Aren't We All Created Equal?

Welcome to yet another edition of What's YOUR Deal?!? This marks a return to the regular format of what you have all come to expect from me: a rant, in total dismay, about the actions of the people around me. Maybe I just don't understand human behavior or maybe I'm the one with a personality disorder, but some things just don't make any sense to me. This past weekend was spent travelling and I seem to find the most fodder for my rants whenever I travel. I think it's mainly because everyone is out of their element, there is no "homecourt-advantage" for anyone. But that doesn't seem to stop people from thinking that the world still revolves around them. And it is to those people that I want to give them a hearty, "What's YOUR Deal?!?"

The fight for equality is one that we all still face. One way or another, we are all minorities in some aspect of our lives. Whether it's something physical or something within our belief system or something completely intangible, we all have something that makes us unique in the grand scheme of things. This is normal. However, the issue always seem to originate when groups of people get together and turn their minority beliefs into something big and try to impose their will upon others, generally another minority group. Before you all think I'm on another liberal rant about social justice, bear with me... you just might learn something about yourself.

I am actually writing this rant thousands of feet in the air while on Southwest Airlines Flight 2217, non-stop from Chicago Midway Airport to Los Angeles International Airport. I am not a fan of flying, not because of a physical issue or a fear of flying, but because I am forced to be in a small cramped space with a cross-section of society. My issues with the airline industry notwithstanding, I generally don't like people and quite honestly, think most people are retards. This retardation is exacerbated by being trapped thousands of feet in the air in a cramped space with a cross-section of society. And I mean absolutely no disrespect to those with actual developmental disabilities, because those people cannot do anything about their condition, however, retards are the ones that can, but choose not to.

I actually truly enjoy flying Southwest Airlines. Their service is impeccable and they don't nickel and dime you on things that should be included with the price of your airfare. They do offer early boarding for a small fee, which I enjoy capitalizing on, because then I can board early and pick my seat. I generally travel with my cat, Milo, drink entirely too much water to not have to use the bathroom in the middle of a Chicago to LA flight, and I have an arthritic right knee. I prefer sitting in an aisle seat because I can get Milo out from under the seat easily when we land, I don't shove my butt in people's faces when I need to get up and go to the bathroom, and I can stretch out my bad knee. I have those simple demands and I pay the appropriate fees to ensure that those ammenities are available to me. But does that make me any better than any of the other passengers around me? I don't really think so. But yet, other people think they are better...

I don't understand the elitism that is apparent in today's society. When I boarded Flight 2217, I was the 20th person to get on the flight, I picked my seat, near the front (HUZZAH!), aisle seat, and put Milo under the seat in front of me. As a courtesy, I warn people that want to sit near me or next to me that I have a cat, and they shouldn't sit near me if they are allergic. Nowhere in my boarding agreement does it say that I have to do that. I do it out of courtesy to the comfort of the people around me. Usually people will go, "Okay," and move elsewhere to sit if I got there first... except this time. Several minutes after telling one potential row-mate that I have a cat, this lady across the aisle from me asked, "Did I hear you say you have a cat?" Why, yes I do, I told her as I pointed at Milo. "Oh, I'm allergic, can you move?" Excuse me? Then the lady in front of me said, "Oh, I'm allergic too!" and then proceeded to repeatedly press the Flight Attendant button. I warned the people around me before I sat down, this seat was as much my right as their's were to them. It wasn't my fault that she didn't understand my initial warning that I had a cat with me.

Knowing full well that an altercation with Little Miss Elitist Jerk and Grandma Senility would just prolong my travel experience as well as guarantee me 15 seconds of fame on the news... I did not feel like dealing with it. So I starting gathering my stuff to move a few rows back to an aisle seat that was still open. I couldn't get up yet, because the aisle was still full of people trying to find seats, but Grandma Senility was still pressing that Flight Attendant call button frantically while waving her hands to get the Flight Attendant's attention. By the time he got there, she had apparently gotten livid, along with Little Miss Elitist Jerk, who initially suggested that I move rather than her. Grandma Senility was practically foaming at the dentures yelling, "She has a cat! I'm allergic to cats! I have told her repeatedly to move!" while Little Miss Elitist Jerk was chirping right along saying something about how the air will blow Milo fur at her. Apparently due to her increased age, Grandma Senility thinks repeatedly meant once. The poor flight attendant looked at me and I told him, "Look, I'm going to just move back a couple rows back, but I was just waiting until the aisle cleared."

