Ok, I didn't expect to be joining all of you so soon after my recent "Thoughts for Thursday", but something came up.
My venting on Thursday was very cathartic in improving my mood and what made it even better, was the wonderful Thank You Card a customer was kind enough to drop off for me at the store.
I helped her and her son with the purchase of a Gaming PC and while I was just doing my job, I guess I was extra awesome that day and they wanted me to know.
It meant a great deal to me.
But then...
an email showed up in my inbox.
Forwarded to me and several others in a group email that someone, who obviously doesn't have a clue about me, thought I would find funny.
I didn't.
It was insulting and while I am sure others may not have felt the way I do, I do feel the way I do just the same.
I will not name the sender-
I hope they will see this and either reconsider some thoughts thy have or delete me from their contacts.
Either is fine.
Now normally I avoid being overtly political and as I've said on many occasions, I'm an idiot, so why should anyone listen to me anyway?
But in this case, I'll make an exception.
You don't have to agree with me by the way.
I respect the opinions of others and in no way require my friends to think the way I do.
So you can disagree with me, and we can still be friends.
But there are some deal breakers as you will see.
So, the following is a copy of said email, along with my comments as you read along.
A warning- it is a bit long, but I would appreciate if you make the time to read and if you are so inclined, comment and share accordingly.
The Email Begins:
I didn't write this... but I could have.
What I think you meant to say is "I don't have an original thought, so I copy and pasted something instead".
There, I helped you out.
As a man, I used to think I was pretty much just a regular guy, but I was born white, into a two-parent household which now, whether I like it or not, makes me “privileged”, a racist & responsible for slavery.
Wow, so much to unpack in this epic opening paragraph!
First off, by definition, the word “Privileged” means “Having special advantages”. So, if you were born male into a solid, stable, non-minority household, then “Privileged” would be an accurate description when compared say to a female, impoverished, minority born into a broken home.
You won the genetic lottery- Congrats! Me too!
Now then, as far as the circumstances of your birth making you a “Racist”?
I’m pretty sure that would have to do entirely with your thoughts and actions and nothing at all about you being a white guy with two-parents.
It’s always such fun when people play the victim after placing the target on their own back.
I’m gonna guess that if people consider you a racist, it’s easier to think that you were branded that because of your lot in life and not the fact you might actually be a complete tool who is prejudiced against people based on their ethnicity, the actual definition of “Racist”.
As far as being responsible for slavery, you feeling some guilt because you still have “Plantation Shutters” on your house?
I am a fiscal and moral conservative, which by today’s standards, makes me a fascist because I plan, budget, earn and support myself.
I’m thinking this entire email could have been avoided if you simply owned a dictionary.
Then you could have looked up these words that you keep “branding” yourself instead of looking like a 2nd grader trying out their new “Word A Day” calendar without ever reading the meaning.
Let me give you a hint- Fascists were not despised because they were conservatives who knew how to plan, budget, and support themselves.
“I hate that Hitler guy- he works too hard and always has money left over at the end of the month!” no one said ever.
Dictionary Time!
Fascism includes: belief in the rule of elites; contempt for electoral democracy; extreme militaristic nationalism.
Again, no mention at all of being good with money or working hard.
As far as your being a conservative, no one thinks Conservative=Fascist. You need to add a little something to the resume before you qualify as a “Fascist”.
Like supporting the murder of millions of people based solely on their race or ethnicity, so try not to do that if you can.
I went to high school and college and have always held a job. But I now find out that I am not here because I earned it, but because I was “advantaged”.
My dad was a doctor. I went to a private high school. I had my college paid for by my parents.
I was, by every definition of the word (here we go with the dictionary again), “Advantaged”. What I did with those advantages and where I completely failed, are entirely on me.
But to ignore the fact that so many people do not have the opportunities that we both apparently had is to believe the world is fair place and everyone has an equal chance to succeed regardless of their social or economic circumstances.
Don't be so naive.
Or is Stupid a Better Word?
I am heterosexual, which according to “gay" folks, now makes me a homophobe. I am not a Muslim, which now labels me as an infidel.
There seems to be a theme here with this email.
“I’m a part of the majority, (white, male, hetero, Christian) and now I’m being victimized because imaginary people who don’t think like I do are calling me names in my imaginary world where I place a target on myself and use words that don’t mean what I pretend they mean so I can make you feel sorry for me”.
There is not a single “gay” folk (that reference is a bit telling by the way) who thinks you are a homophobe because you are a heterosexual.
If they think you are a homophobe, it’s because you demonstrate a dislike or prejudice against “Gay” people.
So don’t do that, OK?
As far as not being a Muslim making you an “infidel”?
I don’t think that is a concern.
The fact you are an “imbecile” should be more of a worry for you.
I believe in the US Constitution and the 2nd Amendment, which makes me a de facto member of the “vast NRA gun lobby”.
Nope again.
I believe in the Constitution and all of the Amendments. I also believe that it is a living breathing document that our Founding Fathers understood would need to grow and change with the country and the times.
To ignore the needs for change and the will of the people to see those changes come to pass makes you a moron, not an NRA member.
I am older than 80, making me a useless consumer who doesn’t understand Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat.
This one is just off the rails nuts.
You start with your age, follow up with a bizarre unrelated term, then finish with your difficulty with social media platforms?
I’m 55, making me a transcendental dog groomer who doesn’t understand Quantum Physics, Downton Abbey, or Tik Tok.
See, I can do it too.
I think and I reason, and I doubt much of what the “main stream" media tells me, which makes me a "right-wing conspiracy nut”.
I have my doubts on the first two claims based entirely on this one email alone.
