so don't ask if you don't want to know
People are stupid
I just can’t help pointing these people out.
Girl Scout Cookies
Jan 23rd
There’s been quite the controversy going on with the Girl Scouts lately. You can look it all up, but the gist is Colorado GSA allowed a transgender 7-year-old boy to join their local troop. Other troops across America have been quietly doing the same. Then apparently something called HonestGirlScouts.com got all offended and one teen GS posted a video calling for a boycott of cookie sales because OMG! Boys in the Girls Scouts!!!!
Honestly, I don’t know shit about transgender people. I don’t think I’ve ever actually met one. But if you’ve opened your eyes at all lately you would see more and more differences in children are becoming… mainstream? Not quite the word I want. Out-of-hiding? Whatever, we can find out more about different people easier if we want. One of the things you can learn is few of these differences are by CHOICE.
By the time your child has a mind of their own, you know you can’t change them. If your darling daughter hates pink, no amount of paint and glitter will make them girly. If your son prefers to play barbies with the girls, no amount of punishment will make them a football player. Kids are what they are. I can only assume transgender is the far end of the tomboy or (what some people would call) sissy-boy spectrum. So it stands to reason if your son turns out to really, really want to be a girl, you should make their life as easy as possible. That’s our jobs as parents, right? To make our children’s lives as great as we can all the while teaching them not to be serial killers by killing their little souls. You can’t beat it away.
Some Girl Scouts get it. If the boy-born is to all intents and purposes a girl, then they are a girl. If your daughter feels more like a boy, then support that.
Why would anyone spend their entire parenthood forcing their child to be something they’re not? It’s not like these kids do it all just to piss you off. If your child wanted with all their heart to be something acceptable – like a figure skater or hockey player – you’d be damned sure out there getting them to practices, paying for lessons, freezing your ass off, whatever.
So anyway, this came up on my facebook, originally posted by HGS as reasons why you should boycott Girl Scout Cookies.
You can click on it to make it big enough to read if you haven’t see it yet.
I was a Girl Scout and a leader when my daughter was a Girl Scout. I think there are a lot of good things about Girl Scouts. And this stupid graphic makes me more determined to buy cookies in support of Girl Scouts of America. That is, if I hadn’t already ordered a whole case and I can’t afford more than that. If you’re local to me I can send you a link to a local GS I know and you can order YOUR cookies online in support of Girl Scouts today.
Don’t let the misinformed bigots win. Buy your cookies, and if you don’t want them – donate.
But I don’t KNOW yet!
Dec 27th
This happens a lot. Someone posts a link on twitter or facebook or what-have-you and click you go. As the page loads you get a glimpse of what the link is about when WHAM! Up pops a HOW DO YOU LIKE OUR SITE? survey window.
WTF?
I don’t know yet!
Somewhere the guy in charge of the surveys is wondering why nobody responds. Maybe it’s because I’ve never been to your site and I haven’t had a chance to check it out. This usually happens on newspaper websites but not always. It happens more often than not on the My HealtheVet where I have been often and have already responded to their survey.
Isn’t there some way to, oh I dunno, differentiate new or anonymous one-time hits from those who regularly visit a site? Yes I know there is. Wouldn’t your stupid survey get actual usable data from consistent readers? You’d think so.
But no, some idiot makes sure the first thing you see when you visit their site is a survey request that you can’t possibly answer honestly.
Way to go.
WTF is wrong with people?
Dec 12th
When did it become normal to change the way you do business because one person bitches? Or to cave to whatever some minority of your customers demands?
Case in point:
Lowe’s pays for commercials during a show called Muslims in America. I’ve not seen the show but I have seen the ads. Apparently Dearborn MI is a hotbed of normal people who happen to be Muslim, right? So they need a reality show? Okay, like an extended version of the …and I’m a Mormon ads. Whatever. Carry on.
Then Lowe’s pulled their ads because The Florida Family Association had their members send a bunch of anti-Muslim emails. BACKLASH blows up. Then some California state senator mentions he might call for a boycott against Lowe’s if they don’t apologize and re-run the ads. Poor Lowe’s. Who knew running a home-improvement empire meant you have to take a stand one way or another on Muslims? All Lowe’s wants to do is make money. I don’t shop there because they are anti-gay (and more expensive than Home Depot) but are they really anti-Muslim too? No, they ran the ads until they were pressured by religious bigots. Makes me wonder if their anti-gay history can be planted in the religious bigot garden too.
