1000

I suppose everyone celebrates when their blog hits 1000 views.

Why should I break the mold?

Thank you to everyone who visits and revisits my blog(s).

Your support is excellent and your loyalty appreciated.

Thank You

Now I can’t wait to have 1000 views in one day . . . but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

The Power of Shoes (or, how to keep your shoes looking nicer longer)

To say that all women collect shoes, while men view them as a necessary evil, is silly. Not all women collect shoes and I happen to be a man who loves them.

Though my collection isn’t mammoth, I’ve recently hit the 20’s. That’s right, there are twenty pairs of shoes in my closet. Go ahead, laugh. But don’t forget that one of my pairs is for studying the martial arts. You wouldn’t be the first person those shoes have kicked in the . . . .

Anyway. I view shoes the same way I look at shirts; no one wears the same shirt everyday! It’s a question of good fashion sense. Different shirts go with different pants. Some shirts look better under a sweater, and others need to be paired with the right jacket or tie. Shoe classification is just as detailed. For a guy, it’s an absolute necessity to own one pair of black shoes and another pair of brown. The second you put on a brown belt you’d better make sure your shoes are brown. Unless, of course, you’re wearing sneakers (the blue jeans of the podiatry) . . . which go with just about anything except dress slacks.

Secondly, despite the fashion ramifications of owning a variety of shoes, you have wear-and-tear to think about. I own shoes that were purchased in the fall of 1997. That may not earn me a place in Ripley’s or Guinness, but it keeps my shoes looking brand new. 

Lastly, the best way to build a shoe empire is to not pay full price for them. I am in no way a shoe snob. Half of my shoes were purchased at the Salvation Army and Goodwill. Why, you ask? Number one, you’d never know to look at them. I’ve always said look like you spend a lot of money on your clothes . . . but don’t. That ties in with number two, they only cost me three dollars. Full-price Doc. Martins go as well with a writer’s income as black leather shoes and a brown belt.

Shoes rule (almost as much as socks) and with a little know how and few dollar bills you can create quite a diversified, well maintained, fashionable, and inexpensive collection that will last you for years to come.

Facebook

What do Facebook and MySpace have in common?

A propensity for time wasting!

In all seriousness though, I believe a writer is a fool who doesn’t build his network, communicate with other writers, and connect with people of like minds. So in honor of networking, I invite anyone with a Facebook account to visit my site, poke me, kick me, throw a sheep at me, and do whatever craziness you do on Facebook. And if you think I’m the kind of person you want to be friends with, or the kind of writer who’s career you want to keep up with . . . put in a friend request. I deny nobody.

I’m very excited for this opportunity because I’m looking forward to posting some of my short stories and sample chapters from my new novel. To that end, if a you’ve gone so far as to make me your Facebook-friend . . . well, you should be treated in a special way.

So start kissing, slapping, and drop-kicking me. Make me your top-friend, BFF, or stranger, and let’s get together!

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=737493920

I don’t have enough time.

Who has enough time? Why does it seem impossible to complete the minuscule list of tasks you prepared for today? Do we really not have enough time, or are we using the time we have incorrectly?

There are few people alive today who remember long evenings spent on the front porch gossiping with neighbors or watching children play stick ball in the street. The days of snuggling up with a good book have all but come to an end, and just like the final chapter of a novel; we yearn for more. But how is this possible? Do we really have more responsibilities than generations past? Can it be said our hectic lives are busier than the pilgrims, tougher than mountain men, or more hazardous than the Aborigines?

In truth, we do have more on our plates than those who’ve gone before. A ancient farmer may wake up at 4 am to feed the animals, milk the cows, collect eggs, and prepare the fields. He may work until dusk planting, tending, and harvesting. But how many of us wake up early to prepare our children for school, then bare the burden of a morning commute, listening to our self help CD’s, to push ourselves eight to fifteen hours to earn a paycheck, a promotion, a chance, and upon returning home help the kids with homework, then cart them to soccer/gymnastics/karate/swimming/cheerleading, throw together a decent dinner, play with the youngsters before re-writing that proposal or fixing that pocket or preparing the house for the coming day? We all do.

