Truth Is Not The Truth

“If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.” – Mark Twain

Is it me or is there an abundance of pure ridiculousness emerging from yet another online trend?

Or am I just being cynical??

There seems to be a percentage of the world’s population who believes in the power of debate, simply by yelling “Fact!” or “Truth!”

And with this added bonus word to whatever their argument is… they seem to think that they can claim victory, for as long as they add that one word. And anyone who dares to try and disprove them is automatically wrong.

Ohhhh people of Earth. Most of you have already forsaken me in one way or another. But do we have to do in such a manner where stupidity and lack of cogent and sound thinking leads the way?!?!?!???

Who in their right minds thought that by yelling “truth!” actually makes what they are saying– the truth???

Who honestly believes that by yelling “fact!” is actually providing a compelling argument?

People… arguments, debates, and the like are just like math- SHOW YOUR WORK!!!!!! If you have nothing to back up your claim, then you have no argument and you are the one who loses… even if you scream “truth!” at the end of your argument. And I know a lot of you don’t like math. But tough! Show your work. Back up your argument, or just keep silent.

You annoy so many other people with your one worded outbursts of inexperience and ever show a lack of your education and intelligence.

Its people like these that make me wanna lock my door and never come outside again because I’m ashamed of sharing the same air to breathe with them.

A Thanksgiving Only For One: Flying The Enemy Skies

“The knack of flying is learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.”~ Douglas Adams

So I received this just in the nickname of time from LISAFAYECHARDONNAY.

This should have you crying and in stitches. But you have to read the entire article.

Enjoy:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/29/annoying-airplane-passenger_n_4360667.html

Justifying Stupidity To Make The Ends Meet

“After the first blush of sin comes its indifference.”~Henry David Thoreau

Recently in the news, rapper Eminem said something so outlandish, so insane, and so lame to defend his use of the word “faggot” in his lyrics.

Needless to say that the homosexual community has taken notice of this. But his arrogant rant led him to more or less attempt to show that the end was only justifying the means. And in layman’s terms, “faggot” didn’t mean anything derogatory towards any class of people, ever.

Son, what in the world are you snorting?!?!? He knows that he is wrong for doing what he did, and he’s only trying to save face. That is all.

There appears to be this inherent gene floating around inside of certain people that say and do really stupid things, but for their own self-gratification, they find a way to justify their actions. And they strictly adhere to it to the point where they begin to believe their own bullshit.

I recently found myself being attacked on more than one social media website. One of which the attack kept repeating their lines of insanity over and over and over and over again before moving on with their point and attacking me and my personal space.

I knew what they were doing. Their clueless repetition was just their way of helping them believe that what they were saying (over and over again) was the honest truth. In other words, they repeated the words to make themselves believe it.

After they became comfortable with their load of hot air, that’s when they used it as ammunition to attack me. But I did not respond any more to them as it was an exercise in futility.

What is astonishing is the things that people are being told by others or to themselves, far enough times for them to believe in it whole-heartedly. Its actually quite scary. And for them, their means were justifying their end for their senseless behavior.  

It didn’t take a Sheldon-type genius to see what I had to do with these people.

These are your kinds of people that argue for the sake of arguing. That they will believe and fall for anything the world around them tells them to believe… for as long as it gives them something that they want in the end.

Stand clear of these kinds of people as they are never happy in life. And they will not hesitate to drag you down as well.

Don’t be a victim. Be a hero.

Returning Fire From The Corner

“Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people.”~  Carl Sagan

In local news this evening, a story was broadcast about a bus driver who dropped off a 9 year old child at the wrong bus stop.

The child was unharmed. But it naturally and understandably unnerved the parents. Now the mother is calling for that driver to be fired from his job.

The local network posted this story on Facebook and asked for opinions of whether or not the people agree or disagree with the mother’s ranting about how the bus driver should be terminated from his job. And it just got worse from there by the mother.

From time to time I do like to weigh in and participate and tonight I did with two words — Mistakes happen.

Before I knew it, up to about 10 or 11 people had hit that “LIKE” button to my brief comment and opinion. At last peek, there was 24 and probably still the count rises. So I assume that meant that these people agreed with me.

