Oversensitivity Over Race
Will Cause More Problems

It’s another case that our society is going to hell in a hand basket because of oversensitive people.

By now most of you have heard that in Dallas County, Texas, white Commissioner Kenneth Mayfield said, “It sounds like Central Collections has become a black hole.”

Right after Mayfield said this at the Monday county commissioners’ meeting black Commissioner John Wiley Price shot back “white hole” and a black county official wanted an apology.

“So if it’s ‘angel food cake,’ it’s white. If it’s ‘devil’s food cake,’ it’s black. If you’re the ‘black sheep of the family,’ then you gotta be bad, you know. ‘White sheep,’ you’re okay. You know?” Price said later in a FOX News interview.

As most rational people know, a black hole is an astronomy term to describe a hole that allegedly sucks in matter and nothing can escape from it, not even light.

But Price and others have become too oversensitive to racial terms like this. And Mayfield rightly shouted back at the black official who wanted an apology for using the term.

Too much sensitivity is going to blow up in our collective faces. It’s like the popular scenario where a jealous girlfriend will accuse her faithful boyfriend of cheating on her repeatedly. The boyfriend gets tired of the accusations and starts to think to himself, “Well, if she thinks I’m cheating on her, I might as well.”

The same thing will happen to non-racist white people. If a white man is going to be accused of being a racist and a member of the KKK because he honestly used a common term like “black hole,” than he’s going to start thinking negatively about black people. It’s doubtful that this example white man will join the KKK for being falsely accused of being a racist, but those negative seeds have been planted.

Granted, many black people have become a bit unhinged in a sense because of the horrible misdeeds of many white people. That’s certainly understandable. But that does not give them the right to wrongfully call a white man a racist for using a common term.

It’s a shame that our society has become so sensitive to general terms that people have to start censoring themselves so they won’t offend anyone. The fact is, people will always be offended over something that is unintentional.

We should not bend over and edit ourselves for anyone who dissects every single word to see if there is some racial undertone to it. We are all adults and it’s time to stop acting like children or the racial divide in this country will just get wider.

Supreme Court Takes
Second Amendment
Out Of D.C.’s Crosshairs

Many Second Amendment supporters are cheering as the Supreme Court ruled yesterday that the nation’s capital had no right to restrict honest citizens from owning hand guns.

The controversial 32-year-old ban was held by gun control advocates as the ultimate, yet delusional, weapon to preventing crime and something that the rest of the nation should be doing.

However, the advocates always became silent when people mentioned how dangerous Washington, D.C. was because of the ban. This is because the ban did not stop criminals from obtaining guns from different areas and bringing them into the nation’s capital.

But this bit of common sense was lost to leading gun control advocate Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who said this about the ruling:

“I believe the people of this great country will be less safe because of it.”

And this is despite the fact that Washington, D.C., was once this nation’s murder capital. Apparently, Feinstein had her fingers in her ears on her way into the Senate during this time.

Many people are pleased with the ruling, because now honest citizens can start defending themselves against lawbreakers who do not follow the rules, hence their name, lawbreakers.

People like Feinstein do not have a clue as to what is really happening in places that have gun control. England has a strict gun ban and all it resulted are criminals still using guns or knifes to rob and murder their defenseless victims.

A dose of reality is needed for those who honestly believe that restricting decent Americans of their Second Amendment rights is a way to handle crime. And another dose is needed for those who believe that adding another law on top of similar ones will help matters.

Let’s enforce the laws that we have now and make sure that the criminals are punished and not honest folks.

Maybe if politicians like Feinstein did something about the crime in Washington, D.C., then law-abiding citizens would not have the need to purchase firearms to protect themselves.

Trying To Take The Reason Out Of The Season

From the folks who say we need more acceptance and diversity in our lives are trying to once again restrict the majority of Americans who celebrate Christmas.

Over in Dallas, Ga. the Washington, D.C.-based Americans United for Separation of Church and State want the mayor of the town to take down a neon light nativity scene that the town has put up for the second year in a row.

However, Mayor Boyd Austin said it best about the taking down of the reason why so many celebrate Christmas:

“I think without the birth of Christ, we wouldn’t have Christmas and I think this is the reason for the season and I think that the overwhelming silent majority of people will be heard on this and they’re going to say, ‘Leave it alone,’” Austin told Action News 2 in Atlanta.

