Shit that Pissed me Off – 2/15/19
The Cleveland Browns Signed Kareem Hunt and Colin Kapaernick Still Doesn’t Have a Job
Hunt was kicked off his former team (the Chiefs) after video of Hunt assaulting a woman became public. They claimed they knew about the incident but that Hunt had “lied” about it to them.
So Hunt was out of Football. At least he might have been were he not so gosh darn talented.
I could point out that Colin Kapaernick is more talented than – well – just about every third string quarterback in the league, probably most of the second string ones and maybe even a few first string ones and he doesn’t have a job in the NFL. Because he didn’t hit a woman on camera. He kneeled during the National Anthem to call attention to systemic racism.
But Kareem Hunt deserves “another chance.”
I’m not even going to argue that he doesn’t deserve another chance. I don’t know. Maybe he really has figured his shit out and is going to make amends and be a decent guy.
Who doesn’t want to believe, right?
What I’m arguing is that a guy who punches women has an easier time getting a job in the NFL than a guy who kneels during the national anthem.
Moreover, the response to the Hunt allegations is muted. People are shocked but immediately say “we don’t really know enough to leap to judgement.” The response to Kapaernick isn’t muted at all. It is angry. Vocal. And filled with people who are telling him that they don’t give a fuck what he says until he says it the way they want to hear it (not that they plan on telling him what would make them listen).
The NFL is a business. And they know full well that in a game as violent as Professional Football, their audience has shown a willingness to accept players who are violent off the field. What they can’t accept is a player who peacefully points out institutional racism and – yes – violence.
Note: It was just announced that Kapaernick reached a settlement with the NFL in his collusion case that claimed the NFL colluded to keep him out of a job. Of course the terms are confidential so the NFL doesn’t need to actually admit to doing anything wrong…
Shit that Pissed me Off – 4/20/18
I will note this story actually happened late last week and a lot has happened since then. But in case you somehow missed it, let me sum up.
Two men entered a Starbucks in Philadelphia last week. They did not immediately order because they were waiting for a colleague. One of them asked to use the bathroom and was told the bathroom was for customers. They were then asked to leave. They refused because they were waiting for a colleague before they ordered. The police were called and they were arrested for trespassing. Which, I guess, they technically were.
But who cares? White people go into Starbucks all the time and nobody calls the cops when they want to use the bathroom before ordering.
The cops weren’t called because these guys were trespassing. They were called because the manager was uncomfortable. And the manager was uncomfortable because they were black.
Starbucks has responded better than most companies. Their CEO has apologized to the two men and on the 29th of April, every Starbucks will close for racial sensitivity training.
And white people are pissed. What are they supposed to do for their coffee?
Maybe you could just make our own fucking coffee for one, you lazy assholes.
Now one day of sensitivity training doesn’t erase the problem. As the article linked above points out, black people aren’t surprised by this story. They deal with this kind of thing every day of their lives.
So let’s hope Starbucks doesn’t check a social justice box and assume everything is OK. Because it isn’t. Read More…
Shit that Pissed me Off – 9/1/2017
CA Restaurant Owner Blames “War on Whites” for Loss of Business
In case you missed it, a whole bunch of business owners were outed for their contributions to David Dukes failed Senate campaign, including here in my home state of Minnesota.
In California, a restaurateur has elected to close shop because he’s faced some flack over the fact he donated to one of the most prominent racists in the country who isn’t currently inhabiting the White House.
His response has been to complain about how all of this is a war on whites, which kind of explains why he chose to give money to David Duke’s campaign. He even said David Duke supports “European American Civil Rights.” In other words, the asshole is a white supremacist and screw him if he has to shut down his restaurant.
Here’s the problem that we face in all of this – I think it is great to out white supremacists. I think it is great to let them know their philosophy is bullshit.
I worry, however, that there is a lot of collateral damage. When the owner of Clubhouse Jager was outed as a Duke contributor, his employees announced they were quitting. At least one of them was later accosted at a different bar* because they worked for racist asshole even though they weren’t aware he was a racist asshole.
Please note: the person who took this picture is not a white supremacist.
I’m fully in support of outing Nazis and white supremacists. I think we should have full knowledge of who they are and then we should make our own informed decisions on whether or not to do business with them.
