Late to the Party

As you may be aware, it takes me a while to comment on happenings. But it doesn't mean I haven't thought about them. I’m a tortoise, not a hare.

On Guiliana and Zendaya

1. I have no problem with the beginning of Guliana's comment, that Zendaya's locks were too thick. It was the intimation that Zendaya looked like a pot-smoking hippie that didn't make sense. You have never seen a lock wearing pot smoking hippie who looked as polished as Zendaya did; such a creature may not exist. It was as if Guiliana saw a completely different person on the red carpet.

When I hear pot-smoking hippie with dredlocks I picture a white person, hair dyed blond with dark roots, and a hair texture seemingly incompatible with the nature of the style. So Guiliana's comment really confused me.

2. Kelly Osborne has since left Fashion Police, because Zendaya is her friend and Guiliana insulted her. But have you seen the clip, or transcripts of the clip? The person who verbally makes the marijuana link is purported to be Kelly Osborne. So if she was so offended, why did she consent to saying it in the first place?

3. Oh, hey. Guiliana probably doesn't write her own stuff. So as ignorant as she appeared in speaking, even more ignorant are the writers and producers who put it in the script to begin with.

On the Justice Department's Ferguson Report

1. Now know why Michael Brown was stopped for walking in the street. Revenue!

2. That police departments are commonly seen as municipal money makers surprised me. Does this go way back, like how back in the day, the candidate who bought a round (or three) at the local tavern often won the election? Or is this one of those newfangled 20^th century things? Yes, I know this is the 21st century, but I understand this practice gained traction in the 80's and 90's.

3. The report noted systematic racism exacerbated by the use of tickets and fines as a municipal funding source. Which makes the sniper attack on the Ferguson officers that much more uncalled for.

Yes, many officers harbor racist views which directly conflict with the responsibility to protect all citizens. But officers who truly have a heart to protect and serve work in a system where one is rewarded for harassing people for minor infractions. Neither protection nor service is involved. How do we fix the system so that those who have such a heart can more easily follow it?

The report, the actions of the ex-SAE chapter at Oklahoma U, even Starbucks' attempts to start honest conversations remind me of something Jay Smooth, who often blogs about racism, points out: it is possible to do racist (or sexist or other –ist) things and not be a racist. You may be acting in way you don't realize is racist, purely out of ignorance or lack of awareness. And that doesn't automatically make you a bad person. It just means like everyone else, there is room for improvement.

Now understand, this takes work. A conscious effort to see, consider, and take corrective action. Of course, it's as simple as applying the Golden Rule. With such application, you'll discover that simplicity is rarely synonymous with easy.

On the Indiana Religious Freedom Law and the Pizzeria in the Eye of a Social Media Storm

Warning: I’m about to cuss a bit.

1. If you feel the need to threaten someone simply because they have an opposing view, stop. Don't be a dumbass. The type of person who threatens death or rape or arson or other forms of personal harm or injury are part of the problem. If you're so busy flaming people because they don't agree with you, you're just as closed-minded and intolerant as you're claiming them to be. Don't be that person.

  

2. On a side note, you've heard of Muslim cab drivers refusing fares at the airport when they see people carrying alcohol? Has that ever been resolved, and if so, how? Yes, I'm too lazy to look it up.

3. A nice post for those who want a better understanding of the original law (it's since been revised), and its implications.