We Need to Stop with the Comparisons - Caitlyn Jenner Can Be Courageous Too

As we all know, Bruce Jenner has been making headlines with his recent transformation from male to female, and now the world knows HER as Caitlyn.

 

Caitlyn has received SO MUCH negative backlash and ridicule for her decision to transform. Some of it is just outright disrespect, but we all know how the world is. We've come a long way, but we've got so much more to go before we can truly be a world of acceptance.

 

At the 2015 Espy Awards this year, Caitlyn Jenner received the Arthur Ashe Courage Award, and gave a quite emotional acceptance speech.

 

The speech actually made many people who formally poked fun at Caitlyn see her in a new light, and learn to respect her.

 

However, of course, the award being given to Caitlyn caused much outrage for many people.

 

Whether you agree with Caitlyn receiving the award or not is your right, however, you shouldn't have to go out of your way to compare who you feel is a "real" hero."

 

I've seen some comparison memes posted on social media from people expressing their opposition to Caitlyn's award.

 

One particular meme that urged me to write this blog was one of a soldier in a desert carrying a body. The top caption read: This is what courage looks like..

 

The second photo attached to the meme was that of Caitlyn Jenner during her acceptance speech at the Espy's with a caption reading: Not this.

 

 

 

This is a problem that many people (including myself) have. We always have to compare things to try to make one look more important than the other.

 

Before you start attacking me, SOLDIERS ,PAST AND PRESENT, ARE VERY IMPORTANT, AND THEY WILL FOREVER BE HEROES TO ALL OF US NO MATTER WHAT!

 

That message goes out to the members of psycho Westboro Baptist Church as well since they like to protest AGAINST soldiers.

 

They are ALL heroes, and are well respected by us citizens.

 

HOWEVER, just because Caitlyn Jenner got an award for having courage, and is being crowned a hero to the members of the transgender community, doesn't mean that people are saying that anyone else ISN'T a hero.

 

It DID take a lot of courage for Caitlyn to do what she did, whether you agree or not.

 

What's more is that she IS a hero to many transgender people. Imagine how many young, confused children are going to feel a lot more comfortable in their own skin now that Caitlyn has become a public figure for their community.

 

Calling Caitlyn Jenner courageous or a hero, isn't necessarily saying that anyone else, including soldiers, are not.

 

What upsets me the most is, most Americans don't think about our soldiers and veterans on a daily basis. Many are caught up in their own lives as well as things in the media, in sports, in film, in music, in fashion, etc. more so than they stop to think about how courageous and heroic our soldiers are.

 

But once someone like Caitlyn Jenner gets called courageous, and people don't agree, they feel the need to compare who THEY think are more courageous.

 

IT ISN'T A COMPETITION!

 

Everyone is courageous in their own way, in all honesty.

 

My father is  veteran. My father fought in Iraq during Desert Storm. I, myself, was born on the Marine base. My family are HUGE supporters of our troops, however we're smart enough to know that Caitlyn Jenner being called courageous doesn't downplay how courageous my father and all other soldiers are for their duties.

 

Caitlyn Jenner is a WORLD KNOWN OLYMPIAN! The Espy's are awards for ATHLETES. At the end of the day, if Bruce Jenner wasn't an Olympic legend, then Caitlyn wouldn't have ever received that award.

 

It's not as if President Obama, himself, gave Caitlyn a gold medal alongside a bunch of veterans at The White House while broadcasted on news channels nationwide.

 

The Arthur Ashe Award is named after Arthur Ashe, the famous, black tennis player!

 

With this sort of logic, a child calling their father their hero is WRONG if he's not in the service. Firefighters work HARD to put out those Summer wild fires, and firefighters hardly get any praise.

 

Just because Caitlyn isn't a hero to you personally because she doesn't represent you personally doesn't mean you need to speak out against those calling her one. Martin Luther King, Jr. represented minorities, particularly black Americans. However, he is a hero to ALL Americans. Princess Diana is hero to MANY. Ghandi was a hero.

 

There are plenty of heroes out there, whether they're a personal hero to you or a hero to someone else. However, just because someone calls someone a hero, does not mean that no one else can be.

 

We learned this at daycare as children.

A Public Service Announcement: DO NOT Cash Stranger's Money Orders

I'm sure most of you smart human beings out there already know, that cashing others' money orders for them is NOT a very smart idea.

Unfortunately, my poor friend in New York City never got that memo, and is now paying for it.

LITERALLY.

So my friend (and NO I'm not secretly talking about myself) was walking down the streets of Manhattan a few weeks ago, and was approached by a young man, probably 18 to 19 years of age.

The guy asked if my friend could help him. We all know what a New York minute is, and my friend really didn't have time to be helping people at the moment, but the kid was quite persistent.