I just hope we don’t hurt people who aren’t white supremacists because they are unintentionally connected to racist assholes. If they lose their jobs, that sucks. Even if they leave that job voluntarily.
If we are going to cost a Nazi their business, that’s fine. But let’s not turn our backs on the people who are hurt when that business closes, OK?
*This report is from a reputable source but there is no news coverage of the incident.
Shit that Pissed me Off – 6/30/17
Trump Corner: Trump Admits his Claims of Taping Comey Were Bullshit
Donald Trump made a cryptic tweet that he may have taped conversations with James Comey before Comey testified to Congress. In an interview last week, he admitted there were no tapes.
Which isn’t a shock. Nobody thought there were tapes. The fact he’s been dragging this shit out for weeks is an embarrassment. Especially when you consider how often he uses the term fake news, you would think even his own supporters might cry foul when he creates it.
Instead, however, there is laughter from the right as they joke about how Trump was able to make everyone talk about secret white house tapes for a little while and, therefore, ignore the fact that Trump may well have attempted to obstruct justice. Ha ha ha!
The claim of taping Comey was, in itself, an attempt to obstruct justice by drawing focus away from what he was saying and suggesting there might be proof he was lying. By even suggesting such a thing, Trump undermined anything Comey would say.
There’s a bigger problem here as the Trumpbot response to his tweets about Morning Joe co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski exhibits.
Trump supporters respond to all of this by saying “ha ha – he played you!”
In all fairness, if Andy Dwyer was saying this shit, we’d think it was adorable.
Maybe he did. Then again, maybe he’s just a fucking asshole who can’t handle the fact that not everybody loves him because some of us think fucking assholes shouldn’t be fucking President.
But let’s assume he is “just” trolling the left. I don’t understand why that makes people happy. It’s like saying “well as long as he only makes fun of the half of America that isn’t me, I’m cool with it.”
Oh those poor liberal snowflakes can’t take a joke! Unlike those hardy conservatives who are completely capable of taking a joke, right? Give me a fucking break. They have an entire news network devoted to the fact they can’t take a joke.
And Trump isn’t framing this stuff as jokes. He’s framing it as a childish defense of his brand. He’s making personal attacks and he means them.
Decent people don’t treat each other this way. I don’t care if he’s playing the left or if he’s just an asshole incapable of keeping his mouth shut. Either way, he’s just an asshole.
And every person who defends his asshole behavior or claims that his behavior is, somehow, OK because he is just giving liberals their comeuppance for wanting government to help the poor and marginalized communities (fuck us) is just as much of an asshole. Conservatives are not assholes for being conservative.
But Trump is an asshole. And anyone who defends his behavior as “just sticking it to the left” is also an asshole.
Shit that Pissed me Off – 12/9
Mall of America Hires a Black Santa Claus and Racists Lose their Shit
For four days, US Army Veteran Larry Jefferson was the official Santa Claus at the Mall of America. He was also black. The result was a whole lot of black kids got to sit on the lap of a Santa who looked like them. Sounds awful.
It sure was to these racists who believe that white characters should stay white no matter how mythological those figures might be.
A black santa is as outrageous as a female President!
The racists spouting their hatred for the concept of a Santa that wasn’t pasty white got so out of hand, the Star Tribune had to shut down comments on the article.
Now I will admit that the legends that gave rise to Santa Claus would certainly suggest a white Santa Claus is more accurate than – say – a white Jesus. However, it would seem to me that if we can embrace the idea of Billy Bob Thornton as (a drunk) Santa Claus, the idea of a black Santa shouldn’t result in anyone – what’s the phrase I’m looking for – giving a shit.
So in the giving spirit of the season, let’s give ourselves some time to reflect that a black Santa Claus is a good thing. And remember that every time someone uses the term alt-right, what they really mean is “racist doucebag.”
Speaking of Alt-Right, How about This Asshole Who Called out a Trans Student on Stage?
Milo Yiannopoulos, whose name is a pain to spell and is so much of a creepy fuck that I’m not even going to try, was invited to speak at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He’s well known as an outspoken racist and anti-GLBTQ crusader. As you might expect, a lot of students were upset he was coming.
Free speech is a tricky thing. I mean, does the guy have a right to say what he says?
Unfortunately, yes. Should he be given a paid platform to say these things?
