I have a confession to make. When I was a young kid I was the victim of bullying. I was pretty small kid and could be pushed around. I also lacked confidence and kids tend to like to pick on those who lack confidence. It does not seem very masculine to admit that you were pushed around as a child. I guess that is why I do not talk that much about it.
Perhaps that is why I found it interesting all of the recent movement for the end of bullying. I can relate to the effects bullying can have on a kid. If there is a reasonable way we can cut down on bullying then by all means we should look at it. Is it possible that trouble-maker and Lady Gaga can agree on something?
Well not so much. It seems that all the activity against bullying is concentrated on one motivation for bullying. That is the bullying due to sexual preference. In other words it is about bullying people because of a perception or reality that they are homosexual. All of this activity would not have mattered one bit when I was a kid since that was not the reason for my torment. It seems that the new bully activists do not really care about what kids go through unless it is because of their sexual preference.
But the problem is deeper than that. Such anti-bullying activity could actually support more bullying. We could be creating an atmosphere that those who are deemed not accepting enough of homosexuality could find themselves the targets of different types of bullying. It may not be from other kids as much as it is from authorities. They may target those who are not PC enough on issues of sexual preference and differentially punish those who are deemed guilty of bullying homosexuals.
Think I am exaggerating? Take the case of Dharun Ravi. That is the Rutgers student who was found guilty for using a webcam on his roommate having sex with another man. His roommate killed himself due to this embarrassment. Ravi may get as much as ten years of prison for his crime and is likely to be deported. Was this stupid? Yes. Does he deserve to be punished? Absolutely. I am thinking suspension from college for a semester or so seems like an appropriate punishment. But ten years!!!! We all know of stupid and insensitive college pranks that should be punished. Fortunately most of us have not done such pranks against homosexuals. I believe that if Ravi had done his thoughtless prank with a heterosexual roommate he would have gotten a more appropriate punishment. The authorities have stepped in and upped the punishment greatly which sends a signal on who can and who cannot be bullied.
We really do need an anti-bullying movement in our society. A true anti-bullying movement would address bullying no matter what the motivation for the bullying. It would not classify some victims as more worthy of protection than others. We should not trade one form of bullying for another. Doing so will not decrease bullying but merely change its target. Ironically it is possible that the anti-bullying movement’s focus on sexual preference may have the net effect of increasing bullying in the United States.
I know what it is like to be the bottom kid on the totem pole. The fact that it was not because of my sexual preference did not make it more pleasant for me. Finding out why kids bullying each other and learning how to discourage bullying is a laudable goal. Let’s make it a benefit for all kids who are bullied and not merely for those who are bullied for politically correct reasons.
Sincerely,
Trouble-Maker
Friday, March 23, 2012
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
GCB
Okay I have heard that the new show GCB had anti-Christian overtones. So I felt obigated to watch it and see for myself. Boy was that a waste of my life.
Was there some anti-Christian overtones? Maybe a little. It seems to me that the Christian characters on the show are not very likeable. But then again none of the charcters on that show are very likeable. Therein is the crux of the matter. The show is awful. I could not get through the entire pilot. I do not know how anyone can stand to watch that sort of drivel.
I accept the fact that there is anti-Christian bias in Hollywood that comes out in protrayals of Christians. Can you remember the last time there was a sympathetic overtly Christian character in Hollywood? Perhaps GCB was an attempt to express this bias. But it simply was not a good enough vehicle to do so. The characters were so cardboard and one dimensional that no thinking person can take the show seriously.
So put me on the anti-GCB bandwagon. Not becasue I think the show is a great example of anti-Christian bigotry. But because we already have enough bad TV shows and we do not need any more.
Sincerely,
Trouble-Maker
Was there some anti-Christian overtones? Maybe a little. It seems to me that the Christian characters on the show are not very likeable. But then again none of the charcters on that show are very likeable. Therein is the crux of the matter. The show is awful. I could not get through the entire pilot. I do not know how anyone can stand to watch that sort of drivel.
I accept the fact that there is anti-Christian bias in Hollywood that comes out in protrayals of Christians. Can you remember the last time there was a sympathetic overtly Christian character in Hollywood? Perhaps GCB was an attempt to express this bias. But it simply was not a good enough vehicle to do so. The characters were so cardboard and one dimensional that no thinking person can take the show seriously.
So put me on the anti-GCB bandwagon. Not becasue I think the show is a great example of anti-Christian bigotry. But because we already have enough bad TV shows and we do not need any more.
Sincerely,
Trouble-Maker
Saturday, March 3, 2012
A Test for Conservatives
You probably have heard about the Rush Limbaugh and Sandra Fluke controversy by now. If you have not then here is an ABC article to provide you a quick update.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/03/rush-limbaugh-sandra-fluke-a-slut-and-prostitute/
So Limbaugh has not only refused to apologize but he has also made his insults of Fluke worse. Nice.
The sad part is that I agree that Fluke had no business testifying in a hearing on religious rights. I heard her before Limbaugh got involved and she struck me as another student steeped in entitlement thinking. Here is a clue. If you go to a Catholic college then do not expect them to supply you with contraceptives. Go somewhere else if that is important to you. But none of that entitlement thinking excuses the disgusting behavior of Limbaugh. The points I just made could have been made without dragging this argument through the mud. Limbaugh should be ashamed of himself.
