When my nephew was six years old, we would sometimes play video games together. I tried to make sure he only played age appropriate games, like driving games. I hated that the best driving game ever was certainly not "age appropriate", because of the other things you could do in the game. That game, of course, was Grand Theft Auto. I realized that I could circumvent all of the inappropriate actions in the game, and just introduce him to the unmatched driving physics of the game. Physics so realistic, that you can actually perfect your real life sport driving from this game.
After some time of playing it, he asked what the game was called. I didn't want him to let it slip to the adults that I've been allowing him to play Grand Theft Auto, so I quickly replied "My Little Pony", thinking that would be a very acceptable game title for him to be playing, if he were to mention it to any adult. Also, My Little Pony was before his time, and he had never heard of it. For months after that, he would constantly talk about "My Little Pony", as it was the most fun driving game he had ever encountered. Every time my nephew would talk about My Little Pony, I would have a little chuckle.
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
The Last Racism
Racism is not accepted by society, at all, unless it is against white people. White people are the most privileged people on the planet, and that is undeniable. If a white person referred to a different ethnicity by their most common offensive racial title, then that white person will possibly get attacked, or face legal consequences, or at least disgust every other person who witnesses this. I am glad that this is the case, and hope it continues to gain such reaction. There is one case of racism that is socially acceptable, however, and is commonly used by the media. It seems that anyone, of any race, is permitted to degrade people with red hair; or as they're commonly referred to, gingers.
People seem to feel that people with red hair are so white, that they cannot be offended. I really feel that they are indeed as offended as much as any other race of humans though. If it is a matter of the claim that only "minorities" can be victimized by racism, then we should definitely look at the world population statistics of how many people have red hair. I am going to say that only 1% of the world have red hair, and I am going to now google this to find out for sure. It was actually 2%, according to this reputable seeming source: http://english.pravda.ru/science/tech/17-12-2007/102910-red_haired-0/ - that was totally close enough though.
Now, using this statistic, would it still seem socially acceptable to ridicule this minority? After asking this question, I am going to answer it myself, by saying no. There is no reason we should choose who it is acceptable to be racist against. Racism is unacceptable in all circumstances. Maybe an applicable example would be of a family I met in Langkawi, Malaysia, who were living on a boat. They were a white family, of British decent, who were from South Africa. They were an attractive bunch of people, with very friendly personalities. They were violently discriminated in South Africa by the natives though. The "natives", were very unkind to this family because of the history with South Africa. Because the British people occupied most of the country, the natives felt violated by all white settlers in their land. That is no different than white hillbillies in Alabama hating Mexicans for stealing their jobs. Or, when Italians came to Canada and offered to do labour jobs for less money than the original immigrants, the British.
This subject is so cluttered with examples, that it is very easy to digress into other things. The point I want to make with this post though, is that society should not view racism any differently, just because it is being applied to a race that has not previously had such hard times. We can so easily be blinded to subjects that matter, just because numerous other people make us feel that it's alright. Our media is the worst for that, because people rank it as an authority of the rules. Try not to think of media as that. It is not.
People seem to feel that people with red hair are so white, that they cannot be offended. I really feel that they are indeed as offended as much as any other race of humans though. If it is a matter of the claim that only "minorities" can be victimized by racism, then we should definitely look at the world population statistics of how many people have red hair. I am going to say that only 1% of the world have red hair, and I am going to now google this to find out for sure. It was actually 2%, according to this reputable seeming source: http://english.pravda.ru/science/tech/17-12-2007/102910-red_haired-0/ - that was totally close enough though.
Now, using this statistic, would it still seem socially acceptable to ridicule this minority? After asking this question, I am going to answer it myself, by saying no. There is no reason we should choose who it is acceptable to be racist against. Racism is unacceptable in all circumstances. Maybe an applicable example would be of a family I met in Langkawi, Malaysia, who were living on a boat. They were a white family, of British decent, who were from South Africa. They were an attractive bunch of people, with very friendly personalities. They were violently discriminated in South Africa by the natives though. The "natives", were very unkind to this family because of the history with South Africa. Because the British people occupied most of the country, the natives felt violated by all white settlers in their land. That is no different than white hillbillies in Alabama hating Mexicans for stealing their jobs. Or, when Italians came to Canada and offered to do labour jobs for less money than the original immigrants, the British.
This subject is so cluttered with examples, that it is very easy to digress into other things. The point I want to make with this post though, is that society should not view racism any differently, just because it is being applied to a race that has not previously had such hard times. We can so easily be blinded to subjects that matter, just because numerous other people make us feel that it's alright. Our media is the worst for that, because people rank it as an authority of the rules. Try not to think of media as that. It is not.
