What's Going On?

There's something you should know about me. I am fiercely opinionated and 99% of the time I lack the ability to keep that to myself. Over the past 8 or so years of blogging I've expressed my thoughts on the state of the country, particularly related to same-sex marriage, a few different times.

I have always been a hyper-emotional and sensitive person. I can't tell you how many times I've been told that I don't have a poker face by my friends, family, and partners.. hell, even my boss told me once that he can read my emotions like a book.

Another thing you should know is I was raised in a very open-minded household and spent grades 4 through 12 in a culturally diverse school. I was exposed to a variety of cultures from around the world and looking back, I don't think I fully understood how much that helped to shape the outspoken and empathetic person I've become.

Even in elementary school I never viewed my peers as weird or less-than because we were "different." I had black friends, Indian friends, Jewish friends.. it never mattered to me. Maybe some of that can be attributed to childhood innocence, but I realize now that some children may be robbed of that due to the hateful rhetoric being slung around our country on a daily basis.

I'm not naive - I know this kind of "talk" isn't new. What continues to baffle me is how prevalent it has become. When did it become ok to call someone a "snowflake" just because they sympathize with a viewpoint that is different than yours? Or to call someone a disgusting racial slur just because they have a different skin color than you and hold a different opinion about something? I read on Monday that a fire chief in Pittsburgh resigned because of backlash he received after calling the Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, a man of color, a "no good n----r," because the team chose to protest the national anthem (oh trust me, I'll touch on this soon). He went on to say that he's "not the racist the media is portraying" him to be and that his social media post was made out of "frustration and anger." Excuse my language here, but yeah fucking right. If your knee-jerk reaction is to call someone a racial slur instead of an asshole or something similar when you're angry.... You're a racist. My only hope is that one day your shriveled cold heart learns what understanding and acceptance mean.

Here's the thing. I am ALL FOR agreeing to disagree - it's one of the great things about the first amendment and our ability as Americans to express our opinions. I used to think that opportunity was something we took for granted.. now, unfortunately, it's being taken advantage of. 

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." - Martin Luther King Jr. 

I am linking a few of my previous similar blogs if you're curious.
Election 2012
Marriage Equality
Sorority Videos