One of the things that burns me more than anything else on the face of this planet is when someone tells me that not only do I have to do something, but that I have to like it. That's just a sure fire way to piss me off. Over the last ten years here in America that's what I keep hearing though.

You will like all races, religions, and people's sexual orientation.

That's what I keep hearing. To be truthful, I'm fucking sick of it.

A few years back I was watching TV and caught a local news piece about some now forgotten racial issue in a local school system. To paraphrase, the leader of the black community for that school said this,"...we have to get rid of racism in the homes of all Americans..."

That comment disturbed me greatly. I don't know if its because I'm a white male, or if it's because I've got a warped sense of America, but that little quip really pissed me off. See, in this country people commonly make the mistake thinking that if their mantra is right and good, then it should just be so. I couldn't disagree more.

People in this country have the right to be fucked up. I cannot stress that enough. They really do have that right. If they want to be homophobic, racist, sheep abusing, alcoholics then fine, they can be...just as long as they hurt no one else and they break no law.
To me that's what it really comes down to. I don't care how much marching someone does, how many sabers they rattle, or how much venom they spew, as long as no one gets directly affected by it...who cares?
This is America for fuck's sake. Ya know, the home of free thought. Last time I checked, the Aryan Nation and Black Panthers can march on the same streets to spread their philosophies(which are both bullshit).

So why is it that one particular line of thinking is supposedly ok, while another is not, or is any less valid? Follow me on this:

As a society, the USA openly is prejudiced and biased. Yep, it's true dear reader. Federal, state, and local governing institutions show they have bias against people everyday. Namely, people that break the law. Everything from folks going over the speed limit to serial rapists. Waitaminute...I thought prejudice was a bad thing? Well when it deals with people getting hurt, either physically, financially, or even emotionally, our government feels that it has to step in and punish those that have caused harm, and rightly so.
Let's face it, if you have a child and some whacked-out crack addict sexually assaults and then kills that child, you want something to be done about it.

"Oh but Death, that's just common sense," I hear ya say. And I agree, it is common sense. So basically, what we are saying is that prejudice is common sense in some cases.

When most people hear the word prejudice they normally think of a racial tone. However, there are a lot more prejudices out there than just race. There's class, age, and even music prejudice. I case you've never read any of these articles before you may not be aware that I absolutely detest hippies. As far as I'm concerned every single one of them can die now, and I mean right now, and I will not shed tear one. In fact, I will dance with glee on their graves with Fear blasting in the background. I'm not just prejudiced against hippies, I fuckin hate em.
Now, you may think I'm an asshole for saying that, or that I've got some unresolved issues of my own and I'm just taking them out on a particular group of people. I am an asshole, have no doubt, but my lack of love for the unwashed sandal-wearers has much merit, but that's not the point. The point is about to be made.

Here's some of the things that I think were going through people's minds as they read the last two paragraphs:
"Great, another hippie basher."
"Right on, Dude."
"Eh, I don't hate em, but whatever, I don't like em all that much either."
"Why does he hate people like me so much."
But I doubt that many of you were outright pissed off. I seriously doubt that many of you found the seeds of righteous indignation taking root. How many of you just got really really pissed off? I'm betting few, if any. Now, here's where it gets interesting. Let's play a little game I like to call fill in the blanks. Here's how we play it:

Below is the same two paragraphs with the word "hippie" taken out, instead replace them with the words in the column below and think about how you feel when you read the paragraps with the substitutions.


I case you've never read any of these articles before you may not be aware that I absolutely detest __________. As far as I'm concerned every single one of them can die now, and I mean right now, and I will not shed tear one. In fact, I will dance with glee on their graves with Fear blasting in the background. I'm not just prejudiced against _________, I fuckin hate em.
niggers
queers
spics
chinks
towelheads

Ok, now that you're all pissed off, I would just like to point out that I don't use those terms in regular conversation, but I figured they were fitting for the exercise. Maybe some of you are beginning to get a clue as to the point of this little piece, but for those of you that haven't yet, let's try that same game again...with a different list of substitutions:

I case you've never read any of these articles before you may not be aware that I absolutely detest __________. As far as I'm concerned every single one of them can die now, and I mean right now, and I will not shed tear one. In fact, I will dance with glee on their graves with Fear blasting in the background. I'm not just prejudiced against _________, I fuckin hate em.

Rednecks
Child Molestors
Rapists
Skinheads
Klan Members
Yuppies
Obscenely rich people

Prejudice exists in this country on a nationwide scale. None of us are exempt. There is no man or woman that can sit there and say, "I have no prejudices,". It simply is not possible. And I would go further to say that prejudice is a good thing. If not for prejudice child molestors and murderers would be walking the streets all willy nilly to and fro. I guess my point is really a question...why are some forms of prejudice acceptable, when others are not even considered to be tolerable?
Sure some are easier than others to understand...but does that make a prejudice any less valid? Any less...and this is where it gets weird, even for me...less American?
I find it interesting that people who preach acceptance can't accept those that can't accept others. If we are supposed to love each other for our differences, then why is it not kosher to love those that hate? In the english language, to accept means exactly that...to embrace openly. And total acceptance means to embrace all, unconditionally and without exeptions.

Yet, in today's society, those that preach acceptance are awfully picky about who's deserving to be accepted.

Now, this is not to say that I march with the Aryans or I think that the KKK has the right idea. This is just an issue that leaves me scratching my head. So many times I have to hear about what is "right" and what is "wrong" in a person's character.
Here's my thing; who the fuck is anyone to tell me how to think? If you tell me how to think, then you're a fascist, which as I understand is not an American concept. What's next? Only people that are Baptist can be "accepted?" I'm thinking that'd be a pretty stupid thing to do...but that's not much different is it? Or is it?

Maybe it's society. Maybe it's about the entire of a society acknowledging that certain kinds of behavior are completely unacceptable...like the 2343209432 times aforementioned rapists and puppy killers. And that's where we get into trouble...because society, as a whole, will never fully accept some people. Sad but true. There will always be those that can't stand gays, blacks, immigrants, and other minorities in this country. And without them...without their willingness to be accepting...then I don't think that what they think can be discredited just because you or I may disagree with it. In fact, at the least, it has to be considered as part of American Culture. Fucked up I know, but when you open up ye old "Objectivity Cavity" it does make sense.

I don't know, it's just something that bugs me, that we here the good ole US of A can openly criticize some people but are unholy pariahs for doing the same exact thing to an entirely different group of people. To me that isn't equal. And I thought that's what America was supposed to be about in 2003.

(shrug)

Enjoy.