Black vs. Afro-American: Which is Socially Correct Terminology?

     One of the biggest things that piss me off more than most people imagine is when white people are talking to black people and call them "African American" instead of black and then get all shy and embarrassed. No. Screw that. I'm sure most of the black people living in the US were not originally born in Africa and have probably never even been to Africa, so why call them African American? Oh yeah, that's right. Their ancestors were originally from Africa. Well I guess since most of the pale people in America (commonly referred to as "white people") came from European roots, it's proper to call them European American. Does anyone ever call white people that? No, no one does except the foreigners who actually ARE from Europe, and they just don't know our customs.

     It's not like people take these names as literal skin tones. I've heard idiots be like "But they're not actually BLACK, so why call them that? It's not their actual skin tone!!" I'm not one to talk, but most "white people" aren't actually with white pigmented skin tone. I mean, I'm pretty pale, but even I'm not paper white. And I've never actually seen a charcoal skin-colored black person, so what's it matter?

     Yesterday at practice someone mumbled something to this black girl on our team and she's like, "Did you just call me a 'nigger'?" So of course everyone gets all quiet expecting some intense throw down, and the girl who mumbled it (probably the quietest, nicest girl I've ever met) was like "N-no... I wouldn't do that. I'd call you an African American..." Well, obviously I a bit irritated and I was like

"She's BLACK, not African American. Hey Jasmine, have you ever been to Africa?"

She was like, "No..."

I said, "Were your parents born in Africa?"

"No..."

"Were your GRANDparents born in Africa?"

"Nope."

"Are you offended when someone calls you 'black' as opposed to 'African American'?"

"No, that's just stupid."

"By any chance were your grandparents or great grandparents slaves?"
"What the- are you serious? No, pfft"

And then the other black girl on the team walks over and says, "Yeah I hate it when people think I'm gonna be offended when people call me black. [Some teacher's name] always gets so flustered when he says 'black' or talks about slavery. It's soooo annoying. And then everyone in the class looks at me like I'm supposed to be crying or heartbroken that my supposed ancestors were slaves and to be honest it doesn't affect me at all. I prefer it when people have the balls to call me 'black'."

 There you go. Here's my personal verdict:

    Someone who came from Africa is African, whether they're black or white in skin tone. Not all black people are African, and therefore it's wrong or unnecessary to call them "African American" unless you're absolutely sure they're actually African. It's rude to assume all black people are from Africa, in my opinion. Just as it's somewhat rude to assume all black people have ancestors who experienced slavery. White people are "white people" because there are way too many Eastern countries white people could have come from. If you know they're heritage for some unknown reason, try calling them by it and see how much of a dumbass you look like.

    The more people use the term "African American", the more racial tension there will be between black people and white people as well as other races. Racism will never go away, but maybe the racial tension can lessen a bit. No one should have to be afraid of calling someone a very common, simple term that is very socially acceptable. It's as simple as black and white.  :D

Pedestrians have the right away, Not Assholes

Lately I've been experiencing some really bad drivers, but more of some really REALLY stupid pedestrians. Now I understand that "pedestrians always have the right of way", but seriously, there has to be some line drawn, or at least some specific qualities that make up a pedestrian besides anyone walking. Why is this a problem? "Pedestrians" a.k.a. assholes take advantage of this right as much as they possibly can. You know it's true. They either have no fucking clue where they're going, so they walk in traffic, or they just really don't give a damn so they think they can walk in front of cars and take no damage. "Assholes" is synonymous with "Douchebags" in case you were wondering.

There is always this one guy who acts like he thinks he's awesome, but in reality he has no friends and he hates his job, so he decides to jump in front of a car and see if he can make some money in a lawsuit. Well, most of the time the driver brakes in time, and the guy just looks like an idiot, which he is. Then he acts like he didn't even see the car, just to make the situation a little more awkward. He looks at the car nonchalantly, then looks down and pretends to fiddle with something in his hands while walking at a very fast pace across the way while the driver just stares in anger at the idiot who almost got run over. *This can also be a teenager who hates his/her life. I've seen both.