I don’t think he should. I think he should be swept out the door with the other insects we don’t want to kill but also don’t want in our homes. But I understand that Universities have a responsibility to expose students to all perspectives.
Now I will argue that if they want to expose kids to thinking from the right, people like Condoleeza Rice might represent a better option than Milo Yo-yoasaurus. I don’t agree with her on a lot of things but she’s not a racist.
In any case, Milo Yog-Sothoth was given the platform to speak and he was a racist and homophobic fuck, which shouldn’t have surprised anyone. However, he went so far as to show a picture of a trans student and use her dead name.
That, my friends, is bordering on a violent act. The trans community already faces challenges that are unparalleled. What Yorkshire Puddingpolos did to this student is unconscionable.
Fortunately, Yip-yip dogapus doesn’t have a conscience. So he’ll keep saying this shit. And people will keep paying him to say it. In the name of “fairness.”
Crazy Ass Dude Almost Shoots up a Pizza Joint Because of a Conspiracy Theory
In an act that isn’t being labelled terrorism because the perpetrator was white and nobody ended up being killed, a dude walked into a pizzeria in Washington D.C. to “investigate” a bullshit conspiracy theory that the restaurant was a front for a child prostitution ring run by the Clintons.
That’s fucked up. Even more fucked up, the son of incoming National Security Advisor Lt. General Michel Flynn tweeted his support for the conspiracy theory (but just barely avoided tweeting support for the gunman). Essentially he said, “until you prove the theory is false, we will keep talking about it.”
Even former President George W Bush doesn’t understand your logic.
The problem with conspiracy theories is you can’t prove them false. The people who believe them will constantly find new reasons to support the idea it is a conspiracy and all your proof to the contrary is just more evidence of a cover up.
In the meantime, it is doing real and demonstrable harm to actual human beings and to an actual business. If Donald Trump gave two shits about anyone but himself, he would use Twitter to debunk this kind of nonsense rather than using it to whine about how Saturday Night Live is making fun of him.
Business Pre-Emptively Sues State Over Being Forced to Video Same-Sex Marriages
Carl and Angel Larson, who are “good Christians,” are concerned their wedding video business might be sullied should they be forced by anti-discrimination laws to video a same sex couple getting married.
So concerned are they that their religious right to discriminate might be infringed, they are suing the state of Minnesota to ensure they don’t find themselves in that situation. The lawsuit, in effect, says that anti-discrimination laws are unconstitutional.
Look, given that our President-elected by Russia is likely to appoint justices friendly to this kind of religious freedom bullshit, it is probably best for same-sex couples to stay away from businesses like this one because the resulting lawsuit might have extremely dubious consequences. But what do you do when the businesses pre-emptively go to court?
And I’m left to wonder, is this what Jesus meant when he said “turn the other cheek?” I mean, these people aren’t being asked to shoot pornography. They are being asked shoot video featuring a couple of guys (or girls) who love each other getting married while surrounded by their friends and family. Kinky.
Oh wait – they aren’t being asked to do that. Yet. They just don’t want anyone to ask them because if they say no, they are going to look like assholes.
Too late.
North Carolina GOP lost the Governor’s Office So They are Going to Hamstring the New Governor
Sore losers like the North Carolina Assembly are quite possibly worse than sore winners (Donald Trump). In this case, the NC Assembly is so upset the people of their state elected a Democrat to the Governor’s mansion, they called an emergency special session to limit his powers.
Of course, they claim they were going to do that anyway. They just feel they need to do it faster because of who the people elected.
The legislation was passed to limit appointments made by the Governor and to also create road blocks between plaintiffs and the State Supreme Court are so blatantly partisan, the lawmakers passing them should be embarrassed. Elections have consequences. Parties lose.
Well…maybe parties lose in the United States.
The Democrats are already well aware of this fact.
When a party loses, the worst thing they can do is this kind of scorched earth legislation. Their own constituents should be telling them to stop being assholes and accept that a Democratic governor should be able to do the same fucking stuff a Republican governor was able to do.
I try to convince myself that the Republican party wants what is best for people and they just disagree with me on ideology. When they engage in this kind of sore loser bullshit, however, it is hard for me to think of their party as anything but a party unwilling to share power with anyone.
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.
Grail Diary 