The Grapevine (somewhat NSFW due to language)

So, recently I've been thrust into several situations dealing with rumors, backstabbing, and whispering behind people's backs.  Now, I always have the same thing to say to these people: either tell them this to their face or keep your fucking mouth shut.  Listen, I'm a person who tend to tell it like it is.  I don't spread rumors, even if I know they happen to be true; this is mostly because I can't be bothered with anyone else's bullshit.  And if you CAN find the time to be bothered with other people's dirty laundry, then you need to find a hobby and get a fucking life.  Furthermore, I'm tired of people complaining about each other behind closed doors and smiling to their face.  If you have a problem with someone, either tell them and try to fix it or keep your God damn mouth shut.  If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.  A caveat here though; this is not the same as having a problem with someone that is not worth confronting them over and keeping it to yourself.  Obviously, you have to pick your battles.  But when you smile to someone's face, then go bitch to everyone about something they do then I have not patience for you.  Either try and fix it, or shut up.  It's that simple.  And if you happen to be reading this and thinking "Christ, what a prick," then do me a favor and comment on this or message me on Facebook to let me know, or kindly cease reading my blog and unfriend me if applicable.  I've got no time for people who won't speak their mind.  The name calling, rumor-slinging, and passive-aggressive behavior I have witnessed in the past few weeks is enough to make me sick to my stomach, and I have stuck to my guns and told all involved as much to their face.  You've got a gripe with me, tell me.  Don't sneak around acting like what a dick I am, tell ME, not everyone else, me.  I can't change how I treat you if I don't know what the problem is, especially if that problem is non-existent and you're just mud-slinging.  This street goes both ways, by the way.  If someone is saying shit about you, either confront them or let it go.  And decide what's worth confronting someone for Christ's sake, don't fight every battle not worth your time.  My male peers will probably read this assuming it's targeted at women.  Not true, men and women are both guilty of this, so quit your shit.  

Special Interests

Sorry that it's been a while folks, but I've really been wiped out lately and needed a break, but now I'm back at least for a little while.  So, I've had an ever rising hatred of so called "Special Interest Groups" lately.  Now, let me elaborate.  I have no problem with any group wanting equality to all other people.  In my opinion, all people, regardless of race, creed, sexual orientation, religion etc. should be equal.  The only exception I have to this are those who commit such acts (murder, rape etc.) as to, in my mind, forfeit their humanity, but that's a post for another day.  What I do take exception to, however, are groups that, under the guise of equality, attempt to gain preferential treatment or otherwise portray themselves as better than all other people.  For instance, I have recently come into conflict with so called "feminists."  I have no problem with the feminist movement.  I think that women have gotten a shitty deal in the past and deserve the same opportunities, wages, and respect as men.  What annoys me are people who call themselves feminists, but are really "man haters."  A woman who hates all men is no mightier than a man who hates women, and the next time a "feminist" yells at me for holding a door open for her (a courtesy I extend to all people, male or female) and goes on a tirade about how she is an independent woman who does not need a man to hold a door for her, I may just slam the door in her face to prove a point.  These high and mighty types will ruin any movement very quickly.  Another example is the current "civil rights movement" in this country.  During the 60s, Martin Luther King spread a message of equality for all.  He marched for a future where African Americans were given the same rights and privileges as whites.  He was seeking no reparations, he wanted no hand-outs or special treatment, he simply wanted to be treated as a full person.  This was a noble cause.  However, modern black leaders such as Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and others have not upheld this philosophy.  These men, and their followers, would like to see an America in which white people are punished for what their ancestors MAY or MAY NOT have done and in which black people are given more opportunities, wages, etc. than all others.  Not only is this hypocritical and hateful, it is, in and of itself, racist on many, many levels.  First, there is the obvious racism of basing anything at all on the color of one's skin.  However, there is another level of racism that many will not even notice: the idea that all white people are just white.  Today, whites have been stripped of their culture.  Many African Americans do not celebrate the cultures of their families have been in the U.S. for hundreds of years.  However, a large number, if not a majority of whites families in this country emigrated from Europe around the turn of the century.  In the Hispanic community, it is very offensive to lump Cubans, Puerto Ricans, Mexicans etc. as one type of people.  Why then is it not offensive for Polish Americans, Italian Americans, Irish Americans etc. to all be "white?"  Never mind the oppression and discrimination that these people endured when they came here.  People have forgotten the racial slurs of wop, dago, guinae, mick, patty, polock, fritz, kraut and other slurs used against people now considered "white."  But this is a racists dream, isn't it?  To have a whole group of people with an identical culture so you can easily pigeonhole all of them?  This also compounds the issue a bit.  How can you punish a person for something they (or their ancestors) did not commit?  Many whites can trace their ancestors to having come over AFTER the abolition of slavery.  Many of the countries they came from never practiced slavery to begin with.  So how can one justify punishing them for an act that neither they nor their ancestors took any part in?  And even for those who CAN trace their ancestors that far back in the U.S., how can you punish someone for something their ancestors MIGHT have done, or even did do?  We're talking over 100 years ago, here.  That's like me hating a black person because, since they're black they MUST be related to Kony and all of the people currently and recently committing Genocide in Africa.  This logic just doesn't stand up.  Toward the end of the 1960s, we were on our way to accepting that all people, regardless of skin color, are different in their own way and deserve to be treated equally and decently, but the folks who took over after Dr. King only served to divide blacks and whites further, painting blacks as the great victims and whites as "white devils."  Again, this is not a phenomenon unique to African Americans and the Civil Rights movement, but it is an easy, relate-able example.  This goes for any group, and these same corrupting powers can be found in evil, racist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and the Aryan Nation.  However, since these people often hide under the guise of "Special Interest," they are left alone to their own devices as no one wants to come off as racist, sexist, prejudiced etc. for speaking out against them.  Thankfully, I don't have that problem!  Again, I fully support all of these movements for their true purpose.  I believe that homosexuals should have equal rights and should be able to get married.  I believe all people should have equal rights regardless of who they are or what they identify as, but no one deserves to get treated specially because of who they are either.  Anyway, just needed to rant about this, thanks for listening.  Hopefully I'll be posting more often now.  See you next time!