...you think that the fact that the shooter at Ft. Hood was a Muslim has any bearing on the gravity of the situation. A dear friend of mine recently said that "a real American soldier" would never have done anything like that. To this, I ask: have you watched the news? Recently? Ever? This guy was crazy, plain and simple. It had nothing to do with his race, religion or ethnic background. It had to do with his malfunctioning brain. Period.
We all agree that the September 11, 2001 attacks were a terrible thing. I'm pretty sure we all remember what we were doing that day when we found out...much like the generation before us remembers what they were doing when Kennedy was shot. But let me take you back further than that. Let's go back to the worst attack on U.S. soil that had happened to that point: Pearl Harbor. On December 7, 1941 - and I know that date by heart, even though my parents weren't even born yet - our naval fleet was attacked and badly damaged by the Japanese. They were very sneaky about it, both diplomatically and militarily. There have been movies about it...like Tora! Tora! Tora! and Pearl Harbor...to name the biggest two I know of. (Not a big fan of the latter...love the former.) But you know what you don't hear a lot about? The Japanese internment camps. We were vehemently opposed to the Axis powers because everyone agreed how terrible the Nazis were. They are reviled to this day, because of the concentration camps they had for the Jews. The Holocaust killed millions...and all because someone didn't like them, based on their religion or race. Everyone seems to agree that it was a terrible thing. But people forget that we did something similar - though we didn't kill anyone, and that is indeed a huge difference - to many Japanese Americans in the 1940s. Our government later had to apologize for it, and make reparations, to the tune of $20,000 a person to each survivor. The main reason? It was a violation of their civil rights.
So what makes it right today? Folks, I have a news flash for you: not all Muslims are out to get us. It's not like every Muslim in the world is the sworn enemy of America. If you believe that they are, you are ignorant beyond any help I can give you anyway. There's a thing called "extremism". Those are the ones that are the problem...and they make up a minority of Muslims in the world today. But let's look at it from another angle, and a much more important one. The reason these people are so sworn to get us is that they are interpreting their book - the Qur'an - that way. When two different groups of people interpret the same book in different ways, you get conflict. In this case, there's a group that are considered fundamentalists, meaning loosely that they take what the book says and interpret everything in it as literally as possible, word for word, leaving little or no room for allegory, metaphor or any real artistic license. They're the problem.
Now let's go back to crazy for a moment. Anyone can be crazy. Groups can be crazy...or a leader can be crazy, and his followers just carrying out the leader's crazy agenda. There's Hitler for you. But in this case, it's a group...fundamentalist Muslim extremists. They're nuts. I think we can all agree that wanting to kill innocent people because you think a book that's supposed to be about peace told you to. But hey...isn't that what religion's done forever? But the point remains...they're crazy...but because there's a crazy group of Muslims doesn't mean all Muslims are crazy. That's just...well, crazy talk.
Now let's go back to race for a minute. The friend I have said to look at the Ft. Hood shooter's name and face...and that a real American wouldn't do that. America is supposed to be this wonderful bastion of freedom and liberty...so much so that we've tried to forcibly give this "happiness" to other countries. (See Iraq.) And it's always been a melting pot. No matter what color your skin is, or where your family comes from, you can be an American, as long as you were born here...or become a citizen. So there are all types of Americans...but what we can easily infer from this is that because he didn't "look American" or have what they considered "an American name", that they weren't a "real American". Let's be frank here: they meant white. If he was white, he'd never have done this.
Well, guess what? White people do more crazy stuff than anyone else in this country. There haven't been too many black serial killers, for example. Two that I can think of...and one was just found in Cleveland last week. Most of the horrible things we see in the news, as far as mass killings, are white people. So to suggest that a white person wouldn't have done this is ignorant...and it shows one is uninformed. And another thing: at some point, most of you reading this - if not all - have relatives that aren't from here. They emigrated from Europe, in most cases. Oh, but I'm sure that's different, right? The ONLY reason that could be is that you're white, if indeed you are a white person reading this. Funny, though...I've yet to hear a black person really get racist about the Muslims. You know why? They know how it feels to be on the other end of things.