Now is the time for conservatives to disown Limbaugh. He has had his day. I give him credit for being the first major player in the, at that time, new area of talk radio. And in his heyday he did it quite well. I did not agree with him a good deal of the time but he was entertaining and could persuade me to rethink things. What he is doing now is neither entertaining nor insightful. It is just crude. His day has passed and it is time for him to go.
But will conservatives facilitate reducing his exit or at least reduce his current influence? I remember when John McCain dared to criticize Limbaugh during his presidential run. The backlash he received from that criticism made McCain backtrack in a hurry. Limbaugh has made himself the third rail of conservative politics. You do not criticize him without consequence in the conservative community.
But conservatives who care about their causes need to face down Limbaugh. It is not as if there are not other talented conservative commentators who can carry on in the talk radio arena that conservatives dominate so well. I have criticized progressives who do not police their own extremists. At this point Limbaugh is an extremist who has taken an issue of religious freedom and reduced it down to name-calling.
This is the test for conservatives to see who is brave enough to openly challenge him and condemn Limbaugh. I say condemn Limbaugh because it is not enough to just condemn the comments. You also have to condemn the man who is unrepentant about those comments. For too long Limbaugh has been treated with kid gloves by conservatives. Will any conservatives have the wisdom to see that his day has past and the guts to marginalize him in their conservative subculture? Praise him for his historical breakthroughs if you must and acknowledge his previous accomplishments. But please do not enable him to infect us with more venomous comments in the future. Those of us who are not conservatives, and especially us moderates who can be won to some of your causes from time to time, will be watching conservatives to see if they have the spine to do what is right.
Sincerely,
Trouble-Maker
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/03/rush-limbaugh-sandra-fluke-a-slut-and-prostitute/
So Limbaugh has not only refused to apologize but he has also made his insults of Fluke worse. Nice.
The sad part is that I agree that Fluke had no business testifying in a hearing on religious rights. I heard her before Limbaugh got involved and she struck me as another student steeped in entitlement thinking. Here is a clue. If you go to a Catholic college then do not expect them to supply you with contraceptives. Go somewhere else if that is important to you. But none of that entitlement thinking excuses the disgusting behavior of Limbaugh. The points I just made could have been made without dragging this argument through the mud. Limbaugh should be ashamed of himself.
Now is the time for conservatives to disown Limbaugh. He has had his day. I give him credit for being the first major player in the, at that time, new area of talk radio. And in his heyday he did it quite well. I did not agree with him a good deal of the time but he was entertaining and could persuade me to rethink things. What he is doing now is neither entertaining nor insightful. It is just crude. His day has passed and it is time for him to go.
But will conservatives facilitate reducing his exit or at least reduce his current influence? I remember when John McCain dared to criticize Limbaugh during his presidential run. The backlash he received from that criticism made McCain backtrack in a hurry. Limbaugh has made himself the third rail of conservative politics. You do not criticize him without consequence in the conservative community.
But conservatives who care about their causes need to face down Limbaugh. It is not as if there are not other talented conservative commentators who can carry on in the talk radio arena that conservatives dominate so well. I have criticized progressives who do not police their own extremists. At this point Limbaugh is an extremist who has taken an issue of religious freedom and reduced it down to name-calling.
This is the test for conservatives to see who is brave enough to openly challenge him and condemn Limbaugh. I say condemn Limbaugh because it is not enough to just condemn the comments. You also have to condemn the man who is unrepentant about those comments. For too long Limbaugh has been treated with kid gloves by conservatives. Will any conservatives have the wisdom to see that his day has past and the guts to marginalize him in their conservative subculture? Praise him for his historical breakthroughs if you must and acknowledge his previous accomplishments. But please do not enable him to infect us with more venomous comments in the future. Those of us who are not conservatives, and especially us moderates who can be won to some of your causes from time to time, will be watching conservatives to see if they have the spine to do what is right.
Sincerely,
Trouble-Maker
Friday, March 2, 2012
To a new low in rhetoric.
Well this is a new low in political rhetoric. I support free speech and their right to be crude. But I still ask why can we not do better than this?
http://news.yahoo.com/hell-barack-row-over-washington-metro-ad-051919392.html
What is gained by such an insult to the President? When did we lose our manners? Can we not agree without being disagreeable? All this does is entice those on the other side to stoop to insults as well. No wonder why those of us who are not fully in the Republican or Democrat camp are not always eager to go out and vote. I guess we better or we will let the extremists decide our elections.
I wish I had some super powerful insight here. But to me it just seems like a bunch of children got some money and decided to insult the President. Already I want this political season to end.
Sincerely,
Trouble-Maker
http://news.yahoo.com/hell-barack-row-over-washington-metro-ad-051919392.html
What is gained by such an insult to the President? When did we lose our manners? Can we not agree without being disagreeable? All this does is entice those on the other side to stoop to insults as well. No wonder why those of us who are not fully in the Republican or Democrat camp are not always eager to go out and vote. I guess we better or we will let the extremists decide our elections.
I wish I had some super powerful insight here. But to me it just seems like a bunch of children got some money and decided to insult the President. Already I want this political season to end.
Sincerely,
Trouble-Maker
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