Everyone has an opinion. And I am entitled to my own. I do not have to be entitled to yours. Yet you push it on me. I must like the things you like and I must agree with the things you find good and the things you find deplorable. What you find important, I must do the same. Because if I don't...
You will judge me.
If I am not enraged by abortion then I must not be Christian. If I agree with marriage equality I must be liberal. If I do not agree with your opinions then I just must be dumb.
Recently on social media (well, always on social media) someone made a comment about focusing on the wrong things. That we were focusing on praising an award winner instead of focusing on organs being sold from aborted fetuses. And my first thought was not about organs from an aborted fetus, it was, why do I need to talk about, think about, comment about, focus on, only what you think the focus should be on? When you turn to Facebook for serious issues and news, well...shake my head. Yes, places like Twitter and Facebook can be great resources for getting the information out there, but beyond that...
Take the icebucket challenge for ALS. How many that posted the videos on Facebook of them dousing themselves with a bucket of icewater actually made a donation to the cause? My guess is that the ratio was small.
Back to being judgy. So, because the collective we are not focusing on what the collective you deem important, the collective you judges us as uncaring, unmoved people that don't care.
But take a moment to think about why someone would focus on one thing and not the other. Think about why maybe one issue wouldn't be important to them when another would. See the bigger picture, get outside of your narrow opinion box and focus on the bigger picture. The world does not revolve around the issues you think are important. Just as it does not revolve around the issues that I think are important.
On another judgy note, stop judging people by appearances. You have no idea what they have been through. We all are guilty of it. Every single one of us. The lady with the drawn on eyebrows that were very crooked and nearly met in the middle. Yes it's funny and ridiculous and we did laugh. Not to her face, that would be rude and uncalled for. But maybe she was legally blind and couldn't see properly to draw them on. Maybe she lost them due to cancer and thought having drawn on crooked ones was better than not having any at all. Yesterday we saw a young man in the store that was decked out in gear. I can't even really say what kind of hear but he had a huge knife (real? not sure) attached to his belt, a crocodile Dundee hat, long sleeved black shirt, dark brown military type pants and combat boots. And a huge scarf, the type military wear (I'm pretty sure). He looked like he was probably ready to hunt. He was probably 14 or 15. We could judge that. There are all kinds of things we could say about that. But why? It wasn't hurting anyone but maybe him. Long sleeved shirts, pants, and scarves don't really work when it's 107 degrees. Maybe he was going hunting, maybe he had just come back from a hunt, maybe he was mentally disabled and this was really cool to him. Whatever.
So here's the bottom line for me: Live and let live. Stop being self righteous. Disagree with me? Terrific! Just don't judge me because of it. Judge me not for my appearance, because if you don't like it, just don't look. But judge me for my actions. And I will do the same.
Defending Cait
As I said in a previous post, there are so many crazy things going on in the world today. Addressing some of them is hard, especially for me because I do not like confrontation, do not like to argue and do not particularly like to have a difference of opinion shoved down my throat. I prefer to agree to disagree.
But I also have a hard time keeping my mouth shut on things that really bother me.
I am not overly familiar with the Kardashians or their numerous exploits or television shows. I don't Facebook, Twitter or Instagram any of them because they are not my cup of tea. My opinion of them (and you may agree to disagree) is that they lack substance. Do they promote anything good? My impression is that the lot of them are undereducated and lack substance. Right, I've never watched a show, so how can I make that judgement? Well, I don't live under a rock and those people are fucking everywhere! I can't help but notice because it's almost forced on me.
But let's, for a moment, talk about the other part of that Kardashian equation and discuss Caitlyn Jenner and her recent award from the ESPY's, the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. Those that are against it saying "the truly courageous are the ones that are fighting and have fought for our country". This is true. But the entire point is missed. The AACA is given to SPORTS figures. Not our military, not our wounded warriors. SPORTS figures. The ESPY's are Hollywood's equivilent of the Oscars.
Directly from the Arthur Ashe website: "Given out yearly at the ESPY awards, which were created by ESPN to recognize accomplishments in athletics, the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage is unique in recognizing athletes who transcend sports in dedicating themselves to humanitarian or social endeavors."
Guess the keywords I saw in there? Accomplishments, athletics, transcend sports, humanitarian and social endeavors.
Guess what I didn't see in there? Veterans, military, wounded, POW.
DO NOT take my comments to mean that I do not support or appreciate our service members. That's the furthest from the truth.