So back to the fundamentalists again. They're scary. They're scary because it's an entire group of people who think that their god wants them to kill us, en masse, and that they'll be rewarded for it. That part is very real, and very frightening. But because it exists doesn't mean that it's the norm, even amongst Muslims. This fear of anything that's Middle Eastern is stupid...and racist, by definition. It's as ignorant as thinking that you'll catch some sort of disease by swimming in the water with black people. When we played baseball in DeLand growing up, we had a lot of black teammates...and we'd invite them over to swim without hesitation. I'm still disease free, I'm happy to report.
Folks, it's stuff like this that creates needless conflict that can result in more harm being done than good. If you really want to be the "good example" as a nation, then it has to stop. You think that people in other countries look at us and think, "Wow...I wish I could be like them." when they see statements like that? If you do, you don't know a lot of people from other countries. Lastly, there's the issue of religion, though. And most of you reading this are Christian, if you have a religion at all. It's the religion of "love thy neighbor" and forgiveness. Well, based on that, and based on what I see them say about this issue, it's a religion like all others: a religion of hypocrisy. You can sit there and rationalize it away all you want, but the moment you say you're a Christian, and then turn to persecute another person because of their religion, race or creed, you're a hypocrite. Look it up...in YOUR bible. It's there. And while we're on the subject of said bible, I'd submit that you should look up another word that I've used here today: fundamentalism. That's right...there are absolutely SCADS of fundamentalist Christians in this country, and in my opinion, they're every bit as dangerous as a fundamentalist from any religion. Think for a moment about how "two wrongs don't make a right". I'm not saying we should just say, "September 11th? Ah...forget about it." Far from it. But I am saying that their targeting of innocent people is exactly what got us all so angry in the first place...and the moment we indiscriminately target innocent people abroad - or here at home - is the moment we're just as bad as they are. Again...not all Muslims are anti-American...some are Americans themselves, and are just as appalled as you are that 9/11 happened...and even more upset, perhaps...because it was done under the auspices of their own belief system, which to their knowledge, was a belief system of love and peace. Just imagine what it would be like to be them. Pretend YOU are the minority. Pretend YOU are the persecuted one. Really, truly think about it, long and hard. Then tell me you can justify this sort of stuff and call it anything BUT discriminatory, racist, persecutory and just plain wrong. I defy you to do it with any sort of logic.
So, in closing: this guy was nuts. Just like the guy who shot up the office here in Orlando the other day. Just like the guy who had the 11 bodies in his house. Just like the people who kill their families and themselves on what seems to be an almost daily basis. Pick up a newspaper, watch the news, read the news online, and tell me that Americans don't do things like this. I defy you even more to do that. Because I DO read the news...and I promise you that it's NOT the case. And statistics show that it's mostly white people who kill en masse...by a VERY large margin. White Americans, to be more precise. This world has a lot of crazy, unstable people in it. And they come in all colors, genders, races, religious beliefs, creeds and walks of life...just like the world is populated by a huge mix of people...and just like America is populated by the same mix. Real American? That guy is as "real" as it gets. And as long as people keep denying that fact, they'll keep promoting the same sort of hatred and ignorance that they're allegedly against. He's as American as anyone else...and that's sad, but true.
A.D.
(And I shouldn't have to say it, but I will...because I know how people get sometimes. I am not, in any way, advocating what this guy did. He'll get the death penalty, for sure...because he's in the military. If he hadn't been, it'd be up to the state's laws...but of course, he was in Texas, so it's a win-win there. But he is a despicable, worthless piece of detritus, and I hope they'll find new ways of torture to use and kill him slow. That being said, the difference between me and apparently many others, is that I don't think that should apply to everyone else who's the same color, religion or race as he is.)
(Also, the person who wrote the stuff that prompted this isn't someone I hate or have any dislike for...far from it. I just don't think they realize that what they said has this connotation to it. Unfortunately, racist things aren't always intentional. I think that by seeing things we do without malicious intent, and working to not do those things, or see things in a different light, is a good thing. So if this has the intended effect - on her or on anyone else - it'll be a positive thing, not a negative one. I've also not named this person, or even defined their gender, so as not to identify them, and make them think I'm calling them out specifically. It's just that their words got me to thinking about this.)
