Do black lives really matter?

Black lives matter... That phrase is all over social media these days. Problem is, black lives only seem to matter when they are killed by a white cop. Where is BLM when blacks are killing each other in Chicago EVERY SINGLE DAY? Where were they when a black retired officer was killed trying to defend a friend's store that was being looted and destroyed by rioters? Where were they when a food truck vendor was killed while trying to make a living during these violent "protests"?

If you're going to claim black lives matter then you'd better be just as outraged by blacks killed by blacks as you are those killed by a white cop. You'd better be even more enraged when black business owners are attacked and their stores destroyed in the midst of your "protest".

These people are destroying their own neighborhoods, for what? What lesson does that teach corrupt cops? What change does that make when you continue to vote in the same democrats year after year when they continue to do nothing for your community? Do you know what your violent actions show the rest of the world? It shows me that you are vile, inhumane people that don't give a shit about George Floyd. You wanted a crisis so you could continue to play the victim while blaming everyone else for your failures. You're using George's death as an excuse to violate the rights of others while claiming that yours have been taken away. 

You want to know why so many folks are leery of black people? Because of folks like those that are "protesting" by attacking other people. By ruining the livelihoods of people that had nothing to do with George's death. The looting of stores caused businesses to shut down, putting people out of work. So all you've done in your search for "justice" is make yourselves look like animals, lose support from over half the country and hurt thousands of innocent people, many of whom are black as well. 

You have a right to be irate. Your anger is justified. What happened to George Floyd should have never been allowed and the entire country is in agreement that these officers should be charged with murder. You DO NOT have the right to infringe on other people's rights in order to express that anger. At least not without consequences. 

So, if you're going to attack innocent people & businesses, burn down buildings and disregard barriers and requests from law enforcement that are in place to keep people safe...don't complain when people fight back. Don't play the victim or cry injustice when a business or homeowner shoots someone for attacking their home or store. Don't cry about excessive force when you get in a cops face in an attempt to push through a security barrier and they pepper spray you or throw you down and arrest you.

We are through with your excuses. There is no reason for police brutality. There's even less reason for these riots and attacks that are happening as a result. You must learn that your vote is the most powerful tool of all if you want change. It's time to clean house and get rid of the folks that have been telling you what's best for many years. Stop blindly following what they say. Do some research and vote for the change you claim you want. Because the current method you're employing leads me to believe you like playing the victim. 

I don't want to die

A young man has gone viral with his song about police brutality, telling people that he doesn't want to die and lamenting how people of "his kind" are hunted as prey on a daily basis. Here's my question...instead of trying to change the police, why aren't we trying to change ourselves, our kids and our neighborhoods?

So many of these events happen in low income areas. Areas that are known to be filled with criminals and violent people that have been raised to hate authority. People who have been raised living in poverty, on welfare, stealing to make it. When will we shift our focus to helping these people make something of themselves? Get out of the 'hood & make a better life for themselves?

Plenty of people have done just that. Don't blame your shitty life on how you were raised. When you hit 18, you're an adult and you make your own choices. If you don't want to repeat that cycle, do something about it. It won't be easy and it may take half your life but, you don't have to be that person that lives in poverty, feeling the need to steal and commit other illegal acts to get by.

Parents, stop teaching your children that living like this is acceptable. It's a vicious cycle but it needs to be broken. Too many people are content to live their lives in poverty, dependent on the government for their next "check". You can change things.

Get a job, learn a skill, move up! You may not have a high school diploma but you can get a job and make something of yourself. Stop being a victim. The only person keeping you down once you become an adult is yourself. Everyone else is sick of hearing you complain about being harassed by the cops when you're purposefully putting yourself in situations where illegal or, at least, questionable activities are happening.

Find a better crowd to be around. Stop doing drugs. Stop breaking the law. You can get a 2nd chance and make a better life for yourself but you have to try. Stop depending on others. Own up to your shortcomings and do something to fix them. Stop whining! You are NOT a victim.

What has really changed for essential workers?

In these uncertain times, it's understandable that people are more cautious. Being sanitary and germ free is especially important for front line workers that don't have the ability to work from home.

My question is, what has really changed? Hospital workers have always been exposed to illnesses, yet they happily go home to their families without a 2nd thought. If wearing a mask and washing your hands is new to them during this "pandemic"...why? As a healthcare worker, they should have already been doing those things, long before now. Otherwise, they put everyone at risk.