No harm, no foul. But I don't believe that it's my fault that they're allergic to cats and were sitting near me despite my warnings that I have a cat with me. But yet, I was the better person, and moved from a seat that was rightfully mine. I paid for Milo to be on board, I paid for the right to be among to first to board, and I paid for a seat on this aircraft, just like they did. But, for some reason, they saw fit that they somehow had more of a right to stay there and make me move. Although, karma took care of me, the flight attendant gave me a free drink voucher and the person who subsequently took my old seat had a small screaming baby. Victory is still mine. But I digress.
The question to be asked here, and it is one that truly confounds me is how people can immediately assume that they are right and that their opinions hold more weight than anyone else's. I find myself in the same boat. Most of my rants are my opinions and they start steamrolling as more people read and agree with me. Does that implicitly imply that those that disagree with me are immediately wrong? No, I don't think so. Does it change my opinion that they are retards? The answer is no to that as well. Can the two thought processes co-exist? I would like to think so.

The issue lies with people assuming their position is infallibly correct, with no possible alternative and an inability to compromise. Life is not zero-sum, meaning one thought does not immediately make another impossible. Why are people so intent on holding their ground, even when evidence to the contrary exists? Or perhaps evidence of the utter inanity of their position exists? This is apparent in politics especially. Today's political climate seems to indicate that moderation is a near impossibility. Sometimes I feel bad for the President, who can't seem to be liberal enough and can't seem to appease the conservatives enough. Whatever happened to objectivity?

So, in the societal microcosm that Flight 2217 was, when I was faced with a choice of my right to be in that seat, near those people, or to be the better person, I chose to be objective. My aims were to get an aisle seat, near the front. Did it HAVE to be THAT aisle seat? No. But yet I find myself thinking, that while taking the enlightened path, I have compromised myself somehow. There's a little voice inside of me that did not want those two morons to "win" even though I was rewarded karmatically with a free beverage voucher and they were stuck with a screaming baby.

The question is now posed to you, my readers, what was the right thing to do? Fight for my right to be in that seat? Or turn the other cheek, in a manner of speaking? Or is there more to the scenario than just a simple difference in opinion? What does our opinion on this matter say about us as a society? What does this say about our belief systems and the very religions we believe in? I find myself pondering those great thoughts as I sit in this seat, a couple aisles behind where I initially wanted to be. Because one can make the same arguments for and against religions. Does the existance of one detract from the existance of another? Are Christians allergic to Muslims? Will Catholics have their eyes water and sinuses clog in the presence of a Jewish person? I don't understand why an atheist can't co-exist with someone that believes in a deity. What does our beliefs have to do with another's if there is no actual effect on their life? Why is it so important for us to impose our will upon others? What is OUR deal?!?

Driving a bus to hell, I see?

