A post of midget proportions

Sorry for the absence of the last few days. I am fighting a cold and just took some cold medicine and am about to pass out. So I offer this post that is so short the no matter what type of attention you pay, you'll probably get change back.

I wrote previously about problems caused by those who are too sensitive to politically incorrect words and language. It doesn't seem to be getting any better. Look here, here or here and dread the future. If these headlines don't make you want to toss some dwarf cookies I don't know what will.

At least we can tease those global warming idiots about being wrong on the disappearance of sea ice.

Can you fit a square pigeon in to a round hole?

Take a look at this guy…



And this guy….



And him.



Admit it, the second you saw these photos several beliefs regarding them entered your mind. Your personal biases exposed themselves. All three images were found by searching internet dating sites. In no particular order I found them:

One is from Yahoo Personals. Posing as an adult woman, as opposed to the 16 year old cheerleader I usually portray in online, I looked for a man with a post-graduate degree, full time employment and making over $100,000 a year.

One is from Gay.com where I searched for a man in my zip code. No other options for a search were provided. I guess the guys on that site aren’t as picky as the women on Yahoo. More options might have been available had I actually joined the site but…I wasn’t about to do that.

The third is from LDS Singles.com and I looked for a guy 21-61 in my zip code. I guess the Mormons are about as picky as the gay guys although I did have to join, the site not the religion, in order to view any results. I signed up Mrs. Bald Man just in case the missionaries are about to be dispatched to our house.

My lawyer says it is better that I don’t post the links directly to their profiles nor should I identify which one came from which search. I will let your imaginations run wild as to who is who but I will say my lawyer is the one who told me Gay.com existed.

The point of this exercise is to begin a discussion about stereotypes and biases. I’ll admit it, I place people in to pigeon holes within 3 minutes of meeting them and I base a lot of the interactions I have with them according to which hole they've been assigned. I like to think I am good at it. In fairness, the three photos above were picked because they make a snap judgment virtually impossible. I am sure if you actually met the three men in question the site that they were found on would be as clear as the nose on a person of Middle Eastern descent whose religious affiliation is not Muslim’s face.

In today’s climate of political correctness and diversity training, stereotyping and profiling are practices so infuriating they’d make my lawyer throw a hissy fit. But face it; stereotypes exist because they reflect a predilection or commonality that resides within a certain community. Often there are historical or social reasons for the development of these traits and, over time, given the intermingling of races, societies and cultures that we have today, the prominence of these traits are lessened. That said, stereotypes provide us with a baseline on which to form an opinion that is as clear as any photograph taken by a Japanese tourist.

Not every Italian is mute without his hands. Not every Irishman is a big drinker. Not everyone who voted for Obama was ill-informed and stupid. There’s a large enough percentage of each of these though that makes there continued use as a reference valid and accurate.

Stereotypes can be based on things other than nationality, race or sexual orientation. Think accountant. Think auto mechanic. Think stripper. I’m sure each of these occupations conjured an image in your mind and, unless you are my lawyer, the stripper was the most enticing. Stereotypes based on occupation are probably the most accurate of any as these are self-assigned in most cases. Certain types of people are drawn to certain occupations. Think radical religious suicide bomber.

Most of the time, the elimination of stereotypes and profiles serves one well in daily interactions. That guy in the next bathroom stall tapping his foot and waiving his hand under the divider who is setting off your Gaydar could simply be listening to his MP3 player and in need of toilet paper. Just as often our instincts, which are influenced heavily by our preconceived biases, serve us well too. If someone walks like a thug, talks like a thug and dresses like a thug, they are probably a thug; or a rapper.

Those of us clinging to our guns and bibles know full well that certain stereotypes are allowed in today’s society. Those of us who trod along slowly in an airport security line putting our 3.1 ounce zip locked baggy encased liquid bottles in the x-ray buckets wonder why others are not. I’ll type the requisite “not every Muslim is a terrorist line” but I do it grudgingly. I know full well not every Muslim is a terrorist. However, in the past 30 years, nearly every terrorist who has been worth his 40 post-explosion virgins has been Muslim. For this reason, every time I see someone of Middle Eastern descent get upset when they are randomly selected for a more thorough pre-flight inspection complain I think, “what an Ass.” And every time I see a pasty white suburban housewife with three kids in tow and a WWJD sticker on her suitcase submit without complaint to the same random pre-flight search I think, “What an ass” and “I wonder if she ever was a stripper”.

If I wear a raincoat and carry a camera to an elementary school playground on a sunny day, I should expect to be looked at with a jaundiced and skeptical eye by those around me. Simply being in an airport and getting on a plane is not a crime for anyone who is Muslim. But I think they should understand when they are looked at a bit differently. It is because of others in their faith that this is happening. Perhaps if they spoke out a bit more, this stereotype would be proven false and we could change from thinking Muslim = Terrorist to Muslim = “those guys who stop and face Mecca all the time”.

S2

Cigars, fags and calling a spade a spade

Read any blog that resides at the far reaches of either side of the political spectrum, after your daily reading of this blog of course, (you do have NoMatoMiPavo bookmarked right?) and you will see that the discourse has become more caustic than your average review of the conservative movie “An American Carol”.