The group is now considering legal action, which really boggles the mind. Just like it boggles the mind how many people want to call a Christmas tree a Holiday tree.

In Queen Creek, Az., the town’s Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony was rained out this year but the feud over the name of the festivity is still leaving a bad taste of fruitcake in many’s mouths.

One of the town’s councilmen feel that town sponsored events that involve taxpayer money should not have a religious theme. A wife of a former mayor of the town who donated the Christmas tree said she was sick and tired of the political correctness involved with the holly jolly holiday.

And who can blame her? We are supposed to be teaching our children about accepting other cultures and to support diversity, which is just fine but the people who seem to be the biggest supporters of all of this are usually the ones who want to restrict and takeaway Christmas.

And the usual reasons for all of this is because they don’t want people to feel left out who don’t celebrate Christmas or it somehow it crosses the line of the separation of church and state.

How about this? To the people who feel left out or don’t celebrate the day Jesus Christ was born, I say you can do one of two things: Either learn about the holiday and try to have some fun with it or just ignore it but don’t ruin it for the majority of people who do enjoy Christmas.

And to those who want to call it a holiday tree, go knock yourself out and call it that but don’t have a hissy fit when someone calls it by its proper name, a Christmas Tree. Because that’s what it is and you are not going to fool anyone into believing it’s something else.

I can shave off Santa’s beard and make him take Weight Watchers and call him Don Knotts but that doesn’t change the fact that the skinny guy in the red suit flying a team of reindeer is still good, old Saint Nick.

America is called the Great Melting Pot for a reason, because there are so many cultures that come together and create something very unique that you can’t find anywhere else in the world. Once you take away some important key ingredients in that melting pot, then you start to lose the taste that’s America.

The Times Observer wishes everyone a Happy Hanukkah, a Merry Christmas and a Happy Kwanzaa.

To read last year’s Christmas editorial, please click here.

G.I. Joe Is A POW To PC

He has faced the Nazis, Japanese and terrorist organization COBRA and won every time. But apparently only politically correct Hollywood has done something that none of his enemies were able to do: Kill G.I. Joe.

According to rumors, the new G.I. Joe movie is taking the “American” out of a “Real American Hero.” Paramount has said that in the movie, “G.I. Joe” will not stand for (U.S.) “government-issued,” but will now become an acronym for “Global Integrated Joint Operating Entity.”

It has been said that an American soldier hero movie might not do well overseas. It almost makes me want to toss my old G.I. Joe toys in the BBQ grill and set them on fire.

But if G.I. Joe can be a target for the evils of political correctness, what other heroes are next? I guess Superman would be the next on the hit list. After all, standing for the “American Way,” can now become as deadly for the Man of Steel as Kryptonite.

But G.I. Joe gave something that Superman couldn’t give to young boys: That with hard work and the love of your country, you too can be a great American hero. Sure, Superman is great but no amount of hard work is going to make a kid fly through the air.

G.I. Joe is a believable hero that anyone can be. And once more, his enemies were also believable. His enemies belonged to tyranny, dictatorships and terrorist organizations: Real threats that America has faced in some form during its long history.

And like real American soldiers, G.I. Joe has faced many enemies in different countries, freeing many from oppression at the hands of bloody rulers. But I guess that is something Hollywood doesn’t want to remind moviegoers, and thus stripping G.I. Joe into a United Nations military force, which is a sad thing to be.

I’m not sure what type of lessons this pale imitation of G.I. Joe is going to teach our children, but it already taught them one valuable lesson: Don’t allow Hollywood to discharge our heroes!

Lawmakers Are The Ones That Need To Be Spanked

Democrat Sally Lieber of San Francisco, a member of the state legislature, is drafting a bill that would make it illegal to spank or use any type of corporal punishment on children 3 years old or younger, reported the AFP on Friday, Jan. 19, 2007.

Once again, this is the government trying to tell us village idiots how to raise our children and it also shows that lawmakers like Lieber don’t have the stomach to take on bigger, more important issues. And let’s face it, just how the heck does she plan on enforcing this if it becomes law? Have the police use surveillance cameras placed in the homes of Californians? And besides, any parent with half a brain knows they cannot use corporal punishment on their child in public anymore, because nuts like Lieber will call child services and the police, after they write down the license plate number.