And the reason we have so much to do? Well, technology has given the opportunity to complete far more tasks in a shorter period of time. But since planting a field is easier, and writing a paper is easier, and building a home is easier, then we have so much more time to pack in a little extra. Sign up for a literary club. Go ahead and take that art class. Get another degree, or just visit the library. And since those things are easier to do then ever before, we may have some more time to . . . .

Is it really bad to get more done? Is it wrong to accomplish our tasks efficiently and quickly? No. So why aren’t we fulfilled? Why do we refer to life as a rat race, dog-eat-dog, and like a marathon with no visible end? Life sucks then you die. Why? The answer is simple . . .

Poor priorities.

Imagine completing your job responsibilities, and nothing else. Pretend you live in a world where you’re only required to do the activities that maintain life. Technology makes it easy to blast past the important stuff, and if you scrutinize your life you’d see that the important issues of life aren’t the ones that bury you. At the end of the day, the tasks that leave you feeling wilted and half-dead are the ones you don’t need to do.

Sometimes you don’t need to do it right now. Sometimes you don’t need to do it today. Sometimes you don’t need to do it at all. Sure, you can spare an extra hour for that swim lesson . . . but should you? Is there something else more important you need to do? Watching a movie might sound grand, but is it going to interfere with a task that cannot wait? What if you threw out the veggie steamer, the hot dog cooker, the Foreman Grill, the sandwich maker, the deep fryer, the over-sized griddle (with special slots for frying sausages), and just use a pan? The point is, more often than not we complicate life simply by living it.

“We complicate life simply by living it.”

Honestly, we don’t need all the technology, all the advances, all the social programs, all the lessons, and all the classes to live a fulfilled life. Not that technology is terrible or time-consuming activities are bad, the problem is we don’t know how to balance them. If you feel overwhelmed by life you need to cut something out! Start with the stuff you don’t need to do. Pair away the bands until you can breath again. You’ll finally reach a place where you canget your work done. You’ll discover there is free-time treasure at the end of the proverbial work-day rainbow. And the good news is, as you become more adept at making schedules and sorting priorities you’ll learn you can comfortably add more columns to your to-do list without buying a casket with silky lining.

So before you download your entire music library to your i-pod, or enroll in the night-meeting of insomniacs anonymous, or slap down in front of the tube for a 10-hour marathon of Monk . . . finnish the important tasks. Prepare yourself for tomorrow’s work, and when you’ve reached the point you have no top-priorities left then feel free to enjoy yourself.

My mother used to say, “you can go out and play when your chores are done.” My mom was a sage.

The Power of One

It may be small, but 1 is the strongest number.

Some will argue that “two is better than one,” but those people are about as pleased with a second place ribbon and a silver medal as the next guy. And it appears that television producers agree with the rest of us.

Have you noticed the ever-increasing number of TV programs whose title only has one word?

Heroes
Phenomenon
Bones
Numb3rs
Smallville
K-Ville
Scrubs
Dexter
Weeds
House
Monk
Bleach
Reaper
Life
Lost
Friends
Seinfeld
24 . . . ?

But is there a correlation between popularity and title length? Does “Heroes” sound more enticing than “Everybody Loves Raymond”? What about “Life” compared with “Pushing Daisies?” Doesn’t “Chuck” draw you in more than “My Name is Earl”?

-Out of the 100 top TV shows listed on www.tv.com, 33 have only one word in the title (or a simple sequence of initials like “CSI”).
-Places 1-3 were Smallville, Heroes, and Avatar: The Last Airbender (which everyone shortens to Avatar).
-7 of the top 10 had only one word, and of the last 10 only 2 had short titles.
-The longest title, “I’m a Celebrity: Get Me Out of Here”, was #75.
-In fact, all shows with 5 words or more scored 58 or lower.

