Shit that Pissed me Off – 6/17
A Senseless Massacre in Orlando
I pretty much have to lead with this, don’t I? There’s no way to avoid talking about a killing spree in which almost fifty people were gunned down in the largest mass shooting in US history. Although that depends on how you define mass shooting, as the internet has been careful to remind me.
As if arguing over the how extreme the slaughter was actually matters in the least. Would it matter less if the gunman had only managed to kill five people?
The only thing that now seems to matter is that he was a Muslim. Even though there is enough evidence to suggest that he was a homophobic man who was also likely dealing with a lot of self loathing because he was secretly gay, the narrative is all about his religion.
He may have wanted it to be that way because he pledged allegiance to ISIS during the attack. But that is the narrative he wanted.
Not a picture of the actual shooter because fuck him.
He wanted to be known as radical Islamist. Is that because he didn’t want to be known as gay? I have no idea. What I do know is that the narrative revolves around radical Islam and that narrative originated with the man who did the killing.
No matter what, we haven’t spent enough time recognizing that whatever he used to justify his act, he deliberately targeted the GLBT community. This act of violence was done specifically to harm a community he found objectionable. The reasons he found the community objectonable are irrelevant because there is hate speak coming from everywhere. Not just Islam. I’ll get to that later.
We’ll talk about all of this for a few weeks. And then we will forget about it until the next mass shooting takes place.
At which point, we will only talk about the killer’s religion if they are a Muslim.
One note though: if you want to talk about gun control, or not gun control, or Islamic fundamentalism, or whatever else you want to talk about, that’s great. And it is important. But please do something tangible as well. there is a Gofundme campaign that has raised over 5 million for the victims. I know it seems like $5 won’t make a difference. But it will. If you want to make a difference, please do more than talk. Contribute to the campaign or donate blood or do something to support your local GLBT community. Do something.
Shit that Pissed me off – 5/6
Fox News Commenters Make Racist Statements in a Story about Malia Obama’s Choice of College
I know. Reading comments is always a bad idea. In this case, Fox turned them off after a whole lot of racist assholes turned up to share their thoughts regarding what was basically a harmless story about a young woman’s college choice. Unfortunately for her, she is young black woman.
Being black in this “post-racial” society means that you are going to have racist epithets thrown at you by a bunch of internet ignoramuses for having the temerity to exist.
Fox was smart to turn off the comments. However, they need to recognize that they invite this kind of commentary. It is their own personality that helps encourage people to be racist fucks on the internet.
Malia Obama will be fine. She has been the target for this kind of language since her father became a legitimate Presidential candidate and while I’m certain her parents have protected her from the worst of it, there is no way they could protect her from all of it.
There’s just too much.
Thing is, as long as Fox news keeps insisting we live in a post racial society but has to shut down comments on an article about a young black woman, I will continue to wonder why anyone takes them seriously.
Shit that Pissed me Off – 4/29
Oklahoma House Moves to Ban All Abortions
In another move meant to remind us how important control of the Supreme Court has become, Oklahoma appears poised to test exactly how far you can go in the control of women’s health decisions.
The state governor has not yet decided whether or not to sign this bill, which goes so far as to tell the state medical board which doctors they can certify.
Rather than targeting the mothers, this law rewards doctors who perform abortions with felony charges. Even if the abortion is required to save the life of the mother.
Bad things happen when you put doctors in handcuffs.
More and more, it becomes clear that lawmakers on one side of the issue are far more concerned about the next generation than the current one. Unless we are talking about global climate change. Or overpopulation. Or pollution.
Then the needs (or wants) of this generation are far more important.
Unless, of course, they need to go to the bathroom.
Shit that Pissed me Off – 3/25
Microsoft Hired a Bunch of Models in Skimpy Schoolgirl Outfits for an Industry Party
Before I go on my traditional mini rant, let me begin by saying the head of Xbox games, who sponsored the party, and the head of Microsoft both came out saying, in effect, “holy shit was that a horrible decision and we feel like complete assholes and while we can’t actually say we are going to fire whoever put this party together, we are totally going to fire whoever put this party together.”
So I don’t want to pile too much abuse on a company that seems to recognize how stupid it was to host a women in gaming panel on the same day they hired some sexy Catholic schoolgirls to encourage gamer nerds to dance.
I will, however, heap abuse on whoever actually decided to hire the sexy Catholic schoolgirls.
Because what in the hell were they thinking? In a time when their industry is under heavy fire for not really giving a shit about women gamers, they decided it’d be a good time to blatantly not give a shit about women gamers.
I did a Google search for “woman gamer” and found this image. The internet is a strange and wonderful place.
They could have hired ripped dudes to dress up as Italian plumbers for a little gender balance and it still would have been a dumb PR move but probably wouldn’t have resulted in quite the uproar they are currently experiencing.
I realize the return on investment may have seemed lower given gaming is still very much a male dominated industry but when you are throwing thousands of dollars at a dance party for gamers, you may have already been making poor investment choices.
Maybe if it had been a Dance Dance Revolution party for gamers…
PS: After reading this article, I do think it’s important to address the dancers. They were doing a job for which they were hired. There is nothing wrong with that.
Shit that Pissed me off – 3/11
Donald Trump Thinks Islam Hates Us
Trump is like an improvisational comedian who isn’t funny. Any time he says something outrageous, he gets called on it. Instead of clarifying his statement, he simply says “Yes, I totally meant that, AND…”
Then he says something even worse. It would be hilarious were it not for the thousands of people who hang on his every word and totally believe everything he says.
Today, I’m going to say that Barak Obama is a martian!
Does Islam hate us? No. But I guarantee you that the fact Trump has said exactly that and has stood behind the statement is all some of his supporters need to believe something that stupid.
