PC has gone too far!

There has been a growing argument in this country about political correctness and whether it’s gone overboard or not.  Now, in the past, the issue has kind of annoyed me, but not to the point where I feel like I must speak out about it.  Some examples are in college when people always referred to black people as African-Americans all the time.  The issue didn’t really affect my life too much, but saying African-American takes longer than saying black, and I felt the reason for saying it was kind of sissy, but whatever, no big deal.

And I’m sure you all are aware of the Bill O’Rielly controversy on The View about Muslims, as well as Juan Williams getting fired from NPR when talking about them.  Again, I can sympathize with him, cause of the annoyance issue and the “Bury your head in the sand” mentality, but overall, I don’t really know any Muslims personally, and I don’t really talk about Muslims too much, so again, the issue doesn’t really affect me too severely, and besides, Juan and O’Rielly got a huge boost in popularity over the whole thing, so they came out on top (I bet barely anybody knew who Juan Williams was before he got fired from NPR).

BUT…  Something happened, and it Pissed me off!  To the point where I have determined that PC has gone too far, because I decided to blog about it.

Brett Favre in earlier days as a better man was considered the greatest quarterback to ever play for the Green Bay Packers.  He played 16 Seasons with the Pack, leading them to a couple of Superbowls and even winning one for em’.  Seeing that the majority of my family resides in Wisconsin, I have grown up knowing that the Packers are the best, and Brett was our glorious leader who’d never leave our side. 

And then, out of nowhere, Mr. Favre, the one we Packers fans grew up with, were there for him when his father died, when his wife went through cancer, and the fans who would follow him courageously into battle, even if were certain death, pulled a big “F*** You” to the State of Wisconsin, and to Packers fans across the globe.  The sacred trust between him and the Packer nation had been broken with one horrific stunt…

He signed to play for the Minnesotta Vikings.  The absolute most treacherous team in the NFL.

This downright appalling movie took years off my life, and gave half my family heart attacks.  It took a long time to recover, and then I had found the perfect solution to my problems.  I decided to order a jersey to reflect the nature of what this man will be remembered by.  A Green Bay jersey with the number “4” on it, and displaying the name “JUDAS” where the “FAVRE” used to be.

I gleefully went to my computer and sent out the order for my customized jersey, and was rather proud of myself for what I had accomplished.  Replacing Favre’s name with the one of the man who betrayed Jesus was perfectly fitting for this occasion, and for the first time in a long time, I actually felt at peace again.  But unfortunately, tragedies don’t have happy endings.

The next day leaving work, I look at my phone and get a message from Packer Pro Shop in Wisconsin telling me they’ve cancelled my order.  I was outraged!  Completely irate!  How could this happen???  I tried to calm myself, but it was no use.  In my fatal fury, I grabbed my phone and called the store back.  I demanded an explanation, and what I got was a complete load of poppycock! 

All the lady would tell me was “Um, we don’t allow that on our jersey, it’s against our policy to have offensive names on our jersey.”  That’s all she could say!  So I shot back:

1.     He’s an asshole

2.     He’s a perv

3.     HE TURNED HIS BACK ON THE PACK AND PLAYED FOR THE VIKINGS!

It was no use however.  They wouldn’t budge, and they just cowered in fear that they would be offensive instead of standing up for what’s right in this world.   That day would change me forever, for I realized that this great nation is not the same nation that I once new, when people are scared to call out a traitor for what he really is, and would rather bury their heads in the sand instead of stand up for the right thing.

I tried a different store, and same results.  I mean, who’s offended by this?  Brett Favre?  Well screw that guy!  And I don’t know anybody who’s name is Judas, and if they were, their parents are screwed up.  This is America for Christ’s sake, it’s our God given right to offend people, whether they like it or not, AND whether it’s right or wrong!

So now, my life is in shambles again, and sadly I won’t be wearing my number 4 Green Bay “JUDAS” jersey tomorrow when the Packers play the Vikings again for which may be the final time Favre will play against them.  So being that I’m back on the road to recovery, I say it’s time to scale back the PC BS so a travesty of this magnitude never happens to anybody ever again!

