A Note on Recent Political Events

Since it's looking VERY likely that Hillary will be the Dem nominee and there has been a push for Bernie supporters to join her side and defeat Trump in the general election, I feel the need to make something very clear.

While I am not a Bernie or Bust gal, I am definitely not voting for Hillary.

I have stated in my FAQ why I have no intention of voting for her. I do not like a lot of her policies; the only one I honestly feel aligned with is anything regarding women's rights and sadly, that is not enough.

I’m sure some will feel compelled to "scare" me into voting for Hillary so we don't get a President Trump. First off, Hillary is doing fine without my vote, so she'll do without mine in the GE. Second, throwing the privilege card in my face may not work. I am aware of (and working so hard against) the catastrophic  heaviness of what a Trump presidency could do for everyone. Also, I would be impacted since I am a woman, a young person, and certainly not wealthy nor middle-class.

Hillary has done nothing to earn my vote. Her track record in the Middle East, here in the States, her history of overshadowing the voices and efforts of many activists of color (especially with those involved with #BlackLivesMatter), and also her hawkish tendencies are some of the many things that deeply bother me.

Yes, it is historical that we have a female presidential nominee. Yes, I hope more young girls are inspired to run for office. I just feel that we're having to take what we can get and be grateful for it (or else).

Or, in other words... Death Cab for Cutie said it best: "bah-baaaah, bah-baaaah, this is the sound of settling..."

Yet, this doesn't mean I am not voting come November 8th. I am still voting in local elections. As for the presidential pick, it will be either Jill Stein or a write-in for Bernie.

It hurts that Bernie didn't win, but it hurts even more that we're settling for someone that I believe is mediocre and won't do 3/4 of what she's promising on the campaign trail. And the droning of "accept it or else".

~~

One more thing before I go: I would love to be wrong about Hillary. That once she gets elected, she just blows us all out of the water with her progressive politics; she gets us out of the Middle East, champions for women's health, breaks up Wall Street, and does something amazing to stop all the police brutality.

But her track record says otherwise.

Then again, I tend to give people a chance.

~~

Due to the possibility of all sides clashing, I will do something rare here and close comments on this post.

Just wanted to share this with y'all...

Why I May Not Return to Tumblr

There are such things as Tumblr blogs teaching people how to shoplift. One of them even said B&N is an easy place to steal from.

Alright, listen up, you entitled brats. Here's some breaking news for you: YOU'RE NOT SOLVING ANY PROBLEMS. You think you're getting the Man? The Man don't care. Really! If the Man cared, there would be more things us retail employees could do other than do our usual jazz hands.

(And the fact that people who need things resort to shoplifting shows us what the real problem is. Our society has an odd-ass view about low-wage jobs, education, living wages, and the like. All that seriously needs to be fixed. Taking it to the Man [I swear, last time I'll say it] is like giving someone a bandage for a broken back.)

Oh and by the way? Thanks for posting your tips. I now know what to look out for and I'll be extra-vigilant next time I'm at work. AND I'M TELLING EVERYBODY I KNOW AT RETAIL WHAT I'VE LEARNED.

With Two Middle Fingers,
Lindsey, a current retail employee

*memes do not belong to me*

Before anyone thinks...

I'm some sort of "Obama-zombie" or whatever ridiculous name was created for those who voted for the current president... I'm fully aware that President Obama is not a perfect leader.

Yes, I'm very upset about Guantanamo Bay still being open.
Yes, I'm very upset about NDAA.
Yes, I'm very upset about the drone attacks.
Yes, his states-rights view on gay marriage were infuriating. (Thankfully, he may be changing his mind on this,  hope he does that for everything else listed).
Yes, I'm very upset about how the war on drugs and the war on the Internet has gotten even more ridiculous and sad.
Yes, the defunding of NASA was very disappointing.
Yes, I'm very upset he re-instated the Patriot Act and kept the Bush-era tax cuts.

I'm sure I'm missing some things, many apologies. The point is that even when one votes for a certain candidate, sometimes it's not always 100% "yeah, this person is totes awesome and I back EVERY SINGLE THING they do!"

But then, I have a feeling that my gentle readers are aware. This was more for those who aren't.

Thank you for your time.

On the "bath salts" incidents...

Warning: this post and news links contain some violent details, reader discretion is advised. 

(I originally wrote this in the wake of the incidents, but forgot to post it. It is slightly dated for that reason, but still worth talking about.)

To be honest, I didn't know what to say or think about all the past reports of men (two of them were possibly high on so-called "bath salts") who committed great destruction upon themselves or others. Well, other than "Good God, that's horrifying!"

That was until everyone I know (and I do mean everyone) started making zombie jokes (with the solitary exception of my little sister, who continues to remain a badass).

At first, I didn't know how to react. To be honest, I never considered "zombie apocalypse" when I read the stories (see first paragraph for the initial reaction). After a while, as it all sunk in, the zombie jokes started to get to me. I had trouble figuring out why. After reading about it on ONTD_Political, even when the posters' feelings were similar to mine, I couldn't find my reason. I thought about it all day yesterday. And then it hit me: no one talked about the victim (in this case, I'm referring to the homeless man that was attacked in Florida). The guy's life has changed dramatically and, in all honesty, it could be something he may never truly recover from. The pain, in both its physical and psychological forms, I cannot even begin to fathom. If anything, I hope he gets all the help he needs and lives out the rest of his life in a safe place.

~

I know humor is used to help cope with a serious event, but this doesn't seem like the right time. It erases the fact there were people seriously injured and killed. It deflects conversation about "bath salts", a serious and dangerous street drug, especially its effects on people. Those are conversations we need to have, but we are too scared to. Instead, we resort to tasteless jokes that only skirt the real issues. We forget that there are grieving families and mortally-wounded people.
 
Have I lost some respect for those who made the jokes? I won't lie, yes I have. What I hope for is for these people to examine their thoughts and reread the stories (if they are triggered by extreme violence, then I don't want them to do that to themselves).

I will link to the news stories so you can read them for yourselves. I combed through them to make sure pictures weren't posted of the man's injuries. But sadly, I cannot assure you that it will remain that way. Exercise extreme caution, my friends. There are jerks on the Internet and the comments sections are to be avoided.

To my friends who read this and get mad at me for me being mad at them, please read the entry again. And no, I'm not a politically-correct, oversensitive, bleeding-heart liberal. I am, however, a liberal with a sense of humor who knows when not to make inappropriate jokes. There is a difference, y'all.

Discussions of a recent interest

A while back, I talked about becoming interested in the politics behind the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I wanted both sides, wanted to know how the thought process went for America when we decided to attack Japan; and then why Japan decided to attack Pearl Harbor (among committing other atrocities, like the Rape of Nanking). Most important, how these atrocities affected everyone, even to this day. For example, after Pearl Harbor, America imprisoned many Japanese-American citizens in internment camps.

Just from the few books I read so far, I have concluded that both countries were in the wrong. Also, that nuclear warfare is one of humankind's shining moments of how we are capable of creation and destruction.