Sure, no one in their right mind is going to spank their 2-month old child. And even if they do, guess what? I’m willing to bet California has a law against that. I believe it’s called child abuse.

But there is a big difference between spanking a child and actual child abuse. And I hate to break it to many of you, but sometimes kids need to be spanked, sometimes it works and it doesn’t leave them emotionally scarred. And most parents are smart enough to determine how old their child should be hit.

And let’s face it, most of us had our bottoms made red by our parents and we are alive and well. I remember the first time I had to correct my son. He was a year and a half old and he wanted to play with the electrical outlets, even though there were safety covers on them. I still did not want him to touch them, because I figured that while my wife and I were not around, one day he would figure out how to get the safety covers off. My son is smart like that and probably got it from me, since I touched everything myself as a child. My older brother finds it amazing I still have all my fingers.

Well, no matter how many times I told my son no or even yelling at him, he still wanted to go near the outlets. So, as heart breaking as it was for me, I grabbed his little hand and slapped it hard. And I will never forget what happened next. His small, baby face looked up and his deep, dark eyes found mine and he laughed at me.

It was very hard to control myself from laughing, because that would have sent the wrong message to him, so I slapped his hand a little harder and he began to cry. Sure I did not like doing it but I got the result that I wanted: He stopped fooling around a dangerous and deadly household device.

Spanking is hardly ever used on my son now because he is old enough to understand what a punishment is. But how are you going to teach a year and half old child what a punishment is when they’re still trying to grasp the concept of a jack-in-the-box?

But I’m a criminal in the eyes of Lieber. However, she needs to know that some children need to be spanked. A loving parent does not get any joy out of making their child cry but it does get results. And taxpayers do not get any joy when Democrats introduce useless bills that waste everyone’s time.

N.J. Politicians Need To Take A Backseat To Smoking

Many New Jerseyans call the Garden State the People's Public of New Jersey and the new piece of legislation being introduced is one of the reasons why.

State Senator Raymond Lesniak is the creator of a bill that will make it illegal for parents to smoke in their own cars if children 16 years old or younger are passengers.

Now, I'm not a smoker myself and let's face it, no one should be smoking with little kids around. However, with New Jersey already having a law banning public indoor smoking, although it excludes the famous casinos, this is just one more restriction of the freedoms we are supposed to have in this country. What is next, you are not allowed to smoke in your own home, whether or not if you have children?

Reasonable parents should be allowed to raise their children as they see fit. It is their responsibility to protect their child’s health, not the government's.

But back to the bill, if it's made into a law, it will be a $500 fine and 30 days in jail for the first offense. Do you know what this law will really be? It's feel-good legislation, just so Lesniak, a Democrat, can tell people all the good his during for them, especially during the next time he’s running for office.

If Lesniak and the rest of New Jersey legislators want to really help New Jerseyans, how about some much needed property tax relief? Or maybe state lawmakers could do something to stop the drugs and the gangs that are crawling from war-torn cities like Trenton and into clean, decent towns like Princeton. Or they can help the intercity student get a better education in their own community, instead of sneaking into suburban schools illegally to get one?

Well, being from New Jersey and listening to others who still live there, I can tell you that is not going to happen. If this bill is passed, and it probably will, all it will do, besides help Lesniak's image, is give the state some more money. Sure, parents who light up while their children are in the car are stupid but if we're going to make a law to arrest stupid people making bad, money-taking, waste-of-time decisions, let's start with the idiotic gang of legislators!

Keeping The Holidays Religious

What can be said in a holiday opinion piece that hasn’t been said in other newspapers throughout the country during this time of year? Instead of reading the traditional “holiday good cheer” and “giving to those less fortunate than yourself,” how about this: Let’s keep the holiday season religious!

According to the Associated Press, the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport removed Christmas trees after a rabbi asked to have a menorah up along with them. When airport officials refused to add the menorah to their display, Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky was dismayed by the decision and threaten to sue. As a result, instead of dealing with different religious holidays and celebrating them, the airport decided to take down the Christmas trees.

Has it gotten this bad that an airport could not put up one menorah up? Or worse yet, it is when public schools remove the word “Christmas” from concerts so no one will be offended.

