This Culture Has To make Up Its Mind What It Wants.

You can have either gender-neutral bathrooms or you have respectful behavior towards women, but you can't have both.  
    
Diversity should not be a goal but a means to an end.  This culture prides itself on diversity, but despite all the talk of focusing on what's inside a person, they still focus on the outside (race, sex, orientation, etc.).  And when that happens, we get oppression in equality's name.  Diversity gets stamped out for diversity's sake.  And intolerance gets promoted in tolerance's name.  

Do you want a safe place for women to work/learn?  Abandon gender-neutral bathrooms.  

Food Stamp Bill Madness

I'm usually adverse to doing political pieces, but as this is somewhat relevant to my line of work, I should say a few things.  
    Two years ago, there was some shouting going on over a bill that would make illegal for people to use food stamp to buy junk food.  A few weeks ago, it was brought back up for discussion.  

Yes, obesity is a problem, yes there are people who abuse the system (such a lazy customer perfectly capable of walking using one of the scooters meant for elderly people who really needed it), and yes people do eat too much junk food in this country.  But this bill is as stupid as the utterly ridiculous law in either Connecticut or Massachusetts (I forget which) that banned school bake sales; both of them are unworkable cure-alls for a problem that has more than one contributing factor. 
       When this issue first came up in the spring of 2013, I remember Chef speaking about it.  One of my classmates then said, "Good, people shouldn't be allowed to use their food stamps to buy junk food."  I just couldn't believe that someone would be that judgmental. 

My mother told me two stories on this topic.  The first one was from a column that Ann Landers did many years ago.  Someone wrote to her expressing his annoyance at two women; one used food stamps to buy a cake, the other used them to buy a bag of shrimp.  Landers decided to let her readers handle that issue.  And it was a good thing she did that because this turned out to be a classic case of Things-Aren't-Always-What-They-Look-Like.  As it happened both women read Landers' column. It turned out that the women buying the cake had a twelve-year-old daughter who was dying of cancer, this particular birthday may as well be her last.  And the women wanted to get something nice that she knew the girl would enjoy.  The second woman said that she usually bought cheap food with her food stamps, but for this one particular special occasion had decided to bring a treat.  

The other story involves a woman whom my family used to go to church with when I was a little girl.  She helped poor women buy teaching them how to use their food stamps to buy good food.  She taught them how to read labels, understand the nutritional value of food, etc., and she did so in a very kind and loving way.  

What the people pushing for the Food Stamp Bill are saying is, "We're smarter than you, you should listen to us."  And no one is doing anything like what the woman from church did all those years ago.  I agree that obesity is a serious problem, but there are so many factors contributing to the high rates of obesity in this country that introducing a bill that is meant to be a cure-all is inevitably going to backfire one way or another.  And it is also simply adding to the problems the poor already face instead of fixing them. 
   

Nopony Messes With Our Derpy!

I know this happened last year, but I'm still really ticked at how people handled the appearance of the popular background pony known as Derpy Hooves when she appeared in the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic season two episode, The Last Roundup.  Hasbro altered her voice in later installations because they thought it was offensive.  I don't care that people thought that her clumsiness and Rainbow Dash's frustration with her was offensive to so-called "mentally challenged" people.  A someone with a learning disability, I can relate to Derpy.  I have had people get frustrated with me due to quirks related to my AS.  So I understand Derpy, and no, she's not used as the butt of stupid jokes.  So why should people get their knickers in a twist over what they saw initially when The Last Roundup first premiered?  She's our Derpy, so don't you muck with her like that!  
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In regards to altering Derpy's voice, I don't anyone could have said it better than Rainbow Dash and Rarity.

Rectification Of Names

I have heard such words as "homophobic", "un-American", "commitment-phobic", etc..  What I don't like about them is that they really don't mean anything.  

The Chinese philosopher Confucius believed that social disorder can come from not understanding what someone is saying.  It is therefore imperative that people call things by their proper name (hence "rectification of names").  That includes using words that actually mean something.  Here is a quote from Confucius on the subject:

"A superior man, in regard to what he does not know, shows caustic reserve.  If the names be not correct, the language is not in accordance with the truth of things.  If the language be not in accordance with the truth of things, affairs cannot be carried out to success.  If affairs are not carried out to success, proprieties and music do not flourish.  When proprieties and music do not flourish, punishments will not be properly awarded.  When punishments are not properly awarded, the people do not know how to move a hand or foot.  Therefore the superior man considers it necessary that the names he uses may be spoken appropriately, and also what he speaks may be carried out appropriately.  What the superior man requires is that in his words there may be nothing incorrect."  