Obviously, content and acting factor into a show’s popularity and performance, but it seems one word titles are all the rage. To be honest it’s catchy. People say “cool” when they like something; they don’t say “wicked-killer-awesome-super-righteous-sweet!”

Well, my vote is cast. 1. Heroes, 2. Scrubs, & 3. Phenomenon. One word titles are number one!

What’s your favorite TV show? Does it’s title have one word or more than a measly uno?

Leave your comments and cast your vote. Let’s see if my readers prove or disprove my hypothesis!

Black Friday

There was a short time in my life that I worked in food service. Uhg. One of the most memorable experiences I had was working the day after Thanksgiving . . . otherwise known as Black Friday.

It was awful.

I worked at a mall and our store was so full people were sitting in the common spaces of the mall eating our food. And it didn’t stop. Not only did we open at some ungodly hour, and not only did we have to work an ungodly long shift, but the people ever stopped coming in!

People are crazy the day after Thanksgiving! And the funny thing is the sales aren’t all that great!

The term Black Friday was originally used by people in the retail industry to verbally represent the horrors of that day. What’s really funny is that retailers have started using that term in their advertising! What kind of a message does that send to your customers?

Black Friday or not . . . I’m not going shopping today. 

Blades of Sorry

I watched Blades of Glory last weekend and witnessed everything I’ve come to expect from Will Ferrell and Jon Heder.

I liked Jon in Napoleon Dynamite, and though his performance in Blades wasn’t a complete removal from Napoleon, it was fun and enjoyable.

With Will I have a love/hate relationship. I hate most of his comedies but love his serious roles. Stranger than Fiction was an outstanding movie and Ferrell’s acting was superb! His acting in Blades reverted back to his extreme knack for silly, slap-stick. Hey, some people go for that. I have to admit I laughed a little.

In the end Blades of Glory was occasionally witty but mostly silly, occasionally funny but mostly sorry, and occasionally clean but mostly not.

I won’t even bother rating this one . . . I’ve already spent too much time talking about it. But if you’re in the mood for farce . . . I guess you can check it out. But I wouldn’t recommend it for kids.

No More HO?

When the idea of “political correctness” was introduced under the infamous Clinton Administration I laughed.

Today I cried.

Yahoo News featured an article discussing how Santa Clauses in Sydney, Australia aren’t allowedto say “ho, ho, ho” anymore. Instead the faux Kringles are required to say “ha, ha, ha.” http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071115/wl_asia_afp/lifestyleaustraliachristmasoffbeat

Their argument? That the term “ho” is too close to the United States’ version of “hoe” (slang for prostitute) and may be “offensive to women.”

GIVE ME A BREAK!

Wow, I don’t normally get my mistletoe in a knot like that, but c’mon people! The only women who should be offended by the word “hoe” are prostitutes– who should really be more offended by their own lifestyle anyway. God forbid we do something to make them feel like their illegal, immoral occupations are bad. Secondly, would a lady-in-red really be offended if a plump Father Christmas wished her a merry “ho, ho, ho” while his belly shook like a bowl full of jelly? I don’t think so. She’d probably think he was asking her for a job.

Lastly the article reported how children may be frightened or offended by the term. The idiocy of such a bleeding-heart-asinine-over-sensitive-political-correctness makes we want to lose my fruitcake.

Honestly people . . . what kind of lower intelligence would imagine that the ancient Christmas greeting would make a person blush or reduce them to tears? At what point did our governments become soooo concerned for the emotional stability of the population that they stopped using the brain God so graciously gave them?

Political correctness be hanged! Ho, ho, ho and Merry Christmas!!

Thanksgiving: The Forgotten Holiday

I was at the mall this weekend and was reminded of a depressing trend in our nation.

It seems Thanksgiving is being forgotten.