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Why Motorcyles Suck
You know, living in Florida, I see motorcycles all the time. And while I like the aspect of the machines themselves, I can't stand them. If it weren't for my belief in freedom, I'd say we outlaw them altogether. Here's why they make me so mad:
First off, let's get something straight: they're unsafe. Period. You can't deny it, and for all the talk of "I'm actually a good rider", you're full of shit. No ifs, ands or buts about it. I hear it all the time: "Only the crappy riders get hurt or killed...or it's not their fault." Yep. Bruce Rossmeier, one of the finest people to ever do any charity work in this are, was a bad rider, according to this logic. My friend Sean was also a bad rider. But let's be realistic. Accidents happen...and sometimes they're just accidental. But the difference is that had Bruce or my friend Sean been in cars, they'd be here to tell you all about what happened. Instead, they're both dead. The human body just can't take impacts at speeds like that, no matter what helmets or leather jackets you wear. That's just a fact, and denying it makes you not only stupid, but recklessly so. And no, this isn't an attitude because my friend died...he and I weren't super close, and hadn't spoken in over a decade when he was killed. He was driving down the road, at the speed limit, totally normally...and some old man pulled out in front of him to turn left, suddenly...in a van. Bruce Rossmeier was in a group passing an RV...and ended up getting clipped, because he was at the back of the group. Neither was doing anything unsafe, reckless or even out of the ordinary...but had either one been in a car, there's no doubt in anyone's mind they'd still be alive.
Next, let me say this: most of them drive like idiots. I'm sure the fans of motorcycles will cry foul now, saying that it's not "most" of them, just "some" of them. You must be right, and I must be wrong...because I'm so unobservant. There's no way possible I could be correct, right? Wrong. Statistics will back me up, because in most cases of motorcycle accidents, the drivers of the motorcycles are at fault. The ones on the bigger Harleys aren't as bad as the ones on the crotch rockets...but don't leave either group out completely, not by a LONG shot.
So here's the part that really gets me pissed: they all ride around like they're in charge of the road. Like I'm supposed to say, "Wow...what a cool guy. What a bad ass. I'd better not mess with him. He's so damned cool because he's so risky." Well, here's what I say: you're subject to the same rules of the road as me, and you can blow all that "cool" and false bravado that seems to be overcompensating for something you're lacking straight out your ass!
And here's the part that gets me even more hot: when people suggest, through bumper stickers, etc., that I'M the one who needs to "watch out for motorcycles". Believe me...I watch out for any reckless assholes, whether they're on motorcycles, bicycles, in trucks or in cars. Just because you're too stupid to not take such a needless risk with your life doesn't make it incumbent on me to be the only one to pay attention to what's going on around us on the road. It's so damned condescending. I mean, really...think about it. How many bumper stickers do you see that say, "Motorcycle riders: be careful and watch out for cars."? None. These guys run around from lane to lane, travel WAY too close at high speeds, don't use turn signals and go way beyond the posted speed limits...but I'M the one who needs to watch out for THEM? Screw you! They're the ones on the unsafe vehicles...they're the ones who can't drive safely for shit...THEY need to watch out for ME. I'll be easy to spot. I'm the guy who doesn't exceed the speed limit, doesn't change lanes without looking, uses my turn signals and otherwise OBEYS THE TRAFFIC LAWS.
Everyone needs to realize - no matter what they drive - that a turn signal does NOT give you some inalienable right to change lanes. "Well, I had my turn signal on." Tough shit...you STILL have to yield to the traffic in the lane you're moving into. But when you're on a motorcycle and do this, you're just rolling the dice with your life. And to me, that's stupid.
But I agree with legalizing drugs. I also agree with motorcycles being allowed on the roads. I say, "Thin the herd." It's just natural selection. If you want to be that reckless, go for it. Overdose. Wreck. I hope you don't...but if that's your inevitable end, so be it. But either way, don't sit there and think that it's MY fault because YOU can't make proper decisions on the road. As soon as a motorcycle accident with another vehicle occurs, motorcycle riders automatically default to how it was the driver of the other vehicle's fault. Then, when you tell them, "Actually, no...it wasn't. Here's what happened...", and they realize it was the rider's fault, they then automatically say, "That wouldn't have happened to me...I'm a good rider." If that's not the biggest crock of shit I've ever heard, I don't know what is. They just think that they're infallible.