So you see just how things can be affected by using the right or wrong word.  Using the example of the old "Want of a Nail" poem, if just one thing is missing or wrong, everything can fall apart.  So using word properly is important. 

 Let's take a look at the words I listed above:
    "Homophobic" is said to mean "someone who hates homosexuals".  Roughly translated from Greek it means---what?  Same fear?  After all homos means "same" and phobos means "fear".  You can see what confusion results from this.  "Homophobic", believe it or not, in the end does not really mean anything in particular.  It is simply used as an abusive insult to people who disagree with the homosexual lifestyle. So they're just being rude to people who don't agree with them.  This does not encourage good relationships with people. 
        "Commitment-phobic" is often used to describe men.  It may sound like it means something, but it really doesn't.  If you want to describe a man who does not want to commit and instead go around seducing women left and right, "commitment-phobic" is not the word to use.  "Dissolute", "philanderer", or "lascivious" would better describe someone like that.  The other problem is that people use the word to describe men generally.  This is wrong.  While there are indeed men who philander about and seduce women, to say all men are "commitment-phobic" is not really specific.  And hence you get a lot of confusion, plus a highly unfortunate stereotype of an overly-sexualized male. 
          "Un-American" is meant to sound like something is not American.  This also doesn't mean a thing simply because---it doesn't.  It just isn't really word for anything.  It is also a term of abuse.  If you say something is "un-American", you're just being insulting.  And insults do not make good arguments.  If anything, it just turns people off to your argument. 

When people talk about Rectification of Names, they are talking about being clear and specific about what you are saying.  When people throw meaningless words, they sow confusion and destruction.  So when Confucius talked about calling things by their proper name, he was saying that using words correctly encourages order.  What that means is that people should throw away words like "homophobic" and stuff like that, and just try to actually use words that mean something.  Just throwing around insults does not help anything or anyone. 

Thoughts on Diversity

So the church I was worried about turned out to be run by someone who is godly and competent, and apparently qualifies to take on the job of running a church multicultural center.  This is a good thing. 

The only reason I initially freaked out is because I have had some rather bad experiences with the current ideas about what is often called "diversity".  I'll agree that treating someone solely of the basis of race, sex, age, etc., is a bad idea, but the way it's being taught in this culture leaves a lot to be desired.  

Let's start with this fact: No two people are alike.  You've got men and women, each with their own personality and looks.  People may have a similar body pattern (I've observed this), but no one has the same personality or looks. 

With that in mind, let's look at how the issue of diversity is handled in our culture today. 

Kids are taught from an early age to accept other people regardless of any differences.  This is all good and well.  However, as the kids grow up and move on from preschool and kindergarten to grade school on up, the tune slowly changes from "Accept other people despite their differences" to "White person-Bad, Minority person-Good". 

We have all read about the troubles minority groups have faced in the past (slavery, discrimination, lynching, etc.).  It used to be that white supremacy was one of the chief vices plaguing our country.   Nowadays, you can't even say something bad about a black person without being labeled a racist.  