The kid asked if my friend could CASH HIS MONEY ORDER FOR HIM.

He immediately said, "no," and continued on, however the kid informed him that he isn't from the area, and really needs the money.

Feeling bad and just wanting to get the kid to shut up, my friend decided to perform a good deed for the young man. Grateful for the deed, the young man offered my friend $20 "for his troubles."

Well, we all know the old saying, "no good deed goes unpunished."

A week later, my friend get's an alert that his bank account has fallen under a certain amount of money. Confused, he went online to view his account and saw that it was NEGATIVE!

He went to bank to sort this ordeal out, and come to find out, the money order was FAKE all along!

And now my friend will have to pay the bank back all of the money!

I don't understand how my friend could be so naïve, however, we ALL have to live and learn from our mistakes. Even the dumb ones.

Let this be a lesson to all: DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT cash anyone else's money orders.

You'll be broke going on vacation just as my friend is now.

 

Black People Should Be the Last Ones Oppressing Others

I know that I'm late, family, but many things have been on my mind with all that is going on in this quite eventful world in the year of 2015.

 

One of the biggest issues I have had for a few weeks is the reaction to the Supreme Court ruling that same sex marriage is to be legal in all 50 of the United States of America.

 

We all know that society as we used to know it is fading away, and the world is starting to become more accepting of things that we weren't so keen on before. However, we also know that many Americans tend to forget about the idea of separation of church and state that our country was SUPPOSED to be founded on.

 

This is not to bash a particular group, so please do not take offense, however, many conservative Christian Americans like to try to make the U.S. a Christian country. They feel that the laws should abide by those of the New Covenant aka the Christian Bible.

 

If anything goes against their higher power's word, then they immediately vote and/or speak out against it.

 

Yet these same Americans would NEVER allow Jewish, Muslim, nor any other religion to override the laws of the U.S., so why they feel their beliefs should is beyond me and beyond the subject of this blog.

 

On to my main topic, I stumbled across some rather irritating and disappointing Facebook posts a few weeks ago,

 

"What's new?" I'm sure you're asking. Facebook is full of people who post things they shouldn't (i.e. bigotry and/or their personal relationship or family problems) all of the time, and many of us have learned to ignore the ignorance (or just unfriend the perpetrator).

 

However, these particular posts upset me because of WHO was saying it.

 

After the Supreme Court ruling on marriage equality, many took to social media to express their support or their oppositions to the idea.

 

We all learn to pick and choose our battles. If it really isn't worth arguing over social media about a certain topic with people on Facebook just to avoid the drama, just leave the post and keep scrolling. Or if you have to, walk away from whatever device you're using.

 

I did not engage with many of the opposing posts that were made by people I know or went to school with. However, what really disappointed me was to see so many black people speak so negatively about the situation and/or treat it as if it's not important.

 

Why?

 

Because black people should be the last ones downplaying others' rights!

 

As much as the black community has gone through (and STILL goes through today) in the history of the entire WORLD, let alone all of the horrors we've faced here in the U.S., we should be the first ones to care and be happy that another oppressed community is finally getting the rights they've fought so hard to gain for so many years. Just as black Americans had to do (and still are in many ways).

 

I saw a post on Facebook where a black girl captions "If only people cared about this as much as gay marriage."

 

The picture accompanying her words was of type writer text on a blank white space which read, "make college tuition free."

 

I do not know the girl who originally posted it, but an acquaintance of mine (and another black girl) shared it, and her caption was even more disappointing.

 

She added that the country is legalizing "irrelevant shit," referring to the Supreme Court ruling (it should be noted, however, that I went back to the individual's Facebook page to quote her directly, but it seems she has deleted the post and surprisingly has shared a marriage equality post and how happy she is about it. Hmm.)

 

This is sad.

 

Yes, it would be WONDERFUL for college tuition in the U.S. to be free. It would be a great step for our government to take, and a big step for our nation's education as many believe we are becoming less and less intelligent.

 

Many jobs require degrees these days, whether the individual's degree has anything to do with the job or not.

 

I guess the simple fact that you have a degree at all is good enough for them.

 

Sort of a status thing for the employer, I'd say.

 

Anyway, this would give many people the opportunity to receive a good education, and, ultimately, living a good life, making a decent living. This would also prevent people from paying off the debt of their student loans until they're in their 40s (in a lot of cases).

 

While this is important, and something that even I'd like to see happen, it does not mean that one should make it more important than the rights of someone else.

 

There was a time when many blacks weren't allowed at certain schools, and had to fight to get into some schools. And even once they jumped that obstacle, they still had to deal with oppression inside of the school or while entering and exiting school property (like the Little Rock 9, for example).

 

So, for these two young ladies, who both seem to be intellectual and intelligent to sit there and disregard a huge obstacle that our country as a whole (not just members of the LGBT community) has gotten over is saddening.