Well, here's a few tips for YOU, motorcyclists. And let me clarify - this isn't the case with each and every one of them...but it's the case with the vast majority I've been around, and that's quite a few, given my location and culture. But since it's YOU that chooses to be on the road in a machine that, when hit, is nearly guaranteed to cause serious injury or death, then it seems to me that YOU need to do a few things to try and prevent that from happening. Instead of always telling the rest of us "how it is", shut the hell up and listen, you egotistical worms...for once.
1. Traffic lanes are designed for ONE vehicle per lane, going from left to right. In other words: stay out of the area between the cars, outside the cars, or even in the same lane as the cars. Period. I don't care if we're stopped at a light, or on the interstate. You're still in violation of the law, and you deserve to be flogged each time you do it.
2. That being said, SLOW DOWN, ASSHOLE! Just because you CAN go 130, doesn't mean you're ALLOWED to. Again, it's more ego...and that goes for all of you who drive like bats out of hell. We ALL want to get where we're going...your destination is the ONLY important one, right? What's going on in YOUR life absolutely MUST trump what's going on in anyone else's on the road, right? Get over yourselves, and start looking into that time-tested virtue: PATIENCE.
3. If you can't use a turn signal, you aren't smart enough to be allowed on our roads. Please make that EXACT statement to the police officer you hand your license over to for revocation...TODAY. Just go do it. Enough said on that one.
4. Wear a helmet. No, I DON'T give a shit that the law says you don't have to. You know why that law exists? Because someone like me said the same thing I did: screw them. If they want to be stupid, let them. Before you know it, they'll be dead and gone, and then the people of worthwhile character can continue on. I won't go into statistics about head impacts, etc. You won't understand them. But I'll say two more things about it: Firstly, this goes for seat belts, too. Read the damned paper. When there's an accident with a fatality, 99.9% of the time, it says that they "weren't wearing their seatbelts". Secondly, alluding to that head impact information, let me say that just because your skull is so thick, it doesn't make you immune. So just wise up and wear a helmet. "I can't see as well." Yeah? Well, slow the hell down like I said, and it's not so tough to see what's going on, is it? I'll guarantee you that you'll see a LOT less when you're dead.
5. Don't ride so close to other vehicles. Same rule as they have...though if you hit someone from behind, you'll fare a LOT worse than the guy in the car will. You'll fly over the car you hit...or into it. So keep a distance. And if they get too close to you, get the hell away from THAT asshole, too.
In short, this "season", I'd like to see the riders start taking responsibility for themselves...for their own actions, their own choices and their own safety. I'm sure there's a huge group out there that does so...but they're not very well exposed, if that's the case. And whatever you do, stop telling ME what to do because YOU choose to ride a motorcycle. When the trends I've talked about even start to reverse a tiny bit - and I wouldn't hold my breath - then fine...you can blame us. But while so many of your people are so blatantly reckless, ignorant, unsafe and with such an unmitigated gall about the whole damned thing, shut the hell up.
[Sorry if this offends anyone, but I have some people who I'd love to have back me up on this: Bruce, Margaret, Billy, Sean, Tommy...but they can't. They're all dead...and all were on motorcycles. Oh, and I can't ever forget Lorrie. That was the name of the woman who died in my arms in Daytona when I arrived on the scene of an accident and tried to use my first aid training (was certified) to save her. It was too late when I got there, and I was 20 years old. She was on a motorcycle with a guy driving it, and he tried to beat a red light...he didn't. The driver of the car was unhurt. The driver of the motorcycle was banged up, but would survive. His wife, Lorrie, wasn't so lucky. She was thrown so far, and at such a high speed, that there's no way her body would survive the impact. The clincher? He wasn't going but 5 miles over the speed limit, which was 55. In a car, she'd be alive, and I wouldn't have the memory of her blood all over me as she breathed her last. To the non-riders, I say: you need to be careful for yourself, too. Be smart. To the riders, I say: that goes triple - QUADRUPLE - for you...because you never know which day is your last.]
