In which I finally understood why I wanted to wear my work badge outside of work all that time...
You Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Badges
Tag: #racism
Truth, Justice, and the American Way
You know what really confuses me about the hyper-conservative people in political discussions? I get really confused when they say that something is "un-American." Then, when I ask them what "American" is, they have a hard time going beyond catchwords and catchphrases like "democracy" and "rule of law." Of course, they are usually also usings [...]
Trying Not to Be a One-Issue Voter
When I first moved to Pennsylvania from Texas, a lot of the people I met up here were surprised to find out that I was a Republican. Several of them told me that they were surprised because I was Hispanic and, in their experience, people of color were not Republicans. Although I tried to tell [...]
Just curious…
Have you ever noticed how many people start off arguments with "Just curious...?" or "I'm just asking questions!" This is known as "Just Asking Questions," a way to derail a conversation, especially if you know you're on the losing side of an argument. For example, this... Both are from the same author. The first is [...]
What Do I Tell My Child?
The podcast This American Life had a very interesting episode the other day. It was called "Fear and Loathing in Homer and Rockville." The podcast dealt with the topic of immigration when immigration had nothing to do with the problem perceived by the subjects of the podcast. Or, rather, immigration was seen as the cause of [...]
What the heck happened to you?
First, a warning. Some of the videos below, and my transcriptions of what is said in those videos, contain racist, ignorant, and insensitive comments. Best to leave the videos for some time when you're wearing your headphones or at home away from children. Don't judge me, but I was playing on the XBox the other [...]
Of numbers and proportions
Last week, after the events in Dallas, Texas, where 5 police officers were shot dead, the Chief of Police in El Paso, Texas, decided to make a statement. Unfortunately, he decided to label the "Black Lives Matter" (BLM) movement as a hate group. This is unfortunate because we're at a point in history where there [...]
Dealing in absolutes
By now you've probably heard about the grand jury's decision on the case of the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. If you haven't, then the odds are good that you live under a rock or in a very far away place. Basically, the grand jury decided not to indict a white police officer [...]
Dead teenagers and community policing
What makes good community policing? Is it more than just driving around, responding to calls? And what can the population do to help the process of interacting with the police? Too many questions.
All Politics Is Loco
Take this good, wholesome Christian woman: And then tell her that the President might be coming to Gettysburg: As you can see, some people really get all sorts of bent out of shape about politics. Even when the President is not coming to Gettysburg, people react like this: And that's only the very tip of [...]