Every now and then I'd be Googling around the interwebs and run across bizarre news stories. Not the ones that are front page headliner news, but the random ones that make most people go, "WTF?" if they stopped to think about the implications of the ridiculousness of the news story. This week was no different. I give you this picture: Which, in my opinion is not nearly as offensive as possibly this favorite picture of mine, which was even used in last week's blog: But apparently is IS offensive: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090819/NEWS/908190370/1001/DART-suspends-driver-after-she-refuses-to-use-bus-bearing-atheist-ad According to the article: "Controversy over a bus advertisement promoting a local atheist group has found its way to the driver's seat. On Monday, the Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority suspended bus operator Angela Shiel after she refused to drive a bus with an Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers ad on its side. Shiel, 41, said the ad's message, 'Don't believe in God? You are not alone,' went against her Christian faith." The article continues with: "Shiel, a DART bus driver for four years, now could be fired because of her refusal to drive the bus. DART policy states that drivers cannot choose which buses they drive, DART General Manager Brad Miller said. 'Drivers are not permitted to reject a working bus," Miller said. "It's a very fundamental policy for DART. ... It's an essential rule that we will maintain.'" And this: "According to the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, DART's driver policy also helps uphold advertisers' First Amendment rights. The union recently dropped a review of DART that began when the atheist group's ads first came off the buses. 'As a government agency operating a public forum, DART and all of its employees, including its drivers, are required to follow the First Amendment,' said Ben Stone, executive director of the ACLU of Iowa. 'Since DART managers cannot claim a religious reason to censor bus ads, neither can drivers.' Stone likened the situation to a government employee claiming a religious right to refuse to work with someone of a different faith. 'When you work for the government, part of your job is to respect the rights of your fellow citizens, and you cannot use your religious beliefs to evade that responsibility,' he said." There's a few more points in that article that make me raise my eyebrow, like the woman's husband's point, according to the article: "'This has been her faith since the very first day on the job,' Glenn Shiel said. He said that making her drive the bus would be telling her to be 'two-faced for the fact that she wants an income. To me, it's kind of wrong to deny a person of their job because they have a belief.'" Another interesting point is that passengers have been bypassing the so-called "Atheist Buses" as well. Now that everyone has sufficient background information, I give a hearty, "What's YOUR Deal, lady?!?" You're not driving a bus to a concentration camp! It's a bus, with a sign on it. How is it any less offensive than walking down the street and seeing this ad? Or the countless ridiculous commercials about herpes and the wonderful bicycle rides and kayaking trips that people suffering from herpes can apparently go on because their herpes make excellent river guides or something. There so many other more offensive things in the world than a tastefully done ad from an atheist organization. How is that ad any more offensive than religious ads? I've seen some pretty bad ones of those, telling me that I'm going to hell and assorted other things. I'm sorry, folks, I'm Buddhist. Your ad doesn't mean anything to me. Likewise, if your faith is strong, does it MATTER that the bus you're driving is advertising for a atheist group? You can use that ad as a conversation starter on your bus to tell people about your religious convictions if you want. Not that I want my bus driver to be talking to me about religion if all I want to do is get from point A to point B... but the option is there. The bus isn't taking away anyone's right to their own religious belief, it's a government bus. It's supposed to be unbiased. Your religion, whatever it may be, can also buy ad space on one. This woman isn't being fired, she's being suspended for not doing her job. I'm sorry, I can understand that if I'm a bus driver and I refuse to drive a bus... that makes me not a very good bus driver. Can any other profession just refuse to do their job and still expect to be employed? What if your doctor saw your cross, Star of David, or other religious identifier and refused to treat you? What if people in the military just said, "Fuck it," and abandoned their posts? Would you want these people to still be gainfully employed, while not doing what they're being paid to do? NO. But this woman still has a job despite refusing to do it. Why must religion be so overbearing? Why can't it understand the separation between church and state? The state has an obligation to ensure everyone has the right to believe what they want to believe. This bus is no different. DART isn't suspending or firing the woman because she's religious. They're not going, "Oh, you're not ALLOWED to drive this bus, because you're Christian." She did it to herself! Drive the stupid bus! Don't try to martyr yourself to some non-existent cause because you want your name in the newspapers and a "What's YOUR Deal?!?" devoted to you. Yes, religion is a touchy subject. But it really shouldn't be. The government, should NEVER say anything for or against ANY religion. And the DART policy of, "Hey, pay us and you can have an ad on our bus," is really quite non-denominational. It's not like it's advertising killing or violence against any religion group either. It's just an ad that says, "Hey, you don't believe in God? It's okay." That's about as non-threatening as an ad can be. What more do you want? Kittens and puppies? Religion, get out of government. Nothing bothers me more than when religion is used to explain why something should or should not happen. This is what irks me the most about the entire gay marriage argument. Um, gay people want to get married because of legal rights not because gay people are trying to burn down your church and everything it stands for. If your church doesn't want to perform gay marriages for the religious aspect, then DON'T. Why can't a gay couple just go down to City Hall and get a marriage license without the religious mumbo jumbo? How is that at all a threat to religion? If you don't want gay marriage in your personal life, then don't get married to the same sex yourself. If you don't want to be a passenger on a bus advertising something you don't believe in, don't get on the bus. Don't complain if you're late to school or work because you did that, though. But if you're paid to drive that bus, knowing the policies of your employer, drive the bus or face the consequences. It's not a hard concept. Especially if you consider the flip side to all of this. How many times do we all see the word God in our day to day lives. American money, the American Pledge of Allegiance, etc., etc. How do you think that makes atheists feel? Hmmm? Now that you've refused to drive a mile in their shoes, you know how it feels to have to conform. We're all equal. Our lives aren't gumdrops and candy canes, for us to function as a society we need to realize that everyone around us is different. And that's okay. We need to accept that people believe different things, people dress differently, look different and it's all okay. And just because other people are different, they not a threat to your own personal beliefs, dress, and appearance. And we're not all going to hell for it.

I Can't Be The Crazy One RIght?