Personal Experience: I had a very incompetent teacher for sophomore English.  She deduced that the theme connecting all the stories we were reading was intolerance.  I was already aware of the stupidities of "tolerance" as it is taught today.  In this particular English class, I got the full force of it (I'm still mad at my teacher for that).  She gave us a packet on The Laramie Project.  Apparently, in 1991 two guys murdered a homosexual man in Wyoming.  This sparked quite a bit of debate.  People were shouting "Oh, he was killed for being homosexual; oh it was a hate crime, blah, blah, blah."  This packet clearly left a lot to be desired.  It was riddled with inaccuracies about prejudice, about Fred Phelps, the man who ran around carrying stupid signs about the murder victim in Hell, and was had more biases than the average politician (exaggerated for effect).  I found out later on that the victim's murderers were thugs in the first place and at the time were high on meth.  So that was not so much a "hate crime" and more of an ordinary mugging; the victim just happened to be a homosexual. 
              The teacher gave us a project on "tolerance" and had us go to this website on the subject.  My dad looked over this website and found that there were more inaccuracies and lies on that website alone than I have ever come across in my twenty-one years; rivaled only by the incredibly stupid and inaccurate piece of junk known as my Sociology textbook from last summer.  For example, one of the things the website suggested to become more tolerant of others was to "Increase my circle of friends".  Whoever made this site clearly doesn't understand that most people don't make friends for a little more "diversity" in their portfolio.  And most people have at least only one or two close friends.  They may have a group of friends, but will only have a close bond with one of them.  Therefore, "Increase my circle of friends" is not very sound advice.  And making friends with someone who's black just because he's black is not a good way to go about this. In fact, it's reverse racism.
          Another thing this lame excuse of a website suggested was to "Create a tolerance website".  My dad said that doing so would be preaching to the choir.  His reason was simple: "Are those idle thrill-seeker going to visit your website?"  No one goes online to look for advice on how to become more "tolerant".  They go online to spend hours playing RPGs and watch silly videos.  They're not going to be interested in reading about "tolerance" at all.
          
How does one handle diversity?  It's hard.  Almost two centuries of prejudice have left many people, black, white, etc., with feelings of resentment.  Everyone resents someone.  And to get past this requires work.  And to get rid of it is rough.  What is really more important is who the person is, not what the person is.  And no, being more "tolerant" does NOT mean condoning sin.  All I can say is the best way to handle it is to love that person as yourself, even when their behavior offends you.  Tell them that you love and respect them, but that you don't approve of immoral or improper behavior.  And do it in such a way as to bring glory to God's name. 

Stupid and Incomprehensible Bumper Stickers

I saw a strange bumper sticker on my way to an appointment.  It was written in green and blue letters and it read "WHEN A FAT GIRL FALLS IN A FOREST, DO THE TREES LAUGH?".  If you ask me, that makes about as much sense as a Megalodon volleyball team.  What exactly does someone mean when they ask if trees laugh when a fat girl falls in a forest?  I would love to know the answer.

And then of course you've got your general share of idiotic "Coexist" bumper stickers.  These bumper stickers are popular with people who assume that education will end prejudice.  You'd have better success trying to get a great white shark to give up seals in favor of seaweed (their teeth are not designed for eating plants). 

I'm getting fed up with the "RECALL SCOTT WALKER!" stickers.  Come on!  He hasn't been caught with hand either in the till or down someone's pants.  That's the only legitimate reason to recall an elected politician.  I'm also utterly sick of all the noise people are making about him, so the moment I see a "RECALL WALKER" bumper sticker I always say "GO SIR WALTER SCOTT!", simply because I'm tired of all the shoutloud.  

If there is a political bumper sticker that actually makes sense, let me know. 

FINALLY!

That absolutely torturous Sociology class is DONE!  Oh man, it has felt like being in the Pliocene Epoch sea, in the middle of the night, with a crazed megalodon about to attack, and the only protection is a damaged shark cage. 

My main issue with the subject is that it claims that almost everything about male and female behavior is due to socialization (when most of their behaviors are natural), that inequalities are always unnatural (some are, some aren't), and that everything is relative (also untrue).  If I have to deal with that crazy idea again, someone is going to find themselves forced to watch bad movies.  Well, that last line is just a joke, but I seriously can't stand to listen to these sorts of things. 

Now it's over and I've got several weeks of vacation before next semester starts up. 

A Clarification

In a previous post, I ranted about how I can't stand it when people think that it is problem that women are not really encouraged toward stuff like engineering and stuff like that.  To clarify what I was saying, men and women are different physiologically, and since the brain is not separate from the body, they're mentally different as well.
So, when I hear people say that we're socialized to think that women are different mentally from men, it makes me really upset.  Men can do some things better than women and vice versa.  

What Are They Thinking?

If I hear one more thing from my instructor about how we are merely socialized to think that women operate differently from men, I will go nuts.  If I may quote Ken Davis directly, "MEN AND WOMEN ARE DIFFERENT!".
I tried to mention that a woman's brain is wired differently from a man's brain.  I even mentioned the studies done on the subject.  All I got was the response from one guy, "How do you know the studies were not conducted by men?".   Not only is that sexist, it also implies that gender roles are artificial.  How can I get it across to these people that a lot of the inequalities in society have everything to do with nature?