Trying to Stop being Clever

In an effort to talk less about myself, I'm going to try to replace all unsolicited outgoing comments with "I can relate to that on multiple levels."

WARNING: This opinion piece includes the subjects of rape and race. These are things I have no authority on, but I argue that I have the right to express my opinion on them. Does that mean I SHOULD? Not necessarily. In fact, I'm coming up short on reasons why it's a good idea at all. Knowing your surroundings is a survival instinct. We rely on our instincts for many things, but there are a lot of areas where we have overridden our instincts to allow ourselves to let our guard down and to allow ourselves to become victims. We no longer listen to the voices in our heads saying "don't get too comfortable." Our legal protections have caused many to assume that they won't become victims. They believe that, because something is wrong and/or illegal, that people won't do it. But we know better. We see all the time stories about how someone did something horrible, that laws were broken, people were victimized. Yet many of us seem to tempt fate for the sake of

This is definitely wrong. The lack of civil rights for people of color (or any other meaningless distinction outside of behavior) is wrong and we, as a compassionate race, should not stand for it. However, these people were likely raised to believe that blacks were different. There were rules. Laws. They were taught that there was a “right” and a “wrong” and segregation was “right.”  Believing that everything you’ve been taught is wrong and forging a new path of your own design where none exists is not that easy for social creatures such as ourselves. Like with the gun control debate, it is often pointed out that the “good guy” and the “bad guy” might not be so easy to identify when things go down. Things aren’t always as they appear. If you break the rules, you are a bad guy.  So the guys in this photo believed they were doing the right thing by trying to get this man to leave this counter. I am IN NO WAY saying that they are right and that segregation is okay. I am simpl

How could so much of the media be so far off that we have absolutely no idea what's really going on? The people essentially drive what makes it to the media with their dollars. Sure, there are a lot of things left out, but if the people care about it, the media covers it, and there are far too many people out there looking to call "bullsh*t" when they see it for the media to get away with too much. Redirection, distraction, one-sided reporting? Yes. Absolute flat-out lies? Rare. Underground and "revolutionary" media do exist, and they do have an impact on mainstream media. If there is a legitimate problem, it will be called out and recognized. People who tend to believe in the conspiracy theories seem to buy into them wholesale. If you believe one, you likely believe a bunch more. So these people will refute pretty much any claim made by the mainstream, the same as they jump to extreme conclusions as "evidence" that we are being lied to and fooled mo

She sits on a corner with buckets of flowers. It looks as though she is a vendor, selling the flowers to passers-by. If you come through the intersection, either from the north or from the freeway offramp, you pass her on the right side, on the far corner. If you think about it, it’s not a good place to stop. Just as you’re leaving an intersection with a signal. The light is green behind you, traffic is coming through fast. There’s virtually no foot traffic. It’s on a hill. It’s just not a practical place to set up shop. Picture this: a relative, probably a child or grandchild, was killed in a traffic accident at this corner. The family’s custom is to leave flowers and decorations at a spot where a loved one dies in traffic. Then picture the city not wanting those decorations on this corner, and they quickly take them away whenever the family leaves them. The family then finds out that it is not against ordinance to set up as a vendor on the sidewalk. So the lady sits th

I guess it’s human nature to never be satisfied. It’s what causes us to create & invent, to strive to improve our lives. Unfortunately having millions of people all striving to make the world better in their own opinion causes a lot of clashes with other members of the human race. One idea might get a large group of followers, but that group, as they move forward with their plan, will soon run into another group whose ideas don’t fit with theirs. That’s when wars happen. In any case, this striving for improvement begins at the individual level. The result being that if you can’t find a group who agrees with you, chances are you’re going to sit around miserable & unsatisfied. Consider this scenario: A man gets a job. It’s an entry-level position with minimum pay. At first he’s glad to have a job. Once he’s settled in, he starts wondering why he has to do all the dirty work. He wants a better position. If he works hard enough he moves up a notch. He’s happy for a mi

There are things wrong with our country. There always will be. There are a number of reasons for this. Foremost is the reason that "wrong" is subjective and someone will always be dissatisfied no matter what we do. Beyond that, there are just so many different things happening at once in a thriving and evolving nation such as this. I only want to touch on a couple of the items that are disrupting the happiness of our citizens right now. First of all there is the income inequality and the fact that the big money basically owns the government. This is a status that we cannot easily overcome, largely because of the truth in the old adage, "money talks..." It's hard to compete with the loud mouth of money when the people who stand to gain from corporations maintaining control have most of it, and the majority of Americans, who would benefit from a more equitable arrangement, have less money than the few doing all the talking. It's a hard nut to crack, especial

https://youtu.be/tAYX4jqJG_g?t=2m14s I wrote a song a few years before this which said, "there's room for one more, and it's not gonna be you." I couldn't tell you who that was about because I just don't remember. This one, based on that idea, is clear. I had a girlfriend, and I usually take that pretty seriously. I've always been the sort who knew he'd eventually want to settle down. I had one ex-girlfriend tell me that I "see everyone as a potential mate." Over the years of reflection I think I know what she meant, and I think she was right. So I was seeing this woman, and one day she said she had a video for me to watch. Without going into details, I found out that day that I was not the only man she was seeing. She told me as though it was pretty matter-of-fact, and that's just how she does things. But I had to wonder, if she thought it was all routine and acceptable, why was she hiding it from me? So I told her I would try