Another one: Alec Baldwin supposedly went a little nuts when a flight attendant wanted him to turn off his cell phone and now the flight attendant union wants the American Airlines to pull 30 Rock from the in-flight rotation.
Isn’t that a little much? Social media nightmare there. Nobody give a shit about Alex Baldwin making a fuss except the people who were there but let’s make a huge fucking deal about it.
I keep seeing more and more over-reaction to the squeaky wheel. Why is it companies are bending over backwards to keep the religious people happy? To keep any tiny portion of their customers happy? Just do your damned job and let people decide for themselves.
What happened to personal responsibility? If you don’t want to shop at Lowe’s for whatever reason then don’t. If you don’t want to sleep with people of the same sex then don’t. Stop getting offended over every little thing. Stop blowing shit out of proportion.
Stop trying to make everyone live the way you do.
Personally I don’t even notice which ads run during which shows. I don’t relate the plethora of Ford truck commercials to support of the message of any particular show. And though I have personal boycotts against certain companies I never expect anyone else to boycott with me or take any other action against them. I may provide information as to why I’m boycotting them but the decision is yours.
BTW Chik-fil-a is anti-gay too. Everyone should stop eating there. Seriously.
I’m kidding… but not about the anti-gay thing. If you really want to eat their food I won’t judge.
Conspiracy Nut
Dec 2nd
My upstairs neighbor is a bonified conspiracy theorist. A few months ago I was trapped into a one-sided conversation about Burns Exterminating and his constant battle over some missing items.
I’m too polite sometimes. Really!
Today he knocked on my door with some excitement about our other neighbor paying X-amount less for his rent. Nutso wanted to know what I paid, and though its more than hot guy next door its still less than he’s paying and he’s been here five whole years! THEY should adjust everyone’s rent when the new rate goes down!
*ahem* Right!
Not likely. There are different rates every day depending on floor, location in complex, or the way the bosses balls are hanging. Your amount is the luck of the draw buddy.
Then he went on and on about the utilities and how the rates are set on some obscure criteria rather than actual meter readings. Something about a three month work trip he took and was still charged the same amount for water and gas…
Somebody shoot me. Better yet, shoot him.
I ar not stoopid
Nov 27th
This is an open letter to all television and radio advertising morons.
Dear Head-up-your-Asses,
I am sick and tired of most advertising coming out of your little nutshell of a universe. I am not stupid or clumsy, nor are my friends. I didn’t fumble and throw my hands up in the air the one time in my life my garbage bag split. I know how to mop without making a mess and I clean a bathroom without fumbling with 8 cleaners and multiple scrubbers.
This is the Internet age. I can search products and determine which are best for what I need. If you want to get my attention with your adverts, you need to treat me with respect. Give me an ad with your product shown clearly and why it’s better than the next guy’s (if you must).
Stop with the stupid. Stop with the over-dramatic fails. Stop with the obnoxious caricatures.
I will not holiday shop at Target. That woman in the fugly red jumpsuit is not me, nor is it anyone I know. I can’t relate to that character. I don’t want to BE anywhere near that thing that Target is using as their representative. And I love Target, I just won’t support that ad by shopping there until that campaign is over.
I wouldn’t have a Swiffer if you paid me to use it. The advertising turns me off the product no matter how much I would probably like to use one.
Don’t get me started on Mentos. I forbid that in my house, just because of the advertising.
Here’s the thing, I’m not going to buy a Ford truck or a different brand of laundry detergent because of the advertising anyway. I buy what I can afford or on the recommendations of my friends or family. I/we/most people I know tend to shop for what they’ve always bought or what they’ve tried at someone else’s house or what their parents always used. To get me to try something new, you need to give the me bare basic facts why I should.
Easy. Clear. Without trashing me or the other guy’s product.
Oh yeah, can you stop buying multiple commercial time during the same TV program? That just makes me hate you even more. Seeing the same stupid ad over and over doesn’t endear me to you. And you wonder why people are leaving TV in droves or recording shows precisely to skip past the commercials.
Make something compelling with smart people and about the positives of your product and we’ll watch. We’ll share! That Old Spice on a horse guy went viral because it was funny, smart and tongue-in-cheek, not stupid humor. Stop with the stupid, please!
One disgusted consumer,
Debbie Walke
Dear “social” game makers,
Oct 13th
Fuck off.