 

Gay people have rights, and their rights aren't "irrelevant." Just as blacks getting an education wasn't/isn't.

 

They have to right to marry, just as you have the right to attend school.

 

And just like you have to pay tuition and all other school fees, gay people STILL have to pay to get married like everyone else.

 

Marriage isn't free! Even at the courthouse.

 

If you disagree with gay marriage, fine, but it doesn't mean you have to try to make your problems or obstacles more important than their right to get married, or anyone else's rights for that matter.

 

Once again: this goes back to another life lesson that each of us learned from our mothers and grade school teachers: IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANYTHING NICE TO SAY, THEN DON'T SAY ANYTHING AT ALL.



When Reality Stars Compare Themselves to Jesus

If any of you have seen/heard of CMT's hit show, Party Down South, the South's answer to MTV's Jersey Shore.

If you have, then you know that the show is a drunk, hot mess.

The cast of the show are a clash of personalities, including Taylor "Lil' Bit" Wright, who I'm assuming is supposed to be Party Down South's Snooki.

Taylor is very much into her Bible and the Lord above, which is quite weird for her to be on the show that she is.

However, we DO NOT judge, because no one on this earth, including the religious and spiritual folk, is pure. And we do not throw stones in glass houses.

HOWEVER, we NEED to address one issue with this Taylor Wright.

A few weeks ago, Wright announced that she will not be returning to the show for its 3rd season.

Her reasoning: she is scared for her safety.

Living with a bunch of violent Southern drunks can be a little frightening so I don't blame her one bit.

Now, I used to write the recaps of episodes of the show for TVFishBowl.com, and have been following (majority of) the cast on Twitter.

When told by a fan that they're proud of Wright for choosing Jesus over fame and fortune (which is NOT the reasoning she gave for leaving the show), Taylor replied with "Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice.....so can I! Ily"

..............................................

Whether you yourself are religious or spiritual or not, you can ALL agree that if someone who believes in Jesus and what he did, HOW can they compare quitting a reality show to dying a horrible death for mankind?

She basically just compared herself to Jesus!

Maybe it IS best that she quit the show, because she apparently, she's LOSING HER MIND.

Po' thang.

 

Rick Perry Treated Others How He Wanted To Be Treated Apparently

Now we all know the old saying, "treat others how you want to be treated."

And that's exactly what our old friend, Rick Perry, Governor of Texas and aspiring nominee for the Republican party's 2016 Presidential election has done.

Except, he seems to not have wanted to do so!

If you haven't heard, Perry is being indicted for alleged abuse of power after he threatened to veto $2.7 million over 2 years for the public integrity unit, which is ran by Rosemary Lehmberg's office.

Lehmberg, a Democrat and the Travis County District Attorney, was arrested for a DUI in April 2013.

Perry asked the DA to resign due to this incident, and when she refused, he decided to veto the money!

It is said that Perry planned to replace Lehmberg with a Republican.

Now Mr. Perry is being indicted, and of course is UNHAPPY about such events.

He went on to say that this indictment is "politically motivated."

Well, gee, Mr. Perry, isn't that EXACTLY what your motivation was in trying to get Lehmberg to resign, and eventually replace her with a member of your OWN political party?

It's the same thing, and you're accusing others of doing EXACTLY what YOU planned to.

Treat others the way you want to be treated, Rick.

This drama may put a damper on Perry's shot as the Republican Presidential candidate, but honestly, who would want someone so blatantly dirty in office?

I'd take Chris Christie over him any day, and I cannot stand Chris Christie.

The Taxi Driver Was Drunk!

So, last weekend I went to an old lounge called, Melvyn's in the heart of Palm Springs, California.

Palm Springs is known for it's Old Hollywood flare due to all of the Old Hollywood stars hanging out there.

Melvyn's was a GREAT place. There was a live piano player who played anything from The Beatles, to Lionel Richie, to "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke. He even went around and introduced himself to the guests.

People from their 20s to their 80s got up and danced, very classy, to the music.

The waiters and waitresses were all dressed up.

Melvyn's is an old place where Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra would hang around for a drink. Those are just a few big names that used to frequent the joint. The place had so much history and so much life in it, I would go back every weekend if I could.

The best part were the napkins, which had Frank Sinatra's face all on them. (I'd show a picture, but I'm having technical difficulties).

Moving right along, we had a few too many drinks, and were ready to go.
We called a taxi cab to come and pick us up, and when the Prius taxi arrived, we hopped right in.

We made the normal small talk with the taxi driver, but SUDDENLY your boy is THROWN from the seat, face plants into the passenger seat, then onto the floor of the loud clanking Prius!!

This man almost RAN A STOP LIGHT! Cars honking and all!

My life was in DANGER!