The whole mall decorates for Halloween, but the moment All Hallows Eve is over you can’t walk through the mall without dodging elves, hearing Jingle Bells, or struggling with red/green color blindness. Orange becomes red, bats become garland, and Frankenstein becomes Santa. By walking through the mall, listening to the radio, or watching TV an immigrant might believe there was no holiday at all snuggled into the 4th Thursday of November. So what happened to Thanksgiving?

I’m sure part of it has to do with the fact you can’t really “sell” Thanksgiving. On Halloween you sell costumes and candy. On Christmas you sell everything else and candy. Honestly though, on Thanksgiving it’s hard to sell anything other than turkey. Maybe that’s the reason. We live in America, you can’t sell thankfulness.

Or maybe it’s the religious aspect of it. The Pilgrims escaped the dictatorial church of England and traveled to a country where their religious beliefs could be practiced without persecution. Our country was founded by people who believed the Bible, had faith in God, and strove to live a Christian life. In fact, the first Thanksgiving was held because they wanted to thank God that they didn’t all die that first winter. I guess I can see why the average American would want to forget that (note: this phrase is dripping with sarcasm).

But what about the good reasons! The Pilgrims, regardless of your religious bent, are the fathers of our country! Their the fathers of millions of people in the US. I happen to be one of them. My ancestry goes straight back to Elder William Brewster. By marriage I’m related to one of the guys who instigated the first Thanksgiving, and there are millions of people like me. C’mon, whatever happend to family unity?

Then there are the selfish reasons for Thanksgiving: you get a day off of work, you get holiday pay, it’s an excuse to over-eat and have family and friends over, and if you have stock in the turkey industry you might make some money!

Why is Thanksgiving disappearing and how long will it be before it’s gone? For me Thanksgiving is an amazing time . . . read Moriahjoy’s aricle if you want to feel are warm and snuggly; I did (http://moriahjoy.wordpress.com/).

Thanksgiving is beautiful and wonderful . . . don’t let Thanksgiving fall out of favor like the dreaded “sweetest day!”

The Golden Compass: The Godly Contest

With all the hype surrounding the December premier of The Golden Compass I decided to give the book a try. I was especially interested in the series after I heard the author was an extremely outstanding writer.

So I did what any good reader would do . . . I looked the book up on-line. What surprised me was that I found more than I bargained for. Apparently a whole bunch of people are up in arms over the His dark Materials trilogy. Well, like any good reading/writing/discerning/human being, I’m going to read the The Golden Compass and come to an intelligent conclusion for myself. Not that I discount the opinions of others, quite the contrary, but no one should talk about an issue unless they know what they’re talking about. I plan on knowing what I’m talking about.

I did the same thing when Harry Potter came out it; the books were shrouded in controversy and people were saying a lot of insane things on both side of the issues. On one front people supported real-life witchcraft (stupid) and on the other they wrote books called Harry Potter and the Bible, which was a “theological” essay on the sin of Harry Potter (not all that good of an idea concerning their arguments weren’t the most biblical).

After reading the entire series . . . three times each . . . and once I read the entire thing out loud (all 7 books), I made my final conclusion.

Drum role please. 

I don’t have any serious problems with Harry Potter. The biggest disagreement I have is with Rowling’s recent un-literary addition of Dumbledore’s sexuality. Other than that it’s all debatable, and I won’t take the time now to debate them . . . we’re talking about another children’s book

I’ve read the first two chapters of The Golden Compass and I’m starting to see two things. 1. The author is an amazing writer, and 2. I know why everyone’s up-in-arms. Sure, Phil Pullman’s an atheist, and though everything he does will be colored by his beliefs, that doesn’t mean all of his works will expressly deal with his atheistically philosophical bent. As far as I know J.K. Rowling doesn’t believe in God either but her books don’t broach the subject in any degree. Yet, it’s very obvious from the first chapter, that Pullman’s anti-organized-church-predisposition is a main character in his series.

