Month: July 2017

Just another rant

We’ve seen countless versions of the TV spot for cell providers for years, from “Can you hear me now” to today’s we’re better than the other guys, they’re all crap version. Well, I actually worked for one of the largest cellular providers in the U.S. in the very early 2000’s, and I can tell you that even back then, there were very few areas where you couldn’t get a signal because your provider didn’t have a tower near by. Yes, in the very early days of cellular phones, you had to use your provider’s towers, or incur roaming fees, which we all hated as much as we still hate overage charges.

Today, despite the truth actually being that the individual networks being very close in size, speed, reliability, my phone works even where my provider has no towers for miles, because all providers agreed to let anyone use their towers, purely to satisfy customers and eliminate roaming fees. So, today it’s all about pricing and what the plan you choose includes. My parents, nephew, and I all share a plan that allows us to have separate bills, but due to our plan, we have a very low monthly base fee, and all have unlimited talk and text. We also can choose unlimited data or just a smaller upgrade, for those who haven’t figured it out, yes, I am with Sprint on the Framily plan. My base cost each month is $45, and I’m unlimited talk, text, and data, and I’ve had very little problem steaming on Facebook or Twitter, posting to any site, browsing or watching YouTube videos, save at my home, which is out “in the sticks” where no one has too strong a signal for data. Boost is an old Nextel market, Virgin is on T-Mobile if I remember right, and so it goes with every “discount provider.”

Why am I ranting about cell phone commercials? We’ve known for years that ads are geared toward getting your money, and they’ll insult the other guy all they can to get that. My primary complaint about this is that the attitude has become so pervasive, that is now infecting real life. So many people have heard and bought into the “I’m better than your guy, so switch to me” story, that they’ve begun using it. Professors are so convinced of their own superiority, they now belittle students who disagree with them in class, rather than invite actual debate. Students are so convinced that they are the end all be all of the campus that they block access to speakers they don’t like, and in some cases, assault those who want the speaker to come to campus. Campus administrations are so afraid of a lawsuit, they don’t act to prevent this from happening, and thus, we have students actively belittled and attacked, simply for not being the same. Thus far, we’ve seen UC Berkeley students attacked and almost killed over inviting Milo Yiannopoulos or Anne Coulter, while so far, only Claremont has punished anyone over blocking a door so an invited speaker can get to their venue.

This attitude of infallibility is what must change. Professors who mock and kick students out because they mention that forensic science can tell the age, sex, or race of a person by their skeleton, or take part in assaulting those who invited a conservative speaker should be at the very least fired, if not arrested. The reason this isn’t happening is simple, the people in power are those most guilty of this attitude. Those who want to see this change must do something that won’t be easy, but it’s now the only way to get anything to happen. What is this difficult thing? We have to hit the people demanding we do what they tell us to, without any complaint, in the wallet. When celebrities go on a rant about how evil and stupid we are for not voting as they order, or for speaking out against something they support, then we need to stop spending money on their work. Sadly, this isn’t easy. Case in point, I’ve commented on several threads where a celebrity has insulted me directly, and in one case, they are the main role in a movie series I’ve loved for years. Personally, just not going won’t affect them, even if all my family and friends join, because honestly, there aren’t that many I can directly influence. But, by letting the studio putting these movies out know that I, as a consumer, will no longer pay for a ticket or DVD rental, nor purchase any merchandise, and urging others to do the same, the studio will see that their “star” is alienating the very people they want to reach. It worked with Last Man Standing, as when ABC cancelled, even with Tim Allen not attacking or complaining, another network snapped the show up, because they saw that people want to watch it. That will hurt ABC, simply because the time slot for Last Man Standing will be prime-time, and thus, a good number of people will be watching it instead of ABC. Ratings are the end all, be all, for networks. I’ll admit, TV shows are the hardest to impact, as there aren’t any show specific advertisers for fiction series, other than perhaps product placement, but it can be done.

