The (NOT SO) Skinny Girl

Poster:  I really don't get how people can equate BLM/Black Panthers to neo-nazis/KKK/nazis/alt-right. They are not the same thing. The thing that troubles me is that it's so many people on my feed doing this whether it be with statuses or comments on statuses. I really don't get how you can come to this conclusion. Boy oh boy... if you don't get how people come to these conclusions, it's because you are not actually listening to the other person speak. Here we go! (My response) BLM IS a hate group. They readily say things like "Whites are genetic defects, are 'subhuman', and should be 'wiped out'". Listen to some of the rhetoric of the most powerful partners of BLM. Co- Founder Yusra Khogali? She uses her status and fame to call for more violence by her extreme group. She is known for is known for her public diatribes and violent rhetoric. She led the disruption of a gay pride parade- who ARE AS or MORE oppressed than the blacks. A...

There are so many things to compare and fight for in this day and age. Comparing women vs men and fighting for equal rights. Comparing legal citizens vs illegal citizens and fighting for their rights. Comparing gay vs straight, humanitarian outlook vs self-survival outlook, or classic gender assignment vs new age gender assignment.... really the list can go on but I'm already face-palming and shaking my head.... WHY? Because the bottom line is we are all HUMANS (right??) and we all have certain unalienable rights- in my opinion best outlined as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness... and then to be sub-categorized accordingly. What I would like to focus on, in light of February being BLACK HISTORY MONTH, is the Black vs White conundrum that all people are faced with. Last night I attended an event, and I was the minority. Me. White, suburban ME. I was out to promote a dear friend of mine and have a good time. I was out of place and felt it. There were a hand...

As the nation celebrates  # MLK  Jr day — some would say it's important to note the current movement, that his people are still fighting the battle he started. They may go as far as to remind us all that people today are more critical of the movement for black lives than they were of the civil rights movement in the 60's. And then they ask-- How do we change that? ~~~Here we go... you want 2 cents? I got it!~~~ I think that what most people in this day and age forget, is that MLK Jr WAS A PACIFIST- That is probably the big difference. He was also educated. He calculated his words. He calculated the response to his words. He calculated his response to their response. He thought things out and always stayed true to his core self- being a pacifist (which means he wholeheartedly believed that war and violence are unjustifiable). And thus, he will always be remembered as the biggest ACTIVIST. His demeanor, his actions, his very well thought out words and marches were the...

So think about this If you feel you are being harassed- you can tell your supervisor, you can tell management, you can call the police. And you EXPECT something to be done- and you expect something to be done in your favor. And if the people you tell don't do something about it that IS in your favor... you can wreck them. If it's a business- you tell people bad things about them and get them to never go there. If it's in your office, you can go to someone higher up and have the person you originally spoke to reprimanded for not handling your situation the way that you wanted it. If someone is bothering you in a public place- or even worse, in your own house- you can call the police and most likely they will be removed. Apparently that works for you if you are the one having done the calling on the police. Apparently that's a huge problem if you are the one the police are "coming after". I don't know how to put it another way. But I do know this- On...

I can see the point to protesting, I really can. The right to protest injustice is actually ingrained into our culture- down to the very roots of America. There is something very wrong with our society and scary things happening at an alarming rate. This is APPARENT. There is UNREST. There is INEQUALITY . There are things happening that have NO RHYME OR REASON. To an open minded and accepting individual, there is a huge problem and no solution in sight. I don't want to pick sides. I want to say that both sides have an equal responsibility in escalating this situation. Point fingers all you want, but cops don't gun down people who are standing there minding their own business. That has not happened ONCE. Cops don't go after people because without REASON. Whatever the reason is. A merchant called the cops because of loitering and dealing going on in his parking lot, it resulted in a death. A bystander called the cops to report an abandoned vehicle in the middle...

I will not bash anyone - even though I really want to. But- positive vibes win http://www.dallasnews.com/news/metro/20150131-ex-nfl-linebacker-gets-a-fresh-start-giving-others-a-fresh-start.ece And there is a video on Upworthy Here's how I see it. Former NFL player- not even a super good one and he kinda knows that- he got injured, got addicted to the painkillers, knew he had a problem and he asked people to help him. He embraced it and got himself help and made himself better. He re-evaluated his life and said "what can I be if I can't be a football player"? He decided to start an elite athlete training gym. Pretty cool. He found a way to exist without drugs, without football, and made something of himself. And then one day he sees someone way down in the pits of despair. He finds out the guy is an army veteran, he's addicted to drugs because they stopped giving him the painkillers, and he sleeps with a gun - just in case. That's when something mira...