First off, let's get something straight: they're unsafe. Period. You can't deny it, and for all the talk of "I'm actually a good rider", you're full of shit. No ifs, ands or buts about it. I hear it all the time: "Only the crappy riders get hurt or killed...or it's not their fault." Yep. Bruce Rossmeier, one of the finest people to ever do any charity work in this are, was a bad rider, according to this logic. My friend Sean was also a bad rider. But let's be realistic. Accidents happen...and sometimes they're just accidental. But the difference is that had Bruce or my friend Sean been in cars, they'd be here to tell you all about what happened. Instead, they're both dead. The human body just can't take impacts at speeds like that, no matter what helmets or leather jackets you wear. That's just a fact, and denying it makes you not only stupid, but recklessly so. And no, this isn't an attitude because my friend died...he and I weren't super close, and hadn't spoken in over a decade when he was killed. He was driving down the road, at the speed limit, totally normally...and some old man pulled out in front of him to turn left, suddenly...in a van. Bruce Rossmeier was in a group passing an RV...and ended up getting clipped, because he was at the back of the group. Neither was doing anything unsafe, reckless or even out of the ordinary...but had either one been in a car, there's no doubt in anyone's mind they'd still be alive.
Next, let me say this: most of them drive like idiots. I'm sure the fans of motorcycles will cry foul now, saying that it's not "most" of them, just "some" of them. You must be right, and I must be wrong...because I'm so unobservant. There's no way possible I could be correct, right? Wrong. Statistics will back me up, because in most cases of motorcycle accidents, the drivers of the motorcycles are at fault. The ones on the bigger Harleys aren't as bad as the ones on the crotch rockets...but don't leave either group out completely, not by a LONG shot.
So here's the part that really gets me pissed: they all ride around like they're in charge of the road. Like I'm supposed to say, "Wow...what a cool guy. What a bad ass. I'd better not mess with him. He's so damned cool because he's so risky." Well, here's what I say: you're subject to the same rules of the road as me, and you can blow all that "cool" and false bravado that seems to be overcompensating for something you're lacking straight out your ass!
And here's the part that gets me even more hot: when people suggest, through bumper stickers, etc., that I'M the one who needs to "watch out for motorcycles". Believe me...I watch out for any reckless assholes, whether they're on motorcycles, bicycles, in trucks or in cars. Just because you're too stupid to not take such a needless risk with your life doesn't make it incumbent on me to be the only one to pay attention to what's going on around us on the road. It's so damned condescending. I mean, really...think about it. How many bumper stickers do you see that say, "Motorcycle riders: be careful and watch out for cars."? None. These guys run around from lane to lane, travel WAY too close at high speeds, don't use turn signals and go way beyond the posted speed limits...but I'M the one who needs to watch out for THEM? Screw you! They're the ones on the unsafe vehicles...they're the ones who can't drive safely for shit...THEY need to watch out for ME. I'll be easy to spot. I'm the guy who doesn't exceed the speed limit, doesn't change lanes without looking, uses my turn signals and otherwise OBEYS THE TRAFFIC LAWS.
Everyone needs to realize - no matter what they drive - that a turn signal does NOT give you some inalienable right to change lanes. "Well, I had my turn signal on." Tough shit...you STILL have to yield to the traffic in the lane you're moving into. But when you're on a motorcycle and do this, you're just rolling the dice with your life. And to me, that's stupid.
But I agree with legalizing drugs. I also agree with motorcycles being allowed on the roads. I say, "Thin the herd." It's just natural selection. If you want to be that reckless, go for it. Overdose. Wreck. I hope you don't...but if that's your inevitable end, so be it. But either way, don't sit there and think that it's MY fault because YOU can't make proper decisions on the road. As soon as a motorcycle accident with another vehicle occurs, motorcycle riders automatically default to how it was the driver of the other vehicle's fault. Then, when you tell them, "Actually, no...it wasn't. Here's what happened...", and they realize it was the rider's fault, they then automatically say, "That wouldn't have happened to me...I'm a good rider." If that's not the biggest crock of shit I've ever heard, I don't know what is. They just think that they're infallible.