Utter an opinion and you’ll likely be the recipient of an onslaught of expletives directed at you personally, the majority of your ancestors by relation and George W Bush because, well, he is Satin incarnate. It doesn’t bother me to be on the catching side of these tirades. I probably am a bit of a white trash, bigoted, homophobic, right-winged, Neanderthal but leave my parents out of it.

So why in this age of vitriol does it seem people’s skin is becoming thinner than Peter Orszag’s or Donald Trump’s real hair? Any criticism is immediately seen as a personal attack and the recipient begins a plea for justice and demands an apology at the least and usually monetary recompense as well. The utterance could be a legitimately stupid statement. If so, call the speaker an ass and move on. People say stupid things all the time. My personal filter more resembles a sieve and I start every conversation with a disclaimer that, indeed, I am an idiot so anything I say should not be held against me. But too often it seems people are looking to be offended. The leaps they will take to turn an innocent comment into an attempt to begin the next holocaust would make Superman feel he needs several bounds to clear the same distance.

In 1999, a staffer for Washington, DC mayor Anthony Williams was forced to resign after he used the word Niggardly to describe the size of a fund that he oversaw. Two staffers complained and amid a flurry more excited than a nest of angry Wasps (did I say Wasp? How dare I?), the mayor accepted David Howard’s resignation. A few days later someone decided to consult Merriam Webster and learned there is no connection between Niggardly and the prohibited, unless you are an African American rapper who won't listen to Russell Simmons or a Rainbow Warrior, N-word that so insulted the staffers. Of course to those looking to be insulted the idea of performing this exploration before Howard’s condemnation never occurred.

In July of this year, a commissioner in Dallas County, Texas made the mistake of comparing the county’s collection office to that oh so racist of phenomena; a black hole. Another official, John Wiley Price demanded an apology. To Mr. Price it seems any term that begins with the word black is racially charged. This guy’s views are so far out in space that even usually sensitive Liberals think he’s spaced out. On behalf of all unintentional racists in the world, I’d like to invite Mr. Price to coffee and I will apologize. Just so he is forewarned I take my coffee black.

In August of 2006 then Governor, and should have been GOP Presidential candidate, Mitt Romney referred to the Big Dig in Boston as a tar-baby. The waiting to be insulted, with brains about the size of a Br'er Rabbit, couldn’t wait to jump on Mitt and label him as a racist. Unfortunately, Romney hopped on up and apologized. If only the State and Federal governments had been a bit more niggardly in their expenditures, this Black Hole would never have been an issue. Oh, I’m sorry.

Apologies for misspeaking and injustice often aren’t good enough for most of the bereaved. Don Imus’ much overblown Nappy Haired Ho comment, justifiably as stupid as only Stupid White Men (no apology as obviously that isn't offensive) can be, cost him his job. When United States Senator Trent Lott wished one time racist Strom Thurmond a happy birthday the calls for his resignation from race baiters and riot inciters was immediate. Even the sons of politicians who voted against the Equal Rights Amendment got in to the act. Neither of these obvious racists could get away with anything as a straight forward, black and white (oh sorry) apology.

When Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized for a tragedy of political incompetence and enforcement that resulted in the death of 26 potential immigrants from India he was criticized because he went to the people to apologize and didn’t deliver it in the confined of Parliament. If he was as observant as Joe Biden, he would have rightly made the apology at a 7-11 or Dunkin Donuts. Ok, this time I will apologize on behalf of the missing Vice President since he never has.

The examples of personal offence and demands for retribution are many: like this, this, this or this. While many have racial or sexual overtones, people are taking offense at everything now. The days of being happy and gay (oh, sorry) are gone. Political Correctness abounds and the tentacles of this restrictive culture may soon reach further into our vocabulary.

Unfortunately, the retribution sought is not only financial. Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh was killed after producing a movie critical of Islam and Dutch politician and refugee of an arranged marriage Ayaan Hirsi Ali has been under police protection since the film aired because of death threats to her from members of the “religion of peace”. If only they’d put cartoon images of Mohammed in their film, like those in Danish newspapers, their depravity would have been complete.

The sensitive nature of people today seems an unexpected phenomenon when compared to the amazingly narcissistic nature of today’s youth. Their self-esteem is extremely high. In other words they are completely full of themselves. I guess that is why any criticism, no matter how well intentioned or constructive put a chink (sorry) in their self-obsessed armor and is to them a personal affront.

To everyone today thinking they’ve been offended by someone else’s speech I say “grow a set”. If what they say is so bad, call them on it and make your position clear. We will forever have bigots, fools, racists, sexists and any other ‘ist you might imagine. Deal with it. It’s not like someone goes out of their way to make a voodoo doll of you?

Poor Nicola Sarkozy was so upset that such a doll was being sold, he sued. In their infinite wisdom, the French courts decided the sales could continue but a prominent warning had to be placed on the package that states that sticking pins in the toy is an affront to his dignity. Those French men, it seems they have no problems with their self-esteem.

S2