Shit that Pissed me Off – 11/8
Player Response to NFL Bullying Incident is “Man Up”
NFL player Jonathan Martin just quit his job over alleged bullying by another player that included an incident where he felt forced to pay for that player’s vacation to Las Vegas. This is part of a wider allegation that a lot of rookie players are hazed by veterans in various demeaning and (sometimes) expensive ways.
The basic response from many corners is that the guy who quit needed to grow a thicker skin.
You don’t even need a thick skin. That’s what the pads are for, right?
Now I don’t believe I know everything that went on here but I have some experience with bullying and I have to assume that even as a “grown” man, there is a feeling of powerlessness that is hard to overcome. As a young guy trying to make the team, you will feel compelled to just deal with the bullshit because you want the veteran guys to accept you.
Inevitably, you will view that behavior as acceptable when it becomes your turn to do the same thing.
What has been exposed is a cycle of abuse. To defend it is to fail to understand that teaching a bunch of man/boy millionaires how to be grown-up’s is the most valuable thing that the NFL can possibly do.
Shit that Pissed me off this Week – 10/4
New Ulm Creationists Torpedo a Production of “Inherit the Wind”
New Ulm is home to Martin Luther college, which is run by the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. They believe in a literal interpretation of the bible no matter what observable evidence might suggest and “Inherit the Wind” has the nerve to suggest that maybe god whispered to Darwin.
Yeah, that line is in there. The play doesn’t deny the existence of god. It only suggests that maybe god works in allegories every now and again. And why not? He created them, didn’t he?
The bullying tactics engaged are what really get me riled up. The play is was being put on by a community theatre off campus. Unfortunately, the director and some of the actors attended the college. They, apparently, were placed under considerable pressure by their professors and chose to withdraw from the play.
Look! The play includes a big banner that says “Read your Bible!” How bad can it be?????
Is this play so threatening to their faith that they can’t just leave the kids alone? Are they afraid that one play will turn these budding conservative Christians into raving liberals who have the audacity to think that god whispers to them?
College should be where kids go to learn how to think. It would appear that Martin Luther college would like them to do just the opposite.
Shit that Pissed me off – 9/20
Indian Woman Becomes Miss America, Americans Become Racist
I don’t actually care about the Miss America pageant at all. I have to make that clear. Couldn’t care less who wins. I never notice when it is happening or look forward to it in any way.
But hey, this year’s winner is an American woman of Asian Indian descent. I point out that she is an American because a lot of folks on Twitter seem to think that Miss America should be an American and by American they mean “white.”
Some of them thought she was an Arab. Because they are fucking morons.
I’m not a Muslim? But I thought all women who looked like me were Muslims!
Some of them even thought that it was bad form to give the award to someone who was neither an Arab or a Muslim just a few days after 9/11. I guess they were upset because only white Christians died on 9/11.
Shit that Pissed me off This Week – 4/5
New York’s Cardinal Dolan wants to Improve the Catholic Church’s Message about Gay Marriage
Oh that’s great Cardinal! I’m glad to see that a high-ranking member of the Catholic Church finally realizes that the Church has no right to make moral judgements for those individuals who aren’t Catholic and you’d stay out of the political arena and…wait a minute.
No. That’s not what he thinks at all. He wants gay people to know that sex is only OK if you are trying to produce offspring so while it is totally OK to be gay, you can’t actually have sex or be married or anything like that. Gay people are totally entitled to friendship, though.
He also wants gay people to know that the Catholic Church is not anti “anybody.” They don’t hate gay people. They just want to make sure that gay people know they aren’t permitted to sexual fulfillment the way straight people are.
I came up with a new message! What do you guys think?
So basically, the difference between gay guys having male friends who are gay and me having male friends who are gay is a lifetime of unresolved sexual tension? I bring this up an awful lot but you know what? If that is really what god wants for gay people, god is a dick.
How about you work on improving that message, Cardinal?
Shit that Pissed me Off This Week – 10/26
Yes, that’s right, let’s discourage people from being seismologists by threatening them with imprisonment if they don’t do a good enough job predicting Earthquakes. You know, because their job is to be perfect about something we know we can’t accurately predict.
And when they get it wrong, we can hold them accountable when people die.
By god, someone will PAY FOR THIS!!!!
You know, because it makes sense to hold people accountable for an act of nature.
The next time some idiot decides to jump into freezing cold rapids at Yosemite National Park and they die as a result, we should sue the Federal Government because they didn’t give the guy an IQ test at the gate, right?
Grail Diary 