So I had moved on. No more than an hour later, I received a notification that someone replied to my comment. And shortly after that, I had no less than three messages in my inbox on Facebook. ALL of them, were from people who disagreed with my comment that I had left on the issue.

However they all went as far as to say things like I am stupid. I am insensitive. I lack the ability to care for children. And so on.

And that can’t be true. After all, if I lack the ability to care for children… then I don’t think that my sister would entrust me with her children as she goes to work every Saturday.

The only thing that these responders got right was the fact that no, I am NOT actually a parent. However, I am an uncle. And for the niece and nephew that I often sometimes watch as my sister goes to work, it is the closest thing that they’ve got to a father or another parent since their father, my brother-in-law, passed away last year.

Most of these people who had the guts to send me any kind of correspondence like that said something along the lines that they wished I would die. And the day that I did die, it would clear out the spoiled gene pool.

Pretty courageous of them. Pretty rude of them as well.

My short but brief comment had a point. And I was really trying to give the benefit of the doubt to the bus driver. The fact that so many others were screaming that they agreed with this mother and that basically this driver’s head should be severed and put on a stake was actually overwhelming. But the thing is, is that none of us who were leaving their comments and opinions were actually there when it happened. So we honestly cannot say one way or another to what happened during this unfortunate situation.

As I stood there with my back in a corner, I fired back in my retort that knocked the wind out of my assailant’s sails and put the fire back in her own camp.

Could I have defended myself? Of course. And I did. Could I have fired back with as much venom as these people had given to me? Sure, but that’s not what I did. Instead, I rather took upon the lessons that my own dear mother taught me when I was young whenever someone would pick on me in school or come after me with such violent intent.

One woman said in her response about the gene pool being cleaned out of horrible people once I were to die. Taking the advice of my own mother from many years ago actually took the wind out of this woman’s sails and then others who had noticed the exchange focused their barbs on the woman… telling her that she just got owned. I mean after all, there was not another thing that the woman could say to me in response. NOTHING!

Again, my retort to her was short and sweet in a different pair of words: Thank you.

I did have a momentary relapse to consider that there just might be a few people who would disagree. And as I said, many people were taking this story so freakin’ serious as if it had happened to them personally, when the reality was that it did not. It is as if someone makes a mistake or does someone else wrong that the person who was wronged is just allowed to fly off of the handle and then they decide to just kill everything with fire. The mother wasn’t there in this case, so how can she rationalize such a decision to attempt the termination of this bus driver????

The last time that I checked, I still lived in the United States of America…. where there is a freedom to express your own opinion. And there is that freedom to disagree with me if you feel the need. As well as the freedom to express how your own opinion differs from mine.

But wishing someone to die goes far beyond extreme. People often don’t understand, realize, or forget that even on the Internet to wish someone harm or death can be criminal, should someone wish to take it that far to bring criminal charges of being a threat by the use of terrorism. Especially if they tell you that they intend on making it happen. And that did happen in the privacy of messages sent to me in the inbox on Facebook.

This will not deter me though. I’ve received so many death wishes/threats in the past 12-18 months from random strangers that it doesn’t bother or phase me as much as it used to.

So we can go on with life now. We are very capable of expressing our opinions when we feel the desire to speak up. But we must never forget that there will be those who disagree, and it can feel like stepping on a land mine.

I will not allow this to stop me. As well it shouldn’t.

 

Flying Overhead

“I would challenge to a battle of wits, but I see you are unarmed!” ~ William Shakespeare

Today I witnessed a dispute and a debate on Facebook.

The subject matter in question was whether or not certain photos that are “shared” and “liked”, would actually help donate money to a specific cause. In this case, it was a child in the hospital who appears in the photo to be very sick and in need of serious medical attention.

One was saying that it was worthless to spread around something as simple as a photo, when doing so wasn’t going to help the child in any way whatsoever.

And then a member of the brainless society chimed in, shouting and typing in ALL CAPS that IT WAS REAL!!

This guy just wouldn’t stop running his face hole. He had been defeated time and time again, and he even admitted at one point that just “sharing/liking the pic” wasn’t doing anything. But then he pulled back in his masterful stupidity and argued more.

All in all, Facebook creates a lot of buzz for a lot of different reasons. I personally believe that this was for shock value alone. The photo is a bit disturbing as it is a child.. laying in a hospital bed, looking VERY ill.