But also, do not read more into this courage award than there needs to be. It's another awards show to once again honor mostly rich and famous people for being able to throw a ball, make a basket, sink a hole in one. Yes, yes, I know there is more to it, but do you watch the Oscars to see who won for best lighting director? No, you don't. They do have the Pat Tillman Award and that's the closest it gets to recognizing any military. Because it's a SPORTS AWARD SHOW.
You may or may not agree with Caitlyn Jenner and her new life versus her old life. But do not turn her award into anything other than what it is. She was recognized as an athlete "who transcend sports in dedicating themselves to humanitarian or social endeavors".
Whether YOU like it or not, her social endeavor is speaking out about the transgender community, which does exist, also whether you like it or not.
But I also have a hard time keeping my mouth shut on things that really bother me.
I am not overly familiar with the Kardashians or their numerous exploits or television shows. I don't Facebook, Twitter or Instagram any of them because they are not my cup of tea. My opinion of them (and you may agree to disagree) is that they lack substance. Do they promote anything good? My impression is that the lot of them are undereducated and lack substance. Right, I've never watched a show, so how can I make that judgement? Well, I don't live under a rock and those people are fucking everywhere! I can't help but notice because it's almost forced on me.
But let's, for a moment, talk about the other part of that Kardashian equation and discuss Caitlyn Jenner and her recent award from the ESPY's, the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. Those that are against it saying "the truly courageous are the ones that are fighting and have fought for our country". This is true. But the entire point is missed. The AACA is given to SPORTS figures. Not our military, not our wounded warriors. SPORTS figures. The ESPY's are Hollywood's equivilent of the Oscars.
Directly from the Arthur Ashe website: "Given out yearly at the ESPY awards, which were created by ESPN to recognize accomplishments in athletics, the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage is unique in recognizing athletes who transcend sports in dedicating themselves to humanitarian or social endeavors."
Guess the keywords I saw in there? Accomplishments, athletics, transcend sports, humanitarian and social endeavors.
Guess what I didn't see in there? Veterans, military, wounded, POW.
DO NOT take my comments to mean that I do not support or appreciate our service members. That's the furthest from the truth.
But also, do not read more into this courage award than there needs to be. It's another awards show to once again honor mostly rich and famous people for being able to throw a ball, make a basket, sink a hole in one. Yes, yes, I know there is more to it, but do you watch the Oscars to see who won for best lighting director? No, you don't. They do have the Pat Tillman Award and that's the closest it gets to recognizing any military. Because it's a SPORTS AWARD SHOW.
You may or may not agree with Caitlyn Jenner and her new life versus her old life. But do not turn her award into anything other than what it is. She was recognized as an athlete "who transcend sports in dedicating themselves to humanitarian or social endeavors".
Whether YOU like it or not, her social endeavor is speaking out about the transgender community, which does exist, also whether you like it or not.
Our Father, Who Art in Heaven...I'm sad for you.
If you are a troll, see the previous post. Your negative comments will not be welcomed here. If you can read an opinion blog and be respectful you are more than welcome to comment. If you can read an opinion blog and not be respectful and open a dialog, then just be quiet. I love that quote by the way. If you can't be kind, be quiet.
First things first. I am female. I am white. I am Progressive Republican. I am heterosexual. I am a supporter of marriage equality. I am Christian.
I am embarrassed.
I am ashamed.
You see, the God that created me, the God I follow, the God I whole-heartedly believe in, created the story of me before I was even born. He created the story of you, too. Just as he created the story of the homosexual couple that lives down the block from you.
I firmly believe that homosexuality is not a choice. I didn't chose to be heterosexual. I just am. So why would I be so obnoxious as to assume homosexuals choose to be gay? If I believe that God created us perfectly, I cannot believe that he hates homosexuals. Yet a lot of my fellow Christians are saying exactly that. If God wrote our life story before we were even born then He wrote us as straight or He wrote us as gay.
I am embarrassed that my God looks unwelcoming and unloving based on the actions that His children on earth are portraying by preaching hate and intolerance of people that are not exactly like them.
I am ashamed to be grouped with other Christians that are also Republicans. They fight to have marriage remain between a man and woman yet as Christians we are taught that love is love and we are to love one another. Yes, of course you can love the sinner but not the sin. But is it sin if God created you that way?
If you don't agree with any of that, that's great. Because guess what?! You do not have to be like me. You do not have to believe what I believe in. You do not have to like what I like. We can be different and we can get along. You do not have to live according to my beliefs.
And no one has to live according to yours.
First things first. I am female. I am white. I am Progressive Republican. I am heterosexual. I am a supporter of marriage equality. I am Christian.
I am embarrassed.
I am ashamed.
You see, the God that created me, the God I follow, the God I whole-heartedly believe in, created the story of me before I was even born. He created the story of you, too. Just as he created the story of the homosexual couple that lives down the block from you.