Then there is always the mother pushing a stroller taking her PRECIOUS time as she saunters across the walkway staring off into space while she walks, not realizing that the line of cars waiting for her is about to run her over if she doesn't move her ass. Sometimes, this mother is being followed by like seven kids, and one of them is always just learning how to walk or drops its favorite toy, so it takes fifteen times as long. But of course if we honked at the sweet mother with her children, it'd be rude. Teach your kids how to walk at home, not in traffic.

Another variation of this is the family walking their children to school in a horizontal line where there are no sidewalks. First of all, walking where there are no sidewalks is pretty stupid in my opinion. You're just asking for some car to cut a turn to sharp and hit you with their side mirror. I've heard about it happening, actually. But about the horizontal thing, it's really not necessary. If you're on a sidewalk, I guess it couldn't hurt, although you wouldn't fit 5 people sideways. Maybe I just don't see the magic in walking your children to school on a busy street with no sidewalks while making them walk 5 feet in the road.

THEN there is the prime douchebag with his girlfriend/fling for the night. He is Mr. Macho. He wouldn't dare change his direction or speed he's walking to get out of the way for a moving car. Pfft, his bulging biceps and popped collar are enough to make drivers swerve into a pole and burst into flames.

I actually experienced someone like this a few hours ago, except the guy was not macho at all and his biceps were flimsy and saggy. He was a balding man of 30ish, trying really hard to impress the girl he was with. I know I'm a very careful driver, but I have no patience for pedestrians who don't put any effort into moving. But this asshat not only stared me down with this softest glare ever, he was not satisfied by me not stopping because he was walking in the middle of the road, so he said to his girl "Watch this", and he started to walk towards my car just to piss me off and make me think I hit him. Well, of course I slam on the brakes (I wasn't going that fast... just like 10 miles per hour) and turn around to see his face in this weird mixture of emotion. He was in shock that I actually stopped (In his mind he was like "oh, shit!") but at the same time he was still attempting his intimidating glare. So I rolled down my back window and yelled "What?" in this calm, "don't fuck with me" look. I was as straight faced as ever, considering if he touched my car at all I would have fucking ground his face into the asphalt (someone hit my car while it was parked today... I'm a little sensitive about my car now). He just looked at me and started walking away, so I yelled again louder "What?! Something wrong?" And by this time he's ushering his girl and is walking away, blinding me with the glare from his bald spot. That is a perfect example of a douchebag attempting to take advantage of his pedestrian-ism. Don't let it happen to you.

In my opinion, there should be stricter rules about pedestrians. I don't care about jay walking, but if you walk in traffic, expect to get hit because people are less likely to give a fuck if it's your fault, as long as they make a small attempt to slow down.

When walking in a parking lot, choose your paths wisely. There are always designated paths to walk along, and if there aren't, be smart and don't walk towards traffic on a blind turn. That's just asking for it.

Even if you know you are going to go ahead of this car, offer for them to go first, if they're in a hurry, they'll speed in front of you. But usually people will give a fake smile and give you the usher hand motion to go ahead. At this time, you smile sheepishly and start this awkward jog that immediately turns back into a walk after 1 or 2 steps. It may be awkward, but it's standard.

Lastly, if you're one of those pedestrians who take their sweet time just to piss off the driver and waste their time because you can, fuck off.

Can you against animal cruelty AND eat your meat without being a hypocrite?

I know this seems like such a "Duh" question, but I was thinking about this when I was on some hardxcore vegetarian's myspace. She had all the "Meat is Murder" banners and whatnot, the KFC Cruelty videos, Peta2.org links, all that jazz. And then I thought of this shirt I almost bought that said "Meat is murder: tasty, tasty, murder..." I'm not gonna lie, I really love meat. I don't think I could live without it. But at the same time, I almost always think out loud when eating meat "I wonder if this cow had a family..." and I feel bad for about 10 seconds until I realize how tasty it is. In fact I usually gross my parents out when my dad cooks steak. Whenever he's eating his steak (he likes his a little less done), I always sneak in a "moooooo..." and then he gets pissed off at me. :D



Don't get me wrong. I'm not against vegetarians at all. I'm way against animal cruelty, actually. I mean, if we never ate mean, the animals would out breed the humans and end up eating us! That's a pretty extreme theory, but hey, it could happen. I know I'm not a vegetarian, but I still have issues eating eggs. I try to avoid it at all costs. I think of eggs at aborted chicken fetuses... Yeah, now you see why I don't eat them. You can actually see the little fetus inside the yoke! It's sooo creepy. The day my friend told me about that I was scarred for life.

