Crossing the Line

Tonight, I was wondering a fundamental philosophical question... What happens when you allow your principles to override your common sense?

Normally, this would seem like a rather strange thing to wonder about. One would like to think that principles and common sense would mutually coexist without contradiction. However, one honest look at the world around you, will prove that this isn't the case.

When stripped of all logical thought, and driven by pure emotion, even the most noble and worthy of causes become perverted and corrupt. It's easy (and often wonderful) to want to stand up for basic human rights... Even when you may not fully agree with the person/people you're defending. The problem is, where do you draw the line? (And a line must always be drawn.)

At what point, do you stop being a champion for liberty, and become the very thing you're opposing? There are several people and groups whom have crossed this line (,most without seemingly knowing it), and are now every bit as bad as the things they once fought against. Not surprisingly, the vast majority of them tend to be Liberal or Progressive in nature.

On its surface, there's absolutely nothing wrong with Liberalism. It's an ideology of high ideals, and strong moral principles. (Honestly, who can debate that rights and freedoms should be shared by all equally?) It uses emotion to humanize our laws and society, while forcing us to face issues we would often rather shy away from.

Liberalism gives a voice to those who would normally be ignored, and defends those who are typically forgotten or oppressed. But, what happens when the so-called downtrodden hold extremist views? Or, are only playing the victim for notoriety and disruption's sake? What happens when defending the rights of the individual (or a minority) damages and restricts the rights of the whole (or a greater majority)?

This is the tragic failure of the modern Progressive movement (and quite possibly, modern American society in general). Almost no one takes the time to look beyond their outrage, to uncover the truth, or the bigger picture.

Over fifty years ago, civil rights leaders marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr peacefully, to end segregation, and give everyone equal rights. Today, many of those surviving activists are promoting segregation and violence, by marching every time a young black drug dealer/thug is shot fighting with the police. You don't see or hear from them when a white thug/ criminal is shot. Where is their outrage when over 4,000 black people a year are murdered by other blacks in Chicago alone? Why are the "rights" of a criminal/suspect refusing to comply with the law, more important than those of the entire community around him? Why is it acceptable to protest and riot with slogans like "Black Lives Matter", yet it's deemed racist to say "All Lives Matter" (and beyond unspeakable to declare "White Lives Matter")?

Another prime example of crossing the line... Recently, I read a story about a man who drives through a small town every day to get to his job. He's an atheist and became offended when the town put up a cross and nativity scene on the courthouse lawn. He got the ACLU to sue the town into removing the Christmas display, even though he didn't even live there.

Now, I'm sorry he got offended, and I hate that he felt as though religion was being forced upon him. But, what about the actual 40,000 or so citizens of the town? I mean, they live there for crying out loud, shouldn't they have a voice in this? What bout their freedoms of speech, expression and religion? Why are the feelings of one man (who isn't even a resident) more important than those of tens of thousands?

Go ahead, tell me he isn't the only one who feels that way on the issue. I'll agree with you, then show you that for every one who thinks the way he (and the ACLU) does, there are millions more who disagree.

It's time to wake up, and start thinking with our heads, rather than our bleeding hearts. Common sense isn't dead... it's just on life support. Don't help them to pull the plug.

Update

It's been awhile since my last post, and a lot has happened both nationally, and personally. I will attempt to post more whenever I can, however count on infrequent entries, as I may not always have the time.

A Trip to the Museum

I took my son to a Science Museum yesterday, and the exhibits were both entertaining and educational, for the most part. However, they had a "special exhibit" going this month (entitled: "Race: Are We Really So Different?"). I was apprehensive about going in there with my autistic and impressionable son, given the current climate in America today, but my wife and I took him in anyway.

Most of the displays were well informed, and insightful. Even the ones covering slavery and segregation were fairly balanced. (My son thought it was interesting to learn that all humans originated in Africa.)

Then, I got to the display in the back of the room, the one I hoped wouldn't be there, and dreaded. It was a video of different people, of different ethnic backgrounds, talking about their views and perceptions. Most of them were interesting and made me think.

However, when the Caucasian came up, it was an older man who started off by saying that it took him 53 years to realize how much his color had given him privileges and advantages black people never had.

If you've read any of my previous posts, you probably know that I walked out, right then and there. But (against my better judgement) I kept my mouth closed on the subject.