Simply put, make your voice heard, let the network know you won’t watch a show any more because of a star mouthing of and calling you an idiot for voting as you want to, or for not believing them without question. Let the studio know you won’t spend money on a movie or it’s merchandise because a star believes you’re a moron for not thinking exactly like them. We saw a push years back to be an individual, to stand out and not conform, but today the non-conformists are all the same, demanding you “break the mold” and conform to theirs. It won’t be easy, as you’ll be left with books written by very few people, very little music that isn’t over 100 years old, but you’ll have claimed a principle and stood by it, which is very rare. There are conservative and liberal stars in Hollywood, so if you leave one fandom, there are others you can try, just as there are alternatives for movies. I personally would rather have only one or two movies every 2 to 3 years, and have them be wholesome, such as God’s Not Dead or Risen, than a movie every month where the star thinks I’m nothing more than a piggy bank they can demand money from. It’s your choice, as always, but if you choose to tell Hollywood you won’t give them your money any more, maybe they’ll get the hint and either tell the stars to shut up and not insult the people who they want to spend money for tickets, or they’ll get new stars.

On Bullies and Liberals, often the same thing

The last 8 months have been some of the most tense and violent that I’ve seen in a long time, likely ever. I remember 2000, when Gore ranted about the popular vote, dangling chads, and that the world would end because the country didn’t hand him the White House. 2001 when Bush began talking about responding to the attacks of 9/11, and so many other times, but it’s never been to the point of people destroying property on Inauguration Day, or college students and employees assaulting those who invite a speaker they don’t like to campus, and we’re there now. We’ve gone from the world of 2008 and 2012, where we were told “we won, you lost, get over it,” or “when they go low, we go high.” We’ve lived through hearing we could keep our plan, once the law passed so we can find out what’s in it, and now the country is tearing it’s self apart over an election, notably, the election of a Republican over a criminal, although the left will tell you, repeatedly at high volume, that Trump is the criminal, and Hillary is the reincarnation of the Virgin Mary, trust me there.

To understand the mindset, I actually need to go back over 20 years and show the earliest example of what I’m seeing now. I was in high school, and during my first month on campus, I had a bully lock in on me. As a sophomore (3 year High School,) I was 5 foot tall and a bit overweight. Before a month was out, as I was walking toward the door, this guy walks buy and punches me directly in the chest. He always had his gaggle of “friends” with him, so after a bit, I started to move around with my friends. He naturally didn’t like even odds, and called me out, and I got tired of it. In the cafeteria, I asked him how I was the coward when he only approached me when I was alone and he wasn’t, only when he could sucker punch me and walk away, and only when there wouldn’t be a staff witness. He tried to say it wasn’t true, so I simply said “If you’re not a coward, meet me, today, across the street, alone!” He never did, lied about it, and got madder and madder when no one believed him. A year after graduation (I’m now 6ft1 and 220+) he spotted me going to my car. I saw him coming up from behind me in the window reflection, so caught the punch, put him in a submission hold and called 911. He actually filed suit and complained the video of him trying to hit me from behind and my obvious defense was proof I attacked him.

This is the mindset today. Groups like “Moms Demand Action” tweet about how this group or that state are “making guns more accessible and putting women at risk” while ignoring the fact that domestic abusers, felons, etc., are barred from owning a firearm, period. When called out on this, they just block you, then tweet about you as if they’re the victim, and the media eats it up. Some of them, however, are powerful enough to do more than tweet. We’ve seen the multiple “mysterious” deaths of those investigating or otherwise in a position to oppose Hillary Clinton. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was in good health, not old, but still died “mysteriously,” and the Obama White House stepped in to ensure no autopsy. Seth Rich was shot in the back during a “robbery” where nothing was taken, survived and was in good condition at the hospital, according to doctors, until DCPD took custody of him.

Those who don’t have power just act as if they do. From blocking highways then suing anyone who actually manages to get past them, to swinging bike locks from behind a mask, the world is no longer a place where you can express your opinion without fear of someone being so “offended” they now feel they must attack you. When the uproar over Wonder Woman “fat shaming” women by being in great shape happened, I asked one person how else an Amazon Demi-Goddess should look, only to be told they were going to “find me and remove my ability to attack people.” I reported them to the social media site, and my local PD, and never heard more from them. But that’s the point, I presented a simple question, and rather than an answer, was told I should be killed! Another suggested that DC is racist because Wonder Woman looked too American. I pointed out that Gal Gadot is Israeli, Wonder Woman is from Themiscyra, which is normally in the Aegean Sea, meaning near Greece, so she’d be very tan and look pretty much like Gadot does all the time. The idiot told me I was just lying, so I sent him about 40 links to pictures from comic books and DC animated movies, after which I was blocked.