I firmly believe that homosexuality is not a choice. I didn't chose to be heterosexual. I just am. So why would I be so obnoxious as to assume homosexuals choose to be gay? If I believe that God created us perfectly, I cannot believe that he hates homosexuals. Yet a lot of my fellow Christians are saying exactly that. If God wrote our life story before we were even born then He wrote us as straight or He wrote us as gay.
I am embarrassed that my God looks unwelcoming and unloving based on the actions that His children on earth are portraying by preaching hate and intolerance of people that are not exactly like them.
I am ashamed to be grouped with other Christians that are also Republicans. They fight to have marriage remain between a man and woman yet as Christians we are taught that love is love and we are to love one another. Yes, of course you can love the sinner but not the sin. But is it sin if God created you that way?
If you don't agree with any of that, that's great. Because guess what?! You do not have to be like me. You do not have to believe what I believe in. You do not have to like what I like. We can be different and we can get along. You do not have to live according to my beliefs.
And no one has to live according to yours.
They see me trollin....
Oh there is so much to say about the state of the world today. First, let's talk about trolling.
A troll: "In Internet slang, a troll is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion."
If you are on Facebook at all, you see it daily. Instagram too. I follow a few body positive accounts on Instagram and they promote not only body positivity but positive comments only. Negative comments are not welcome. That doesn't mean they don't crop up. Because let me tell you, they definitely do.
The body positive accounts feature encouraging and uplifting messages and memes and will feature women (even a few men) that feel good about themselves despite not looking perfect. There's a hashtag especially for that. It was started by Tess Holliday, a plus size model. #effyourbeautystandards are words to live by. It's empowering. It's confident. It helps raise self esteem for women that maybe have been teased about their extra pounds or their cellulite or double chin. Again, it's empowering to be accepted for how you look (imperfect).
But then...the trolls. The trolls crawl out from their internet bridge and start their crap. The Instagram account for Effyourbeautystandards is a favorite of the trolls. Women that are not size 2 will post a picture of themselves in a bikini. They might have rolls, they might have stretchmarks or they might not have any of that. They just don't typically fit the "normal" standard for wearing a bikini. So because of that the trolls post comments like "have another donut" or "she's waiting for her next cheeseburger". Tess Holliday gets called out for promoting an unhealthy lifestyle. Not because she says "be a size 22 like me!" or "eat everything bad!" or "have another donut". She says none of these by the way. She does not promote being unhealthy. She promotes feeling confident and living up to OUR OWN ideas of beauty, not everyone elses.
I don't understand the mentality of someone that goes to websites or pages or accounts to someone or something they don't like, don't agree with or don't understand and place negative comments. Except simply to cause trouble, to rile people up, to be mean and to stir the pot. Troll behavior.
Keep scrollin' troll. You and your negative comments are not welcome.
A troll: "In Internet slang, a troll is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion."
If you are on Facebook at all, you see it daily. Instagram too. I follow a few body positive accounts on Instagram and they promote not only body positivity but positive comments only. Negative comments are not welcome. That doesn't mean they don't crop up. Because let me tell you, they definitely do.
The body positive accounts feature encouraging and uplifting messages and memes and will feature women (even a few men) that feel good about themselves despite not looking perfect. There's a hashtag especially for that. It was started by Tess Holliday, a plus size model. #effyourbeautystandards are words to live by. It's empowering. It's confident. It helps raise self esteem for women that maybe have been teased about their extra pounds or their cellulite or double chin. Again, it's empowering to be accepted for how you look (imperfect).
But then...the trolls. The trolls crawl out from their internet bridge and start their crap. The Instagram account for Effyourbeautystandards is a favorite of the trolls. Women that are not size 2 will post a picture of themselves in a bikini. They might have rolls, they might have stretchmarks or they might not have any of that. They just don't typically fit the "normal" standard for wearing a bikini. So because of that the trolls post comments like "have another donut" or "she's waiting for her next cheeseburger". Tess Holliday gets called out for promoting an unhealthy lifestyle. Not because she says "be a size 22 like me!" or "eat everything bad!" or "have another donut". She says none of these by the way. She does not promote being unhealthy. She promotes feeling confident and living up to OUR OWN ideas of beauty, not everyone elses.
I don't understand the mentality of someone that goes to websites or pages or accounts to someone or something they don't like, don't agree with or don't understand and place negative comments. Except simply to cause trouble, to rile people up, to be mean and to stir the pot. Troll behavior.
Keep scrollin' troll. You and your negative comments are not welcome.
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