So I did some more research on-line this morning and found this . . .    

“http://snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp”

Though sites like this can be a dime a dozen, this particular site is well represented. I wish the information this site was untrue, but I’m pretty sure it holds more than water. What this doesn’t mean is I’m not going to read the books, but- like Harry Potter- it’s good to know what you’re looking for. In short, I still plan on giving the series a chance. If I can support it I will, but if I can’t, having read the books, I’ll be able to fight against it better.

Everyone’s entitled to their opinion, but my opinion is that no atheist should be spreading lies to a generation of impressionable children; especially when they put out a high-voltage, watered-down version of it to get kids to buy the trilogy only to find out the books hold a blatant message. I say to Pullman the same thing I said to Rowling . . . if you have a belief system don’t hide it to sell books/movies.

Pullman, at least be honest about the fact you want to kill God when they make your movie. Don’t shroud the film in innocence so you can sell your books.

Busy, busy, not writing

Wow! I’ve been so busy reading everyone else’s blogs I forgot about mine.

Okay, so it really wasn’t that simple, but I have to say there’s a lot of good stuff out there.

I’m looking for some quality writing to add to my blog list, so if you think your site deserves a link let me know. I love to promote good writing.

Transformers: More than Met my Expectations

The day I heard the Transformers were being made into a live action movie I was hesitant at best. Hollywood has such an amazing knack for ruining child-hood memories and international icons. If something becomes famous without Hollywood there’s generally little the West Coast can do to boost its appeal.

 

I was actually so tentative to embrace the film I didn’t see it in the theater. Why spend all the money? So I patiently lingered and almost forgot it entirely. The fact that many of my friends (who are all avid movie goers) didn’t have anything to say about it solidified my doubts. Finally one of my co-workers informed me they’d seen Transformers and they liked it. Unfortunately I couldn’t wholeheartedly embrace his opinion . . . he spent most of his time intoxicated. Heck, even Loathing in Las Vegas is cool . . . if you’re on drugs.

 

Well, as you know, Transformers is now on DVD . . . and I’m so glad it is.

 

I don’t know why I waited so long! As a child I loved watching the cartoons and I had a rather large collection of the action figures. Sure, you could waste half your day twisting, snapping, and turning the figures only to end up with a half-robot/half-semi truck, side-show freak, but the cartoons took no dexterity or memorization to enjoy. I even had Transformers bed sheets! Let’s just say the movie lived up to all that’s gone before . . . sheets, cartoons, action figures, underwear, and more.

 

The plot stayed true to the original concepts. Nothing’s worse than adulterating a good story. Hem, hem, Mission Impossible I; Jim Phelps would never become a bad guy. I hate you Jon Voight! Actually, Jon was in Transformers as well and he did a good job. Okay, so you have a hot daughter . . . I forgive you for desecrating Jim Phelps’ memory. Sorry about that, now back to the non-biological extraterrestrials. Transformers was believable and well thought out. All of the sub-plots received their due time and no interesting characters fell through the cracks (except maybe for the cute, computer chick). Though the first half took a teeny-weeny while to get going, the ending made up for it.

 

As to the writing, I give it a one-and-a-half-thumbs-up. Though there was a huge, gaping target with cliché written across the front . . . the writers did a great job missing it. Even the lines taken out of the original series rang genuine. There’s nothing cooler than hearing Optimus Prime say “there’s more to them than meets the eye,” especially when Peter Cullen, the original voice of Optimus Prime, is saying it. I could’ve done without the whole “masturbation” dialogue though, and when will Hollywood stop making adults look like complete morons. Maybe it’s because all the adults in Hollywood are morons . . . I don’t know. Either way, they didn’t inject unrealistic humor too often. Sure, the whole Autobots acting like grade-schoolers in Sam’s backyard was annoying, but it could’ve been worse. Think I’m being too hard? What do you expect from a guy with only half a thumb?