There are more than one hundred billion stars in our galaxy. There are over 100 billion galaxies that we are aware of. 100 billion squared gives an awfully big number. One thing we've seen is that the laws of physics result in the same processes happening throughout space as we know it. Matter and gasses coalesce and create stars, some additional matter of much less mass accrue to become planets and moons. Seeing the recurring patterns of stars, systems and galaxies, we know that the same kind of things are happening throughout the universe. Just look at our solar system. Consistencies, such as planets orbiting the star in the same direction, moons around those planets, terrestrial inners, gas outers. Where there are over ten sextillion stars, there are going to be other instances of them having planets. We have begun to see evidence of that, measuring dips in stars' brightness as planets pass in front of them and eclipse them; the "wobble" of a star being influence

These posts are purely opinion; they represent thoughts that I had in a moment, maybe for a period. I will be held accountable for the things I've said here but I will not be held to any of these opinions. My opinions evolve as I learn and grow and I would hope that my opinions continue to change. I don't trust people who are convinced they have all the answers and refuse to be swayed, convinced, or to learn anything new. However I felt when I wrote each of these was how I felt then. I may or may not still feel that way now but I reserve the right to change my opinion. I will answer for anything I've said here. My answer may be "I'm sorry, I get it now, I was wrong" but my response may well be "but what about...?" Sometimes I write things that I do not mean. Sometimes I use sarcasm. That's like when I say something so absurdly not possible as though it was a good idea and what we should all want. It's a form of humor. Again, my opinion.

I was sensing a certain amount of hypocrisy from all sides. I realized how hypocritical I was being, and I tried to nail down exactly what my stance is. Obviously school shootings are bad, and Wayne LaPierre is a p.o.s., but where DO you draw the line? I still think something needs to be done, but I’m on the fence about what, because that is not so clear to me. By “withdrawing” from the argument for the moment, I am resetting my position on the issue until I see an answer I like. I am not disinterested in the topic, I am simply trying to not be as much of a hypocrite and keep my mind open to different ideas. One of the things I found so frustrating about arguing for gun control was the apparent inflexibility of the defenders. I thought, “if there was just some way to change their mind.” Then I thought, “but what if I’m wrong?” Then I started thinking, “how can I be wrong when I don’t even know where I stand on the issue?”  I'm pretty sure more guns is not the answer. Armin

That's a pretty asinine statement. It's not owning guns that we have a problem with, it's all the other people owning them that's a problem, and that's driving us to keep them just in case we need to protect ourselves from the psychos who love their guns too much. It's not even that I don't like guns. I actually like them quite a bit. But I'm willing to sacrifice my right to own any ol' type of gun I want for the sake of our future. Cut down the gun violence, let the mothers and brothers and children and so forth have a chance at life like we have had. Someone's right to live should not be trumped by someone else's right to own killing machines. Mass shootings are a problem, and more guns is not the answer. It will only lead to death from more directions. These people whose brains are stuck in this gear, who can't see any other way besides the freedom to be a dumbfuck are really putting a crick in my spine. Here's another o

If you're still defending the right of Americans to own any and all guns that they want, you're letting your selfish desires take precedence over the lives of countless innocent people. Giving a gun to everybody so that nobody has an advantage over anyone else is an unquestionably foolhardy thing to suggest. Those of you who insist you need to keep guns in case you need to go up against the government one day, I seriously doubt you'd be one to charge into battle, guns blazing. You're a big tough guy with your gun in peacetime, but let's see you back up your talk when the bullets are flying.

So I might be wrong about this whole gun control thing. Typically I like to remain open to the possibility that I'm wrong about things. I know I've said before that I'm not so completely sure of many things in life. I know that my reaction to these school shootings has been to encourage people to consider gun control of some sort. It hasn't even been that specific, just some general concepts. The gun people draw the line at the very extreme. While many of our "rights" are considered with a certain amount of flexibility, in a "pick your battles" sort of way, the gun people refuse to flex even the littlest bit. Any semblance of trying to make our country safer in connection to guns is met with zero tolerance. That's scary. There is A LOT they are not telling us. But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I need to stop looking at it like someone who believes we should relinquish this gun right and is looking for ways to communicate that. Maybe I need to