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Cupcakes Saved My Life
I once applied for a job that was situated in the town of Barrie, Ontario. I hate the town of Barrie, but I was living with a girl, at her house, in that town. She would consistently urge me to get a job, and living there, I would have to get one in that town. The job I applied for was a Group On like company, that was apparently more high end. You know, the type of company where they get a large group of people to buy your product at a discounted price. They catered to businesses that targeted the more affluent market. When I set up the interview, they booked me a Hilton Hotel in Toronto, of course, at their expense.
I went and spent the night at the Hilton, which was bloody nice, and then had my interview at nine, the next morning. I spoke with a few of the managers from the company before the interview, and they all gave me the impression that there was positive discussion about me. I had good experience and references, and I was very familiar with the nature of the business. Before I showered and got ready, I went out to the parking lot and smoked a joint, to calm my nerves. I was still a bit nervous, even though I was pretty confident I would nail the interview.
It was time for my interview and I went up to the conference room on the fourth floor. I noticed that out of all the other applicants, I was the best dressed. I had a suit and tie, where many of the others simply had casual clothing. My interview was with three people, two women and a man. They welcomed me as if they had been told of me. I was giving all the right answers to their questions, and they were occasionally glancing at each other with impressed looks. I knew what answers they were looking for every time because I had history in a prestigious marketing position, knowing what all the managers say "counted".
It was all going towards a positive final decision, until a moment in my "role playing" call to a customer. They gave me the three different business profiles of who I was going to call. One was a limo company, another was a helicopter rides company, and the third was a cupcake ad. I hated the trend of cupcakes that was happening in 2011, so I went with the helicopter rides company. They said okay, with their first hint of disappointment in me.
We did our cheesy role play call, and I still even said all the right things. They were impressed with everything I showed them in my cold calling style, but I made a mistake I could not compensate for. It was because of the cupcake trend, that they wanted me to choose that business to call. They were designed to cater to businesses exactly like the cupcake one. You end up selling 1,000 cupcakes for the little business, where you could really not do so much for a helicopter rides company.
Walking out of the interview I realized my mistake. I was not going to get the job, because I made the wrong role play call. I was really disappointed, but I couldn't take part in a trend that was created by the government to help the middle class deal with a financial collapse that works very well for the rich. I told my girlfriend that the interview went really well, and we'll see if I get the job. Even though I knew that I wouldn't, I still had to keep her satisfied that I wasn't a lost cause. For a few weeks I kept implying that they might give me a call. It wasn't until about a month later that I finally admitted that they must have found someone else.
I realized long after that disappointment, that my actions practically saved my life. That would have been a horrible disaster if I got that job. First of all, it would have tied me to the town of Barrie, which has always been one of my least favourite places I know. Secondly, it would have put me into a depressing trendy job that would have made me hate myself. Most importantly, it would have kept me in a relationship with that girl, who I wasn't interested in, and truthfully, that I had really started to dislike. I'm not going to say that I would have actually committed suicide if I got that job, but I would have occasionally wanted to.
Sure, there is always a silver lining to every cloud, but I feel like this was more than that. I feel like this was much more than that. It was really like dodging a bullet that was very close to hitting me. I feel like my hatred for the cupcake trend saved my life. Call me an optimist, call me what you will.
I went and spent the night at the Hilton, which was bloody nice, and then had my interview at nine, the next morning. I spoke with a few of the managers from the company before the interview, and they all gave me the impression that there was positive discussion about me. I had good experience and references, and I was very familiar with the nature of the business. Before I showered and got ready, I went out to the parking lot and smoked a joint, to calm my nerves. I was still a bit nervous, even though I was pretty confident I would nail the interview.
It was time for my interview and I went up to the conference room on the fourth floor. I noticed that out of all the other applicants, I was the best dressed. I had a suit and tie, where many of the others simply had casual clothing. My interview was with three people, two women and a man. They welcomed me as if they had been told of me. I was giving all the right answers to their questions, and they were occasionally glancing at each other with impressed looks. I knew what answers they were looking for every time because I had history in a prestigious marketing position, knowing what all the managers say "counted".
It was all going towards a positive final decision, until a moment in my "role playing" call to a customer. They gave me the three different business profiles of who I was going to call. One was a limo company, another was a helicopter rides company, and the third was a cupcake ad. I hated the trend of cupcakes that was happening in 2011, so I went with the helicopter rides company. They said okay, with their first hint of disappointment in me.