 

The acting was better than the average epic movie. Shia LaBeouf is definitely growing as an actor, and Jon Turturro was fantastic. I was also glad to see the voice of Megatron performed by Hugo Weaving. He rocks. As for the new girl, Megan Fox, I think she gave a stunning performance. Her tow-truck sequence communicated so much raw emotion without a single line.

 

I’ve been saying for a long time “there’s noting you can’t do in movies anymore.” The only room left to grow is in presenting the effects realistically. Well, the Transformers were a genuine work of art. Half the time I tell what was C.G. and what was real. The animators seamlessly worked the computer world and our world into a stunning portrait of realism. I would’ve hated to be the guy who designed the characters; they were so complex and intricate. I can’t wait to see the extra content and find out how they animated the twisting, shifting, flexing machines. There facial expressions and body movements had so much personality. There was the occasional moment where all the gearing metal, exploding buildings, cannon fire, and running made it a little hard to follow the action, but I guess that’s the price of realism.

As to the overall theme, it was consistent and value driven. Freedom of choice and the importance of life are always worth fighting for.  

In the end the Official Olsen Rating gives Transformers a very good score (out of ten).

 

Plot: 9

Writing: 8

Acting: 8

Cinematography: 9

Special Effects: 10

Theme: 9

 

With a combined total an 88%, that makes Transformers an awesome film for the family.

Giving the Cold a Cold Shoulder

Perhaps it’s the fact sniffly noses and raspy coughs are the symptoms of a “cold” that so many people have floundered into the myth that cold weather makes you sick.

I smirk (much the way I parent does when their child informs the guest of honor he can use the bathroom all by himself) when I hear someone blame their poor health on the cold. Of course I learned a long time ago not to challenge majority misconceptions; unless of course you want to be called a “quack,” or have people drop a condescending eye. So I don’t normally say anything . . . until now.

Honestly, folks, what makes you sick? Bacteria, viruses, germs, “bugs,” mutated cells: Things that exist in a tangible state and attack the healthy cells of your body. The cold (referring to temperature) doesn’t contain any more germs than warm weather. In fact, it may be argued that it has fewer germs due to the inhospitable temperature.

So, how did this misconception arise? It’s true that cold weather might make you more susceptible to the germs that make you sick. The average immune system has to work a little harder in cold weather. Weak immune systems can be seriously hindered in freezing temperatures, but it doesn’t “make” you sick.

In the end, if you take a trip to the frozen tundra of Canada this holiday season and go on a nature hike (where you’re sure no nasty viruses are hanging around) completely naked, don’t come crying back to me when you die. Hypothermia isn’t sickness, it’s dying. But at least you will have died a healthy individual.

So bundle up this winter, but don’t blame Jack Frost for your runny nose . . . that’s your immune system’s fault.

Heroes: Can’t Get Enough

The Heroes episode which aired Monday the 5th, to put it into the vernacular, rocked.

The introduction of the character Adam spun the whole series in an awesome new direction. The writers have astounding way of tying the core characters back together even when their paths have taken them in seemingly opposite directions, or opposite times, or opposite frames of mind, or whatever. And like every good story, just when something good happens to your main character you’d better make sure something terrible appears right on the good’s heels! You’d better believe terrible is here.

On a different front, I’m glad Claire has a romantic interest, but I have to say I miss the father/daughter relationship of the first season. I know, I know, we can’t live in the past, and I like the way Claire’s story looks like its going, but I wish it’d hurry up.

I can’t wait; we’ll soon be finding out what’s so special about Mamma Petrelli and what sets off the whole epidemic. Next Monday’s epidsode is shaping up to be spectacular!

If you’re not watching Heroes you really should. See TV at its best.

A Social Commentary

Despite the fact I was born in the North, I’ve spent a great deal of time down south, specifically North & South Carolina. As I got to know the people there I was struck by a very interesting observation.