Back in 2001, Kensington Town Council banned Santa Claus from being at a tree lighting event because they agreed with a few citizens of the Maryland town that Old Kris Kringle does not have a place in a “secular celebration.” Luckily, a large group of Santas arrived during the event and protested the ban.

Sadly, these are just a few out of many similar incidents that have happened throughout our country in the past few years. It’s happening not only in the classrooms and small towns but in private businesses, and even in some extreme cases, on our own front lawns. For those who are not familiar, here are a few examples of the changes being made: It’s not a snowman anymore; it’s called a snowperson. A Christmas tree is now called a holiday tree. It’s as insulting as calling a menorah a “candlestick holder.”

Enough is enough. Not only is it ridiculous, it’s a restriction of our freedom of speech. How are we supposed to teach true diversity to our children if we are taking the word “Christmas” out of a Christmas carol, or we are not allowed to have a Mishumaa Saba or a menorah in the front windows of our homes or lawns for that matter?

In our politically correct society, while we are running around trying to change things so no one will be hurt or offended, we have caused one of the greatest crimes of the 21st century: we are sterilizing the holidays. That’s right; we are in the midst of wrapping Christmas, Chanukah, and Kwanzaa, and placing them in a plastic bag while wearing a bio-hazard suit, so no one will be contaminated with holiday cheer. In doing so, we are murdering the spirit of the season and making the three so bland and indifferent, they are lost in a blizzard of alleged “diversity.” Their life will be sucked out and left as lifeless and tasteless as stale fruitcake.

The holidays are who we are. It’s more than just Santa Claus or a dreidel, but the religious meanings behind them. It’s about the miracle of an oil lamp burning for eight nights, when it should have burnt for one. It’s about the miracle of celebrating a seven-day festival to rejoice in a proud heritage. And, it’s also about the miracle of a baby boy born in a manger to a virgin mother.

Therefore, this season sing “We Wish You A Merry Christmas” while decorating a 9-foot Christmas tree, or spin a dreidel so big you need three people to help you as you sing “The Dreidel Song.” Scream out the meaning of each of the seven values of Kwanzaa with a bullhorn. But whatever you do, do not let anyone stop you from celebrating the holidays because it may offend someone. (Of course, do it responsibly. No one wants to hear the “The Twelve Days of Christmas” at two in the morning by someone dressed as Frosty the Snowman in their backyard.)

And if someone is offended and complains about your celebration or displays of whatever holiday/religion you are celebrating, tell them to stick it up their stockings! It is their problem if they are not mature enough to handle the holiday seasons.

While political correctness has changed “mailman” into “letter carrier,” and “janitor” into “custodial engineer,” let’s not let it change the holidays or their meanings. Let’s celebrate them not in the politically correct way but the diverse way: not changing them at all and celebrating them the way they were meant to be. That way, maybe we can learn something about our neighbors and ourselves. Remember that our Constitution guarantees us the separation between government and religion, not citizen and religion.

And no matter which religion you practice or holiday you do or do not celebrate, The Times Observer wishes you Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah and a joyful Kwanzaa and Seasons Greetings to all!

Originally posted on Thursday, July 24, 2008

Women Having Sex With Teens?
No Big Deal!

Do you know what burns my bacon?

When some people are honestly shocked and outraged when some teen-aged boy has sex with a woman and actually feeling this will scar the kid for life.

Angela Honeycutt, which sounds like a bad Bond girl’s name, is charged for allegedly exposing herself to teen-aged boys at a sleepover and having sexual contact with them.

So, yes, we can all see how this would scar a young, strapping male teen with raging hormones.

Now, let’s say Ms. Honeycutt allegedly did what police are charging her with. I can tell you now the police didn’t find out about her little Show-And-Do because Little Johnny woke up screaming in a cold sweat from a nightmare over the incident.

Just like many teen-aged boys, Little Johnny, or in this cases Johnnies, bragged about having some type of sex with a 38-year-old woman from Lower Makefield, Pa. And if you ever been to Lower Makefield, that’s actually one of the few highlights that are available there.

If Ms. Honeycutt is guilty, then she has joined a seemingly growing number of women, mostly teachers, who have been charged with the laughable crime of statutory rape of male minors. And yes, it is laughable because in some of these cases these women aren’t exactly forcing themselves onto these willingly teen-aged boys.