Well, I got a little off topic. I was just wondering if it was hypocritical to be against animal cruelty and be a steak lover. I mean, cows are gonna die anyway; why not eat the filet mignon off them? :) I just don't see why a little more money can't be spent in the slaughter houses to make it less painful for the animals. Yes, I know they're called "slaughter houses" for a reason, but you don't have to cram them in there and put them in pain before their final moments. I just always feel bad about those things.

One thing is for sure. Fur coats are completely unnecessary and cruel. You skin an adorable bunny so you can pay for an overpriced, gaudy-looking jacket? You can get the same warmth from some other jacket, without the dead bunny feel to it for a reasonable price.

I forgot where, but someone said "There are three main types of on this earth: Animals, Plants, and Minerals. We shouldn't eat our own kind, people!!" My first thought was "Well... other animals eat other animals. The only thing /trying/ to stop us is the vegetarian activists..."  But seriously, you think a deer/cow/pig/etc. goes through less pain when a lion punctures its jugular and mauls it painfully to death for about 5 minutes or so, or when we immediately cut the head off in about a second? No. Our machines and factories are in the end more efficient and quicker in what would be a painful process otherwise. This is the reality that I think of when I almost stop eating my delicious steak to pity the cow that died for my dinner. No hard feelings, veggies. :)

EDIT: Oh and on the subject of animal testing... there are plenty of people who would be willing to test out new things, trust me. No monkey wants to wear makeup, so test it on someone else.

But back to the main question: Is this hypocritical? 

Government:
 The US government is keeping too many secrets from our society, and more people are beginning to notice. Ignorance isn't bliss. I'd rather know the truth and deal with it than be lied to and told to just keep living when thousands of people are dying every day and all our government does it get us involved in a war for no purpose with no end and ask for more money to support it. Why does the government hide so many things from our eyes and ears to experience? Why can't they just tell us the reasoning behind their secrecy? The more I look into our government and how corrupt and cruel it has become, the more I want to leave the US, the place where I was born and grown up in. It is depressing to learn about facts that the CIA and the government do not tell everyone else. Though the "truth" may be disturbing, I think everyone has a right to know. If you do not want to know the truth, you don't have to believe it. But everyone will know the truth, not what the government tells us to believe, but the actual truth, what really happened and what will continue to happen for centuries to come.

What happened on 9/11 was supposed to happen. Everything went according to plan until someone woke up and realized the TRUTH. They put together the hidden facts and made the connection that something was not right. In fact, in FACT, nothing makes sense on that day, unless you believe the TRUTH. What the government puts on newspaper headlines and in magazines and on memorials is what they want you to believe to keep you ignorant. We had no enemy, which was not to the liking of the government because a society is under better control when in fear of something or someone. The government decided to take this into their own hands and create an invisible enemy: Osama Bin Laden. This man's family has been living in a government funded household since before 9/11 until otherwise stated. The head of the hijackers Hani Hanjour's brother had breakfast with Bush senior the MORNING OF 9/11. Also on the morning of 9/11 NORAD was conducting air exercises of a situation if hijackers were to fly a plane into specific targets, one being the world trade center. Normally NORAD sends jets out to the hijacked aircraft in 10 minutes, but failed all 4 times to reach them in confusion of what was "real world or exercise", taking 80 minutes to figure out where to send what, although it was 80 minutes too late. Why were all 80 videos showing what hit the pentagon confiscated by the FBI within minutes and never released? Why was NOTHING proving a plane hit the pentagon found at the crash site, and the pieces that were found were carried off immediately by the FBI? And the question everyone asks, regardless of who you believe: What happened to all the people?

If the government has nothing to hide, why won't they prove all the conspiracy theories wrong? They CAN'T.

Religions:
First and foremost, I have nothing against spirituality, however you may find it.
My opinions about religion are pretty general, considering most religions are very similar in beliefs and practices, despite their preaching of being the "only true religion". I must admit to being a bit biased, being lectured to about christianity since I was 3 and for another year.