Here’s how some of my social game numbers work out:
- Zynga’s Pioneer Trail. 26 neighbors listed as players, maybe 12 of whom actually play. Mission requests where you can only ask specific people for one item once a day? 8 missions plus 15 items within buildings-in-process (each requiring 15 per item), and 3 ghost town missions waiting for those to be built. All that, plus an equal number of wall-posted requests. I’m at level 95, which means I’ve been playing for quite some time. Though I love this game (my favorite) the 15 items once a day thing is killing my fun. The only good thing is that most items are reciprocal.
- Zynga’s Farmville. 50 neighbors listed, maybe 10 still play. Much better and the requesting help for missions is much more realistic. I’m at level 104 and I don’t plan on quitting anytime soon.
- Zynga’s Cityville. 30-ish neighbors and about 5-6 actual but intermittent players. Same problem with collecting items needed for missions. And most of the items are not reciprocal.
- Zynga’s Treasure Isle. I ignore anything that requires asking neighbors for anything because only one other friend still plays.
Do you see the problem? Of my 388 Facebook friends, only a small portion play any game at any one time. You’re asking too much, based on what? Registered players or actual players? Do you want to know what my favorite game is, the one I actually spend real world money on? PackRat. Because I can play without friends. Sure, friends can help each other out, but you don’t NEED them to move along in the game. I’m betting most people give up on games because they can’t advance without spamming their friends.
There’s a finite pool of people who – like me – have plenty of time to play these games. Everyone else has little time to spend going through nag-for-this-part and nag-for-that-part instead of actually, you know, playing your games. We want to build a cool looking city. We want to build interesting frontier town. We want to master crops and animals. We don’t want to log in, spam our friends and then log out to wait for those requests to be filled. Boring!
Oh yeah, stop with the pop-ups trying to get us to spam our non-game-playing friends. As soon as a new game comes out most of my friends block them. They don’t want to play. Ever.
Beyond Tacky
Aug 9th
I have found the worst, tackiest, most horrible “game” show ever.
Repo Games.
Here’s the gist: Your car is being repossessed. It’s on the damned truck. The Host gives you a choice of answering 5 trivia questions (3 out of 5 wins) and if you win they pay off your loan and you keep the car. If you miss three questions, they take the car. They even raise and lower the lift on the truck as you answer.
Who thought this shit was cool? I’ve had a car repossessed. You kinda know it’s coming but suddenly there they are and you have no say. In my case, Buck had the car at work and they just sat there staring at me until he came home. I wasn’t allowed to call him and was forced to sit outside with my two kids in the heat until he came home and handed the car over. This was 20-some years ago, but I still remember how embarrassed and helpless I felt. I was calm and compliant but if those fuckers had turned it into a game show I would have lost my shit and turned into one of those screaming shrews.
Way to prey on people in a tight spot just for fun. Assholes.
If I don’t like you…
Aug 7th
it’s not because you’re black, or gay or jewish. It’s because I just don’t like you personally. And even then I try to be polite to your face.
I try very hard not to be a bigot. I try – often rewriting my point of view on something – not to generalize people based on anything other than their behavior. I believe each individual is different.
After saying that, I still have some biases (is that the correct plural for bias?):
- Hispanic men and their tendency to harass young girls, too young.
- Groups of black women tend to get loud and obnoxious.
- Anybody who appears on Springer.
- Stupid people.
I don’t know a real Chinese person. Or Japanese. Or any “Asian” person for that matter. I have no bias against these people because I’ve never spent any time around any. There just aren’t that many here. I don’t know any Muslims either. I don’t assume anything about such people as I pass them in the store, other than wondering if those coverings are really hot here in Arizona or if it keeps them cooler. Sure I get annoyed when people from other countries can’t/won’t speak enough English to communicate, but I don’t then hate the person.
I’ve had and still have gay and lesbian friends and I’m supportive of their fight for their rights. But I have met a few I didn’t like not because they were gay but because they were jerks or the way they treated me.
It’s all about personal behavior. I try and give everyone a chance to show me their personality (if they have one) and I make my like/dislike decision based on that. I work very hard at being blind to our cosmetic differences and judging people on what’s inside.
I don’t understand hating an entire group based on the actions of a few. Y’all may think I hate all Christians but I don’t. I have an active dislike of hypocrisy. I can’t stand it when someone claims a certain belief and then molests children or has a secret gay lover or embezzles from their church. And especially when others of that religion sit by and let them get away with it. I hate it when someone tries to preach to me when I know they don’t follow every world they preach. Seriously if you’ve ever seen the Grand Canyon you can’t believe the bible – but that’s another post.
