I shouldn't be shocked at this, but I am. After all, Dr. Laura, isn't a psychologist and has never pretended to have any sensitivity to others whose needs don't align with her narrow right-wing agenda. To be clear, I'm not shocked at Laura's thought process (if you can call it that), obvious insensitivity, or that she believes Black people are hypersensitive and should develop a sense of humor providing a wall around their psyches so impervious that being called the "n-word". won't get through. I don't use that word and don't have many friends (if any) who do. I am surprised at her willingness to basically admit her racism and that she thinks President Obama's election was a free pass to spew whatever racist drivel came to her pathetic, diseased little mind without any fear of recourse. Her use of that word, the many times she used it here, sounds almost cathartic -- almost as if she was just biding her time waiting for the opportunity to use it. It sounds like it felt good. I find it frightening that many right wingers take their marching orders from the likes of Schlessinger and other right-wing radio commentators. Why would a rational person listen to these idiots? Wait... no need to answer...
Thursday, August 12, 2010
National Chill Out Day
Over the last few days a simple, hardworking, relatively unknown guy became a "hero". Flight attendant Steven Slater didn't save any lives or perform any selfless act of courage or kindness. He simply went to work, had a hard day, snapped and quit. Nothing spectacular about that, except the way he quit. He got pissed and did what millions of Americans wish they could do – he told the powers that be to go f--- themselves over the loud speaker. On his way out, he grabbed a couple of brews, popped an airplane emergency hatch, bounded down the emergency chute – which the rest of us will never get to experience unless our lives were in grave danger – and drove home sipping a couple of frosty ones. Good for him. But is he a hero? In one day, his facebook page got over 162,000 fans. Every major television network has essentially dubbed him the folk hero of our day. But what has he really done? What if in his rage he began to waste a few passengers instead of a few brain cells? Perhaps his rage and all of the folks cheering on his rage are just emblematic of the rage, fear and angst many Americans now feel.
This past January, Rep. Joe Wilson in an infamous outburst, called President Obama a liar. Since 2009, we've seen the birth of the Tea Party Movement and Birthers and seen town halls over run with Americans shouting down other Americans and even biting off other Americans' body parts at health care rallies. This isn't limited to the political and busines arenas. A couple nights ago night there was an ugly bench clearing brawl at the Cardinals/Reds game over simple words about a childhood game.
And just last night the honorable Mayor David Dinkins thought the appropriate response to some hecklers was to flip them the bird http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2010/08/david_dinkins_offers_middle_fi.html.
These incidents may not mean anything – Lord knows in America we've always been strong willed, but something in the air smells a little uglier than in the past. Perhaps it's just time for a national chill the f--- out day. Wouldn't it be great to have one day to decompress? No discussions of politics, or religion, or mosques, or work or (name your stessor)? Perhaps it could be a day in which we reflect on what it means to be human. We can reflect on real heroes, tolerance, compromise, on the common good... the stuff that grounds us, not the stuff that pisses us off even more.
Steven Slater gave us a really interesting, hilarious, “what if I could do that” moment. Let’s hope he hasn’t started a trend. He needs help. His behavior, while hysterical, should not be applauded, or encouraged – much less imitated. He’s no hero. Perhaps he just needed a chill the f--- out day or even a chill the f--- out moment. Today here's my moment simply because it reminds us in a gentle way how simple and awesome we are:
This past January, Rep. Joe Wilson in an infamous outburst, called President Obama a liar. Since 2009, we've seen the birth of the Tea Party Movement and Birthers and seen town halls over run with Americans shouting down other Americans and even biting off other Americans' body parts at health care rallies. This isn't limited to the political and busines arenas. A couple nights ago night there was an ugly bench clearing brawl at the Cardinals/Reds game over simple words about a childhood game.
And just last night the honorable Mayor David Dinkins thought the appropriate response to some hecklers was to flip them the bird http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2010/08/david_dinkins_offers_middle_fi.html.
These incidents may not mean anything – Lord knows in America we've always been strong willed, but something in the air smells a little uglier than in the past. Perhaps it's just time for a national chill the f--- out day. Wouldn't it be great to have one day to decompress? No discussions of politics, or religion, or mosques, or work or (name your stessor)? Perhaps it could be a day in which we reflect on what it means to be human. We can reflect on real heroes, tolerance, compromise, on the common good... the stuff that grounds us, not the stuff that pisses us off even more.
Steven Slater gave us a really interesting, hilarious, “what if I could do that” moment. Let’s hope he hasn’t started a trend. He needs help. His behavior, while hysterical, should not be applauded, or encouraged – much less imitated. He’s no hero. Perhaps he just needed a chill the f--- out day or even a chill the f--- out moment. Today here's my moment simply because it reminds us in a gentle way how simple and awesome we are:
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