It seems as if nobody on Facebook double checks these things to make sure that in fact, there is a campaign for a donation collection by virtue of the number of “shares/likes”.

A person who believes 100% of what they see and read on Facebook, is a person who has a lot of catching up to do with the rest of the world.

But it had seemed the person who believed that this kind of thing could be true on Facebook, didn’t do his homework at all. Instead, just went with the flow. Too bad his flow was in line with the toilet.

There’s nothing wrong with debate. Especially if you strongly believe in something. However you cannot expect to jump into a battle of wits, thinking it will be a mature discussion, if you do not have all of your facts straight!

You will lose every stinkin’ time!!

What happened at the end of this particular debate, was the guy making the decision to “unfriend” his opponent at the end. Brilliant move there, buddy! More like cowardly!!

He lost the argument. And he truly went down in flames. All he had to do was concede his mistake and life would have moved on. But he didn’t. He juggled his viewpoint back and forth and finally made his own decision to walk away, for good.

“Unfriending” over something so small. It just made him look about a foot tall and no more.

If you are going to do something drastic like that, find something better of a reason.

 Moron.

It is the battles of unarmed people that make the rest of us just roll our eyes in the backs of our heads until our eyeballs get stuck there. Just like grandma use to warn us would happen.

All in all, this was pretty stupid shit to be arguing about. Hope he enjoys his solitude.

 

 

Poisonous Thinking

“Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.”~ Samuel Goldwyn

This t-shirt image was given to me last night by a great friend of mine. This t-shirt is on eBay for sale.

 

I love it! I think its wild and I think its funny!! But this image would eventually bring out the worst in me, due to a small collective group of people who are totally and completely ignorant.

 

The image is obviously of a two people making love while one of them is sitting in a wheelchair. Gender cannot be determined. But gender isn’t the point. The point is the funny visual of making love while sitting in a wheelchair.

 

I was delighted to see it, so I shared it across the Internet. A lot of people enjoyed it, thinking it was funny as well. But there were that small group of people that just took the image and discussed it at length to the point where they were absolutely out of line and their comments were uncalled for.

 

These ignorant morons literally to this image to the extreme and came up with the general idea that this could never happen in reality. Furthermore, their opinions went as far as to say that ALL people who need the use of the wheelchair cannot make love, because they are in a wheelchair.

 

If there ever was a time for my mouth to let fly a series of F-bombs, this would be one of those times.

 

I could not believe the stones that they had, to say something like that. To me, to others, and actually believe that what they were saying, was totally true and right. And of course, they were closed-minded to any debate. In their minds: HANDICAPPED PEOPLE OR PEOPLE WITH PHYSICAL DISABILITIES CANNOT HAVE INTIMATE RELATIONS.

 

I asked them all, if they had sex. Then I asked if any of them who have had sex before ever done so other than the bedroom. Whether it be the couch, a chair, the backseat of a car, whatever. Some still said yes. But they still were not grasping the concept that they were in the exact same position as the people in the image when they were engaging in sexual relations with a partner.

 

For them to say into my face that it was impossible, was more than just an insult. It was absolutely discriminating. My final words to them were, “When you find yourself in a wheelchair for something stupid that you did, which caused you to be in a wheelchair, you tell me whether or not if YOU can have relations with another person. Don’t sit there and tell me what I can and cannot do, because you do not even know who I am. You’ve never met me, you do not know what my own limitations are. And neither do any of you know of the relationships I have had in the past with women, and what I have or have not done with them. Open your mind because there is no way that you can say for sure what I (or others who are also in wheelchairs) can or cannot do. Why? Because you don’t have the lives that we do and will never know what we have to endure to get by every day. So either think before you speak, or shut the fuck up!”.

 

I was infuriated and very pissed off. It didn’t calm the debate down by a long shot, but I got out what I needed and wanted to say.

 

I realize that a lot of people don’t fully understand what I have to go through in life. I also realize that when I tell them, that it might be difficult for them to visualize. And that’s because they don’t have to go through it themselves. Doesn’t make them stupid, it makes them without knowledge and unaware.

 

The same thing happens when I tell people that I play sledge hockey. Automatically, their minds have this visual of people in wheelchairs on ice. But that’s not what the sport is about. And I have to walk them through it and explain it to them so that they have a better understanding.

