated Series aired a controversial episode entitled, "Babydoll." It featured an aging, demented former child star with advanced hydroplagia. Although they changed the name, race, sex, and even the disease of the character, Gary Coleman got upset. The Little Person's Association of America tried to have it banned. Although it was not successful, Babydoll never appeared again. My question: does this come down to an issue of free speech or respect for people with disabilities?

Is Abby Johnson A Liar?

Is Abby Johnson a liar? Abby Johnson, if that's even her real name, was born circa 1980. She wrote "Unplanned" This is a book about her quitting Planned Parenthood. She is a spokesperson against abortion rights, but is she for real? She claimed to be the former head of the Planned Parenthood branch in Texas. She recently testified to the house hearing on Planned Parenthood. My first suspicion came when I saw a video of her speaking in a church where she confessed to having helped cover up the statutory rape of an underage prostitute and the murder of a woman as a result of a botched abortion. My question is: as the supposed head of this chain of clinics, why would she admit on tape federal crimes committed without fear of prosecution or jail time? The pro-life movement has been getting a lot of positive press and conversions since Abby spoke out. What better press for your movement than to have a former enemy convert? The right is always accusing progressive organizations of paying actors to play Occupy protestors for abortion rights, but maybe they're projecting.

So now that victims are white, it's bad.

In recent years there have been several videos posted on the Internet exposing police brutality and excessive force. Because of this police brutality is finally being addressed, but people are acting like it's a new phenomenon. The truth is, however, police brutality and other forms of repression among certain areas of the population is nothing new. Such is the case with a mentally challenged black man in Texas in 1916. He was accused of raping the daughter of his white employer. Despite no evidence after twenty minutes of deliberation, an all white jury found him guilty and sentenced him to execution. Fast forward to 1991, the Rodney King beating. Although this case shown a light on police brutality, it was eclipsed by the riots that followed. It was only after a well educated young white man in 2004 was unfairly tased at a John Kerry rally. It seems to me that even though black people have been going through this crap for decades, people are only now seeing police brutality out front. Could this be America's still internalized racism; the thought that when a black man gets tazed he automatically deserves. When a white man gets tazed it's a horrible crime in violation of his civil rights. The most recent issues have been with pepper spraying students at peace rallies, eerily reminiscent the Vietnam rallies. My point is: why are people now suddenly up in arms, because it's in all of our faces? It's been in black people's faces for decades.

Governer or Child Exploiter

Ever since the 2008 election i've been facinated with the former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin; although more for her whining than her actual qualifications, especially concerning, Trig, her son with down syndrome. Whenever some one makes a slightly tasteless joke about people with disabilities, Sarah Palin comes rushing in to save the day. There's always been an air of fake compasion that hangs around her, just like everything else about that woman. Let's not forget, she pulled her young daughter out of school so she could parade her on the national stage. There's some question as to if Trig is even hers. And according to a former family friend, she would often refer to Trig as "my retarded baby." All in all, I think Sarah Palin is more rediculous than a disability activist, but that's just my opinion.

Learning to Forgive Yourself

Recently, I heard of a group called Abortion Survivors for Life, which is a group of women who have had abortions but now regret their decision so much that they want Roe vs. Wade overturned. They've spoken at many pro life events around the country. My question: is the pro-life movement exploiting these women? For instance, there was one woman who had an abortion in 1980 and still speaks about it today. I'm not saying these women don't have the right to speak about their experiences, but is the pro life movement profiting from their guilt? Tell me what you think.

The Forgotten Minority

In this country today, we take great care to not offend minorities. Don't get me wrong: I care about minorites. But, it seems to me today there is one group no one seems to care about offending: the disabled. For example, take the people who are opposed to the Americans with Disabilities Act for whatever reason. I'm sorry if we "cripples" as you so like to call us are inconvenient to the poor business owners. But as an American, I believe that I am entitled to go where I want to go in spite of my limited physical ability. It also doesn't help that popular media makes fun of the disabled, most notably Family Guy creator, Seth MacFarlane. He gives Joe endless ridicule over things like his inability to climb stairs or have sex. While Joe usually gets his legs back in an episode, by the end they're taken away again. I for one think comedy can be a good way to humanize people, and that's what Mr. MacFarlane is trying to do. But endless ridicule is not the way. Also, when able-bodied people offend people with disabilities in media, do you hear the big outcry, no. Well, sometimes, but it's not acknowledged. In closing, I am not a sensitive person about my disability. I'm okay with comedy to a certain extent. But after a while, it's not funny, only offensive and asinine.