While the man-pig in me roars its ugly head in approval of a male teen having sex with an attractive woman, simply because it’s just about every schoolboy’s fantasy of being with a teacher or female adult, the parent side of me realizes that this does send a wrong message to male teens. But what message should be given to these Ron Jeremy wanna-bes?

Well, sitting Little Johnny down and telling him that having sex with a hot woman with years of experience is wrong and that he should wait for someone he truly loves isn’t going to cut it. And neither is telling him to write a letter to Penthouse. (Sorry, the man-pig in me suggested that one.)

Now, what you have to do is scare the ever-living sh!t out of Little Johnny. How to do that? If he actually had sex with the woman, telling him he got her knocked up might work, but not likely. Getting a woman pregnant rarely stops some guys from acting irresponsible, no matter how old they are.

The best way is by lying through your teeth and saying that the woman has the most horrible form of sexually transmitted disease that it would make the Black Plague look like a case of the sniffles.

This will cause either one or two healthy choices from the young Casanova: Either he’ll cool his jets and wait until he’s old enough to use better judgment or two, he’ll be using protection.

Because the reality is, an average teen-aged boy having sex with an “older” woman is not going to emotionally scar him, but he is too stupid to realize the circumstances of his actions. So to be on the safe side, showing him some slide shows of a hooker riddled with STDs might work better than a cold shower.

Originally posted on Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Barbie's S&M Headline Misleading?

Do you know what burns my bacon? Media sensationalism just to sell a few newspapers and extreme Christian groups that try to suck the fun out of life; so yeah, there’s a double-bonus of bacon burning in this edition’s column.

First, the headline from the U.K.’s The Sun reads, “S&M Barbie lashed by public.” But once you read the story, you find out that Mattel is really releasing a Barbie doll that is dressed like the DC comics superhero Black Canary. They have previously released a Barbie version of fellow DC comics heroines Batgirl, Wonder Woman and Supergirl, just to name a few.

Granted, Black Canary does dress in leather and fishnet stockings, so it’s really not a real S&M look she has, but more of a biker-stripper look going on. This may not ease a lot of parents, but considering that Wonder Woman has been parading around in her star-spangled panties for more than 65 years, Black Canary’s outfit is an improvement and covers more.

Now considering that the U.K. is famous for its S&M outlet stores, clubs and such games as, Whip The Donkey’s Tail, it is understandable why The Sun thought a superhero might have been one of former New York Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s call girls. But with the Internet and Wikipedia around, it would be a simple search to find out if Black Canary was really into S&M or she just wears her leather outfit just to annoy PETA.

Sensationalism has no place in journalism, but sadly, shoddy publications do make room for it.

But now we come to the other half of the bacon burning: The Christian side.

“Barbie has always been on the tarty side and this is taking it too far. A children’s doll in sexually suggestive clothing is irresponsible – it’s filth,” stated the religious group Christian Voice, as reported by The Sun.

Yes, it can’t be denied that everyone’s favorite plastic, blonde doll does dress like a tart, maybe a bit slutty at times. Hell, she looks like a hooker in some of the outfits that I’ve put her in.

Besides, even if parents are going to buy the Black Canary for their daughter, I would like to think a young girl at that age doesn’t know about such things as S&M.

But these extreme Christian groups have to remember that most little girls usually take Barbie’s clothes off faster than G.I. Joe on shore leave anyway. So having her in fishnet stockings isn’t that much of a big deal.

Originally posted on Friday, July 11, 2008

Voting Goes To The Dogs

Do you know what burns my bacon? Idiot voters who only support a candidate for stupid reasons.

For example, an AP-Yahoo! News poll found that pet owners support presumed Republican Presidential candidate John McCain because he has two dogs, a cat, two turtles, a ferret, three parakeets and a lot of fish. I believe this is known as the Noah Complex.

But on the other side, the poll said that non-pet owners, or also known as “liberators” according to PETA, favor the assumed Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama because of his lack of fuzzy beasts.

What really burns my bacon is what Janet Taylor of Plymouth, Mass., said about this issue.

“I think a person who owns a pet is a more compassionate person ―­­­­ caring, giving, trustworthy. I like pet owners,” she stated.

