I hate wasps. They serve no purpose. We already have bees to pollinate and bats to eat smaller bugs. Bees only attack when provoked, and disembowel themselves when they sting you, so they will only sting you once, then die. Wasps have smooth stingers and will sting you, unprovoked, repeatedly. In conclusion, they exist only to cause pain and wreak havoc.
I bring this up because I feel that guns are the wasps of self-defense. I’m getting really fucking fed up with the reactionary cowards in this country defending their pretend right to own fucking automatic weapons over the safety of their fellow citizens. The thing that really gets me is that these are usually the same people that identify as “pro-life.” Well guess what- if you are against stricter gun laws, if you pepper your conversation with bigotry and violence, if you think it’s appropriate to mix guns and kids, you support killing children. You don’t have to pull the trigger yourself to be an accessory to gun violence. To the gun nuts of America: YOU are responsible for every gun-related tragedy in this country. When a nine year-old gets shot, you are responsible. When an eight year-old shoots himself in the head at a gun show, you are responsible. Guns serve one purpose and one purpose only. I don’t need to spell it out for you. Leave the “who, me?” bullshit to Alfred E. Newman.
The saddest thing to me is the snake-eating-its-tail nature of guns. A nut with a gun threatens someone- they, in turn, arm themselves and I concede that this is usually done out of necessity. I don’t fault anyone in this type of position, and I also concede that not all gun owners are nut jobs. If someone with a gun threatened a loved one I wouldn’t think twice about choking them out, stabbing them with something sharp, or gouging their eyes; but like a twisted game of rock, papers, scissors, gun beats knife and bare hands. If I were being threatened by a gun, I would want a gun myself. Of course, if there were no guns, it would be a moot point. Why is this not a goal? I firmly believe in the right to self-defense, but I ask: why isn’t there more emphasis on hand-to-hand defense in this country? Why do Americans turn to the laziest, most destructive tool of “defense” with so much pride and so little responsibility? It’s disgusting, it’s shameful, and I reject the association with patriotism. I do, however, maintain the association with wasps.
Shit tons of litter, that’s what! And a couple of douchebags blocking the staircase. If only my morning commute were always as serene as this picture! Almost every effing day, especially with the Mayoral race around the corner, some asshole or another congests the sidewalk in order to shove unwanted paper in my face, and do you know what happens when someone actually accepts that unwanted paper? They take one glance at it and chuck it on the street. And in addition to the litter issue let me also point out that I don’t consider sidewalk soliciting a form of advertising, I consider it harassment. The ChooChoo Chicken menu guy almost got a black eye the day he shoved a menu at me so aggressively it almost cut my damned face.
As an animal welfare advocate, animal rights groups really get under my skin, especially PETA. First, let me explain the key differences. Whereas animal welfare advocates believe in the fair treatment of animals and responsible animal husbrandry, animal rights activists believe animals should be treated exactly as humans, meaning none should be kept as pets, used for food, used as guide dogs or therapy animals, or used for scientific research. Now, while I don’t care for factory farming or abusing animals for the benefit of testing beauty products, I do think we’re all part of the food chain (like no animals eat humans, come on) and I understand that the genetic makeup of certain animals- i.e. drosophila (fruit flies) and mice- are so similar to our own that their sacrifice is an unfortunate necessity in advancing our understanding of disease. As stewards of the Earth it is our responsibility to treat them as kindly as possible and provide the quickest, most painless methods of euthanasia in farming and reserach scenarios.
That she is a deplorable c-u-next-Tuesday who will throw her own children under a bus for a little press. As the daughter of a special educator I have zero tolerance for women like her, who use their special needs child as a puppet for their own agenda. Sarah Palin doesn’t care if using her baby as a scare tactic against public health care would actually HURT millions of families struggling to care for their special needs children. It doesn’t matter to her, she’s filthy rich from her plethora of public humiliations and as such has access to the best health care available to her. At least President Obama is man enough to acknowledge the fact that he is privileged enough to have stellar health care. Why should he care if the rest of the country is uninsured and dying off as a result? “Me first, and fuck the rest of them, that’s the American way!” But unlike so many pundits and figureheads, he knows that attitude is sick and disgusting and no leader should treat their community that way. He has nothing to gain by making health care a common right. He is doing this for us, not him.