If you ask the average Northerner what their thoughts are about the South, your typical answer will be along the lines of, “I don’t know. I think some of it has more hills. Isn’t most all of it farmland?” The general consensus is the South is just “more spread out.”

If you ask the average Southerner what their thoughts are about the North . . . you’d better sit down and get comfy, and it’s probably best not to let them know you’re from the North. First of all, you’re going to hear that Northeners drive too fast. In fact, they do everything to quickly. You’ll probably be told that you (Northerners) are ruder than your southern counterparts. While the South, on the other hand, is extremely friendly. During the conversation they may actually even use the word “Yankee.” Next, you’ll be interested to know . . . . And at this point they may eventually trail into some extended dialogue on the Civil War.

Now, please, if you’re from the South you may say “I’d never do that!” Wonderful! I’m simply relating my experiences from 8 years of intimate contact with the South, while trying not to be over-stereotypical. And believe it or not, I’m coming to a very poignant point.

The Civil War is over. No one alive today was involved with the Civil War. Slavery no longer exists in America. The North is not in some kind of competition with the South. And this may sound heretical, but the equal-rights movement has been fought . . . and won. There are very few people alive today who even existed when it happened.

So why can’t people let it go?

I believe that the racism that exists today, the bigotry, the intolerance for superficial differences, all stem from an inability to move on. The good fight was fought. The blood was shed, and now we live in a country where the vast majority of people don’t care what color your skin is or where you were born or what your sex is.  Yet interestingly enough bigotry still exists. So where does it come from?

The majority of bigotry and hatred in America today stems the people who were, at one point, the object of hatred. I’ll use racism as an example. I don’t know a single white person who hates a black person. I don’t even know any white people who look down on black people because of their skin color. Of course that doesn’t mean white-racists don’t exist. It simply means I don’t know any. But I do know many black people who hate white people, or who dislike them because they’re white.

Interestingly enough, much of their hatred isn’t born from actual offenses received against themselves, but perceived offenses other people suffered. These “perceived offenses” most often start with an event that happened so long ago there’s no one left who was there to see it. The “bussing” for example. Yes, at that time most white people treated black people poorly, but not any more. So, after dwelling on the initial perceived offense, people start to interpret others actions in the light of the ancient perception. “That person was rude to me, they’re probably racist.” They assume they know the motivation of other people. I don’t know about you, but my mind reading skills left me the day I realized I wasn’t God.

In the end, many people like what I’ve described actually become the racist. Sure, they may have been discriminated against, and probably disliked, and definitely treated poorly by one person or another . . . but most times those things didn’t happen because of their skin color. It may have happened because the other person had a bad day or because the offendee was being a jerk (God forbid). But by assuming every time I’m treated poorly it’s due to my skin, I begin to hate the people who hate me.

Unfortunately, in the world we live in, there are more black people who hate white people than the other way around. The black community has black schools, radio stations, magazines, months, t.v. shows, clubs, etc. If a white person ever showed that kind of discrimination it would be labeled a hate crime and they’d be crucified by the Reverend.

My point is simple. If you hate someone because of what they’re ancestors did to you . . . you’re wrong. If you dislike someone because you think you know why they’re unkind to you . . . you’re wrong. And that goes for people with the same ethnicity. If you’re a Latino and another Latino is cruel to you, and you assume you know the reason . . . you’re wrong. If you have gone so far that you actually hate/dislike/can’t abide/or disassociate yourself from an ethnic group, a geographical location, or social standing . . . you are dead wrong.

Hatred and bigotry will never die as long as people can’t move on. Let go of the past injustices. Let go of the ancient feuds. And for goodness sake, let go of your own bigotry. Think of it this way . . . the world won’t change it you don’t. Why should men stop hating women if women won’t stop hating men? You do your part, and even if the rest of the world won’t change, at least you can die knowing you were the better person.

If everyone just did what was right the Mason/Dixon would disappear, everyone would become color blind, and sex would be something people do, not something they are.