 It has been proven that there was a man named Jesus who was the son of Mary. Could they have chosen any more common of a name? Not only has this story been passed down for a few thousand years, but what happens when you play telephone? The story gets completely twisted, exaggerated, sometimes enhanced to make a better story, and thus ends up being very different from how it started. This is why I don't believe the bible, although it is impressively the biggest story book I've ever seen. Not many people could write back in what is said was Jesus' time, so word of mouth is the main source of keeping records. As I'm sure you know, word of mouth is one of the most unreliable ways to quote someone, which is why the bible's stories in different gospels "quote" Jesus differently. I'm sure there was a guy named Jesus, and he was pretty awesome, which is why he made an impression on so many people. Did he really heal the sick? Did he really give sight to the blind? Did he really feed a ton of people with two fish and five loaves of bread? I have no idea, but if you want to believe that then I can't stop you. To me, Jesus reminds me of a modern day hippy without the drugs and sex. He was there, he was preaching, some people liked him, some people were like "Who the fuck are you to tell me what to do?", so he was killed. Whether he was crucified or not, I don't know. People claim to have itty bitty chunks of "THE CROSS" (which I find to be complete crap) and they wear it around their neck all the time. If you want to believe that, then go for it. Little chunks of wood on a necklace can do amazing things sometimes.

Why am I just talking about Jesus and christianity? All religions are the same! They all have bits and pieces of common sense, and then they add their own little flare to it and people believe it. How many religions have the common sense golden rule? Treat others as you want to be treated. Well, that seems pretty obvious.

People join a religion because they want to feel safe. Each religion has a person or object or "thing" to look to when times get rough because people are scared. They are afraid of what could happen, always afraid of the dreaded moments that may come. They "pray" for things, to get help with this, take care of that, bless me with this, etc. They want something to look up to because they cannot accept that this world was so perfectly created naturally. They cannot accept that this world is naturally created and you are on it because of natural law and everything that science knows so little about on the broad spectrum we have discovered so little about. We are so small and so insignificant in this world, and we don't even realize that our world is just as small and miniscule in the galaxy we are on, the universe filled with never-ending black holes yet to be discovered. And we haven't even lived to set foot on the closest planet to us in our solar system? The idea and knowing that we are so meaningless in this up and coming age intimidates the crap out of people once they realize it. But it's okay, because I know I will be protected by something I will never encounter (unless you make it up yourself. The mind is an extremely powerful thing...), yet I devote my whole life to living for. If anything happens I can blame them. Why did they make this happen? Why did they put those awful people on this earth? It's almost as if having someone to pray to and put all your faith in is a way to never admit you or your world is at fault, because it was made that way. It's as if you're hiding from admitting and accepting the truth, that there are imperfections in the world because WE made them and put them there. WE as in YOU and the rest of us. Take credit for what you're a part of, for what you helped create. "You only live once." Do you want to give credit for everything you've ever done and experienced to something that isn't even proven to be out there? How can you put all your cards in one basket if you don't even know if the basket's there? Religion is the most unstable and extreme way to avoid responsibility for your actions and the actions of your society. I will believe what I want, I will be spiritual in what I choose, and I will take responsibility for how I act based on my beliefs. What will you choose?

Aliens:
It makes sense that there are aliens out there. How big is this world? And how small is this world in the universe? There has to be trillions of other planets with life on them, and who or what the life is still a mystery, unless you do your research. Extra Terrestrial bodies have been found and taken for biopsy since the 60s. There have been many unidentified foreign objects seen since then and up until now. Crop circles so intricate are becoming more and more frequent and the UFO sightings are becoming more and more reliable. Why not many people believe this is because the idea is unthinkable. For so many years we joke about aliens coming and abducting children, livestock, cars, and we joke about flying saucers and pretend that there are aliens. What if we're not pretending? Honestly, it's about time we made contact with life on another planet. Or at least it's about time they made contact with us, since we seem to barely be able to make it to the moon and back. There are many times where I wish I could have an encounter, or just be able to witness an alien aircraft, just so I don't feel so alone in the universe. Maybe one day...


Inspiration(s):
zeitgeist.com, my rat Paris, lack of sleep

Sources:
http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/sources.htm

http://www.loosechange-911.blogspot.com/
http://www.loosechangeguide.com/lcg2.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_UFO_sightings
http://www.ufoevidence.org/
http://www.iwasabducted.com/menu.htm