Who can make that giant leap of illogic? McCain has seven children. In my book, having children trumps having pets. You would think that caring for small human beings would make you more trustworthy and compassionate.

Besides, I don’t have any pets and I would like to get some, but I already have two children. That should count for something. Sure, they don’t go on the carpet or keep me awake at night baying at the moon, but they do make messes and I have to take them for walks. And I just can’t give them to the animal shelter if I get tired of them. Trust me, I’ve tried.

But it’s just not pet owners who may vote for a candidate because they share a need to get licked in the face by an animal that cleans its own testicles with its tongue. My grandmother remembers watching on TV that a woman was going to vote for Dwight Eisenhower just because he had the same operation as her husband.

In fact, columnist Gary Kamiya said he is going to vote for Obama simply because he’s half black.

“I admit it: I’m voting for Barack Obama because he’s black,” Kamiya wrote. “… But if he weren’t black, and Hillary had opposed the war, I’d probably vote for her because of her greater experience.”

Kamiya isn’t the only one who will vote for Obama because of his skin color. And sadly, the opposite is true because many white voters support McCain because of his race. All pretty racist stuff, but interesting how the former seems to be more acceptable than the latter. But that’s a different topic for another day. But it’s not OK to vote for Obama just because he’s black or McCain because he’s white. That’s racist no matter how you slice it.

The point here is that people who vote for a candidate because they have a pet, or have the same operation or even skin color, not to mention being in the same political party, should scare everyone. Because these are not thinking, rational people.

These are people who probably shouldn’t be allowed to vote if they are choosing a candidate to be the most powerful person of the world over trivial things.

It makes you wonder where this country is heading if a voter’s only decision about how qualified a candidate might be is if he carries a pooper scooper. Although, since a candidate is a politician in D.C. with a pooper scooper, it doesn’t necessarily mean he owns a dog.

Originally posted on Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Muslims Outraged Over Puppy?

Do you know what really burns my bacon? Diversity. Let me clarify that. I hate how we’re told we’re supposed to be accepting to other people’s cultures, but these same cultural people don’t do the same.

Over in jolly old Scotland, the police at a local town made an ad announcing their new phone number, which features a cute puppy on a police officer’s hat.

Local Muslims were upset because they consider a dog unclean. Wow, no kidding? You mean an animal that sniffs another animal’s butt, drinks out of the toilet bowl and licks its own testicles is unclean? Well, pick my nose and call me snot finger, I didn’t know that!

However, the puppy wasn’t doing any of those offensive things in the ad.

What I found to be offensive and unclean about the whole affair is how closed-minded the Muslims are about this. They are in another country with new customs to learn. They simply can’t throw a hissy fit every time they encounter something that is a cultural shellshock.

In fact, when I go to visit my wife’s family in Japan, I don’t expect anyone in the country to bend over backwards just to accommodate me and make sure I’m not offended. Even though I love the country, there are many things I don’t like about it either.

For example, one year we went to a hot spring resort and one night I decided to take a dip before bed. Already, I wasn’t comfortable with how you have to be naked in the baths with other men. But what I found really offensive was how some young men would pose together, with their privates flying about all merrily, as someone was taking a picture. It made me wonder if this was Japan’s version of “Deliverance.” Thankfully, no one made me squeal like a pig.

Another thing that offends me is when my wife eats a Japanese bean paste food that smells like old gym socks. In fact, even her brother agrees with me and he doesn’t like it either.

But I didn’t go running to the authorities or make a huge fuss over these two things. Why? Because I know that if you’re living in a different part of the world or living with someone from a different part of the world, you have to let them have their customs and traditions.

And that’s what the Muslims in Scotland have to understand. It’s a cute picture of a dog. If it was a picture of a dog eating out of a maggot-infested garbage can, it would be a different story.

In fact, most of us in the States might even be more considerate to the Muslims in Scotland if they were complaining about the popular Scottish dish haggis.

But the moral of the story is this: If you choose to live in a different part of the world and you’re not happy with the customs, either suck it up and deal with it like a mature adult or go back home.

Originally posted on Friday, June 13, 2008

Stupid Teachers Strike Again

Last month, school officials at El Camino High School and highway patrol officers decided to use their lack of collective wisdom and lied to students that several of their peers died in car accidents.