Why, this week a man punched a protester being escorted out of a Trump rally and later said “the next time we see him, we may have to kill him.” He assumed that since the guy was black, he was also probably Muslim and, therefore, ISIS. Was this a by-product of Trump having said he’d like to punch a protestor in the face?
Maybe.
What is truly insane is the idea that people think Trump will make America great again. He’s already made America worse.
Shit That Pissed me Off – 3/4
Cheryl Tiegs Thinks a Plus Sized Model is “Unhealthy”
I don’t know what is more bothersome, the fact Tiegs chose to say this at all or the fact she supported her claim by saying she heard it from Dr. Oz. You know – the same Dr. Oz who regularly supports miracle cures and herbal remedies that don’t work.
He seems like the definitive source to use when discussing a healthy weight. Or health in general.
Speaking as a diabetic, I am well aware that excess weight can be unhealthy. I understand that while fat shaming is a thing and needs to be avoided, there is also a need to talk about the fact that weighing too much can be unhealthy.
Not that I would suggest for a even moment that her weight comes anywhere close to qualifying as “too much.”
But the amount of weight Tiegs carries around (not very much) can also be unhealthy.
When a public figure starts talking about who weighs too much, it makes a difference. Especially to young women who are being told all sorts of things about what their body should look like.
Now I personally don’t have a problem with my doctor telling me I could stand to lose a few pounds because he knows my medical history and makes recommendations meant to improve my overall health. If Cheryl Tiegs showed up and started to talk to me about how much weight I needed to lose, I’d be less inclined to give a shit.
So please, Cheryl, shut up about what other women should weigh. Leave that kind of unsolicited medical advice to Dr. Oz.
Shit that Pissed me Off – 2/19
Oh Fuck! I Agree with Donald Trump!
The Republicans had another debate and, as usual, I didn’t watch it. I have no need to watch a bunch of dudes try to convince everyone they are simultaneously more conservative than each other but not so conservative that they can’t work with liberals on issues that “unite” us.
But Trump went off the rails this time because he had the balls to criticize George Bush and the Iraq war. In fact, he called the war a “big, fat mistake.”
I’m shocked! Shocked to learn there is gambling going on in this establishment!
Which it was.
Trump’s comments were so outlandish, he managed to piss off Dick Cheney.
Donald Trump pissed off Dick Cheney!
I think I may need to start drinking. I can’t handle this.
Shit that Pissed me Off – 2/12
Dallas Judge Says He Will Not Perform Same-Sex Marriages Due to Religious Objection
I literally have no problem with a religious leader refusing to perform same-sex marriages. I mean, I do because it is time to realize that love is love and the God you believe in is a homophobic jackass. But they have a right to make those calls based on their interpretation of the Bible or Koran or whatever.
A judge is elected to perform a legal job and part of that job is marrying people. As prescribed by law. Which he is supposed to fucking uphold. Impartially.
If you want to be a judge who isn’t impartial, you need to climb the food chain. Like this dude.
He claims the state Attorney General gave him permission to make this call based on an opinion that suggests he doesn’t have to perform the ceremony if there is someone else who can do it. However, he is still practicing discrimination because he’s totally cool with performing “traditional” marriages.
I call bullshit. Just do your fucking job. If you don’t want to perform the “wrong” kind of marriage, don’t do them at all.
Shit that Pissed me Off – 2/5
Ted Cruz Delivers Backhanded Apology to CNN After He Misrepresented Something They Reported
I confess I’ve been spending a lot of time covering the Trump campaign here. I do so because he’s a complete tool.
But I’ve really been unfair to the other complete tools who comprise the bulk of the Republican Presidential field. Like Ted Cruz.
Fortunately for Cruz, he won the Iowa caucus on Monday and that means he can now step into the limelight!
And step into it he did when he blamed CNN for reporting that Ben Carson was dropping out of the race. In fact, Carson was just going home to Florida for a few days. Which is exactly what CNN reported.
When the Cruz camp got called out for misstating the information, they blamed it on CNN. CNN responded by effectively saying “fuck you – we never said or even implied he was dropping out of the race. Here’s the record of what we said you idiot.”
Dracula just dropped the mic. DRACULA JUST DROPPED THE MIC!!!
Cruz responded by magnanimously saying that CNN had, “surprisingly” gotten it right. Backhanded compliment for win!
Actually, he said “miracles happen.” Ha ha.
What’s really funny is that Cruz’s apology still got it wrong. He claimed CNN said Carson was not carrying on to New Hampshire and South Carolina.
Except they never claimed that. They said was going home to Florida first.
You know what, I-hope-to-never-call-you President Cruz? If you are going to make fun of a news organization for misreporting the news, it doesn’t help if you misreport what they said.
Shit that Pissed me Off – 1/15
South Dakota Lawmaker Wants Children to Submit to Genital Inspection Because Transphobia
File this under “laws that will never pass but what absolute insensitive fuckwit would even propose such a thing?”
South Dakota representative Roger Hunt is really concerned about transgender children being allowed to participate in sports based on their gender identity and he wants to make sure that kids are carefully forced into his personal definition of their gender.
Roger Hunt won’t have to show his genitals because he’s already shown that he’s a dick.
The only way to do this, he reasons through legislation, is to force kids to produce a birth certificate and also to submit to a genital inspection. Score one for trans shaming but also score one for embarrassing every child who wants to participate in sports!
What’s that Billy? You want to play Football? Not until we make sure you have a penis!
Don’t worry, Billy! It’s not discrimination. Your sister Sally wants to play volleyball but she can’t do that until we see her vagina!
See? Fair!
BTW – Hunt isn’t alone. There’s also this fuckwit in Virginia.
Grail Diary 