We did our cheesy role play call, and I still even said all the right things. They were impressed with everything I showed them in my cold calling style, but I made a mistake I could not compensate for. It was because of the cupcake trend, that they wanted me to choose that business to call. They were designed to cater to businesses exactly like the cupcake one. You end up selling 1,000 cupcakes for the little business, where you could really not do so much for a helicopter rides company.
Walking out of the interview I realized my mistake. I was not going to get the job, because I made the wrong role play call. I was really disappointed, but I couldn't take part in a trend that was created by the government to help the middle class deal with a financial collapse that works very well for the rich. I told my girlfriend that the interview went really well, and we'll see if I get the job. Even though I knew that I wouldn't, I still had to keep her satisfied that I wasn't a lost cause. For a few weeks I kept implying that they might give me a call. It wasn't until about a month later that I finally admitted that they must have found someone else.
I realized long after that disappointment, that my actions practically saved my life. That would have been a horrible disaster if I got that job. First of all, it would have tied me to the town of Barrie, which has always been one of my least favourite places I know. Secondly, it would have put me into a depressing trendy job that would have made me hate myself. Most importantly, it would have kept me in a relationship with that girl, who I wasn't interested in, and truthfully, that I had really started to dislike. I'm not going to say that I would have actually committed suicide if I got that job, but I would have occasionally wanted to.
Sure, there is always a silver lining to every cloud, but I feel like this was more than that. I feel like this was much more than that. It was really like dodging a bullet that was very close to hitting me. I feel like my hatred for the cupcake trend saved my life. Call me an optimist, call me what you will.
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Getting to Know Them
I had a short list of people that I have never met, whom I despised. They are all performers who are worldly famous, and super rich. My reasons for hating them were more related to the nature of the media, than for who they are. Some of these people that I hated are Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, and Justin Bieber. I once saw a magazine cover that listed them as the top earning artists of the world, in the order stated, and that may be related to my decision of hatred. Later on, I heard of a performer named Kesha. She was added to my hate list; which is a very unnecessary list to have.
Here in Malaysia, I watch television again. I hate that about myself, but I cannot fight the urge to do so. In my television watching, I saw appearances of everyone on my list. Lady Gaga did an interview with someone...who I believe was named...Gautier. I saw her much differently after that interview, and thought she was very classy, and elegant, and even, to my surprise, attractive.
Then the next interview I saw was with Katy Perry, who I assumed I would just hate more. It turned out though, that I found her to be really innocent, and much more genuine than I had previously viewed her. I actually felt very sympathetic for her. She got mixed up in the whole jaded music industry because she is actually a genuine musician. After they got a hold of her though, they just exploited her to the full potential.
Then came Justin Bieber, on Ridiculousness, who I only hated for his music. After seeing his appearance, I saw that he is just a normal kid, who is also a genuine musician, that also got exploited to the extreme. The fact that he is also Canadian, and sparked his own discovery with youtube, also earns a little respect from me.
Finally came Kesha, and from my recent experience, I was expecting to hate her less after getting to know her a bit. It turned out that I actually hated her a lot more after seeing an interview. Seriously, the exact opposite happened to what had happened with all of my previous hate-list. I don't want her to be famous anymore. She is really dumb, and a shitty person.
I would like to now apologize to all of the mentioned people. I apologize to the first three for previously hating them, not knowing anything about them except for their popularity. I apologize to Kesha, because after getting to know her a bit better, I genuinely despise who she is as a person. There can be no greater insult than that, so I am truly sorry, Kesha.
Here in Malaysia, I watch television again. I hate that about myself, but I cannot fight the urge to do so. In my television watching, I saw appearances of everyone on my list. Lady Gaga did an interview with someone...who I believe was named...Gautier. I saw her much differently after that interview, and thought she was very classy, and elegant, and even, to my surprise, attractive.
Then the next interview I saw was with Katy Perry, who I assumed I would just hate more. It turned out though, that I found her to be really innocent, and much more genuine than I had previously viewed her. I actually felt very sympathetic for her. She got mixed up in the whole jaded music industry because she is actually a genuine musician. After they got a hold of her though, they just exploited her to the full potential.
Then came Justin Bieber, on Ridiculousness, who I only hated for his music. After seeing his appearance, I saw that he is just a normal kid, who is also a genuine musician, that also got exploited to the extreme. The fact that he is also Canadian, and sparked his own discovery with youtube, also earns a little respect from me.
Finally came Kesha, and from my recent experience, I was expecting to hate her less after getting to know her a bit. It turned out that I actually hated her a lot more after seeing an interview. Seriously, the exact opposite happened to what had happened with all of my previous hate-list. I don't want her to be famous anymore. She is really dumb, and a shitty person.