Keeping my "Sanity"

Along with all the mid-term election stuff going on, a lot of buzz was brewing over Jon Stewart's "Restoring Sanity" rally.  I wasn't wildly enthused about attending the rally, for I felt it was gonna be a jab at Glen Beck's rally along with my opinion with Jon Stewart listeners, but I decided to go.  Hell, I had nothing better to do, and thought it'd be good for me to see what it's all about for myself and form my own opinion instead of listening to talking heads bloviate over it.

Unfortunately, the spot I ended up at was right next to the first aid tent, where every couple of minutes I had to clear a path for hurt/sick people, which most were probably faking getting hurt just so they could get a better spot closer to the front.  I mean, how do people sprain their ankle, pass out, getting bloody lips, etc. at a rally?  It's just a bunch of people standing around listening to a bunch of jokes.  I'm literally trying to find an example of a ridiculous scenario where somebody could get hurt, but I honestly can't find one.  Sorry, I had to throw that in.

For the actual Rally, besides the dull start and poor sound setup on the mall, (It was hard to hear at times), it turned out to be mostly a comedy show poking fun of both sides along with a 20 minute serious speech from Stewart at the end with the basic message of "Let's all just be friends and talk our differences out."  So it was an enjoyable event, and not considered a waste of time.  I thought some of the jokes were good, and I was thrilled to see my old hero Mick Foley, better known as Mankind, aka Cactus Jack, aka Dude Love.  I do have to say though, and for the most part, I agreed with what was said.

One disagreement I have with this philosophy however, is dealing with unreasonable circumstances.  If something ridiculous is happening, let's say some punk degrades your mother, you shouldn't go "Hey, lets talk this out."  No, sometimes, people need their asses kicked, or to at least speak out in a enthusiastic matter.  Take the Tea Party for example.  Much of their grief deals with our out of control spending, a major grab of power in the government, and corruption of our politicians, so they voice their opinion's loudly, for many of these politicians in Washington are not acting reasonable.  Yet they're branded as crazy, racists, stupid, etc., even though many of the people I've heard bitch about how corrupt Washington is are the same people criticizing the Tea Party, who is taking a stand against the corruption.  So my point is, there is times where it is ok to be "Unreasonable," where you would otherwise be "Ignoring Insanity."

Also, I felt although it was branded as a non-political rally, and the presentation was not biased, it was used by liberal groups as a Democratic rally and as a "Take that Glen Beck," although Beck's rally had more projected attendee's, but that's neither here nor there.  There were left leaning groups walking around with sign-up sheets, handing out goodies, etc., along with Democrat recruiting, which I feel Jon Stewart had to be aware of, being he is a smart guy.  Was it set up that way, I could never prove, but I have a feeling they didn't mind a little of that stuff going on.

Most of the people there were college kids, many of whom showed up to act silly, holding up goofy signs aimed to show off their satirical wit, the "Oh man, look at me, I'm super smart cause I made ironic sign," people.  You see em' every once in a while at those types of things.  And of course you had the crowd who thought they were part of most important event in the history of the Earth, the "Oh man, Jon Stewart's really making a difference in the world, I work for a non-profit health firm, I care about animals and the world, you should hook up with me cause I'm big ol' activist douche bag..."  You know the people I'm talking about.  Sorry, those people just annoy the hell out of me, only taking part in latest hip movement to get attention and to make themselves look awesome.  I can go on about foolish college kids who act like they're the hottest thing since sliced bread cause they took psychology 201 (and yes, I'm probably gonna have most of my friends pissed at me cause I said that, but I'm sorry I have to say something), but maybe I'll save that for another blog.

I could take comfort however in the fact that there were a decent group of people, many who were around me who seemed like they showed up to have a good time, keep it mellow, and see a funny show.  To those chill people sitting next to me, I commend you!

I guess in the end, I'm glad I went, and although the crowd was obviously more directed towards the left, it was a fun little event.  However, I just didn't feel that inspired at the end of the rally, like I was a part of something special that made me want to go out and be a better person afterwords.  Although I could say even with my tyraid in the earlier paragraphs, it is a nice reminder to try to be civil with people when having political discussions, a message that many people need to get across, and it does makes people understand your point of view a little better.  After digesting his Stewart's words though, I kinda thought to myself, "well, duh, I already knew that, it shouldn't be something we have to say."

So the rally to restore sanity and/or fear was a fun event with comedy and a decent message, but I don't see it as something that will be remembered in the history books, as I'm sure many people were hoping it would.