 

I do not know what it is like to drive, jump rope, or go rock climbing. Doesn’t mean I should bash on those who do. And that’s exactly what these people were doing! Their assumptions that physically handicapped people and their limitations go so far. And in their minds, it wasn’t far at all.

 

Everyone has their own opinion. But at some point, there comes a time where sometimes that opinion should be quietly withheld. And that statement is MY OPINION.

 

If this group of people would have either just agreed or disagreed that the t-shirt image was funny and dropped it, this explosion of anger wouldn’t have happened. I was not the only ones involved in the conversation that were angry either. But for those who were, I couldn’t really get a word in, except for the above stated quote.

 

As far as the t-shirt goes, I’m glad that it was brought to my attention. And most likely I WILL purchase it from eBay. Why? Because to me- its funny.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Military Mayhem

“I’m inclined to think that a military background wouldn’t hurt anyone.”~William Faulkner

 

So I am going to speak out about this. Some will agree, some won’t.

 

Yesterday morning I noticed that the weather was a bit chilly, so I grabbed the first jacket that I could find. That jacket or at least that decision caught so much crap that it really annoyed me to death.

 

What I wore was a BDU jacket. Or in civilian terms, the dark green camoflauge jacket that we all can identify.

 

But this jungle or forest green BDU evidently caught the attention of some people, and they threw one of the worst hissy fits in the history of mankind.

 

They shouted at me that it was illegal for me to wear the jacket because I am not personally active duty or a military veteran. Needless to say that the pants that I wore had nothing to do with camoflauge. And I was wearing a common t-shirt and not the camoflauge shirt. Nor was I wearing any military style boots or shoes.

 

It was just the jacket. And they screamed and cried that what I was doing was totally illegal. So I researched it. This is the only thing that I was able to find:

 

“In accordance with chapter 45, section 771, title 10, United States
Code ( 10 USC 771 ), no person except a member of the U.S. Army may
wear the uniform, or a distinctive part of the uniform of the U.S.
Army unless otherwise authorized by law. Additionally, no person
except a member of the U.S. Army may wear a uniform, any part of which
is similar to a distinctive part of the U.S. Army uniform.”

Here is the applicable federal statute:

Sec. 771. – Unauthorized wearing prohibited

Except as otherwise provided by law, no person except a member of the
Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps, as the case may be, may wear –

(1)
the uniform, or a distinctive part of the uniform, of the Army, Navy,
Air Force, or Marine Corps;

or

(2)
a uniform any part of which is similar to a distinctive part of the
uniform of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps

 

So this tells me that perhaps that they might have been correct. However, I found another answer to the question that states as long as there are no insignia or marks or names of the military branch worn, then it is okay.

 

This law however, is not exactly enforced. The law makers do not necessarily jump at the opportunity to arrest people for wearing camo or military gear. They do not actively pursue the law because they do not wish to cause a situation where the support of the military would begin to decrease.

 

After all, a few years ago it was quite fashionable to wear camoflauge. From head to toe!! And nobody got arrested.

 

So then what is the big deal?

 

I looked back at my BDU jacket and I actually do have some insignia attached to the jacket. My last name and a few patches from different units and companies. Particularly from the Second Armored Division, which used to be called “Hell On Wheels”. Before was re-assigned to the National Guard and removed from the regular Army.

 

Now if you knew me, you’d get the joke. “Hell on Wheels” and I am a paraplegic in a wheelchair. That’s not harmful to the country, nor is it harmful to the military. It’s quite fun as a matter of fact.

 

I think though that there is one piece of insignia that actually has caught the attention of civilians and veterans alike. And that is the insignia pin for a colonel.

 

And I also have OTHER pins and other decorations that are on the jacket that do NOT come from the military at all. So the jacket is not exactly a replica of what is worn by active duty soldiers, at all! 

Army Colonel Insignia

 

I asked someone who is a veteran where it belonged on the jacket and he told me. And that’s where I had placed it. But since then, I have actually had someone call out to get my attention by saying, “Hey, Colonel?”. It actually kind of frightened me so immediately I turned around and explained that I was not a military veteran, and I wasn’t 100% sure that the pin was in the right place. The person actually noticed a POW/MIA patch on the left breast pocket and was wanting to know where I may have been taken prisoner. But once I explained that I was not actually a veteran, they apologized for the assumption and backed off.