I would like to now apologize to all of the mentioned people. I apologize to the first three for previously hating them, not knowing anything about them except for their popularity. I apologize to Kesha, because after getting to know her a bit better, I genuinely despise who she is as a person. There can be no greater insult than that, so I am truly sorry, Kesha.
Friday, April 18, 2014
Hatred and Phobia
I have a theory that all of the "straight" people against homosexuality who declare it is a choice, are secretly bisexual. To even consider that it is a choice, suggests that they could choose either one. For a man who is completely heterosexual, he knows that he cannot choose to be attracted to other men. If it were a choice, then all the lonely men who cannot convince a woman to be with them, would simply get with another man while they are searching. In reality though, those lonely, heterosexual men just remain lonely, waiting for a woman.
If a man was able to choose which gender he is attracted to, he would most commonly choose the sexuality that is accepted by society. I don't believe that is a choice we make though. I believe that is something that is naturally occurring and I find it heartless for people to discriminate others for something that was determined from birth. It is the same thing as racism, which was a socially acceptable thing 100 years ago, and took a lot of development to overcome. There are still people who hate races outside of their own, and there will continue to be people who hate sexual preferences that are different than theirs. We just have to make sure societies as a whole don't share bigoted views.
Ladies, I understand how you can see an attractive woman, and feel that although you don't wish to marry her, you would enjoy kissing her. That is not the same as being able to choose your sexual preference though. Attractive women can be provocative even to the people who do not wish to have a life with a woman. I think it is because they are just that attractive. If aliens came to planet Earth, they would probably at least have urges to be sexual with women like Eva Mendez, or Keira Knightley, even though we're a primitive species that still resorts to reproduction by fornication. The aliens that are traveling throughout galaxies probably dismissed fornication as a necessity, and after moving beyond fornication, probably achieved intergalactic travel within the year.
I don't like the term homophobia, because it dismisses a bigot's hatred as fear. If a bigot legitimately fears homosexuals, then he must secretly have at least a mild case of bisexuality. What he fears is his secret desire to act on homosexual urges that he does not approve of. It is wrong to make a person's hatred sound less villainous. If people referred to racists as ethnicphobic, then people might have sympathy for them for being scared. We can't confuse hatred with fear, because fear is forgivable and hatred is not. They are two very different things that should not be related by common word trends.
I'm not saying gay haters have to come out of the closet and embrace their bisexuality, I just wish for these haters to be kind people, and stop having hate for anyone who just has a preference that differs from what is socially common.
If a man was able to choose which gender he is attracted to, he would most commonly choose the sexuality that is accepted by society. I don't believe that is a choice we make though. I believe that is something that is naturally occurring and I find it heartless for people to discriminate others for something that was determined from birth. It is the same thing as racism, which was a socially acceptable thing 100 years ago, and took a lot of development to overcome. There are still people who hate races outside of their own, and there will continue to be people who hate sexual preferences that are different than theirs. We just have to make sure societies as a whole don't share bigoted views.
Ladies, I understand how you can see an attractive woman, and feel that although you don't wish to marry her, you would enjoy kissing her. That is not the same as being able to choose your sexual preference though. Attractive women can be provocative even to the people who do not wish to have a life with a woman. I think it is because they are just that attractive. If aliens came to planet Earth, they would probably at least have urges to be sexual with women like Eva Mendez, or Keira Knightley, even though we're a primitive species that still resorts to reproduction by fornication. The aliens that are traveling throughout galaxies probably dismissed fornication as a necessity, and after moving beyond fornication, probably achieved intergalactic travel within the year.
I don't like the term homophobia, because it dismisses a bigot's hatred as fear. If a bigot legitimately fears homosexuals, then he must secretly have at least a mild case of bisexuality. What he fears is his secret desire to act on homosexual urges that he does not approve of. It is wrong to make a person's hatred sound less villainous. If people referred to racists as ethnicphobic, then people might have sympathy for them for being scared. We can't confuse hatred with fear, because fear is forgivable and hatred is not. They are two very different things that should not be related by common word trends.
I'm not saying gay haters have to come out of the closet and embrace their bisexuality, I just wish for these haters to be kind people, and stop having hate for anyone who just has a preference that differs from what is socially common.
Saturday, April 12, 2014
Control
Some humans need to have control over other humans. The least powerful of these humans can only control their spouse, or their children, or the humans in their immediate surroundings. Some humans, however, make it a career of controlling as many other humans as they possibly can. These humans become police officers or politicians. Like all of the false things in life that humans think will bring them happiness, more and more is always required. As everyone in that situation finds, more money, more control, or more things, never brings them the happiness that they expect it will.
