It finally happened. I don't have anything to write about. Actually, I do, but it's already 10:00 PM and any of my good rants, and I still have a few, would take a few hours to write, and I don't really want to stay up past midnight.
I did get some good news. I signed up with bloghop to have people rate my blogs and I got two people who hated me. Now, if I could only get some of the haters to write me some hate mail. I want hate mail! So far, the ratings are running 16 love it and 2 hate it. If people hate what I write, I'm probably pissing them off. If so, then I consider myself a success. I want to piss people off. I want to make people think.
I did hear from my sister about yesterday's blog. 'You use too much dirty language.' I know and I'm really trying to watch that. It's just that some of my screeds just write themselves. When I sat down at my PC last night, I planned on writing a nice reasoned discourse about how everyone is just so durned sensitive in this country. It's like 'Hmmm. I think I want to be offended. Let's see if I can find anything in what someone says to piss me off.' The prime example is the fuss in Washington DC about the guy who described a budget as niggardly and oh boy were there a bunch of people offended about that. Hey guys, look the word up in the dictionary and look at the root. It has absolutely nothing to do with nigger. Oh no! GOC, you used the 'n word'! You are a racist pig! Actually, I'm not, but if anyone reading this thinks I am, you're entitled to your own opinion. Anyway, once I started on that booger eatin' moh-ron, Michael Newdow, I just got carried away.
Another offensive word going around now is picnic. Do you know why? It seems that it came from when there was a lynching of a black and people took lunch and had a party. Hello! I'm sorry, but this is a real stretch. Picnic came from the French word piquenique, and has absolutely nothing to do with lynching. C'mon, let's get a grip here.
I'm not denying that racism exists in this country, but looking for it in anything said by a white person is getting ridiculous. Not all white people are ignorant racists, just like not all black people are ignorant racists. You know, people like Cynthia McKinney. When talking around blacks now, you have to watch everything you say. I mean, if you say 'Boy, it sure is hot today.', the next thing you hear is 'Don't call me boy!' 'Huh? I'm sorry. I wasn't even talking to you. I was just making an observation about the weather.' I know that white racist mf's used to call black men boy, but if I say 'Boy, it's hot!' can't you realize I'm not calling you boy? I'm trying to be careful, but don't assume anything I say is racist.
And here we come to the Confederate flag. I'm so glad that the NAACP has solved all the problems in the black community. They've eradicated the high drug use. They've solved the anti-achievement mentality (You be acting white!). The illegitimacy rate is down under 80% and poverty has been eliminated. Since all that trivial stuff has been fixed, now they can work on the really important things, like the Confederate flag.
Let me say that there are bozos on both sides of this issue. Back during the civil rights era, the white bigots in Georgia changed the state flag and incorporated the Confederate flag into the design. Yeah, it was a poke in the eye to black folks. A few years ago, the NAACP and other black organizations started declaring war on the Confederate flag and Georgia was one of the first places they started. Boycotts were threatened. No Super Bowl. No NBA all star game. Things like that. Last year, the Georgia Legislature, along with the Governor worked out a secret deal to change the flag and we now have a new flag. So now all the racist white bigots are up in arms. We're gonna make it a campaign issue. We're gonna throw the Governor out of office. Hey! Listen up! It was a stupid issue with the old flag. It's a stupid issue with the new flag. It's a freaking piece of cloth! Give it a rest!
Now we go to South Carolina. The Confederate flag used to fly on top of the statehouse. Enter the NAACP. Enter Jesse Jackson. Boycotts were threatened. Boycotts were implemented. Many of the people hurt by the boycotts were black businesses, but that didn't matter. That freaking flag was causing poverty, drug use, black on black crime. If we just get that flag down all our problens will be solved. Eventually a compromise was worked out. The flag would come down off the top of the state house and would be removed to a Confederate War Memorial on the statehouse grounds. Problem solved. Uh, not really. They're baaack! More boycotts threatened. This is just so ridiculous! And look. I haven't used a single dirty word yet.
I started wearing glasses when I was in the second grade. I mentioned last night that eight year old kids don't have social filters installed yet. As a result they can be extremely cruel. When I showed up in school I was called four eyes. I went home crying and my mother said to me, 'Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.' When did we quit teaching that? Why is everyone so damned sensitive? I'm really tired of walking on egg shells around people because I might offend them.
After my accident, I went through rehab at Shepherd Center in Atlanta. Talk about PC heaven. We were 'differently abled' or 'handicapable'. Did I ever piss some people off when I called myself a cripple. Big collective gasp! 'We don't use that word here.' Why not? 'Well, it has negative connotations.' Not to me. It's a perfectly good word. The dictionary says it is a 'partly lame or disabled person or animal'. It is a perfectly acceptable word to me. 'We don't use that word here.' Tough shit!
In the Navy we used to have slam contests. I'd insult someone. He'd insult me back. We had fun. They are just words! If someone were to call me a cripple, I'd just look at him and say,'Why yes, I am. How observant of you to notice.' I haven't been insulted in years because usually the person who is trying to insult me is an idiot and I know it. And as my father always told me, 'It is pointless to have a battle of wits with someone who is unarmed.' Sure, if I wanted to trade insults with someone, I could do an excellent job. I got some good ones. But why? It is so much more fun to look at the person and smile. Nothing pisses off a person more than you laughing at his insults.
I did have one user who pissed me off. But he didn't insult me. He just annoyed me by being incredibly stupid. He also went to my manager on me. I had called him incompetent. 'Oh Mr. EPSM (Empty Polo Shirt Manager), Denny called me incompetent. Boo hoo! Boo hoo! He's so mean!' Well golly, I am a Grouchy Old Cripple after all. Mr. EPSM called me into his office and told me if the user were incompetent he wouldn't be working for the company. I managed to stifle my laughter. I tried to explain to Mr. EPSM that I wasn't trying to insult the user, I was just stating a fact. In fact, I had apologized to the user for his incompetence. The user was fired two months later.
So can't we just lighten up? I know that sounds strange coming from me. But we're just entirely too sensitive.
Just remember this. Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me. Unless, of course the words come from a certain Grouchy Old Cripple.
I know some hurtin' words!
Posted by denny at July 18, 2002 10:28 PM