Okay, I’m dismissive of your belief in God, ghosts, chakras, ESP, or horoscopes, but I’m not dismissive of you unless that’s all you’re about. I believe aliens could have visited earth over time, but people – educated people – still like me! We all have our thing.
Don’t hate generally. Take each individual AS an individual and judge them for yourself based on that, not the cosmetic differences or country of origin or belief system, and I’ll keep trying to do the same.
Chip, chip, chip
Jun 28th
Thanks to Roe v Wade, women finally had the right to make the ultimate decision regarding their own bodies.
Since then those anti-choice people have tried intimidating the providers, bombing clinics, killing the doctors, and otherwise terrorizing women and staff on a daily basis. When those methods failed, they got involved in the political process.
Due to political pressure, some states have no abortion providers at all, some have limitations so strict it’s nigh impossible to get one. Currently they’re stomping on funding for Planned Parenthood, despite the fact that abortions are like, 1% of the services PP provides to poorer communities. In some states minors need parental permission and in other states they’ve made it illegal if you cross state lines to get one.
Having a legal medical procedure has become a maze of legalities.
Chip, Chip, Chipping away at your rights and you’re not paying attention.
I remember when you could get on an airplane without passing through metal detectors. Now they’re making dying cancer patients remove dirty adult diapers just in case there might be what? They’re damn-near molesting children in the interest of what? Security theater? Now we’re walking through x-ray scanners that nobody can seem to agree are actually safe.
Hey TSA, no matter what you do determined terrorists will find a way around it. YOUR METHODS DON’T WORK. It’s lazy and inefficient – not to mention embarrassing/slightly criminal – to fondle every third person in the name of being politically correct. Just go back to regular metal detectors – to stop the average idiot who wants to make a name for himself by taking down a plane – and maybe learn from other countries and PROFILE! Profile isn’t always a dirty word.
Chip, Chip, Chipping away at your rights and you’re not paying attention.
Why is politically correct supposed to be a good thing? Now you have stupid zero tolerance policies in schools. Politically correct is lazy and stupid.
Well gee, let’s paint every infraction with the same brush and then we don’t have to think!
In the meantime your rights are being chipped slowly away and you’re not paying attention. What happens when it’s something that does pertain to you and you’re too late to step up?
Nosy people have decided how you can and cannot discipline your children. Nosy people are deciding what they should and shouldn’t learn in school. Side note: Miss USA contestant responses to “should evolution be taught in public schools?” Nosy people have determined that every person should be treated equally regardless of their intention.
And by Nosy I mean lots of Republicans, lots of Christians, and lots of people who’ve learned how to bend and influence the political/legal process in their direction while the rest of us aren’t watching.
Maybe we should become nosy fuckers.
An Open Letter to Dave Mabus
Jun 12th
Hello Dave AKA Dennis Markuze,
First of all, thank you for waking me up this morning with your tweets. What a wonderful way to spend your sabbath! You bothered to open no less than 8 new twitter accounts just to call me and my friends to your hate-infested posts! Nice work.
Let me just say, I’ve seen it all before and it really isn’t going to change my mind. All that hate just proves my point about Christians and cements my position in Atheism. Why would anyone want to believe as you do? Such a sad and hateful little world you live in.
Now, calling out my friends is just stupid. You have no idea if or what religion they might be. Yes, I have religious friends, although my religious friends don’t feel it necessary to attack other people with their hate-filled rants.
I h
onestly don’t understand the point of your constant tweeting to people and linking to that same post. Is it working? Do you have a list of Atheists who suddenly change their point of view to yours? Or do you get some sadistic joy out of annoying people? Do you realize you’re a laughing stock?
You sir, are an Internet Troll. Your methods will never work in making the change you appear to be working for with the agility of a legless bull elephant. If you really want to change the world, maybe sending links to like-minded people and gathering a following would work better for you. You could run for politics and affect change that way. People who agree with you would vote for you in droves. You know, be normal.
Alas, I fear you will continue in your ham-fisted way to annoy your betters. The thing is, now that I’ve reported you (again) as a spammer I turned my phone off and went back to sleep. I’ve fed the troll and now I’m content. But you sir will always and forever be a boring nutcase. Have a nice day.
