Reruns are bad...

Welcome back to yet another edition of What’s YOUR Deal?!? I know, I’ve been slacking off lately and not ranting about the world despite so much fodder for ranting. But I really do try to avoid politics, not necessarily the issues behind politics, but the goings ons in Congress lately do make we want to strangle folks. No, What’s YOUR Deal?!? is really for the everyman that doesn’t necessarily pay attention to the news but just wants the mockery of the mundane and rantings for karmatic justice reflected in a little corner of the interwebs that we can all call our own. And here we go... As a child of the 80s and I have vivid memories of shows like Transformers, GI Joe, The A-Team, The Karate Kid, and Knight Rider... and today I find myself having a sudden urge to perm my hair and find a sweater with big shoulder pads. Why? Because, children of the 2000s will also grow up having the same vivid memories of shows and movies like Transformers, GI Joe, The A-Team, The Karate Kid, and Knight Rider. It’s enough to make me want to go, “Ruh roh, Raggy!” Oh wait... that’s not really Scooby Doo... This guy is. My mind is completely boggled by the bizarre time warp that I’m being fed by the Hollywood media machine. Since when was Bumblebee a Camaro? He was a yellow VW Bug! Why are GI Joes crazy half-cyborg things that more closely resemble the Borg from Star Trek, than their original intent: And since when was KITT a Ford Mustang... THIS is KITT, David Hasselhoff and all: And now we have this... At least they left the van alone... but REALLY? And why is Jackie Chan Mr. Miyagi? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMsZM-MNI1A&NR=1 Are we THAT inept at creativity that we are forced to go back to the past and dredge up our childhood heroes and inject them with CGI special effects and maybe a hearty dose of steroids and serve it up to the next generation? Because that’s exactly what we’re doing, every 20 years or so, things come back. Remember the Brady Bunch movie remakes in the 90s? Are we going to expect to see the return of the Power Rangers in this coming decade? Seriously now, people. I have to point out that THIS is what happens when we don’t foster creativity in kids and leave The Man holdin’ us down. We will be watching the same reruns for the rest of our lives. Different is good. Think outside of the box. Thank you, parents and our mind-numbing education system, for squishing that. Speaking of mind-numbing education system squishing things ... I came across this article the other day: http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/03/11/mississippi.prom.suit/ “A Mississippi county school board announced Wednesday it would cancel its upcoming prom after a gay student petitioned to bring a same-sex date to the event. ‘Due to the distractions to the educational process caused by recent events, the Itawamba County School District has decided to not host a prom at Itawamba Agricultural High School this year,’ school board members said in a statement.” and then this article: http://www.examiner.com/x-30841-DC-Culture-and-Events~y2010m3d12-Walmart-sells-black-Barbie-at-reduced-priceConspiracy-or-inventory-control Apparently Wally World is drawing flak for selling black Barbies for half the price of a white Barbie. Am I the only person that sees that these are similar issues? This is the reason why What’s YOUR Deal?!? exists. I want to stop being the only person that sees that equality and karmatic justice as inherent rights for all of humanity... and those gay penguins in China: People will go out of the way to make an issue about one set of perceived inequality but yet can turn the blind eye to someone else getting shafted. People can make an issue about anything. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m incredibly attuned to hidden messages and twisting things and using rhetoric to make a point. I mean, I saw this commercial the other night: And my first reaction was, “Wow, the minorities are the ones outside of the house wanting this magical gum and the poor Asian dude was sad because no one gave him magical white people gum.” Is Trident racist? I don’t believe they are, but if you look around and deep enough... social injustice is everywhere and is inherent. But who fights for those that are in the minority? Unfortunately, it is the minority that has to fight for attention and justice. Those in the majority have no reason to change and every reason to vilify that which they do not understand or care to get to know. They’d as soon cancel a high school prom than to risk a minority intrusion into the status quo. What is so scary about a lesbian going to prom? It happens in high schools across the country and has the world come to an end? Is there a gay epidemic where people need to wear medical masks to prevent inhaling magical gay fairy dust from gay people? Should we start vaccinating against The Gay? (Oh wait... vaccinations are evil too... I forgot.) I mean, really? Walmart immediately caved under pressure and equalized the prices of their Barbies. But who’s going to pressure Itawamba Agricultural High School to venture into the 21st century. It’s even worse to read the comments posted under these articles to see the close-mindedness that in inherent in society. If this is what we’re teaching kids today, then we are screwed in the future. People can twist words and turn things into political venom for the ages and I can’t say I’m innocent of that too. But the simple fact of the matter is that we are unjust in the manner by which we view the world. Racism is not dead, but the mere insinuation of potential racism and the backlash it will cause is enough to change something. Why can’t this girl go to prom with her girlfriend? What message is Itawamba Agricultural High School sending to the kids and the families in that community? “Sorry, you can’t have prom because of THE GAY!” How are these kids going to grow up viewing gay people? Instead of, “Hey, that’s so and so with her date,” it’s going to be, “Hey, that’s so and so and she screwed up our prom.” How is that going to help make our world better? Open your minds people. See the world from a perspective that’s not your own. (Although, sorry stupid people... I really can’t be that stupid if I tried.) If we keep rehashing the same stories and ideas from generations past, then we will never grow as a society. We have to foster change and foster innovation in order to bring out the best in humanity. Otherwise we will stagnate and repeat the mistakes we have made in history because we failed to learn lessons from them. Quite frankly... I don’t need to see more repackaged reruns, in the media and in life. And neither do you.