Sadly, there are more who want to be controlled. I think Annie Lennox said it best with that Eurythmics song, Sweet Dreams. It sounds like it really refers to the Sado Masochism mentality. Beyond the realm of sexual fetishes though, comes the people who need a more structured control over masses, not just one human. These humans have a disorder, but seeing how society views personalities now, I imagine we can't refer to that as a disorder. They are just..."different". If they crave the domination of humans, then we just have to accept that.
For politicians who want to control society simply for their own wealth, we can class that as a mental illness. We can group it with the addictions that are commonly treated. They only order people to be harmed and imprisoned to advance their careers and earn them money. For the police who are there to "serve and protect", it is a sign of very poor character to be harming the non-violent individuals just because they choose to.
Sadly, there are more who want to be controlled. I think Annie Lennox said it best with that Eurythmics song, Sweet Dreams. It sounds like it really refers to the Sado Masochism mentality. Beyond the realm of sexual fetishes though, comes the people who need a more structured control over masses, not just one human. These humans have a disorder, but seeing how society views personalities now, I imagine we can't refer to that as a disorder. They are just..."different". If they crave the domination of humans, then we just have to accept that.
For politicians who want to control society simply for their own wealth, we can class that as a mental illness. We can group it with the addictions that are commonly treated. They only order people to be harmed and imprisoned to advance their careers and earn them money. For the police who are there to "serve and protect", it is a sign of very poor character to be harming the non-violent individuals just because they choose to.
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Don't ever...call me...crazy
I once had a girlfriend who I was having a discussion with, and she said something pretty zany. I don't remember what she said, but my response was playful in saying, "ha ha, you're crazy", as I would have said to any of my other friends or family if they uttered the same words. It was something as simple as, I don't like peanut butter, and because I love peanut butter so much, I would say, "you're crazy". Her follow up to that though, was a dead serious statement of, "Don't ever...call me...crazy". My instinctive, immediate response to that was "Only crazy people say that". After that was ten minutes of dead silence where neither of us could socially lubricate the situation.
For whatever reason I said "you're crazy", I did not mean it like, "you belong in an insane asylum", or even, "you're mentally ill". No, I meant it as every person says it to other people that they are comfortable with. After saying it though, neither of us felt anything close to comfort. If you have never thought of yourself as "crazy", whatever that means, then you would not mind at all if someone called you crazy. The same would go if you are a heterosexual, and someone calls you gay, it probably wouldn't bother you at all. The only people who would be seriously bothered by being called anything, are people who have personally questioned that previously.
I think the social label that has been created for "crazy" is just misunderstood. Someone who stands on the street corner and yells to strangers how the world is going to end soon, would be a very legitimate case of crazy. Sure, the world is going to end relatively soon, and everyone knows that deep down, but yelling it to strangers on the street is what classifies that person as crazy. If you have troubles with a legitimate mental illness, you might see the word "crazy" as an attack on you. Nine times out of ten though, it is a playful comment.
I would never call someone crazy if they had been admitted to a mental hospital. I wouldn't even use the term with someone who is having mild emotional issues. I don't use the word crazy to refer to any form of mental illness. I would only use the term when speaking with someone who I am close to, who I would assume is completely aware of the context. Somehow I didn't know the girl I was dating well enough to predict her reaction to a friendly comment. We rarely know people as well as we think we know them, and that is confirmed quite frequently for many people.
For whatever reason I said "you're crazy", I did not mean it like, "you belong in an insane asylum", or even, "you're mentally ill". No, I meant it as every person says it to other people that they are comfortable with. After saying it though, neither of us felt anything close to comfort. If you have never thought of yourself as "crazy", whatever that means, then you would not mind at all if someone called you crazy. The same would go if you are a heterosexual, and someone calls you gay, it probably wouldn't bother you at all. The only people who would be seriously bothered by being called anything, are people who have personally questioned that previously.
I think the social label that has been created for "crazy" is just misunderstood. Someone who stands on the street corner and yells to strangers how the world is going to end soon, would be a very legitimate case of crazy. Sure, the world is going to end relatively soon, and everyone knows that deep down, but yelling it to strangers on the street is what classifies that person as crazy. If you have troubles with a legitimate mental illness, you might see the word "crazy" as an attack on you. Nine times out of ten though, it is a playful comment.
I would never call someone crazy if they had been admitted to a mental hospital. I wouldn't even use the term with someone who is having mild emotional issues. I don't use the word crazy to refer to any form of mental illness. I would only use the term when speaking with someone who I am close to, who I would assume is completely aware of the context. Somehow I didn't know the girl I was dating well enough to predict her reaction to a friendly comment. We rarely know people as well as we think we know them, and that is confirmed quite frequently for many people.
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