In an earlier entry, I described my childhood (and I know several others who have gone through similar circumstances). I described being bullied and picked on due to my skin color and poverty.

"White Privilege" is a racist lie, made up by people too lazy to elevate their own circumstances in life, so they feel the need to tear others down. It's what I've started calling "justifiable racism", where someone feels they are entitled to be bigoted. And, like all racism, it's wrong.

Rather than throw a huge fit, and demand that they remove the exhibit (the way those on the Left frequently do). I exercised my common sense and simply walked out. Even  though what they are preaching is disgusting and hurtful, it is still their right to say it. Just as it is my right not to listen or participate.

That's the way our rights are supposed to work. You cannot defend only the rights of those you agree with. You must accept and defend everyone's equally, regardless, or you all lose.

Charlotte Riots

Here we go again... Once more, an American city is being torn to pieces and destroyed by people claiming to want justice because of a lie. Once more, there have been attempts made to let the truth be told, only to be ignored and shouted down by race baiters and the misinformed.

What we do know is that, 43 year old Keith Lamont Scott was confronted in his car by the Charlotte police. When approached, he became uncooperative and combative, refusing to comply with the officers' orders which resulted in him being fatally shot.

The first reports of the incident claimed he was unarmed, and simply reading a book, while waiting for his son to get home from school. We now know that this report was untrue.

Not only did Scott have a gun (which he refused to release after several commands from the cops), we're now hearing that there wasn't a book anywhere near the scene of the shooting. It was a lie his daughter told to the press to generate sympathy and outrage over her father's death. Several civilian eye witnesses have stated that the police gave him every chance to surrender peacefully, and he refused to follow their instructions, or comply with their demands.

The truly sad (and sickening) part of all this, is the community's reaction. Even before the details were known, they began taking to the streets, rioting and looting. They even went as far as to attack police officers, with large mobs destroying patrol vehicles and brutally beating 16 cops.

Scott's mother called for peaceful, non-violent protests. And, the mayor, along with the chief of police, tried to inform the public of Scott's gun, his combative actions and that the officer that shot him was himself a black man. Not surprisingly, the rioters and race baiters ignored all of this, and began tearing their city apart a second night.

So far, no one group or so-called "activist" (like an Al Sharpton, or a Black Lives Matter) has been seen out in front, driving this particular protest. But that doesn't mean they're not there. Nearly every time we see demonstrations with this kind of chaos and violence, there are ringleaders.

The people organizing these riots don't care about the truth, or about racial harmony and unity. They're not out for "social justice", or any other catchy buzz-words that they only pay lip service to. They're only interest is division and hate. It's how they earn their living and stay relevant.

I am well aware that some people would gladly call me a racist for even talking about this issue, or pointing out the truth behind the commonly held lies. It's another tired, old tactic of the true race baiters... shut down any opposing view, by playing the race card and screaming "racist" when someone says something they don't like, regardless of how true it may be.

The truth is, the vast majority of these police shootings (not all, but most) are righteous and legitimate. In most of the cases reported (such as Ferguson Missouri and Charlotte North Carolina), the "victim" of the shooting was the aggressor, resisting arrest, and defying police orders. Despite the narrative being told to the black community and the general public, unjustifiable police shootings (based upon race, or otherwise) is extremely rare. And, a white male is still three times more likely to be shot by a cop than any other group.

I'll say it again... until there is truth, there can be no unity. The lies we've been told for decades, are only meant to keep us divided. It's time to wake up, stop this kind of stupidity.

Deplorable

Last week, Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton referred to "at least 50%" of Donald Trump's supporters as a "basket of deplorables". Naturally, even her cheerleaders in the mainstream media couldn't shield her from the firestorm she unleashed.

I'm not deplorable because I want my country's borders secure, and expect everyone within those borders to follow the law. I'm not deplorable just because I want our military and veterans to receive better healthcare and benefits than people who are here illegally. Wanting to put my country and its allies ahead of nations that want to destroy us, doesn't make me deplorable. Neither does putting the lives of our police officers above those of criminals and thugs who resist arrest and put the public in danger.

When asked to clarify her remarks, Clinton and her advisors have half-heartedly apologized stating she shouldn't have used the 50% statistic. (Notice how they didn't take back the entire "deplorable" remark?) She actually attacked a large portion of the population (just as Obama did in his infamous "clinging to God and their guns" remark), and still her supporters blindly follow her and make lame, thin excuses. (Hillary supporters can put more spin on an issue, than an EF5 tornado.)

