Thursday, December 14, 2006

Here's Your Sign

I swear!

Okay this post is just going to be pure rant, devoid of the usual insight Danifesto usually tries to express. Readers be forewarned!

Is it just me or are there a lot of stupid people lately? Mind you, I've very tolerant because Lord knows I'm not the highest card in the deck but some of these folks lately have taken their stupidness and raised it to a new level that is shocking!

My first example comes from Oklahoma (no comments or generalizations about that- my Dad grew up near where this happened and there are fine people there I'm sure). Two women "claim" to have been attacked because of their sexual orientation. Local police aren't sure though.

"It’s almost like they didn’t believe the gay thing, like people wanting to beat someone else up because they’re gay," Kaspereit told the Evening News.
"I don't think people realize how much we get discriminated against. Being attacked because of your sexual orientation I found out isn't even considered a hate crime in Oklahoma. We're singled out. We're obviously singled out. They kind of proved that with my arm."
Kaspereit told the paper that police asked her several questions but did not take photographs of her arm or bloodied face. (365Gay.com)

What's the deal with her arm you ask? Oh, they carved the word "lesbian" on it. Her friend had "Hellbound" written deeply in pen on her chest.

Yeah. I would have to side with her on this one. I don't think those donut-eaters really have a clue down there. I'm just sayin'! (*RETRACTION: She has since confessed this never happened! Even stupider!)

My second example of stupidity comes from Jim Rutz who writes for WorldNetDaily.com. Much time has been spent wondering about gay people and where we came from and why. Ponder no more because Mr. Rutz has cracked this mystery for us! Apparently the reason for the rash of gayness is due to soy. That's right. Soy=Gay. It's all that soy milk and tofu in my diet as a child. (Never ate the stuff actually) Here's what he has to say (see above link for the whole article):

I have nothing against an occasional soy snack. Soy is nutritious and contains lots of good things. Unfortunately, when you eat or drink a lot of soy stuff, you're also getting substantial quantities of estrogens.
Estrogens are female hormones. If you're a woman, you're flooding your system with a substance it can't handle in surplus. If you're a man, you're suppressing your masculinity and stimulating your "female side," physically and mentally.
(source)

And we all know where that yellow brick road leads folks! Now this might come as a shocker to you but I'll just add that although he actually did receive post-secondary education, it was not in the field of science or medicine!

The final example of someone being hit upside the head with the "stupid stick" is a group of people actually. The Holocaust Conference in Teran, Iran was held earlier this week to discuss the authenticity of this tragic event. The attendees actually "believe that the volumes of documentation, testimony and living memory of the Nazi genocide are at best exaggerated and part of a Zionist conspiracy to falsify history so as to create the case for Israel" (source).

After I was done trying to explain this to my partner, he just said, "But that's soooooooooooooo stupid, honey!" He's absolutely right. I'm in favour of freedom of speech and others having the right to say as many stupid things as they want to. However I also have the right to point out what they are presenting as "fact" is actually just stupid bigotry dressed up in academic clothing. I'd wonder what Iran's president (and conference sponsor), Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, would say if he actually went to the Auschwitz concentration camp site. He'd probably dismiss it as all part of some great conspiracy, along with all the survivors with numbered tattoos on their arms. He actually used the word "myth" when referring to the most documented case of genocide in written history!

Although the Holocaust devastated whole generations of Jews and unquestionably impacted them the most, they were not the only victims. People who visit the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC learn that Sinti, Roma (some estimates are as high as 800,000 "gypsies" were murdered), Poles (6 million killed, of whom 3 million were Christian, and the rest Jewish), Serbs (estimates vary between 500,000 and 1.2 million killed, mostly by Croat Ustaše), Soviet military prisoners of war and civilians in occupied territories including Russians and other East Slavs, the mentally or physically disabled, homosexuals, Africans, Jehovah's Witnesses, Communists and political dissidents, trade unionists, Freemasons, Eastern Christians, and Catholic and Protestant clergy, were also persecuted and killed (source).

Historians have estimated that between 9-11 million people perished in seven years. Holding a conference for all the wingnuts who believe this never happened is just stupid.

Reading this over, I've noticed that all my examples of stupidity happen to be male. To be fair, and show that stupidity does not discriminate, I'll close with the lyrics of "Stupid Girl" by Pink.

Maybe if I act like that,
that guy will call me back
Porno Paparazzi girl,
I don't wanna be a stupid girl

Go to Fred Segal, you'll find them there
Laughing loud so all the little people stare
Looking for a daddy to pay for the champagne
(Drop a name)

What happened to the dreams of a girl president
She's dancing in the video next to 50 Cent
They travel in packs of two or three
With their itsy bitsy doggies and their teeny-weeny tees

Where, oh where, have the smart people gone?
Oh where, oh where could they be?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

While I see the need to rant over those crazy stories, I would rant in a different direction. All three stories have a common thread (at least to me). They all involve people that choose to believe something even though it goes against common logic. They choose to believe these things our of fear and hatred towards things they believe are wrong. The cops in the first story obviously can tell that it's a hate crime. The word Lesbian was carved into the ladies arm. I see the cops consciously choosing to look the other way and condoning that behavior. If they really thought what happened was wrong, they would have taken the photos and started a real investigation. We all watch CSI, we all know how investigations should look. Taking pictures is basic.

In the second story, the guy without a science background is blaming soy for making people gay. He is reaching for any reason that doesn't involve science or DNA. The fact that we might be born with our sexual orientation in tact is something he doesn't want to believe, therefore he chooses to look stupid.

Lastly, the 'myth' of the Holocaust is just so old and tired. By now, it would be hard to meet someone who's life hasn't been touched in some form by this tragedy. From our grandfather fighting in WWII to several people I've met over the years that were in camps, I have second hand knowledge of this horrible crime and know it could never have been a myth.

So this post doesn't make me angry, it makes me sad. Sad that people still knowingly choose to believe something that is so wrong only because they don't like or approve of the truth. If we took these stories down to the basic human level of 'be good to yourself and others' this stupidity would never take place.

Thanks for the post. It really made me think.

Anonymous said...

In reference to the "stupid" entry...very very well said, my man.

Anonymous said...

I'm just shocked. I'm shocked that people can support such open hatred. It breaks my heart.

I mean, how can people be so.... ignorant? Two women had their body violated. Not one. Two. Period. End of story. Women place a high value healthy skin. The attackers knew what they were doing. I also strongly believe they were singled out due to their sexual orientation. Also, I'm ashamed that it seems like Christians did such a hateful act. It's disturbing to me that the violent crime was allowed to get that far in the first place. It's like the police are afraid to rock the boat. Sometimes, you need to rock the boat. Sometimes, the boat needs to go ahead and sink, you know? Yeh, like this one.

All I can say about the second one is this. Stupid is as stupid does.

The third story is the most shocking one to me. That violence in the Holocaust really happened. I wasn't there but the documentation is abundant. I once acted in a play in college called "The Victors" by Jean Paul Satre. (Remember that play Dan? Still have scars from that play.) I saw pictures of emaciated people. I also remember seeing piles of corpses stacked high. If I could go to that summit, I would say to them, "There are some things you can't conspire to do. Even the best actors and makeup designers couldn't create the Holocaust. Pleae take a closer look at the evidence you are denying."

Thanks for writing the blog.

-Imani