If you thought or reasoned, you would have understood that you are using words that don’t mean what I think you think they mean.
You would have also realized that sending me this email was a terrible choice on your part.
See, not very smart or reasonable at all.
Also, let me correct that last part for you-
I doubt much of what the “Liberal” mainstream (one word by the way) media tells me, which makes me a self-described for the purposes of making myself a targeted victim yet again, “right-wing conspiracy nut”.
Where do you live that you have all of these “Gays”, Liberals, and Minorities standing outside your house calling you all of these names?
Your neighbors must hate you.
I am proud of my heritage and our inclusive American culture, making me a xenophobe.
Xenophobe: a person having a dislike of or prejudice against people from other countries.
I had to look it up because at first I thought it was the creepy creature from the movie Alien.
Turns out that was a Xenomorph, my bad.
It is also not a musical instrument.
That was a “xylophone”, wrong again.
Maybe you should have looked it up too or was it on your word a day calendar?
I’m proud of my heritage “Greek” by the way, as well as Dutch, Scotch, English, and German.
I’m also proud of my country.
I also realize this country was formed by immigrants from all over the world and at the expense of the “Americans’ who actually occupied this land to begin with.
To believe that because you were “Advantaged” by being an American Citizen, and now you want to close the door to other immigrants who would like to legally join you so you can maintain your “Inclusive” culture, is a joke.
“I got here first, too late”.
“You don’t look like me or think like me or act like me, so you don’t get to come into my country because this is America buddy!”
America is the place that people who were mistreated because they didn’t look or think or act like the majority moved to for a better life, my friend.
Don’t be so selfish.
Unless your reason to not want immigrants to have an opportunity to come here is because you have a dislike or prejudice against them because they are from other countries?
In which case you are a “xenophobe”.
I believe in hard work, fair play, and fair compensation according to each individual’s merits, which today makes me an anti-socialist
I’m getting exhausted repeating myself here, but I’ll try to keep going.
This paragraph is an attempt to sound reasonable, but in reality masks what could be a very real failure on your part as a human being.
I too believe in hard work, fair play, and achievement based on our merits.
I also recognize that the world isn’t “fair”, and that so many people have less, suffer more, and through no fault of their own find themselves in need of help.
As an Advantaged Christian, it is my desire and my obligation to try to help them.
You realize, you don’t actually dislike Socialism?
If you are 80 years old, you receive Social Security.
See, it’s right there in the name. Maybe you missed it.
What you don’t like is being “forced” to give tax money to the poor, the hungry, the homeless, the sick, and those in need that you don’t think deserve it.
You don’t mind giving it to huge corporations apparently, but all of those others piss you off because their misfortunes are their own fault, so why should you have to help them?
First off, I do not support any movement that puts you in charge of who gets what.
No offense, but I think this one email puts into question your qualifications for the job.
I would prefer someone who wasn’t a complete idiot if I had a choice.
Again, no offense.
And Second, I would rather error on the side of helping someone who might be taking advantage of the system rather than prolonging the suffering of others who didn’t receive the help they need.
I believe our system guarantees freedom of effort - not freedom of outcome or subsidies which must make me a borderline sociopath.
Huh? Did you write this after a head injury of some sort?
Firstly, our system doesn’t guarantee anything if you’re a poor, disadvantaged, minority who has few prospects for a job or education and only someone who has never been the victim of inequality or prejudice would think it does.
And second, I will gladly buy you a dictionary if you send me your address because you need one desperately.
A “Sociopath” is someone with a personality disorder characterized by antisocial attitudes and a lack of a conscience.
Just because you are an advantaged white male doesn’t mean you’re a sociopath.
You can be a sociopath without being an advantaged white male, but that’s entirely up to you I suppose.
I would suggest a different hobby, perhaps needlepoint.
I believe in the defense and protection of America for and by all citizens, now making me a militant.
Protect America from whom exactly?
This is the key question here.
Protect America from enemies, both foreign and domestic?
I got your back there my man.
From the tired, the poor, and the huddled masses yearning to breathe free?
From those you don’t like because they’re not like you?
Not so much in that case, compadre.
And I am proud of our flag, what it stands for and the many who died to allow it to fly, so I stand and salute during our National Anthem - so I must be a racist.
I am in indescribable awe of those who made the ultimate sacrifice to keep us safe and free.
Free to protest injustice where they find it and how they choose, as long as it is in a peaceful manner.
That is one of the reasons America is the country it is.
I’d like to share with you one of my favorite quotes that seems to be on point here.
"America isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. You want to claim this land as the land of the free? Then the symbol of your country can't just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then, you can stand up and sing about the "land of the free"."
See, you’re not a racist because you choose to stand and honor the flag during the National Anthem.
But you could be a racist if you demonize those who exercise their rights as Americans not to.
You get it now?
Please help me come to terms with the new me because I'm just not sure who I am anymore!
I’m starting to think after all of this we might know exactly who you are.
Funny - it all took place over the last 8 or 10 years! And if all this nonsense wasn't enough to deal with, now I don't even know which restroom to use… and I gotta go more FREQUENTLY.
Ha!
A pee joke to finish off an entirely not funny email that seems to make light of a great many not funny things while you now get in another shot against the “trans” community to finish it off.
But I’m sure that doesn’t make you anti anything. Just misunderstood is all, right?
Let me give you one last tip if I can, other than the dictionary thing.
You are free to think however you choose.
This is America after all.
But if you are going to think such questionable thoughts that might just give others an insight into the “who you are” that you don’t feel comfortable revealing?
You might just want to keep them to yourself.
IN GOD WE TRUST.
I’m sure He will have a few words for you when the time comes.
You just may not like what He has to say.
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