Well, here's a few tips for YOU, motorcyclists. And let me clarify - this isn't the case with each and every one of them...but it's the case with the vast majority I've been around, and that's quite a few, given my location and culture. But since it's YOU that chooses to be on the road in a machine that, when hit, is nearly guaranteed to cause serious injury or death, then it seems to me that YOU need to do a few things to try and prevent that from happening. Instead of always telling the rest of us "how it is", shut the hell up and listen, you egotistical worms...for once.
1. Traffic lanes are designed for ONE vehicle per lane, going from left to right. In other words: stay out of the area between the cars, outside the cars, or even in the same lane as the cars. Period. I don't care if we're stopped at a light, or on the interstate. You're still in violation of the law, and you deserve to be flogged each time you do it.
2. That being said, SLOW DOWN, ASSHOLE! Just because you CAN go 130, doesn't mean you're ALLOWED to. Again, it's more ego...and that goes for all of you who drive like bats out of hell. We ALL want to get where we're going...your destination is the ONLY important one, right? What's going on in YOUR life absolutely MUST trump what's going on in anyone else's on the road, right? Get over yourselves, and start looking into that time-tested virtue: PATIENCE.
3. If you can't use a turn signal, you aren't smart enough to be allowed on our roads. Please make that EXACT statement to the police officer you hand your license over to for revocation...TODAY. Just go do it. Enough said on that one.
4. Wear a helmet. No, I DON'T give a shit that the law says you don't have to. You know why that law exists? Because someone like me said the same thing I did: screw them. If they want to be stupid, let them. Before you know it, they'll be dead and gone, and then the people of worthwhile character can continue on. I won't go into statistics about head impacts, etc. You won't understand them. But I'll say two more things about it: Firstly, this goes for seat belts, too. Read the damned paper. When there's an accident with a fatality, 99.9% of the time, it says that they "weren't wearing their seatbelts". Secondly, alluding to that head impact information, let me say that just because your skull is so thick, it doesn't make you immune. So just wise up and wear a helmet. "I can't see as well." Yeah? Well, slow the hell down like I said, and it's not so tough to see what's going on, is it? I'll guarantee you that you'll see a LOT less when you're dead.
5. Don't ride so close to other vehicles. Same rule as they have...though if you hit someone from behind, you'll fare a LOT worse than the guy in the car will. You'll fly over the car you hit...or into it. So keep a distance. And if they get too close to you, get the hell away from THAT asshole, too.
In short, this "season", I'd like to see the riders start taking responsibility for themselves...for their own actions, their own choices and their own safety. I'm sure there's a huge group out there that does so...but they're not very well exposed, if that's the case. And whatever you do, stop telling ME what to do because YOU choose to ride a motorcycle. When the trends I've talked about even start to reverse a tiny bit - and I wouldn't hold my breath - then fine...you can blame us. But while so many of your people are so blatantly reckless, ignorant, unsafe and with such an unmitigated gall about the whole damned thing, shut the hell up.
[Sorry if this offends anyone, but I have some people who I'd love to have back me up on this: Bruce, Margaret, Billy, Sean, Tommy...but they can't. They're all dead...and all were on motorcycles. Oh, and I can't ever forget Lorrie. That was the name of the woman who died in my arms in Daytona when I arrived on the scene of an accident and tried to use my first aid training (was certified) to save her. It was too late when I got there, and I was 20 years old. She was on a motorcycle with a guy driving it, and he tried to beat a red light...he didn't. The driver of the car was unhurt. The driver of the motorcycle was banged up, but would survive. His wife, Lorrie, wasn't so lucky. She was thrown so far, and at such a high speed, that there's no way her body would survive the impact. The clincher? He wasn't going but 5 miles over the speed limit, which was 55. In a car, she'd be alive, and I wouldn't have the memory of her blood all over me as she breathed her last. To the non-riders, I say: you need to be careful for yourself, too. Be smart. To the riders, I say: that goes triple - QUADRUPLE - for you...because you never know which day is your last.]
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