In short, Clinton is nothing short of a disgusting, corrupt and lying career politician, that needs to be imprisoned. This is only one more thing in an ever growing list of reasons why no one (Liberal or Conservative) should ever vote for her. And, if she wins in November, I want you to know in advance, that anyone who voted for her OWNS every bad thing that happens in the next four years. No excuses, no exceptions (including the popular but ignorant "we didn't know...").

September 11th

It was a chilly September morning, fifteen years ago, when the America I grew up with officially came to an end.

I can still recall where I was, and exactly what I was doing when I first heard the news... I was on a scissor lift, 25 feet in the air, wiring a new building at work. A man came running through the work area screaming about how "they" attacked New York. (He was a well known paranoid, and there was no telling who "they" were at the time.) I told him that no one was going to attack New York, and then I got the call to report to the office. When I arrived, the first tower and the Pentagon had already been hit. The TV was running a live report on, and to my amazement, I watched a plane strike the second tower. I couldn't believe what I had just seen, nobody could.

We didn't know then, how much our world was about to change. We had no way of knowing that our illusions of safety were over forever. All we knew, in those horrible moments, was that we were all Americans. There was no white or black, there wasn't any Republicans or Democrats, no Conservatives or Liberals. We were truly one.

In those moments, we discovered exactly what it means to be an American. We pledged then, that we would never forget... but we have. So many of us don't seem to remember the anger and outrage we felt then. So many have forgotten the unity and brotherhood we all felt at the sight of so many innocents losing their lives at the hands of cowards.

I haven't forgotten.

The Real Story on "White Privilege"

Let me tell you a little something about "white privilege"...

I was born a poor, white kid with hyper-emotionalism, in a small southern town. Throughout the majority of my childhood, my family lived in housing projects and low-income neighborhoods, where we lived feast or famine, hand to mouth. And yes, most of these neighborhoods were "predominantly black" sections of town.

As if being constantly bullied and humiliated in school, due to my sensitivity and poverty wasn't bad enough, I was tormented all the time on the bus and in my own neighborhood, because of the color of my skin. I was constantly singled out, shoved and jumped by two or three guys at a time, to the point where life was often a living hell.

It didn't help that my dad was an abusive drunk, who was also a very outspoken racist (the genuine article, not a Black Lives Matter/Al Sharpton victim). So, most of the time, I had nowhere to turn for any peace, and was always being beaten on by someone.

Thankfully, there were a few good people in my life, who made things at least bearable. My mother, my current wife (and childhood crush) and my best friend Nick. I honestly believe that without each of them, I wouldn't be here today (or, at least not the man I am now).

I can remember, after my dad left, things got harder. There were times when we actually had to dig in the couch cushions to find enough change to eat that night. My mom taught me perseverance and doing whatever it takes to get out of a bad situation.

There were times, when I would go to school black and blue from the beatings my father gave me, and I would see the love of my life. She would do anything she could to make me laugh and would never allow me to give up on myself or put myself down. She taught me the value of love, and feeling like you matter to someone.

And then there was Nick... we hung out at each other's homes all the time, and he would actually have my back and stand up for me against anyone who picked on me in the neighborhood. We weren't like brothers, we were brothers. He taught me that stereotypes are wrong, and not everyone of a certain race is alike (whether you're white, black or other). Once, he even had a bottle of baby powder dumped over his head on the bus, because he hung out with me, and was "acting white".

Anyway, the moral of my personal story is this... Don't you dare speak to me about how "privileged" I am because of the color of my skin. Don't try to tell me how white people are all racist, or can't understand oppression and discrimination. And do not get in my face, telling me that the life of a criminal, or a two-bit thug, matters more than mine.

I'm not a racist because I believe that our laws should be upheld, or that people should conduct themselves in a civilized way (no matter what color they are). I'm not prejudice, just because I don't accept poverty as an excuse for lawlessness, and believe that everyone should work for the things they want on life (whether it's a new car, or a better community).

If you were to meet me now, you'd see a white, middle class man with a shiny new car, and a great family. Don't mistake that for privilege, when you have no idea about all the fighting and crap I had to go through to get here. Don't judge me (or anyone else) until you know every step of the journey.

So, you can take all your "white privilege" B.S. and flush it down where it truly belongs.