 

I wear the BDU jacket with pride for this country and support for our military men & women on key dates throughout the year. Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Veterans Day. But as I said, the jacket is the only thing that I wear that would confuse someone that I might be former military.

 

With the exception of a set of dogtags that I wear around my neck and NEVER remove.

 

But I will defend by saying this: A civilian obtaining dogtags is ohhhh so easy!! There are a lot of places that will make you a set of dogtags for a price. Mainly at tourist attractions that may or may not be militarily themed.

 

What makes them different though- is their refusal to make a person a copy that is indentical to the active military. These items include:

 

• Last Name
• First Name and Middle Initial (although some will place full name on the first line)
• Social Security Number
• Blood Type
• Religion Affiliation

 

Places nowadays will refuse to add the Social Security Number and Blood Type. But they will be more than willing to put anything else in its place. So the dogtags that I wear around my neck are consistently INCORRECT.

 

What drives me nuts (as I come back to topic) is the fact that even when veterans find out that I am NOT actually a veteran or active duty and they see me wearing the BDU, they smile. Its the civilians that seem to have such the huge problem with it.

 

I’ve never intentionally told other people that I have been in the military. Even though several have made that mistake and assumption.

 

The worst story that I could tell you was a few years ago, it was windy day and the BDU jacket was again the first thing that I grabbed. I went to the grocery store with my ex-girlfriend and a man came up to me in the aisle and got my attention.

 

When I turned to him. He saluted me, then shook my hand and said, “Thanks for your service. Do you mind if I ask what happened?”.

 

Just at that point when I was about to tell him that I wasn’t a veteran my nutball of a girlfriend came up to him and literally gave him a line of total and complete bullshit.

 

“He was in the Army. Remember a few years ago when we were in Iraq and we killed Saddam’s sons in that seige? Well, he was in there and was injured during that assault.”

 

I WAS STUNNED!! HOW COULD SHE LIE LIKE THAT???

 

The man suddenly had tears building up in his eyes. He saluted me a few times more and thanked me ever so profusely for the sacrifice and service that I gave to this country. He hugged me and then backed off thinking that he might have invaded my personal space and then walked away with yet one more salute.

 

I ripped into my girlfriend, asking her why in the hell would she do such a thing and lie to the man?

 

Her response was more or less as deplorable as her answering that man’s question with falsehoods.

 

“My father was in Vietnam. And when he came home, nobody saluted him. Nobody gave him a parade. Nobody liked him. They hated him. So if YOU get the praise and honor then my father can have it vicariously. Even though you, yourself were not in the military.”

 

Well, to set the story straight. I would hear stories from her father at that time about his military career. He was in Vietnam for less than a year. He was not involved in any particular battle or conflict. In fact, he never saw any action and did not ever fire his weapon. But he was there. After that time when he was in the military and at the point where I had met him… well, let’s just say that her father was almost 10% of the reasons as to why I broke up with her in the first place.

 

It bothered me that she would lie like that and so willingly!!

 

So all in all, I do not think that it is illegal to wear my BDU jacket. It IS illegal to actually lie and present falsehoods to say that I was in the military. It is illegal for anyone in this country to lie about being a part of the military. But then again, if someone was actually caught doing it, I am not quite sure what the penalty has been or even if they actually brought charges on that person.

 

I recall many years ago that a man was arrested and imprisoned for impersonating being a firefighter. But that was so long ago.

 

This is not something that I am actually doing. I’m not out there in the world and telling people that I was injured in war, or that I was a part of the Army or anything like that. Because I knew that was illegal.

 

But it cannot be and is not illegal for me to wear a military style jacket. Otherwise the courts and jails would be full of people.

 

These civilians need to get off my back about it. I wear it because I am proud of those men & women who serve and those who have served and even those who gave their lives in the line of duty so that this country can be as free as it is.

 

Many members of my family have actually served. Grandfathers, uncles, cousins, and even my own younger brother! (Which is where I got all this stuff from in the first place!) I love my family and am proud of them. This is how I show support.

 

So to those who want to argue that what I am doing is wrong, back off and mind your own business.