Several students at the Oceanside, Calif., school were shocked and hysterical when told the “news”. However, they didn’t learn the truth until hours later that it was a scare-straight exercise to show the dangers of drinking and driving.

Their grief turned into outrage when they discovered the idiotic ruse when their “dead” friends did a Lazarus impression.

Obviously, school and police officials are defending their thoughtless actions and students and parents are outraged.

And instead of driving home how dangerous drinking is, these idiots furthered the popular teen belief that adults can’t be trusted.

Way to go. Instead of being truthful, these morons shattered a very important trust that young people need as they swim through the uncertain waters of adolescence.

School and police officials really need to reconsider how to help students without making them feel like they can’t go to someone of authority.

With the many problems that students have, from bad grades, an unstable family, sex, and drugs, what today’s youth don’t need are officials, who are supposed to be the go-to-people of problems, who intentionally lie about the deaths of their friends.

Scare-straight programs are great, but not when they traumatize students to the point that it could possibly lead to psychological problems and major trust issues.

It would have been better if the officials presented family and friends of victims of drunk driving and have them tell of the horrific agony that they had to endure. Also, displaying the typical wrecked car from a drunken driving accident is another good visual impression.

But then again, these officials clearly don’t have any common sense if they’re stupid enough to lie to students that their friends died.

Maybe school and police officials can take a class on how to be tactful before they decide to “educate” students by emotionally scarring them for life.

Originally published on Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Stereotypes And Hypocrisy

Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II wrote a great little column today about race and misunderstandings in The Politico today. He says that there should be more open discussion about something that is quite taboo in not only political circles, but in most of our professional lives.

Because for the most part, when we talk about race, we talk about stereotyping. And we all know that stereotyping is wrong, but there is truth to it. Yes, it’s a generalization that has some truth to it.

Here’s a popular stereotype: The Mafia. There. It’s said. Now, how many of you thought of Tony Soprano? The movies “Godfather” or “Goodfellas” pop into anyone’s heads? Sure they did. It’s a popular stereotype that Italians and the Mafia go hand-in-hand like olive oil and wine, Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra or a snitch and cement shoes.

It’s ingrained in us to think of Italians when we heard “mafia.” If we’re forced to think of any other nationality, we always hear: The Russian Mafia or the Chinese Mafia. Because the fact is, when we hear “Mafia,” no one thinks of Eskimos.

And to those sensitive Italians out there who think it’s a slur to their heritage, as ¾ guinea myself (OK, according to my father, I’m ¼ Italian and ½ Sicilian. Yeah, it can be a big deal.) I say to you: Suck it up and deal with it!

Yeah, so Italians are associated with a criminal organization that has been glorified by Hollywood. That’s because it’s mostly true. Italians are famous for organized crime. We’re not famous for organized bake sales. Go ask Sammy “The Bull” Gravano or John Gotti.

Does it mean that all Italians are Mafia members? Of course not. Take me for example. Because I’m ½ English on my mother’s side, I wasn’t allowed to join The Family. Sure, I’m glad I don’t have to kill or whack off anyone, but who can beat that tax-free money they make?

And Italians aren’t highlighted well in entertainment media. Take a look at black people: In movies or TV shows, they’re either drug dealers or presidents of big companies.

For Italians in the entertainment industry, we’re either pushing a tomato cart down the street, with a little monkey next to our organ grinder or we’re a Godfather. Not once have we heard Captain James T. Kirk turn to Mr. Spock and say, “Get me geographic specialist Giovanni “Fat Tony” Barbarino.” There is simply no in-between for us.

And speaking of blacks and organs, outside of movies or TV shows the African-American community have a long history of suffering from hideous forms of stereotyping. We hear how black men are involved with crime or being stupid and they rightfully complain about these awful stereotypes.

But it’s also very hypocritical. Not once in all my years have I ever heard a black man complain about the popular stereotype that they have huge penises.

No, not once have I ever heard a black man say, “No, no that’s an awful lie. My penis is so small I could have sex with a Cheerio.”

So, when it comes to race, I think many of us are overly sensitive. Many of us have to accept that some stereotypes are true about our heritage. But more importantly, we shouldn’t judge anyone based on stereotypes, but on the individuals themselves.

Because that sensitivity to non-hateful comments or jokes is not going to help anyone deal and get over race relations.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have stromboli in the oven.