Grocery & gas station workers have been exposed on a daily basis as well. The main difference is that now, less people are coming into the store and more people are wearing masks, which should lessen their exposure to illness more than ever before. 

I get being concerned about contracting an illness while at work but I don't get the people that are having a fit about working. Do you know how many people are out of work, making no money, with no way to support their families? As an essential worker, you're still able to go forward with daily life, pay your bills and provide for your family. If you feel the risk is too high, you're free to take time off, quit your job, etc. Do you really want to be in the position that millions of others find themselves? Unable to out food on the table and pay their rent? 

Front line workers have always been at risk for contracting, and spreading, illnesses. That hasn't changed. What has changed is the increased use of PPE and the reduced # of people out which, overall, actually reduces the chances that a front line worker will get sick. 

While I appreciate all these people and know that the country couldn't keep running without them, I say, I appreciate you but you chose this as a job/career. You put your health at risk every day you go to work. Not much has changed. 

Be happy you still have a job and a way to support your family. Take pride that what you do is helping the economy and your fellow Americans. 

And remember, millions would trade places with you in a heartbeat. 

It's all in your perspective. 

Hypocritical People

These days, it seems people have a hard time making up their minds what they really stand for. I can certainly understand changing your beliefs as you get older, wiser, more experienced. What I can't understand are these people that say "we can't open the economy because some older folks might get sick and die", preceded by their celebrations of women that claim the day they had their abortion was "the best day of their lives". If you feel it's ok to kill a full term baby, just so the mother isn't inconvenienced, I find it hard to believe you really give a damn about a few old people dying from covid-19. Especially when the death toll of this virus is still lower than that of the common flu.

Studies have shown that there's a good chance that tens of thousands of people have already had it (as they have antibodies) and didn't even know they did. It's not the plague. Yes, it hits some people very hard, and they may die. But people die from other common illnesses every day. If you really care about saving people, why are you ok with abortion? Kind of hypocritical, isn't it? If you want to save people, why are you fighting to block access to the drug combination that several doctors have used with a nearly 100% success rate?

That was a rhetorical question. I know the answer. The only people that I have ever seen that are against the use of hydroxychloriquine are those that are hell bent on proving President Trump wrong. And the politicians and MSM are the worst. They claim he's trying to make money off the drug, but several articles have been published that verify his stake in these companies is so small, it's not even worth mentioning.

They claim he got a man killed because he was telling people to take fish tank cleaner, when in reality the guy and his wife should have known better than to just take some random cleaning product that was sitting around the house. They were in their 60's and there's no excuse for someone being that stupid. They have nobody to blame but themselves.

How about we all stop blaming for the stupidity of others and start trying to make ourselves better.

The lying MSM and our acceptance of it

I find it incredibly disgusting that you cannot read a single headline from the MSM these days that isn't laced with biased attacks on whichever side of the political spectrum the writer doesn't agree with. I can certainly understand a personal blogger being biased in their headlines but, why are we so accepting of these national news companies that continue to print biased stories, filled with false information and "evidence" that turns out to be from a completely different scenario years ago?

There should be laws in place that punish news outlets that continue to publish articles that aren't factual and unbiased. These aren't hometown bloggers that are expressing their personal opinions. These are, supposed to be, news outlets that keep the country informed of what is happening. Instead, they've all turned into gossip rags that just want to get their story out first, regardless of whether it's accurate or not.

For the writer or "journalist" reporting the fake news, they are suspended for a month without pay for their first offense. A 2nd offense, is immediate termination and they are barred from working for any other news outlet for a minimum of 2 years.

For the company that allowed the article to be published. They are fined 1 million dollars for every infraction with that money being donated to organizations in their area that take care of homeless veterans, etc.

We shouldn't be willing to accept their excuses of "oops, we picked the wrong photo" or "our source was mistaken". They should be required to take the time to investigate what really happened and not publish a story until they know the facts. Stop speculating and accepting information from anonymous sources. If you can't vet the source and verify their information, you shouldn't publish it.

I'm sick of the bias and even more pissed off at the fact that people are so accepting of this bullshit. Yes, people make mistakes but if you're going into the business of reporting news to the public, you should be required to act with some sense of morality and truthfulness. Problem is, most of the country is filled with immoral people. I mean, if they are willing to kill full term babies because the mother doesn't want to be inconvenienced, what do we expect? But that's a completely different subject for another blog post.