I will not bash anyone - even though I really want to. But- positive vibes win http://www.dallasnews.com/news/metro/20150131-ex-nfl-linebacker-gets-a-fresh-start-giving-others-a-fresh-start.ece And there is a video on Upworthy Here's how I see it. Former NFL player- not even a super good one and he kinda knows that- he got injured, got addicted to the painkillers, knew he had a problem and he asked people to help him. He embraced it and got himself help and made himself better. He re-evaluated his life and said "what can I be if I can't be a football player"? He decided to start an elite athlete training gym. Pretty cool. He found a way to exist without drugs, without football, and made something of himself. And then one day he sees someone way down in the pits of despair. He finds out the guy is an army veteran, he's addicted to drugs because they stopped giving him the painkillers, and he sleeps with a gun - just in case. That's when something mira...

After talking about this whole thing in depth with my husband... I know what my point in this all is. I wrote a Facebook post and someone seemed disappointed in how I was viewing this. I realize that hiding behind a keyboard, you lose your emotion and you lose a sense of what you are trying to say. SOOOOO here goes. It's not about his right to stand or sit. It's not about his opinion or his feelings. For me, it's about the way he went about it. He didn't put the time into thinking about his approach to this topic. He had the power, the media, and the presence to make a point and make a difference. And he took action- he sat. And the cameras zoomed in and they saw him and people started wondering, people started asking. They asked if he was injured, sick, what could be triggering him to sit like this. And then he got the opportunity to explain. I guess for me, if you have to explain why you did what you did- you missed the big opportunity to make a po...

So my husband told me over the weekend some FB player refuses to stand for national anthem... and I was like what why? I mean the national Anthem is a song about a country full of freedoms and bravery. He's using his freedom, but where is the bravery in this act? And then Monday I find out it's one of the higher paid and more influential guys who did this. And his reason is "racial inequality in America" and more so the whole police brutality thing going on. He thinks sitting  down during the national anthem is going to solve anything.  Here's part of our convo: ....but NFL and 49ers support him?!?!?!  :/ husband: It doesn't matter... it causes a rift in your team. Some people feel strongly about the flag. Fans, coaches, teammates. If your teammates feel strongly you create a division in the locker room. That causes sides.. which causes drama. Telling you right now he won't be on the team much longer. There's no "I" in team. This is no place...

Here's a thought: How often have you encountered a police officer? me: Possibly too often. I get pulled over a lot. There are often officer patrolling events I am at. I'm in cities a lot where they are working traffic. I also have one as a family member and a few as close personal acquaintances. What is your overall opinion of the officers you have had contact with? me: I'd say they're about 50% douschey and 50% stand up people. Even a stand up person can be a dousche sometimes. Even a dousche can be a stand up person sometimes. My officer family member would give the shirt off his back, is a family man, probably has his douschey "I'm a cop" moments but otherwise is a great guy. ONE TIME... I got pulled over and an officer approached my vehicle with his hand on his gun and yes, I feared for my life. I was afraid and scared and I didn't know why he would do this. After speaking with my family member about the incident, he said that the officer I e...

Scenario: I'm at the park, walking my dog, and I see a group of disabled people on an outing. They are all smiling. They are happy. They smile at me, and smile at my dog. And one woman steps forward and asks "May I pet your dog?". She's so very polite and I tell her yes he's friendly but he might jump but don't be frightened he loves to give kisses. And she reaches down, gently, and he embraces her. And he kisses her as if she's the most perfect wonderful person he has ever met. And this is basically how he greets everyone. And she tells me he is handsome, and she tells me she likes my hair, and I tell her I love her bright colored sneakers. And she says thank you and I tell her to have a wonderful day. And we part ways. I know I was smiling. My dog was smiling. She was clearly smiling the whole time. I wish everyone had more interactions like this. #1- Smiles for days. SMILES. FOR. DAYS. I said to my husband this weekend "Do I have anything in my...

So recently it's all about BLACK lives matter, LGBT lives matter, BLUE (police) lives matter....the question begs to be answered: WHY DON'T ALL LIVES MATTER? When we were children, we would tell our parents that we had a new friend. They were nice to us. They shared their snack. They were a boy or  a girl, and they had brown/blonde/red hair.... they had some distinguishing characteristics. Most likely, we picked them out because #1 they were nice to us and #2 they stood out to us. Maybe because of their characteristics, but probably because of their personality. I really don't think I ever came home and told my parents I had a black/white/purple (whatever) friend- that didn't matter. But maybe when my parents finally met that special friend they said something like "Oh they're Asian" or "oh the little black boy". It took an adult's perception to put a gender or raced based category to my new friend. And then you grow up doing that- Classify...