Greetings loyal blog readers! I'm back after a brief hiatus in which I went to Canada. As a sidenote, anytime I'm in Canada or mention Canada, this pops into my head like a giant YouTube thought bubble: Anyways... whether you were anxiously awaiting my next rant or really glad I wasn't around so you didn't have to pretend you read my stuff out of an obligation not to offend me or somewhere in between... I'm back. :) The next couple of weeks are going to be hectic as I'm preparing to move to California. Worry not, my friends, there are still plenty of things that will irritate me between here and there. However, I'm actually starting to comtemplate my own sanity. You know the saying that if you keep doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different outcome... that makes you crazy? Well... that's the impasse that I'm at. I am so annoyed by all the stupidity around me and I try to make my stand against it, expecting the stupid to decrease... to no avail (of course). Does that make me the crazy one? Such deep thoughts to ponder... but then I see another article about the Westboro Baptist Church and realize that I can't possibly be more crazy than them. Or perhaps this woman: As long as there are people more crazy than I am... and I can wake up in the morning going, "Wow, I'm glad I'm not _______." I can deal with that. Now before I begin, to all of my religiously conservative readers out there, I just want to point out that I am not anti-religion. I'm not anti-God. I'm Buddhist, which isn't REALLY a religion in the traditional sense, but that is what I am and it allows me to look at different religions with a different light. I really do believe in this quote attributed to Buddha: "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it." So... I do not mean to offend, I just want to challenge points of view and hope to learn something new within the discourse. So... with that said, I stole this picture from a friend of mine that I post with on a soccer forum (I'm sorry I can't remember your name!): I know, before people with pitchforks and torches come storming to my front door, that not everyone that is religious is THAT wacky. Just because you believe in something doesn't mean you're an extremist. I get that. For example, I totally believe in animal rights and anti-cruelty to animals. I mean, how can you look at a face like this want to hurt it? (I'm referring to the orange one on your left): But, that doesn't make me an extremist and doesn't mean I can't condemn the nutjobs that throw animal blood on people who wear fur or leather coats. Seriously, what's that going to do? They're just going to buy ANOTHER fur or leather coat... resulting in the death of yet another animal. People are dumb. This made me LIVID when I read the article earlier this week: http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/584792.html Excerpts from the article: "A religious fringe group from Topeka, Kan., is coming to Clarence Center and Buffalo on Sunday to picket church services to remember victims of Continental Connection Flight 3407. Westboro Baptist Church has long been associated with virulent anti-gay views and has picketed the funerals of American soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Members contend that the deaths it pickets are God's punishment for what it considers the nation's permissive attitude toward homosexuals." If your God is that homophobic, spiteful, and bored to just pluck planes out of the sky and throw them into populated areas... maybe it's time to find another religion. More from the article: "'It’s pretty cold and heartless,' Rick Zabel of Clarence Center said when learning about the group’s visit. 'Can’t they find something a little more constructive to do?' Zabel was one of several people who told The Buffalo News that they had never heard of the group or were, at best, vaguely aware of it. 'I don’t think it’s going to help anyone around here. People are trying to process this. Residents here need to heal themselves,' said Daveq Merlo, also of Clarence Center. Funerals for the grandmother of President Obama, then- President Bill Clinton’s mother, Frank Sinatra and hate-crime murder victim Matthew Shepard are among the hundreds that church members have picketed." Mr. Zabel put it best, "cold and heartless" and "can't they find something a little more constructive to do?" It is times like this that the idiocy of the Westboro Baptist Church needs to be spread around. So many people are like Mr. Zabel and haven't heard of this group until they decide to roll into a town near you and start picketing a funeral. And who knows... the funeral they picket, may just be your's. I actually would welcome these fucktards to my funeral. And with my internet fans as a my witness, I hereby INVITE the Westboro Baptist Church to my funeral with the hopes that my friends and family can lay an intellectual bitch-slap heard around the world upon their retardation. I feel it is my moral obligation to fight groups like this and spread the word that what they do is NOT acceptable and should NOT be tolerated. Yes, I understand that for some people that "any publicity is good publicity," but I beg to differ. I'd like to believe that if there is enough outrage... change will happen. I'm almost tempted to create my own church, twisting the words of God, Allah, Buddha, or any other deity to my own personal interpretation. I would call this the Internet Church of Poon or something, but that'd bring a lot of unwanted publicity... I digress. It just never ceases to amaze me how quickly rational people can go from zero to retarded. Or just purely how MANY dumb people there are in the world. Case in point, whenever it snows and it covers the lines of parking lots... people suddenly lose their ability to park their cars. The first one there, I can see it can get somewhat hairy. "Shoot, I think I remember the row started here..." and then everyone SHOULD just follow suit in terms of parking in a line at relatively the same angle. This is especially the case on say... a MILITARY BASE. Military folks should by all means know how to form up into a formation. It's the same concept with a car! If you've never parked at such a ridiculously parallel parking-esque angle in a PARKING SPOT... what makes you think it's okay when it snows? Anyways... all this stupid... there is just so little time to fight it all. Maybe I should create a cult... the Cult of What's YOUR Deal?!? And we can all wear matching Snuggies (does anyone else realize that a Snuggie is just a backwards robe?). I mean... if the President of the United States can do it... I say, "YES WE CAN!"