I made an exaggerated "OOOMPH" sound as I hit the floor to make it known that I was thrown from my seat.

This crazy taxi driver played it off as smooth as whipped cream in hot coffee. He just continued the conversation like nothing happened.

When the light finally turned green I decided to pay more attention to this man since my life was in his hands, and that's when I noticed his slightly slurred speech.

OH HELL NO! We're slurring AND our taxi driver is too? I couldn't believe it. But we were almost home, so I just hopped right on out paid him his little tip (which he DID NOT deserve) and stumbled on inside.

Let this be a lesson for ALL of you out there:

HAVE YOUR TAXI OR UBER DRIVER PERFORM A SOBRIETY TEST IF YOU HAVE TO.

It's not safe out here anymore!

Anyway, I'm here writing this, so I made it out alive, y'all.

Take care, and call your next of kin if you have to. These taxi drivers are a joke.

The Misinterpretation of Music and Lyrics

Everyone interprets music differently. And just because one receives a certain message out of certain lyrics, doesn't necessarily mean that what that person interpreted from the lyrics is exactly what the artist was saying.

Recently I posted a post about sexism in the Robin Thicke "Blurred Lines" music video.

I shared it on my Tumblr and Facebook accounts, and was surprised by some of the reactions. 

It got good reception on Facebook. No negativity whatsoever. 

Not sure if all of the people who hit the "like" button necessarily LIKED my blog post (they could have just liked the pictures,) however, contrary to what I said in a previous post about assuming, we're going to assume that they liked the post itself.

The people on Tumblr on the other hand? Did not like the post too much. I got about 3 or 4 unfollows after posting the link, adn some feedback from people obviously angered by the song and video, and now, my post.

First and foremost, an artist can write a song, and the listeners can all have a different interpretation of the words. Some totally different than the artist themselves.

Does that necessarily make the listeners wrong?

It can. But in many ways, NO.

As an artist myself, I believe it's the listener's choice to hear what they want from it. Unless of course the lyrics are straight up blatant with their message to the point where we cannot assume that they're saying anything OTHER than what we're hearing.

However, some of the feedback about my post contained examples of lyrics which the person responding found unacceptable.

• Exhibit A: "Yeah there's that. Personally I feel it's redundant to use [naked women] in order to sell a product. Plus that line about domesticating a girl smacks of men saying 'a women's place is in the kitchen.' There's no need for that in the 21st century,"

To be completely honest, I am NOT sure what that person was trying to tell me, but I gathered that they were not agreeing with me, right? (I could be wrong.)

My personal interpretation of the domesticating line in Blurred Lines is nothing negative at all. If anything it's POSITIVE. Some man is trying to "domesticate" this woman, and either she doesn't want to be (as she shouldn't HAVE to be) or Robin doesn't want her to be (so he can sleep with her, big deal) or BOTH. But I didn't gather that Robin was the one who wanted to "domesticate" her.

Also, women themselves use such imagery to sell products. It's the oldest saying in the business industry: SEX SELLS. 

The video honestly looked like an American Apparel ad, really.

• Exhibit B: "Except for the repeated 'I know you want it' followed by 'Here, breathe this 'Jamaican wind' it always works for me' implying that he's gonna have to drug her up to get her to do it, but he 'knows she wants it.' "

This, mes amis, is a prime example of what I'm getting at with this post.

1.  I know PLENTY of men who have told a girl "I know you want it." When a guy is ready and trying to get a girl in bed (especially if he knows she's not a prude if you gather my meaning.) And a man trying to get in a girl's pants is the oldest game in humanity!!
2.  "Jamaican wind." Hmmmmm, does anyone else think of marijuana when they hear that? What exactly is he going to do with weed? Make her trip out on his body parts?

"Jamaican wind" typically isn't a date rape drug, nor is it a drug where you lose ALL control to the point where you have sex with someone you didn't want to.

If it is for you, no offense, but you have a problem and should stop smoking immediately.

So, you see, my interpretations of the song are totally different than just these two individuals. There are billions of people in this world.

Am I wrong? Who knows?

Are they? Who knows?

But people shouldn't immediately jump to conclusions (or in this case, interpretations.)

 And let's just be honest, are we REALLY surprised at what we hear in music nowadays? After the rap genre, Prince, Vanity 6, Peaches, GG Allen, etc. why do people continue to  act shocked about this stuff?

I mean, there are artists rapping about eating baby's for crying out loud.

And has anyone stopped and asked, "Hey, what if this is what Robin Thicke wanted all along? Now his song and video are getting WAY more promotions."

Hmmmmm.

And lucky for me, I was able to find yet another blog post that agrees that Robin is not being a rapist.

 http://popdust.com/2013/06/20/robin-thicke-blurred-lines-lyrics-rape/