Finally, look at how they act when “offended,” it’s the simple bully mindset. If you look at any movie where a main character is in middle or high school, you’ll see it on screen. For this one, look at X-Men Apocalypse, where Cyclops is first feeling his powers come into being. He’s accused of winking at the bully’s girl, only for the bully to follow him to the bathroom, state he’s going to physically assault him, then beat on the door as if he has a right to go in and grab the other person. This is the same mindset of liberals today. They block or report anyone who disagrees with them, but if you tweet something they don’t like, they blow up the thread and then go nuclear when you don’t reply to every one of their comments, accuse you of “ignoring them to censor the issue,” and anything else they can use to make it look like you’re in the wrong and they’re in the right. Naturally, right now the Hillary issue or handgun questions are the hot button items. One tweeted a link out where they “make the case for Hillary to be President after Trump is removed, not Pence.” Many have commented about how every one of their 14 points are wrong, only to be told off, or ignored. Shannon Watts and Moms Demand will tweet out story after story showing how guns are the problem, not the criminals who already don’t follow laws, then either block or accuse those who point out the criminals don’t follow laws of sexism, racism, hating children, or some other BS, then block them.

The point here is a simple one, we’ve gone past the point of no return, but that’s not a hard point in space. The left is determined to no longer just make their point, but to silence by any means at their disposal, any who don’t follow them. I’m not saying we resort to their tactics, as I, unlike them, only use violence in self-defense or defense of others, but some of their rules need to be ours too. When they shout you down and won’t let you talk, hold up a sign “He/She is refusing to let me speak because he/she knows I have a point.” Make it clear you are being censored. When they make a grab for your sign, don’t let them have it, then when they try to grab you, defend yourself. As for the colleges and businesses who are trying to deny free speech to conservatives, don’t give them one red cent of your money. If you went to one of those schools, stop all donations, making it clear why you’re doing that. Boycott any business that panders to the left, and make it clear why you’re doing it. I told Denny’s over 3 years ago I was done when two on duty Police Officers were told to disarm or leave, I told Starbucks I was done when they came out in support of groups trying to end the nation of Israel, and I told Target I was done last year during the bathroom issue. I’ve stuck to these as well, and it’s not always easy, well in all but a single day, as I did buy my NES Classic at Target last year, but haven’t been back since, and won’t go back again. In the case of Denny’s, there are several items that are only available there that I love, Starbucks is great for studying, and Target has good quality items at good prices, but as long as they support groups adamantly against what I believe, I don’t spend a dime there. Until enough people do this (such as with Target and their needing to cancel expansion plans) it won’t be much good, but if enough people decide that disrespecting Police, or endangering children, or supporting terror, means a company doesn’t want our money, we will see change, either the company changes, or goes under, meaning that either they accept that customers are tired of being told we’re bigots while we spend our money there, or they’ll just be gone.

Along with this though, is the mental toughness to stick it out and stay standing for what you believe in. When you call out a bully, they will immediately start whining about you attacking them. Screenshot every tweet you use to call out bullies and throw their words back in their face. Senator Pelosi was recently on TV saying that everyone must read the GOP replacement for Obamacare, only for a lot of people to tweet or post on Facebook, with a link to her now famous “We have to pass it to find out what’s in it” line from years ago. When you make it known why you won’t patronize a business, people will call you bigoted for standing against their choice, so you make it clear you don’t deny them choice, but you can choose too. We must do both, stand against the tide of “do what I say, you’re still a bigot, but you must obey to survive” and make it clear why we’re not marching to our doom, lockstep with the safe space needing snowflakes. You will be attacked, you will be accused of everything under the sun, just keep standing. Don’t delete your posts and screenshot theirs, so you can show their words then ask them to do the same. Embrace the Covfefe line of thought, if you screw up a tweet, wear it like a crown to just cause them to wonder, if you are attacked, demand they explain themselves and cite sources. They’ll do the rest and prove themselves the bigots, meaning then you just need to wake up anyone around to the truth.